13:55 PM, 26th March 2014, About 11 years ago
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West Bromwich Mortgage Company increased the margins on 6,700 of their Tracker Mortgage rates in December 2013 by 1.9% per annum.
They claim to have the right to do this.
I am not going to go into any legal waffle, nor am I going to provide every shred of evidence and every legal argument our barrister will be asking a judge to consider when our case eventually gets heard in Court. What I will do in this article though is break our case down into things which any person capable of reading will understand.
I will show you the key reasons, within their own documentation, to PROVE that West Bromwich Mortgage Company do NOT have the right to increase their tracker rate margins.
I am also going to expose the despicable tactics they have been using to frighten their borrowers off from complaining.
Yes folks, to deter people from creating waves the West Brom issued veiled threats to all of their affected customers which implied they had the rights to call in mortgages with 28 days notice. We think this may have had the desired affects West Brom were hoping for and frightened a lot of people off. Therefore, I am also going to show you PROOF they can’t do that either.
The most important piece of evidence in our favour is contained in the mortgage conditions booklet which West Brom are so reliant upon. It is on page 14 of their booklet and is the last bullet point before the number 2. It reads as follows:-
I think you will agree that is VERY clear.
In the offer of loan, on the front page, the Term of Mortgage can be found in box 3. Mine says 25 years. It makes no mention of West Brom being able to change their mind about the mortgage term at a whim and ask for their money back within 28 days!
Also on the Offer of Loan, box 4 makes it very clear what the product is, how it works and how the interest rate is to be structured. The box is entitled “Description of Mortgage”.
In my offer letter, the “Product Description” very clearly states ……
“Buy to Let 6.29% fixed until 30.06.2010 (115% cover) – a fixed rate”
It then goes on to say …..
“After 30th June 2010 your loan reverts to a variable rate which is the same as the Bank of England Base Rate, currently 5%, with a premium of 1.99%, until term end, giving a current rate payable of 6.99%”
I added the red colour to the text and the underline the for emphasis!
So that’s very clear too I think you will agree?
To finish that particular section …………..
“Any applicable change in the Bank of England Base Rate will be applied to your account on the first day of the month following the change, unless the change is made after the 13th of the month in which case it will be applied on the 1st day of the second month following the change.”
So that’s clear too, the rate will only change if/when the base rate changes but only after the fixed rate period.
There is nothing else if the Offer of Loan which refers to either the interest rate or the term of the mortgage. There are other conditions upon which the West Brom are ‘hanging their hat’ contained in the Mortgage Conditions booklet to justify their actions, however, and returning full circle, I refer you to my first quote from that booklet ….
In other words, the conditions upon which they are hoping to pin their Court case are trumped by the Offer of Loan by their very own admission!
In my opinion, the veiled threat to call in loans after giving 28 days notice was nothing more than a dirty trick to discourage people from complaining. I have been a thorn in the side of the West Bromwich Mortgage Company for over 6 months now. If they really did have the right to call in loans do you not think they would have served 28 days notice on me by now? So why haven’t they? I’ll tell you why! It’s because they know they would have to justify their actions to a judge. If they were so confident they would have done this by now and killed off the bad publicity but they know that when their cover is blown there would be an avalanche of complaints.
I am absolutely convinced that West Bromwich Mortgage Company have been using the despicable tactics of veiled threats to discourage their victims from fighting back.
I have written this article to expose the despicable tactics used by West Bromwich Mortgage Company. It is very clear they have attempted to thwart legal action at every possible opportunity. They know that judge’s are formidable but regulators such as the Financial Ombudsman and the FCA are a soft touch.
What the West Bromwich Mortgage Company failed to consider was the power of social media to unite such a powerful lobby group.
We have already exceeded all fundraising targets but you are free to join the representitive action up until the cut off date of 28th March 2014.
Our victory over the West Brom in Court will send a clear warning shot across the bows of all of the other lenders which have written to the FCA about their plans to pull a similar stunt.
I will be signing the Court papers on Friday 28th March 2014. We anticipate the initial trial to take place within 4 months. If/when we win the initial trial it is highly likely that West Brom will appeal. Our best guess is that the appeal hearing will happen just before Christmas.
If you are affected please complete the form below – come on, be part of this historic battle against these financial tyrants.
The deadline for submission of instructions has now expired, sorry.
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