Miss sold mortgage and life insurance

Sarah.so

Hi
I wonder if anyone can offer me advice.

Many years ago probably 1996 era I was miss sold a mortgage and life insurance.

I was not told of the high increases each year of the mortgage or that I would have to buy myself out. This was a Halifax mortgage sold to me by a mortgage adviser. In truth I should not even have qualified for a mortgage with the wage I was on.

I was also told by the advisor that I was required by law to pay a life insurance to cover the value of the house and he talked me into buying a life insurance to the value of I think 150,000 at the time. - my house and mortgage was for 40,000

The Halifax have told me to contact the mortgage adviser who is still practicing though under a different company name.

The increases in mortgage which I financially could not sustain led me to being in a lot of debt.

My question is:

Would this come under the PPI reclaim?
Who and how do I go about broaching this and do I have a legitimate claim?

Thanks so much in advance for any advice

[Deleted User]

No. Life insurance isn't PPI. It's life insurance.

Your rate and early redemption charges would have all been documented in your mortgage details.

Kentish_Dave

When you say that you would have to buy yourself out, do you mean that you would have to repay the mortgage to close the account and remove the charge?

SonOf

Many years ago probably 1996 era I was miss sold a mortgage and life insurance.

Hard to be missold a mortgage in 1996. Mortgages were not regulated until October 2004.

I was not told of the high increases each year of the mortgage or that I would have to buy myself out. This was a Halifax mortgage sold to me by a mortgage adviser. In truth I should not even have qualified for a mortgage with the wage I was on.

Mortgages do not go up every year. The exception being the rare product that was around back then which was aimed at professionals with expected significant pay rises due to qualifying. e.g. solicitors, accountants etc. However, in the 90s, you still went to a solicitor who would read the risk warnings of your mortgage offer letter to you. Something that rarely happens nowadays but was the norm back then. Plus, the "low start" would only be a small number of years during the period they were obtaining their qualifications.

I was also told by the advisor that I was required by law to pay a life insurance to cover the value of the house and he talked me into buying a life insurance to the value of I think 150,000 at the time.

Most lenders had a requirement for life assurance until the late 90s, early 2000s. So, that sounds correct.

Would this come under the PPI reclaim?

No. Neither a mortgage or life assurance is PPI. Nor is your car insurance, house insurance or your weekly shop at the supermarket.

Who and how do I go about broaching this and do I have a legitimate claim?

You dont go about it and you dont have a legitimate complaint.
1996 is before regulation of mortgages and insurance.

Sarah.so

I was locked into the mortgage for 5 years or had to pay a penalty to remortgage

Sarah.so

Mortgages do not go up every year. The exception being the rare product that was around back then which was aimed at professionals with expected significant pay rises due to qualifying. e.g. solicitors, accountants etc. However, in the 90s, you still went to a solicitor who would read the risk warnings of your mortgage offer letter to you

The advisor completed all paperwork in my home
And the increase was quite significant each year for the 5 years. When I went to change my mortgage after 2 years due to the hike no company would offer me a mortgage as I was not earning enough money to be able to afford a mortgage they said

The life insurance I was sold was for more than triple what my mortgage was for (originally 40 k)

[Deleted User]

Life insurance is not PPI...

I suggest you read the earlier responses to your thread...

SonOf

Sarah.so wrote: »

I was locked into the mortgage for 5 years or had to pay a penalty to remortgage

That is quite normal when buying mortgage deals. Any tie in period is disclosed on the offer letter you signed and your solicitor would have reminded you about this.

And the increase was quite significant each year for the 5 years.

That was a period when mortgage interest rates shot up. That is one of the risks with a mortgage. Mortgage interest rates are around 2-3% at the moment. They rose quickly to 15% in the mid 90s.

The life insurance I was sold was for more than triple what my mortgage was for (originally 40 k)

If you were in your 20s at the time, then its a good chance you were on minimum premium. It happens often that the cover you get on minimum premium is greater than the amount you need.

Or maybe they thought you had a greater financial need (e.g. spouse/partner/co-habiting individual needing more than the mortgage)

However, it doesn't matter. Insurance was not regulated until January 2005.

Kentish_Dave

There’s still more information needed. Why did your mortgage payments increase? We’re you on a floating rate at a time when rates increased?

If so then it’s normal for your monthly amounts to increase, that’s why people often go for a fixed rate.

Bermonia

Sarah.so wrote: »

I was locked into the mortgage for 5 years or had to pay a penalty to remortgage

And?!?! That’s still pretty standard today, you would’ve likely been offered a preferential rate for the first 5 days, the bank offers this on the basis that it has your business for this term to leave early would usually incur an early termination fee. Perhaps someone else should be in charge of your financial affairs