Abbey / Santander Deedsafe

Coys

Another thread resurrection, but it comes top if anyone searches (as I did) as we wanted the Land Registry charge removed. I spoke to a very helpful lady at the Santander mortgage centre.

She said you just need to write to Santander, Bridle Road, Bootle L30 4GB and ask for the deeds. If it was a joint mortgage then both need to sign the letter.

There is no fee for retrieving the deeds (ISTR Abbey would have charged some £50 or £100) and they waive the outstanding 50p too. They notify the Land Registry to update their records. She did say it can take 6-8 weeks.

magpiecottage

A small word of advice. The real deeds may have details that are not merely of historical interest but, if the Land Registry does not have a scanned copy, could be of legal significance in the event of a disagreement with your neighbours.

Marmaduke123

We had to write twice to Sandander to get our deeds back. The first letter produced no response at all, obviously sent to the wrong place and no-one did anything about it.

This is the address which produced a fairly quick result:

Santander Deeds Services
101 Midsummer Boulevard
Milton Keynes
MK9 1AA


We got our deeds back in less than 4weeks, and also a letter from the Land Registry to say the reference to Santander had been removed from their records. No charge, we paid something like £50 originally to have the deeds stored.


Thanks for the hint magpiecottage, we are keeping the deeds safe!

Kess

I just phoned Santander on the number (0845 716 5905) in my most recent Abbey Deedsafe letter from 2009 and spoke to a very helpful lady who confirmed that there was still a 50p charge on my mortgage account but that it would be waived and my deeds released and sent to me in 4-6 weeks.

So it's very straightforward, but obviously takes time and needs to be done well in advance of any house sale.

irishlil

Hi
I've been told Santandar today that as we have a mortgage taken out in Scotland, we would need to engage a lawyer to retrieve our deeds from Deedsafe.

Does anyone know anything about this?

murphydavid

irishlil wrote: »

Hi
I've been told Santandar today that as we have a mortgage taken out in Scotland, we would need to engage a lawyer to retrieve our deeds from Deedsafe.

Does anyone know anything about this?

As it is not compulsory to use a solicitor to register a title deed in Scotland see:
http://www.ros.gov.uk/customerservices/registeradeed.html
I would be surprised if this is correct.
If it was me I would write to one of the Santandar addresses above and ask again. If you get the same responnce ask what they need a lawyer to do that you can't do yourself. Last resort is.
http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/

Marmaduke123

Just write and ask for the return of your deeds held in Deedsafe and the removal of the reference to Santander on the Land Registry records.

Provide your mortgage number which should be on Deedsafe letters and information, and make sure you both sign the letter. There was no other process to be gone through or forms to be completed.

irishlil

Hi
People in Scotland and Northern Ireland do have to engage a solicitor to get the deeds back from the Deedsafe as I was told on the phone from Santandar, before I wrote to them. I've just received a reply to my letter asking for the deeds and was asked for the name of the solicitor we'd be using.

Marmaduke123

Sorry to hear this! Did you originally pay the fee which was meant to cover all future legal expenses? From memory it was something like £50 or £60. Oh, and was your mortgage with Abbey National, or was it with a different mortgage company which Santander also took over?

irishlil

I can't remember if we paid legal fees. The mortgage was with Abbey National, and so the Deedsafe Scheme was transferred to Santandar.