West Bromwich Building Society Tracker Margins Legal Action

Hi Folks my tuppence worth about withholding the extra 2 %. The consensus that the credit rating will be trashed is so what? Given that when the interest rate rises (or WBBS decide to put it up again after they see they can do and its an easy source of money) how many of us will fall behind for real and thus our credit rating will be well and truly screwed anyway, and tenants homeless!! We should pay what we are contracted to pay not some vacuous amount that has no contractual basis (or did anyone actually sign a contract to accept unlimited rate rises), and declare that we will pay the contracted amount and no more until the BOE rate rises. Perhaps it will hasten WBBS taking action if so there's not a lot I for 1 can do about it anyway. Perhaps I am unusual but I really don't care too much about my credit rating. I do care however about being trodden on passionately. If we pay and they go belly up I suspect we will have absolutely no chance of getting the over payment back from a defunct company and why should the new owner give it us back. No on balance I'll keep my money and let them fight me for it. Also I suspect it will take a long time for them to go bust and we will be paying them a LOT of money before they do. Again I suspect even with a class action they will fight for some time before going into receivership (as I have no doubt they will. The bosses will have their pensions etc even if disbarred, but in the Mail on Saturday its interesting to note no one has ever been disbarred from a big company. I guess WBBS at 7th in the UK would be classed as big and so I bet the directors will still get huge salaries and the perks when it goes bust.) so we'll be paying a long time with no chance of getting back the over payment.

Reply to the comment left by "Ian Burton" at "09/10/2013 - 23:11":

Ian, I reckon you make some fair points and I admire your approach. I would be tempted to join you. Frankly I am unconcerned about my credit rating at my age and as for ever getting another mortgage ever again after this, forget it! I can't afford to pay the increase being rather hefty in my case so I am tempted to keep the money rather than let WBBS have it and damn the consequences.
Thanks James & Ian for your advice to the contrary. I heed your points also.but despite my bombast above I did suggest initially that withholding might only be a good idea if we all did it and then only if Justin did not think our case would be made to look bad in the eyes of the court by so doing.
No need to decide just yet. Anger can inflame one's judgement sometimes.

If I may I would like to advise everyone strongly to continue with their direct debit and pay the increased amount. Hopefully we'll get it all back once we win the case...

May i remind you that WB are looking for any excuse to repossess - don't give them any...

Reply to the comment left by "Concerned Landlord" at "10/10/2013 - 08:18":

I respect your opinion Concerned Landlord. While deliberating between now and December though, so no rush to decide, I must take into account my genuine inability to pay the increase. In my case a hefty £290 per month. Inability exacerbated by a promise to my good long term tenants to redec and carry out other work early 2014. This was based on my "business decision" that B of E would not ,increase rate until after 2015 election at earliest. £290 x 12 would have left me with a fair amount of cash to play with therefore during 2014.
WBBS have thrown all my plans into turmoil at short notice. If despite my writing to them before continuing to pay at existing rate explaining I shall happily pay in arrears in unlikely event of us losing our case, they go down repossession road I am encouraged by Mark's post way back about not being frightened by such an approach. "Shall we dance" I think he said. And frankly I don't care. I could string them along for ages while I sell the property myself at best price.
Despite being skint I have sent my cheque to Justin so I am not fainthearted about our case. I repeat again that Justin's advice about not paying increased rate would influence my decision if he thought that the court would adopt a jaundiced view of our case if any of us did that. I would not wish to damage the team effort.

regarding with holding payment be it any or full. I think they would love you to do just that. You have then contravened the terms of the contract. Then they can put you on their SVR which will be higher.

Pay them what they want. Write and tell them in individual letters for each mortgage you have that it is causing you extreme cash flow difficulties and personal stress doing this.

If the case is then won or if they back down under pressure you will be entitled to the money back, plus interest , plus compensation . In a way, if the case is won the extra amount you get could be one of the best investments you make in recent times!

I watched Watchdog last night. No mention of WB. But a nice peice on someones grass !! FFS ! The cost to that person is probably the equivalent to one mortgage extra cost for three months.

Come on everyone , email Watchdog today . If we can get hundreds of different emails to them we just might get a mention. I dont care if some of the British public think landlords are scum, we know the vast majority play a vital role and a good one. Without us there would be a lot more on the streets. We are not the reason some can not afford housing.

Today I will be arranging to have a window repaired in one property because a tenant lost her keys while drugged up and needed to get into the property because the dog she was not supposed to have and promised me on Saturday she had got rid of was locked in the property on its own.

She couldnt call me cos she as no phone cos she has no money cos she prefers drugs. But guess who will be paying for the window ? Yes the scum landlord! She as already sold the two TVs her scum landlord gave her when she moved in because she had very little and I had two going spare and she semmed like a decent person. So I gave her two TVs, took them to her property and set them up for her, God I am such a scum bag !!

Anyway , please email Watchdog watchdog@bbc.co.uk

Rant over

thanks

Reply to the comment left by " " at "10/10/2013 - 11:15":

email just sent to Watchdog .......

SUBJECT: Unfair interest rate hikes to tracker rate mortgages

To whom it may concern

Was it your understanding that interest rates on lifetime tracker mortgages or reversion tracker rates can only vary when the base rates moves?

There are now plenty of angry borrowers out there, 6,700 in clients of the West Bromwich building Society and a further 12,200 clients of Bank of Ireland are already affected as these lenders have decided to increase their profit margin by increasing the interest rates regardless of the fact that the Bank of England base rate has not changed. They are relying on ambiguous small print in their contracts which are also contra proferentem in that promotional materials and contractual conditions are conflicting/

Which lenders will be next to follow suit?

Do you agree this unethical practice must be stopped before other lenders cotton on to this?

We are writing to you to let you know that a Class Action group has formed via the Property118 online forum to fight back.

If you are interested in covering this story please let us know.

Regards,

Mark Alexander
Founder
Property118.com

Reply to the comment left by " " at "10/10/2013 - 11:15":

Fair points Dean. In the WBBS bombshell letter we were invited to speak with their Credit Care team if hardship would result. Don't waste your time, they won't/can't help so no point in wasting stamps writing letters saying you have a problem paying increased monthlies come December. The mention in their letter of possible help was just a sop to look good.
Re your situation while I empathise 100% with your rant, PLEASE get action taken to ensure the welfare of the dog which sounds like it's having a bad time. Your tenant is not fit to have a dog regardless of whether you allow her to have one or not. Get the RSPCA on the case or just take the dog to nearest rescue like Dogs Trust to give it a chance of a decent life. Will save your property getting wrecked also.

I agree with the points raised about the consequences of not paying the increase come December.

Even though I have no idea how I'm going to afford the extra payments on my mortgage.

This will give them the opportunity to start making things awkward and as others have mentioned effect our credit scores etc

I for one don't want to give them the satisfaction of mucking that up for me too.

However, I will be sending a letter mid Nov ( depending on where the class action is at that time) explaining that the increase is being paid under duress and is causing financial hardship to me and my young family.

That said I admire anyone who has the guts to not pay on pure principal !

Off to email Watchdog as per Mark's template

Reply to the comment left by "Mark Alexander" at "10/10/2013 - 11:35":

Just emailed Watchdog using the template Mark and said to contact you at Property 118 if they want to pick up on the story

Hello All

I need some help please.

I have a list of all Landlords Associations in the UK.

They all need to be contacted by telephone with a request for their help. What we want them to do is email their entire membership telling them about our campaigns.

Below is a list of all Landlords Associations, each is linked to their website where you can obtain their contact details.

Below that list I have created a template email for them to send to all of their members.

I have run out of time as I'm off to the French Riviera now to celebrate my first wedding anniversary. I also desperately need to take a break!

I need a few volunteers to tackle this project in my absence. There may be some overlap but this could be a good thing as the Landlords Associations will see the importance of the campaigns if they receive multiple telephone calls.

Any takers?

• Devon Landlords Association
• Southern Landlords Association
• South West Landlords Association
• West Counrty Landlords Association
• Scottish Association of Landlords
• Residential Landlords Association
• Cornwall Residential Landlords Association
• Landlords Association of Northern Ireland
• North Staffordshire Landlords Association
• Sheffield and District Landlords Association
• North West Landlords Association
• Humber Landlords Association
• York Residential Landlords Association
• Barnsley Residential Landlords Association
• Gateshead Private Landlords Association
• Darlington District Private Landlords Association
• Portsmouth and District Private Landlords Association
• East Midlands Property Owners
• Guild of Residential Landlords
• North West Property Owners Association

Suggested email template for Landlords Associations to send to their members.

Dear Member

Was it your understanding that interest rates on lifetime tracker mortgages or reversion tracker rates can only vary when the base rates moves?

There are now plenty of angry borrowers out there, 6,700 in clients of the West Bromwich Building Society and a further 12,200 clients of Bank of Ireland are already affected as these lenders have decided to increase their profit margin by increasing the interest rates regardless of the fact that the Bank of England base rate has not changed. They are relying on ambiguous small print in their contracts which are also contra proferentem in that promotional materials and contractual conditions are conflicting.

Which lenders will be next to follow suit?

Do you agree this unethical practice must be stopped before other lenders cotton on to this?

We are writing to you to let you know that a Class Action group has formed via the Property118 online forum to fight back.

For more information please visit http://property118.com