Bank of Scotland sold my mortgage to Pepper - paying 7.9%

T

Tinad82

New Member
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Hi Brendan

My mortgage was sold by Bank of Scotland to Start Mortgages then on to Pepper. I have always kept up my payments but have fallen into arrears with Pepper since the rise in interest rates now at 7.9 percent. Pepper have offered me an ARA for 9 months of the amount I was currently paying before the rise in rates. They say I do not qualify for any other option they provide. My issue is that after the 9 month ARA my mortgage will rise to 1800 per month (and whatever the interest rate is at this time) which I know will be unmanageable for me as I am the sole owner of my mortgage. I would not have qualified for a mortgage in the first place if my repayments were this high. It's such a difficult one as you get the option to fix your interest rates with a bank when situations like this occur but with a vulture fund there is just no way out.

One questionable issue I have and probably something I need to investigate is when my mortgage was sold by Bank of Scotland they said everything would remain the same however my interest rate went from a variable rate to a tracker something I am very confused about as the vulture funds refuse to give you the option to change to a fixed variable or tracker rate. A lot of us wouldn't be in this situation if they allowed us to fix the rates before they began to rise. So I am wondering how mine was changed from a variable rate to a tracker without my knowledge. Any advice on this issue would be gratefully appreciated
 
Your variable rate was not changed to a tracker rate, but I can see how you might think that.

They just increased the variable rate in line with the rise in ECB rates.

Not sure what you can do.

A few former permanent tsb customers are going to the Ombudsman and the High Court on the grounds that they should be offered the rates currently on offer by permanent tsb.

But BoS is gone.

So your argument would have to be that the rate rises were capricious and not justified.

I think you should make this complaint formally to Pepper.
They will reject it.
Then you should go to the Ombudsman.

Simultaneously, you need to get onto the Central Bank and politicians. They should not be tolerating this.

Brendan
 
So even though it says a Tracker Rate on my Mortgage Statements this doesn't mean they have changed it? I checked my letters as I have every letter every sent filed and it was changed back in 2017
Thank you so much for your advice Brendan. I will most definitely take it on board.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
OK

That is odd.

Are you absolutely sure you were on a variable rate with BoSI?

Ring Pepper and ask them how is the rate calculated.

If it's a tracker of 7.9% that looks like ECB + 3.4% which is very high for a tracker.

Brendan
Click to expand...
Yes Absolutely positive as I have kept every letter I have received from BoS Start and Pepper. It seems it was changed from variable to a tracker when Start Mortgages took it on but this was without my knowledge. It was only when the rates began to rise and I asked Pepper could I fix the rate they told me it was not an option they provide however when I questioned how my rate was changed from a variable to a tracker I was told they would need to look into it. But I haven't heard anything since
 
Brendan Burgess said:
But it's irrelevant that it's a tracker.

They pushed up variable rates by as much.

Brendan
Click to expand...
No, I know. It is the fact that they claim they don’t give the option to change your rate but have evidentially changed my rate in the past without my knowledge. I would imagine this is a legal breech on their behalf.

Thanks again for your advice
 
Hi We are in the exact same position. We had a performing BOS mortgage that was first being managed by Pepper and then we were told they were taking it over. We somehow ended on a 1.5% above the ecb rate. We were never given an option and as it transpires Pepper don't own our Mortgage only manage it as "title holders". It took 18months and allot of back and forth to find out our Mortgage is owned by some fund in the UK and purely managed by pepper. They sent us a letter they said we got in 2018 informing us of the same but we never received any such letter.

Like yourself we were told nothing would change we are now in a position that our mortgage has sky rocketed and given my age and contract of retirement I am finding it difficult to get another lender. The whole thing is very dodgy and given we were good paying customers I feel we are being treated very unfairly.
 
What is the outstanding amount on the Mortgage and how much do you think your house is worth?
Also, What age are you?

I had a similar mortgage and switched away from Pepper to the company that specializes in mortgages for older people (Long time since I was a first time buyer ). Ended up be a great solution for me. Only restriction is you have to be over 60 (I think, worth checking) and the loan is depending on your age and value of the home.
 
It's likely that you have always been on a 1.5% tracker. For several years up to your aug 2022 repayment your interest rate would have been 1.5% or a tiny bit above.

Then within 15 months your rate is a whopping 6%

That's how a tracker works and many in the regular banks have had the same increase.

The good news is the markets are saying the next move is downward, some say April, but most likely June, and that will see the start of a slew of rate cuts back to approx 2% bringing your rate to 3.5%

When the ECB will get to their 2% target is anyone's guess. I reckon Oct 2025, but others think it will happen quicker.

So check what you paid last Feb when the Dec 21st hike to 2% would have been calculated in your repayment and this is likely going to be the long term average payment once rates settle down
 
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