Mortgage Fees/Charges

lovetowinacar

Hi

Does anyone know if the practice of attempting to regain fees charged (when a mortgage is taken out) an arrangement fee is available?

I have been contacted by a finance company who say that they could get me back all arrangements fees and other fees paid on my mortgages. Having changed mortgage product a number of times over the years (to get a better interest rate) then I would have paid a fee each time. Can I get this back now?

kingstreet

Highly unlikely.

Does this firm want upfront money from you to do this?

lovetowinacar

kingstreet wrote: »

Highly unlikely.

Does this firm want upfront money from you to do this?

Many thanks for reply. The firm believe that over the course of the mortgage there would be approximately £14,000 in mortgage arrangement fees and interest charged on this since always added to the loan and they state that they can get this back. They want £2000 up front.

[Deleted User]

lovetowinacar wrote: »

They want £2000 up front.

It's a scam.

Common sense should tell you never to pay in advance for something there is no guarantee of you ever receiving.

On what basis would you be able to claim back the fees?

dunstonh

Does anyone know if the practice of attempting to regain fees charged (when a mortgage is taken out) an arrangement fee is available?

Some dodgy claims companies do this but it is a form of advance fee fraud. Arrangement fees are allowed and quite normal. Indeed, in recent times, mortgages of even larger arrangement fees have appeared.

The firm believe that over the course of the mortgage there would be approximately £14,000 in mortgage arrangement fees and interest charged on this since always added to the loan and they state that they can get this back. They want £2000 up front.

And there you have it. The advance fee fraud. If you ever watched Hustle you know the format. Play to someone's greed with something that is not actually truthful but potentially plausible. Then after they are fixated on that big off, hit them with an upfront fee. When your complaint is rejected and they send it to the FOS where it sits for 12-18 months and then gets rejected there, you go back to the company to find out they have ceased trading and you lose you £2000.

Very common scam. Avoid it at all costs.

[Deleted User]

dunstonh wrote: »

Avoid it at all costs.

Or just avoid all costs!;)

kingstreet

Product, admin, arrangement, valuation and legal fees are all legitimate costs in the mortgage process and are likely to have been properly disclosed and reflected in quotations and the mortgage offer.

It is very difficult to prove any of these fees were improperly charged and there is no automatic right to a refund because they were applied.

If you believe you have a legitimate issue, look back through the sales documentation, such as key facts illustration, offer and suitability letter and establish why something was done the way it was.

For example, was a fee added to the loan? If so, is it documented that it was, the reason for that and the payment of interest on it covered?

If not, that may be grounds for complaint to the firm which provided the advice. You do not need to pay a third party.

dunstonh

Ironically, the initial arrangement charges the OP would have been charged are almost certainly less than the £2000 the CMC wants. Yet the CMC seems to think its initial arrangement charge is fair but somehow a mortgage isnt.

The mortgage is operated in a highly regulated environment with all mortgages taken out since October 2004 having a key features illustration with content defined by the regulator that requires all fees to be disclosed in there in large print, early in the document. If its in there, then its fair.

The CMC on the other hand can be set up in about 2 weeks (you can set yourself up a CMC. its requires no knowledge, qualifications or anything of note). They can cold call people to their hearts content telling lies and taking fees off people with little worry about any comeback. By the time a company does eventually come to the attention of the ministry of justice, they just close it down and the company starts up again under a new name. All those paying up front fees just lost their money as the new company is not responsible for the old one.

Taz500

Thanks for advice i had a call from a company called the full financial last week they wanted £1,413 up front said i was due £6,600 i thought it was a con and said no glad i did and I'm glad i looked on here before making a fool of myself

dunstonh

Taz500 wrote: »

Thanks for advice i had a call from a company called the full financial last week they wanted £1,413 up front said i was due £6,600 i thought it was a con and said no glad i did and I'm glad i looked on here before making a fool of myself

Well done. They are a well known one too. You see them mentioned a fair bit over the internet.

addedvaluebob

'By the time a company does eventually come to the attention of the ministry of justice, they just close it down and the company starts up again under a new name. All those paying up front fees just lost their money as the new company is not responsible for the old one'.

So just like a lot of IFA's over recent years leaving behind the responsibility for any advice given but keeping the trail commission