Just how quick is ‘as quickly as possible’?

Published: 04/10/2013

It’s a phrase we encounter on a regular basis but is ‘as quickly as possible’ a good enough response when it comes to reimbursing the victims of interest rate swaps mis selling? Senior Partner, Simon Cottrell, doesn’t think so:

“While interest rate swaps mis selling may not affect the same quantity of clients as the recent payment protection insurance scandal, the effects have been far more devastating.

“We are not talking about small sums here or a nice little rebate as is the case with the majority of PPI claims; we estimate interest rate swaps cases to have an average value of £500,000. As a result rate swaps are crippling many businesses and, in some cases, forced them into bankruptcy, so no ‘as quickly as possible’ simply doesn’t cut it especially given the amount of time that has already passed.

“The fact that it took over a year before any affected businesses saw any form of redress goes to show how little urgency the banks place on providing redress to affected businesses. The real sceptics amongst us may even go as far as to say lenders are deliberately dragging their feet in order to minimise the number of businesses they will have to compensate.

“Coupled with this is low awareness of the help available to the victims of interest rate swaps mis selling.  I look forward to the BBC Panorama report on ‘Britain’s New Banking Scandal’ which I hope will help to address this

“While there is sadly no magic wand to speed up claiming for mis sold rate swaps, seeking specialist legal representation means businesses are not relying on their lender, the same lender who missed the product in the first place, to make the first move.

“And given the time it has already taken to see even a hint of redress, the sooner that initial correspondence is made the better.”

Content correct at time of publication