Woolwich mortgage charges . ***WON***

[slick132]

Hi HPMum,

 

Like Jimmy says, peeps are not around as much in the day. You only posted at noon, so it's too early to be moaning at 5.10pm. But no probs really!!

 

Can I suggest you draft a letter of complaint to Woolwich. Keep it brief but enclose a schedule setting out in date order the history of your troubles with them.

 

This can then be sent to Woolwich HQ asking for a senior staff member to investigate why they are treating you so poorly, when you are doing your very best to keep up to date with the mgge.

 

[slick132]

Post your draft so we can check it over.

 

[slick132]

Hi HP MUM,

 

If you draft a letter and post it here, I'll look through and advise if I can.

 

Keep the letter brief and to the point.

 

[slick132]

Hi HP,

 

Dear sir or madam,

Formal Complaint - Mortgage a/c no. xxx xxx xxx

 

I refer to your letter dated xx/09 and must make the following points.

 

I originally wrote to you on xx/05/09 with my complaints. Despite requests which I made each month when I made payments, it took 6 months for you to reply to me. I understand the guideline for a written response to a complaint is 14 days.

 

You say the £100 solicitor’s referral charge is fully justified but it is not. I kept you fully aware of my intentions to clear the a/c arrears. I told you when payments would be made and I made them. I said I would maintain the normal monthly payments AND I would clear the arrears, which I did.

To charge me £100 and have your solicitors threaten me with repossession when I had all but cleared the arrears is outrageous.

The subsequent additions of £40 a month were wholly due to your failure to properly address my complaint in a timely manner.

The statement that you provided with your letter fails to show a true and positive representation of the payments made to both clear my arrears and keep up with the mortgage payments.

The statement starts start April 09 and fails to show that I paid £xx000's in a 3-month period between xx/12/08 and xx/03/09. These lump sum payments clearly demonstrated my good intention.

For you to then write, saying my account would go to your solicitors to start repossesion proceedings, was wholly unfair and unnecessary.

Your letter fails to take into account the regular conversations that I had with your colleagues. I advised them that my improving financial position would enable me to clear the arrears in full.

Your telephone records will show all such conversations and I hope you will save me the trouble and expense of obtaining them by a SAR.

The reality is that, between xx/03/09 and xx/05/09, a period of just 7 weeks, I made payments totalling almost £xx,000. The Woolwich was fully aware that I was clearing the arrears with the intention of the account being up-to-date by May 09.

At a time when many are losing their homes due to mortgage non-payment, you have treated me very badly.

I now ask you to remove from my account the original £100 fee and the subsequent £40 fees added monthly. This will save the Woolwich and myself the time and inconvenience of me reclaiming these fees using the court system.

Please reply within 14 days or I will escalate my complaint further.

 

Yours faithfully,

[slick132]

Not too hard, please

 

[slick132]

Hi HPM,

 

I'm delighted for the result you've got - makes it all worthwhile.

 

If you can manage any donation to the site, it'll be greatly appreciated thanks.

 

Thread title changed accordingly !!

[slick132]

Hi HP Mum,

 

Congratulations on getting this result.

 

If you can manage a donation to the Site, it will help others who need our help.

 

Thread title changed to reflect your WIN.

[slick132]

I will sort something out towards the site....

 

Thanks for this.

 

[slick132]

Hi Mum,

 

You should be as ruthless as possible to cut down on less important payments, so you can meet the required monthly amounts to this priority creditor.

 

I hope Ell-enn can offer you some guidance.

 

[slick132]

Hi Mum,

 

Don't be timid in tackling the bank about this.

 

Their charges are unlawful penalties and it's your right to reclaim them in full.

 

Just because the penalties are mentioned in their T&C's does NOT make them lawful. And, if you need reassurance, take a look at your old post here - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?244006-HP-Mum-v-Barclays-Woolwich.-PLEASE-HELP-***CASE-WON***&p=3004972&viewfull=1#post3004972

 

[slick132]

Hi Mum,

 

Do you not have full details of all penalties charged by the Woolwich.

 

If not, you should get them using a SAR.

 

You do need the data or they could refund any amount and you'll be unable to checkif it's right.

 

Also, you need the data if you want to reclaim restitutionary interest on the charges.

 

[slick132]

Hi Mum,

 

Can you confirm that you have made the normal monthly mgge payments in the last few months.

 

Did you send Woolwich a SAR to ensure you know about ALL penalty charges.

 

Have you sent a spreadsheet reclaiming penalty charges and simple or compound interest.

 

[slick132]

Hi Mum,

 

Moving this to Mortgages and Secured Loans forum where you'll get a bigger audience.

 

I would write a letter to Woolwich and send a copy to the CEO's Office at Barclays London HQ :-

 

Dear sir or madam,

 

I refer to my letters of xxdate and xxdate, to which I have had neither an acknowledgement, nor a reply. For ease of reference, I enclose copies of both letters.

 

Due to the way Woolwich are treating me, my credit rating is being adversely affected. Woolwich are demanding repayment of the whole mortgage when you have no right to do so.

 

My mortgage is being treated as being in arrears when it is, in fact, Woolwich's unlawful penalty charges that have caused the alleged arrears. My normal monthly payments are up-to-date.

 

I require that Woolwich respond to my previous letters fully and promptly failing which I will take action using the MCOBs regulations.

 

Further, I will seek compensation for damages (as per the case of Kpohraror v Woolwich Bldg Soc'y), and for consequential losses caused by increased borrowing costs.

 

I expect your full response within 7 days.

 

If others think this needs tweaking, I hope they will comment quickly.

 

[slick132]

Hi Mum,

 

Use a written letter and get a free Certificate of Posting at the PO or use RM Signed For delivery.

 

If doing the latter, do not use a PO Box address.

 

[slick132]

If using a PO Box address, use the free Certificate of Posting method.

 

If you have a Fax No, you could try that.

 

Perhaps also send a copy letter to Barlcays London HQ.

 

[slick132]

Hi Mum,

 

I would not bother addressing the Field Visit for now. Keep the exchange of letters to a minimum and focus on the substantive issues - ie, reclaiming penalty charges and getting them off your back about "arrears".

 

You will obviously reclaim any charges they make for the Field Visit as it was unnecessary, given there are no real arrears.

 

Give them a while longer to respond to your letters, before deciding how to proceed.

 

[slick132]

Hi HP,

 

As this is a mortgage account, you may need to use a restitutionary interest rate lower than you would with a credit card claim.

 

What's the rate applicable to your mortgage ?

 

[slick132]

Hi Mum,

 

Yes you can seek a refund of the full amount of every penalty charge and restitutionary interest on top (as this is Barclays).

 

Have you prepared a compound interest spreadsheet using 24.9% yet. Let us know the totals.

 

See this thread too - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?440434-Orge-Vs-Barclays-Woolwich-Arrears-Charges

 

[slick132]

Hi Mum,

 

No, use the right compound interest spreadsheet and it'll calculate the int't for you. See here - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=34010&d=1330899255

 

I suggest you claim Restitutionary Interest at 24.9% but others have claimed at 29.9% and won. It is a nominal interest rate that you claim from the bank to ensure that they have not profited by lending out your money and making profits from it.

 

Read up on the relevant subjects. Lots of *WON* cases here that will guide you well in many aspects - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?97-Barclays-BCard-and-Woolwich-successes

 

They are cases about reclaiming on BC a/c's but the principles involved are the same. You are reclaiming unlawful penalties applies to your a/c but, in your case, it's a mgge a/c.

 

[slick132]

Hi Mum,

 

The older the charge, the greater the effect of compound interest.

 

Let us know the totals separately for charges and for compound int't when the spready is complete.

 

Then we can consider how best to deal with this.

 

[slick132]

Hi Mum,

 

I would return the £50 cheque to W saying this is not acceptable and you will write further shortly.

 

Due to the large amounts involved, I'm going to seek advice from the Site Team on this.

 

In post #46, I asked what the mgge rate was. I realise it may have varied but please confirm the lowest and highest rates that applied over the relevant years.

 

Also, what is the earlies penalty charge on your spreadsheet.

 

A court claim is allocated to track according to the claim amount. In your case, the claim amount includes restitutionary interest so this would put your claim on the Multi Track :-

 

Small Claims track deals with up to £10K

 

Fast Tracks deals with claims from £10K to £25K

 

Multi Track deals with cases over £25K

 

On SCT, your risks of costs against you (if you lost in court) should be limited. But on the higher tracks, the cost consequences can rise significantly. Hence why I want advice for you.

 

[slick132]

Hi Mum,

 

While we wait for input, can you post up a copy of the spready showing 24.9% CI. We can then check you've got things right on that.

 

Hide personal data.

 

Re the chgs they refunded in 2009, these can just be deducted from the spreadsheet total as a manual adjustment.

 

[slick132]

Hi Mum,

 

The spready opens fine.

 

Re the Interest Arrears Charge, can you say what this was as it's not something I've come across before.

 

Also, I'm not sure the solicitor costs can be reclaimed if a sol'r was involved and wrote to you. But if it was simply and arrears letter that was auto-generated, claim it.

 

Perhaps the answer to the "problem" of the claim being so high is to claim a lower figure for restitutionary int't - may 9.9% to reflect the mgge rates that were applied.

 

I'll come back when Site Team input is received ............

[slick132]

We'll have to see what others think about the Interest Arrears Charges and whether they're reclaimable.

 

I'm still waiting for other input but things tend to go quieter over the w/end so bear with us

 

[slick132]

Hi Mum,

 

Interest Arrears Fees

 

I see this int't peaked on 3rd December 2008 at £81.03 but rose to this level from the start of your spready and then reduced to zero before the mgge was redeemed earlier this year. so the charge was obviously variable.

 

I suspect they allowed themselves to charge a punitive rate of interest when you missed payments.

 

Do you still have the mgge T&C's to see if they explain what the extra charge actually is ?