Endowment policies
Contents
If you were advised to make an investment designed to pay off your mortgage when it matured, did you later find out that you were not going to be paid out enough? See the article : I think I’ve been mis-sold my mortgage, what can I do?.
If so, it could be a mis-sold policy. Read our guide to mis-selling donations if you think this may apply to you.
Interest Only Mortgages
If you were only paying the interest on your mortgage on a monthly basis, the advisor should have told you how you would pay back your mortgage when it expired. Read also : I think I’ve been mis-sold my mortgage, what can I do?.
If your broker or lender has not discussed this with you or provided you with examples of the cost of a capital and amortization mortgage compared to the lower cost of an interest-only mortgage, this would be an example of mis-selling.
In addition, have you been told that you may need to convert your mortgage to a repayment mortgage instead of relying on rising house prices? If not, it could also be a mis-sale.
Use our sample letter if you want to make a complaint about the mis-selling of an interest-only mortgage.
Remortgaging to clear your debts
If you wanted to consolidate your debts, were you aware that it would be cheaper for you to put all of your loans, credit cards, and financing on your mortgage? To see also : I think I’ve been mis-sold my mortgage, what can I do?.
If not, you can exchange short-term debt for long-term debt by adding it to your mortgage.
Did the advisor explain to you that while you would initially reduce your monthly expenses, you might extend the term of your debt and greatly increase the amount of interest you would pay?
If not, it could be considered a mis-sale.
File a complaint with your provider with our form letter if you were encouraged to re-mortgage to settle your debts.
Top tips
Household budget analysis
Were you asked to complete an analysis of the household budget? Were you asked how much your monthly income was and what your monthly expenses were?
Did they work with you to calculate how much money you had left over each month after paying all your bills, ie your disposable income?
If it hasn’t, you may have unknowingly made too much of a mortgage that you couldn’t afford.
Self Certification mortgages
Were you asked to prove your income, for example pay slips or audited accounts that could show your income?
If not, were you encouraged to take out a so-called “Self Cert” or “Fast Track” mortgage that did not require you to prove your income?
These mortgage products paid much higher commissions and were very popular with some brokers for that reason.
If this applied to you, your mortgage may have been sold incorrectly.
Mortgages running past retirement
Is your mortgage past your retirement age? Were you made aware of this?
Did your broker or lender discuss how you would meet your mortgage costs when you retired?
A good example of this is when someone takes out a mortgage for 20 years at the age of 50.
The average retirement age is 65, which means that there are still 5 years left to pay off the mortgage.
If at the time of agreement the advisor did not consider whether the client could afford to make the payments after age 65, then the mortgage may have been mis-sold.
Use our form letter to complain if you think you have been mis-sold.
High broker fees
Did you pay unreasonably high fees to the broker or advisor who arranged your mortgage?
Were you informed what the costs would be?
Were they added to your mortgage without your knowing, so that you are now paying interest on them every month?
If any of the above applies to you, you may have been mis-selling and you may want to use our form letter to file a complaint with your provider.
Which? Money Compare
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