CAUTION: L&C/Withy King

Middle_Earth

Hello everybody,

I am currently going through the remortgage process and as usual I have been using London & Country who have always been very good in the past for me.

During my initial telephone conversation with L&C, their adviser informed me of their deal with Withy King solicitors which was that if I let them do the legal work there would be a charge of £250 of which £200 would be refunded to me upon completion so therefore only costing me £50.

I asked the following question for clarification "If for any reason not of my own the mortgage process falls through, will I incur any cost with Withy King ?" - I was informed that I would not incur any fee - Great I thought.

So mortgage application gets under way, I also get a bundle of documents from WK to fill in, sign and return which I do so.

A few days later I get my house valued by the lender's surveyor and he undervalues the house by a large amount, I was looking at a 60% ltv product and so his valuation has caused the remortgage process to fall through.

After a quick rethink I decide not to proceed with the remortgage and contact WK to inform them of this, only to be advised that I will have to pay their fees as I had signed their documents. I was slightly shocked to say the least and I advised them to get in touch with L&C and ask them to pull their tapes as I had been missold their product.

I am currently waiting for them to get back to me, but I do not expect a company of London & Country's standing to be misselling in such a manner, especially as I have subsequently found out that legal fees were included for free with the mortgage that I was applying for.

I will keep you informed as to how things progress, but please don't blindly trust anything these people tell you as I did.

minimike2

It could just be that the person made a mistake? Or was unclear on it themselves?

Wait for thier response until broadcasting that they are "Crooks". Not fair at all.

Middle_Earth

Edited to remove the offending term.

dunstonh

please don't blindly trust anything these people tell you as I did.

I'm sure L&C record their calls and will check the phone call. I am certain that if they said the legal fees were not incurred they will honour that.

Its a bit premature to be making a post like this without giving L&C any chance to answer your enquiry first.

Ian_Griffiths_Halifax

Didn't they explain that it was Free Legals if you used the Lenders Solicitors? Didn't they provide you with a Key Facts Illustration first?

Middle_Earth

Ian_Griffiths_Halifax wrote: »

Didn't they explain that it was Free Legals if you used the Lenders Solicitors? Didn't they provide you with a Key Facts Illustration first?

During the telephone consultation at no point was it explained to me that I would receive free legals if I used the lender's solicitor, I was simply told that L&C had a deal with Withy King whereby I would be charged a £250 fee and would receive £200 cash back upon completion, with the above caveat that if the transaction fell through I would not incur any legal fees to Withy King.

minimike2

Which lender is the mortgage with?

_Andy_

Sounds like Woolwich.

arkie

Middle_Earth wrote: »

During the telephone consultation at no point was it explained to me that I would receive free legals if I used the lender's solicitor, I was simply told that L&C had a deal with Withy King whereby I would be charged a £250 fee and would receive £200 cash back upon completion, with the above caveat that if the transaction fell through I would not incur any legal fees to Withy King.

if you would have used the FREE legal with the lender you would not have incurred any charges. If you ask me L&C recieve a back hand off Withy King. You should check your KFI and if free legals are stated ask L&C why you were not offerred the free legal instead of the cash back . You should also have information of this type in your suitability letter from L&C which you should have recieved before agreeing the contract

Ian_Griffiths_Halifax

If that is the case, then L&C should have made it clear that they were going to receive money from the Solicitors for introductions. They must also state how much.

arkie

You should have gone to see your local broker