West Bromwich Building Society Tracker Margins Legal Action

Reply to the comment left by "Onslow Clough" at "26/11/2013 - 22:09":

I will leave Mark & Legal Team to comment on how much this helps, but having read this several times tonight, although i think it certainly helps us, at the least we now know what the recent guidelines the FCA have highlighted to lenders in this regard.

My basic understanding so far is that the FCA are allowing us all to be deemed NON "consumers", but there are several guidelines about general behaviour to 'Customers' and general principles that i can only see help us.

The comment about issuing a report in 2014 is so wide open that I do not think we can wait for this and they are 'probably' waiting on our Legal Action to Help them write their paper !!!

Reply to the comment left by "Mervyn Wharton" at "26/11/2013 - 17:57":

We did this initially. But once I convinced my property partners we paid for them all. My personal opinion is that it's ok. But I do think that really you need all your mortgages registered to be covered properly just in case.

Reply to the comment left by "Maxwell " at "26/11/2013 - 19:51":

It will be going to 1.9 but maybe it's too soon. I think they need to give you a certain number of days.

Reply to the comment left by "Dean " at "26/11/2013 - 22:17":

Well thats frankly RIDICULOUS and likely to ensure I don't contribute.

If you think I'm gonna pay £240 for a property that is sold and that will complete in a few weeks you are on a different planet to me.

Some of the responses on this web site today leave a lot to be desired !!!!

Reply to the comment left by "Mervyn Wharton" at "26/11/2013 - 22:30":

Easy tiger. Firstly I'm just catching up and have only just read your comments that some are up for sale

If it was me I certainly wouldn't include those that I wasn't going to keep short term.

However I do believe that should we win this you will be reimbursed with any over charged interest. That would probably cover more than the £240 you have paid.

But I think you need to check your attitude. I'm trying to help you with advice . I'm not asking you to give me any money. Just contribute towards a legal fight that will help you.

At the end of the day I won't benefit at all whether you contribute or not. I'm very confident we will win this. I'm pleased all my mortgages are registered . I'm not on here to abuse anyone. And I don't expect to receive abuse for just trying to help so wind your neck in please.

Point out the responses that leave a lot to be desired please

Dean

Reply to the comment left by "Dean " at "26/11/2013 - 22:41":

Well said agree bad attitude

I have 3 mortgages and I am about to join tomorrow. I have not only the documentation that West Bromwich have sent me following my complaint but also the original mortgage offers that make no special reference to the term in section 5 that is being used as an excuse to increase the rate. I will be sending all this to the Law Department.

Simple question, when you make payment electronically do you use your name or the mortgage reference numbers? If someone could let me know please, thanks

I did think it seemed a strange question to have asked in the first place.

Reply to the comment left by "Onslow Clough" at "26/11/2013 - 22:09":

Wish I could tell you that you could sleep tight but the class action is our only hope (not Obi-Wan). Seriously though, I know I keep banging on about this time and time again but it is as a result of bitter experience. Almost 3 years ago I devoted several months of my life trying to challenge the Skipton Building Society when they reneged on their pledge in my mortgage offer that their SVR would never be more than 3% above base rate. They then promptly reneged on this citing "exceptional circumstances" in a clause buried in the small print in the mortgage offer. I researched the law and Skipton BS are on a sticky wicket in doing this. I even went and paid a few thousand pounds out of my own pocket to obtain a commercial law barrister's advice. I pretty much prepared the case for him (non-practicing barrister albeit pretty rusty in commercial law. Believe me, if I was practicing I'd have volunteered to help represent us for free). However, because I couldn't afford the cost of ATE insurance and to pay for his legal costs as he wouldn't do the work on Conditional Fee basis, my case went nowhere. I had (and still have) a lot of faith in my case against the Skipton and I believe Mark Alexander shares a similar view but it all came down to money. I didn't have the money to fight my corner against a lender with deep pockets. We're taught that everyone is equal before the law. The truth is some are more equal than others. It is all about access to justice and the determining factor in access to justice is MONEY.

As I've said before, justice isn't so much a blindfolded lady carrying a sword and a set of scales as she is a high end escort who'll happily spend the night with you provided you can afford her? How many of us can afford several thousand a night for a high end escort? The average Joe (or John in the present illustration) has to make do with a low-rent fumble in some dodgy car park. Justice is no different. If you have the money and can afford a dream team of lawyers, you can get away with murder (literally! Just ask OJ). The rest of us poor impecunious schmucks have to make do with writing to our MP's, the FOS, the FCA, the OFT, the Treasury, Sajid Javid, Mark Carney, etc... in the vain hope someone in the corridors or power will do something. Sorry, but those in power don't generally like to upset the status quo. That's why you're all getting letters from the so called 'Regulators' along the lines of "Dear peasant. F*ck you very much for your letter regarding the interest rate decision by West Bromwich Building Society. However, it is not within our remit to interfere with commercial decisions regarding interest rates. Now bend over and bite the pillow, there's a good fellow".

By all means write letters to the Financial Ombudsman for no other reason than to cost the West Bromwich money for every complaint sent to the FOS, write to the FCA, the OFT, the Treasury and every other organisation and media outlet you can to publicise our cause. Especially now with the scandal of RBS (and Lloyds and pretty much every other bank) deliberately sending viable firms to the walls so that it can strip their assets on their cheap, you may just get some political momentum and support. But please don't take your eye of the ball. If you want West Bromwich to honour the terms we took these mortgages out on, then this will happen at court. If we don't raise the funds to pay for the ATE insurance premium and to pay for our own lawyers, then bend over and bite the pillow folks. It's the end of the road.

How are ATE insurance premiums calculated? Different insurers will use different risk models to calculate the premium but the premium is usually dependent upon the amount of cover required. Generally the higher the risk the greater the premium. The insurers will of course take into account the likely cost spend, so if the level of costs is likely to be high this will also reflect the level of premium. For example, if adverse costs including trial are estimated at £100,000, our chances of winning are estimated at 65% and the chances of an early settlement look good, the first stage premium may be £15,000, increasing to £30,000 if the case does not settle early on. If the costs are higher, or the chances of winning lower, the premium will be higher.

When we're talking about a "big ticket" case like this against a defendant with deep pockets, you're potentially looking at legal costs into the hundreds of thousands, especially if things go to the Court of Appeal or House of Lords. Therefore we need to purchase bespoke ATE insurance to cover us against an adverse costs order and I can assure you the ATE insurance premium will be hefty.

I apologise if I come across as an embittered, cynical, burnt-out husk of a man but we will either raise the sums required to commence litigation or we'll whinge and complain forever and a day about how it's not fair, how the banks/building societies are bloodsucking parasites, how politicians can't be trusted, how the regulatory bodies are spineless and ineffectual, but when all is said and done, we'll quietly go home, bend over, bite the pillow, and pay the increased mortgage payments each month.

I know the tone of this post may sound harsh to some but it is high time somebody said it like it is. For each and every one of you still debating whether to join the class action and contribute £240 per mortgage to make this class action happen, if you don't join the class action, you could be the proverbial nail that caused the horseshoe to be lost, which eventually caused the kingdom to be lost.

Reply to the comment left by "The Man From Nowhere" at "26/11/2013 - 23:25":

Don't worry I'm a paid up member of the class action. Cheque and paperwork sent off last week. Doing this has made me feel empowered where previously i felt helpless.

Earlier in the year I got turned over by the Bank of Ireland and their rate rise... I had no choice but to sell that property.. this time i have three with WBBS and am not in a position to offload and anyway why should I.

I share your cynicism with the world but for the first time in a while i am optimistic.