Bank of Ireland increase differential on tracker rates

@Liam - to register your interest in the class action please see the form embedded in the following linked post >>> http://www.property118.com/index.php/class-action-litigation-boi-bristol-and-west-mortgages/37248/

@Richard - absolutely, I was delighted. I suspect he was doing the work for himself anyway but nevertheless ....

@David - by all means refer your press contacts to me if they require contacts. If they want to quote affected borrowers for case studies by all means invite them to post #journorequests on this forum. They will be made very welcome.

It's clear that at least one lender has copied BOI and have introduced in their terms and conditions, the ability to renege on BOE linked rates due to "economic conditions", "funding issues" or who knows, because a volcano exploded in Iceland!

As this was not flagged up when we applied for the mortgage we are wondering if we could ask for a refund of the valuation fee we paid.

May I ask all borrowers and brokers reading this forum to contact the forum and Mark if they read similar clauses in their T and Cs on new mortgages.

David Lawrenson
http://www.LettingFocus.com

Mark,

I'm not directly affected by the BOI rate rise, I'm with TMW.. However I feel I have a moral duty as a landlord to contribute to any class action.
Please let me know how I can make a contribution.

A couple of points. 1. This does not bode well for consumers if BM solutions are now inserting this into their terms and conditions. How can landlords plan ahead and invest if on the whim of a lender they decide to up the differentials. FSA need to get their act together with the FOS and decide that these are unfair terms. If not then find lenders that do not include them. 2. Just looking on the Ombudsman site and they seem to state we need to request a " letter of deadlock" from the BOI after the 8 weeks, give them 14 days and then refer the case. Anybody come across this?

If another bank has joined BoI before any outcome. These organisations use teams of contract law barristers which costs tens of thousands. that tells me that we now have,nt got a chance they would,nt make mistake like PPI scandle. Im going as far as FOS, now.

@Ian Hamilton - that's very generous of you, thank you for your support. When you become a member of The GOOD Landlords Campaign you will have an option to make a donation. Please see >>> http://www.property118.com/index.php/sponsor-the-good-landlords-campaign/

@ALL - I am astounded that some people want to take up the fight with BoI on their own on something as big as this without professional legal representation. After all, what's £120 in the grand scheme of things?

I think I'm reasonably good at writing letters, however, if I was an affected borrower I would not hestiate to pay Justin to check my complaint letters to BoI and the FOS before sending them. Obviously it doesn't HAVE to be Justin who people seek professional advice from but I suspect if they were to go elsewhere they would struggle to find better advice for a lower cost given the massive amount of time that Justin has already invested into understanding the issue inside and out, not to mention the barristers opinion he will soon have as a result of the foresight of a few.

It does not surprise me at all that BM Solutions have copied BoI, however, I suspect the FSA will have something to say about that. If anything, in a perverse way, BM Solutions may help our cause, especially if they are forced to make their new conditions meet the FSA principles of being "clear, fair and not unreasonable". Whatever the FSA advise BM Solutions to do will become the blueprint for what BoI should have done previously. That could make all of our lives much easier to prove the BoI contracts were unfair when complaints are heard by the FOS and potentially a judge 🙂

Jackie- you need to look at the bigger picture. if more banks follow suit its not good for those effected, but it could help the campain on the grounds that no one,s interested in 13500 of us effected but us that are. If all banks use this clause,then it would have a major impact on the houseing market as a hole, this would have hundreds of thousands effected, the stock martet would even be effected. this would then take this to a much higher level.

Landlords come from a variety of professions and I suspect from some of the comments that some landlords perhaps don't appreciate what this class action offers. I have been involved in some legal disputes and they are very exhausting and always costly. This class action is taking away all the stress. BOI want to charge us in most cases a lot more than 120 EVERY month for the term of the mortgage. I would urge my fellow landlords to think very carefully before missing this important opportunity. BOI will probably want to get rid of this class action ASAP. A landlord going it alone may well find it too costly to fight BOI's lawyers and be left regretting not joining. I have paid my 120. Don't let BOI divide & conquer. Without Mark & Justin, it would be virtually impossible to fight this.

Banks might think they are being very clever in introducing these silly conditions.
How will any right thinking LL who is in this as a business; decides to take on a mortgage product which could at the whim of the mortgage company' due to market conditions' be changed. to anything they like.
No business or investment strategy could be based on such an open ended situation.
It would effectively stop LL in their tracks!
Who would borrow on such a ridiculous set of conditions.
Certainly NOT the professionals.
The whole BTL business model would be undone!
Banks I'm afraid want their cake and eat it; something LL won't be prepared to allow.
They will just withdraw from the market and lenders will wonder where all their business has gone!!?
This will just cause further stagnation in residential and BTL markets; so contributing to the general downward trend of the housing market malaise!
Govt really must start banging heads together if it ever hopes that private capital will invest in growing the economy.
Lenders need to be taken to task.
Why the govt does not use it's marketing power via the 'nationalised' banks to impose conditions on lenders to market mortgages with sensible conditions; which will then cause competition to follow; i will NEVER know!?
Everyone is just navel gazing and nothing is actually happening!!

At the begining of this forum it mentions about going down the road of sueing broker or solicitor. The london Barrister who specelises in Contract Law, he ,s effected by the BoI. If he then signed contract(s) with clause 6(m). if it was,nt bought to the markets attention at the time, why would any broker or solicitor take any notice? the general public certanly would,nt have.