Bank of Ireland: How to jump ship?

hallaway

I'm with Bank of Ireland and have just received a letter that says my variable rate will raise by 50% in June.

How do I jump ship? (I have a part-variable rate - I'd be looking to port that part of my mortgage over and keep the fixed rate as it is. Talk about complicated!)

How do I complain?

How do I make a difference for the 150,000 in Britain who are affected by this unexpected and outrageous mortgage hike?

Never posted before on MSE; this has obviously motivated me to do so. What a crock!

The_J

hallaway wrote: »

I'm with Bank of Ireland and have just received a letter that says my variable rate will raise by 50% in June.

How do I jump ship? (I have a part-variable rate - I'd be looking to port that part of my mortgage over and keep the fixed rate as it is. Talk about complicated!)

You can't "port" the rate over. You need to leave BoI entirely to avoid the rate rise. If you have a fixed rate this will likely have an early repayment charge, call the number for BoI on the letter to find out how big this is.

To jump ship - remortgage. Call a broker or do it yourself. I'd recommend a broker because, ultimately, if there is an early repayment charge to pay it may not be worth moving. They should be able to do this calculation for you.

How do I complain?

The complaints process is on the booklet that was sent with the letter.

How do I make a difference for the 150,000 in Britain who are affected by this unexpected and outrageous mortgage hike?

You can't. You've been getting a better rate than most Britons for the last 3 years so if others are playing violins they will certainly be very small ones.

opinions4u

hallaway wrote: »

I'm with Bank of Ireland and have just received a letter that says my variable rate will raise by 50% in June.

Variable rates do have a habit of varying from time to time.

How do I jump ship? (I have a part-variable rate - I'd be looking to port that part of my mortgage over and keep the fixed rate as it is. Talk about complicated!)

Talk to a mortgage broker.

How much do you owe? How much is your property worth? Do you have a clean credit history? How much is the redemption penalty linked to your current fix? What it the fixed rate and how much of the debt is fixed?

How do I complain?

The bank will have a formal complaints procedure. But what is the nature of your complaint? You are on a variable interest rate, their funding costs are high so they're varying your interest rate.

It's something the can do. So you're complaint isn't valid. However galling the situation may be.

How do I make a difference for the 150,000 in Britain who are affected by this unexpected and outrageous mortgage hike?

You can't, so you don't. When you took the mortgage out, you probably expected a variable rate of around 7.5%. So are things really that "outrageous"?

Never posted before on MSE; this has obviously motivated me to do so. What a crock!

Welcome. Crock or not, you're stuck with the rate change. So you either stick with BOI or remortgage elsewhere, paying whatever extra fees, penalties and costs that may entail.

_Andy_

hallaway wrote: »

I'm with Bank of Ireland and have just received a letter that says my variable rate will raise by 50% in June.

How do I jump ship? (I have a part-variable rate - I'd be looking to port that part of my mortgage over and keep the fixed rate as it is. Talk about complicated!)

How do I complain?

How do I make a difference for the 150,000 in Britain who are affected by this unexpected and outrageous mortgage hike?

Never posted before on MSE; this has obviously motivated me to do so. What a crock!

There is no valid complaint. you have a variable rate mortgage and the rate has varied. If you wanted a base rate tracker you should have chosen one.

chalkie99

I imagine you never had a mortgage 20 odd years ago when rates went from about 8% to 15% in the space of a few months.

That would have made your eyes water :eek:

hallaway

The_J wrote: »

The complaints process is on the booklet that was sent with the letter.

Ah, if only there was an actual booklet enclosed. They must have run out by the time my letter was stuffed - no booklet enclosed, though it was referred to in the letter.

hallaway

chalkie99 wrote: »

I imagine you never had a mortgage 20 odd years ago when rates went from about 8% to 15% in the space of a few months.

That would have made your eyes water :eek:

Indeed. This is what we have been dreading since the Conservatives came into power...nightmare is now real.

hallaway

The_J wrote: »

You can't "port" the rate over. You need to leave BoI entirely to avoid the rate rise. If you have a fixed rate this will likely have an early repayment charge, call the number for BoI on the letter to find out how big this is.

This is really helpful. There is no repayment charge on the variable rate part of the mortgage and I was told at the time that I can fix that rate at any time - or repay it and take the money out with some other bank. I'm just not sure how to do that.

Guess I need to call the number tomorrow to complain about not receiving the illusive booklet - and also, to ask how it's all done.

hallaway

opinions4u wrote: »

When you took the mortgage out, you probably expected a variable rate of around 7.5%. So are things really that "outrageous"?

Welcome. Crock or not, you're stuck with the rate change. So you either stick with BOI or remortgage elsewhere, paying whatever extra fees, penalties and costs that may entail.

When I took my mortgage out, I expected to pay the rate I have been paying - not more. Why? Because that's how mortgages are supposed to work - not because the banks screwed up and now we're being held responsible. The Bank of England rates have not risen...there is no earthly reason for doing this until the BoE rates have risen.

However, thank you for the advice and for the 'welcome'. I'll be back!

asandwhen

hallaway wrote: »

Indeed. This is what we have been dreading since the Conservatives came into power...nightmare is now real.

Funny you should say that because I blame the previous Labour government

hallaway

asandwhen wrote: »

Funny you should say that because I blame the previous Labour government

Tru dat, as they say. However, a policy of reducing the deficit as rapidly as possible always means the worst for responsible borrowers. My in-laws were screwed by this back then...guess it's our turn now!