Halifax varied my rate

Halifax varied my rate

8:21 AM, 17th June 2016, About 8 years ago 3

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I took out a tracker mortgage to buy my home in 2004, was then relocated to Ireland in 2005 and I started to rent my house in 2006. Halifax varied my rate

Halifax told me that I had to give up my tracker and go on another, higher, rate. This cost me twice as much.

Has anyone had a similar experience and is there any redress at this stage?

Thanks

Eoin


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Comments

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

8:31 AM, 17th June 2016, About 8 years ago

Hi Eoin

All mortgage lenders have a duty to "treat customers fairly".

Clearly you would have been in breach of your existing mortgage terms if you had rented out your property without obtaining consent to let.

The issue here is whether adding a premium to your tracker mortgage would have been more "fair" than forcing you to switch to an alternative product costing twice as much.

I don't think you have been "treated fairly" but that's just my opinion.

Have you raised a complaint with Halifax and if so what was their response?

The Financial Ombudsman should be able to make a decision on fairness but I no longer trust their judgement after my West Brom tracker rate hike experience.

If I were you I would complain to them and if you disagree with their response then bypass the FOS and take your case straight to the Small Claims Court for compensation of the amount which you think is unreasonable. Note that if your claim is over £10,000 then you will be responsible for the other sides legal costs if you lose.

If you do go to Court I would also recommend you to pay for a Barrister to prepare and present your case. This costs less than you might think. Search our members section for "Mark Smith (Barrister-At-Law)" and contact him to get a quote.

All the best

Mark
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Annie Landlord

9:36 AM, 17th June 2016, About 8 years ago

My home resi mortgage is with Halifax and has been on svr for about 7 years. A couple of years ago they decided they could change the svr and my mortgage payments increased by nearly £50 a month! I did wonder, having seen the ruling on West Brom, whether the Halifax should also be challenged.

Anthony Endsor

20:39 PM, 17th June 2016, About 8 years ago

I am in the process of remortgaging a property. The main reason for this is because of a ridiculously high svr Halifax decided to impose for no apparent reason when the fixed rate was up. This meant my payments went up by £219 a month without any explanation other than 'higher running costs'.
My new payment will now be less than the original payment before the increase. So yes, I would definitely say it is well worth while challenging the Halifax.

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