Lamport Bassitt warns of further unscrupulous tactics in interest rate swap mis-selling scandal

With evidence recently emerging of a previously unimagined number of customers being hit by interest rate swap mis selling, as well as of banks attempting to defect compensation claims, solicitors Lamport Bassitt have urged customers to keep fighting for the money to which they are entitled. The last few months have seen government intervention being sought out, as well as expert predictions that the Insolvency Service will help liquidators and administrators of firms that have been put out of business after agreeing to interest rate swaps.

Had interest rates not fallen to historic lows during the worldwide crash, the crisis may have been averted, but as it stands, the controversy is showing no signs of slowing down. Interest rate swaps were sold to people who were told that the products would essentially 'fix' interest rates for them, protecting them if interest rates rose to offset the costs incurred by them. However, if interest rates fell – which they did, hugely – customers would instead need to reimburse the banks for the money that they would lose as a result.

It's said that whilst some customers had the resources to make an informed decision about whether the complex products were right for them, other smaller enterprises were likely to have been unable to grasp the risks that they were taking.

More interest rate swap horror stories emerging

However, more and more alleged swap mis-selling scandals are starting to come to the fore, with some reports claiming that some banks are attempting to deflect claims being made against them by exchanging interest rate collar products for other services which could prove equally damaging. Customers are being encouraged not to accept these terms and to instead keep fighting for compensation.

The Financial Services Authority, who were previously investigating the controversy, have now been replaced by the Financial Conduct Authority as of Spring 2013, yet whether the new body will be more or less efficient when dealing with such matters remains to be seen. It's been argued that the banks deliberately targeted struggling customers as they knew that their desperation could be exploited. Nonetheless, after suggestions earlier this year that not a single customer had been reimbursed for their distress, various bodies have pleaded for government intervention on the matter.