Customers Hit by Interest Rate Swap Mis-selling Urged to Come Forward

    KENT, ENGLAND, July 10, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The solicitors and mediators firm Lamport Bassitt is continuing to support businesses who have been hit by the interest rate swap mis-selling crisis. New information about the controversy is continuing to enter the public domain, with the scale of the crisis being far wider than was previously thought. Banks and other lenders accused of mis-selling swaps are thought to have utilised various underhand tactics when coercing customers into signing up for the products.

Interest rate swaps involved customers agreeing to sign up for products that were supposed to protect them from rising interest rates. In a typical case, an interest rate swap might have been used to essentially 'fix' interest rates for customers. If interest rates went up, the lenders would offset these charges by compensating their customers with money against them. However, if interest rates went down, which they did - to historic lows - customers would be forced to pay out more to the lenders to offset the fall in rates. Few people however predicted just how low interest rates would sink once the banking crisis really began to bite, leaving many customers seriously out of pocket. Rick Munro, Partner at Lamport Bassitt, described the problem as sometimes having devastating effects on businesses, leaving them unable to continue their businesses profitably and with no funds to pursue a claim against their bank. In meritorious cases, Lamport Bassitt helps these cash-strapped businesses to pursue claims against the banks on a no win no fee basis.

Anger sparked as true scale of mis-selling is revealed

Research by Seneca Banking Consultants showed the scale of the problem. The figures found when the research was undertaken showed how badly hit customers from various sectors had been hit by mis-selling. These companies came from sectors as diverse as care homes, Christian charities and the construction trade, though property companies were targeted most aggressively by the banks. The sums being set aside by the banks to compensate businesses hit by interest rate mis-selling have become higher and higher over recent months, showing that the scale of the problem is perhaps far more colossal than expected.

It has been estimated that compensation costs could climb as high as GBP3bn, though some analysts expect the eventual figure to be much higher. What was particularly controversial about interest rate hedging or swapping was that the swaps and the loans were in fact two different products, meaning that once a loan was paid off customers found themselves obliged to continue paying for the swaps. Some banks have defended this by saying that the likelihood of further loans being requested was high.

Any customers that have yet to put in a claim are being urged to do so at the earliest opportunity. This is because once six years pass it can be difficult if not impossible to be compensated. Lamport Bassitt was established over 135 years ago, continues to offer expert support and advice to this day, and specialises in interest rate mis-selling claims.

Lamport Bassitt are specialists in Swap Mis-Selling compensation claims, call their experienced team now on 02380 837 775.

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