Misrepresentation Claim Calculator UK 2026 — Rescission, Damages & Your Rights
Misrepresentation is a false statement of fact that induces you to enter a contract. If you bought a property, business, car, or entered any agreement based on false information provided by the other party, you may have a claim under the Misrepresentation Act 1967 or in common law. This calculator assesses your claim and estimates what you could recover.
Misrepresentation Act 1967: damages available for negligent and innocent misrepresentation. Fraudulent: all consequential losses recoverable. Limitation: 6 years from contract, or (for fraud) from discovery. Rescission may be barred if: third party rights acquired; too much time has passed; or affirming conduct. Take legal advice before contacting the other party.
The Three Types of Misrepresentation
| Type | What it means | Remedy | Burden of proof |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fraudulent | Known to be false, or made recklessly without belief in truth | Rescission + all direct and consequential losses | Claimant must prove dishonesty |
| Negligent (s.2(1) MA 1967) | False, and no reasonable grounds for belief it was true | Rescission + damages (as if fraudulent) | Representor must disprove negligence |
| Innocent (s.2(2) MA 1967) | False, but honest and reasonable belief in truth | Rescission (court may award damages in lieu) | Damages at court’s discretion only |
Rescission — What It Means and When It Is Available
Rescission means unwinding the contract entirely — you return what you received and the other party returns what they received. It is the most powerful remedy as it puts you back to where you were before the contract. However, rescission is not always available:
- Affirmation — if, once you discover the misrepresentation, you continue to perform the contract or treat it as subsisting, you may affirm it and lose the right to rescind.
- Lapse of time — for innocent misrepresentation, the right to rescind may be lost if too long has passed.
- Third party rights — if an innocent third party has acquired rights in the subject matter (e.g. purchased the property from you), rescission may be impossible.
- Restitution impossible — if the property has been significantly altered, consumed, or destroyed, full restitution may not be possible (but partial rescission and adjustment is sometimes available).
Property Misrepresentation Claims
Property sales are a common source of misrepresentation claims. The seller must complete a TA6 Property Information Form truthfully. False statements about: planning permissions; neighbour disputes; known defects; flooding history; building works; environmental issues; or any other material matter can give rise to a misrepresentation claim. Solicitors’ negligence is a separate issue if the buyer’s solicitor failed to identify a disclosed problem.
Damages — What You Can Actually Recover
The measure of damages available depends on which type of misrepresentation you're claiming, and this matters significantly for the final value of a claim. For fraudulent misrepresentation, damages are assessed generously — you're entitled to recover all losses that flow directly from the misrepresentation, even losses that weren't reasonably foreseeable at the time, reflecting the seriousness of a deliberate deception. For negligent misrepresentation (whether under the Misrepresentation Act 1967 or common law negligence), damages are also assessed on a similar, relatively generous tortious basis. Innocent misrepresentation is treated most cautiously — the primary remedy is rescission (unwinding the contract) rather than damages, though a court has discretion to award damages instead of rescission where rescission would be impractical or disproportionate, such as where a property has since been substantially altered or resold.
Time Limits for Bringing a Misrepresentation Claim
The standard limitation period for a misrepresentation claim is six years from the date the contract was entered into (for a claim in contract or under the Misrepresentation Act) or six years from when the loss was suffered (for a claim in the tort of deceit or negligence), though this can be extended in cases involving fraud or where the misrepresentation was deliberately concealed, since the clock in fraud cases generally doesn't start running until you discovered, or reasonably could have discovered, the deception. Given how fact-specific these time limits can be — and how much depends on exactly when you knew or ought to have known about the misrepresentation — it's worth getting advice promptly once you suspect you've been misled, rather than assuming you automatically have the full six years from the contract date in every case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pre-contractual representations (made before the contract is signed) can be misrepresentations even if the contract is later signed “subject to contract.” What matters is whether the false statement of fact induced you to enter the final contract. Entire agreement clauses in the contract sometimes attempt to exclude liability for pre-contractual misrepresentations, but these are subject to the reasonableness test under UCTA 1977 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
Yes, if you bought from a dealer (not a private seller). A dealer who misrepresents a car’s condition, mileage, service history, or ownership is liable under both the Misrepresentation Act 1967 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (goods must be as described). Private sellers have more limited liability — they are liable for fraud and misrepresentation if they make false statements, but the Consumer Rights Act only applies to business sellers.
A misrepresentation is a false statement of fact that induced you to enter the contract in the first place, whereas a breach of contract is a failure to perform an actual term of the contract itself once it exists. The two often overlap in practice — a false pre-contract statement can sometimes also become an express contractual term, giving you a choice of legal routes with different remedies available — but they're legally distinct claims, and which one (or both) applies can significantly affect what you're able to recover and how the claim is best framed.
Not entirely, and not automatically. Under the Misrepresentation Act 1967, any clause attempting to exclude or restrict liability for misrepresentation is only enforceable to the extent it satisfies the "reasonableness" test under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 — a court can and does strike down exclusion clauses it considers unreasonable, particularly in consumer contracts or where the imbalance of bargaining power between the parties was significant. A business cannot simply insert a clause disclaiming all pre-contract statements and expect it to automatically defeat a genuine misrepresentation claim.