EBS EBS Tracker V’s Loan Ofer

Just spoke to somebody in EBS about Homeloan taken out in May 2008 stating that after the expiry of fixed rate the loan would revert to "Variable Base Rate". That is the SVR I would assume and not Tracker?

They said all mortgages are being reviewed but only those receiving redress will get letters and those not affected will not receive any correspondence
 
Just spoke to somebody in EBS about Homeloan taken out in May 2008 stating that after the expiry of fixed rate the loan would revert to "Variable Base Rate". That is the SVR I would assume and not Tracker?

They said all mortgages are being reviewed but only those receiving redress will get letters and those not affected will not receive any correspondence

Assume nothing, variable base rate could certainly be interpreted as referring to the variable European Base Rate which is the ECB refi rate, in other words a tracker. Look at the original contract as a whole, as well as the accompanying documentation at the time of contracting.
 
I find it odd that they are telling me every account is being reviewed but those not impacted will not be written to. I think the least people deserve is closure.
 
Somebody here surely has it. If there is a smoking gun in there about variable base rate it could turn out to be a valuable document to a lot of people.
 
In addition to the EBS mortgage illustration document there is also the “Inside Track” document/online magazine (collateral contract issue)by EBS. I can’t find this anywhere online. It is mentioned by poster Ides of March in another thread. This may also further clarify the “variable base rate” issue.

Here is evidence compiled from postsers on here & other sources that indicates the “variable base rate” to be applied after end of fixed term offer refers to moving onto a tracker rate or at least suggests there was reasonable grounds to be offered a tracker at that time:

*EBS loan offers that started off on a tracker includes definitions such as:
“Interest rate (Variable): 5.25%
Interest Rate Basis: Variable ECB Base + 1.25%”

EBS mortgages that started off on a fixed rate include definitions of rates such as:
“Interest rate after 3 years: Variable Base (Currently 05.25%)”

*Posters on this forum with the Variable base rate definition have pre October 2008 documentation from EBS that shows rate changes on their account are linked to changes in the ECB rate e.g “ Due to an increase in the ECB rate, the rate on your EBS loan account will rise by 0.25%.”

Posters with the variable base rate definition are now being told by EBS that it is a SVR rate. EBS have info & documentation online that confirms their SVR is “ not directly linked to any reference rate e.g. ECB base rate”. When there was a reduction in their SVR in 2014, AIB released a statement that applied to EBS stating “the reduction is not linked to the ECB base interest rate & will therefore not apply to tracker mortgage holders.”

*Mortgage advisor & broker mortgageireland.ie which is regulated by the Irish central bank released a glossary of terms in 2006 including definition of “variable base rate” calling it “a mortgage interest rate that can change over the term of the loan depending on the rates of the Central Bank meaning monthly payments can go up & down in a given month.”

*Multiple EBS fixed rate loan offers from 2004-2008 indicate that after fixed term the mortgage will move onto “variable base rate (currently 5.25%)”. Each of these offers with this “variable base rate” definition matches the ECB base rate at the time (e.g. 4.00% in August 2007)+ 1.25% points though this margin is not included in original loan offer.

*Also worth noting that there is evidence from posters here & accompanying EBS documentation that indicates SVR’s were not available at the time of loan offers that included fixed term to variable base rate terminology.

For instance EBS documents in 2004 reference 4 loan options-fixed,tracker,easy step & interest only. If SVR’s were not available at the time of the loan offer and SVR is not referenced in loan offer or contract,why have customers(with the variable base rate definition) been moved onto an SVR after fixed term is over?If SVR’s were not available at the time what is the Variable base rate in contracts referring to?
 
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I took out 2 loans with ebs in august 2008

one was a buy to let and it states on the loan offer document it is a 'variable buy to let'

the second was a homeloan and its states on the loan document 'variable base '
( nothing else no mention of ecb, tracker or a +xx%)

- i have a copy of a fax from my broker to ebs requesting a tracker on the homeloan ( previously the offer was for fixed for 3 years) and then the loan offer was re-issued with the words 'base rate'

following this re-issued loan offer being emailed to me i have an email from my broker as follows:

The ‘Tracker’ is a variable rate and is the best one available. The other variable rate option is 5.25%.


so as things went i had asked for and though i had been put on trackers for both mortgages.... but... it did not turn out that way

between november 2008 and april 2009 i have letters from ebs informng me on both loans that
'ebs will be passing on the full decrease of xx% on its variable loan rate

the buy to let and the homeloan letters said the exact same thing ' variable loan rate' between 2008 and 2009

but then my homeloan rate stopped following the ecb rate and increased- and the variable buy to let tracked the ecb rate

( and at this point the letters no longer defined the loan type when refering to the increase/decrease and simply said 'your loan' will increase/decrease)

i was not aware this had happened ( one loan was on a tracker and one was not) and only questioned it when i saw the rates on one going up while the other went down - i was then told that at that time that they were actually issuing me with my mortgage check there was no longer a tracker available for both so they could just give me a tracker on one - ?
 
In addition to the EBS mortgage illustration document there is also the “Inside Track” document/online magazine (collateral contract issue)by EBS. I can’t find this anywhere online. It is mentioned by poster Ides of March in another thread. This may also further clarify the “variable base rate” issue.

Here is evidence compiled from postsers on here & other sources that indicates the “variable base rate” to be applied after end of fixed term offer refers to moving onto a tracker rate or at least suggests there was reasonable grounds to be offered a tracker at that time:

*EBS loan offers that started off on a tracker includes definitions such as:
“Interest rate (Variable): 5.25%
Interest Rate Basis: Variable ECB Base + 1.25%”

EBS mortgages that started off on a fixed rate include definitions of rates such as:
“Interest rate after 3 years: Variable Base (Currently 05.25%)”

*Posters on this forum with the Variable base rate definition have pre October 2008 documentation from EBS that shows rate changes on their account are linked to changes in the ECB rate e.g “ Due to an increase in the ECB rate, the rate on your EBS loan account will rise by 0.25%.”

Posters with the variable base rate definition are now being told by EBS that it is a SVR rate. EBS have info & documentation online that confirms their SVR is “ not directly linked to any reference rate e.g. ECB base rate”. When there was a reduction in their SVR in 2014, AIB released a statement that applied to EBS stating “the reduction is not linked to the ECB base interest rate & will therefore not apply to tracker mortgage holders.”

*Mortgage advisor & broker mortgageireland.ie which is regulated by the Irish central bank released a glossary of terms in 2006 including definition of “variable base rate” calling it “a mortgage interest rate that can change over the term of the loan depending on the rates of the Central Bank meaning monthly payments can go up & down in a given month.”

*Multiple EBS fixed rate loan offers from 2004-2008 indicate that after fixed term the mortgage will move onto “variable base rate (currently 5.25%)”. Each of these offers with this “variable base rate” definition matches the ECB base rate at the time (e.g. 4.00% in August 2007)+ 1.25% points though this margin is not included in original loan offer.

*Also worth noting that there is evidence from posters here & accompanying EBS documentation that indicates SVR’s were not available at the time of loan offers that included fixed term to variable base rate terminology.

For instance EBS documents in 2004 reference 4 loan options-fixed,tracker,easy step & interest only. If SVR’s were not available at the time of the loan offer and SVR is not referenced in loan offer or contract,why have customers(with the variable base rate definition) been moved onto an SVR after fixed term is over?If SVR’s were not available at the time what is the Variable base rate in contracts referring to?

B26354,

Here is an explanatory document from Nationwide Building Society in the UK regarding the difference between variable base rate mortgages and standard variable rate mortgages.

Standard and Base Mortgage Rates
When you reach the end of a fixed or tracker deal, you will automatically move onto either our Base Mortgage Rate (BMR) or Standard Mortgage Rate (SMR), depending on when you reserved your original fixed or tracker deal.

If you reserved your fixed or tracker product through Nationwide on or before 29 April 2009, through Derbyshire on or before 30 May 2009 or through Cheshire on or before the 14 June 2009, you’ll move on to the Nationwide BMR. If you reserved your product after those dates, you’ll automatically move on to the Nationwide SMR.

Both are variable rates which we may vary in accordance with our mortgage terms and conditions. The BMR is guaranteed to be no more than 2% above the Bank of England Base Rate, whilst the SMR has no upper limit or cap.

This certainly adds to the contention that EBS’s variable base rate is an interest rate that tracks the ECB rate at a fixed margin above this base rate. (I believe another poster said at a rate of 1.5% above ECB base) In other words the EBS’s variable base rate is a price promise type of tracker rate. Request EBS to forward you a copy of inside track online publication, from memory, I believe such wording may be in this publication.
 
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this looks like an interesting definition of the base rate its on nationwide uk's website
rates-fees-charges/standard-and-base-mortgage-rates

Standard and Base Mortgage Rates
Both are variable rates which we may vary in accordance with our mortgage terms and conditions. The BMR is guaranteed to be no more than 2% above the Bank of England Base Rate, whilst the SMR has no upper limit or cap.
 
That Inside Track document is like trying to find the original Bible! So much for google finding everything.
 
i have checked this on archive org - i have gone through it over a number of years - looking at the section called inside track but I can't find any issue of inside track defining what a variable base rate it - that not to say its not there - its slow going searching for it - anyone got an idea what year it was approx?
 
I have just gone through all the documentation on my EBS variable buy to let - in the small print on the page headed conditions of a commerical loan attached to the loan approval doc the it says essentially
this 'variable buy to let' rate can not be higher that the 1.5% above the ecb rate
 
I have just gone through all the documentation on my EBS variable buy to let - in the small print on the page headed conditions of a commerical loan attached to the loan approval doc the it says essentially
this 'variable buy to let' rate can not be higher that the 1.5% above the ecb rate
Does your variable buy to let loan offer include term “variable base rate” to be applied when fixed term ends?
 
no it says the 'variable buy to let rate' will apply when the fixed term ends? which is as above - a tracker which cannot go more than 1.5% above the ecb rate
 
I managed to access that inside track webpage from 2004 up to 2007 but they seem to have removed the finer details on tracker mortgages
 

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EBS screenshot detailing tracker plus margin & variable rates circa August 2007.
 

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EBS screenshot from November 2007 detailing differences between variable,fixed & tracker rate.
 

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What was the variable rate in april and may 2008. As I said previously the rate on loan offer was 5.25 "variable base" and on the loan cheque letter it was 5.33 "variable base rate". It does say the rate can change between loan off and cheque issue. Id like to see the rates for april and may 2008 to see what they match up with. I have tried that web archive but cant find anything.
 
4.84 was the fixed. It doesnt say what type of rate after 3 years only that its 5.25 which equals the variable and the applicable tracker 4.00+ 1.25
 

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