GE Money arrears charges... can i claim??

[ben1305]

hi all,

i recently requested a full statement for my mortgage with GE.

 

had a read through it last night and frankly i'm gobsmacked at just how much they have charged me for being in arrears.

 

there are 27 x £40 arrears fees

plus there are also 2 interest charges added to this £40 fee everymonth.

The interest added rises month on month. It started as around £1.20 and the last interest added to the arrears fee was in the region of £60. How the hell can they charge £60 interest on a £40 fee?????????

 

All in there is over 3k worth of charges and added interest.

 

Is it possible to reclaim these charges and interest as I would dearly love to screw them like they did to me for so long (but thats another story)

 

thanks guys

[beachcomber60]

Subscribing

 

I've got the same problem with GE Home Lending (unsecured) absolutely nightmare to deal with, but they are very good at adding charges etc etc

a debt of £4900 last October is now a staggering £8400, they wont/cant reply to any of our letters.

 

Watching with interest, good luck.

[loveoldermen]

I have the same problem with them on secured loan - what can we do - I now owe £6k more than I originally borrowed?

[dx100uk]

they are unlawful charges - reclaim them!

 

dx

[loveoldermen]

how?

[ben1305]

good question loveoldermen,

 

Any help in how we claim them back dx?

[dx100uk]

use the search in the blue bar above....

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/mortgage-companies/139339-what-you-can-cannot.html

dx

[Dorabell]

Subbing with interest i am having the same problem sent off for all my request for my S.A.R they have,nt bothererd to reply i have now lodged a complaint to ICO has its well over there days to comply,like you said they are quick enough to had charges and send you threatning letters when you fall behind with the payments when its now fault off your own:mad: good luck

Edited September 1, 2009 by Dorabell
spelling

[jansus]

please see some of the links I have just posted on here

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/mortgages-secured-loans/215395-mortgage-arrears-litigation-if.html

[crampers]

Hi Ben just to let you know I was in the same position and after the BBC highlighted the issue of sub prime lenders charging extortinate arrears fees I thought I would chance my arm .The story appeared on BBC business and the FSA promised to take action.

 

I basically wrote to GE asking them to justify the fees and explained that I hoped it wasn't a true reflection of the costs incurred by them for managing my account whilst in arrears, and explained that I would take the matter to the FOS/FSA if I did not recieve a satisfactory explanation.

 

Result £480 refunded and no further charges to be applied "gesture of goodwill"

 

Worth a go ?

[ben1305]

thanks for that crampers.

well done on the result!!!

 

Personally i want to make sure they remove ALL charges from my mortgage (which has now bee capitalised after over 2 years of trying)

My mortgage has risen by over £5k which is made of charges and interest.

 

if anyone has managed to get all the charges back from GE i'd LOVE to hear from them.

[jaxads]

I know GOLDLADY was successful with GE Money - try reading her thread. I'm too going to try to claim - they must have put on £1000s in charges over the years!!

[boocut]

My late Mum got a lot of arrears charges with this lot - which I ended up paying when I bought the mortgage out. Not to mention the huge Disbursement (?!) charges.

How likely are they to co-operate with me if I pursue this - it wasn't my account after all and they may say they can't tell me anything.

Has anyone found them to be easy to deal with - or should i not bother?!

[josef1972]

charges are only applied as part of the t & c that were signed at the start of the loan, the £40 fee is only applied once a month and in the case of ben1305 there is no way that you would have been charged 60 for a fee of 40. the interest you are paying is on the complete fees balance, ge dont have to refund fees, the common misconception of the fee refunding is that all fees are illegal, ge money hiome lending is NOT a bank and therefore not under the same regulations as the banks, and ben there is only 1 interest charge applied to the £40 fee not 2 as you state.

[ben1305]

Hello josef1972.

How long have you worked for GE then??????

[ben1305]

and ben there is only 1 interest charge applied to the £40 fee not 2 as you state.

 

For YOUR information josef there are TWO interest charges EVERYTIME the £40 is charged.

I'm perfectly capable of readin my statements!!!!!

 

So crawl back under whatever GE stone you managed to escape from.

[josef1972]

probobaly ind you are on interest only mortgage, or alternativly you are paying part capital and the rest is interest. thast cud be why u see interest twice but can assure you that u only get additional interest on the fee balance once, its calculated daily and applied monthly

[Vikingbird]

After reading this thread, I'm still not clear on how to go about reclaiming the charges on my mortgage. Can I just use the same template letter as with bank charges, just making certain adjustments? Just for the record, I am no longer in arrears but the charges that were applied during the time I was in arrears are substantial and in my (and probably most people's) opinion they are highly excessive and disproportionate. Also, the mortgage company keeps calling and writing, chasing me to clear the charges.

[josef1972]

well. now they dont charge the £40 fee if there is an ongoing arrangement in place, that took effect from the 1st of october, even if you had arrangement already in place, basically if there is an arrangement in place and its being kept to then you will not get the fee.

[jansus]

well. now they dont charge the £40 fee if there is an ongoing arrangement in place, that took effect from the 1st of october, even if you had arrangement already in place, basically if there is an arrangement in place and its being kept to then you will not get the fee.

 

 

about time too.

 

Lets hope other lenders follow suit.

[ben1305]

couldn't agree with you more jansus

[Herron1234]

Likewise! However, judging by what has been posted on this and other threads, it would appear that GE only do things when challenged and only then with ill will and bad grace.

 

One question for any GE staff member on this board; I was told once that the pay and bonuses of staff in the collections department of GE is based on the amount of arrears/money they bring in from customers. The more they collect, the more they get in pay and bonuses. I did not believe it when I was told, but from what I have experienced and what I have read on these threads, now I am not so sure. Is it true?

 

Cheers,

Herron

[mkb]

well. now they dont charge the £40 fee if there is an ongoing arrangement in place, that took effect from the 1st of october, even if you had arrangement already in place, basically if there is an arrangement in place and its being kept to then you will not get the fee.

 

 

Well, I do hope this info is correct. Will be very interested to see my Oct statement.

[jansus]

After reading this thread, I'm still not clear on how to go about reclaiming the charges on my mortgage. Can I just use the same template letter as with bank charges, just making certain adjustments? Just for the record, I am no longer in arrears but the charges that were applied during the time I was in arrears are substantial and in my (and probably most people's) opinion they are highly excessive and disproportionate. Also, the mortgage company keeps calling and writing, chasing me to clear the charges.

 

Yes I think that is what other posters have done.

 

Make an official complaint listing all the charges and ask them to refund including interest charged. Then if they refuse go to the FOS.

 

It seems there have been a few successes recently.

[landy_alert]

Yes I think that is what other posters have done.

 

Make an official complaint listing all the charges and ask them to refund including interest charged. Then if they refuse go to the FOS.

 

It seems there have been a few successes recently.

 

Hi everyone:)

 

Apologies for hijacking here, but the FOS are unfortunately unable to investigate all mortgage charge complaints -

 

Our mortgage was not with GE, but we have a similar scenario whereby we were charged arrears fees etc during the course of our mortgage with Swift between May 2006 and November 2007 when we repaid it in full.

 

Having received no joy from the lender, I contacted the FOS and was confident they would be able to assist. However the FOS said that because our mortgage agreement dated from pre 6th April 2007 they were unable to take on my complaint as the CCA did not come under their jurisdiction until that date. I guess this would apply to other mortgage companies also.

 

This leaves the options of the FLA or court and I'm not sure what the FLA success rate is like:confused:

 

Regards,

 

Landy x