Woolwich open plan mortgage

dirtdiver

Hi just wanted to start a post

mrginge

I have to say i'm impressed. The third sentence in this deranged rant is 223 words long.

Shushannah

I have one of those I've found the overdraft really cheap and useful. The interest rate is really good too.

kingstreet

AIUI you were given an overdraft facility, or reserve.

Did you use this facility, or did you simply act like it did not exist?

Your mortgage had something extra. Did it actually have the features and benefits you required?

Were the mortgage amount, rate, term and repayment method what you applied for and expected?

holly_hobby

Oh dear .....

The Woolwich Open Plan - was a mortgage plan, with main borrowings, and in essence an open flexible borrowing extension facility.

You don't and didn't pay interest on the "open plan" facility, unless you of course drew down funds and used it - which was not compulsory, but you confirm you later exercised.

That is why your original mge illustration etc, don't show the additional borrowing, as you hadn't effected the extra borrowings.

The additional borrowings after drawdown, would appear on your OP statement, until redeemed.

The gist appears to be that you wish to complain because you had access to the extra borrowing facility, you later elected to voluntarily use it, but now aren't happy that in effect you increased your overall borrowings ?

If this isn't the complaint I apologise, and if not, I admit that I can't fathom out what your complaint is about.

It should also be noted that mortgage advice was not regulated until 31 October 2004, and in any event, from what you have stated, I don't see a mis-sale even if regulation was in place at the point of sale.

Hope this helps

Holly

kingstreet

Unless I am remembering things incorrectly, you had a repayment mortgage for the amount and term you requested.

The OP reserve was there as an additional borrowing facility and could remain unused, if desired.

Are you saying this facility altered the mortgage from what you requested, to something completely different?

amnblog

This is not 'misselling on a huge scale' Dirtdriver

You are a client with a facility on their mortgage which you took advantage off and with which you are now unhappy.

If you take your complaint up formally with Barclays Woolwich they should investigate it properly for you, even though as Holly says this sale was pre FSA regulation.

Other holders of Barclays Woolwich mortgages should neither panic, nor start throwing in spurious claims expecting compensation.

holly_hobby

dirtdiver wrote: »

the £22,000 was never offered or discussed with us the quotes that we had were not open plan mortgages but run of the mill repayment mortgages
but the mortgage was replaced by an open plan reserve mortgage

But your original post states, that you knew from outset of the 22k facility, asked for the facility to be removed, but was told it was an integral part of the arrangement - which you could choose to use or not to use.

An open plan is a facility, it does not dictate the mge repayment method, which at that time, you could have held as repayment or interest only.

dirtdiver wrote: »

which if you research the product is not suitable for some people and not suitable for others

Why wouldn't the voluntary reserve facility make the arrangement un-suitable for some or all ?

Notwithstanding your mge was sold pre mortgage regulation, although I would expect a decent broker to reason the lender and product chosen within their reason why letter/recommendation.

dirtdiver wrote: »

and we did act as if we did not have it but then as i have said we did use it but because it needs to be used in a way that optmises the reserve facility

You chose to use the facility as a cheap form of borrowing, which somewhat negates your argument that it was un-required or unsuitable.

dirtdiver wrote: »

problems arose as i have said if you thought you were getting a repayment mortgage for a set amount then a little down the line you find you have a different mortgage from what you were told you had i think that is grounds for complaint.

Are you saying you wantred a repayment mortgage, but were sold an interest only mortgage ?

What exactly are you saying ... I am finding it incredibly hard to get a grasp on what the real issue is here.

Holly x

holly_hobby

dirtdiver wrote: »

i ill have one last stab at this i thought i was getting a repayment morgage fixed for two years and i have the quote that was given to me but instead of that i was sold an open plan mortgage

Right, so between application and offer the mortgage you requested,completed and signed the application docs etc, changed from a fixed rate to something else ?

The mortgage arrangement, and rate (fixed, variable etc), would have been clearly noted within your mortgage offer.

dirtdiver wrote: »

and whatever anyone thinks i put down £51,500 cash deposit to reduce the morgage but in doing so it made me a prime candidate for an offset mortgage with a reserve because of my equity that i had in my home once again

No one thinks anything !

What you are saying is that the low LTV and your income, resulted in a flexible reserve facility being made available to you for 22k.

This was an added extra if you like, with no interest charge unless you drewdown funds from the available 22k, which you did.

dirtdiver wrote: »

i did not ask for an open plan mortgage nor did i ask for an overdraft reserve facility i am saying that the mortgage that i was given was different and there is nothing in the key features or mortgage conditions stating the change in mortgage product thats it im not disputing using the money but if some credit card company sent you a card with a £22,000 limit on it with out you asking or wanting it then questions need to be asked i feel that maybe i have explained this wrong but i can see the problem that the mortgage product was changed to provide a overdraft facility that i did not want or agree to and that the mortgage paperwork did not contain anything that explained that it was different as i said i have looked into this and this mortgage was new and things were rushed please if you disagree just search around for offset mortgages and im sure like me you will find some interesting facts

Why didn't you refuse the morgage offer, not use the reserve, or complain way back in 2001, some 12 yrs ago about this.

Forget the credit card analogy, you couldn't be sent an unsolicited credit card, and even so, you'd simply not use it and have the account closed down.

In this case the reserve was a floating attachment to the mge, there was no requirement to use it, but by using the reserve as you did, you accepted the terms of the arrangement.

Even if mges were regulated during that time, you'd now be timebarred in any event, as you claim you knew and complained in 2001 re the reserve facility, giving you until 2004 to lodge any complaint ... the fact you also used the facilty rather blows the complaint angle.

A crude analogy would be to compare this complaint to someone having an income protection policy, successfully claiming on it, but later complaining it wasn't at all appropriate and wanting it assessed as unsuitable with compensation !

What do you want to happen here ?

The extra borrowing written off ?

The whole mortgage and extra borrowings written off ?

Compensation of some kind ?

Anyhoo, you've gone to FOS with this, just come back with an update when they issue their final response ....


Holly

holly_hobby

dirtdiver wrote: »

in oct 2003 before changing lender i did complain and the ombudsman fined them £500 and returned all my charges and on an ombudsman letter the refer to me complaining about the mortgage advise given to me by both the broker and the woolich itself so i am with in time limits as i only found all my paperwork this month im just trying to inform people who might be in the same situation thats all.

So you have already complained about this some 10 yrs ago (in 2003) about the mge sale - FOS awarded £500 and a return of fees, at which point you also changed lender, so you've not been a Woolwich. customer for the last 10 yrs ?

Now,you have found your original mge sale paperwork, you want to complian again about the same thing and receive more compensation ... ? (which won't happen unless you are raising further issues that you have only just discovered, for your mge that ended 10 yrs ago).

Just come back with your FOS response, my head hurts !

Holly x

actually_2006

We also have one of these mortgages. Like you we said we didn't want a reserve (although we asked this before we took out the mortgage), and like you we were told no. We asked for it to be as low as possible and it was set at £10,000.

Unlike you we ..... haven't used it. (Although as the mortgage interest rate is so low I think maybe we should have utilised it and invested it, but that is another matter!)

Like other posters I am afraid I can't see what the problem is as you decided to use it and have had the benefit of the money. I just see it as being like my bank account which has an overdraft facility I didn't really want (and have never used).