Thread: Unfair treatment for mortgage payments by Halifax - help?

Unfair treatment for mortgage payments by Halifax - help?
I have recently become a full time carer and now existing on benefits having given up full-time employment. I get a proportion of my mortgage costs paid via income support, and have to make up the shortfall myself. I accept this, but I don't accept the way Halifax have calculated my payments to them.
I pay my mortgage calendar monthly, but my housing cost benefit is paid directly to Halifax 4 weekly. When I calculated my shortfall payment I multiplied the weekly state benefit by 52 & then divided by 12 to get the amount equivalent to a calendar monthly payment. I subtracted this amount from the monthly payment which left me with the amount I have to pay. However, Halifax have said I have to pay over £30 a month more than I calulated, due to benefits being paid to them 4 weekly. They freely admit that end of year one, I will have paid more than I should, and then they will refund me the overpayments. At this stage, I feel supremely confident that I need that £30 per month far more than Halifax does, but they will not budge. So I am going to be paying nearly £400p.a. more than I need to, and then when they get round to it - they will give it back to me. Hope this makes some kind of sense, it's quite complicated to explain! Anyone else in this situation? Any ideas? Any help appreciated!!!!!

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Hi, I'm a a bit of a newbie here. I posted a few days ago about the way the Halifax has calulated the amount I pay on the shortfall on my monthly mortgage payments- I have recently become a full-time Carer for my elderly Father as my Mum recently passed away so a proportionof my mortgage costs are covered by benefits, and I have to make up the shortfall. Halifax have used a very unfair way of calculating the amount I pay each month, which will in fact mean that at the end of every 12 months I will have overpaid by nearly £400and then they will refund me!!
I know it's a bit complicated- I posted it on the Mortgage Companies forum and have not had one response - when I look around ths site, that seems to be quite rare! Have I done something wrong in my posting, does no one like me maybe?? There seems to be so m uch amazing support and great advice here, but not for me.
Would somone just even say hi to me....please....?

Thanks Bookworm for your advice about posts - still trying to get my head round the site. And thank you sea-side lady for saying hello. I was beginning to feel like old Billy no friends!

Hi, Not sure if my maths are right here, but see what figure you get from the following:

12 x monthly payments = A
13 x benefit payments = B

A - B = C

C divided by 12 should give you your monthly payment
See how that works

Hey someone spoke to me! Thanks, in effect that's what I did to calculate my shortfall - but my explanation was not as succinct as yours! What Halifax are saying is that because benefits are paid on a weekly basis every four weeks, this is slightly less than a calendar monthly payment, so Month 1 would see me a bit in arrears, Month 2 a bit more in arrears, and so on until hey presto, benefits make their final payment in the 12 month period(their 13th) which wipes out the whole of the years' accrued arrears, which means the extra I've paid will be an overpayment & I'll get it refunded. I have always had an excellent credit record and now I'm existing on state benefits, I am even keener for it to stay that way - once financial institutions get wind of a claimant they make life as difficult as possible for you when you least need it. So I don't want my mortgage account to show any arrears. Think I may be in a Catch 22 here!

Are you in a postion where you could get your benefit amended so that they make a hardship payment of 4 weeks to put you ahead of the game, so that Halifax have the shortfall at the start?

Well, PKea, I don't know - didn't think of that, thanks! Having gone through all this, I've just found out that my shortfall has now increased of course, with the 2 interest rate increases. And benefits, it seems, only re-calculate your entitlement once a year to take into account interest hikes. As it was, they took 6 months to process my original claim during which time my meagre savings were obliterated -I cannot comprehend that we have "work-shy" people in our country who choose to live on benefits - they must be bonkers, the whole benefits system is a nightmare and even when they sort your claim, you're still left wondering whether you should splash out & eat the ENTIRE tin of baked beans in one go, or save the rest for another day!

Thanks Paul for your reply. I have also been keeping tracks of the Kensington mortgage fiasco since I joined here, and I felt for them so badly when I read their news. There comes a time when you just can't get up another time after you've been kicked & kicked, and I really hope that the support from the really great people on this site will encourage them to appeal. I probably will have another shot with Halifax, but not convinced any of these places have a "better nature" !

If you are on benefits, Halifax will refuse you a payment holiday even if you are entitled to one.