Have a look at the "Do you have a Together Mortgage?" thread which details this very subject. I've posted a couple of replies on their and the fact that I am currently with the Ombudsman awaiting a ruling on whether this is, in fact, shoddy practice. I will update thread when I get a response from FOS.

Sorry.............. that's DONT let it stress you out!

You'll have to follow due complaints process first. Don;t go to litigation yet, but equally the ball is in their court so let it stress you out. Under FSA rules, NRAM has 8 weeks (I think) in which to provide you with their final response. If they refund, all well and good but if they don;t, then their final response allows you to take your compliant to the Ombudsman. Have a look at NRAMs complaint's procedure and similarly FOS (financial ombudsman service) will detail exactly what the timelines are. In all honesty, you might also be advised to give them (NRAM) a call and ask them if they have your complaint. Invariably (although not in all cases), all the while your complaint is "live" any action on that complaint is suspended until you get a ruling, so even if it does go the distance take some comfort that the situation can't or shouldn;t get worse in this time. Hope that helps.

karenha Under normal conditions, Northern Rock (NRAM) would have the right to charge you an additional 8% for moving away the secured element and leaving the unsecured element where it is. This is a decoupling penalty and it is clearly stated in their terms and conditions. But market conditions ain't normal and personally I'd be telling NRAM where to go. There are other forums about this subject and very specific about this subject. Search high and low (go to MSE.com also as they have many threads) possibly under Northern Rock Togethr Mortgage Unsecured Loan rate and I am sure you will find someone who has been through this process and out of the other end. I would complain formally to them, advise them you ain't paying i and if necessary get them to issue you with a formal "final response" letter which'll allow to take your complaint the Financial Ombudsman Service. Essentially, NRAM is saying to you that they cannot offer you a mortgage and that your only choice is to move your mortgage, so that's what you do if you're lucky enough to have a low enough LTV. But if you do move your mortgage they'll penalise you for doing so. I'm surprised this hasn;t been through the courts yet. I just can;t see how this is legal. Fight them. Hope that helps, but go searching as many (not me) have been through this exact same process. C

Hi, I was one of the original posts on this forum. Came off a fixed deal linked to Base Rate and went on to SVR which doubled mortgage overnight. Couldn't move my mortgage as too high LTV and NRAM won;t offer new deal, so as someone put it, we're in this unhappy marriage. Took complaint to NRAM, which stated I had no grounds for complaint over a year ago. I advised them in writing afterward that I therefore was applying an arbitrary rate of interest the same as they had - they want to charge me 4.75 SVR; so I stated that a fairer market norm was 3.83%, I had never missed a payment (still haven't) and that I wasn;t prepared to pay for the mistakes of their crappy business model. I cancelled the direct debit with my bank and every month I pay them £800 on my debit card instead of what they want. Arrears accrue. About 10 times a month they ring me and we have a chat although most of the time I ignore their calls now - can be grinding at times, but take heart from the fact that you know the case history and that the person on the other end of the phone is generally clueless - to be fair to them, some do try really hard to be helpful. Every time, I advise them that we are in dispute and that until that dispute is resolved, I shall pay the amount I feel is appropriate, and not what they feel. They've advised that arrears will reach a limit where they consider court action - I await that day and would welcome it, but based on the differential that's about 5 years away! There's about 350,000 to 400,000 of us at NRAM, with around 300,000 or potentially less as mortgage account holders. NRAM is repaying the government at a rapid rate because you and me are paying uncompetitive / penal rates of interest because we can't move to another provider and therefore NRAM has us by the short and curlies. In 2011, they made £790m profit - that's around £2,500 (over £200 a month) in pure profit from every one of us. If you consider how much operating costs NRAM has because of its bureacratic make-up and extensive collection costs, then I think you'll find that profit figure is a whole lot higher than £2,500. We're being ripped off hook, line and sinker. I am about to finally write to FOS on my complaints - been meaning to do this for over a year and no doubt they'll try the 6 month rule on me. I'll let you know how I get on. For anyone receiving calls or being hassled by them, don't let them get to you. Come on to this forum and discuss issues with fellow strugglers. How I choose to deal with NRAM might not be right for you and while I may just be saving up problems for the future, I will not have these crooks dictate my life. Liberate yourself and take control! Better still, do it in numbers and maybe they'll listen.

Fatdog, Am prepping my complaint to NR and undoubtedly on to the Ombudsman, but plan also to hit some other forums to see whether there truely is a market out there for group action from Together customers. I'll keep in touch - perhaps we can devise a plan! Best regards

I too have a Together Mortgage. My real problem with NR is that through its own dodgy lending practices, Together Mortgage holders are now paying the price. Because the product we have is, accordingly to the bankers, so risky and now so unfashionable, we are now treated as if we are the lepers of the secured loans world and we shall be made to pay for borrowing up to 125% LTV. I have just come out of a fixed rate deal, which was for the first 3 years. With base rate at 0.5%, I had been enjoying a rate of 2.39% for about the past however many months. Suddenly, overnight, my rate has doubled, increasing to 4.75% (a whopping 0.04% below the SVR). So, my mortgage + unsecured borrowing element has increased from about £450 monthly to £895 monthly. Now, before all of the "I told you so" crowd come flocking to this forum, I am well aware that I have enjoyed an artificially low rate for a good while now. Artificial in the sense that interest rates (and base rate in particular) are very low and can only go one way. But then again, anyone other than those is high fixed rate deals have had it good for a while. I am no different. What I take exception to however is that Northern Rock - a nationalised institution - has cornered me to the point where I have very, very limited options in what I can do from a negotiation or remortgage standpoint. Notwithstanding the market conditions of course, which I acknowledge. Despite their website stating that for existing customers, ring us and we'll see what we can offer, the offer was in fact 4.75% take it or go elsewhere. And that's where the problem is...... My mortgage LTV is about 93%. That means that in the current environment, I cannot go elsewhere and NR knows this. Of course, if I had 60% LTV then I could get a very attractive rate, but I don't and very few Together Mortgage holders will have LTVs under 90% I suspect. We are indeed a niche and exclusive crowd. While I can appreciate lenders wanting customers to stump up more in cash deposits for new borrowing because the world has changed, NR has to recognise that its borrowers cannot simply pull up to 40% of their mortgage from thin air and so go to another lender for a more attractive rate. Basically, we are stuck where we are and in the event that we do move, unless we can also move the unsecured element also, that will attract interest more akin to a personal loan than a mortgage. The solution as I see it is that we want NR to recognise its part in creating this situation and to offer Together Mortgage holders a fair deal. I have not become an increased risk overnight. I am not behind on my loan. I therefore feel I deserve a better rate than is on offer, because I cannot move my mortgage and if I do, whatever gain I make in a lower rate will probably be eaten up by the increased rate I have to pay on the unsecured element. I cannot see this as treating customers fairly, nor within the spirit of the unfair contracts regulations [legislation?]. My purpose in coming on to the forum is to find out whether anyone is either part of a group in litigation with NR (e.g. a class action) or who knows of any group considering this route. Any information most welcome, as indeed any comments on what I have written. Regards