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

almond

Two_steps_forward... wrote: »

How long did it take for them to write back to you Almond?

morning
I was one of the last to send letter off think it was toward end of may, so got mine back within 3 weeks, off to see lgo today regarding planning so once that has been sorted I am going to get a reply done , have a few ideas will post on here to check first

crusaderstyle

Two_steps_forward... wrote: »

We have just received our first refusal!

We will therefore be writing to them, answering their points which are relevant to us and developing the argument further. We actually feel quite encouraged by their response as we have been able to get them to engage in a conversation specific to our case.

This is very interesting Two Steps and seems like one of the more well rounded and personal responses that we've heard has been sent out by Santander to date - even though it's still a refusal.

I think that we have dealt with our 'complaints' in a similar way and we had the same type of mortgage. I didn't mention the 'three month get out clause' at all as I didn't want them to latch onto that in their response and had realised by then that it more than likely did not apply to fixed rate mortgages.

At the end of extra pages of information that I added to my questionnaire, I did ask that I get a response which refers back to all of the points that I had raised, so when I do get my rejection letter, it will be interesting to see if all of it does get commented on or whether they just 'cherry pick' the parts they feel they can argue against.

I agree that you should be feeling positive about the response. You expected a rejection but now you can move onto phase 2 and really detail those points that you feel apply. The battle has truly begun!! :T

For those that have had rejection letters, it may be a good exercise for us to compare whether some are just receiving very vague letters that look like standard ones or whether they do all refer to specific points that have been raised?

hpoolandy

Two_steps_forward... wrote: »

We have just received our first refusal!

The letter is structured broadly in three sections and is two pages long.

Firstly they make general comments for refusal, most of which are irrelevant and have the feel of a standard letter.

Secondly they move onto talk about how we were not eligible for the ERC free period of three months as we were on a fixed at the time and referred to the T&Cs. This we expected and is the reason why we did not focus on this as the reason for our complaint. They then give their opinion of why they believe we would not have acted and give examples that we had not even stated and had made no claims for, so are also irrelevant.

Thirdly they get to the guts of the argument, referring directly to our complaint and the references supplied. The big point is that they are avoiding discussing the mortgage and housing markets at the time and the EXACT effect their actions had on us. They are only prepared to comment, (at the moment), on our relationship with them in a closed encapsulated way.

The arguments around this are quite involved, we will not attempt to move forward by telephoning them as I suspect we would not get to speak with anyone with any decision-making authority and I would not want to rely on them having the ability to record the detail of our argument in this way.

We will therefore be writing to them, answering their points which are relevant to us and developing the argument further. We actually feel quite encouraged by their response as we have been able to get them to engage in a conversation specific to our case.

Hi
i was just wondering when you sent your form off was your response for your status in 2008 its just when i sent mine it was dated 2008 by them so thats how i filled it in but when they rang back two weeks ago they were saying it should have been done for my status in 2011 so really if they have assesed yours as 2008 they would be wrongly assesing mine if you can understand what i mean

hpoolandy

Also to people who have been getting letters of refusal was any parts of your products on svr or was it just a single fixed product with no other parts to it

hpoolandy

Only one mortgage 5 years fixed loan one and loan two svr it had somthing like a 0.02 discounted rate untill 2017 when it finishes but in 2011 they have tied it in with my two year fixed at the percent as my fixed

crusaderstyle

Two_steps_forward... wrote: »

Had to say but I am guessing this has something to do with the period on a discounted rate. The rate was probably discounted from the SVR for the whole period which I would think makes you a prime candidate for a claim. It should mean that you were eligible for the 3 month ERC exemption. I think?

I agree. Hpoolandy, you seem to be one of those rare 30,000 affected people that they're referring too. I'll be following your case with much interest!

mac24

Two_steps_forward... wrote: »

Secondly they move onto talk about how we were not eligible for the ERC free period of three months as we were on a fixed at the time and referred to the T&Cs.

Hi two steps. If the above statement is the case then what exactly are your grounds for complaint?

crusaderstyle

Two_steps_forward... wrote: »

The factor which is I believe is common to all of us, (I know I bang on about this), is that we were denied the opportunity to make an INFORMED decision due to NOT being given timely information about the cap margin increase.

Again, I totally agree with you. This has to be key and is the reason why I believe it is so important that you detail your own personal circumstances in every way possible and be able to back it up with any proof you have should it come to a showdown!

I simply see it as this. They breached at least one of the terms of the 2002, 2004 and 2006 contracts. They had a legal duty to inform us of this change regardless of what affect it may have had on you at the time. They have no excuse for this. That's why we got the letters. That in itself in my eyes, determines we are all entitled to compensation, be it a couple of hundred or so.

I also can't see that they can tell people that they don't think they're entitled to ANYTHING using the law of probabilities and further compensation should be given. There has to be a middle meeting ground - we are not in the wrong here.

The special 30,000 though as mentioned by two steps seem to qualify outright, so I would hope the full shebang would come into play for them without much of a battle needed.

I just think they're using every tactic to ensure that they can get as many of the 270,000 of us to drop by the wayside as possible. Lots of hurdles to get over.

I think it will drag on until the FOS have a few examples of cases to review.

hpoolandy

i have got my letter of refusal when i got home from work to day and its a cracker
bacicly sayin because i didnt change mortgage for 5 month after 2011 i was happ with the rate lol
more to com after iv had me tea peopl :rotfl:

crusaderstyle

hpoolandy wrote: »

i have got my letter of refusal when i got home from work to day and its a cracker
bacicly sayin because i didnt change mortgage for 5 month after 2011 i was happ with the rate lol
more to com after iv had me tea peopl :rotfl:

So lame. I'm sure you could tell them many reasons why you stayed on the svr for 5 months. One of them being about the cap margin increase that you weren't informed and how you weren't aware of how much potential there was for further rate hikes and how this did/ could've affected your payments. They really are just hoping people will say 'oh well, I tried!'.

I look forward to your next posts!