Standard Life to Barclays - breaking contract?

opinions4u

NSN1968 wrote: »

Result...
Just received a letter from Standard Life stating that because they are entitled to remove the features from the Mortgage they are do not uphold my complaint. However, as a goodwill gesture, they will waive the early repayment charges and the mortgage redeption fee (£4083) should I wish to remortgage elsewhere.

Now I can get out of my 10 year fixed 5.35% and jump to a much better rate elswhere.

Thanks for all your advice...
Neil

Thanks for the update.

I think that means they expect to lose if anybody in a similar position goes to the FOS.

So I'd encourage people to complain to the lender first and then escalate if they don't get a similar result.

Darkstar

NSN1968 wrote: »

Result...
Just received a letter from Standard Life stating that because they are entitled to remove the features from the Mortgage they are do not uphold my complaint. However, as a goodwill gesture, they will waive the early repayment charges and the mortgage redeption fee (£4083) should I wish to remortgage elsewhere.

Now I can get out of my 10 year fixed 5.35% and jump to a much better rate elswhere.

Thanks for all your advice...
Neil

That is great news.

I am having problems with complaining over the phone even though they said it was fine originally. Is there any chance you could send me a copy of your complaint letters to use as a template? I have tried to send you a PM with my email address but you are not accepting PMs. Can you activate PMs so I can send my email address, if not I fully understand.

My ERC is just over £5,500.

lornaprice

NSN1968 wrote: »

Result...
Just received a letter from Standard Life stating that because they are entitled to remove the features from the Mortgage they are do not uphold my complaint. However, as a goodwill gesture, they will waive the early repayment charges and the mortgage redeption fee (£4083) should I wish to remortgage elsewhere.

Now I can get out of my 10 year fixed 5.35% and jump to a much better rate elswhere.

Thanks for all your advice...
Neil

Makes our ERC look tiny. When did you take this mortgage out? Ours was in 2000.

Thrugelmir

opinions4u wrote: »

Thanks for the update.

I think that means they expect to lose if anybody in a similar position goes to the FOS.

So I'd encourage people to complain to the lender first and then escalate if they don't get a similar result.

I would take the view that they are happy to lose customers. Banks are deleveraging and reducing mortgage exposure.

opinions4u

Thrugelmir wrote: »

I would take the view that they are happy to lose customers. Banks are deleveraging and reducing mortgage exposure.

Indeed they are. But Barclays is more able to plug any funding shortfall than any other bank bar HSBC.

Waiving ERCs is a massive hit on profit.

Thrugelmir

opinions4u wrote: »

Indeed they are. But Barclays is more able to plug any funding shortfall than any other bank bar HSBC.

Waiving ERCs is a massive hit on profit.

The funding shortfall is potentially huge in the years ahead for UK banks. Their priority is to bolster capital reserves currently.

Wholesale money market rates are rising. So I suspect Barclay's is taking a longer term view of potential profit earn on a given mortgage.
Fewer mortgages to administer less overhead cost as well.

NSN1968

lornaprice wrote: »

Makes our ERC look tiny. When did you take this mortgage out? Ours was in 2000.

The ERC is there because it's a 10 yr fixed rate. They charge a reducing percentage of the mortgage as an ERC if you come out of a fixed rate early.

I'm 6 years into the 10 year fixed rate term.

My ERC is £3800 and the redemption fee is a standard £250.
SL has waived both fees as a goodwill gesture.

Darkstar

I am now in receipt of a letter which also offers me as a gesture of good will to waive my ERC and discharge fees.

There will be dancing on the street.

However I have now tried to contact three mortgage providers to find two have pulled their deals and one has a queue of 10 days before I can get a telephone interview and they will not hold the product for me. What is going on.

OverlandLandy

All
I have been stung by Barclay's.
the only advice I can offer is:

1. follow their complaints procedure to the letter.

2. ensure you and they respond in the prescribed time (Note any missed deadlines, phone calls, times and names of anyone you speak to etc...)

3. you can ask for FULL disclosure of all information/transcripts/notes etc... from Barclay's (It cost me £10 and I got about 400 pages of A4 back).

4. Read these through several times - I identified some very clear inconsistencies and errors - and some interesting 'internal' notes!

5. Go to the FOS - be clear on the issues, supply all supporting info where possible - even mention other examples from MSE website as a ref in terms of 'recurring/symptomatic' endemic deceit or mis-selling.

6. Expect not to win (AFAIK only around 1 in 4 complaints are upheld)

7. Learn from your experience to perhaps make different decisions next time around?

Not much help I know - but good luck.

lornaprice

NSN1968 wrote: »

The ERC is there because it's a 10 yr fixed rate. They charge a reducing percentage of the mortgage as an ERC if you come out of a fixed rate early.

I'm 6 years into the 10 year fixed rate term.

My ERC is £3800 and the redemption fee is a standard £250.
SL has waived both fees as a goodwill gesture.

Hmmm, it seems to me that others have more to gain from this than us (in a way) if SLife are prepared to waive such large fees. For us it is very little advantage as our ERC is only £150.

We wanted our flexible mortgage as we had plans to drawdown temporarily and then pay it back within a couple of years. We nearly did this a few months ago. It's a good job we didn't as we would now be in the situation where we were landed with a big mortgage and no facility to pay it off as the transfer to Barclays is imminent and Barclays terms don't allow overpayments of more than 10%. What a mess we could have ended up in.

As a matter of interest, the letter from Standard Life arrived the other day quoting the clauses in our contract that allowed them to do this. We duly fished our contract out and looked them up only to discover that the clauses didn't exist. A phone call to SLife revealed that they had issued a new contract in 2010 (not sent to us). So, they rewrite the contract in their favour just before they sell the business. Great.

I don't know why they don't just cut to the chase and write one that says "we can do what the **** we want when we want, but you have to do everything we say".

Our form and accompanying paperwork were posted to the Ombudsman today.