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

ThrobsBlackHat

So I got the letter from them that said I was very likely to be affected.

I decided to fill int he questionnaire to the best of my ability honestly and not try to fit any criteria but just answer fully to the best of my ability.

I did not tick a length of fix I would have switched to - as I had no preference.

Although I did say in the writing that I would have found the best value product "Over 5 years".

They took that to mean a 5 year fix - and calculated I was actually £400 better off staying with them.

I called them and re-iterated the information on the questionnaire, which was not that I had said I would go for a five year fix, but that I would have gone for the best value product over a 5 year period - which was most likely a two year fix, followed by the SVR, although I would have changed again.

It's interesting though because they have conceded that they do believe I would have changed product as I have switched internally with them at every break point, without ever having to pay a redemption penalty.

So I am hopeful that I stand a chance to prove I missed out because the five year fix they said I would have taken as a market leader was well over 4%, and I would have definitely taken a heavily discounted 2 year product over that.

Which leads me to believe they deliberately misinterpreted my form, as if the wording was ambiguous then my position was made clear by me not ticking the boxes the same way.

So they'll look at it again but have said it might be another 4 weeks - already 8 weeks or so into this.

TheMightySwordfish

Not surprised by this at all....doubt if anyone is.

olliej_2

Hi I am finding this all very confusing
I have a letter ref MO13 I am just filling in questionnaire
I changed my existing abbey mortgage in may 2007 to a 2yr discount 0.70% off SVR total value £53,423 repayment
I took an additional £46,500 interest only oct 2009 when I had actually gone self employed but the advisor was happy to take the last 3 pay slips from my previous employer
after that as I had gone self employed Santander would not touch me for a further mortgage
I am not sure what to answer in D2 and would value your advice
also I see some of you are looking for terms and conditions , I have a few in my files which ones are u looking for

ThrobsBlackHat

Two_steps_forward... wrote: »

ThrobsBlackHat,

It looks to me like you shouldn't really have had to argue too much, seems quite clear doesn't it? They clearly have the intention of fighting every case irrespective of how they look in the public eye, which brings me back to my thoughts of long ago - they expect to be fined over their handling of this and have factored it in, along with the bad PR.

The more instances like this which get before FOS and eventually FCA the better for everyone.

They took one piece of ambigious wording which did not align with my questionnaire answers, and then used that to find a scenario where they were not liable for anything.

The fact they had me switching to an imaginary 5 year tracker was not in the covering letter, but was hidden in the "information sheet" supplied. So I had to go and find that number to see their shenanigans.

Their house value is also a bit low, which means my equity position was 60.07% which rules out any product requiring a 40% deposit...

But they have admitted they think I would have changed and they have said it is £7768.68 of payments it is based on - so I know I can't claim back thousands but it is still worth doing, not least on principle because their "Investigation" was nothing more than a deliberate attempt to fiddle the figures.

ThrobsBlackHat

Although they have now told me that their valuation was the halifax book figure, so they might have just got lucky with that one.

ceegee

Yesterday I received my "decision" letter from Santander. In a nutshell, it is a "no".

As I am too confused to really grasp what they are saying, I shall copy the relevant paragraphs here, in a moment.

When I completed the questionnaire, I ticked the "other" box and used the allocated space to write that I would have asked them to provide me with a better rate had I known that they were overcharging me by 1.25% (this being the crux of the matter as far as I am concerned).

Here, then, is their reply (minus the opening and closing paragraphs of general blurb):

"When you initially chose the mortgage product you were on in 2008, you opted for a 2 year discount of 0.70% from our SVR. The cap margin would not generally have been promoted as a specific benefit of your mortgage product and I believe you would have chosen this rate as it met your overall requirements at the time, which could have included the type of interest rate charged and the amount of time the introductory rate lasted for.

As a result of the Cap Margin increase you were entitled to exit your mortgage ERC free between December 2008 and March 2009. When your mortgage product ended in October 2009 you were also free to exit without paying an ERC. At this point the interest you were being charged was higher than the rate you were being charged during the ERC free window and we wrote to you to inform you of your new interest rate and monthly payments as well as inviting you to talk to us about a new mortgage product. ( I would take issue with them saying that they invited me to talk to them about another product, but that is for another day!)

Our records show that you chose to continue paying interest at our SVR for more than 6 months. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that you were comfortable with the payments you were making and I do not believe you would have made use of the ability to switch to a different lender during the shorter 3 month window, when the interest rate you were being charged, and any potential saving you would have been able to make, was lower."

It is tedious trying to understand it all. My inference from their original letter is that, after coming off the discounted rate, they were overcharging me by 1.25%, by having increased their Cap Margin and this was the main thrust of my argument with them and that is what I wrote on the questionnaire.

What was the point of their initial letter then?

I also took issue with them over the increase in the fee for settling/closing/finishing off the mortgage which had increased from £25 when the mortgage was originally taken out in 1986 to £750 when I paid the mortgage off in 2010. I asked for the justification of the increase but they didn't even refer to it in their letter.


Dear people, I do not blame anybody for not wanting to wade through this tripe of a letter, but if anyone has any thoughts or comments, I'd be interested to read them!

I don't know whether to go back to Santander with my queries/issues or now go to the Ombudsman? The thing is, it's all so complicated....yes, I accepted the SVR back whenever it was, but then out of the blue, several years later, they write and say that they had put it up by 1.25%, in a way which they should not have done according to their own terms and conditions.

If someone writes to me and tells me that they overcharged me on something, then I expect to be reimbursed. They would be mighty quick to claim any underpayment!

Sorry about the tome.:o

suzandthecity

I am in exactly the same position as Ceegee.
I spoke to them again yesterday as they still havn't responded to my additional points raised.They said my letter was being sent out today as the investigation is complete.
I guess I need to get the stamps out and start preparing what I will say to the FSO.

edtheduck_2

ok, here goes.
Took mortgage in April 2007 (0.9% above Base Rate), tied in for 2 years.

Received cap margin letter yesterday and obviously as confused as everyone else!

Actually (thankfully) have a lot of old letters outling interest rate changes etc, original mortgage offer and we were subject to 2006 standard mortgage conditions (SMC).

Can anyone shed any light on this please? Is the crux of my situation that the cap margin went up in Dec. 2008 and at that point we could have exited without ERC?
We never received notification of any cap margin increase at all and so were unaware that we had an opportunity to look elsewhere. Only letters we received were to do with interest rate changes and one in Dec 08 saying that the deal was ending in April 09 and we would be moving to the SVR, which as at 3 Dec was 5.44%.
A bit strange to be sending this in December 08 when mortgage deal wasn't up until April 09 - is this where I've possibly got them? Still no mention of cap margin in any letters.

The mortgage was redeemed in April 2009 after the 2 year tie in ended, but had we known we were being subjected to a higher cap margin affecting our payments /interest rate, of course we would have moved sooner.

Do you think we are entitled to something plus 8% simple interest from December 2008?

If so where do I even begin to think about calculating a reasonable figure!!

Any and all advice appreciated, thanks.

Letter is M006 - maybe reference to the SMC's date?

edtheduck_2

how can I even find out what was on offer in 2008? I have been googling, but to no avail thus far.

edtheduck_2

have actually searched through this site, MSE, in the Mortgages bit and gone way back to 2008 - so there MAY be something in there for people. You know, people maybe seeking advice on whether the offer they are being made is a good one.
...just a thought, but yes some definitive guidance from a CML member would be great thanks.