release of deeds

lucadobe

i have just paid off my mortgage which was outstanding £10,600... i had adm charges which were placed on there when i took it out of £175.. just kicked up a fuss and they have reduced it to £50..however i was asked about my deeds and did want them? i said they had not been mentioned so probably yes...however i was then told it will cost me £125!! is this another method to milk me

hansi

Let me guess, would this be a Spanish bank?

societys_child

Of course you want your deeds!
I wouldn't want them keeping them, they'd probably charge storage by the sound of it
Not sure how can they can charge you for your deeds? Ask them what the £125 is for.

dimbo61

And the reason they reduced the charge from £175 to £50 is because thats what it may well have said on the original mortgage paperwork!!!

magpiecottage

The deeds are not actually necessary any more in England or Wales as it is all held electronically by HM Land Registry (unless your property is one of the relatively few that has not been registered).

However, there is an argument that the deeds are your property and unless they have a contractual right to charge you for their return when they no longer require them as security they should not do so.

If you tell them you are dissatisfied with the imposition of non-contractual fee and to either resolve it within two working days or refer it to their complaints procedure I suspect they would agree to do so although it may take a week or two to get them to you.

If they say they want to charge you for Registered Post, that is probably reasonable, though, as it would have been a foreseeable expense.

lucadobe

Actually it is Halifax...i did ask what the £125 was for as i said sarcastically let me guess admin charges for you to be paid again ontop of your salary!

birkee

I've held my deeds for many years, and whilst they may no longer be necessary as mentioned above, (I don't know.)the package includes much historical information which may be of use or interest.

Frinstance. My last house used to be owned by Christopher Lucas (Son of Joseph) and included much family information from when he died. Also the land on which the house was built, was part of a plot of 50(?) acres bought about 1925 for £250k.
The important part may be planning permissions for changes to the house over the years, in case any changes were made without planning permission.

magpiecottage

birkee wrote: »

The important part may be planning permissions for changes to the house over the years, in case any changes were made without planning permission.

The local authority should have that information anyway.

birkee

magpiecottage wrote: »

The local authority should have that information anyway.

If any alterations were done officially, maybe.

sophieschoice

lucadobe wrote: »

Actually it is Halifax...i did ask what the £125 was for as i said sarcastically let me guess admin charges for you to be paid again ontop of your salary!

When my Dad paid off his mortgage some years ago the Halifax asked him if he wanted them to keep the deeds for a one off £10 charge.
He agreed to this and the deeds are still in the possession of the Halifax.
My Dad died earlier this year and now the Halifax want £275 before they release them.
I feel my Dad was misled but he isn't here to speak up now.
I really don't care about the money but I am very very upset because I know he would be. He took great care with all his financial dealings to make sure only his children would benefit on his death.
Any advice would be much appreciated.

beecher2

I thought I only paid £50 to get my deeds last year - I will check later if I remember. It certainly says the following on their website:

Deeds Despatch fee £50 We charge this fee when we send the title documents to a conveyancer acting for you, or to a branch office to enable you to inspect the title documents. We also charge this fee if we send the title documents to you or a third party following full repayment of the mortgage