Which version of the T&Cs apply to a mortgage?

BooJewels

We made some changes to our mortgage in 2008 and started a new Total Mortgage Protection Plan from that date. It comprises repayment insurance as well as life and critical illness cover. We've just sent off a critical illness claim form as my husband has a qualifying diagnosis. Obviously, at this stage, getting a settlement is not a foregone conclusion, although we think all of the details are correct - and it will probably take a little while to complete anyway, as they write to consultants etc.

We intend, if successful, to pay off the mortgage which hasn't a huge amount remaining, some other debts and thereby reduce our monthly commitments significantly and we should have a modest balance to allow some cash in reserve.

I read somewhere here that if paying off a mortgage after a critical illness claim, that any Early Repayment Charges are waived, so I went on-line to find mortgage T&Cs. The current document on-line for mortgages doesn't show this waiver (it's a much briefer doc than the one we have), but I found the mortgage terms we were given on that day in 2008 and they do state that ERCs are waived when repayment or partial repayment is after a successful CI claim.

Which version of the terms will apply - the ones we accepted in 2008 or the published ones as of today? I haven't found any subsequent versions we've been sent with a letter saying 'we've changed our terms', as is the case several times over for my current account and assorted credit cards etc.

dunstonh

The last deal you bought from the lender is the one that matters. Any terms under the original mortgage are replaced with those of the new deal.

Insurance payouts are often things that are not documented in the T&C but happen as a matter of policy.

BooJewels

Thanks dunstonh - I hoped that was going to be the case. Although I suspect that policy probably hasn't actually changed as the new T&C doc is significantly briefer and simplified than the printed version I have.

My mortgage has ended up rather a mess; it got scrambled when migrating to a new system a couple of years ago. I had an endowment mortgage that matured, but during the migration the fact that it was an endowment got lost in the translation, so after 6 months of faffing about, it was finally resolved by paying a chunk off each sub-account to reduce the overall balance by the right amount and not incur any ERCs on each account.

I don't imagine it will be straightforward if / when the time comes to settle it. Everything about our mortgage has been an unfathomable mess since that date in 2008. The moral of which is; don't buy a mortgage off a lass who is getting married three days later - her head [understandably] being in the clouds is not conducive to efficient paperwork!

scotsilk

Mind if I enquire if your lender happened to be Bank of Scotland or Halifax?

BooJewels

Yes, it is Halifax.

The clue was the mess created by the migration to the Lloyds mortgage system. At the time they told me that my issues were incredibly isolated, it had supposedly gone very smoothly. But anecdotally, so many people have told me that they also had problems, that I clearly was nothing like as rare a case as they made out.

scotsilk

Thank you for your reply. My experience has been similar, the word "mess" doesn't even begin to describe it. Their lack of honesty and reluctance to admit fallibility compounds the problem.
Cheers Scotsilk