MSE News: Thousands of Santander mortgage holders could get payouts after blunder

hulltiger1969

I was on a fixed rate mortgage with santander from 2006, I sold the property in 2010, Could I be one of those affected, Santander cannot inform me as I no longer live there, Should I contact them do you think?

Thrugelmir

The number effected is far less than the headline suggests.

Santander, the Spanish banking giant that bought Abbey National, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley, will start to send new letters this week and will continue to do so until the autumn. These will set out how borrowers can complain if they feel they have lost out financially. There will be a dedicated phone line for customers with questions.

Although many people will be contacted the FCA expects only a few customers will be entitled to compensation. This will depend on whether borrowers could have moved to a better mortgage deal.

Santander emphasised this point in a statement. ‘No former Alliance & Leicester customers were impacted by the cap margin increase, only specific Abbey customers with a balance on their mortgage during December 2008,’ it said.

‘Subsequently, only customers whose mortgage was subject to this change will receive a letter that provides a clearer explanation of the cap margin, the reason for the 2008 increase and how this affected them.’

It added: ‘Some customers who had an SVR-linked mortgage with an early repayment charge (ERC) with Santander at the time we increased the cap margin may not have been aware that they could have repaid their mortgage ERC free for three months after the increase affected their mortgage.’

rate_hike

hi TBONES1957
The best web site to get answers is on property 118 they give great sound advice slagging each over of is forbidden as the admistrator steps in. :beer:

snaffs

hulltiger1969 wrote: »

I was on a fixed rate mortgage with santander from 2006, I sold the property in 2010, Could I be one of those affected, Santander cannot inform me as I no longer live there, Should I contact them do you think?

Don't be surprised if a letter arrives at your new address.

Ronaldo_Mconaldo

We took out a fixed rate mortgage with Abbey in 2008, fixed for 5 years and have just taken on a new fixed rate deal. Anyone think I've got any chance of getting something out of this. They probably gave me the incorrect SVR details in 2008 and so i'll have made my decision this year based on what I was told back then. Fingers crossed anyway.

dreamteamgirl

I took out a mortgage in June 2006 with Santander, and due to level of fees was unable to have my ex taken off of it, so I am wondering if I maybe affected.
Would certainly be nice if I was!! 6 years of struggling with a mortgage on my own would be lovely to get something back!!

Dave_ja_vu

We had our Abbey National mortgage hijacked by Santander and my A&L bank account by the ruthless, shoddy and incompetent Santander Banco. The 25 year mortgage was technically paid off 2010 but these evil, greedy loan sharks slapped £7,500 in extra 'fees/charges' although I have never signed any agreement for them to take over the mortgage, or any of their terms and conditions. I contacted the finical ombudsmen and ended up with a junior clark who took 10 months to revue my case, kept quoting wrong figure and did not pass it on to a qualified ombudsman. She ruled in favour of Santander saying that it had a right to extend my mortgage from 25 years to 31 years to pay off the extra fees it had added and they did not have to inform me they had done this or ask for my agreement ? it was it their terms and conditions (which I had never signed or agreed to).

Also very important: If you do go to the financial ombudsmen their ruling is final and you then do not ten have the right to take the matter to court ! even if you only get an air head office junior and not the ombudsman.

I do hope I qualify for a refund so I can finally say good bye to their extortion racket without a hefty exit penalty.

If you are considering a Santander mortgage..... for the love of god DON'T DO IT.

kingstreet

Dave_ja_vu wrote: »

If you do go to the financial ombudsmen their ruling is final and you then do not ten have the right to take the matter to court ! even if you only get an air head office junior and not the ombudsman

That is not the case.

FOS final decisions are binding on the institution, but not on the complainant. You have the right to go to law, should you choose to.

But if the ombudsman’s final decision does not find in favour of the consumer, the consumer is not required to accept it and it does not become binding. The consumer is free to go to court instead (depending on any court requirements or restrictions – for example, on time limits).

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/factsheets/final_decision.pdf

Dave_ja_vu

kingstreet thank you for the correction update, the letter I received in 2010 clearly states it. However they my have changed the rule since and to be honest it would cost me a lot more than the original £7500 to take it to court and they can afford the best layers so it still would not be viable. My comment was more of a warning to others form my own experience.

kingstreet

Update on this from L&G Mortgage Club;-

SANTANDER TO PROVIDE CLARITY TO 270,000 CUSTOMERS

In December 2008 Santander increased their Standard Variable Rate (SVR) Cap Margin. Some customers, at this time, may not have been fully aware of the implications of these changes. Santander is mailing customers who were affected by these changes. Some customers who had an SVR-linked mortgage with an Early Repayment Charge (ERC) with Santander, at the time the Cap Margin was increased, may not have known they could have repaid their mortgage ERC free for three months after the increase. Santander are mailing over 270,000 people.

Due to these changes, all products will have new product codes.

All affected customers will receive a letter between April and November 2013, letting them know what they need to do. Only Abbey customers with a balance on their mortgage in 2008 are affected.

Alliance & Leicester customers are not affected

Santander are not increasing their SVR

If customers contact Santander once they’ve received their letter, Santander will record and review their case. All cases will be reviewed on an individual basis depending on the customer's personal circumstances. The majority of mortgage customers would not have suffered any detriment as a result of the original communication in December 2008.

HOW DOES THIS AFFECT YOU?

If one of your customers receives a letter, they can go to the Santander website and enter the individual code shown in their letter to see the relevant FAQs. If they’d prefer to speak directly to someone, they can call the dedicated telephone team on 0800 389 6370.

If your customers don’t receive a letter between April and November 2013 they’ll not have been affected. Santander is recommending that customers should wait to receive a letter before contacting them.