Secured Loan classed as unsecured....

Smarron

Hello

My first post on here, and I'm hoping for some advice regarding a loan I have with a high street bank.

I took out a substantial loan (£50k) back in 2006 to fund a training course. The loan was secured by way of a charge on a mortgage. Repayments started in 2008 and I have been making monthly repayments ever since without a problem.

Having been unable to get an increase on my credit card limit earlier this year (from £500) I did some digging and both Experian and Equifax confirmed that my bank had classed my loan as unsecured since 2006.

It was of no surprise to the two companies that I would have struggled to obtain credit with an apparent unsecured debt of such size.

The high street bank on 2 occasions refused to accept my claim that they had wrongly classed my loan status. On a third attempt they accepted they'd made a mistake and offered me £200 as an apology.

By this point I'd already entrusted the financial ombudsman to look into my complaint and they have just come back with the same outcome. £200 is a very reasonable compensation payment from the bank apparently.

The bank always had security from day 1 on this loan, but I unfortunately have been denied an equal reflection of this fact through my credit status.

Is anyone aware of any law / possible liability the bank has broken based on the above. The ombudsman it seems doesn't think so.

[Deleted User]

You would need to quantify the loss it has caused you - ie having to take high rate sub prime credit instead.

£200 seems a generous offer though.

Smarron

Thanks for your comments zx81.

I accepted the offer from HSBC, however, I am still waiting for my loan status to be reflected accurately on my credit reports.

HSBC claim that they didn't process the change until the 15th Jan (they do it only once a month apparently) and it can take a month to appear.

This of course is contrary to their letter on the 20th November that apologises profusely for the error and issues a note that they will correct the situation immediately quoting 4-6 weeks to get the change.

HSBC contact meanwhile will not take my phone calls - having had to contact the ombudsman yet again, they've managed to speak to someone and I've been told to wait until the 15th Feb.

Why oh why am I having to wait so long for the bank to correct their error? £200 compensation for not having the secured loan I signed up for and then they drag their feet for nearly 3 months to correct the issue.

Would I be able to obtain a mortgage with a 20% deposit with apparently unsecured debts totalling nearly £30k?? Most unlikely. But of course, I can't quantify my "losses" - I simply haven't been able to gain anything.