FIN.

Court finds no MCOB breach by lender on self-certified loan

A Court has found in favour of the lender in a case brought by a couple who entered into a 5 year interest only loan through a broker, which they met repayments on but were ultimately unable to repay the capital. The claimants said that the lender, Godiva, should have realised that a claim on the application form that each claimant earned £100,000 could not be true. The lender claimed that it owed no advisory duties as the claimants had applied through a broker, and had complied with its duties under MCOB. The judge found it likely that the broker had inserted the incorrect figures, which the claimant had noted and asked the broker to remove – and then submitted the form with the figures still intact.  The judge found that the figures were not of themselves unbelievable, and found in favour of the lender, while criticising the broker and ordering a copy of the judgment to be provided to FCA.

Emma Radmore