Halifax Mortgage looks like it might be withdrawn at very last minute dont understand why

Stevie76

Hi, I secured a new 5 year fix on my mortgage back in March with halifax via a broker at 1.68%.  My mortgage was ending in August with santander so all set.  I get a mail on the friday saying its all going through then a call on the monday saying its been stopped something wrong with my credit file.  I cant sleep as i feel physically sick at the way they treated me.  i have taken a 0% credit card since securing the mortgage as my dog had to have a big operations, and im thinking this might be whats caused the problem 8k.  I am a high earner, and have no missed payments, a good credit file is seems according to equifax (855 excellent).  I can clear the credit card if i need to as i have the money in an isa.  Any advice?  can i make a complaint to anyone? Ombudsman?  The did all their checks and according tot he offer they could only withdraw the offer if i lost my job, house drppped in value significantly.  I earn 80k a year, and have a 15k bonus have 50% equity int he house and no missed payments on anything.  I am livid.  

K_S

Stevie76 said:

Hi, I secured a new 5 year fix on my mortgage back in March with halifax via a broker at 1.68%.  My mortgage was ending in August with santander so all set.  I get a mail on the friday saying its all going through then a call on the monday saying its been stopped something wrong with my credit file.  I cant sleep as i feel physically sick at the way they treated me.  i have taken a 0% credit card since securing the mortgage as my dog had to have a big operations, and im thinking this might be whats caused the problem 8k.  I am a high earner, and have no missed payments, a good credit file is seems according to equifax (855 excellent).  I can clear the credit card if i need to as i have the money in an isa.  Any advice?  can i make a complaint to anyone? Ombudsman?  The did all their checks and according tot he offer they could only withdraw the offer if i lost my job, house drppped in value significantly.  I earn 80k a year, and have a 15k bonus have 50% equity int he house and no missed payments on anything.  I am livid.  

@stevie76 What did the mail say exactly?

As stated in the offer, Halifax can indeed withdraw the offer if your circumstances change materially, which may include (depending on the specifics of your application) new debt, adverse credit markers etc.

What is your broker saying? Is Halifax saying that they can't lend as much anymore (which could be resolved by you just making up the difference separately) or that they can't lend at all (which is more serious and unlikely based on the limited info in your post).

You need to lean on your broker for clarity and next steps. In the meantime, get a copy of your Experian credit report (or pore over the MSE Credit Club report which uses Experian data) to see if there's anything at all in there that might explain it.

ACG

according tot he offer they could only withdraw the offer if i lost my job, house drppped in value significantly. 

What it actually says is (assuming your offer is the same as our clients):

Our right to change or withdraw the offer We may withdraw or change our offer if at any time any of the following happens:
• We think there is fraud.
• We have been told that something material is untrue or misleading.
• The conveyancer cannot confirm that the legal details are satisfactory.
• You cannot comply with any of the offer conditions.
• At the time we intend to lend you the money, the property's value is materially less than the loan amount.
• Your circumstances have significantly changed since you applied, for example you have become unemployed.

The key words I have put in bold. With credit cards, they assume a minimum payment of 3% of the balance. With £8,000 that is £240 a month. They appear to deem an £8k credit card balance as significant (I would pretty much agree). You may be livid, but you changed your situation between application and completion. 

The only thing you can do is say you can clear it from savings and see what that does, provide evidence of the savings and hope for the best. 

london21

From a lender's perspective they see the £8k credit card as a sign that you might be struggling financially.

Hopefully you can resolve and keep your agreed rate because the rates are now 3.5%+

Stevie76

I have the funds to clear the credit card.  

ACG

Halifax do not know that unless you have told them. 
If you have told them, they may decide to re-instate the offer. However there is no guarantee. You had a legal responsibility to make them aware of a change to your circumstances and you did not do that. 

Its difficult, I see their point. But I can understand how you feel, its unfortunate how it all fell and it could happen to anyone. I would probably get proof of savings, write a letter saying you were not aware this would be an issue. Your dog needed emergency surgery so you put it on a credit card with a view to clearing it over a period but you would be more than happy to clear it prior to completion.