Is the lender liable for a miss handled mortgage application

Ging84_2

I have recently purchased a flat, but it took me a lot longer than i had planned due to mortgage issues

I was given a "product reservation certificate" by nationwide after having my employment contract, recent finacial history and credit checked
then over 6 weeks later the mortgage was eventally declined because my employment contract type and the time i had been on it did not meet thier lending criteria ,despite them having checked it and having had a copy of it for 6 weeks. This left me almost completely screwed halfway through buying a flat with nowhere to turn and 3 weeks left before i would lose my deposite and search fees
luckly my parents were able to help me out and i now have a mortgage (with the same company which declined me) in my mums name on my mums house which i pay and the money went to pay for my flat outright

but i am now in a situation where i do not want to be, the whole excerise of me buy a flat was to give me complete finacial independence which has totally back fired, but also during those 6 weeks their rates went up and i am now paying 0.4% more
basicly i want my 0.4% back and i want either an option to transfer the new mortgage from my mum to me in the future without new arangment fees nor exit penalties or the arengment fee refunded and the exit fees waved

i can't really tell if they are clearly at fault for being neglegent on checking my documents and this is the very least i should be asking for or if they have no responsablity to do anything at all

I want to know what kind of liabilties there are with this sort of product reservation certificate they give out
it does say on it, this is not an offer of a mortgage
but if they have no liablities at all what is the point in it?

Dan_Collins_2

They are not worth the paper they are written on to be honest, I doubt you would have a leg to stand on. If your contract was not what you told them in the first place? What was the issue?

Ging84_2

my contract was what i told them in the first place
i even gave them a copy
it was only 6 weeks later they changed thier mind

dunstonh

As Dan says, they are not an agreement to lend and they are not worth a thing. They are issued as a guide to say that if we were lending today, based on what you have told us so far, we have no reason to think we wouldn't lend to you.

Possibly, part of the problem was that when they initially looked at it, they were happy to lend the money. Six weeks later with lenders all tightening up on their lending criteria due to the credit crunch and you no longer met the criteria.

Ging84_2

They are issued as a guide to say that if we were lending today, based on what you have told us so far, we have no reason to think we wouldn't lend to you.

but they did have reason not to lend to me
i did not meet thier lending criteria

Dan_Collins_2

I think I can see what has happened. Nationwide are a good lender as long as its simple and not outside of criteria. As a broker if they even erm on something I dont bother, they often say they will look at it then when the underwriter gets it they say no.

Problem is they have been busy so they have taken longer to reach the point you at now!

dunstonh

but they did have reason not to lend to me
i did not meet thier lending criteria

They may have been prepared when they issued the agreement in principle but had tightened up and changed their mind by the time you actually applied and it was reviewed by an underwriter.

Whatever it was though it doesnt matter as they are not a guarantee to lend and you have no comeback on them.