Commercial Remortgage Farce

Doozergirl

I'm not even sure what I'm asking here, I just feel like I've been bent over and royally shafted.  This process has been going on since the end of June last year, decision in principle in August, valuation in October, first (incorrect) mortgage offer in January, correct mortgage offer on 30th January and we're still not over the line.    Is this normal??  It feels like a nightmare house chain, not a remortgage of a singular freehold office.   I have done everything asked of me either immediately or within a day of being asked.  

The mortgage broker has just sent me an email telling me that the lender is warning that the mortgage offer expires in a few weeks?!  As well as a reminder to sign the recommendation letter that was sent to us a couple of weeks ago after the offer has been issued and his fees paid.  I know it's a template letter, but it says we've had conversations that we have not and I'm really tired at this point.  Is it supposed to come this late in the day?  

I didn't even know who the lender was until late November when he told me "I told you Shawbrook were slow and you could have cheaper or faster" which he didn't.  There's also a difference between slow and taking the proverbial.  Now their solicitor barely responds to ours so it drags ever onwards and yet they're now "warning" me.   

I've paid double the valuation fee suggested.  
I've just been told we both need to provide a personal guarantee.  Not a massive issue but surely someone needs to tell you before you've spent thousands on fees and are so far down the line that you can't back out?    And that's going to cost us an additional £800 + VAT in advice to tell me something that I already know.   

This has taken so long that I feel frozen - We used our savings to purchase and renovate the building, plus I've now got credit cards incurring ridiculous interest because we used them to finish the renovation and pay some of the fees incurred so far.   I know it's not a good idea but at no point did I think we'd still be waiting eight months down the line for one mortgage company on a simple freehold building.   I haven't wanted to balance transfer, partly because it might affect the application but also because we've always hoped that things might happen 'soon'.  

Borrowing £140k is costing us £10,002 in various fees before any interest payment is made and not counting the interest that I'm currently paying because of this snails pace.  

Are lenders supposed to let this draw out so long?  What happened to treating customers fairly?  

Sorry for ranting, there may be no advice to offer, but I just need to get it out of my system. We've two sets of friends buy and sell their homes, with chains, in this time and one is already halfway through a house extension after getting planning permission!

user1977

Doozergirl said:

What happened to treating customers fairly?  

Does that actually apply where the customer isn't a consumer?

(I can't find the answer from a quick look!)