Mortgage Mis-calculations

These claims should, in theory at least, be relatively straightforward claims. If you were charged more in interest and fees than was permitted under the mortgage agreement, then you should be able to claim the overcharges back plus interest. However, reports suggest that although this was a widespread concern, dating back to the 2000s, the impact on most customers was relatively small and amounted to the low hundreds of pounds per individual.

There are similar rules on time limits for bringing these type of claims which are, generally speaking, 6 years from the breach of the agreement. Usually a forensic accountant is able to identify these errors and calculate the losses claimed and the point at which the error occurred.

However, since many of these claims have been going on for years, it is suggestive that either the claims are out of time and or there are issues with the expert evidence obtained. We are going to review these cases and assess the expert evidence obtained to determine whether the claims have merits. It is quite possible that we will need to obtain a new expert report in order to advise you of the merits of your claim and your funders have agreed in principle that they will fund this expense for you.

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Clear Law

We are a consumer litigation practice with substantial experience of dealing with contested litigation, including mis-selling and undisclosed commissions. We are a panel member of Recovery First.We have been involved in a number of these type of projects with Recovery First. In some cases, firms have undergone a managed closure of a part or whole of their practice. In those cases the transition for clients is smooth as they are well informed and an introduction to the new firm takes place over a period of time, allowing clients to adjust to the idea that their firm is no longer able to act for them.

In other circumstances, such as insolvency, there can be a feeling of disruption and abandonment.

Do not worry, your file will be protected and it will be reviewed over the course of the next 12 weeks. You will be kept informed during this review process by email.

This is an essential first step and at the end of this process you will be provided with advice about how your claim can proceed. You will find links on the case specific pages on Mortgage Mis-selling, Mortgage Mis-calculations, Undisclosed commissions and Data Breach which will enable you to make an enquiry if you wish.

Your Claim

Clear Law is a litigation practice, acting mainly for individuals across a wide range of disciplines. We have had substantial success in areas of financial mis-selling in particular involving secret commissions successfully acting for more than 6,000 clients (both individual and commercial) in our sister company Clear Commercial. The most successful group action saw a return of £21m.

Our experts

Darren Gray

A "diligent and effective" solicitor in Commercial and Banking litigation.

Darren has 15 years’ experience in the following specific areas of litigation:

  • Group Actions (both bringing and defending – mainly against financial institutions)
  • Supervision of search orders
  • Civil fraud, freezing orders and asset recovery
  • Employment related commercial disputes, eg springboard injunctions
  • Construction disputes
  • Breach of contract
  • Breach of directors’ duties, shareholder and partnership disputes
  • Professional negligence
  • Judicial review
  • Insurance disputes (both for and against insurers)
  • Sports Law
  • Catastrophic injury

Current and Recent Work

Sports Litigation

Unnamed -v- Liverpool Football Club – Darren acted for a schoolboy and his family in a claim against Liverpool Football Club and the Premier League arising out of an alleged breach of contract following Liverpool Football Club's breach of Premier League rules for which they received an unprecedented fine and ban. This attracted significant media attention:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/04/11/liverpool-told-father-youth-signing-lie-tapping-cover-up-scandal http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/04/06/liverpool-tapping-up-row-intensifies-stoke-chairman-also-seeking http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/04/05/liverpool-banned-signing-academy-players-two-years-illegal-approach
Hopkins –v- (1) Pullen (2) Taylor T/A Ippon Judo Club CC Preston 08/12/2005 – successful defence of a claim before a high court judge against a judo club arising out of a serious injury that occurred with a novice in their first training session. Expert evidence obtained from Neil Adams MBE.
Machin –v- Trentham Gardens (unreported) – successful defence of a catastrophic injury claim arising from a mountain biking accident whilst the claimant was trespassing on the defendant’s land.
Lake –v- Warwick Racecourse (unreported) – successful defence of a racecourse following a claim brought by a jockey for a career ending injury arising from alleged defective design of the racecourse.

Banking and Group Litigation

He has successfully pursued a Group Action and established a compensation scheme with a lender. In excess of 6,000 cases were pursued through the scheme and in excess of £21m was recovered. Darren has also successfully pursued and is pursuing several other Group Actions against lenders arising from allegations of fraud, a breach of fiduciary duty and a breach of the “unfair relationship” provisions of the Consumer Credit Act.

(1) Sinclair Collis Ltd (2) National Association of Cigarette Machine Operators (NACMO) –v- Secretary of State for Health [2011] EWCA Civ 437 – lead junior for the interested party, NACMO, in a judicial review against the government’s plans to ban cigarette vending machines in the UK.
Colour Quest Limited –v- (1) Total Downstream UK Plc (2) Total UK Limited (3) HOSL [2010] EWCA Civ 180 – lead junior acting for the defendants in litigation arising from the explosion at the Buncefield Oil Storage Terminal in 2005. Headed up teams across two firms in an electronic disclosure exercise that involved the investigation and review of c 2m documents.

Construction Litigation

Co-operative Group Limited –v- Birse Developments Limited & Others [2014] EWHC 530 (TCC) – lead junior for the claimants acting in a claim arising out of defective works for a warehouse.
Cleveland Bridge UK Limited –v- Severfield-Rowen Structures Limited [2012] EWHC 3652 (TCC) – lead junior for the defendant in a claim brought against it for alleged delays arising out of the construction of the Shard.

Other experience:

Darren has executed and supervised search orders arising out of claims involved intellectual property breaches. He has also been interviewed on Setanta Sports providing expert legal comment on a high profile football injury involving Iain Hume and Chris Morgan in a Championship game. He has written numerous articles and provided commentary on insurance and EU law issues related to the world of sport.

Darren is a member of the Commercial Litigation Association and the Annecto Group and has been recommended in the Legal 500 as 'diligent and effective'.

Matthew Corbett

Matthew is Managing Partner of the firm.

Since being admitted as a solicitor in 2002, Matthew has gained vast experience is a range of civil litigation resulting in him taking the decision to start his own firm in 2004. From the beginning he has been integral in overseeing the growth and success of the firm in both the consumer and commercial departments.

Andrew Kwan

Andrew manages the Legal department, contributing to the overall growth and development of the practice, whilst maintaining Clear Law's ethical client and staff focussed approach.

Putting people first is one of Clear Law's core values. This means working to obtain plain English approval, being committed to quality, reassuring our clients when they need help, being accessible and client focussed, training and developing our staff, maintaining our Lexcel, IIP, Apil and Law Society accreditations, and becoming ever more environmentally and corporately responsible.