West Bromwich Building Society Tracker Margins Legal Action

West Bromwich Building Society Tracker Margins Legal Action

18:38 PM, 30th September 2013, About 11 years ago 3869

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West Bromwich Tracker Rate Mortgages Legal Action Group

West Bromwich Building Society Tracker Margins Legal Action

Are you affected by the West Brom Tracker Rate Hike?

If your mortgage account number begins with the number 8 you are highly likely to be one of the unlucky 41% of the mortgage customers of the West Bromwich building Society with a West Bromwich Mortgage Company account affected by the 1.9% increase in your tracker margin rate. However, if you arranged your mortgage directly with West Bromwich Building Society (i.e. not via a broker) or before 2006 the chances are that your account number will begin with the number 9 and you are not affected – YET!!! West Brom will give no assurances that mortgages with account numbers beginning with the number 9 will not be affected at some point in the future.

OUR INTENDED CLASS ACTION LITIGATION OVERVIEW

Tracker Rate Class Actions Updates

The reasons we started this campaign are very simple:-

1) We believe the actions of West Brom are immoral

2) We believe the actions of West Brom are unlawful, i.e. they have no legal grounds to increase their tracker rate margins

3) We have no wish to subsidise other areas of the West Bromwich Building Society business model

4) We are fearful of other lenders following suit if West Brom are allowed to get away with this

Mark Smith (Barrister-At-Law) said …

“Representative actions, where one person starts a case representing many others, who all want the answer to a legal question from a court such as ‘is this contract enforceable against me?’ but are not seeking damages. All those who sign up to the action will get the benefit of the win, but they do not have to start their own cases, as they are ‘represented’ by the lead claimant.

The only people who will definitely benefit from success in the case are those who have signed up. There will be no free rides. Any others will have to fight their own corners individually, either alone or with legal help (which will inevitably cost significantly more than the group case).”

We will NOT settle on any basis.

Landlords take legal action against West Brom Mortgage Company

We have a moral duty to do what is right for those who support the values upon which this campaign was started. Our promise to all who support these values is that we will not sell out on you at any price. We will continue to fight this injustice and we will fight any other lender who tries to follow suit.

Are you with us?

This discussion thread is now closed – we’re off to Court!

To link to the new discussion please CLICK HERE

West Bromwich Mortgage Company Tracker Margins Legal Action


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shaun campling

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9:57 AM, 29th September 2013, About 11 years ago

just had the letters for two west bromwich mortgages, a quick calculation shows they are trying to extort around #65,000.00 over 19 years left on the mortgages. you bet im in on a class action

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10:43 AM, 29th September 2013, About 11 years ago

As previously a financial advisor for 20 years I was appauled and disgusted that a building society would use such underhanded tactics in such a discrimitory way. The mortgage offer clearly states the tracker rate to the Bank of England Base Rate is UNTIL THE TERM END. It only compounds the distrust that we now have for financial institutions. Are we now to believe a mortgage offer is not worth the paper its written on??

David Lawrenson

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10:45 AM, 29th September 2013, About 11 years ago

Mark is correct in saying that in the Foxtons judgement there was no explanation of what constituted a professional landlord vs a "consumer" landlord.

We are pretty sure that no legal clarification on this exists (it is relevant because it effects whether one is protected under the rules on unfair terms in consumer contracts).

That said, even if your landlord activities were deemed a business it still does not allow another business to renege on a contract and they would need to prove that the "get out" clauses in the small print were really there in the first place.

On Monday, I will be writing to Adrian Coles, who is the Chief Exec of the Building Societies Association, and ask him what effect he thinks this is having on all building societies, and whether it brings a bad name on all other societies too.

David Lawrenson
LettingFocus.com
Private rented Sector Advice

Maxwell

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15:46 PM, 29th September 2013, About 11 years ago

We received this astonishing letter yesterday. I don't need to add to all the comments above but would like to say that we will be stumping up our £100 and joining the class action. I will be sending the template letter tomorrow.

As this thread is already long, it might be helpful Mark if every 20 posts or so you can insert a bullet point "what to do" post, e.g.

1. HERE is the template letter
2. sign up to class action HERE
3. follow THESE threads

There's just so much to take in, I think it would be useful to people who are coming to this forum for the first time specifically because of this mind-boggling disaster (as I am).

Richard Adams

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22:50 PM, 29th September 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Maxwell " at "29/09/2013 - 15:46":

Maxwell makes a sound suggestion. Folk are indeed coming in on a steady basis which is only likely in accelerate following favourable articles in D Tel on Saturday and Sunday Times today.

Momentum is on our side so let's keep the pressure up and get the class action started soonest..

I believe there are some lawyers amongst us? Am I flying a kite to suggest that an injunction might be sought preventing WB implementing their interest rate hike pending the action being heard and ruled upon. Even if it failed it would gain good publicity and put the wind up other lenders who are greedily watching from the sidelines.

Guess we'll never know for sure but it is possible all other lenders got together after B of I started the ball rolling and WB agreed to be the guinea pig to test the water?

Neil Gallagher

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9:48 AM, 30th September 2013, About 11 years ago

I too have received the documents stating about the rate hike. I feel exactly the way you all do with regards to this situation. It's an absolute outrage. I will give you a few details about me before adding my two cents.

I own 7 properties and as it stands I have two with West Brom, which will have their rates increased. I also have another three with the Bank Of Ireland but as yet I haven't received anything relating to these but I fear that if this is allowed to go through then this will filter back to the BOI. Whilst I am in this case considered a "professional landlord" this can absolutely not be allowed to happen and as such I am very happy to be part of this action suit

If it hasn't been said before in this long thread then I feel that we need to highlight the fact that they are discriminating against particular people. If this was being applied to all mortgages of this type and not "professional landlords" then there would be such an outcry of outrage from the general public that the government would be forced to act. They have cleverly aimed this at the few to avoid this happening. As such the legal aspect should be attacked but the worst case scenario would be to try and get them to apply this rate increase to everyone with this type of mortgage so that it may create the above scenario.

I would like to hear more about the action suit be for donating money to the cause:
What legal advice has been taken already?
Which firm have been spoken to?
What is their experience?
What happens if you don't make the £100k you require?
If we don't get a favourable response in the courts will this case be taken to the european courts?
Can we have an involvement in the action?

Thanks

Neil Gallagher

Ruth Koper

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10:21 AM, 30th September 2013, About 11 years ago

I have just spoken to WBrom pointing out that the mortgage I have with them is with my 2 sisters who do not have multiple BTL properties so how can they class us all together. I also noticed that in yesterdays Sunday Times they were in the best buy section for offering a new 1.48% residential mortgage - can this be right to be adding 2% to our mortgages while offering a brand new mortgage at a rate 2% lower than we will now be paying?

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

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11:50 AM, 30th September 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Denise Doms" at "28/09/2013 - 14:38":

Hi Denise

I am awaiting advice from Justin Selig about whether I should write to the solicitors who acted for me in terms of the mortgage. If I do write to my solicitors I will be happy to share the template.
.

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12:05 PM, 30th September 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Mark Alexander" at "30/09/2013 - 11:50":

thanks - we are almost ready to send letters to WBBC and Ombudsman using the template offered as a basis for our letters

Kevin Thomson

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13:06 PM, 30th September 2013, About 11 years ago

Thank you very much Mark for your efforts in organising this class action. I've already signed up to it.

so many useful comments have been made here already.

Two other points come to mind at the moment:

- in Scotland Small Claims Court actions have a limit of £3,000. So, if this turns out to be a viable option then people in Scotland will perhaps need to be making more claims than those in England.

- my WBBS remortgage came with free valuation and legal fees. If I was to be making a professional indemnity insurance claim against the solicitor who helped organise this mortgage, it would therefore be against one linked with WBBS. Being misled by a solicitor chosen by WBBS perhaps in a different league from a solicitor chosen by myself? The firm they used was a local one, in Glasgow.

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