Mortgage Exit Fees successes and failures

malcolm000

malcolm000 wrote: »

Similar story to me. Was trying to repay my mortgage and kept asking for a final redemption statement which listed £99 redemption fee & £80 discharge fee. Kept asking for the discharge fee to be removed as I felt I knew what to do to discharge the mortgage myself (needed to inform land registry, etc). Abbey kept dragging their heels and when they did eventually issue a letter, after I had made the major capital repayment, the outstanding amount owed included a newly increased £225 redemption fee (this change was also shown in their new 'Tariff of Charges' sheet).
Hence phoned Abbey last week, completed and returned their enquiry form and now awaiting a refund.

Received a cheque for £130 ten days after returning their enquiry form:T :T . Thanks Martin:beer:

loobeylou_2

Hi All - this is my first posting, altho I have been using the site for a couple of years, to save money wherever possible. Thanks for all the great advice!

Just wanted to say thanks to Martin :T , as we have had a refund of £140.00 from Nat West, relating to our last but one mortgage (as with credit cards/energy suppliers/insurers, I change my mortgage to a better deal every couple of years). I didnt have all of the original paperwork handy, but wrote to them about the MEAF that I was charged - referred to by them as the "sealing fee". It turned out that there was a difference between what they had quoted in the original mortgage contract, and what I was actually charged 2 years later when I moved. This is the amount they have refunded.

I am just in the process of moving mortgages yet again, this time leaving First Active. Although they are currently saying that they are only charging me exactly what they told me they would - £195.00, I am trying to argue that this is excessive. Will let you know how I get on, but has anyone else had success in this type of scenario???

steve77

Hi just phoned yorkshire building society had no details at all about my previous mortgage after a few simple questions name dob post code etc. the guy i spoke to told me my exit fee was £73.50 and i was actually charged £100 ok its only £26.50 but its winging its way back to me so a victory in my book. It literally took 5 mins and the guy i spoke to was very helpful i suspect he was a closet martin lewis fan.

shouldof

:j Hi, phoned natwest this morning and within mins I was told I was due £140.00 and it would be in my account within 48 hrs. Thanks everyone.

wor_tony

I paid up a mortgage with the Derbyshire in early 2007. After seeing this site I called them and was told immediately that I had been overcharged and that I would receive a £100 refund in 3 working days. 3 days later a letter arrived to tell me that the Derbyshire were reviewing the fees I'd paid - 5 days later a cheque for £140 arrived in the post.

Thanks for the info:beer:

PS I told my dad who'd paid up a mortgage with the Abbey and he received a cheque for £45. Why aren't the banks and building societies made to refund this without having to make a claim?

MarkyMarkD

Because they don't know where most of the customers live, as there's no reason why they should have provided a forwarding address if they redeemed their mortgage and took one from a different lender, quite possibly on a different property.

wor_tony

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

Because they don't know where most of the customers live, as there's no reason why they should have provided a forwarding address if they redeemed their mortgage and took one from a different lender, quite possibly on a different property.

I agree, although I (and many others?) paid my mortgage off and remain in the same property.

I'm sure the banks/BS could make more of an effort to return the money - I can see why they wouldn't want to of course as it'll cost them a fortune - my real point is that if you or I knowingly take money from the bank/BS which does not belong to us we'd likely be hauled up in court.

EvilHomer_2

Whilst researching for my new re-mortgage deal, I stumbled upon this article. I immediately phoned the Woolwich dedicated hotline to ask for a refund of my exit fee. I had no idea what my exit fee should of been, or what I had paid. Neither did I have my old account no. The gentleman asked me how he could help, to which I replied "I would like to claim back my exit fee". Without having to say anymore, than confirm my identity. He found my details, advised how much I had paid, how much I should of paid and the interest accrued. Took my bank details, and I can now look forward to the sum of £135 hitting my account within the next week.
Whole thing took less than 5 minutes.
Martin you are a genius.....a modern day Robin Hood.:rotfl:

wor_tony

EvilHomer wrote: »

Whilst researching for my new re-mortgage deal, I stumbled upon this article. I immediately phoned the Woolwich dedicated hotline to ask for a refund of my exit fee. I had no idea what my exit fee should of been, or what I had paid. Neither did I have my old account no. The gentleman asked me how he could help, to which I replied "I would like to claim back my exit fee". Without having to say anymore, than confirm my identity. He found my details, advised how much I had paid, how much I should of paid and the interest accrued. Took my bank details, and I can now look forward to the sum of £135 hitting my account within the next week.
Whole thing took less than 5 minutes.
Martin you are a genius.....a modern day Robin Hood.:rotfl:

My experience with the DBS was the same, gave them my name and address - they looked up my mortgage, confirmed immediately that I had overpaid and that a refund would be on the way - easiest £145 quid I ever made

Foxways3

rustyjames wrote: »

Complained nearly a year ago to Alliance and Leicester about their £295 exit fee, both from the angle of the punitive disproportional charge (a fee can't be a penalty), and the contract being unfair.

They initially offered to drop it to £225, but after a further letter they reduced it to £140. In light of this article maybe it would have been possible to hold out for even more, but I was happy at the time.

Note this was all after the mortgage had already been redeemed as I didn't have time to hold out and argue with them whilst the remortgage was taking place.

Hi there. I am currently in the process of remortgaging and have been advised by A&L that they are to levy a MEAF of £295. I have constructed a letter asking for a breakdown of their charges but at this time I still remain with them. Am I better waiting till I have settled with my new lender or should I pursue getting it down now. Are there any tips for what should or should not go in the letter.

Thanks

Fox