HALIFAX MORTGAGES Consent to lease rates versus their Standard Variable Rate

fut1a · 27 March 2012 at 10:37PM

in 2009 I got married and it was easier for me to move into my wifes house because of commuting, and because of the housing slump I did not want to put my house on the market and potentially lose money so in February 2009 I approached the Halifax to ask for their permission to rent the house out until the maket picked up. I was told that I would have to move to a buy to let mortgage, and because I was tied into my current mortgage until 1st April 2009 I would have to pay a £2035 charge. So my monthly repayments were going up by £185 and on top of that they were going to charge me £2035 for settling my mortgage early. When I pointed out that if I waited one month, and paid my March mortgage payment then I would be free to shop around. Then they said because I only had one more payment to make, and my mortgage was increasing £185 per month, they would waive the £2035 charge. So I went with this deal.

When I got my mortgage statement in 2010 I noticed that my outstanding balance was higher than it was in 2009, but could not see why. So i rang the Halifax and was told it was the £2035 early settlement charge. After lots of phone calls over a number of weeks I was getting nowhere so I complained to the FSA who eventually sided with the Halifax because it was a verbal agreement. I appealed this stating that I would have been insane to agree to pay £2035, when I could have just paid the March payment of £495. They still sided with the Halifax.

In 2011 I received a letter from the Halifax saying that because of some wording or something in their small print (I think it was this), that was not very clear they were crediting me £2005.

A couple of weeks ago I received a letter from the Halifax saying that my consent to lease agreement was ending and I would have to re-new it. So I called them and was told that I would have to take a Buy to let mortgage at an increased rate. I pointed out that I was already paying a buy to let mortgage and they increased the rate by £195 three years ago. He said I was not paying a buy to let mortgage, so I said could I have the 36 x £195 back then. He then went to speak to a manager, when he came back he said I could stay on my existing rate for a further 12 months, but then I would have to move onto a buy to let mortgage. Knowing the Halifax I found this very odd.........the Halifax giving me a stay of execution for a further 12 months unbeleivable.

I have been making a small loss renting the house out so If they were to raise my payments by over 1.5% then I would be loosing too much money. Anyway the stay of execution gives me 12 months to try and sell the house. Shame the housing market has not picked up though.