Woolwich nightmare - what steps to take

surreybased · 29 December 2009 at 12:37PM

Hi,

My husband & I were trying to arrange a mortgage in July with the woolwich (Dh was an existing mortgage customer) however despite taking the mortgage arrangment fee and survey fee they have not completed the mortgage.
We had an offer in principle but they have just failed to get to a formal offer. We eventually lost patience and confidence and arranged a mortgage with Abbey who sorted it all in 2 weeks on fast track as we have a high deposit and good credit history. Since September we have been trying to get a response from Woolwich to get our money back but despite a formal complaint (which they committed a response by 22nd Dec) absolutely nothing has happened. We know that the person dealing with our application went long term sick but to have no response over 4 months is just crazy.

Whats our best next step? Start a smalls claims action? Financial Ombudsman?

Thanks

opinions4u · 29 December 2009 at 12:46PM

I'd suggest a phone call to the number on the letter that said they'd respond by 22nd December, clearly specifying what you expect (e.g. full refund of fees paid and £100 for inconvenience, or whatever you feel's appropriate) and stating your final deadline. 7-14 days seems reasonable.

If they fail to comply then I'd use the FOS because it's free. But the small claims court might be faster - I'd suggest the FOS is a little more consumer friendly though, whereas a small claims court is more likely to look at the contractual obligations on both parties. You could lose!

You don't detail the specifics of your complaint. Why didn't they issue an offer?

They are not obliged to lend you money if they don't wish to and if you pulled out of the deal a little prematurely they could be well within their rights to retain the fees paid, depending on what the small print said.

surreybased · 4 January 2010 at 7:47PM

Hi,

Just to provide an update.Despite numerous calls, emails to the formal Woolwich complaint procedure - who apologise profusely - they have explained that they can't get a response from their own mortgage department so can't respond to us. :mad:

We didn't expect an mortgage offer - just a response. The Woolwich was pretty quick to take our money £2.5k (in August 09) for the mortgage arrangement fee and valuation but haven't followed up..Zero response. No offer, no decline, no queries...Honestly, if I wasn't so furious it would be funny.

Seems the guy who started the mortgage process went sick and our application has sat in a dark corner and has not be processed. We've asked to speak with team leader/manager..who is always 'not available but we promise he will call you back'.
Each time we follow up we get 'sincere' apologies, more promises of a review and an urgent call back but zilch!

If this wasn't such a large organisation I'd think it was a scam company.

Anyway - dh has lost patience and kicked off a small claims procedure..I doubt the Woolwich would have been so tolerant to us if we didn't pay back the mortgage for 5 months..guess they would be pursuing us in Court now.

Just a warning for others..Our broker warned that they are a complete nightmare but I never guessed it would be this bad.

powerwin · 4 January 2010 at 8:04PM

Thanks for sharing anyway. You'd think if someone went off sick then someone else would be able to pick up their workload.

Rgds

MB1919 · 4 January 2010 at 10:04PM

I've got to say that my mortgage application was dealt with very swiftly by the Woolwich. The whole re-mortgage took less than two weeks and we were switching from another lender.

I hope you get a speedy resolution to your problem.

Bobby2 · 4 January 2010 at 10:10PM

surreybased wrote: »

Hi,

Just to provide an update.Despite numerous calls, emails to the formal Woolwich complaint procedure - who apologise profusely - they have explained that they can't get a response from their own mortgage department so can't respond to us. :mad:

We didn't expect an mortgage offer - just a response. The Woolwich was pretty quick to take our money £2.5k (in August 09) for the mortgage arrangement fee and valuation but haven't followed up..Zero response. No offer, no decline, no queries...Honestly, if I wasn't so furious it would be funny.

Seems the guy who started the mortgage process went sick and our application has sat in a dark corner and has not be processed. We've asked to speak with team leader/manager..who is always 'not available but we promise he will call you back'.
Each time we follow up we get 'sincere' apologies, more promises of a review and an urgent call back but zilch!

If this wasn't such a large organisation I'd think it was a scam company.

Anyway - dh has lost patience and kicked off a small claims procedure..I doubt the Woolwich would have been so tolerant to us if we didn't pay back the mortgage for 5 months..guess they would be pursuing us in Court now.

Just a warning for others..Our broker warned that they are a complete nightmare but I never guessed it would be this bad.

You need to realise that although you have applied for a mortgage with the Woolwich, it is actually BARCLAYS as they merged a couple of years ago. Ever since the merge, I have experienced numerous problems as I pay my mortgage by cash - Barclays do not pay this on the date you hand the money over, they have to send the payment off and this can take upwards of three days GRRRRRRR!!

ECEC · 10 January 2010 at 6:27PM

I have also been advised against using woolwich as they can be difficult to deal with. Having said that, I have a friend who had no problem with them very recently. Depends on your luck I guess...

VIGILANT22 · 10 January 2010 at 6:34PM

surreybased wrote: »

Hi,

Quote: Seems the guy who started the mortgage process went sick and our application has sat in a dark corner and has not be processed.

This is very important information to hang on to......All Financial Service companies are supposed to have in place "adequate systems and controls" to avoid mishaps such as what you have experienced. It would appear Woolwich have fallen down there.

Yes, they are a total nightmare...

Wakey2008 · 11 January 2010 at 1:58PM

I've said this several times before but I'll say it again. Never Never ever use the Barclays / Woolwich direct mortgage team. You basically get a non qualified phone monkey who'll claim to be a "mortgage specialist", which basically means they are not an adviser as you have be qualified to use the title "mortgage adviser" and they won't give a crap about whether your application goes through or not.

Conrad · 11 January 2010 at 3:00PM

A small claim is totaly unecessary. You need to use the FOS. The small claims court have no knowledge of the FSA's TCF system which should ensure you get a fair outcome.

Also you say you paid £2500 - this makes no sense whatsoever. Normally the most you pay a lender is the sum of the valuation fee.

Claremac · 11 January 2010 at 3:46PM

I read the original post with a sense of deja vu. Our application was back in June 2008 and the Woolwich team took so long to process that, come end of September, the vendor said he would pull out on the Friday if we hadn't exchanged. I rang the Woolwich to tell them this on the Tuesday but when I rang back after the weekend to find out why we still hadn't received confirmation of the mortgage, nothing had been done because "the mortgage team hadn't answered the phone the previous Tuesday". This was after a long few months of frustration in dealing with them. The vendor then pulled out.
As it happens they did us a favour as the place we are now buying is so much better than that one was and I would hate to be paying a mortgage to Woolwich if they are as efficient in dealing with customers after the purchase as they are beforehand! Now getting a mortgage through First Direct and things couldn't be more different!

Woolwich nightmare - what steps to take

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