A broker anonymously contacted Mortgage Introducer with concerns that Northern Rock had upped the rate on the ported mortgage without informing him. He said the rate increase defeated the object of porting a mortgage and meant his client might not be able to afford the repayments.
He said: “I wanted to port an existing fixed rate mortgage to a deal with Northern Rock and was told the rate would be 4.89 per cent. I checked thoroughly with the business development manager (BDM) to ensure this would be the rate my client got. The deal completed on 12 August, but on a higher rate of 6.89 per cent.”
Porting a mortgage allows the outstanding balance to be transferred to another property with the same terms and without penalty, and, by keeping the original mortgage, early repayment charges are avoided.
“I wouldn’t have ported the existing mortgage if I had known this would happen as it works out more expensive than paying the original early repayment fees,” the broker added.
Ron Stout, assistant director of public relations at Northern Rock, was unable to comment on the individual case but said the lender would investigate any concern fully if the broker contacted it with details.
He said: “Without precise case details, it’s not possible to identify where any fault may lie. The broker should refer the matter again to his BDM to try to resolve the issue.”
Northern Rock has come under fire in the past few weeks over slow processing times and delayed intermediary commission payments. It has also been criticised, along with Halifax, for canvassing brokers’ clients to cross-sell products.
