NEW Mortgage Exit Fees Discussion

Eskafeldian

My former lender has written back in response to my claim for a refund of exit fees stating that my mortgage was not regulated by the FSA so they don't have to give us a refund and they're not going to! What do I do now?

di3004

Eskafeldian wrote: »

My former lender has written back in response to my claim for a refund of exit fees stating that my mortgage was not regulated by the FSA so they don't have to give us a refund and they're not going to! What do I do now?

When it comes to mortgages I have not got a clue regarding regulation but I did assume they would be regulated by someone, or maybe this is a bit like the ppi then....... ??, I'm sure someone will advise you and will know how this works.

Good luck.

Di.;)

stefderm

I have just had a 3 minute conversation with a lovely woman from the Halifax. I knew NOTHING about my mortgage comings and goings - and I had NO info with me. In that 3 mins, she was able to locate my details and tell me that I am due a refund of £125 for a mortgage exit fee - which will be with me within 28 days. When you're bad with money, you always feel that EVERYTHING is your fault!!! I'm learning not to let my financial inadequacy prevent me from asking the questions - GO DO IT PLEASE!!!! Get the number from Martin's website and let them do a little work on your behalf!!! It's your money after all! PS. I've also had some success reclaiming credit card charges - not as daunting as it may seem!! I wish you every success and encourage you to go after what's yours!! PPS It might also be an idea to get your credit report from Equifax or Experian - then you'll have a comprehensive list of everything you've done financially in the last while. You can get a freebie but remember to cancel once you get what you're looking for - or they'll charge your card. I know what it's like to be desperate, desperate (the churning stomach etc) and so often a small amount of money at the right time can stop you from going up the walls!!! I really do hope you get your answers. Best wishes - Stefderm

FUNNY-ABOUT-MUNNY wrote: »

We have re-mortgaged so many times in the last 10 years i don't have the contracts or redemption breakdowns from any of the lenders. what should iask them to send me when i call?

we could have bought a new house with all the fees we have been charged over the years! :mad:

i am determined to see if i can get anything back, but i don't really understand what a MEAF is and what other name it could have? Could it be the £175 mortgage repayment administration fee from the Halifax in 2006?

or the £225 repayment fee from the Abbey in 2005?

we have also had mortgages with EGG and Nat West but no paperwork from them anymore.

please help. We are desperate, desperate, desperate for a little extra money and this could potentially be the answer to my prayers.

sally xxx

femmefatale170

Hi, Any Advice pretty please!!

I have claimed for my past Northern Rock mortgage and my C&G mortgages. I have now received a response from Northern Rock. I took out the NR charge in 2002 and redeemed in 2004.

They claim in their letter to me that their Discharge of Mortgage fee of £95(!) and Despatch of Title Deeds fee of £85 (!) is "now amalgamated and called the DOM fee" following guidance from the FSA.

Now, if the FSA rulings came in Jan 07 and i terminated my contract with them in 2004, is it justifiable that they can still "amalgamate" the two and combine them despite me redeeming 3 years earlier?!? I paid a total of £225 and they say that their new DOM fee is £175 therefore offer a refund of £50.

According to Martin's advice usually closing an account should not cost more than £50 and the Deeds Dispatch fee feels pretty steep, considering my deeds contained no more than a 3 page Lease, an old local authority search and a leasehold policy containing 1 page! - and i know for a fact that most lenders send deeds through the solicitors "DX" system which they pay at reduced rates dependent upon how much they send out. And a up to date copy of the Title Information document is sent from your solicitors upon registration of the charge up to the lender. And even if they did get it themselves, it costs no more than £12 for a single title number (and that's postal - online can be as little as £6/7!)

I really dont know whether i should write and fight back at their offer of the £50 refund and their "amalgamation" policy or whether to make do with their offer? I am afraid if i push too hard they'll just say no to the refund altogther.

I need to reply shortly to Northern Rock so any advice would be gratefully received. I understand we signed a contract, but I feel that because the FSA gave them guidance in 2007, they did not have this knowledge back in 2003 when i was charged, and could have increased the fee unjustifiably.



Thank you

psarinuk

Hello all

I am re-mortgaing and I have managed to get the 2 year fixed offset mortgage from First Direct @5.74%.

While redeeming the money to Halifax, they have asked for £175 as Mortgage Repayment Administration charge in addition to the funds owed to them.

As far as I remember, I never signed up to this as its not mentioned in the offer document that I signed upto.

Upon discussing with them, they have advised that this information should have been mentioned by my mortgage advisors (L&C). They also mentioned that although this charge may be absent from contract, it should be present in "terms and conditions" booklet. I do not have that booklet with me and I believe there was no such thing as £175 mentioned in any documentation that I received at that time from Halifax.

Do you think these charges are justified? Does anyone have a scanned copy of the part of booklet (2 years old) that mentions about these charges?

Many thanks in advance...

Magic_Man

We recently paid off our mortgage with the Abbey and, like others here, were charged the standard £225.

I wrote to them a couple of weeks ago using a modified version of the letter on this site and they have come back to us requesting we fill in a form stating the exact amount that the original mortgage exit fee would have been and asking us to declare that this is correct to the best of our knowledge etc. and signed.

My question is, are we obliged to complete such details to claim back a fee that shouldn't have been charge at such a high amount in the first place? I'm just a bit worried that if we do not get everything exact on the claim form they will use the declaration against us and refuse to refund anything.

Would I be better off just writing back, enclosing the blank form, and requesting the refund of charges that were unduly taken. After all, they are fully aware of all the original contract details of the mortgage so why should we have to complete such details.

Why do they charge such a fee in the first place if they then have a form to claim it back...

pinknico

Does anyone have the contact details for The Woolwich as the number on the table is not recognised and has anyone had any success with them? Thanks

pinknico

pinknico wrote: »

Does anyone have the contact details for The Woolwich as the number on the table is not recognised and has anyone had any success with them? Thanks

Thanks to Noz on another thread for link to find a number for Barclays.
One phone call this morning and will be receiving £193.29p !!!
Thanks Noz and Martin.:beer:

Noz

pinknico wrote: »

Thanks to Noz on another thread for link to find a number for Barclays.
One phone call this morning and will be receiving £193.29p !!!
Thanks Noz and Martin.:beer:

You're very welcome pinknico!

MarkyMarkD

@a1i - as you redeemed in 2001:

(1) you aren't legally entitled to reclaim anything as it's over 6 years and the statute of limitations applies; and
(2) the amount of any increase is likely to be trivial as the major increases in MEAFs only took place from 2004 onwards for most lenders.

Just leave it, IMHO.

@RyanP - this thread is about MEAFs, so I'm not sure what relevance your post has.

@Eskafeldian - some lenders, particularly second charge lenders, are indeed not regulated by the FSA and therefore the FSA ruling doesn't apply. If your lender says they are not regulated, they are unlikely to be lying. Therefore you can't reclaim anything.

@femmefatale - the amalgamation stuff, and the mention of NR's "new" charge, are all irrelevant. What matters is what the fee was when you agreed your loan - presumably £175 - and what they charged when you redeemed - presumably £225. Hence a refund of £50 is due. There is no such thing as an "allowable" or "reasonable" fee, and the lenders' costs are also completely irrelevant. Whatever you agreed to pay, when you took out the loan, is what you are legally required to pay.

@Magic Man - all mortgage lenders should now be charging their borrowers the "correct" amount on redemption, so I'm surprised if Abbey are not doing so. As you don't state when you took out the mortgage (or last switched product) I can't tell if £225 is correct or not. I'm guessing you don't know either or you'd simply fill the form in. If your mortgage is a 2 year product and you are redeeming now, £225 is almost definitely correct.