Explaining Fixed Rate Business Loan Mis-selling

Business Loan Claims
Explaining
Fixed Rate Business Loan Mis-selling
All Square. All Fair.
January 2015
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Fixed Rate Business Loans were sold through the main UK high street banks and building societies
from 2001. This guide will help you identify if your Fixed Rate Business Loan has potentially been
mis-sold and whether you are able to claim compensation if it has been.
NO WIN
NO FEE!*
Why All Square?
All Square are part of All Square Finance Limited, one of the UK’s leading firms for
complex Business Bank mis-selling claims.
Staffed by ex-bankers, in-house banking lawyers and insolvency experts, we have built a
strong track record of assisting businesses with complex issues relating to claiming for
mis-sold hedging products and loans.
All Square offers a professional service for all issues relating to claiming for mis-sold Fixed
Rate Business Loans. We can identify with many of the issues and problems that small and
medium sized businesses (SMEs) are faced with that hold Fixed Rate Business Loans.
With an estimated 60,000 Fixed Rate Business Loans sold, there is a good chance that
your business may have taken one of these products and you will be able to make a claim
if you believe the product has been mis-sold. With our experience and team, we are
confident that we can provide the best service to assist businesses with Fixed Rate
Business Loan mis-selling claims.
We can assist with:
60,000
Fixed Rate Business Loans sold*
Key Bank & Building Societies involved:
RBS, Lloyds, HSBC, Barclays, Santander, Clydesdale
Bank, Yorkshire Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland,
Nationwide, West Bromwich
Break Costs up to:
• Claims for mis-selling of Fixed Rate Business Loans
• Claims for a Consequential Loss
• Financial Ombudsman Service (FoS) complaints
• Litigation
40% of Loan Value
**
Please call our specialists on
0113 323 1950
to discuss how we can help.
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*Fee payable if case is not pursued at the client’s request.
*Source: http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/banks-sold-60000-unregulated-loans.23012593
** Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/rate-swap-scandal/9926601/Banks-face-huge-claims-over-fixed-rate-loans.html
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It’s 2005...
R
Explaining Fixed Rate Business Loan (FRBL) Mis-selling
Then in 2009...
Rates have fallen to an all time low but
my loan repayments are still high. My
business is not benefiting from low
base rates. Can I renegotiate the rate
on my loan?
I’d like to grow my small business...
can you lend me some money please?
SHOP
BUS
INESS O W NER
BA N K M A N A G E
Yes of course. We can
offer you a commercial
Fixed Rate Business
Loan (FRBL)
R
INTEREST
RATES
No. You have agreed
with us to have the
FRBL for a fixed
period of time.
THE BANK
SHOP
SHOP
Eh? I don’t understand.
I just want a simple loan.
What are the terms and conditions?
The FRBL will protect your business
from rising interest rates, it’s what you
need right now.
Sign here...Have to dash - BYE!
OK, I’ll just
terminate the
loan agreement
0.5%
AND
RISING
You can...but it will
cost you 25% of the
amount of the loan
THE BANK
ALL TIME
LOW
THE BANK
SHOP
URE
What? You never told me that! I’m
trapped in this FRBL agreement. I
can’t afford the huge termination fee
and the loan repayments are so high
they are crippling my business!
It’s 2007...
INTEREST
RATES
5.75%
Things seem to be going well business is growing and I can
afford my loan repayments...
THE BANK
4.50%
SIGNAT
High Street banks may have failed to
properly explain the Fixed Rate Business
Loan including the features, benefits
and risks.
INTEREST
RATES
SHOP
SHOP
All Square may be able to help you
We have the experience and expertise to understand Fixed Rate
Business Loans, how they work and how they were sold. We have a
strong track record of assisting businesses claim for complex hedging
products and loans.
Call 0113 323 1950 or email [email protected]
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Identifying if you were mis-sold
Stand Alone Interest Rate Hedging Products
Fixed Rate Loans may look simple but they are actually quite complex products
whereby a commercial loan contains an embedded or hidden hedging product,
such as a Swap.
Rather than combining a commercial loan and a hedging product, an alternative
arrangement to a Fixed Rate Business Loan is to purchase a Stand Alone Hedging
Product, which is a separate agreement to a commercial loan.
Business Loan Type
Commercial Loan
Hedging Product
Fixed Rate Loan
Variable Rate
Swap
In order to identify if you have been affected by the mis-selling of a Fixed Rate Business
Loan, here are some key things to look for and questions to ask yourself:
• Did your bank properly explain the features, benefits and risks of the Fixed Rate
Business Loan before it was sold?
Stand Alone Hedging Products may also have been mis-sold, so it may be that you will
have a claim if you hold one of these products as well.
Don’t forget about Consequential Loss
If you manage to secure compensation for a mis-sold Fixed Rate Business Loan, then it
may be that, in addition, you also have suffered Consequential Loss.
Consequential Losses arise from additional charges and fees that you may have been
charged by your Bank as a result of entering into the Fixed Rate Business Loan.
Consequential Loss will also cover other claims relating to loss of business opportunity.
• Did your bank properly explain and disclose any potential break costs or termination costs of the Fixed Rate Business Loan before it was sold?
What to do next
• Did your bank properly explain the features, benefits and risks of other alternative loans or hedging products?
If you believe that you have been affected by any of the issues outlined in this brochure
and want to take action to try to get your money back, then please call one of our
specialists who will be on hand to discuss your case.
• Did your bank provide you with advice relating to the Fixed Rate Business Loan?
If you find yourself answering “No” to many of these questions, (and “Yes” to the last
one), then it may be that you have a valid claim for a mis-sold Fixed Rate Business
Loan.
For successful claims we usually charge a fee of 20%+VAT of the total settlement.
We provide a No Win No Fee* service for all our claims.
We are the specialists
Remember, we only deal with claims for mis-sold Fixed Rate Business Loans and
Hedging Products. That’s all we do, day in day out, so we know how best to progress
your case.
CALL TODAY! 0113 323 1950
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*Fee payable if case is not pursued at the client’s request.
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Business Loan Claims
Explaining
Fixed Rate Business Loan Mis-selling
0113 323 1950
[email protected]
www.allsquare.co.uk
Disclaimer
This document is designed to be informative but is not intended to constitute advice, whether legal, financial or
otherwise. We make no warranties or representations about any of the content (including, without limitation,
the quality, accuracy, completeness or fitness for any particular purpose of such content).
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All Square is a trading style of All Square Finance Limited. All Square Finance Limited is regulated by the Claims Management Regulator
in respect of regulated claims management activities, it’s registration is recorded on the website www.justice.gov.uk/claims-regulation
(Authorisation No. CRM31952). All Square Finance Limited is registered in England and Wales under Co. No. 08246245. Registered
office at Unit 1C, Riparian Way, The Crossings Business Park, Cross Hills, Keighley, BD20 7AA Telephone: +44 (0) 800 083 0286
Facsimile: +44 (0) 844 288 9629 VAT NO: 135536417.