Car dealer sues Lloyds for £18m

A CAR importer is suing Lloyds TSB for £18m, claiming that his business is on the brink of collapse because the bank overcharged him.

James Stewart, whose Blackpool-based firm Eurocar Direct imports cars from the Continent, opened an account to hold customers' money before it was paid to suppliers.

Stewart claims that between March 1999, when Eurocar was launched, and March 2001, Lloyds' branch in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, used a higher than agreed exchange rate for payments from the account. The extra cost - more than £100,000, according to Stewart - was deducted from Eurocar's main account, and net profits fell from £218,000 to £87,000.

In March 2001, Lloyds agreed to amend the exchange rate and repaid Eurocar £65,000. But Stewart claims that the company has never recovered from the 'catastrophic' effects of the row.

Lloyds said: 'We resolved Mr Stewart's concerns a year ago. We do not believe he has any case.'