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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ian

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13:36 PM, 24th November 2013, About 11 years ago

If WB called in the lone for no apparent reason they would be committing financial suicide who would take out mortgages with them? Brokers would not entertain them be an outcry across the Banking sector.
I would be surprised if any Broker will ever deal with them again now anyway. Would you take out another loan with them I'm sure I know of 6700 that wont .

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

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13:49 PM, 24th November 2013, About 11 years ago

I have been doing my level best to coax West Brom into serving me with 28 days notice to call in my loan for no reason other than spite. I'm not going to default but I have been winding them up as much as possible in every other way but still nothing. You'd have thought they would have done it by now if they could wouldn't you?

We all know West Brom employees read this thread, it's a pity they don't post too, even if it's under a pseudonym and from a personal email account. All I am asking is for one employee to start posting and, without giving away their identity and possibly putting their job at risk, to let us know they are a West Brom employee. I have already spoken to one such person offline but it would be great to have one or more West Brom employees engaging here.

Maybe such a person doesn't believe in the ethics of what West Brom are doing.

Maybe they could share some of the office gossip in relation to this tracker rate rise and the Societies strategy.

The Gorrilla Warfare tactics being employed by affected borrowers must be starting to worry the movers and shakers at West Brom now. For example, if the ratings agencies downgrade them that could open them up to having to consider a merger or a take-over. Perhaps some West Brom staff would see this as an opportunity? It certainly can't be much fun working for an ailing Building Society with such a black cloud looming overhead.
.

Paul Eastabrook

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17:25 PM, 24th November 2013, About 11 years ago

I've just seen a very interesting article on today's BBC News website at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25077124. It refers Business Secretary Vince Cable's referral of a report about how RBS dealt with small business to City regulators, including how it put some "good and viable" businesses into default so it could make more profit. The report was produced by government adviser Lawrence Tomlinson to be released on Monday.

It mentions that Lawrence Tomlinson acted independently of government in producing the report, and did not set out to look solely at RBS.. The findings have now been sent to the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

I'll see if I can get hold of a copy tomorrow and whether any lessons can be learned from it, to our advantage.

Paul Eastabrook

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17:29 PM, 24th November 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Paul Eastabrook" at "24/11/2013 - 17:25":

The shadow business secretary, Chuka Umunna, said: "The claims made by Lawrence Tomlinson against RBS' Global Restructuring Group are extremely serious indeed.

"To artificially distress otherwise successful businesses in order to seize their assets and profit would be utterly scandalous and deplorable. It's right that the FCA [Financial Conduct Authority] and PRA [Prudential Regulation Authority] look into the claims as a matter of urgency."

Maxwell

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17:47 PM, 24th November 2013, About 11 years ago

There is a big feature on the RBS scandal in today's Sunday Times. It makes compelling reading. It says that RBS is "bracing itself for a wave of legal actions". Although our case is entirely different, I think this will nonetheless cause further scrutiny of our cause as we go on. Just because with RBS, CoOp, WB, BoI and etc we seem to be entering a new phase of bank outrage. The mood is turning again, I think.

Another thought re press exposure - not an obvious link, but could be very worthwhile ... one publication which makes a speciality of campaigning again injustice of this kind is Private Eye. I think we should try and get them to get the bit between the teeth. It is exactly the kind of amoral story they generally love to expose.

Paul Eastabrook

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18:39 PM, 24th November 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Maxwell " at "24/11/2013 - 17:47":

Ian Hislop certainly qualifies as a multiple property owner, with residences in Chelsea and Sissinghurst, so may be sympathetic to our plight.

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18:51 PM, 24th November 2013, About 11 years ago

Got my final reply from the Ombudsman yesterday. It states;

...while we deal with individual financial complaints, we are not responsible for the general rules regarding raising interest rates. This is a job for the regulator: The Financial Conduct Authority.

Why is it all public bodies/figures seem so reluctant to engage with us?

Paul Eastabrook

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19:44 PM, 24th November 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Ken Rose" at "24/11/2013 - 18:51":

That sounds so simplistic to dismiss it merely as an issue of raising interest rates, and thereby ignoring issues of breach of contract and / or providing misleading information, bullying of customers, flouting regulations. Bring on the court case!

David Lawrenson

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20:22 PM, 24th November 2013, About 11 years ago

We'll be blogging about this again this week, this time with an open letter to the Chief Executive at WBBS highlighting the risk to them of continuing.

Our blog will highlight that we think that

1. They will indeed lose a court case and why we think this is so.

2. That their position is morally wrong and unjustifiable and why we also think their action brings the whole of the building society movement into a rather dark place.

We will urge them to withdraw and admit that the tracker rate hike was a mistake and was indeed unjustifiable.

We will email the blog and open letter to Adrian Boles at the Building Society Association and to selected journalists.

David Lawrenson
http://www.LettingFocus.com/blogs
Author of "Successful Property Letting"

David Lawrenson

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20:31 PM, 24th November 2013, About 11 years ago

Correction - Adrian Coles, not Adrian Boles at the Building Societies Association.
Links here to email addresses of key people: http://www.bsa.org.uk/mediacentre/contacts/spokespeople

Will bat away contacts but will not welcome the adverse media and public hostility against a member society.

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