Bank of Scotland - how do I get off SVR

[RichieBoy56]

Long time lurker on this site.

Now need some advice please.

 

Partner has an interest only mortgage with Bank of Scotland and is on standard variable rate of 4.95%.

Have about 10 years left with only plan to repay being downsizing.

 

Have asked for lower rate but have been advised to reapply.

We will not meet the new borrowing requirements due to age and self employed status.

 

I thought that the FCA had instructed banks/building societies not to apply affordability checks when there is no additional borrowing?

 

She/we have never missed a payment and have in fact been paying £200/month extra in order to reduce the capital, so affordability should not be an issue.

 

Any advice on how to get them to reconsider would be appreciated.

[BankFodder]

Find the quotation that you are referring to regarding the FCA's guidelines.

 

It would be helpful if you would post a link to it here.

 

Print out the quote and send it to the bank and tell them that if they will not follow the FCA guidance then you will begin a complaint to the financial ombudsman service on the basis that they are treating you unfairly.

 

Tell them that if the ombudsman finds in your favour, then you will insist that any remortgaging is backdated to today's date

[Guest]

Have you tried applying directly on the Halifax website for a cheaper product? I was advised to do this by an independent financial adviser. Halifax itself never advised me to do this.

 

I am losing my home of ten years because Halifax are forcing me to sell up, having kept me on its SVR since my initial fixed rate ended. This means that while the rest of the country is paying next to no interest (given the low Bank of England interest rate) I, like you, have been paying 4%, making my monthly mortgage payments over £1,200 a month, which I've not been able to meet for several months.

 

The point is that I asked Halifax over a number of years to help but its in-branch advisers said my income did not warrant a new product - even though a cheaper product would have meant I could have afforded the payments.

 

In desperation I contacted an independent financial adviser who told me to just go to Halifax's website and apply for a different product, something Halifax's advisers never ever advised me. I did this, applied for a product with a lower rate and got it. Except by then it was too late. I could not risk taking on a new product that came with £5k early repayment charges in the first year.

 

I took my complaint (why Halifax did not move me to an affordable rate earlier despite my pleas) to the FCA who sickeningly sided with Halifax. My house is now on the market but it has not sold and Halifax is - even more sickeningly - threatening litigation because of the £8k arrears. Even more sickening is that news like this about Halifax is still coming out, that HBOS bosses knew about £1billion fraud that left customers bankrupt - 3rd April in the Sun newspaper.

 

I will never ever trust another bank or get another mortgage.

 

All the best to you.

[RichieBoy56]

Find the quotation that you are referring to regarding the FCA's guidelines.

 

It would be helpful if you would post a link to it here.

 

Thanks BankFodder.

 

 

The relevant FCA Guidance seems be

MCOB 11.8.1E which states ‘where a customer is unable to: (1) enter into a new regulated mortgage contract or home purchase plan or vary the terms of an existing regulated mortgage contract or home purchase plan with the existing mortgage lender or home purchase provider; or (2) enter into a new regulated mortgage contract or home purchase plan with a new mortgage lender or home purchase provider; the existing mortgage lender or home purchase provider should not (for example, by offering less favourable interest rates or other terms) take advantage of the customer's situation or treat the customer any less favourably than it would treat other customers with similar characteristics. To do so may be relied on as tending to show contravention of Principle 6 (Customers' interests).