Halifax Deed Storage charges post paid up mortgage

rkdsunny

My 80 years old uncle and aunt , both can' read English, had paid off the mortgage in April'14 and got a statement asking for £129.42 for deed storage. I phoned Halifax who said that my uncle and aunt agreed to deed storage when they took out mortgage. Reading previous Forums I find that Land Registry stery don't require nor keep paper copies as all deeds are electronics. Could someone please advice me as to how to get these charges cancelled by Halifax as my uncle and aunt aren't well off. Contacting Halifax takes so much time and staff just read off a pre prepared script.

kingstreet

If Halifax is still holding the original deeds pack it appears to be providing a service for which there is a charge.

Land Registry property registration doesn't alter that. Has the land actually been registered? If they bought the property 25+ years ago, it may not yet be registered and the deeds pack is still proof of ownership.

Either way, if they no longer wish to take advantage of the service the lender is offering, they should write to the lender requesting the return of the deeds pack, settling any charges in the process.

Assuming it is registered, once they have the deeds pack, they should check for covenants and lease (if appropriate) which may be needed for future conveyances and keep these safe as they will still be required.

If not registered, they should arrange for an alternative source of safekeeping, or have the land registered now. This will be at their expense.

rkdsunny

Thankyou king street. I will discuss this with my uncle and aunt. Halifax didn't seem to have written this in the annual statement they sent last week nor they made this clear as crystal water to them at the onset of mortgage. I will discuss in writing to Halifax but which department?

kingstreet

No idea, sorry.

Thrugelmir

rkdsunny wrote: »

Halifax didn't seem to have written this in the annual statement they sent last week nor they made this clear as crystal water to them at the onset of mortgage.

Times have changed. No one foresaw the electronic storage of deeds . So the terms at the outset met the requirements at the time.

Goldiegirl

rkdsunny wrote: »

I phoned Halifax who said that my uncle and aunt agreed to deed storage when they took out mortgage.

You haven't been told correctly - Halifax has never had a facility for Deeds storage agreed like that at the start of the mortgage.


When your aunt and uncle took out the mortgage, the Halifax would have stored the deeds for the life of the mortgage, as the deeds were the security of the loan. When the mortgage was cleared, the deeds would have been released to the customer.


But, at some point in the 1980's, the Halifax had spare room in it's massive deeds storage facility, and decided to offer something called 'Deedstore'


Deedstore ran from the 80's to the early 2000's, when the scheme was closed. Accounts already in Deedstore were allowed to remain, as long as the customer wanted the facility


I think your aunt and uncle were transferred to Deedstore.


What would have happened, is that the mortgage came to the end of it's term, or they wanted to repay the mortgage in full. But they wanted the Halifax to keep the deeds safely for them. Therefore, the mortgage would have been kept open with £1. If the balance remained at £1 no more interest would ever be charged.


But, annual property insurance premiums were debited to the customers account each year. If the customer didn't pay the amount of the premium back into the mortgage, the mortgage balance increased by the amount of the insurance premium and interest would be charged, as the balance was no longer at £1.


I think this is what has happened to your aunt and uncle - they didn't pay a premium at some point.


Therefore, to clear the debt owed to the Halifax, and to get the charge removed at the land registry, they would need to pay the £129.42.


I'd address the letter you intend to write to existing borrowers department. I'm not sure what sort of response you'll get, there's probably no one left who remembers what I've just told you!


Hope this has been of some help

rkdsunny

Thanks Goldigirl for a comprehensive reply.Strange no one at Halifax customer services had explained this. My uncle paid a cheque on Thursday for full amount and we also wrot to Mortgage Department sending the letter via Halifax branch in Southall. Let's see.