The problem with fixed rate business loans
If you have taken out a business bank loan you may have a claim for compensation for the mis-selling of that loan if the risks of the loan were not properly explained.
This particular mis-selling applies to cases where the interest on the loan was fixed for a period of time. Eg you agree to pay the bank 6% interest fixed for 10 years on your business bank loan.
This means that if interest rates (Bank of England base rates) fall, then you don’t benefit from this fall as you have agreed the fixed rate.
The other risk is that if you try to pay off the loan early, then typically there are high repayment (or break) costs if you want to do this. Again, these break costs should have been properly and fully explained to you at the point of sale.
Which banks have been affected?
Most of the main UK high street banks have sold fixed rate business loans at some point in time over the last 10-15 years. We have been winning claims against:
- Lloyds Banking Group (Lloyd Bank, Bank of Scotland, AMC)
- Clydesdale Bank
- Yorkshire Bank
- Barclays Bank
- Natwest/RBS/Ulster Bank
- Bank of Ireland
- Allied Irish Bank.
The sales process of fixed rate loans
In order to make a claim, the loan does not need to still be running; so you could have already paid off the loan early, refinanced or just let the loan run its course and still have a claim. What is important is whether the risks of the fixed rate loan were explained at the point of sale. We have been claiming for loans sold after 2001 that matured some time ago.
How big is the problem?
The FCA estimates that more than 60,000 SMEs could have been mis-sold fixed rate loans. We are seeing many instances of these loans being sold to the dentistry and healthcare industries.
Our free five-minute promise
If you think that you may have been affected by the issue described in this article and are unsure whether you have a potential claim, then please call us to take advantage of our free five-minute promise. After a short conversation with one of our banking claims consultants we will tell you whether we think you have a claim.
Reviews
Please visit our website to read our Trustpilot customer reviews, here is a sample of reviews received to date:
- Very helpful and kept in contact with regular updates – Sally H
- Claim against Lloyds bank – really can’t fault All Square, kept us informed all the way, and ended up with a very satisfactory outcome, for all parties – Heather S
- It has been a painless exercise dealing with All Square with the added bonus of a good receipt of money at the end of it – Mary W.
For more information contact Daniel Hall, managing director at All Square – Business Banking Claims on 0113 323 1950 or email: daniel.hall@allsquare.co.uk.
