We have voluntarily signed the new Mortgage Charter, a set of measures agreed between the government, major mortgage lenders, and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), designed to ease the concerns of residential mortgage customers.
Although Suffolk Building Society already adheres to much of the guidance in the charter, the Society believes that it is beneficial for lenders to formally adopt these principles. The charter will help to increase awareness of customers’ options during a period of rising interest rates and the broader cost of living.
If you’re speaking with a concerned client, let them know they’re not alone. Thousands of mortgage borrowers get help from their lender every year. Talking to us about this will not affect their credit score.
We can have a discussion with them about their possible options under the Mortgage Charter, and other ways we can help too.
- A borrower will not be forced to leave their home without their consent unless in exceptional circumstances, in less than a year from their first missed payment.
- We will continue to write to customers approaching the end of their current mortgage deal three months in advance, in keeping with the Mortgage Charter. Customers will be offered the chance to lock in a deal. They will also be able to manage their new deal and apply for a better like for like product with us, if one is available. They can do this up to 15th of the month before their new deal starts. Each switch will be subject to the usual product switch fee.
- We can allow borrowers to pay just the interest payments for up to six months (which would reduce their monthly payments, but increase the overall cost of the mortgage).
- We can enable borrowers to extend their mortgage term to reduce their monthly payments, with the option to revert to their original term within six months (this would reduce their monthly payments, but increase the overall cost of the mortgage).
- Borrowers can change the way they make their payments, or the date they make them during the month.
Mortgage Payment Difficulty Helpline
If you have a client with a Suffolk Building Society mortgage who is concerned about their mortgage payments, please tell them to get in touch as soon as they can by speaking to our dedicated team on 01473 278510, Monday-Friday 9am-5pm, or email [email protected].
Further reading on the Government Website
The full details of the Mortgage Charter can be found on the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mortgage-charter/mortgage-charter
