Mortgage Exit Fees discussion

dollydoodah wrote:

Could anyone tell me the Halifax fees in 1998 (when I took the mortgage out), and 2004 when I changed lender? They have given me £60 but I am sure the difference should be more than that.....only shredded paperwork a couple of weeks ago as well!

Thanks

According to the Halifax it was £40 in 1999, so I would not expect it to have been higher in 1998.

DD

libbyliberty wrote:

I have checked my mortgage offer and no where does it mention any mortgage discharge fees yet I have been charged £250 when I settled the mortgage in December 06. I telephoned Northern Rock who said that I will be given a £55 refund as the fee was only £195 when I took the mortgage out. What I am confused about is how I can be charged any fee at all when no fee is mentioned in my offer letter. The lady at Northern Rock said it was shown on a leaflet when I took out the mortgage but I do not see how this can be leaglly binding when there was no mention of it in any offer letter and I have no proof that I ever received this leaflet.

Please advise if you can

Depending when you took out your mortgage, the existence of MEAFs (previously called sealing fees, mortgage discharge fees, redemption admin charges and various other things) will have been notified to you as follows:

- in the "olden" days: your mortgage conditions (issued to you or your solicitor along with the offer) will have mentioned the existence of the fees but not named the amount; the amount will have been shown in a fees leaflet issued to you with the offer and/or immediately after completion and with each annual statement. Advertising material for the mortgage product would have included the APR which would be calculated on the basis of a total amount payable which would have been itemised; this total amount payable would have included (and explicitly referred to) any end-of-mortgage fees.
- since Mortgage Regulation (31 October 2004): your Key Facts Illustration document will clearly show the fees, using the standard name "MEAF" and disclosing the amount. Lenders will also have listed the fee in their fees leaflets issued along with annual statements, which is the means by which they sought to increase them and which aspect the FSA have effectively banned.

As I've posted previously, virtually the only lender of any size which introduced end-of-mortgage fees where they previously had none at all was Nationwide Building Society.

Hi,

I spoke to Halifax yesterday on their 0845 no. and they agreed to refund the difference between the original MEAF of £40 (mortgage taken out in 1996) and the actual MEAF charged in 2003 of £75. My problem was that it was a joint mortgage with my exOH, so technically he's entitled to half the refund. I felt that I'd better be honest and tell them that we split in 2003, and they told me firstly, that the person who made the phone call got the whole refund, then they quickly changed their mind and said that they had to split the refund 50/50. They're going to send me 2 cheques for £17.50, one for me and one for OH. Since he's been absolutely foul to me and our kids, both emotionally and financially, I feel reluctant pass the cheque onto him. I know it's wrong and it's only a small amount, but he's doing v. well in his new job and we're living a difficult existence counting every penny.

Should I do the right thing?

WNBRich wrote:

Hi,

Should I do the right thing?

Why should he benefit from your efforts? Personally, I'd bin the cheque that is made out to him and not mention it to him. If he wants the £17.50, he'll have to do the research and make the phone calls himself.

CitySlicker wrote:

A question I'd like to know now is my current mortgage provider, who I signed up with last year, clearly want £125 as a MEAF. I signed up to this, but in mind of the FSA crackdown is it likely this will have to come down for every lender and every customer?

The FSA crackdown is not so much on the amount of MEAF, but on the attempts by lenders to increase your MEAF once you've signed up to it.

So I suspect you're probably going to be stuck with the amount of fee to which you've agreed. However, at least your lender won't be able to increase it without your say so.