18 WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM | FEB 2022 DELIVERING JUSTICE FOR SMEs banks. We offer an alternative to litigation, removing the cost and stress of going to court for SMEs. My judicial experience has shown me that the fabled ‘day in court’ is often a disappointment for parties hoping to tell their story. We offer a much richer opportunity for individuals to give their account in their own words, which we believe can offer a better route to closure. The BBRS has two schemes: one for contemporary cases and one for historical cases, with slightly different eligibility criteria. Broadly speaking, we are able to assist UKregistered businesses, trusts, charities, friendly societies and co-operative societies which have an unresolved complaint against one of the banks participating in the BBRS. A customer must first have complained to their bank and given them the opportunity to resolve the issue prior to bringing it to the BBRS. Our contemporary scheme covers cases for the period from 1 April 2019 onwards: it is for businesses with a turnover of less than £10 million per annum and a balance sheet of less than £7.5 million. The complaint must not be, or have been, eligible for the Financial Ombudsman Service. As we have been carefully designed to dovetail with the Financial Ombudsman Service, the applicable criteria for the historical scheme, depend on when the alleged act or omission by the bank occurred: • For the period from 1 December 2001 to 31 October 2009: businesses with a turnover of at least £1 million but less than £6.5 million per annum and a balance sheet of less than £5 million may be eligible. • For the period from 1 November 2009 to 31 March 2019: businesses with a turnover of more than €2 million (to reflect the European definition of ‘SME’) but less than £6.5 million per annum, and a balance sheet of more than €2 million but less than £5 million may be eligible. The BBRS’s criteria do not include employee numbers, but as the Financial Ombudsman does take this into account, SMEs with complaints made on or after 1 November 2009 and a turnover and annual balance sheet each of less than €2 million may also be eligible for the BBRS if they employed 10 or more persons. The BBRS is unique in several ways, but perhaps most interesting is its concessionary case process. This process means that we may, in some circumstances, be able to look at complaints even though they are technically ineligible for the scheme. Broadly speaking, this would apply to cases that fall slightly outside our eligibility criteria but we consider worthy of attention and so ask for the relevant bank’s consent to do so, or to cases that have already been through independent review schemes but have new evidence which was not previously considered. Our eligibility criteria are far from straightforward, and we would advise anyone with clients who could be eligible to register them for the service. Solicitors are valuable intermediaries for us, and we have already seen a number of customers with representation. How does the BBRS work with businesses and banks to effectively resolve disputes? The service has been designed to be easy to access, empathetic and flexible in its My judicial experience has shown me that the fabled ‘day in court’ is often a disappointment for parties hoping to tell their story.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mjk3Mzkz