Mortgage arrears call-handling failures cost Lloyds dearly

Over a four-year period, some 38 per cent of customers battling with their mortgage repayments were treated unfairly by Lloyds – leading to a £300m redress scheme as well as a £64m fine from the regulator. Given the current coronavirus crisis, which has placed many customers under financial pressure, Abdulali Jiwaji and Tom Snelling stress that there are lessons to be learned.

Abdulali Jiwaji (abdulali.jiwaji@signaturelitigation.com) and Tom Snelling (tom.snelling@signaturelitigation.com) are partners and Johnny Shearman is a professional support lawyer at Signature Litigation.

The recent fine issued by the Financial Conduct Authority against Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland and The Mortgage Business (together, ‘Lloyds’) for historical failures in relation to their handling of customers in payment difficulties is a warning to other regulated firms. This is particularly so as we risk entering another period of global financial instability, caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.