Independent Banking Advisory Service
Established in 1992
What does IBAS Membership Offer You
We believe that IBAS membership offers you the most economical, professional, confidential guidance and direct assistance organisation available for UK Business banking problems and disputes, up to and including litigation. IBAS experience has proved to be the deciding factor in effective and sometimes almost miraculous settlements for business banking customers. Tell us what you are seeking by emailing us and we will respond to you in a no obligation and confidential 'conversation'.
IBAS has specialist knowledge from IBAS investigations into UK business banking account disputes since 1992 - no other organization has IBAS experience or IBAS knowledge, which provides IBAS with 'extra' width of knowledge for our investigations (and IBAS use only) in assessing investigation strategy to produce the best results - that provides you with extra and better 'options' for your bank personal guarantee debt claim demand.
Email IBAS now - we can help you
Or telephone (during office hours only) on 01487 843444 for confidential conversation
See sample of IBAS Testimonials
After 25 years of investigating business banking cases we know nobody can claim they have a 'formula for guaranteed success' on business bank debt claims. But, knowing what can be achieved from IBAS strategies developed and finely tuned since 1992 - means that IBAS can 'shorten the odds' to success with your claim.
IBAS provides experienced specialist and practical advice to IBAS members on how best to deal with and control the bank’s ‘collection’ activities after demand of the debt has been made on a Director’s Personal Guarantee. What can you do and how best to do it? Can you 'get out of the personal guarantee' - is it possible to do so? Can you dilute your director’s personal liability under a bank’s director personal guarantee debt demand? Those questions have been asked in cases where IBAS investigate bankers and the bank actions.
IBAS experience and knowledge will be extremely important in supporting any business banking customer in dispute with their bank.
- See latest on Lloyds Bank case with IBAS member Keith Elliott:
Key Lloyds Business Support Unit documents set to be uncovered in High Court Case - Key documents surrounding Lloyds Business Support Unit (BSU) are set to be revealed in a £55m legal battle with a motor dealership that has accused the bank of forcing it out of business. Leeds-based car dealer Premier Motorauctions has accused Lloyds and accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) of conspiring to force the business into administration and then profit from its sale. In a court hearing on Monday, Lloyds agreed to search for a copy of its three year plan after a memo likening the BSU to the Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) highly criticised global restructuring group (GRG) was revealed last week. The three-year plan is thought to contain language similar to that used in RBS's 'Dash for Cash' manual, in which Lloyds's objectives were listed as the “doubling of income” and “moving from ‘defenders to strikers’'. - 6th March City A.M.
Lloyds and PwC face £55m court case from motor dealer who says the firms forced it out of business Lloyds Banking Group and accountants PwC face a £55m legal battle with a motor dealership which will allege they colluded to force it out of business.Yorkshire-based Premier Motor Auctions will argue Lloyds used its Business Support Unit as a profit centre to extract money from struggling firms, according to the Sunday Telegraph. Premier, led by chief executive Keith Elliott, went bust following a failed sale of the business in April 2008. The firm will allege it was the victim of a plan to push bank staff to increase profits as the financial crisis hit. - 25th February 2018 - City AM
Bank threats for successful SMEs and their owners/proprietors is identified in Hansard
see: Hansard debate on Premier Motor Auctions at 11am where Austin Mitchell MP speaks on Lloyds Bank and Premier Motor Auctions Ltd case from column 212WH to column 219WH and provides Keith Elliott's concerns on conflicts of interest and also quotes IBAS views on our member's case.
This is an 'ongoing' case for IBAS member Keith Elliott which has now reached the courts with a claim against both Lloyds and also PwC.
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Banks will produce documents which the bank rely upon for their legal claim on you - but it is vital that the customer’s advisor knows which documents banks will be trying very hard to hide.
IBAS knowledge and bank information from current and historical case work since 1992 assists those who believe they have a legitimate complaint against a bank for any business banking issue or business banking account dispute.
Historical banking documentation & Historical Bank Regulators and ‘positions’ - The knowledge gained from many thousands of business banking agreements and contracts over a long period of time, whilst carrying out extremely detailed business banking case investigations has provided IBAS and our investigation team with the ability to ‘pick up’ unusual or abnormal banking acts or ‘procedures’. The unusual aspects then alert us to the requirement for a deeper forensic examination of the events surrounding the ‘unusual aspects or procedures’.
Because of the many IBAS business banking investigations we have carried out over 25 years (which has provided IBAS with a great deal of business banking fact and information) it is factual and also logical that IBAS will have greater knowledge of business banking procedures and documentation, strategy and bank regulators and regulation than any high street solicitor (or any other entity other than banks themselves and the bank’s chosen top 10 banking lawyers).
So, what can an IBAS Business Banking investigation provide? The short answer is that an IBAS investigation will provide a great deal of clarity and fact not available in the majority of cases when first provided to us - without IBAS investigation/s many of those facts would still remain 'undiscovered'.
Testimonial: "Just for information we have recently reduced the balance outstanding to the bank and now have a better relationship with a new manager who many times, has apologised for the actions of others that have gone before him. We would like to thank you for your assistance in bringing the matter with the bank to a conclusion. It would have been far easier if we had known about your organisation in the first instance and the corner the bank backed us into would probably never have transpired.
We could not recommend strongly enough to anyone struggling with the overzealous banks how helpful IBAS have been. When we consider how the bank treated us when we hadn’t done anything wrong, never missed a payment and had good loan to value rates, I can only surmise how aggressive they must be to others.
Once again many thanks for the help IBAS have given us both over the past two years. In the nicest way we hope never to require your services again! "- GL
Contact IBAS to see how we may help you
Many solicitors and barristers have approached IBAS with ‘cases’ since 1992 - with many clients claiming the bank had acted dishonestly, incorrectly or very badly to the customer’s financial detriment - often factual information was lacking and IBAS business banking investigations were required to provide both facts and precise calculations to prove the facts.
Example One: Home possession case: The bank sought possession of a business owner’s home on the basis of an amount they claimed was owed to the bank after demand on a personal guarantee debt which was supported by a bank mortgage over her home. However, the customer believed the debt was inflated by bank overcharging. The barrister sought the facts to undermine the bank’s case for possession. IBAS carried out calculations requested by the barrister to establish the charging for the previous six years based on the banking facilities provided.
IBAS investigation of the 6 years of business bank statements and facilities up to the bank’s demand showed no evidence of overcharging. However, our team perceived anomalies just prior to the six year period and we requested the barrister’s instruction to proceed further. Our further investigation beyond the six years proved that the bank had been overcharging interest on balances and that the bank had inflated the balances shown by previous overcharging. Therefore, the debt claimed by the bank was totally incorrect and there was a substantial defence to the debt the bank were claiming.
Conclusion: The overcharge and the defence to the bank’s claim would not have been apparent or available without IBAS investigations - which then provided the evidence for the barrister to counter the bank’s claim.
Sometimes, it is not just the bank which prevents a business banking case from ‘moving onwards to a conclusion’, although the bank may have created the original problem or dispute. IBAS involvement as a truly independent banking investigator can determine the best route for the customer.
Example Two: Mrs H was deceived by her husband who borrowed funds against their home and the bank attempted to enforce against the wife for the secured debts on their home because of the husband’s business debts. Mrs H was introduced to a solicitor by CAB but he had proved to be ‘unable’ to protect her position and his competence was questionable. IBAS investigation of Mrs H’s position led us to conclude that her case was much stronger than her solicitor had attempted to put forward and her solicitor appeared to be accepting the bank’s position much too easily. Our conclusion was that she required much better representation and we offered our assistance. The case was eventually heard in the Supreme Court and Mrs H then won her case on appeal.
Conclusion: IBAS knowledge, input and guidance was instrumental in that case eventually reaching a successful conclusion in the Appeal Court.
Why does an IBAS Business Banking investigation make sense?
The UK news has been full of banking irregularities and deceptions since the banking ‘meltdown’ of 2008 with some massive fines and on top of those the HBOS ‘Reading’ fraud trial recently has illustrated why banks and bankers should no longer ‘enjoy’ the status of being automatically trusted as professionals.
If you have a business banking case and are being threatened by the bank’s ‘recovery team’ with a legal claim at Court based on their banking claim or demand or by Receivers or LPA Receivers an IBAS investigation will substantially improve your chances of obtaining the best possible result for both you and your business.
Changes to regulation and bank regulators - voluntary codes of conduct - Bank of England - FSA - FCA - IBAS have been around for all of those regulatory changes and have recorded the changes as they occurred for our own records and IBAS use in business banking case work. In some cases that specific knowledge has been the vital cog in the wheel of resolution.
IBAS aim to provide good specialist advice and resolution before litigation if possible but if IBAS is involved immediately after demand for payment by a bank, our aim is to gain all information which we know is necessary to assess legal arguments - against existing case law. IBAS lay the 'groundwork' for successful defences or banking claims by first preserving any defences which then exist and yes, we have assisted in many cases which have been won by our members after litigation in the County Court, High Court and the Court of Appeal.
ILA (independent legal advice) Confirmation Certificates - provide banks with additional assistance. Banks and other lenders rely heavily on a solicitor providing them with their signed confirmation that they have provided independent legal advice to the bank's customer - which if correct then prevents the customer saying later that they relied upon bank advice or misrepresentations prior to signing documents. But, in our investigation those specific documents may not be what they first appear, as a bank or lender is also required to provide truthful information for ILA to be properly obtained which has not always been the case - careful investigation may find the ILA Certificate to be unreliable.
Waiver of ILA (independent legal advice) - bank customers signing a waiver of ILA provides the bank with confirmation that the customer has been offered ILA but has refused ILA (by the customer signing the waiver). Banks and lenders use the signed ILA waiver document as evidence of their security position and in order to eliminate many of the ‘misrepresentations’ claimed by bank customers. Again, the ‘waiver’ may not be what it seems - although the bank will always claim it is correct. IBAS investigations have provided evidence to discount dubious ILA waivers which have been to the customer’s benefit.
Will our business banking investigation make a poor case into a good case? - IBAS Investigations can turn poorly documented cases into better organized, factually evidenced and better presented cases, which then have merit - which also means they are more likely to succeed in a worthwhile resolution and/or more able to obtain litigation funding.
Independent Banking Advisory Service (IBAS) - IBAS launched in 1992 as a specialist unincorporated business banking membership organization assisting bank customers with UK business banking account/loan account/mortgage account and security disputes and business banking debt disputes. Our bank analysis and investigation of business bank loans, bank accounts, banking contracts, business banking account facilities and banking debt recovery information has been instrumental in our member's success.