Pete, thanks for the update, fully agree with your posting with particular reference to Barclays paperwork. What paperwork? We cannot find any! Also very interested in your comment that "interest rate swaps" are only suitable to sell to investment professionals. I would agree, we have been seeking verbal confirmation of our position and each request is met with the i'm not sure i'll have to get back to you routine. Hardly the what you would expect given the complicated nature of this product. What is apparent is that we were sold this product by individuals employed by a bank that we trusted who obviously did not fully understand the product that they were selling and the full implications of the product and how it would alter their security. Can you please advise where i can find more information regarding the Financial Service Marketing Act with specific reference to the sale of this product? I am absolutely convinced that we will hear from other individuals/companies that have also been sold this product, it having not been fully explained to them. Mark

Pete, just to confirm that we entered rate swap to hedge our interest on business loans. No problem with that and no problem that due to drop in interest rates that we are now paying out on this basis. However it was never explained that this created a potential liability i.e £800k? based over the life of the swap. The bank encouraged it as a move that was prudent,and reduced our interest rate on overdraft facility as a REWARD for being prudent. Bank manager and local director were made redundant on same day and now surprise, surprise we have a problem as this has created an issue with bank over "loan to value" to the business. Just for the record we have banked with Barclays for twenty years, we are solvent and still looking to expand even given the current difficult market. Surely we cannot be the only business that has experienced a problem as a result of being encouraged to be prudent by BARCLAYS CAPITAL! Again i would confirm to all members that the issue is not that the interest rates have dropped, and that this requires the business to pay out. It is the clear fact that until our meeting this week with the bank no one and i mean no one ever explained the full extent of the liability that the interest rate swap created such a liability. I am certain that they did not fully understand what it was they encouraged us to commit to, the paper work on file makes no reference to the creation of any long term liability. Can you confirm? (ISDA Master Agreement Based)....not familiar with this. Thanks Mark

Hi Pete, we also have a problem with a rate swap sold to us by Barclays Capital. I cannot believe that we are the only two with a problem relating to this product. Not sure what we are going to do about it yet. Just in the process of getting some legal advice. Mark