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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Dean

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9:59 AM, 4th December 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Mark Alexander" at "03/12/2013 - 18:17":

Well done Mark. Great news about the funding. I can concentrate on doing some tax returns now before the deadline. These have been a little neglected recently.Totally agree with the price hike at a later date. I think £1500 will still be good value considering.

I also think Richard Watters idea of an additional small increase to £340 at a certain date would encourage another boost in funds too. Maybe from the 6th January 2014? Give people time to reflect over Christmas.

Alexander Law

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10:00 AM, 4th December 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Mark Alexander" at "03/12/2013 - 18:17":

That sounds extremely fair to us Mark, and thanks.

I think we have all cast the net far and wide to draw borrowers’ attention to the property118 campaign, and people can now make an informed decision as to whether they are in or out before the deadline of court action.

We are infinitely happier than we were 2 months ago thanks to your tireless leadership of this campaign, and can now actually look forward to Christmas! So, sincere thanks from Perthshire to you, and everyone else who has contributed.

Regarding the latest Press Release, once you have published it I will forward to our local and national Scottish papers.

Dean

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10:08 AM, 4th December 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Mark Alexander" at "04/12/2013 - 09:47":

Mark

When you publish the press release I will forward it to local newspapers in the Sheffield area. I will also ask my contact at Barnsley Council to forward it to the Landlord Associations in this area she deals with.

Here is a website I found sometime back. Im sure I posted it them. It lists all the National papers with links to their websites. If volunteers could pick up a couple each to email that would help Im sure

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newspapers_in_the_United_Kingdom

Dean

Mike L

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10:20 AM, 4th December 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Mark Alexander" at "04/12/2013 - 09:47":

Certainly happy to help sending the press release to papers. A little bit of feedback that I had on the previous press release was that it was a little too complicated - certainly where some of the local papers were concerned. I was told that what some journalists wanted was an easy story to just cut and paste and not a complicated description of the underlying issues. Something along the lines of a more attention grabbing tabloid headline along the lines of: "Greedy bankers at WBBS spoil Christmas for thousands with unlawful rate increase, putting tenants at risk of eviction, etc etc. Propert118 steps in to mount a legal fight-back, etc etc". Maybe we should consider two press releases? One for the national broadsheets and a second, simpler one for the tabloids and the local press?

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11:29 AM, 4th December 2013, About 11 years ago

Hi Mark,

Been away for 10 days and overwhelmed by input in my absence. Can you advise;

1) How to switch off email notification of each new comment (inbox bursting!)

2) Is there a way to follow the comments of individual contributors only, eg yours & Justin's?

Many thanks, Ken

Mark Lynham

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12:11 PM, 4th December 2013, About 11 years ago

I've had my letter in from the FOS asking me to complete their complaint form, do i just go ahead with that?

Dean

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12:26 PM, 4th December 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Mark Lynham" at "04/12/2013 - 12:11":

Mark. I don't think so, not yet.

Are you part of the Class Action. If so Justin will be emailing details of the next stages.

Steve Cornish

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12:36 PM, 4th December 2013, About 11 years ago

Would like to help with press releases if I may can help with Devon and Cornwall Mark.....

Mark Lynham

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12:46 PM, 4th December 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Dean " at "04/12/2013 - 12:26":

i am yes but i dont get much chance to keep upto date with all the comments.

thats fine, i'll hang fire, thank you.

Appalled Landlord

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13:09 PM, 4th December 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Richard Kent " at "04/12/2013 - 01:14":

Hi Richard, thanks for the link to David Lawrenson's site.

David wrote, under the heading Small Print,

"And the lenders arguments, made forcefully by West Bromwich is that as landlords are supposed to be professional business investors, they are therefore supposed to have had the gumption to read all the small print.

So lenders have started targeting the buy to let landlords, (providing of course, that their own small print allows that lender a possible way out)."

David is not an affected borrower, I believe, and so has not received the standard letters from WB. These letters do not claim that we should have read the small print.

The first letter, under the heading "Why are we doing this?" states that "As a property investor, you will perhaps be aware of the changes that have taken place in the buy to let mortgage market over recent years." A bit further it states that the cost of funding to mortgage providers such as WB Mortgage Company has increased.

This just does not follow, as I have posted earlier. I do not follow what is happening in the money markets, or know anything about WB's funding. I assumed that WB had secured its funds prudently. I did not think that it was following the Northern Rock strategy of borrowing short-term to lend long term.

However, David does allude to the real reason that WB is targeting BTL borrowers in the section of his blog prior to Small Print - it is because we have no regulatory protection.

I was not aware of that until this problem arose. I think it is scandalous that we have no protection. I see another campaign ahead.

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