Couple lose legal appeal

The rejection of a couple’s complaint that a bank breached a loan contract by increasing the variable rate on their mortgages was a correct decision, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

Last September, the High Court ordered the financial services ombudsman to reconsider the complaint by Kenneth and Donna Millar, Strand Road, Portmarnock, Co Dublin. The Court of Appeal yesterday said the ombudsman was correct in his decision rejecting the complaint.

It overturned the High Court decision after finding the Millars had sought to put “a contrived construction” on certain words in the loan agreement. The Millars have a home mortgage and six other buy-to-let investor mortgages on variable rates with Danske Bank, with a value of about €1.5m.