Post Office mortgages - warning of serious delays derailing purchases

andyrich66

Seven weeks after we submitted our application, the Post Office / Bank of Ireland have only just started to look at our paperwork, and only because we have had our conveyancer write them two different letters to try and escalate the application.

The valuation was eventually instructed after repeated chasing. This has now been completed but it's barely any use as they haven't started looking at our docs.

Last time I called they apologised for the bad service and said they are struggling with huge backlogs, and it could be several weeks or even months until we receive an offer. They said if we are not happy they recommend we withdraw our application and look at another lender. They said thousands of applicants are in the same boat, calling every day complaining about long delays.

Post Office mortgages are a ticking time bomb at the moment. All brokers seem to know this. I only wish I had known this too before I applied. Our vendor is likely to pull out if we don't see serious progress very soon. This would cause us very serious problems as we have had several flats fall through since we first started looking in January. Neither me nor my girlfriend could handle this one falling through too.

Is anyone else out there in the same boat? I know people who applied for a Post Office mortgage a few years ago and were really happy with the service, but that was then and this is now. I am interested to hear from others who have applied in the last few months in the silly season of 2014.

kiddakidda

I met with my local PO Mortgage Rep about a month ago to discuss Mortgage options. I had to tell her after the first meeting that I couldn't proceed due to processing delay rumours that were spreading like wild fire on the net.

She fully understood and wished me all the best.

Shame really as I felt confident dealing with her and she seemed to understand our requirements.

kingstreet

Multiple existing threads;-

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5007756

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5039779

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5019628

on this very subject.

tykelet

We applied with the Post Office and after 10 weeks, they finally got to our paperwork, asked for more details and then we rejoined the queue. This meant we lost the house. We also had issues chasing the valuation, as they lost it between the valuers and them, by failing to use the correct contact details of the valuers.

We did find that calling 3-5 times per day and speaking to a different advisor each time did speed up the process of getting our case looked at, but as it was nearly 45 minutes on hold each time, it is a lot of commitment.

Since then we have gone through a broker and applied for a Platform Mortgage, it has taken 6 days to apply, get approved, have the valuation and get the offer through.

Run away from the Post Office, cut your losses and find a proper mortgage provider. If they are this bad at getting your custom, think how bad the follow up customer service is likely to be.

amnblog

You should ask for Special Delivery.

mikeyscott

tykelet wrote: »

We applied with the Post Office and after 10 weeks, they finally got to our paperwork, asked for more details and then we rejoined the queue. This meant we lost the house. We also had issues chasing the valuation, as they lost it between the valuers and them, by failing to use the correct contact details of the valuers.

We did find that calling 3-5 times per day and speaking to a different advisor each time did speed up the process of getting our case looked at, but as it was nearly 45 minutes on hold each time, it is a lot of commitment.

Since then we have gone through a broker and applied for a Platform Mortgage, it has taken 6 days to apply, get approved, have the valuation and get the offer through.

Run away from the Post Office, cut your losses and find a proper mortgage provider. If they are this bad at getting your custom, think how bad the follow up customer service is likely to be.

6 days for platform?! We were told 2 months, but with PO being rubbish I think we should have

tykelet

mikeyscott wrote: »

6 days for platform?! We were told 2 months, but with PO being rubbish I think we should have

We were told platform delays were in the region of 19-21 working days, but after waiting this long with the post office it was worth taking the chance.