Are you worried about claiming for a mis sold interest rate swap?

Published: 12/07/2013

Despite estimations that as many as 100,000 could be affected by interest rate swaps mis selling, the number of small and medium sized businesses coming forward to make a claim is minimal.

There are many reasons that may prevent a business from claiming redress; one of which is an overriding fear of jeopardising its future lending prospects.

Given that so many businesses are reliant on banks, it is understandably why there is a real hesitate to ‘rock that boat’. However the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has stated banks must not discriminate any business that has made a claim and, it’s safe to say, the last thing banks need is another scandal!

There also seems to be a fair amount of confusion surrounding claiming in general, from worries about escalating costs to the amount of time a business will need to dedicate to the claim. These uncertainties can be resolved by seeking the right kind of legal representation.

Unlike some law firms, Goldsmith Williams does not charge on an hourly basis. Instead we charge a fixed upfront fee of £2000 to cover the initial costs. We then work on a contingency fee agreement basis. This means any additional charges will be payable upon successful completion of your case.

Our specialised commercial litigation team are highly practised in this field and are already helping many affected businesses. Our extensive experience means we are well versed in the process thus minimising the impact on your time.

But the most common reason we now hear for businesses not pursuing a claim is that lenders are already investigating cases.

While it is true that lenders have been instructed to undertake a full review of their sales practice following the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA now FCA) pilot scheme, little progress has been made. Only a handful of businesses are understood to have received any form of compensation of which redress has been minimal.

Waiting is a particularly dangerous game to play given that these cases become time barred within six years. As a result lenders would then have the upper hand, able to offer a substantial smaller amount of redress than is fair.

While it is understandably why businesses are reluctant to pursue redress the fact remains mis selling has occurred on a considerable scale and businesses are owed damages. But they will not come easily, nor automatically unless you speak up and seek specialist legal representation.

Content correct at time of publication