What we will do if you are having problems paying your mortgage
If we are unable to offer any of these options we might agree to you remaining in the property to sell the property yourself.
What you can do to help
- Tell us as soon as possible if you are having problems repaying your mortgage or think that you might experience problems in the near future.
- Refer to our free online budget planner - this could help you manage your finances better.
- Seek debt advice if you would like help managing your finances. Listed below are details of other agencies who can offer support and guidance in times of financial and personal hardship both with your mortgage and other loans secured against your property.
- Contact us quickly, if we try to contact you.
- Make sure you keep other people responsible for the mortgage (and anyone guaranteeing the mortgage), up to date with what's happening.
- Keep to any payment plan we may agree with you or tell us as soon as possible if there is a change in your circumstances which may affect the arrangements. If you don't make the agreed repayments, we might have to go to court to get any money you owe us or to repossess your property.
- Keep us up to date with any changes to your circumstances, including if you move to a new address.
- Check whether you can get any state benefits or tax credits which could help to increase your income.
- If you have a mortgage payment protection insurance policy, check if it can help with your payments.
- If it is unlikely that your situation will improve in the future you may need to think about selling your home.
You may want to talk to a professional adviser, such as a debt counsellor or a solicitor, before you change your mortgage arrangements. We would strongly advise that you seek independent, free debt advice.
What happens if we can't agree on a solution
- We may send a debt counsellor to see you and discuss your financial circumstances. The cost of the visits may be charged to your mortgage account.
- We may go to court to start proceedings to repossess your home. If proceedings take place, we strongly recommend that you attend court and that you seek independent debt advice.
- Starting court proceedings does not necessarily mean that we will repossess your home. We will keep trying to solve the problem with you. Repossession is a last resort.
- Before we repossess your home, we will suggest that you get in touch with your local authority to see if they can find you somewhere else to live.
What happens if we repossess your home
- We will sell it for the best price we can reasonably get. We will try and sell it as quickly as possible.
- We will give you reasonable time to take your possessions from your home.
- We will use the money raised from selling your home to pay your mortgage and any other loans or charges.
- If there is any money left over, we will pay it to you.
What happens if selling your home does not raise enough money to pay off your mortgage
- If there is still not enough money from the sale to repay the whole of your mortgage, you will still owe us the amount that is left (this is known as a shortfall debt). We will tell you how much this is as soon as possible.
- If you bought your home with other borrowers, each of you is responsible for all the money borrowed. This is true even if you normally only pay part of the mortgage.
- We will contact you within 6 years of selling the property (5 years in Scotland) to arrange for you to pay back what you still owe.
- We will take account of your income and outgoings when we arrange a payment plan for this shortfall debt with you. But if we cannot arrange a suitable plan, we may go to court to get our money back. You may have to pay additional court costs
- If a shortfall debt is not paid, it could affect whether you are able to get credit in the future.
What happens if you hand your keys over to us
You may be thinking about handing your keys back to us. If you do this, you will still be responsible for paying the mortgage until the property is sold. If your house sells for less than you owe, your mortgage won't be fully repaid and you will still owe us the amount that is left. Please discuss this option with us before taking such action.
Other issues to think about
Some companies may offer you new loans or even invite you to sell your property to them and then lease it back as a way of resolving your short-term financial difficulty. Please be careful, as such actions may not be in your best interests in the long term. We would advise that you seek independent advice before entering into any arrangement of this type.
Complaints
If you have concerns about how we have dealt with your case please use our complaints procedure to make us aware of any problems. We'll do our best to address things quickly and fairly.
Our complaints procedure meets the requirements of both the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
