It revealed a portfolio of a mortgage, current account, savings, loan and credit card could leave consumers with 110 different charges, and indicated that mortgages contributed to almost 50 per cent of all fees, accounting for 46 of the 110 fees associated with financial products.
Mortgage-related costs included arrangement and exit fees, standard administration requests and valuation fees. moneysupermarket.com also revealed lenders adopt charges for replacement annual mortgage statements, requesting a current mortgage statement, or adding names to the mortgage.
Stuart Glendinning, managing director at moneysupermarket.com, said: “It’s unbelievable that five financial products alone can be the root of so much penalty pain. It is important to raise the flag of awareness on these penalties and blow the whistle on providers who don’t make penalty fees transparent to consumers from the outset.”
However Paul Hearnden, managing director at My Mortgage Direct, disagreed. “46 different fees is a high number, but most borrowers would not encounter anywhere near this. It’s difficult for lenders – they could simply charge an administration fee of £85, but then people who just wanted a statement that might be £10 would argue why they have to pay £85. The lender is just breaking down exactly how much it costs to get certain bits of information or administration.”
