In the past three months, more than one million forms have been downloaded from MoneySavingexpert.com, a website which has become a popular place for customers to learn more about taking on the banks.

Martin Lewis, the site's creator, said that cases already settled or lodged with the banks would result in total payments of £50m, given that settlement commonly topped £1,000.

The £50m figure, which the British Bankers Association did not dispute, could rise higher still given the success of the campaign.

The website calculated that, if the current rate of growth continued, four million forms will have been printed off by the end of the year.

The Financial Ombudsman Service said yesterday that it was receiving 5,000 complaints every day about "unlawful" bank charges. BeforeThe Independent featured the campaign on Monday, the ombudsman had been receiving 5,000 inquiries a week.

A spokesman said the number of complaints was unprecedented. "It has even eclipsed mortgage endowment complaints," he said.

The Liberal Democrat MP Colin Breed has tabled a Commons early day motion condemning the tactics of a bank which closed the account of a youth club seeking a refund. He said he suspected that such practice was widespread.

The revolt against charges began after a handful of current account holders successfully challenged their banks.

Under British law, customers are entitled to their money back if lenders have charged them more than their costs in the management of an unauthorised overdraft or bounced cheque. While the fees charged by banks are about £35, banking experts estimate the cost to the banks to be no more than £4.50.

Credit card fees of more than £12 and mortgage "exit" fees - where a lender charges up to £295 to complete the paperwork on the end of a mortgage - have also been ruled to be unreasonable.

Mr Lewis encouraged customers to challenge the banks to pay out in all areas. "Reclaim culture is a serious consumer movement everyone should welcome, but don't confuse it with compensation culture," he said.

"This is about getting money back that's been unlawfully taken from you, not seeking generalised payouts.

"Remember, the banks have huge power, when you've a dispute with any other company they send you a bill and you can decide whether to pay it, or face the consequences. "

"Yet with banks they simply deduct the money from your account without permission."

He said politicians and the regulator should intervene to introduce a simpler process for claiming refunds, with one form being filled in at the bank. The bank would then have to list its charges to the customer over the previous six years.

On this evening's edition Tonight on ITV1, Judge Paul Collins, a senior judge at the Central London Civil Justice Centre, says his fellow judges are "concerned" that there has been no test case on charges.

Judge Collins said: "None of these cases so far as I know, have ever been brought to trial because the banks have always settled them, sometimes at quite a late stage in the proceedings.

"Because of the sheer number of the cases that they face that haven't been brought to a decision, I think it's fair to say, the judges are frustrated. They would like there to be some binding decision."

Christina Bryden, office worker, 28: 'I was surprised how much I was owed'

Christina Bryden from Glasgow has claimed more than £1,200 from Lloyds TSB for charges incurred over the past five years. While bank customers in England can claim interest and make claims going back six years,Scottish law allows only for claims going back five years and no interest is paid.

The 28-year-old office worker decided to make a claim after seeing a television programme just before Christmas. "I knew I had incurred a few charges over the last few years, usually when my mortgage went out at the same time as some unexpected big bill, but I hadn't gone over my overdraft limit by much," she said.

"When I heard what the banks were doing I was angry enough to wonder just how much I had been charged and was very surprised to find out it was more than £1,200. I'm planning to get married in July and I thought it would be a nice nest egg to get back if I could."

At first her bank denied receiving her recorded delivery request for information on the charges, a tactic she believes was intended to make things difficult.

Faced with the prospect of having to force them into handing over five years of bank statements, and possibly going to court, Ms Bryden enlisted the help of bankchargerecover.co.uk, one of the few regulated claims-management companies carrying out such work.

"I decided to use a professional because I could assign my debt to them which meant that for about £47 and 20 per cent of the claim I could leave them to get on with it while I planned my wedding," she said.

Bankchargrecover.co.uk immediately demanded the outstanding bank statements under the Data Protection Act for a one-off fee of just £10. However it was only after it threatened to report the bank for contravening the 40-day statutory limit to provide the information that the documents were eventually produced.

The company has now written to the bank requesting the amount is repaid within 14 days which means that after taking its percentage, which is worked out on a no-win-no-fee basis, Ms Bryden should receive more than £900 she had otherwise written off for good.