MSE News: It's time for the Government to free mortgage prisoners trapped paying 8% interest

MSE_Petar

A landmark new report published today by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) puts forward costed solutions to the horror of the situation facing up to 200,000 mortgage prisoners, who have been trapped on high rates after their loans were sold by the state to 'closed book' inactive lenders.

Read the full story:
'It's time for the Government to free mortgage prisoners – many trapped are now paying more than 8% interest and rising. Their lives have been devastated by successive governments' inaction.'

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MSE_Petar

The Government has now confirmed that it will consider the proposals from the report. For full info, see our MSE News story:
 

Read the full story:
'Mortgage prisoners: Government promises to consider proposals to free trapped borrowers'

MSE_Petar

MSE has spoken to two affected homeowners as part of our campaign to free mortgage prisoners.

Read the full story:
'The people trapped paying 8% interest on their mortgages: 'I lie awake at night and I'm petrified all the time' – MSE speaks to mortgage prisoners'

cjillsley

I think it is criminal that banks and lenders are allowed to impose such high interest rates. Our situation, in short due to bigger age gap and one of us retired has caused us many hurdles over the years with high street banks shunning us and lenders criteria's make it almost impossible to own your own home. That said, I have tirelessly Faught over the years due to risk assessments being used as a means to 'beat us with' despite having good credit history and continued employment and might I add good forecast for my pensions. 

We are in the process of selling to relocate nearer to family and have just come out of a fixed rate. We are now on a variable rate until we move which is a challenge. Our lender will not allow us to re-mortgage when we move despite us halving our outstanding mortgage. We have taken the decision to be mortgage free and the one thing that has favoured us, is that out term was over a shorter amount of time so paying it off has been quicker.

However; until we sell and move we still have to pay our mortgage. Our lender is advertising their variable rate to be 6%........
We have a recent letter stating our variable rate is 9.5%. No doubt with the latest % increase we will get yet a further letter advising us yet again of an increase.

Q. How can they justify double the interest rate when advertising at 6%. We can no defaults, issues with our credit history or have adverse credit to warrant such a high rate!!!!!

big.josh

I recently read an interesting article by Prof. Michael Hudson on origins of ancient banking & finance, and debt in Mesopotamia, where the social attitudes towards debt and the weight placed upon supporting individuals in society rather than individuals amassing wealth at others’ expense, was particularly pleasing. The article is published in the Oservatory Wiki under Michael Hudson. 

And a summary of his book on the subject “…and forgive them their debts” can be found on his Michael Hudson website.
(Sorry I can’t add the links.)

In ancient Biblical law, there was something called The Year Of Jubilee, which occurred every 40yrs. In this year lots of things had to take place, one of which was the writing off of people’s debts - meaning that no one could be debt-bound for more than 40yrs. If we were able to establish something like this today, we might have a fairer system.