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The matter concerns the commercial lender introduced as the Lancashire Mortgage Corporation by a broker. The lender (referred to as LMC), following exhaustive financial checks (nothing wrong with that) submitted a loan offer at a specific rate of interest, that required the applicant's signature in order that the application be progressed to the legal team acting for the lender.
All seemed well, and assurances were given that 'draw-down' (the release of funds) would be forthcoming within days. Understandably, all other avenues of inquiry for finance were deemed unnecessary and consequently no longer pursued, given the offer by LMC.
Some 4 months later, LMC, now adopting the trading style: 'Together', contacted the broker to advise that funds were ready to be released, but not in accordance with the original loan offer, but at a rate 4% higher, giving the reason that my credit rating had declined over the intervening period. When questioned, LMC stated that there existed a particular clause in the initial loan offer that allowed LMC to make any changes they wanted, including changes relating to the borrowing rate previously offered. This effectively meant that the loan offer was meaningless. They also pointed out that they reserved the right to charge the applicant for the application processing costs in the event that the applicant declined the amended offer.
The 'new' loan documentation included subtle differences, including small footnotes stating that the loan agreement was 'unregulated'..interesting.
I have carried out recent research and it would appear that this approach to attracting prospective borrowers is not unusual, but it is misleading and dishonest. The individual behind the organisation is listed to have a net worth of £1.2 billion, and despite investigations by the Financial Authorities, the lender continues to operate in this manner.
Is anyone experiencing similar problems with this lender's menacing approach that often results in a minimum of £250.00 being added to unfortunate borrower's mortgage whenever a repayment is made beyond the stroke of twelve of the due date?
And were they initially made aware of this charging policy by this lender ?
James 2nd
All seemed well, and assurances were given that 'draw-down' (the release of funds) would be forthcoming within days. Understandably, all other avenues of inquiry for finance were deemed unnecessary and consequently no longer pursued, given the offer by LMC.
Some 4 months later, LMC, now adopting the trading style: 'Together', contacted the broker to advise that funds were ready to be released, but not in accordance with the original loan offer, but at a rate 4% higher, giving the reason that my credit rating had declined over the intervening period. When questioned, LMC stated that there existed a particular clause in the initial loan offer that allowed LMC to make any changes they wanted, including changes relating to the borrowing rate previously offered. This effectively meant that the loan offer was meaningless. They also pointed out that they reserved the right to charge the applicant for the application processing costs in the event that the applicant declined the amended offer.
The 'new' loan documentation included subtle differences, including small footnotes stating that the loan agreement was 'unregulated'..interesting.
I have carried out recent research and it would appear that this approach to attracting prospective borrowers is not unusual, but it is misleading and dishonest. The individual behind the organisation is listed to have a net worth of £1.2 billion, and despite investigations by the Financial Authorities, the lender continues to operate in this manner.
Is anyone experiencing similar problems with this lender's menacing approach that often results in a minimum of £250.00 being added to unfortunate borrower's mortgage whenever a repayment is made beyond the stroke of twelve of the due date?
And were they initially made aware of this charging policy by this lender ?
James 2nd
