A 2021 survey of 750 small business leaders, conducted on behalf of the Business Banking Resolution Service, found that 44% of SMEs would be most likely to go to their accountants for advice on business banking. But did you know that you or your clients may be entitled to free support?

The Business Banking Resolution Service (BBRS) is a not-for-profit dispute resolution scheme established to resolve disputes between small businesses and banks. The service has been open since 2021 and is scheduled to close on 13 December 2024, meaning SMEs have less than three months left to register their complaints.

According to its most recent data, 150 cases have been resolved by the BBRS as of 30 June 2024 through adjudication, conciliation, mediation or settlement. The main areas of complaint the BBRS has received concerned loans, property valuations, personal guarantees, fraud, administration issues and account closures.

One anonymous recipient of advice, a director of an agricultural business, contacted the BBRS after a loan they agreed to was later found to be unsuitable. This led to financial difficulties, threatening the survival of the business. Attempts to resolve this banking issue through other routes had proved unsuccessful.

Thanks to help from the BBRS, the business was able to renegotiate the loan agreement. The complaint was presented to the bank as a concessionary case and both the bank and the customer agreed a way forward through talks, with the parties able to retain an effective business banking relationship.

The recipient said that the BBRS’s approach represented a “breath of fresh air” from previous dispute resolution experiences. In particular he praised the work of the customer champion, who listened and took the time to understand the facts, offering “amazing support” while remaining impartial and managing expectations.

Checking to see if the BBRS can help is easy and can be done by completing a short form on the BBRS website. Eligibility criteria can also be found here, but in summary include:

• A business turnover of less than £10m at the time an SME owner complained to their bank, and above the threshold of £6.5m (below this threshold would normally qualify SMEs to use the Financial Ombudsman Service).
• The issue must relate to a business banking complaint against one of the seven participating banks.
• The incident complained about must have taken place on or after 1 April 2019.
• The complaint must not have been through litigation or have been settled already.

The BBRS is a free, independent dispute resolution service for SME customers of Barclays Bank, Danske Bank, HSBC UK, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest Group, Santander and Virgin Money. Wholly funded by these banks, it was set to close to new registrations in 2023, but was given a temporary extension, which is now coming to an end. 

Dirk Paterson, Customer Director at the BBRS says: “We want to make sure as many businesses as possible know about this free, independent service so they can resolve any outstanding issues with their banks.

“SMEs should contact us to find out whether they are eligible for our help before we close to new registrations on 13 December this year.

“This free service provided by the BBRS has enabled a significant number of SMEs to achieve resolutions and we don’t want any eligible businesses to miss out on this opportunity.”

SMEs can register with the BBRS online.