Woolwich Withdrawal Fee Advice

julie2710

Just really checking to see if anyone can advice re a situation a friend has found themselves in. I have put in my twopenneth worth but am now questioning if my reasoning is correct.

They applied for a mortgage with the Woolwich, provided all the information and supporting documentation they were asked for, checked their own credit status prior to the application. The Woolwich have now sent them a letter saying that they will not be progressing with the mortgage application due to their internal policies and "score" They have also stated that they will be charging a £150 withdrawal fee which they will take from my friends current account within the next 7 days. When my friend phoned the Woolwich they said that they could take this fee as it was in the application terms and conditions.

I sat down with my friend and went through the terms and conditions which basically state that " a withdrawal fee of £150 will be charged in the following scenarios:- The person making the application withdraws their application or the Woolwich are unable to substantiate any information given in the application or false or incorrect information has been provided or the mortgage has not been completed in the 6 months given."
No mention of charging a fee if they refuse to progress the mortgage on the terms they have stated.

I have suggested that he contact his bank to ensure that the payment is not taken from his account and that he also write to the Woolwich and states that he has checked the terms and conditions and as the mortgage not progressing is not due to one of the reasons listed they are therefore making an unauthorised claim and as such he has notified his bank not to honour any request for payment.

Does anyone know if what I've said is right. Seems to me as though they are trying their luck or is there some loophole they are going to use which I am missing? Any advice would be gratefully received. Thanks!

dunstonh

No mention of charging a fee if they refuse to progress the mortgage on the terms they have stated.

I believe there is.

"or the Woolwich are unable to substantiate any information given in the application"

On application, the Woolwich would not submit the application unless the branch clerk thought it met their criteria. So, when dealing with the application, something must have turned up that differs from the information supplied.

I have suggested that he contact his bank to ensure that the payment is not taken from his account

They usually do it by debit card and the bank cant stop those.

that he also write to the Woolwich and states that he has checked the terms and conditions and as the mortgage not progressing is not due to one of the reasons listed they are therefore making an unauthorised claim and as such he has notified his bank not to honour any request for payment.

Thats worth a go. However, before he does this he should check to see if any information has changed between application and processing. It is possible that the error is at their end and the branch should never have submitted it but when making a complaint, it helps if you know where it went wrong and the reasons as you know exactly what to say then. Again, that assumes the fault is theirs and not your friend giving incorrect info.

Cannon_Fodder

Get them to double-check every digit of the application. Might be something silly, like they cannot substantiate that Mike lives at Address X, because Michael is on the electoral roll.

julie2710

They're letter saying that they are not progressing the mortgage says nothing about not being able to substantiate information. It says they are not progressing the application because of internal policies which result in a "score"?

They also attached stuff about contacting Experian who they said they use for their credit coring check. That's who he checked his own score through.

He's not too worried now about the mortgage as it was a remortgage anyway and he's found another way round it but doesn't feel it is right he should be charged the £150. He is on the eletoral roll so wouldn't be that anyway!