mortgage arrears and charges

need to know

• If someone's told their mortgage company they're struggling, the mortgage company has a responsibility to respond sympathetically and constructively. We'll check they've taken their customer's individual circumstances into account, rather than taking a "one size fits all" approach.
• Depending on the circumstances, we might say it's fair to put in place a reduced payment plan or a repayment holiday - or to allow someone to pay only the interest on their mortgage for a certain period of time. If a lender has caused unnecessary upset, we can tell them to compensate their customer.
• There may be costs involved in managing accounts in arrears, so we won't necessarily say that arrears charges are unfair. But we may decide they're unfair if someone's kept to an agreed repayment arrangement - or if it's unlikely they'll ever be able to make their mortgage repayments.
• If we decide charges have been applied unfairly, we can tell a mortgage company to refund them. These types of situations can be very distressing - and if a mortgage company's mistake has caused unnecessary upset, we can tell them to pay compensation.