MSE News: Thousands of Santander mortgage holders could get payouts after blunder

adhddog · 5 May 2013 at 5:32PM

I am a Santander customer and have recieved a letter from them saying I may be affected. I am confused as to what to do next. What information should I have before I phone them???

Thanks

Vector_2 · 8 May 2013 at 1:43PM

I think I may be one of those affected but would appreciate opinions!

I took out my original mortgage in 2003, this was renewed on a new 2 year fixed rate in 2005 and then for a further 5 years, expiring in November 2010.

During this time we moved house, (April 2007) and Santander set up an another loan in addition to the original one but this was on a 2-year fixed rate. We had 2 parts to the one mortgage and this was all done under the same mortgage account.

Basically when the new deal expired we were forced to go onto the SVR for 18 months until the original deal expired. We were told at the time that unless we paid the penalty charge for the original deal then we had "no choice" but to wait until both had finished to bring things into line. Luckily the SVR was lower than our expiring deal so we were OK, but it could have been a lot higher and we would have had 18 months of increased payments.

The SVR we paid for these 18 months was 4.24 and Santander have admitted the highest they could have charged was 3.00 so I think I may have got a strong case.

We did actually stay on this SVR for a further 5 months after both deals had ended but we could have exited without penalty at any time during this period. This still doesn't escape the fact that they were overcharging us!

I phoned Santander but as we no longer have any accounts with them at all, (another story...:mad:...) they couldn't verify the security questions. They will therefore be sending out forms for me to complete.

almond · 11 May 2013 at 9:10AM

can you help, I had a fixed rate at time and rang I was told not effected me but made them send me a form, it arrived yesterday and from what I can see its trick questions, any advice how to fill it in.
I was going to put in note section that I have a long term partner and if I had known I could moved we would have taken a joint mortgage which would have meant he could be on deeds of the house. if I was to put him on deeds now it would cost about £1000 I asked a few years ago. Also partner sold him house last year and could have used the money to pay off part of the mortgage.
As it stands now we are staying here for a couple of years then downsizing so we can buy cash.
any advice welcome since I don't want to fill the form in wrong,
thanks

almond · 12 May 2013 at 10:48AM

TheMightySwordfish wrote: »

I'm not the best person to give advice one to one, as I'm just a punter just like you. I will say this though...If you are not sure about how to fill it in get yourself to the Citizens Advice and I'm sure they will point you in the right direction as yours seems a tad on the more complicated side.

Sorry I'm not more help.

thanks its just looking at the form I think Santander are trying to trick us in to saying it would have made no difference

vivster · 13 May 2013 at 7:48PM

Hm. Got the letter today. Have checked out the website as well.

I was on a 2-yr fix with Santander during this period. My fix ended in May 2009 and then I just went onto the SVR until I sold the property and paid off the mortgage in 2011.

They seem to be saying that people on a fix would have had to have had to pay an ERC if they had wanted to switch, therefore I am unaffected. What's not clear is if the hike in the cap margin triggers a three-month ERC-free period even if you were mid-way through a fix. If I could have switched penalty-free at this time, then I would have.

It's very strange to get a letter saying 'we are writing to you because you are affected, but actually you are unaffected.'

I might ring them up and see if I can get this questionnaire sent to me.

TJI999 · 14 May 2013 at 4:27PM

I was on a 2 fixed term mortgage which ended on Sept 2009 with Santander when it converted to the SVR.
I got married in May of that year and considered moving mortgages and having a joint mortgage with my wife but the advice I received at the time was that it would not benefit me to do this.
I am annoyed that I was not told about these changes as would have looked a lot more at the other offers around at the time.
I've just requested a complaint form but no idea whether I'll actually be entitled to any compensation.

hpoolandy · 16 May 2013 at 12:19AM

i have been going through all my abbey paperwork trying to decide if i was affected by this capmargine increase this is wot i have worked out so far

i singed for my mortgage december 2006 £82000 over 25 year with a 5year fixed at 5.69% after the fixed was finished in 2011 i was to be put on abbeys svr my erc would have been £3200 if i wanted to pay all money owed within the 5 year
in 2007 i took a £6000 loan out this was not fixed and at the time was about 7.6% on svr repayment over 10 year
both loans came with abbeys standard mortgage conditions 2006 edition
now in the book it states that if the capmargin is to be increased you will have 3 months to pay all money owed without erc so would this apply to the first loan as it was fixed.

the next section in the book referes to loans
"if the increase applies only to part of the capital(the affected part) you will be entitled either to repay the whole of the money you owe us,or (if you choose)the affected part,within three months from the date on which the increase takes effect,without paying any early repayment charge that would otherwise apply to the affected part"

my question is as my second loan was svr at the time was i entitled to repay all money owed to abbey without an erc

any help or advise would be great because the the letter they sent me was confusing when i phoned up the guy on the other end seem to be just going round in circles with his answers and the complaint form looks a bit cheeky too

regards
andy

hpoolandy · 16 May 2013 at 8:14AM

I checked my interest rate in december 2008 and it was 5.43% so if they didnt increase the cap would this of ment that they could of only charged me 4.5% as the base rate dropped to 2% and there cap was 2.5% above

elusive · 16 May 2013 at 2:13PM

hi would this affect if you were on a tracker mortgage thanks
SANTANDER TO PROVIDE CLARITY TO 270,000 CUSTOMERS

In December 2008 Santander increased their Standard Variable Rate (SVR) Cap Margin. Some customers, at this time, may not have been fully aware of the implications of these changes. Santander is mailing customers who were affected by these changes. Some customers who had an SVR-linked mortgage with an Early Repayment Charge (ERC) with Santander, at the time the Cap Margin was increased, may not have known they could have repaid their mortgage ERC free for three months after the increase. Santander are mailing over 270,000 people.

Due to these changes, all products will have new product codes.

All affected customers will receive a letter between April and November 2013, letting them know what they need to do. Only Abbey customers with a balance on their mortgage in 2008 are affected.

almond · 16 May 2013 at 4:13PM

Two_steps_forward... wrote: »

If anyone would like a blank PDF version of the form, I have scanned it in and cleaned it up. This cannot be used to make a claim as you need a personal reference number, but might be useful as a reference, particularly if you are considering completing the phone questionnaire and are concerned about getting tied in knots by the questions. Personally, I would not do this on the phone. Give me your email address if you would like a copy.

hi I will pm you I knew this form was trying to trick us

MSE News: Thousands of Santander mortgage holders could get payouts after blunder

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free