FundingSecure faces fresh ‘secret commission’ claim
FundingSecure is facing a fresh ‘secret commission’ allegation from borrowers as part of ongoing legal action against the collapsed peer-to-peer lending platform.
According to The Mouse in the Court blog, two borrowers, Fahmida Anwar and Ruxana Begum, submitted an application to the High Court in Manchester this week to add a counterclaim of an alleged ‘secret commission’ payment ahead of a trial this Autumn.
It is understood they borrowed about £78,000 from FundingSecure in a second charge loan secured against a two-bedroom flat in a five storey block in London, with the loan expected to have ended on 31 August 2018.
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The Mouse in the Court said that a similar allegation of ‘secret commission’ was previously made by a different FundingSecure borrower as part of legal proceedings in Coventry.
In the Coventry case, court documents reportedly said that a commission of £11,300 was paid to the borrowers’ broker without their knowledge or consent.
As a result it was expected to be argued that the borrowers were entitled to an order for cancellation of the mortgage, but the case was settled prior to trial.
Meanwhile, the latest ‘secret commission’ counterclaim in Manchester has been listed in a three-day-trial window beginning on 5 September 2022, with a pre-trial review forecasted to be held in August, according to the blog.
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FundingSecure closed in October 2019 and CG&Co was appointed as administrator. In May last year, the administrators halted interim payments to investors after receiving a claim from a creditor relating to money in the client account under a legal term called a ‘quistclose trust’.
In the latest update in November, the administrators said they have sought advice regarding the return of investor funds, with payments still suspended while a legal claim to a creditor was ongoing.