Trials and tribulations of a Debt Free Wannabee!

savingholmes

The rate ends in July - and we are currently paying around 5.99% or 5.79% anyway - it is just I was really hoping to see a drop of 3%. I feel trapped but angry that I paid a fee to be trapped in a fixed rate that was bad for us - but then just as there was light at the end of the tunnel - they have come along and switched it off.... I am gutted and extremely angry - especially the timing of the letter too - I have a mind to march in and have a row tomorrow just to show they can't escape the repercussions of what they do just cos it is xmas eve tomorrow! I am soooooo disappointed - and worried!

It makes me want to keep my credit card debt which is mostly 0% with the odd 3% transfer fee and just pay off my mortgage!

elantan

if you can afford to do that and it wil work out for the better for you all ...maybe it is something worth considering .... mine ends in April next year and i think we are going to have the same issue ...i have to admit i have taken the ostrich approach and not looked at it yet was going to look at it maybe february or so cause then it will be closer to what i am likely to get ...

savingholmes

well when I say pay off my mortgage - I mean prioritise it over my debts - I don't mean I have spare money sitting around! I have just put in a call request to the mortgage people for tomorrow - that way I can rant at them at their expense! I am absolutely spitting feathers!

savingholmes

I've looked at the letter again - it is possible it might not apply to my whole mortgage - the letter is quite unclear. Most of the letter talks about the mortgage current account reserve - and I don't think we have one. However it also talks about the Woolwich SVR and that is what is confusing me. Hopefully one way or another - I should have a clearer picture by the end of tomorrow....

hypno06

To be honest, with very few exceptions (such as the mortgage taxi has, for example) most "new" mortgage products over the last 12 months have been uncompetitive.

For example, we fixed for 10 years, at 4.99% back in 2003. At that time, interest rates were probably 5 or 6%, and throughout the period where base rates have been falling to virtually zero, fixed rates, even for short periods such as 2 years, have not been as competitive as our original fix 6 years ago when base rates were much higher.

Because my aim is to move house and actually increase my mortgage, I have been keeping a close eye on the products available, and the majority of them are not anywhere near as good as those available a couple of years ago, despite the "expectation" that they would be better.

That is why I am including my mortgage in my debt signature now - it makes more sense for me to overpay my mortgage than it does to pay the extra off my 0%......and as long as the overall amount owing reduces, it doesn't matter in the bigger scheme of things whether I pay it off the secured or the unsecured......as long as it is all going in the end!

I can understand the disappointment, and of course, keep looking because you might find an attractive alternative, but if, for example, you look at the Halifax's current products, I don't think you would find anything much better.

Also, you say that you paid to be trapped in a rate that was bad for you, but you paid for certainty, which is risk free in that you know what you are needing to find each month. Had rates risen back to 8% which is where they were just a few years ago, you would be celebrating the rate you have fixed at. It wasn't a "bad" rate you fixed into, it was good at the time, and you didn't have the benefit of a crystal ball, so decided on certainty. How can that be bad?

Try not to get stressed about it over Christmas - you will be free to switch in July - and who knows what products will be available between now and then!!

savingholmes

Thanks hypno - you are right we didn't have a crystal ball - and we paid for security - I'm just gutted! Hopefully there will be a positive explanation for the letter and it won't be as bad as I think

hypno06

It's not bad - base rate plus 4.49% is going to mean you are paying 4.99%.

That is 16% less than you are paying at the moment.

A 16% saving on your mortgage payment each month is not bad at all!!

If you are on 5.99% now, base rates have got to increase by 200% before you are even on the same rate as you are now.......and although that is going to happen sooner or later, it is only going to be when base rates are 2% that you will find yourself paying more than you are now.

In the meantime, if rates stay at 0.5% you are still better off, even on their "new" SVR.

savingholmes

thanks hypno - I am just disappointed as I was hoping to end up paying around 1.5%

milann

The timing of the bank stinks!!!! - you have been looking forward to some well deserved time off and you are greeted with this letter. Try to put it on the back burner until after Christmas and look again when you are not so tired and on painkillers. The banking rates are maddening at the moment especially when we see the bonuses the tv claim the bankers are getting!!

If I don't get chance to get near the puter - relax and enjoy Christmas with your family.

Milann

savingholmes

Thanks Milann! I agree the timing is really bad. It wouldn't be so bad if the letter was actually understandable but it isn't - hopefully I can find out more tomorrow before they shut for xmas!

Full of cold tonight - which I could do without

Still need to tidy house for xmas - it is clean but lots of things need putting away.

I want to get some lamb out for dinner tomorrow too - bought it half price last weekend!