NEWS JUST IN FROM BULLY-BANKS: A campaign group uniting small businesses affected by what is regarded as the ‘next PPI bank mis-selling campaign’ – mis-sold Interest Rate Swap Agreements (IRSAs) – held its first conference in Bicester last weekend with more than100 small-business owners attending.
The Bully-Banks conference provided the first opportunity for small business across the UK to come together share experiences and work together to seek justice against Britain’s banks.
The campaign is already enjoying success with the Financial Services Authority investigating the issue, and MP’s raising their constituents’ concerns with the Treasury Select Committee.
Bully-Banks is a politically and commercially independent network.
Following its first conference the group is now working to develop a legal challenge on behalf of its members and also extend its public relations and lobbying activities to seek justice and highlight the hidden impact on the wider economic recovery.
Estimates range from 20,000 to 300,000 on the number of UK small businesses believed to be affected by this mis-selling.
The Banks are accused of abusing their position of trust – in many cases forcing businesses to accept an IRSA as a condition of borrowing – and failing to warn small business customers of costs or exit charges from the agreement.
IRSAs are regarded as extremely complicated financial products suitable for major corporations and international hedge funds.
Small business have been left with crippling monthly penalty charges or excessive break charges, forcing a significant number of otherwise good businesses to close down, or leave them trapped in an arrangements they cannot afford to buy themselves out of.
Jeremy Roe, a small business owner, who was mis-sold an IRSA, started the campaign group last autumn with no resources or financial backing, which now has over 300 members.
Bully-Banks was created to co-ordinate complaints by the owners of small-to-medium-sized business against the conduct of banks when selling IRSA’s including Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, and HSBC.
Commenting on their latest landmark Jeremy Roe said: “We will be adopting a two pronged strategy of seeking justice as well as highlighting the wider negative impact this issue has on the wider economic recovery.
“Bully-Banks is asking every owner of a small or medium-sized business who believes they have been mis-sold an IRSA to register with Bully-Banks. Together we can ensure that this issue is debated in the media and by Government to ensure that the banks address this issue as they already have with the mis-selling of payment protection insurance scandal.”
Further details about Bully-Banks website can be found at its web site www.bully-banks.co.uk.
