Daphne disputed this but was unable to resolve the matter and asked us to investigate.

Our investigation

We reviewed the loan contract and its terms and conditions, neither of which referred to the staff discount or the bank's ability to change the interest rate based on employment. We asked the bank to explain what it was relying on to alter Daphne’s rate. It could not point to any document and accepted this condition was not in the loan contract or terms and conditions.

Outcome

The bank agreed to reinstate the original interest rate and refund the extra interest Daphne had paid since the increase.