Mortgage Exit Fees successes and failures

dunstonh

plazydays wrote: »

I have had an interesting chat with ABBEY. I have been told that my exit fee is a fee I am required to pay. I remorgaged with them two years ago and having read this, I thought I would ocntact them as on my statement i was charged 225. They claim this is the right fee. I have asked for it to be reviewed only to be told that the file is in archieve and I mgith even have to pay for them to look at it.

The FSA ruling is that you pay the fee that was in place at the time you took the last mortgage deal you arranged. So, sticking with the same lender and buying a new deal two years ago (remortgaging is when you move lenders) means you are tied to the terms in place 2 years ago. Not when you started with Abbey originally.

CJLONDON_2

I telephoned to complain,

they replied saying that I was not entitled to a refund,

I replied saying that they should disclose proof as to how they arrived at the figure of £100 for a MEAF and also asking them for proof that they gave me proper notice of the fee and if they didn't then I would refer the claim to the Financial Ombudsman

Today a letter offering goodwill full refund and interest @8%,

TOTAL RECLAIMED FOR A COUPLE OF LETTERS £113 :money: :j :j :j

**having also used this site to claim £8k back from Barclays for PPI, my advice to all is keep going and make it look like you are serious and you will progress the case if they don't, you will be amazed by the turnaround from their first rejection letter, always be firm but stick to the facts, put yourself in the shoes of the person reading your letter, Good Luck**

dunstonh

I replied saying that they should disclose proof as to how they arrived at the figure of £100 for a MEAF and also asking them for proof that they gave me proper notice of the fee and if they didn't then I would refer the claim to the Financial Ombudsman

So you bribed them. Effectively you used the system to extort money from them. Whilst the system allows you to do that, you have to decide if you have the morals to resort to extortion or not.

CJLONDON_2

That is a very strange thing to say.

I believe that £100 is too much to charge for a MEAF, the FSA clearly agree with me and Martin Lewis also believes that anything over £50 is not a fair reflection of what it costs to Exit a Mortgage. As I believe the charge is unfair, I asked for a refund which I believe is justified.

How this amounts to "extortion" or "bribery" is beyond me!

Bribery is illegal and I do not break the law thanks very much...

Once_bitten

Hopefully the next time CJ tries to do business with a Building Society a large red warning light will start flashing and the shutters comedown as he (or she) approaches the counter

CJLONDON_2

Wow I came on here to help people, I am a new member and thought that this forum was for like minded people who were sick of being bullied by the big institutions who overcharge the individual consumer to fund their own multi million pound bonuses.

Obviously I am wrong and this will be the last message that I post or read.

Good luck to all the people who are managing to reclaim and all I can say to Dunstonh and Once-bitten is maybe you are on the wrong forum and perhaps you should join the bankers forums :rotfl:

_Andy_

CJLONDON wrote: »

That is a very strange thing to say.

I believe that £100 is too much to charge for a MEAF, the FSA clearly agree with me and Martin Lewis also believes that anything over £50 is not a fair reflection of what it costs to Exit a Mortgage. As I believe the charge is unfair, I asked for a refund which I believe is justified.

How this amounts to "extortion" or "bribery" is beyond me!

Bribery is illegal and I do not break the law thanks very much...

If you felt the fee was too high, why did you agree to it when you agreed to the mortgage?

dunstonh

I believe that £100 is too much to charge for a MEAF

What you believe doesnt matter. You agreed to it when you took the mortgage out.

the FSA clearly agree with me

No they dont. The FSA agreed that a charge is valid and that it shouldnt increase beyond what is reasonable from the commencement. I suggest you read their rulings before making things up.

and Martin Lewis also believes that anything over £50 is not a fair reflection of what it costs to Exit a Mortgage.

It doesnt matter what Martin thinks. The FSA made its ruling and the lenders have to abide by what the FSA says, not what Martin says.

As I believe the charge is unfair, I asked for a refund which I believe is justified.

So, why did you buy the product with that fee in the first place then?

How this amounts to "extortion" or "bribery" is beyond me!

Bribery is illegal and I do not break the law thanks very much...

You complained and the lender gave their response that met the FSA requirements. You then threatened them with the FOS which gave them a choice of pay you £100 or pay the FOS £500. The FOS would have rejected your complaint but the lender would be £400 worse off than paying you £100.

So it was cheaper to pay you the money then get the FOS to agree with them.

Coercion is probably a closer definition.

wildtrout

sent a letter to alliance & leicester asking for a refund as i paid £295
used the template letter. got a relpy to say that they feel the fee has not been unfairly applied and therefore cannot agree to a refund. should i except this or do something else

wildtrout

_Andy_

wildtrout wrote: »

sent a letter to alliance & leicester asking for a refund as i paid £295
used the template letter. got a relpy to say that they feel the fee has not been unfairly applied and therefore cannot agree to a refund. should i except this or do something else

wildtrout

Presumably you agreed to the £295 when you took the mortgage out? If so, why do you feel there is anything unfair about it?