Mortgage Condition - Must pay off Credit Cards - Is this serious?

evo21

So part of my mortgages T&C's states that:

'£3,000 store card/credit card must be paid off in full within 30 days of mortgage completion' - it goes on to say that you cannot use further borrowing to pay this e.g. balance transfer.

My question is - how serious is this?

Both my partner and I have various credit cards with low amounts on (combined, less than £3,000).

I just find it odd that it states that it's a singular credit or store card to that amount (which doesn't exist)?

We both have every intention of paying anything outstanding off before we move in - I'm just wondering how serious it is, in the event that we have a couple of hundred pound left to pay off after the 30 days.

Realistically, would they actually evict someone and force them to sell up over this? Or do they even check it? I've seen lots of threads about it but nobody ever says how it turns out!

Bank is Barclays (Woolwich).

amnblog

When you case was input to Barclays it was done so on the basis of this debt being paid off. Therefore this standard text is automatically included in your offer conditions.

If you can meet affordability with this debt in place you can ask the Bank to remove this condition.

They have no mechanism to check if you breech the conditions of the current offer. Breeching the conditions of their offer puts the ball in their court and they can go as far as requesting their money back.

evo21

Am I right in taking this as - the bank cannot run checks on you as to whether or not it is paid back, and therefore not to lose sleep over it? But to of course, do my best to pay it back ASAP as planned?

amnblog

You mean ignore the condition in the offer?

d70cw6

ignore it.
it's just made up mullah

amnblog

Presumably you told the bank you were going to repay this debt on day one.

If that is no longer the case, tell them and, if you meet affordability they will remove the offer condition.

If you cannot make affordability with the debt you should repay it as per the terms of your offer.

evo21

I understand that, it's just that's not what I'm asking. I don't mean to sound blunt about it, we just were not informed at any point that this would be a condition of the offer. I'm asking, realistically, do banks actually follow up on this kind of thing? Odds are, we will be fine. It just seemed an odd thing to have in there from my perspective, because said account of £3,000 doesn't even exist!

amnblog

The lender picks up the debt on credit score but does not assume it is to be repaid. Someone has suggested that to them.

If that is an error, get it dealt with.

Don't assume that your solicitor will let you complete without evidence that the listed condition has been satisfied. We have seen many solicitors who are insistent that they have evidence of repayment on their file.

lee111s

You were told about it, when the offer was made.

That's the terms on which the lender will agree to lend you the money. If you don't like the terms, seek another lender.

Have you checked all your credit files to ensure there's not an account with that amount on? If you're still unsure, call the lender and ask them to clarify.

ABBF08291

'£3,000 store card/credit card must be paid off in full within 30 days of mortgage completion' - it goes on to say that you cannot use further borrowing to pay this e.g. balance transfer.

Sorry to sound dumb... monday.
So you will complete even with the 3k debt and have been given 30 days after completion to pay back the 3k ?

evo21

Yes! Says you have a further 30 days once the mortgage is complete.

I understand you have to abide by the T&C's, but I feel like everyone is missing my question entirely.

The term doesn't say which of us the debt belongs to, it doesn't refer to a particular account, neither of us have an individual card owing £3,000 anyway, and if debts are held with another bank that information isn't released anyway due to data protection, so what is the point in this term?

The solicitor can ask us for proof - but proof from who? We could just show a statement from an entirely different account? It just seems very... meh. Like it doesn't sound like it actually really means anything?

I'm not trying to con the bank and be devious, I'm just asking as I'm curious to how this would work in reality?