Bank of Scotland - end of fixed rate deal

faqinel

My current fixed term with BoS rolls over to their SVR at the end of October so I gave them a call today to discuss transferring to another fixed term product. I was told that my current deal didn't expire till January and a thirty minute argument ensued whereupon I was placed on hold for five minutes before they finally came back and said they were mistaken but they could not correct the error there and then; I would have to call back next week.

Now that is obviously a simple mistake, a corruption of data, an erroneous keystroke, a glitch in the system. It is not a bank trying to stall customers from taking out a potentially detrimental (to the bank) fixed term deal at a point in time when interests rates could start to creep upwards.

My problem is two years ago, when I came to the end of my first fixed term deal, they valued my property £40,000 below market value. By remarkable coincidence the value was identical to the average house price on Zoopla (I live in one of a handful of four bedroom properties surrounded by mainly three bed terraces and 1 bed granny flats). Equally remarkable was the fact that this valuation just pushed me over the 75% LtV threshold. I could have payed £200 pound for a proper valuation by their appointed surveyors or I could have lumped it. In the end I got around it by getting a free valuation from the Halifax who used the same surveyors.

All this has made me rather cynical and I have to ask the question: Have any other BoS customers, when looking to transfer to a new fixed term deal, encountered similar tactics over the past few weeks?

...or am I just a paranoid loon

opinions4u

On the valuation issue, paranoid.

If lenders didn't use indexing, everybody would need a valuation in such circumstances. Everybody would have to pay for it. Indexing reduces the number of valuations required by a massive amount.

Zoopla probably take their feed from the Halifax House Price Index.

As for the product error, !!!!!!?!! Baffled as to how that mistake can be made. Why do you think it expires now?

faqinel

OK, I'm a paranoid loon. Probably more loony than paranoid!

I have just clarified the situation today with BoS and will recount my tale as a salutary warning to others to check the small print of any contract before signing.

Two days prior to my previous deal expiring I had a product transfer offer from BoS (a fixed, two year deal). I spoke to them again having received a better offer from another provider; essentially the same rate but without a £500 fee and was told that they had just adjusted their offers and could give me the same deal minus the fee but I would have to sign the form straight away and send it back. So foolishly and pressed for time I checked that the fee was zero and the interest rates were the same, signed the form and sent it through the post. What I didn't check was the fixed term which had changed from 24 months to 27 months. Doh. So yes, a complete and utter loony for not checking the quotation thoroughly (one should alway be on the lookout for spivs) but still peeved that I discussed with their advisor about one type of product but then was sold something entirely different. Surely a case of mis-selling but then it is a piece of paper with my signature versus an unrecorded telephone conversation.

Now if someone can point me to the campaign for Scottish independence, I would like to add my backing.

fiasco135

i have the same Problem. HM will register the hands, players and everything. However, HUD just isnt'n working.

Wh05apk

It is unlikely the deals being offered by BofS are the best, might be worth looking to remortgage elsewhere?

With regards to the date issue, fixed rates normally are arranged in tranches, so a "2"yr deal will often be for 25-27 months, hence why the newer deal probably had "more life" on it, having said that, the "advisor" should have run through the quote with you.