Extortionate Deeds Release Fees

[Deleted User]

Are they compulsory if you choose NOT to have your deeds released at the end of a mortgage?

I'm with Abbey and just found out that if I paid off my mortgage today (which I won't be for a couple more years yet) - it will cost me a whopping £220 for my deeds to be released to me. This is the rate TODAY! It will probably be higher than this by the time I pay my mortgage off.

Obviously people moving onto another mortgage are shackled unless they pay this extortionate fee - but has anyone here not paid and left the deeds with the lender?

Also - are there copies of deeds held with the Land Registry? What happens when people need to get replacement deeds 'cos the originals have been stolen/destroyed etc...?

Is this an option instead of paying the high fees lenders are demanding?

Bossyboots

Deleted_User wrote:

Are they compulsory if you choose NOT to have your deeds released at the end of a mortgage?

I'm with Abbey and just found out that if I paid off my mortgage today (which I won't be for a couple more years yet) - it will cost me a whopping £220 for my deeds to be released to me. This is the rate TODAY! It will probably be higher than this by the time I pay my mortgage off.

Obviously people moving onto another mortgage are shackled unless they pay this extortionate fee - but has anyone here not paid and left the deeds with the lender?

Also - are there copies of deeds held with the Land Registry? What happens when people need to get replacement deeds 'cos the originals have been stolen/destroyed etc...?

Is this an option instead of paying the high fees lenders are demanding?

That has gone up by £40 since last December!

The £220 is broken down between "legal fees" for signing the DS1 (even though they only need to press a few buttons and send it electronically to the Land Registry) and the actual release fee. The cost is extortionate. A friend of ours did the DS1 (free of charge) and sent it to abbey and we then paid abbey £90 to get our deeds back. I suspect that if you do not pay the fee for release they will make a charge for storing your deeds which will no doubt be the same per year as the fee they are seeking for release. It used to be that they would store them for you if you kept 50p outstanding on your mortgage but they don't do that anymore.

Robert_Sterling_3

There is only one copy of the original deeds.
They are no longer obligatory to prove your ownership.
The Land Registry now has a certificate showing who owns the property etc.
The deeds are useful however for some purposes
E G Showing who maintains which fence etc
Showing Rights of way and covenants.

greenwich

I didn't know about the option of doing the DS1 form yourself. I'll remember for next time though I have a feeling that the situation has changed since bossy's mortgage was redeemed. Abbey now call it a "repayment fee"; they say that they no longer charge a fee to remove their charge from the property; and that the repayment fee covers customer service etc. I have this in writing from Abbey in front of me now. As everyone says, it is a wholly disproportionate fee.

By coincidence, I filled in the Financial Ombudsman complaint form tonight and my wife has signed it (mortgage was in her name). It will go in the post tomorrow. I am not optimistic: in 2002, the FOS baulked at holding that the pracitice of having two SVRs (higher one for existing customers) was unfair. We shall see.

alared

Abbey used to have a thing called "deedsafe" where you left a nominal 50pence on your mortgage account and they looked after the dees for you.
They may still do this,it was a much cheaper option a few years back.

Bossyboots

alared wrote:

Abbey used to have a thing called "deedsafe" where you left a nominal 50pence on your mortgage account and they looked after the dees for you.
They may still do this,it was a much cheaper option a few years back.

I think you will find I mentioned that in my first post here. We were not offered that, which was less than a year ago.

greenwich I agree with you that things seem to have changed. We were definitely charged a deeds release fee and a fee for legal work. When I telephoned them to say we would do our own legal work they got really snotty with me and were not at all happy. Maybe others have done the same and that is why they have changed tack on how they present it now.

While we are on the subject of mortgage redemption I would just give a word of caution. Ours was an endowment mortgage on which thankfully there was a surplus. However, getting the surplus out of abbey proved to be a bit of trial and it was only when we wrote a formal letter of complaint pointing out that they had in effect stolen our money and threatening action, did it appear in our savings account. We did eventually get a substantial payment from them for lost interest which was paid at the same rate as their best account at the time (quite a bit over the rate paid on the account it went into) but we really shouldn't have had to go through that. They said at one point that it can take a week for funds to move from their account on termination of the endowment to our savings account. We had pointed out that that was unacceptable as well as the only money they were entitled to hold was the mortgage repayment and that the balance was not theirs and should not be in an account making money for them (they had admitted the funds were treated as clear). The CS manager conceded this point which was another reason the interest was bumped up.

gwarrenk

I have had my deeds posted to me through the post ( not even recorded delivery)even though my mortgage isnt paid off through cheltenham & gloucester, apparentley they have no need to keep them anymore. so got mine for free worth investigating

greenwich

Yes, Abbey sent us the deeds for free as well when the mortgage was paid off in September. They still charged the £225 "repayment fee". I think they have made the deeds handling and the mortgage discharge 'free' probably because smart people like bossy were DIYing it.

[Deleted User]

What 'legal' work is there in releasing what is effectively the customer's belongings?

Why does the customer not have a say in WHO carries out that legal work? If the customer is expected to pay then they should decide who they are paying surely?

[Deleted User]

p.s

what is the DS1?

gwarrenk

ah well we only have 18months to go, most probably get charged then,will give them a call & tell them they can have them back
ha ha