Established in 1992

What does IBAS Membership Offer You

21 Reasons why you need IBAS for your business banking dispute 'case'

1. IBAS obtain business banking information directly and indirectly from banks or lenders which is held in IBAS archives for IBAS use - which means that 'concealed or witheld' bank information can be used for members in resisting the claim or used by IBAS negotiating the claim away or reducing it's value - which would not have been possible without IBAS archived information.

2. IBAS is totally independent and since 1992 has acted for UK businesses in numerous business banking investigations across all industries. IBAS investigations of business bank account interest overcharging means that IBAS will provide a very strong negotiating position for 'bank overcharging' cases and also that information and evidence can reduce connected business banking debt claims.

3. IBAS information and experience has been gathered from many years business banking account ‘case work’ and from very detailed investigations of business banking and corporate debt claim information.

4. IBAS gathered unique and confidential information which was then validated by the Cruickshank Treasury Review in 2010. All banking information gathered then and since is used by IBAS in providing professional business banking assistance.

5. For several years IBAS regularly met with business bank debt recovery 'teams' to negotiate large numbers of business banking debt dispute cases.

6. Experience gained from the many meetings with bank debt recovery teams negotiating Business Banking dispute cases has enabled IBAS to understand bank debt recovery team's strategy and also their willingness to exploit individual weaknesses.

7. When IBAS provides a response to the lender you're better protected from Bank 'bullying'.

8. IBAS members have a great deal of information and knowledge available for IBAS to use on their case from IBAS archive of business banking cases investigated in our 'case work' since 1992 which provides unique in depth knowledge and information on individual bank Debt Recovery Units.

9. IBAS members obtain individual business banking assistance, guidance and support from a unique experienced, specialist, confidential, professional, business banking advice organisation – automatically reducing stress for our member.

10. IBAS questions to lenders are 'focused' on the correct areas of complaint by IBAS experiences in dealing with a great many similar business banking debt cases.

11. IBAS requests for banking information will also allow IBAS to identify precise direction of the case and evaluate possible defences and/or counterclaims if they exist.

12. Bank recovery action are inevitably slowed because IBAS request specific information from the bank - otherwise it will not be provided or 'shown' by the bank. That allows IBAS to verify bank/lender claim/security and focus on eliminating or reducing business banking debt claims.

13. There are considerable and significant cost benefits using IBAS for a business banking dispute because IBAS strategy is to obtain all information from banks and our specialist, experienced examination of all case papers nullifies costly solicitor's fees or requirement for a barrister in 95% of cases.

    a) IBAS will evaluate demand claims for an economical cost

    b) IBAS provide very experienced input on your options as information is gathered

    c) IBAS has the experience to negotiate majority of business banking debt claims

    d) IBAS has the experience to focus on important specifics and assess legal options

    e) IBAS has the ability to provide concise briefing for barristers – if necessary

     

14. In our experience and also in the current 'climate' - it is very unwise to instruct a solicitor in the early stages of any bank demand – as doing so is expensive and counter productive on costs and value. Solicitors instructed in the early stages of a business bank debt claim or demand inevitably 'trigger' the bank to instruct their legal advisors – provoking early escalation to legal debt claims plus additional legal costs.

15. IBAS examine Director's Personal Guarantee debt claims or business banking debt claim for validity and defences against 'new law' and existing case law. Banks ignore new case law which is not to their benefit – but IBAS will evaluate whether that case law provides assistance in disputing the bank's claim.

16. IBAS will establish how business banking debt claims/banking disputes can be resisted, diminished or negotiated.

17. When IBAS negotiate a compromise position – that decision to not proceed with litigation will be cemented into an agreement by the bank with IBAS to end that claim.

19. We do not share IBAS internal research/investigations information with any entity.
    

IBAS Testimonials

IBAS experience has proved to be the deciding factor in effective and almost miraculous settlements for business banking customers.

Banks will produce documents which the bank rely upon for their legal claim on you - it is vital that the customer’s advisor knows which documents banks will be trying to hide. IBAS knowledge and bank information from current and historical case work since 1992 assists those who believe they have a legitimate complaint for any business banking dispute or business banking account debt 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’.

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

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 the case eventually reaching a successful conclusion in the Appeal Court.

Why an IBAS Business Banking investigation makes sense

Banks and bankers 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 based on the bank's 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 we 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 and when 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 banks are required to provide truthful information for ILA to be properly obtained - IBAS has found that careful investigation can find an 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 - IBAS investigations have provided evidence to discount dubious ILA waivers.

IBAS business banking dispute negotiating experience provides proven strategies for business bank customers banking claims and defences. IBAS has excellent banking investigation reputation and IBAS has featured on BBC TV, BBC TV News, ITV, Meridian and Sky News and contributed to editorials and articles for the Sunday Times, Times, Daily Mail, Daily Express,Telegraph and Daily Mirror.

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.

Last modified: 5th January 2019