Northern Rock...downright sneaky tactic.

DaftMule

lethal0r wrote: »

course its a little sneaky. they know a certain % of people wont bother to read the KFI in its entirety and its just for those i.e. you.

I suppose the question is, would I have refused the mortgage knowing what I know now? As things stand, it's cheaper for me to move as the rate NR have offered us would mean paying about an extra £400 a month...a no brainer. But 3 years ago, could I have predicted the fact that I would need to move providers now...no. So, that leaves us taking a punt no matter how well we have read the Key Facts. Yes...it's all a gamble like anything financially related, but it's a gamble where the mortgage provider has a head start and can and does stack things in their favour.

Dan_Collins_2

SHould have gone to a broker. NR give info only and its up to you to make choices.

I tell my clients to ignore it unless they go for a product that is longer than the HWC period. Then again you have had a grand interest free for a bit.

kennyboy66_2

It is no surprise that mortgage advisors think that this is acceptable. If it was not for the vast array of fees, redemption clauses, fixed rates, vairable rates etc etc they would lose a fair amount of business.

Attempting to trick or trap your customers should never be acceptable but then bank & the financial service industry have plenty of "previous".

The main reason for the huge choice there is (or was) is to muddy the waters and confuse the customer under the guise of choice.

Yes, you should (or you advisor) should have spotted it but even if you had it would be impossible to do an exact price comparison because you would have to estimate Northern Rocks SVR against a competitor. This has only been made worse by their demise.

In normal circumstances you would never use this lender again & tell all your friends not too.

minimike2

Incorrect kennyboy. The reason for the huge choice is to attempt to cater for all quarters of the market. Whats right for one isnt for another. Choice is required so that people get a fair deal that is right for thier own needs and circumstances.

look at the current situation....limited numbers of mortgage products.....its an even WORSE time for cosumers to find the best mortgage for them when the choice is samller.

happybroker

kennyboy66 wrote: »

It is no surprise that mortgage advisors think that this is acceptable. If it was not for the vast array of fees, redemption clauses, fixed rates, vairable rates etc etc they would lose a fair amount of business.

Attempting to trick or trap your customers should never be acceptable but then bank & the financial service industry have plenty of "previous".

The main reason for the huge choice there is (or was) is to muddy the waters and confuse the customer under the guise of choice.

Yes, you should (or you advisor) should have spotted it but even if you had it would be impossible to do an exact price comparison because you would have to estimate Northern Rocks SVR against a competitor. This has only been made worse by their demise.

In normal circumstances you would never use this lender again & tell all your friends not too.

Wow....I don't think that there is an adviser on here who would think that a borrower being mislead is acceptable and I don't think the comments of said advisers are meant to "belittle" the OP as mentioned in a previous post.

Banking and financial services do have "previous", only a fool would say they don't. Fortunately the majority of these dinasours can't handle regulation and are already out of the system. Some remain but for how long?....not long at all with all the investigatons being carried out by the FSA. Action which any fair and right minded broker would welcome.

Re the choice of rates that are/ were available perhaps kennyboy would prefer that the only package on offer was svr (as once was the case) where clients with tight budgets were at the mercy of interest rate fluctuations.

TighterThanTwoCoatsOfPain

i'm gonna stick my head above the parapit and say (as a non mortgage broker!) that i dont think its sneaky.

NR just gave you an alternative option. Dig your Key Facts doc out (assuming you read and filed in instead of throwing it away) and i'm sure it will be as clear on there.

As you note, you do NOT get something for nothing and it will have been clearly documented to you.

You mention you went through a Financial Advisor? Are they actually a mortgage advisor? Someone who knows ISAs / PEPs etc isnt the nessecarily the best person to advice on a mortgage.

If this is genuinely the first you heard of it then i say your beef is with your advisor and nothing to do with NR. NR gave you a multitude of options and you (your advisor?) picked a very specific product to proceed with.

Its harsh for you now, but it aint NRs fault, i will stake that they will have been quite up front about it.

Wutang_2

I am a broker but I know on this site they all stick together and always come out with lines like "If you didn't choose to read the document...." and other condescending rubbish. As an adviser I know there is a lot to read, but it is also the role of the broker to explain everything. There are many instances when purchases are made (not just within financial services) that you often get a surprise (good or bad) and the amount of paperwork for a mortgage is immense.

So why don't you clique of brokers just accept sometimes when there is a sale to be made - now and then - certain elements accidentally get missed out (and I do mean accidentally) and things like this occur. But keep the insulting put-downs to yourselves as it further increases this image.

dunstonh

Why do I think it's sneaky...well, given the amount of information you have to digest and try to understand when you are, as you put it, making one of the most important financial decisions of your life, I doubt I am the only person who would be or has been caught out by such a detail. Trying to work out the implications of each aspect in the small print of a mortgage deal is pretty difficult for the ley person.

Its not sneaky.

1 - The information was provided. It is provided in a KFI which is quite a short document highlighting all the key facts.
2 - The mortgage contract/offer letter is even shorter and tells you the tie in as well.

If you choose not to read documents on such a major purchase then its not fair to blame NR. The adviser would also have mentioned the terms as well. If they didnt and you have proof they didnt then you blame the adviser, not the lender.

MPD

My adviser made it crystal clear. 5 year fix with an ERC for the life of the special rate and help with costs had to be repaid if the mortgage was redeemed in the first 3 years. Plus it was on the KFI.

IMHO not sneaky or underhand.

minimike2

Wutang wrote: »

So why don't you clique of brokers just accept sometimes when there is a sale to be made - now and then - certain elements accidentally get missed out (and I do mean accidentally) and things like this occur. But keep the insulting put-downs to yourselves as it further increases this image.

Im not in any clique.

Read some of my historical posts. You will see that i often have differing views to some other brokers and Im not afraid to say it. You will also notice that on other issues I will agree with the same broker.

I dont see any insults or put downs, just fact.

Its true that maybe sometimes, myself included, some responses are straight to the point instead of being all airey-faory about it, but most of the time this is because we have answered the same question a dozen other times. I would never go out my way to insult or put down anyone, but im not afraid to say things as they are, in black and white.

The fact remains, people want everything for nothing and need to geat real and open thier eyes. Its all well and good saying that theres too much information to read....THAT IS NOT THE FAULT OF BROKERS....its the regulators. Its back to the good old "damned if we do, damned if we dont" scenario.

If you are not prepared to read the documentation and fully understand the biggest financial contract you are ever likely to enter into, then you should take the consequences when situations like this happen. It could be that the adviser didnt go through it - but on the flip side they might have, we dont know what happened three years ago - the ultimate responsibility is on the client to read the KFI and understand it, and seek further guidance from thier broker if they do not.

Thats the long and short. No clique, just facts.