A self-employed decorator has won a court case against her bank over the amount it charged her.

Lisa Joseph, of South Street, Lancing, challenged Barclays about fees on her account she considered unfair.

A judge ruled in her favour this week after the bank failed to turn up to the hearing at Worthing County Court.

In its absence, Barclays was ordered to repay Miss Joseph £1,100 and £120 costs.

Miss Joseph, 27, said taking her bank to court was daunting but she encouraged others to reclaim their charges.

The Office of Fair Trading is investigating whether bank customers are being charged too much when they go overdrawn without permission.

People can be fined £38 for going a few pence over their limit.

Consumer watchdogs say the charges are a rip-off and not a true reflection of how much it costs to deal with the problem.

Miss Joseph is among thousands of members of the public who have tried to reclaim their charges.

She started the process in January, when she sent letters to Barclays asking to be refunded.

She said: "I followed all the step by step guides and I quite quickly got an offer of 50 per cent of what I asked for.

"I didn't accept this because I had heard of others getting offered more and if I had taken that the bank would not have accepted liability, it would have been a goodwill gesture.

"For moral reasons I wanted to see it through until the end and get the bank to back down."

She never expected the case would go to court because all other cases she heard about had been settled before it got that far.

Banks normally pay out ahead of a court hearing, sometimes the day before it is due to take place.

Miss Joseph said: "I know that banks will stretch it out until there is a court date to try and intimidate people into giving up.

"When I hadn't heard anything the days before the hearing I started preparing my case.

"I thought it was all or nothing, so I decided to go for it. I had rejected their offer and knew I had to keep on.

"I didn't have a solicitor and it was quite frightening to think I'm just a self-employed decorator taking on such a big bank with all its experts."

However, no-one from Barclays turned up and the judge went ahead with the case. He ordered the charges to be repaid within 14 days.

Miss Joseph added: "If people want to get money quickly they should take the first offer they get but if it is a moral or financial issue then they should just continue.

"People shouldn't panic or get intimidated. I'm glad I persevered."

Barclays did not want to comment on the case.

The Argus has been running a Beat the Banks campaign since January and has helped win back thousands of pounds in charges.

Visit www.theargus.co.uk/news/reclaimyourbankcharges for a free guide to getting your money back.

Have you got been hit by unfair charges or beaten your bank? Tell Rachel Fitch on 01273 544536, email rachel.fitch@theargus.co.uk or leave your comments below.