West Bromwich Building Society Tracker Margins Legal Action
Are you affected by the West Brom Tracker Rate Hike?
If your mortgage account number begins with the number 8 you are highly likely to be one of the unlucky 41% of the mortgage customers of the West Bromwich building Society with a West Bromwich Mortgage Company account affected by the 1.9% increase in your tracker margin rate. However, if you arranged your mortgage directly with West Bromwich Building Society (i.e. not via a broker) or before 2006 the chances are that your account number will begin with the number 9 and you are not affected – YET!!! West Brom will give no assurances that mortgages with account numbers beginning with the number 9 will not be affected at some point in the future.
OUR INTENDED CLASS ACTION LITIGATION OVERVIEW
The reasons we started this campaign are very simple:-
1) We believe the actions of West Brom are immoral
2) We believe the actions of West Brom are unlawful, i.e. they have no legal grounds to increase their tracker rate margins
3) We have no wish to subsidise other areas of the West Bromwich Building Society business model
4) We are fearful of other lenders following suit if West Brom are allowed to get away with this
Mark Smith (Barrister-At-Law) said …
“Representative actions, where one person starts a case representing many others, who all want the answer to a legal question from a court such as ‘is this contract enforceable against me?’ but are not seeking damages. All those who sign up to the action will get the benefit of the win, but they do not have to start their own cases, as they are ‘represented’ by the lead claimant.
The only people who will definitely benefit from success in the case are those who have signed up. There will be no free rides. Any others will have to fight their own corners individually, either alone or with legal help (which will inevitably cost significantly more than the group case).”
We will NOT settle on any basis.
We have a moral duty to do what is right for those who support the values upon which this campaign was started. Our promise to all who support these values is that we will not sell out on you at any price. We will continue to fight this injustice and we will fight any other lender who tries to follow suit.
Are you with us?
This discussion thread is now closed – we’re off to Court!
To link to the new discussion please CLICK HERE
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Member Since November 2013 - Comments: 118
10:25 PM, 27th November 2013, About 12 years ago
Reply to the comment left by “ian ” at “27/11/2013 – 21:31“:
The FSA (now called the FCA) told me to take a running jump when I contacted them about the Skipton Building Society pulling the same dirty trick back in 2010. I had complained to the Skipton and the Skipton had their lawyers DLA Piper respond to me. The FSA (now FCA) virtually word for word regurgitated the response from DLA Piper when I sent in my paperwork to them including the letter from DLA Piper.
DLA Piper are a global law firm that specialise in commercial litigation, banking and finance. Make no mistake. Banks and building societies don’t use high street lawyers. They call in the “big guns”. West Brom are also going to fight this tooth and nail as and when we proceed to litigation (much as we wish they would simply just roll over and backtrack on their rate hike. There’s simply too much money at stake for them not to).
Oh, and as for the Office of Fair Trading, they simply wrote back and told me they were too busy to deal with my complaint about the Skipton Building Society.
Member Since January 2011 - Comments: 12193 - Articles: 1395
10:30 PM, 27th November 2013, About 12 years ago
The FCA also said something very similar to the Chairman of the Treasury Slect Committee earlier this year!
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Member Since July 2013 - Comments: 264
10:33 PM, 27th November 2013, About 12 years ago
Reply to the comment left by “Richard Adams” at “27/11/2013 – 22:16“:
The majority of the 6700 would use the internet. When the BoI increased there rates I found this site within an hour and believe me I’m hopeless with computers had to buy a scanner to send docs had to get brother to show me, so I would of thought we have been found by now, I put it down to human nature that people freeload
Comments: 359
10:38 PM, 27th November 2013, About 12 years ago
I too found this site at my very first google search to try to ascertain what was going on – within maybe 30 minutes of opening the first WBBS letter in September (and as you all now know I am an old bird fast approaching my dotage and my pension!)
Member Since September 2013 - Comments: 474
10:42 PM, 27th November 2013, About 12 years ago
Reply to the comment left by “ian ” at “27/11/2013 – 22:33“:
Yes Ian, you and I got on the internet pronto. My point about apathy is that a lot of folk don’t think similarly. They need to be approached for the penny to drop. Here I go speculating again. Let’s find them if we can.
Member Since October 2013 - Comments: 56
10:44 PM, 27th November 2013, About 12 years ago
I’ve just been thinking about a ‘Class Action’ that I was named in a few years back against BA and AA. I think it may have been something to do with unfair fuel surcharges but that’s not really that relevant. The point is that I never asked to join, I was invited, and the only way anyone could have known I was affected was via the airlines. The action was ultimately successful and I even got a few bucks back .
A quick google search tonight has brought up the US requirement for ‘Notification of potential plaintiffs by mail, newspaper ads, etc’ that is ordered by a judge in their courts.
Does anyone know if anything similar could be achieved in our courts? Could we ask a judge to order WB to write to all affected borrowers informing them of our class action so that they all have a fair chance of joining?
I realise this is a very long shot but if it’s done as a matter of course in the US than maybe we can engineer something similar too?
Comments: 359
10:46 PM, 27th November 2013, About 12 years ago
that would be brilliant
Member Since July 2013 - Comments: 264
10:52 PM, 27th November 2013, About 12 years ago
Reply to the comment left by “Richard Adams” at “27/11/2013 – 22:42“:
People panic there first port of call in this case would be to look for help on the internet surly. A very high percentage would of been on here as you said pronto.
Member Since November 2013 - Comments: 45
10:55 PM, 27th November 2013, About 12 years ago
Reply to the comment left by “ian ” at “27/11/2013 – 21:31“:
Some of the reasons have already been posted on here a couple of days back.
Fear has to be one of the main barriers. WBBS have already mentioned calling in the mortgages with 28 days notice.
Lack of confidence in the success of the Class Action has to be another.
Multiple properties means a lot of money. Some will consider its all a gamble that they’d rather not take.
Member Since October 2013 - Comments: 56
11:11 PM, 27th November 2013, About 12 years ago
Reply to the comment left by “Mervyn Wharton” at “27/11/2013 – 22:55“:
I sort of get the fear factor and the possible lack of confidence in the success, but not so much the cost equation. Multiple properties or not, the cost of joining for most will be less than a single monthly increase being imposed by WB, which will go on and on until the end of the mortgage.
Our legal argument in favour of success is a strong one and should in theory be further supported in people’s minds by the feeling of sheer injustice for most.
Which leaves the fear – not sure if there is anything practical we can do about that except to say that if it was going to happen it would probably have happened by now??? … and on that last point the possible criminal probe at RBS should really put an end to any such talk.