In the wake of the 2008 financial crash, builders and developers were left with large loans from Dunbar Bank which they were unable to repay. Instead of offering support, customers claim the bank was ruthless in its pursuit to recoup the money. But did Dunbar Bank act unreasonably?

Days after the death of his wife Pauline in March 2013, property developer Ric Francis received a letter from Dunbar's receivers. The couple were already engaged in a legal battle with the bank after Dunbar, a part of the Zurich group, had demanded they repay in full a £10m loan, when the fresh correspondence arrived. "They demanded her wedding ring, watch, personal belongings, personal jewellery; basically what belonged to Pauline," he said. For more than 20 years Mr and Mrs Francis, of Thornham in Norfolk, had borrowed money from Dunbar while developing projects like Hartford Marina in Huntingdon. But after the financial crash, Mr Franics says Dunbar froze their accounts and launched bankruptcy proceedings against the couple when they could not repay the loan.........Read more here