Lloyds TSB actively works with customers facing difficulty with their mortgage repayments and has an excellent track record of keeping customers in their homes, demonstrated by the lender's extremely low arrears and repossession levels.
In recent months, Lloyds TSB has increased the number of dedicated experts that offer assistance to customers who are struggling to meet payments, to stop them from entering arrears. Experts keep in regular contact with customers to advise how to prioritise essential payments.
If a customer does enter arrears, experts will work to agree a payment plan that is affordable and sustainable. A number of solutions are offered to customers to help get them back on track, including recalculating their loan to reduce monthly payments or switching to interest only for a temporary period.
Only after exhaustive discussions - typically lasting in excess of six months - and where no other option is available, would the lender consider repossession.
Joy Griffiths, Lloyds TSB's managing director of mortgages, said: "We continue to do everything we can, especially in this difficult economic climate, to help our customers' mortgages remain affordable. We urge any customer having difficulty to contact us as soon as possible so we can discuss their situation and agree a solution.
"We have grown our dedicated team of professionals to offer advice to any customer in difficulty and we will work with them to consider any solution that will keep them in their homes.
"Repossession is in no one's interest and is an action that will only ever be taken as a very last resort after all other avenues have been explored."
Both Lloyds TSB's arrears levels and repossessions are considerably below industry average, they say.
