Mortgage Exit Fees successes and failures

gallygirl

NORTHERN ROCK
FEE HISTORY

From January 2003 the fee was £175, rising to £195 in November that year and to £225 in August 2004. In December 2004 it rose again to £250.

CURRENT POSITION

Borrowers will only pay the fee originally mentioned on their agreement. That means previous borrowers who paid £250 may need a refund – which the bank says it is prepared to pay to claimants.

ADDRESS

Customer Services Director, Northern Rock PLC, Northern Rock House, Gosforth, Newcastle, NE3 4PL

This is from www.thisismoney.co.uk website, it lists all the big companioes and their fees (don't thank me, thank whoever told me!!!)

OOOOOOHHHHH, wonder if my C & G money will be in tomorrow

Arkay_3

Great result. Sent Martin's recommended letter just one week ago and have had a reply from Halifax to say that they are going to refund me £125 in full and final settlement of my complaint. Cheers Martin.

moneyp_2

Hi,

If any of you out there were hit by the A&L fee increase in the past few years, claim that refund NOW!

I printed out the MSE template letter on 28/01/07, received correspondence within seven days and a cheque refund of £100.00 by Feb 11th.

They're aware of what they did and will pay up pronto!

Don't let them get away with it - It's your money.

Good luck

Moneyp
:T :T

tiff

Called Bristol & West (now Britannia?) on behalf of my Mum who finished her mortgage in 2003. Was told they are not acting until the FSA ruling on the 28th Feb, so have to call back after then.

ezhiks

I had a mortgage with the Nottingham BS from 1993 to 2002. I used the letter template and sent it off to them. I had a letter back saying that they were waiting until the 28th Feb to decide what to do, and that they would contact me in March.

To be honest I don't know what the fees were back in 1993, nor could I find a breakdown of what I actually paid in 2002. I think there will be an element of trust that they will use the correct figures when they do make the refund.

They will have to comply, won't they?

JoshRogan

Hi - First off thanks to Martin for the article (and website), only came across the site last week and am finding it very useful.

I wrote to Northern Rock Last week regarding the Mortgage I started with them in 1998 - the reply I got today (they replied within a couple of working days!) is below

Now, as I could not find the original documents (I know they are in that loft somewhere!) I was suprised when they came back with a figure of £140, as looking at tables on this and other site in 1998 the fee was more around the £80 mark. I get the feeling that they want me to sign the disclaimer so I will waive my rights to challange them should I find the cost was different or the ruling on 28th is different.

Anyone got any ideas? I think I will write back asking for copy of agreement and breakdown of the charge with a view to waiting for the 28th. I mean £110 is nice, but one cant help thinking they are holding back. I also note that some customers are getting Interest paid on the money, which is great too!


---- Below copy of letter recieved and copy of their disclaimer, I hope people find it useful ---

Discharge of Mortgage Fee
Thank you for contacting us on 9 February 2007 about the Discharge of Mortgage fee. Given recent discussions within the financial services industry, I would like to clarify our position.

When a customer chooses to redeem their mortgage, a number of administrative activities need to take place for which the Discharge of Mortgage fee (previously known together as the Sealing and Deeds Despatch or Despatch of Title Deeds fee) is charged. We remain satisfied that this charge continues to be fair, appropriate, and clearly communicated to customers.

From January 2007, customers will now pay the Discharge of Mortgage fee that applied when their loan was originally advanced, or their contract was last amended. As a result, I have arranged to refund the difference between the amount that we charged you (£250) and the fee that applied when this mortgage contract was initiated (£140).

So that I can send you a cheque for £110, please sign and return the enclosed Acceptance Declaration within the next 10 days. A pre-paid envelope is provided for your use.

Acceptance Declaration
I accept, in full and final settlement of my complaint with Northern Rock, the terms outlined in the letter
dated 12 February 2007, without further liability on the part of Northern Rock.


£110


Signed


........................................


Date

waltonboy

What a Star Martin is!!!
I took out a mortgage with Halifax in 1998 and moved last year. I was charged £175 so thought I may get something back. As a previous message stated, Halifax now have an option for these claims on their call-steering platform!

I only needed to go through the normal security checks with them. They confirmed the original agreed fee was £50 and that I'd receive a refund of £125 within 28 days.

Thank you once again Martin.:T

Takecareofthepennies

jburfot wrote:

I have my original mortgage contract but i cannot seem to find any reference to the MEAF. I know the admin charge is £175 but how can i tell if this is the correct cost or not

I found that with some of my previous mortgages (I have changed lenders several times over the past 10 years) the charges were actually listed in a separate little brochure.

In the case of one lender, I no longer had any records of the original fee either. I took the liberty of simply stating there was no charge at all to begin with - leave it to them to dig up the old figures. Not ideal, maybe, but one way to go at least.

figgy

Wrote to Northern Rock querying £45 difference between original exit fee and amount actually taken. They replied offering cheque for £55 (£10 more than I had queried) which we have accepted. Not a huge sum but better in our pocket than theirs!! Thank you Martin:D

greengrass

Can anybody advise me on this one, when we set up with halifax in 1998 we also had to pay £768 as an additional mortgage security fee, can I claim any of this back?