Upheld: misrepresentation and unfair credit relationship complaint against Shawbrook Bank Limited
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6307603 of 2026-04-23T00:00:00+00:00. misrepresentation and unfair credit relationship complaint against Shawbrook Bank Limited. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6307603 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-04-23T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Shawbrook Bank Limited |
| Product | loan |
| Claim type | misrepresentation and unfair credit relationship |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | The Lender must: (1) Refund all repayments made by Mrs C under the Credit Agreement and cancel any outstanding balance; (2) Refund the difference between Fractional Club annual management charges and what European Collection charges would have been; (3) Deduct the value of promotional giveaways used and the market value of holidays taken using Fractional Points in excess of European Collection Points entitlement; (4) Add simple interest at 8% per annum to each net repayment from the date made until settlement; (5) Remove adverse credit file information related to the Credit Agreement within six years; (6) Indemnify Mrs C against all ongoing liabilities from Fractional Club membership if she agrees to hold the benefit of the Allocated Property interest for the Lender. |
Summary
Mrs C and Mr C, aged 74 and 80 respectively, purchased Fractional Club membership in April 2013 for £63,538, financing £30,000 through a loan from Shawbrook Bank Limited. They were motivated by the belief that this was their only way to exit their existing timeshare commitment before 2054, with the Fractional Club membership lasting only 15 years. However, the ombudsman found that Mrs C was not informed of the Exceptional Circumstances Policy under her European Collection membership, which would have allowed her to exit at no cost given her advanced age and Mr C's health problems. The ombudsman concluded that this misrepresentation caused Mrs C to enter into the Credit Agreement when she otherwise would not have done so, making the credit relationship unfair under Section 140A of the CCA. The Lender was directed to refund all repayments, cancel the outstanding balance, refund excess management charges, add interest, and remove adverse credit file information.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that Mrs C's primary motivation for purchasing Fractional Club membership was to obtain a shorter 15-year membership term compared to the 41-year European Collection membership, driven by her and Mr C's advanced ages and health concerns. The Supplier failed to inform Mrs C that she could exit her European Collection membership under the Exceptional Circumstances Policy at no cost, given that Mr C was over 75 years old with health problems and their children did not wish to inherit the membership. Had Mrs C been aware of this option, she would not have entered into the Purchase Agreement or the Credit Agreement. This omission constitutes a misrepresentation that created an unfair relationship between Mrs C and the Lender under Section 140A of the CCA and gave Mrs C a valid claim under Section 75 of the CCA.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Shawbrook Bank Limited, all decisions | 2,486 | 17% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website