NEW Mortgage Exit Fees Discussion

sandhabibi

I'm in the process of hopefully repaying mortgage and today they sent through a statement from Abbey stating that early repayment charges are repayment fee £225 and loan @ 6.24% is £944. Please could someone advise if this is right or will I need to claim afterwards.. mortgage started dec03.

trudie15

Hi,

I was wondering in anybody coud help, we took out a mortgage with Northern Rock in April 2002 and exited in 2004 does anybody know what MEAF we would have been quoted and how much we would have actually paid.

We contacted Northen Rock by phone but apparently they do not hold the details of this which isd quite strange as Halifax held details for an earlier date.

Can anybody help. I need to write to them but haven't a clue what figures to quote!

Thanks

trudie15

[plus -- sorry, last question! -- i have no paperwork for our last mortgage, I shredded it all when we just recently moved and only have current mortgage info, but seeing as I dont have my roll number can I still call to claim? will the mortgage lender still have my info do you think?[/QUOTE]

Hi,

We were in the same position - I phoned up my bank and asked them for refernce numbers from old direct debits going back to 2000.

I phoned HSBC and after a bit of huffing she found all the details I needed.

Hope this helps.

Maggie_Holmes

Further to my post of yesterday 947. Looking at the list of fees I could get back (according to Martins list) I can't make out if the figure quoted is the correct amount yu should have been charged, because if that is the case 5 years ago Northern Rock charged approx. £150.00 . 3 years ago I was charges £195.00. If I am thinking correctly and £150.00 was (approx.) correct then will I get the difference between the two figures.

Also, when I changed from the Leeds/Halifax (took the mortgage out in 1987) was it the fee at that time I am looking at or the fee of 2001 when I re-mortgaged, and if that is the case, again, is it the difference between the fee I was charged in 2001 (WHICH i DON'T KNOW) AND FIGURE of 1987.

I am so confused

Could someone please reply to this message and my other message I would be very grateful before I make the step of reclaiming. I don't want to look an idiot. I want to know what I am talking ABOUT.

MarkyMarkD

To answer all the posts on this page in one:

Clare11 - yes, that's probably part of what counts as MEAF.

Maggie_Holmes - yes, of course you'll get an honest answer. Mortgage lenders are not into lying to their customers. The three items you mention from the start of your NR mortgage are not exit fees as they were charged at the outset - nor are they reclaimable. You may get some of the NR £195 back but definitely not all of it. No, you can't claim for bounced DD fees. To make each of the MEAF claims, just phone up the relevant lender and explain what you paid.

Morp3us - it's not just people who remortgaged, it is anyone who redeemed a mortgage (but particularly in the last 5 years as it's then that the MEAFs have increased the most). Your parents should be eligible for most of the MEAF you quote being refunded as their mortgage is so old.

ailurophile - you may be able to get a partial refund but it depends if they increased the MEAF whilst you were a customer.

gstir - yes, and yes. You have two occasions when you've been charged an MEAF and in each case you may be due a PARTIAL refund if they increased their MEAF whilst you were a customer.

sandhabibi - see the link at the end of this post.

trudie15 - see the link at the end of this post.

Maggie_Holmes - again! - yes, the difference is what you can reclaim. And for the Leeds/Halifax, it's the difference between the 1987 fee and the 2001 fee. You really don't need to know how much you are claiming. Just write to the lender and say "I redeemed my mortgage in 2001 (or whenever) and I believe that you charged me an MEAF which was higher than the MEAF I agreed when I took out the loan. Please refund me the difference" - and they'll work out what they owe without you having to guess.

Link for those who don't know whether they have a claim or not:

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/mortgages/article.html?in_article_id=417037&in_page_id=8

lists the fees for most lenders and when they changed.

Hope those help.

MarkyMarkD

Principality Building Society are the only one I've seen, thus far, who are bucking the trend.

Every other lender is saying that they'll charge the MEAF originally stated in your agreement - the FSA's second option.

But Principality are going for the FSA's third option (charging their CURRENT MEAF) for all borrowers whose mortgages started after 1995 - which must be the vast majority of their borrowers. This option requires them to justify their current MEAF to the FSA - so Principality must be comfortable that the FSA are going to consider their current (£135) charge reasonable.

Quote from Principality's website:

As a mutual building society, we have always been careful when applying fees and charges to ensure they are fair and transparent. In common with all other fees our current MEAF (£135) is amongst the lowest in the sector and significantly below the average (c£175). We also value loyalty amongst our members and do not charge at all when a mortgage runs its full course and redeems naturally.

Recently we have been giving advance notice of any changes, but we do recognise that the mortgage conditions for borrowers who took their mortgage before September 1995 did not contemplate changes to MEAFs. Therefore we have decided, for this category of borrowers, who now redeem their mortgage before the end of its natural term, we will charge a MEAF equivalent to that which applied at the time they took their mortgage.

Where a mortgage was taken after September 1995 we will charge the current MEAF on early redemption. We intend to keep our MEAF amongst the lowest in the sector and of course this also applies to our other fees and charges.

jdta09

I had a 5 year fixed mortgage with Bristol and West which finished last year. The fee had gone up from £100 to £195 so I sent them the standard letter.
They've replied saying that because we took out a further loan two years later we are only entitled to the difference between the exit fee in place at that time (£150) and £195. The additional loan seemed completely separate to me, the payments were collected separately and it was for a different term.

This doesn't seem fair as there was no change to the 5 year mortgage and the additional loan had its own exit fee of £50 which I'm not querying.

Has anyone else taken out an additional loan?

Maggie_Holmes

Just rang the Halifax, very good and helpful, no problems, told them my roll no checked who I was and told me what I should have been charged when i changed mortgages and I have £55.00 on its way should have it in 28 days.

Nice one.

Now I have to write a letter to NR as they do not have a dedicated telephone line. That will take a bit longer.

Next, going to write to my bank First Direct enclose the £10.00 cheque and get them to list all my charges over the last 6 years see what it totals and I will see about taking acton there. Just a bit scared if they turn around and say they will close my bank account though. I know Martin suggests opening a paracute account but I shouldn't have to do that if they have over-charged in the first place. I will see what I have been charged, might be worth it.

I will let you know what I get from NR later.

THANKS.

suzib

Hi,
I am currently switching my mortgage from the Bank of Scotland.
Could I claim for a £45 'Release of Security Fee', which has not been mentioned in my original Mortgage offer of almost four years ago? It appears to be in addition to an early redemption charge of £150.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
Suzib

andye_3

Hi does anyone know if the reclaimable exit fees apply to Buy to Let mortgages? i closed one with Mortgage Express recently.