Disabled student wins landmark victory in wheelchair access battle with bank

A disabled teenager denied access to his bank because there was no wheelchair access won a landmark victory for disabled customers today.

David Allen, 18, who has muscular dystrophy, took legal action after the Royal Bank of Scotland failed to alter the access at the Church Street branch in Sheffield, where he is studying creative writing at the city's Hallam University.

The bank appealed over a ruling that it had not catered for the access needs of Mr Allen who was awarded £6,500 damages.

But three judges at the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and today ordered the bank to carry out the necessary access work, which has been estimated as costing £200,000.

They also ordered the bank to pay Mr Allen's legal costs, awarded him another £3,000 damages for the delay and refused permission to take the case to the Supreme Court.

Speaking after the judgment, Mr Allen said: "I'm glad the bank finally had to apologise in court and acknowledge they treated me badly.

"But I am still very disappointed that RBS (who I have banked with since I was 10 when I was still able to walk) would not willingly comply with the Disability Discrimination Law and provide wheelchair access which not only I, but many of their other customers with disabilities, need.

"They just failed to understand anything about the need for privacy and dignity."

He added: "I only wanted them to comply with the law and provide access so I could get into my bank like my friends."

Lord Justice Wall said in today's ruling that Mr Allen could not access the counter facilities at the bank and a duty "plainly thereby arose" under the Disability Discrimination Act.

He said the bank could have taken steps to provide access for those suffering from disabilities.

"The bank did not take those steps, giving as its reason not the disproportionate cost of carrying out the work, but simply the fact that it would lose the use of an interview room."

The Sheffield branch concerned is a 19th century listed building where access to all entrances is by flights of stone steps.

Judge John Dowse ruled at Sheffield County Court in January that the bank had breached the disability Act.

RBS, which had pledged not to deprive Mr Allen of his damages if it won the appeal, said it had complied with the Disability Rights Commission's code of practice and arranged access to three other branches, as well as offering Mr Allen the use of telephone or internet banking services.

Nic Bungay, head of policy and campaigns at the charity Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, said: "We are delighted at the appeal outcome.

"This case draws attention to a problem that spans all areas of life for disabled people, who often struggle to access services that non-disabled people take for granted - public transport, leisure facilities and, in Mr Allen's case, even their local bank.

"I hope that today's decision means that essential institutions, such as banks, work harder to meet the needs of all their customers."

Sheffield Law Centre, the firm of solicitors who represented Mr Allen in a case funded by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said the judgment stresses that organisations must provide a service as close as possible to that received by the general public.

Lord Justice Dyson pointed out that customers have the choice of face-to-face banking - otherwise the bank would not maintain its 2,300 branches.

"The public at large have physical access to banks in order to make use of traditional counter banking services and the bank's non-disabled customers have physical access to all of its branches, including the main branch."

Ceri Allen, Mr Allen's mother, who brought the case on his behalf because he was under 18 when it started, said: "This is just such good news for disabled people.

"RBS claim to take disability issues seriously. They actually told the court that David received better treatment than other customers because they allowed David to carry out banking transactions in the street.

"It is surprising how many people assume that all big businesses have automatically complied with the disability discrimination law. The everyday reality for wheelchair users is that level access or lifts are still all too often not available.

"The only reason we brought the claim was because they thought they could ignore us.

"They never seemed to understand that we weren't after money. It was simply an issue about access to the bank. They'll never get it right until they actually listen to people with disabilities."

Barrister Declan O'Dempsey, discrimination specialist at Cloisters, the chambers which represented Mr Allen in court, said: "This case is legally significant because it shows to what extent the courts expect service providers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled users.

"Businesses have been required under the Goods and Services provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act to make 'reasonable adjustments' to ensure that their customers can use their services for some time. However, up until now it has not been clear how much 'adjustment' they have to make.

"The Court of Appeal has shown that it believes that the law calls for a significant adjustment to be made - and what's more, if they fail to do so, an injunction is appropriate to ensure that businesses comply."