First payment holiday counting against me

barrys274

I recently applied for a mortgage with the Nationwide Building Society.  As an existing mortgage customer I didn’t expect it to be so hard.  Having just gone through a very painful divorce taking over two years to complete, I was hoping to turn a new leaf and set up a new home with a fresh start.  I was surprised to find that the Nationwide Building Society wanted to know why I’d taken an initial mortgage holiday.  Whilst I explained that this was to alleviate the legal bills, I was shocked that they should even be asking.  The government’s pledge that it wouldn’t affect your credit rating is therefore meaningless, as the Nationwide have information that is no supporting their decision to decline a new application.  Irony here is that the new mortgage payments will be less that’s 1/3rd the existing ones, but I am too high a risk.  It’s good to be with a mutual!

dimbo61

Your on the same boat as hundreds of thousands of other mortgage customers.
Your in arrears with your mortgage so will go onto the expensive SVR when your current deal ends.
Unless you can 
1 clear the arrears
2 remortgage to another lender.

Thrugelmir

barrys274 said:

The government’s pledge that it wouldn’t affect your credit rating is therefore meaningless, 

Payment holidays were granted without question. To help people who suffered a short fall in income. Not to enable people to pay other bills first. Lending is a commercial activity.  Credit history and account conduct is an important facet in decision making. . 

bradders1983

The government could never force lenders to not look at the fact people took payment holidays. Yes it doesnt appear on your record as missed payments however they can easily see balances remaining the same/go up, and make a decision accordingly based on that. 

[Deleted User]

I think its very mean. It was bounded about as lenders stepping up to the mark and helping borrowers out in difficult unprecedented times. If those were just temporary and salary all back to normal, I think its wrong you get punished like this 

mortgagetakingages

Sounds like you didn't have difficulties and abused the facility to serve your requirements. That would go against you in my opinion

[Deleted User]

Those holidays should always have been viewed very carefully as an absolute, very last, resort.

As @Thrugelmir mentions, a persons credit and account conduct is the most vital piece of information held on us, anything at all that alters that information will always have to be reported on.

Anyone jumping into a payment holiday (ever) without plenty of due diligence will be paying the price and no amount of regret can undo what was done and its implications.
We are wholly responsible for what our reports say about us and our conduct, due diligence, due diligence, due diligence ....... it's all up to us, we are responsible for our actions.

warby68

From what you say you took a payment holiday to cover your legal bills rather than because of a COVID 19 related drop in income.
If your income held up but you struggled to pay your bills that is completely different to someone whose income fell away temporarily and has now recovered.
It could possibly also be interpreted as abuse of the scheme, if you took the payment holiday under the Covid19 support umbrella.
It sounds as if you relied on no questions being asked.
It may not be affordability as such but a breach of other credit criteria.
If your income did actually fall and you could have managed were it not for the additional legal bills that might be a case to argue.

[Deleted User]

Densol said:

I think its very mean. 

You may disagree that the need to take mortgage holidays is a risk indicator (although it's a very good indicator of insufficient savings), but it's certainly not 'mean'.

If lenders are confident with the risk level of an applicant and believe they'll be profitable, they'll lend.  But they don't think 'this applicant is a good risk but let's just be mean and say no.'