Santander Mortgage woes - 2 year fixed product, turns out to be 4 months longer than quote!

MisterWhite

For my mortgage renewal I was quoted by Santander 1, 2 and 3 year fixed rate products. The rate was much higher than I had been paying historically, but I intended to pay it off by the end of 2 years. I confirmed the offer, as encouraged to, on my phone via the Santander App.
When I got confirmation of the new mortgage, I noticed that it had been set up for 2 years and 4 months. Consequently meaning I pay another 4 months interest at a higher rate. 
I have complained to Santander who have said that it's tough luck, I should have read the final offer documentation. In hindsight, I should have, but it didn't even occur to me that a 2 year fixed product would turn into something else (2 years 4 months). Furthermore, the App doesn't clearly present you with the end date. 
I have a few issues, mainly that this seems like miss leading selling, and isn't made clear to the customer that a 2 year fixed deal may in fact actually not be 2 years. Santander have not been able to offer any reasonable explanation why it's 4 months longer. I am therefore left to assume it's an unscrupulous way to tie a customer into a longer financial commitment, thereby costing more. At a time of rising costs and financial hardship, this leaves a bad taste in the mouth. I have banked with Santander for nearly 40 years, but they don't seem to care. 
I will complain to the FCA, but I'm interested to know if anyone else has experienced this.   

kingstreet

Many lenders' products have a fixed end date, such as 30/09/2026 and not two years from completion. The illustration and or offer document should have stated this.

Did they?

Phoenix72

Normally fixed rate products are offered with an expiry date that doesn't always match the 'advertised' length of the product. As an example Natwest are currently offering a 5 year fix until 31/10/2029. It's the product expiry date rather than when each individual signs up for it. 

Pretty sure it will say in your paperwork when the deal expires.

la531983

Echo the above, perfectly normal, my 5 year fixed lasts 5 years and 2 months, everything will have been there in the paperwork.

Suspect the FCA wont be interested.

Mark_d

Two year fixed rate mortgages are rarely exactly two years, as per kingstreet's post.

I expect all 'paperwork' for the mortgage recognised the correct end date of the fixed rate period.  It isn't easy to notice everything when looking through these documents on a mobile phone app.  I tend to go through electronic documents like this on my computer, with my partner looking at it too, so that nothing gets missed.

BarelySentientAI

MisterWhite said:

I am therefore left to assume it's an unscrupulous way to tie a customer into a longer financial commitment, thereby costing more. 

Your assumption would be mistaken, as would any complaint based on it.

MisterWhite said:

The rate was much higher than I had been paying historically, but I intended to pay it off by the end of 2 years.

When I got confirmation of the new mortgage, I noticed that it had been set up for 2 years and 4 months. Consequently meaning I pay another 4 months interest at a higher rate. 

Not if you pay it off by the end of 2 years, exactly as you planned.

BikingBud

MisterWhite said:

For my mortgage renewal I was quoted by Santander 1, 2 and 3 year fixed rate products. The rate was much higher than I had been paying historically, but I intended to pay it off by the end of 2 years. I confirmed the offer, as encouraged to, on my phone via the Santander App.
When I got confirmation of the new mortgage, I noticed that it had been set up for 2 years and 4 months. Consequently meaning I pay another 4 months interest at a higher rate. 
I have complained to Santander who have said that it's tough luck, I should have read the final offer documentation. In hindsight, I should have, but it didn't even occur to me that a 2 year fixed product would turn into something else (2 years 4 months). Furthermore, the App doesn't clearly present you with the end date. 
I have a few issues, mainly that this seems like miss leading selling, and isn't made clear to the customer that a 2 year fixed deal may in fact actually not be 2 years. Santander have not been able to offer any reasonable explanation why it's 4 months longer. I am therefore left to assume it's an unscrupulous way to tie a customer into a longer financial commitment, thereby costing more. At a time of rising costs and financial hardship, this leaves a bad taste in the mouth. I have banked with Santander for nearly 40 years, but they don't seem to care. 
I will complain to the FCA, but I'm interested to know if anyone else has experienced this.   

All normal so no need for Santander to explain.

Your paperwork from Santander, mortgage illustration will state the Product Code and the end date for the fixed rate period, see Section 2- Product Description "A fixed rate of x.yy% until dd MMMM yyyy".

My start date was Sep 21, date of completion, and has a finish date in Nov 26.

The app does clearly present you with the end date:

• Under the mortgage tab, select mortgage details. 
• Account information such as; sort code, account number and balance are at the top.
• The deal - eg 5 YEAR FIXED
• Interest Rate - x.yy%
• Loan Balance - Variable by month.
• Product ends - Nov 26

Not misleading nor mis-selling.

Unless you can clearly identify that you have something that departs from the above, extremely unlikely, then you were suitably advised and you agreed with the provided terms and conditions of the illustration.