In short, yes they can do this and no you can not claim it back. The FSA does not clearly state how APR should be calcualted and Swift do include the Lender Fee/Broker Fee onto the loan before working out the APR. This compounds your payment. You can work this out uisng Microsoft Spreadsheet using the (APR-(monthly rate * 12)*loan amount) to give the total fees.

Customers looking for a low rate loan do not understand that their broker has placed money upfront on their behalf. For example, some broker are paying upfront fees for BSQ (Building Society Questionnaire) at £98, Valuations from £85 up to £250 and first charge consent forms at £100. This means that your broker has paid on average £280 before your application is sent to the lender. If the application fails your broker will incur this deficit.

Ok I am going to give it a go. I will submit a "Subject Access Request" for information on every statment they have on me so I can find out how much they charged me. PS I was with RBOS from 8yr till 21yr!! Little story: 6 years ago I was a student (i.e. skint) and I was talking my brother out for a beer. On arrival to the cash point I found that RBOS had charged me £60 dabs for nothing! (story short - my dad gave me money). I went in the next day and said "If you can tell me what it is for you can have it!". After 20 minutes the manager deposited the £60 back into my account. I will keep you all posted.