A teenager denied access to his bank because there was no wheelchair access has won a landmark victory for disabled customers.
David Allen, 18, who has muscular dystrophy, took legal action after the Royal Bank of Scotland failed to alter the access at a branch in Sheffield, where he is studying creative writing at 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 yesterday 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 Mr Allen could not access the counter facilities 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 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 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, of the 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.”
Mr Allen’s mother, Ceri, brought the case on her son’s behalf because he was under 18 when it started.
She said: “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.
“The only reason we brought the claim was because they thought they could ignore us. They never seemed to understand we weren’t after money. It was simply about access to the bank. They’ll never get it right until they actually listen to people with disabilities.”