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FSA Ruling on Mortgages re. GMAC RFC
exsquaddiegirl
Posts: 13 Forumite
I've just had a letter from my mortgage company, GMAC-RFC, concerning past charges.
Back in 2006, my husband and I went through some real financial difficulties when our company failed. We ended up getting a lot of financial services charges, for pretty much everything!
3 years down the line, and most of it is sorted. Our mortgage is back up to date, and we have agreements to unsecured creditors that, while we are still paying, we have paid off over 70% of and have been slowly upping the payments, so we're getting ever closer to having no debts apart from our mortgage.
I applied to reclaim a lot of the charges we were levied with, and was successful in full with all credit cards and 2 out of 3 loans. Our overdraft fees are stayed at the county court and the PPI on one loan is still in progress.
However, I'd left the mortgage charges alone. Mainly because we were stuck on the standard variable rate, which currently means we're paying next to no interest on the mortgage, and the fact that, since we stopped having problems, GMAC have been pretty good and I don't want to lose my mortgage as I don't want to be forced into a move by rocking the boat.
Then, I got a letter from them yesterday.saying that the FSA has outlined some of their charges as unfair and that they would be giving customers refunds to their mortgage account. All this is very nice, but I'm smelling a fairly large rat.
My charges were as follows, all dating back to 2006:
Unpaid DD fees: £90 (at £30 a time)
Non-payment by DD Fees: £15 (1 charge)
Arrears Fees: £450 (at £50 a month, regardless of whether we were paying or not)
Solicitors Instruction Fees £100 (1 charge)
Deeds Production Fee £50 (1 charge)
Solicitors Costs £565.25 (1 charge)
The refund they have offered is for the £15 in non-payment by DD fee and £39 as the part of the solicitors instruction fee that didn't represent their actual costs. I only know this because I rang them this morning to ask for a breakdown. Their letter says that the refund includes 8% interest, but they get the total to £58.32. I pointed out that 8% interest from Aug 2006 to now on £54 is £13.99. At this point, I managed to get out of the lady how they are calculating interest, and it is for 1 year, wheras I've obviously been paying interest on that money to them for 3 years..
However, what I cannot find anywhere is the decision from the FSA that prompted this - I've looked all over the net, but I'm getting nowhere.
I would have thought that the most unfair of the above charges were the DD return fees and the arrears charges, as the arrears charges are simply for being in arrears. On some of the months where it was charged, I was not only paying my actual monthly payment, but also chunks of the arrears - almost double my monthly payment, but the fee was simply there for the priviledge of being in arrears.
Therefore, I want to write to GMAC to ask them to explain their decisions, but I would like to do so from a point of knowledge, having read the FSA decision. Does anyone know what this decision was or where I can find a copy of it online? I rang the FSA's 'Money Made Clear' helpline, but they didn't know.
Back in 2006, my husband and I went through some real financial difficulties when our company failed. We ended up getting a lot of financial services charges, for pretty much everything!
3 years down the line, and most of it is sorted. Our mortgage is back up to date, and we have agreements to unsecured creditors that, while we are still paying, we have paid off over 70% of and have been slowly upping the payments, so we're getting ever closer to having no debts apart from our mortgage.
I applied to reclaim a lot of the charges we were levied with, and was successful in full with all credit cards and 2 out of 3 loans. Our overdraft fees are stayed at the county court and the PPI on one loan is still in progress.
However, I'd left the mortgage charges alone. Mainly because we were stuck on the standard variable rate, which currently means we're paying next to no interest on the mortgage, and the fact that, since we stopped having problems, GMAC have been pretty good and I don't want to lose my mortgage as I don't want to be forced into a move by rocking the boat.
Then, I got a letter from them yesterday.saying that the FSA has outlined some of their charges as unfair and that they would be giving customers refunds to their mortgage account. All this is very nice, but I'm smelling a fairly large rat.
My charges were as follows, all dating back to 2006:
Unpaid DD fees: £90 (at £30 a time)
Non-payment by DD Fees: £15 (1 charge)
Arrears Fees: £450 (at £50 a month, regardless of whether we were paying or not)
Solicitors Instruction Fees £100 (1 charge)
Deeds Production Fee £50 (1 charge)
Solicitors Costs £565.25 (1 charge)
The refund they have offered is for the £15 in non-payment by DD fee and £39 as the part of the solicitors instruction fee that didn't represent their actual costs. I only know this because I rang them this morning to ask for a breakdown. Their letter says that the refund includes 8% interest, but they get the total to £58.32. I pointed out that 8% interest from Aug 2006 to now on £54 is £13.99. At this point, I managed to get out of the lady how they are calculating interest, and it is for 1 year, wheras I've obviously been paying interest on that money to them for 3 years..
However, what I cannot find anywhere is the decision from the FSA that prompted this - I've looked all over the net, but I'm getting nowhere.
I would have thought that the most unfair of the above charges were the DD return fees and the arrears charges, as the arrears charges are simply for being in arrears. On some of the months where it was charged, I was not only paying my actual monthly payment, but also chunks of the arrears - almost double my monthly payment, but the fee was simply there for the priviledge of being in arrears.
Therefore, I want to write to GMAC to ask them to explain their decisions, but I would like to do so from a point of knowledge, having read the FSA decision. Does anyone know what this decision was or where I can find a copy of it online? I rang the FSA's 'Money Made Clear' helpline, but they didn't know.
0
Comments
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http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2009/147.shtml
read that and click in the link called "final notice" that gives the details of the ruling.
The moneymadeclear website is the FSAs toytown site. The main FSA site is better for technical information like this.I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.0 -
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2009/147.shtml
read that and click in the link called "final notice" that gives the details of the ruling.
The moneymadeclear website is the FSAs toytown site. The main FSA site is better for technical information like this.
I tried the main FSA site first, and couldn't find anything. s usual, it was hiding in plain view, thanks for that, just what I needed!0
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