In an e-mail sent to packagers GMAC-RFC states that from the close of business on Thursday 28 October 2004 to the start of business on Monday 1 November 2004 its entire processing system will be shutdown in order to implement a number of changes required for regulation.
It said the shutdown meant no completions would be possible during this time or any function that required the use of the current system. Therefore any completions should be planned for either before or after the shutdown period.
Jeff Knight, head of marketing services at GMAC, said: “We have to switch our current system over to another one so any applications or completions must be sent thorough by the Thursday before ‘Mortgage Day’ or wait until the following Monday. It won’t be a major problem for us to catch up on the processing.”
Peter Beaumont, sales and marketing director at Mortgages plc, commented: “All lenders are carrying out major changes to their systems, but we are not shutting down ours before regulation. GMAC must feel that it needs to ensure that it will be ready in time.”
In a separate e-mail GMAC said it would be withdrawing its two-year discount STAR product. It said current STAR volumes did not justify the product’s continuation.
All applications for the STAR deal need to be submitted into Bracknell for processing by close of business on 30 September. No cases received for processing after this date, even if funds have been previously booked, will be accepted.
“The STAR product just wasn’t working for us any more,” said Knight. “The bigger slice of the market lies in the less niche self-cert products. Concentrating on this area will also create greater clarity for our intermediaries.”
