Banking and finance disputes with lenders and institutions.
Lending and facility disputes, guarantees, security enforcement, mis-selling, APP fraud reimbursement and asset finance claims. Panel members authorised to conduct litigation can run the case without a solicitor.
Disputes with banks and lenders are asymmetric. The institution has in-house counsel, panel solicitors and a settled playbook, while the customer is usually dealing with the problem for the first time and often under commercial pressure from the same facility that is in dispute.
Clerk&Counsel places independent barristers on banking and finance disputes for businesses, directors, guarantors, property owners and individuals. We are a clerking agency rather than a chambers or a firm of solicitors, and counsel is instructed directly by the client.
Where a member of our panel holds a litigation extension from the Bar Standards Board, that barrister can conduct litigation on the dispute as well as arguing it. They can issue in the Business and Property Courts, apply for injunctive relief where enforcement is imminent, run disclosure against an institution that holds most of the documents, and conduct the trial.
Banking and finance disputes we cover.
- Facility and loan agreement disputes, including breach of covenant and default interest.
- Guarantee and indemnity claims, including defences of non est factum, undue influence and misrepresentation.
- Security enforcement, receivership and possession of commercial property.
- Mis-selling claims, including interest rate hedging products and unsuitable finance.
- Authorised push payment fraud and reimbursement disputes with payment service providers.
- Asset finance, invoice discounting and factoring disputes.
- Unfair relationship claims under sections 140A to 140C of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
- Account freezing, de-banking and account closure disputes.
Levelling the resourcing gap.
A litigation authorised barrister gives a customer one senior professional handling the whole dispute rather than a chain of correspondence. In practice that means the pre-action letter is drafted by the person who will argue the case, the disclosure requests target what will actually matter at trial, and urgent applications can be made in days rather than after a handover.
It also keeps the cost base proportionate. Bank disputes are often defended firmly on the expectation that the customer will run out of money before the court reaches the merits, and a leaner structure makes it harder for that strategy to succeed.
For larger, document heavy claims, particularly group mis-selling or complex derivative matters, a solicitor led team remains the right answer, and we will place counsel into that structure instead.
Complaint, ombudsman or court.
Not every dispute belongs in court. Eligible complainants can take a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which is free, informal and can award compensation up to published limits. It suits individuals and smaller businesses where the sum is within those limits and the issue is one of fair treatment rather than fine contractual construction.
Court is the right forum where the sum exceeds the ombudsman limits, where you need an injunction, where the point turns on the construction of the facility documents, or where the relationship has already broken down beyond repair. Taking a complaint to the ombudsman first can affect later litigation, so the choice deserves advice at the outset.
Counsel can advise on which route fits, draft the complaint or the claim accordingly, and represent you in whichever forum you choose.
When enforcement is already underway.
If a lender has appointed receivers, issued a demand under a guarantee or begun possession proceedings, the timescales collapse. An application for interim relief, a defence filed within the deadline or a properly evidenced request for a short standstill can preserve options that will otherwise be gone within weeks.
In authorised push payment fraud cases speed matters even more. Tracing and freezing applications against recipient accounts have to be made before funds are dissipated, and the reimbursement rules impose their own reporting timescales.
Send us the demand or the proceedings as soon as they arrive rather than after the deadline has passed. Early instruction is usually cheaper than late instruction, and often the only reason a case is still winnable.
Specialist areas within this practice.
In dispute with a bank or lender?
Send the facility documents, the demand or proceedings and a short chronology. We will come back with counsel options, forum advice and whether a litigation authorised barrister can run it for you.
Common questions.
Can a barrister take on my bank directly?
Yes. Any barrister on our panel can advise and represent you, and where they hold a litigation extension they can also issue and conduct the proceedings with no solicitor on the record.
Should I complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service first?
Often, if you are an eligible complainant and the sum falls within the FOS award limits. It is free and informal. Where the claim is larger, urgent, or turns on contractual construction, court is usually the better forum. Take advice before choosing.
Can I challenge a personal guarantee?
Sometimes. Defences include misrepresentation, undue influence, failure to comply with the guarantee's own terms, material variation of the underlying facility without consent, and discharge by conduct of the lender. The guarantee document and the circumstances of signing both need review.
Can I get money back after an APP fraud?
The reimbursement rules for authorised push payment fraud oblige payment service providers to reimburse in most cases, subject to exceptions including gross negligence. Where reimbursement is refused, the decision can be challenged through the ombudsman or the courts, and tracing action against recipient accounts may also be available.
Is a de-banking or account closure decision challengeable?
It can be, depending on the contractual notice terms, the reason given and whether the closure breaches any statutory or regulatory duty. The prospects turn heavily on the facts and the account terms.