Title Deeds Release Fee

peppermintpaddy

I AM IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGING OVER MY MORTGAGE FROM ONE LENDER TO ANOTHER. AS NORMAL, THE ORIGINAL LENDER INTELLIGENT FINANCE HAS CHARGED A RELEASE FEE TO MY ACCOUNT, IN THIS CASE £40.00. WOULD THIS FEE BE CONSIDERED AS AN UNFAIR BANK CHARGE FOR ME TO CONTEST, OR IS IT OF A MORE LEGITIMATE NATURE.THANKS

Bossyboots

It is a fee for provision of a service, not a penalty so it is not an unfair bank charge.

TangentMan

And please don't shout.

peppermintpaddy

i wasnt aware i was shouting - just wanted some advice as regard fees.

Burnley_Lad

peppermintpaddy wrote:

i wasnt aware i was shouting - just wanted some advice as regard fees.

typing in capital letters is seen as 'shouting' on the internet.

lofty170366

was interested in knowing the answer to peppermintpaddy's question as well.i don't get the impression peppermintpaddy was intentionally being troublesome but is probably keen to get an answer to the situation

AndrewSmith

Unfortunately there is no way of classing this fee in the same way as, for example, and overdraft bank fee (don't forget the Mortgage Discharge Fee with IF).

It is a fee representative of the Lender's legal work involved in releasing themselves from the deeds of your property.

These fees do vary with some lenders charging anything up to £250 +

Alliance & Leicester for example charge £295.



Andy

lisyloo

These fees do vary with some lenders charging anything up to £250
Alliance & Leicester for example charge £295.

I think we need to be careful what we are referring to here.
The Alliance & Leicester fee which you quote is for 2 services.
Whilst I agree it's extorionate it's important to be clear on what you are being provided if you are thinking of taking some action.

There are often 2 fees.
One is for realeasing the deeds, the other is a "sealing charge" basically for closing the account.

I believe the original poster was asking about a deeds release fee and the figures quoted for A&L (whilst they may be extortionate) cover the "sealing charge" as well.

You can complain about these if they are too high, but £40 does not seem unreasonable to me.

AndrewSmith

Do not confuse these fees with the Mortgage Discharge Fee which applies if the mortgage is repaid early.

This fee with IF is currently £140.00, and will need to be considered if looking at the whole picture, giving total fees of £180.

Still a far better deal than other lenders.

homer_j_3

It is irrelevant in the comaprison of the 2 fees. You cannot argue that the charges are punitive for one simple reason. They are not charging you for breaking the terms and conditions of the contract, they are saying that they are charging you for them to close your account down and ensure that they are removed as having an interest in your property.

There is a big difference in charging for a service and charging as a penalty clause. This is a service not a penalty clause.

Joe_Bloggs

The FSA are looking into this Mortgage Exit Administration Fee issue. I am sure that a joint talking shop will be setup to prevent anything from happening.
J_B.