Remortgage Dates don't match

sjoh0961

Hi Everyone.
Any advice appreciated on this.
Broker booked a remortgage rate for later this year. All seemed good. Offer made. 
But offer expiry is just over two weeks before expiry of remortgage.
Apparently lender won't extend this, and current lender won't waive ERC.
I booked this at an acceptable rate, and the best alternative today will cost me about £200 extra a month.
What are my options?
Can the solicitor (lender's solicitor) draw the money early, and hang on to it? I recognise this will mean I'm paying interest on two mortgages for two weeks, but I think that is much less costly than the alternative.
Can I do anything about this regarding the broker who set this mortgage up with incorrect dates? Expect them to cover the difference?!
Bit spooked TBH.
Thanks!

simon_or

Which is your current bank and the new bank?

If the broker knew that your fix and ERC ends on (say) 31 October and the remortgage offer expires on 15 October and the new bank does not have a policy of extending their offer then I think it's fair to assign some blame to the broker.

housebuyer143

Your choices now are to pay the ERC or lose the rate unfortunately. A complaint to the broker if he was aware of your mortgage end date and you told him you wanted this to start after.

The solicitor will not hold the money. The longest any will is 48 hours though most lenders require the money back within 24.

sjoh0961

Thanks for those replies so far. Is a complaint likely to achieve anything? E.g. are they likely to front up the difference that they are going to cost me? if not, what's the point of all this, if there is no accountability?

simon_or

If the broker has made an avoidable mistake which has caused you a financial loss, then the broker may be liable to make up the difference based on your situation if they hadn't made that mistake.

There's accountability, you can complain to the broker and if you're not happy with their response escalate it to the financial services ombudsman.

In the meantime, the complainant is expected to take necessary steps to minimise their losses as the ombudsman will look to see if you've done that.

sjoh0961

simon_or said:

In the meantime, the complainant is expected to take necessary steps to minimise their losses as the ombudsman will look to see if you've done that.

Well, they had all of the information, and have accepted (on a phone call) that this is their mistake - they did not spot the discrepancy.

I've immediately flagged the date discrepancy to the broker, applied for the best mortgage they can now find, and have contacted the solicitor on the off-chance they will be able to sort something in terms of holding the funds for the two week period between offer expiry and completion. Does that sound like I have taken the steps you speak of?

silvercar

Half the battle is won, if the broker has acknowledged their error.

Seems there are 2 options, to take the new rate costing £200 a month more or to pay the ERC. A quick calculation as to which one would cost you more, based on the length of the new fix, should help you decide which one to go for. Then you ask the broker to stump up the difference. Assuming that the deal you have would have been available if you had applied 2 weeks later, if not then do a calculation based on what would have been available 2 weeks later and ask for that as compensation.

the broker should have professional indemnity insurance to cover the cost of mistakes, though their premiums may go up as a result, so they may prefer to pay out themselves.

poppy10_2

Would be better to pay the ERC.  A simpler one off payment that will be easier to chase compensation for from the broker, rather than an ongoing payment every month for the next five years

MWT

poppy10_2 said:

Would be better to pay the ERC.  A simpler one off payment that will be easier to chase compensation for from the broker, rather than an ongoing payment every month for the next five years

'Better' isn't the criterion though, it would be the lowest cost, and it can still be settled as a lump sum even if it is covering a period of time.

sjoh0961

Thanks for the responses. The deal was pulled pretty soon after we applied. The solicitors won't hold the money (as @housebuyer143 said).
The ERC is about £20K, the cost over the 2-year fix looks like being about £4800ish, so I guess I have to try to get the broker to front that up. Any ideas on the best way to have that conversation?

MWT

sjoh0961 said:

Any ideas on the best way to have that conversation?

 You can try a friendly phone call to point out their error, state the amount that error is going to cost you and ask them what they plan to do about it, but be ready to move swiftly to a formal complaint if they are dragging their feet or refusing to accept liability....