West Bromwich Building Society Tracker Margins Legal Action

West Bromwich Building Society Tracker Margins Legal Action

18:38 PM, 30th September 2013, About 11 years ago 3869

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West Bromwich Tracker Rate Mortgages Legal Action Group

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

Tracker Rate Class Actions Updates

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.

Landlords take legal action against West Brom Mortgage Company

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

West Bromwich Mortgage Company Tracker Margins Legal Action


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Comments

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

15:39 PM, 27th September 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Richard Adams" at "27/09/2013 - 15:22":

WBBS have been very crafty in only targeting borrowers with 3 or more properties. The courts will not construe them as consumers but rather professional investors who should be aware of the risks and whose mortgages are not regulated by the FCA. We would therefore have to prove misrepresentation/breach of contract on a case by case basis.

It is important for all affected borrowers to obtain full details of their mortgages, as outlined in the complaints letter linked below
.

Richard Adams

16:05 PM, 27th September 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Mark Alexander" at "27/09/2013 - 15:39":

The class action will need to disabuse the courts of the notion that owning 3 BTL properties qualifies an investor as professional/sophisticated. There are a plethora of investors with small portfolios who were persuaded to invest in the boom years and maybe did so unwisely. Foolish they may be but sophisticated certainly not.

If WB are relying on a level of ownership to indicate professional investors then a minimum of 10 properties would be nearer the mark. Those of us with small portfolios
are amateurs.

mrs sharp

16:31 PM, 27th September 2013, About 11 years ago

People: please don't forget that BoI have also targeted residential mortgage customers by increasing the differential, not just buy-to let customers. I'm not sure if WBBS have yet targeted residential customers, but I'm sure it is just a matter of time.

16:45 PM, 27th September 2013, About 11 years ago

RE "We live in a free market capitalist country whether we like it or not but this is getting beyond ridiculous!"

Sorry but that is absolute tosh. We haven't lived in a free market this past decade, instead we have had mass intervention to stop the free market working and creating asset bubbles.

If we had a free market then we wouldn't have all this stimulus to keep the housing bubble inflated such as 0.5% base rates, quantitative easing, funding for lending, SMI, Help to Buy, Shared Ownership and much more. The tax payer and savers are being stung hard for all these interventions which are the complete opposite to a free market. Instead we are bailing out the reckless.

I can't believe people are complaining about a 2% increase when their rates will be far lower than pre crisis rates. Plus you have been rewarded with 4 years of paying near nothing. If you cant afford the increase then you should rethink your business, It all stinks of greed.

I wish savers could do a class action due to huge loses to bail you landlords out. Savers are the real losers here.

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

16:50 PM, 27th September 2013, About 11 years ago

Gavin, so you hate capitalist landlords but support capitalist banks? You think it's ok for banks to renage on contracts do you? Sorry, I don't get it

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

17:14 PM, 27th September 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Richard Adams" at "27/09/2013 - 16:05":

Can you find the FSA's definition of a "sophisticated investor" for mortgage purposes because I can't.

There is a lot of information on the web about sophisticated investors in relation to the mis-selling of Interest Rate Hedging Products and if that same criteria is applied to landlords I'd say 99.99% of us are not sophisticated investors.
.

James Pargeter

20:15 PM, 27th September 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Alan Soloman" at "26/09/2013 - 20:13":

If this is true it's a biggest flaw in their argument I have hear yet.

James Pargeter

20:32 PM, 27th September 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Mark Alexander" at "27/09/2013 - 17:14":

I have 5 tracker mortgages (3 with Birmingham midshires and one each with c&g and whatever became of Bradford and bingley) all around 2% above base. Whilst not yet affected its only a matter of time so keen to get involved. Whilst under west bromwichs definition I would be a professional investor I do not count myself to be one. These properties are my pension not my main source of income. surely to be a professional investor they would have to form my main source of income? If you chose to invest some money in 3 companies does that make you a stockbroker!

Throw in Mr Solomon s comment earlier about the terms and conditions booklet needing to be signed to form part of the contract I don't think they have a leg to stand on.

10:45 AM, 28th September 2013, About 11 years ago

My partner and I have 3 BTL properties which we 'own' as tenants in common - one is mortgaged with the WBBS and we received the letter regarding that one last week. I also 'own' another BTL as sole tenant - again mortgaged with the WBBS.
My own former home is rented out and I paid NRAM a fee to convert that mortgage to BTL (although when I asked for a term adjustment they assured me it couldn't be done as the mortgage is still a 'residential mortgage')
I have today the letter for the one mortgaged by WBBS - it seems to me they may be using some innovative or even unethical ways to obtain the information as to who they will target next and who qualifies as a multiple BTL borrower!

11:20 AM, 28th September 2013, About 11 years ago

I am furious about this too. I have read my mortgage offer and the key facts and nowhere does it say they have the right to increase my mortgage. In fact it clearly states that my mortgage reverts to a variable rate with a premium of .99% until the term end. Neither the mortgage offer or the key facts directs you to a terms and conditions booklet and yet when I spoke to them they said that the mortgage deed makes reference to this. As has been said before surely such a fundamental term should have been made clear to us at the outset. As I said to them, had I known I would not have entered into the mortgage with them.

In addition, I have one mortgage with them but as I have a portfolio they have decided that I can afford to pay. I queried again what right they had to carry out a credit check on myself and my husband and they said that they were basing it on information they already had. I still believe that this is not the correct way to decide on who can afford to pay the increase. They have no idea what my financial situation is. I really hope that this group does get them to do a U turn as if other lenders follow suit it will be a complete disaster for a lot of people.

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