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Through administrative errors, Barclays impaired both my spouse and my credit files (they erroneously marked our mortgages to be in arrears). When we realised this, we lodged a complaint with Barclays. After many months of trying to get a response from Barclays, they finally accepted their mistake. I have written confirmation from Barclays of this. The cause appears to be due to outdated technology system that Barclays is using (Trinity system) which apparently has caused ruin and hardship for many mortgage customers (as published in the new article in Financial Times on 4 October 2023).
Due to the credit files being impaired, both my spouse and myself got blocked out of the mortgage market for several months in 2022. During this period we repeatedly tried to access buy-to-let mortgages to ensure our finances were in order. We met all lending criterion with mortgage providers, but we kept getting rejected when the lenders ran the credit search and found the impairment. We have letter from mortgage broker confirming this.
We were finally able to access the BTL mortgage only after Barclays admitted their fault and confirmed that the credit impairment was erroneous. During this prolonged period, the mortgage interest rates rose sharply. We were able to lock in mortgages only at the significantly higher rates. This resulted in very substantial financial losses to us on account of Barclays’ error.
Whilst Barclays have admitted their mistake, they refuse to pay compensation for the losses they have caused. The Financial Ombudsman have (as expected) sided with Barclays on this matter and stated that it would be more appropriate for us to pursue legal remedies. We are at a point where we appear to have no option but to explore legal action. However we are worried this would be expensive.
Any advice please?
Due to the credit files being impaired, both my spouse and myself got blocked out of the mortgage market for several months in 2022. During this period we repeatedly tried to access buy-to-let mortgages to ensure our finances were in order. We met all lending criterion with mortgage providers, but we kept getting rejected when the lenders ran the credit search and found the impairment. We have letter from mortgage broker confirming this.
We were finally able to access the BTL mortgage only after Barclays admitted their fault and confirmed that the credit impairment was erroneous. During this prolonged period, the mortgage interest rates rose sharply. We were able to lock in mortgages only at the significantly higher rates. This resulted in very substantial financial losses to us on account of Barclays’ error.
Whilst Barclays have admitted their mistake, they refuse to pay compensation for the losses they have caused. The Financial Ombudsman have (as expected) sided with Barclays on this matter and stated that it would be more appropriate for us to pursue legal remedies. We are at a point where we appear to have no option but to explore legal action. However we are worried this would be expensive.
Any advice please?
