Halifax mortgage overpayment

MikeLB

I overpay my Halifax mortgage by £800 per month. I was always very annoyed that despite having HBOS online banking, it was impossible to do online transferring without setting up a standing order.

Not that i have anything against standing orders, but had spent a godo few months clearing away as many of those and Direct Debits as possible to simplify my accounts!

What i do is just up my direct debit as and when, but never phone them to do it until the day after the MPC interest rate change at the start of the month.

I am sure there should be penalties but when i asked HBOS at my Mortgage review, they said i had no penalty clauses! So overpaying away!

mitchb

Hi

I am in a similar position to the OP. I pay a halifax mortgage by payment plan at the moment and want to make overpayments, the mortgage shows on my portfolio on online banking.

Do i need to set up a s/o to make overpayments and if so do i just quote the s/c and a/c of my mortgage account, i.e no ref no required.

thanks

regularsaver1

mitchb - the payment plan can either be up'd to the nearest £100 - or you set up a separate standing order, or you pay in branch extra
I have learnt with online banking that it creates a standing order anyhow but you can do it on a request basis, as I do with my credit card

mitchb if you have a halifax bank account and use the online banking now - your mortgage can be added to your profile using the roll number (A/) or by using sort code and account number

steve_cov

jimladin wrote:

My question is:
Can i simply transfer some money into the mortgage account (ie use the account number and sort code) via online banking? The guy from halifax implied that if my overpayments weren't going to be of a fixed amount each month the best way of doing it would be to send them cheques. Surely this is not the case!

Most online bank accounts should allow you to do this and will even store the account details for future reference. Check with the mortgage helpline (rather than the banking one) - and insist they give you:

• sort code;
• account number;
• reference number.

Remember that cheques take longer to clear: that's a few extra pennies for your bank and your mortgage provider even though the money is neither earning you any interest, nor reducing the interest on your mortgage, for half of that time. No wonder the bank employee suggested a cheque payment.

taf_2

I used to overpay into my halifax mortgage via standing order - not the most user friendly system for those who like to review online but it worked ok. I remortgaged with Newcastle last year and aside from being a better deal, the online access and payment into my offset savings account is really easy and straightforward - i can set up direct debits as and when I want for as long as I want, including one-off payments.

debtfree_WANNABE_6

Our mortgage was taken out with Halifax in Oct. '05 and current mortgage payment is £492.70, i contacted the Halifax and immediately increased that to £500.00 - Via the online banking system with Halifax you can set up and amend SO's as often as you want as well as change the frequency........... :j

mitchb

Hi again

I have set up the mortgage account on my portfolio an can view th balance, etc.

I am unable to make payments to it using either the online system or a new s/o. The system advises the s/c and account number are incorrect however i am taking them from the online system taht shows the mortgage details.

Any ideas whats wrong?

regularsaver1

hmmm i'm unsure - you can use roll number (A/)

i'd suggest using the online helpdesk whilst you are signed on - nunmber will be online

Dumyat

mitchb wrote:

Hi again

I have set up the mortgage account on my portfolio an can view th balance, etc.

I am unable to make payments to it using either the online system or a new s/o. The system advises the s/c and account number are incorrect however i am taking them from the online system taht shows the mortgage details.

Any ideas whats wrong?

I overpay our Halifax mortgage and have the same problem. After speaking to their call centre and their staff in the branch we found out it was because we dont have a "real" halifax mortgage! We originally had our mortgage with the Leeds who were taken over by the halifax...and on the computers still we are regarded as a Leeds customer..if you know what I mean!
I am also overpaying an endowment mortgage ...an option allowed because of the endowment not going to meet its target. However there is small print...we can only pay up to 10% of the balance each year!
In the end I had to pay via a standing order...or pay some in over the counter at the branch. Several times when I have phoned to pay extra or increase the payment, the operator has had to get permission from someone in the mortgage dept first...again I think because we are not a regular Halifax account. They certainly dont make it easy for you....wonder why

regularsaver1

sometime early repayment charges are waivered if your endowment has a shortfall dogrose - therefore you'd be able to pay more than 10%, i'd check with them