There is evidence to show that High Street Banks, such as HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds TSB and RBS, have deliberately mis-sold caravan park owners interest rate protection loans, leaving hundreds of caravan and leisure parks struggling to meet repayments.
If you are a caravan or leisure park owner and have taken out a business loan and was advised to take out a product alongside the business loan that was supposed to protect you against the rise of bank loan interest rates, you may have a claim for business loan mis-selling. The FSA (The Financial Services Authority) has looked into the mis-selling of business interest rate swaps and considered that here may be a claim for compensation.
The products are known as ‘swaps’ because the bank and customer exchange or ‘swap’ loan repayments. They come in all shapes and sizes but the bottom line is, if interest rates rise, the bank covers the increase in repayments for the customer and if rates fail, the customer pays a fee back to the bank.
The different types of business interest rate loan mis-selling are listed below, taken from the FSA website:
- swaps – which enables the customer to ‘fix’ thier interest rate
- caps – places a cap on any interest rate rise
- collars – enables the customer to cap interest rate rises by limiting rate fluctuations to within a simple range
- structured collars – enables the customer to cap interest rate rises by limiting rate fluctuations to within a range (with a lower ceiling than a simple collar) but involves more complex arrangements if base rate fails below floor limit.
As many caravan and leisure park owners have found out to their peril, an Interest Rate Swap is not the same as a Fixed Rate Loan and the Financial Services Authority consider ‘swaps’ to be so complicated they should only be sold to investment professionals. Additionally, it has now become apparent the bank was protected more than the customer and it was normal practice to emphasise the rewards and de-emphasise the risks.
We possess an excellent track record in recovering compensation in many legal issues from contract disputes to financial mis-selling of insurance products and services. For more information please visit our website www.iamhappi.com.
If you are a caravan or leisure park owner who believes they have been mis-sold a business loan with a swap interest rate product please do not hesitate to CONTACT US to see if you have a claim for compensation.
Further Reading
More on Caravan Park Swap Loans
What are Interest Rate Swaps and How are they affecting Caravan Park Owners?
