Is there any move to claim back SVR not handed on to borrowers since 2009?

Picol2

Hi,

A few years back when the credit crunch was starting to ripple through economies, the Bank of England (BoE) started to reduce the BoE Base Rate and as borrowers we all said pheew I'm a few quid better off.

The BoE Base Rate did not jump down in one step, it was reduced over time until we reached the 0.5% we have had for ??2 years?? As the rate reached 0.5%, some lenders did not pass on the full cut to their customers. As a then Abbey customer who had just moved to SVR, I remember Abbey were one of the guilty parties!!

While I look around for the original conditions from Abby (not the current ones distributed by Santander) does anyone know if there are any presidents for claiming back this money which I have been paying in interest each month for the last two years?

Any information on this will be appreciated.

Thanks and Best wishes

getmore4less

Very few SVR were tied to the base rate,

Some lenders did have follow on rates that were base rate tracker(some had collars)

Barclays had "Barclays Bank base rate" tracker which so far has tracked base rates and AIUI for some customers is a base rate tracker in their T&C's.

GuidoT

You have got little chance unless your bank has stated the SVR will for example be no more than 2% above base and they set SVR today at 4%, as GM4L says SVRs are generally not tied into the base rate (so that the bank can effectively arrive at rates that suit them).

The Halifax did something similar to linking to the base rate and are refunding though as below.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/mortgages/2011/02/halifax-to-repay-500-million-to-300000-mortgage-holders

Wakey2008

I think too many people don't understand the fact that in most cases the SVR is NOT linked to the BofE base rate.

In some cases Banks and Building Societies had agreements that their SVR would follow the BofE by a certain percentage but these were not the norm and often carried conditions protecting that lender from stupidly low rates that would cost them money.

The bottom line is that if a lender is charging you less than about 3 - 3.5% they are probably losing money on your mortgage and effectively paying for you to be their customer.

ILW

Picol2 wrote: »

Hi,

A few years back when the credit crunch was starting to ripple through economies, the Bank of England (BoE) started to reduce the BoE Base Rate and as borrowers we all said pheew I'm a few quid better off.

The BoE Base Rate did not jump down in one step, it was reduced over time until we reached the 0.5% we have had for ??2 years?? As the rate reached 0.5%, some lenders did not pass on the full cut to their customers. As a then Abbey customer who had just moved to SVR, I remember Abbey were one of the guilty parties!!

While I look around for the original conditions from Abby (not the current ones distributed by Santander) does anyone know if there are any presidents for claiming back this money which I have been paying in interest each month for the last two years?

Any information on this will be appreciated.

Thanks and Best wishes

Bottom line is, did your mortgage agreement say it would track BoE rate or not?. If not then you have no complaint.

magpiecottage

It is also most unlikely that the Financial Ombudsman Service would accept a complaint on these grounds as, unless there is a contractual obligation, the lender will be able to argue that it is the legitimate exercise of its commercial judgement.

alexlyne

I believe Clinton and Bush were for claiming money back.
Reagan, Carter, Nixon and Obama have not tried claiming back.

That's just the US presidents though.

Bottom line is that the banks are protecting their bottom line.

ILW

alexlyne wrote: »

I believe Clinton and Bush were for claiming money back.
Reagan, Carter, Nixon and Obama have not tried claiming back.

That's just the US presidents though.

Bottom line is that the banks are protecting their bottom line.

Errrr.............

alexlyne

"does anyone know if there are any presidents for claiming back this money"

Now read my post above

(well I'm :rotfl:)