Barings Law continues to prepare for the Court of Appeal hearing in Angel and Others v Black Horse Limited and Others, to be heard on 22-23 April 2026.

The conjoined appeals are brought by the Defendants in those proceedings and concern the application of rule 7.3 of the Civil Procedure Rules, and whether the claims are properly issued as ‘Omnibus Claims’. The High Court judgment obtained by Barings Law in these proceedings represents a significant development in civil class action law, promoting access to justice for thousands of Claimants.

The firm is also preparing for the publication and finalisation of the proposed Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) redress scheme. The FCA announced on 3 December that the pause on lenders responding to commission complaints will end on 31 May 2026.

The FCA also announced that, should the scheme be implemented, the final scheme rules will be published in either February or March 2026.  These are positive developments, particularly regarding the lifting of the pause, which has been brought forward from 31 July 2026.

Barings Law are continuing to submit our clients’ commission complaints to lenders, seeking confirmation of the commission amounts and models before any such scheme is finalised. For those complaints already submitted, we remain mindful of the various commission models used by lenders and that multiple commissions are often paid by lenders to dealerships/brokers for individual credit agreements. We are committed to ensuring all commission payments have been disclosed, to maximise the recovered amounts for our clients.

In 2025, our Affordability department continued to make strong progress in addressing complaints about unaffordable motor finance agreements. Our work has focused on challenging lending decisions where finance should never have been approved, ensuring lenders are held accountable for failing to carry out proper affordability checks.

As a result, we have secured redress for many clients, including the refund of interest and charges and the removal of negative credit markers. One example is Rhys, who was awarded £10,748 after his complaint was successfully resolved.

We are grateful to our clients for placing their trust in us throughout the process. As this area of law continues to develop, we remain committed to supporting claimants and look forward to securing further positive outcomes in 2026.

You can view more of our successful Affordability cases by clicking here.

We continue to act for individuals affected by the highly sensitive Afghan Ministry of Defence data breach, which has been in the public spotlight following our work in lifting a super injunction that had restricted reporting on the matter. The breach, which involved the disclosure of personal information linked to Afghan nationals who assisted UK forces, has raised serious concerns about data handling, safety, and accountability.

Our team has been working closely with affected clients and is now in the final stages of categorising claims. This is an essential step before formally engaging with the Ministry of Defence. We ensure that each client’s circumstances are accurately assessed and that the claim is progressed in the most effective way. The breach has now been widely reported, including in a recent Financial Times article. This coverage reflects the growing scrutiny and significance of the case.

Across a number of our other data breach claims, several matters, including those involving Capita, Zellis, South Staffs Water and SSCL, have progressed through key court stages, including case management hearings, service of formal court documents, and compliance with court-ordered directions. Several of these matters are now firmly within the court timetable, with hearing dates set or awaiting setting.

Alongside court activity, we are progressing claims through strategic pre-action and evidence-gathering stages. This includes final preparations for issuing proceedings against Arnold Clark, expanding the claimant cohort where breaches affect large groups, and collating detailed client evidence in claims against SkyBet and other gambling companies, ahead of formal engagement with defendants. Additionally, we are carefully considering the next steps in our data misuse claims against Google and Microsoft.

We are actively progressing Covid-19 Business Interruption claims to fully protect our clients’ interests across various policy types.

Radius and Public Emergency claims are moving toward settlement, with discussions focusing on insurance policy triggers (events that activate coverage), loss periods (the specific periods during which losses occur), and supporting evidence. We ensure all relevant factors, including lockdowns and government restrictions, are considered to achieve strong outcomes.

Legal clarity in “At the Premises” claims followed the Supreme Court’s refusal to allow an appeal. We are advocating for sufficient evidence and pursuing several liability arguments with multiple insurers.

For AA, Denial of Access, and Bomb Hoax clauses, some client groups have reached or are nearing settlement, while others are in ongoing legal or insurer discussions. We are streamlining overlapping claims to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Recent months have brought progress in many claims, with multiple interim and final settlements. We remain focused on strategic advancement, legal support, and securing the best results for clients.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Johnson and Others v FirstRand Bank Limited [UKSC/2024/0158], handed down on 1 August, all previously paused undisclosed commission claims are now progressing through the courts. Although Johnson dealt with car finance, its impact on secured loan commission claims is now being tested.

While the decision in Johnson has provided further clarity in instances of undisclosed commissions, several important questions remain unresolved. These include how high a commission must be before it creates an unfair relationship, and when a consumer should be regarded as commercially sophisticated enough to understand commission arrangements. These issues will need to be resolved through further litigation.

At present, lenders are not offering appropriate settlements on undisclosed commission claims relating to secured loans. However, we continue to secure strong settlements for clients on other arguments, including PPI-related commission issues and unfair interest rate charges.

We remain fully committed to assessing each case with care and advancing every claim as robustly as possible. Our priority is always to achieve the best outcomes for our clients and we will continue to keep you informed as developments unfold.

We continue to represent clients whose pension provisions have suffered significant financial losses.

Our clients have engaged with unregistered advisers or received unsuitable advice to transfer their pension benefits into high-risk investments and/or schemes. Retirement security for our clients is at the forefront of our work, and we continue to prioritise holding those responsible for pension transfers accountable for any financial harm caused by clients acting upon their advice.

We are pleased to report that our team has recently secured successful outcomes for a number of affected clients. These outcomes have included both cash compensation settlements and the reinstatement of pension benefits, helping to restore their financial stability and confidence. We will continue to work diligently to ensure clients receive the redress they deserve.

We will continue to pursue all available avenues to recover our clients’ losses, challenge misconduct and negligence and support those trying to navigate the often-complex landscape of pension remediation.

Barings Law continues to represent clients that have suffered significant financial losses because of sophisticated scam operations.

The department continues to see high quantum upholds directly from both banks and the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). With the support and intervention of the FOS, we have seen a notable rise in successful outcomes for complex claims brought against banks and have secured substantial cash compensation awards.

These results demonstrate our unwavering dedication to achieving fair and just solutions for those affected by fraudulent activities. Our dedicated team of legal experts will continue to work tirelessly to recover lost funds and provide much-needed support and assistance to our clients.

Barings Law’s Irresponsible Lending department is continuing to represent thousands of claimants that have fallen victim to irresponsible lending practices, resulting in significant financial harm to their customers.

This quarter, the department has continued to see upholds, directly from lenders and at both Stage 1 and Stage 2, from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Notably, we have seen numerous upholds directly from the FOS for lenders’ failure to conduct proportionate creditworthiness and affordability checks, resulting in awards of interest and associated charges being refunded to our clients.

In the new year, we will continue to work diligently to ensure our clients receive the compensation they deserve, helping to restore their financial security.

Our Immigration department continues to provide dedicated support to clients navigating complex immigration, human rights, and protection issues. Our team works closely with clients, authorities, and relevant agencies to ensure cases are handled efficiently and that our clients’ rights are fully represented.

Some of our most notable cases over the last quarter included judicial review challenges against the Home Office, where clients’ human rights claims were reconsidered following consent orders, trafficking and protection claims for clients at risk of exploitation, and urgent interventions to cancel removal directions while ensuring safeguarding measures were put in place.

We also continue to manage several appeals before the First-tier Tribunal, including asylum and human rights matters. While delays in Tribunal listings remain beyond our control, we are actively progressing each case and providing ongoing guidance and support to clients throughout the process.

We have successfully secured refunds for clients who were charged for services that were either not delivered or could not be evidenced. Two of our clients are a husband and wife who were awarded settlements of £5,500 and £8,400 respectively. Their advisers had failed to carry out the agreed annual financial reviews, or cannot provide evidence that such reviews have taken place.

We are continuing to negotiate with defendants including St James’ Place who have proposed a number of settlement offers. We are engaging in discussions to revise the terms of these settlements with the objective of securing the most favourable payments for our clients in mind.

We will continue to challenge improper practices by financial advisers who don’t meet their obligations and ensure that our clients are treated fairly.