The Federal Court yesterday rejected ANZ's bid to delay proceedings in a class action over the enforceability of its exception fees. The court upheld an application that there be a preliminary hearing exploring the nature of the exception fees charged by ANZ.The ruling effectively splits the case in two - a move the court made to overcome what it saw as an overly slow approach by ANZ.The applicants in the class action are seeking a declaration that the penalty provisions in ANZ loan contracts are unenforceable. ANZ charged the applicants a variety of fees for unauthorised overdrafts, overdrawn accounts, dishonour fees and over-limit credit card accounts.The contracts between the applicants and ANZ entitled the bank to charge exception fees.The primary issue is whether ANZ is obliged to repay all or part of these exception fees. The applicants contend that the amount of each exception fee was not a "covenanted or agreed sum" which would be regarded as a genuine pre-estimate of the damage likely to be caused by the breach.They also argue that the amount of each fee substantially exceeded what would be recoverable as unliquidated damages by ANZ upon breaches.And they argue each exception fee was extravagant and unconscionable in amount, and in comparison with the greatest loss that could conceivably be proved to have followed from the breach.