Bank Notes

C - Credit references

30/10/14

GRACE v BLACK HORSE LIMITED [2014] EWCA Civ 1413

Whether a credit agreement is temporarily or irredeemably unenforceable by virtue of non-compliance with the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the underlying agreement is not void but remains in place together with its rights and obligations (McGuffick v RBS, 2009 applied). Nevertheless, in the case of an irredeemably unenforceable agreement it is not accurate to describe the debtor as a defaulter in the records of a credit reference agency, without at least recording the unenforceability of the agreement in the same entry. To do so was a breach of statutory duty under the Data Protection Act 1998. Whether the same applies when the agreement is only temporarily unenforceable was left open for decision in a suitable case.

30/7/14

PLAYBOY CLUB LONDON LTD v BANCA NATIONALE DEL LAVORO SPA [2014] EWHC 2613 (QB)

A bank was liable in negligence for an inaccurate reference to a casino confirming that an individual was trustworthy for £1.6m in any week. The issue of the reference was sufficiently closely connected with the role of the employee who provided it, to be regarded as issued in the course of her employment. The damages to which the claimant was entitled were reduced for contributory negligence in failing to examine more carefully cheques presented to it which turned out to be false.

20/2/13

SMEATON v EQUIFAX PLC [2013] EWCA Civ 108

The claimant's credit file with the defendant wrongly showed the claimant was bankrupt, when the bankruptcy order had been rescinded. The claimant claimed compensation from the defendant under s 13 Data Protection Act 1998 on the basis that he had been unable to raise finance for his company. The claim failed principally for lack of causation because the credit file contained other items of adverse information correctly registered. But the defendant had not breached its duty to take reasonable care to ensure the accuracy of its data. Current legislation does not provide for advertisement of annulments and rescissions of bankruptcy orders and it was unreasonable to expect credit reference agencies to lobby for change. Nor do credit reference agencies assume a duty of care in tort to persons whose data they hold.

14/1/13

GATT v BARCLAYS BANK PLC [2013] EWHC 2 (QB)

A bank was not liable for breach of contract, negligence and defamation for filing reports with credit reference agencies describing an account as delinquent. The account had been overdrawn in excess of an agreed limit.