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Britannia - false advertising? HELP!

jerome2094
Posts: 10 Forumite
Hi,
Britannia advertised a competetive 90% mortgage last month and we applied. Our credit scoring, references and proof of deposit were all fine so we were accepted. We had offered 195000 for a particular property which appears good value and this was accepted by the vendors. During the valuation however, their surveyor said that there were £2000 of works that needed doing. At this time, they wrote that they would only offer us an 85% mortgage. I called Britannia and they confirmed that if the vendors were to accept 193000 (original asking price minus the work costs) they would offer us the 90% mortgage. This was written into the case notes and has been recited back to us. Today, we phoned to check the progress and it seems they're going back on their word and will only offer us the 85% mortgage. When questionned about this matter they said that the "90% mortgage was only available for "perfect" properties." This of course was never in any policy documentation that we have seen. Surely there is something we can do about this? Can anyone help?
Britannia advertised a competetive 90% mortgage last month and we applied. Our credit scoring, references and proof of deposit were all fine so we were accepted. We had offered 195000 for a particular property which appears good value and this was accepted by the vendors. During the valuation however, their surveyor said that there were £2000 of works that needed doing. At this time, they wrote that they would only offer us an 85% mortgage. I called Britannia and they confirmed that if the vendors were to accept 193000 (original asking price minus the work costs) they would offer us the 90% mortgage. This was written into the case notes and has been recited back to us. Today, we phoned to check the progress and it seems they're going back on their word and will only offer us the 85% mortgage. When questionned about this matter they said that the "90% mortgage was only available for "perfect" properties." This of course was never in any policy documentation that we have seen. Surely there is something we can do about this? Can anyone help?
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Comments
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The only lending criteria I can find is:
If you are looking to borrow over 85% LTV the following conditions also apply:- Minimum of 6 months in current job for main applicant, or have 3 years accounts for self employed applicants
- Minimum household income of £20,000 per annum
- Within the standard income multipliers i.e. No income stretches
- Maximum property value of £350,000 with standard construction and in a good condition
- No new build houses (above 85% LTV)
- No shared ownership
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I doubt anyone on here can help, sorry.
Surely a lender has a right to offer what they see fit. And in this case they do not see fit to make you an offer at 90% LTV.0 -
The issue that we have is that they are happy to lend us 90% in terms of our credit scoring but not 90% of a property that they have valued at £193,000 (the price that the vendors have now agreed to) because in their words the property is not in 'perfect' condition despite the surveyor deciding that it has been 'reasonably well modernised'.
Managed to get Britannia to agree to send it to the underwriters but are unsure what the underwriters will actually consider.0 -
When you discussed this on the phone originally and had the fact verified to you, do you know if the calls were recorded?
If you believe they were and you know when and approximately what time you talked to them then ask for the calls to be listened to and then ask for a formal explanation, so that you can register a complaint. They may ask for the telephone number that you called from so that they can trace the call, but it is worth a shot.I am a Mortgage Adviser
You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a Mortgage Adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.0 -
Thanks for that. We actually verified the 90% offer in two seperate phone calls since the valuation and we made them note it on the case and ensured that the person we spoke to checked with their line manager. Their reply today was to apologise for giving us 'misinformation'!
Calling again in the morning0 -
this seems to happen a lot these days0
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Well if it is on the telephone call, and if they listen to it they have to share it with you! Push for a complaint!!I am a Mortgage Adviser
You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a Mortgage Adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.0 -
Who would we complain to? The fsa?
Feel like they had advertised a product that they now feel is too good of a deal to be issuing and are trying what they can to avoid honouring it.
Has anyone else had a similar problem? They did pull this particular mortgage within about the space of a week and their current equivalent mortgage has a rate over half a percent higher!0 -
I think if you get them to listen to the call and it confirms what they have said to you, that you can then ask on the basis of this for them to reconsider. If they say that they won't reconsider then you need to register a complaint with them and I would do this verbally with them and then follow up with a letter detailing the complaint. When registering the complain verbally ask them for a copy of their complaints procedure. You then need to allow their complaints procedure to complete its cycle. If you still not happy at the end of this process it can then be referred to the Financial Ombudsman.
You might find (cross fingers and all that!) that they may back down once you start asking for the calls to be listened to etc??I am a Mortgage Adviser
You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a Mortgage Adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.0 -
Thanks! Making call now, fingers crossed!0
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