No proof of signed Mortgage Agreement

[Guest]

Any advice on this will be much appreciated.

I bought an apartment via a Property Investment Company Bueno Investments in 2006. The deal was £5000 and I would become owner of the tenanted property. I will say up front Bueno vanished, the lawyer was struck off that dealt with the sale and I was never contacted, also the mortgage packaging company was also closed due to malpractcie

The Lender was the Mortgage Business (TMB) the Surveyor Colleys. I had never and have never since ventured into Buy to Let. Colleys came back with a valuation of £79 995. TMB loaned on property with a 2 year introductory rate which at conclusion will be moved to their SVR of 1.99% above BoE until end of the term (25 years). I was moved to a different product with no signed agreement and this product was amended with a move to an HVR. The HVR product was 4.95% above the BoE. I never signed anything to reflect this rate.

Ombudsmen have told me to seek legal representation as they see no problem with this but surely if I did not sign an agreement of 4.95% above BoE then how can they enforce it? Ombudsman also have also said how the TMB derived the rate is 'commercially sensitive'.

The property was overvalued by Colleys by almost 100%. All those properties to June 2006 had never sold above £41K. November 2006 all were Surveyed and sold using Colleys and TMB sale prices (14 apartments) were £79 995. I had the property valued by local agents in 2011, 2015 and all came back with £35-40K. TMB were fully aware to this negative equity, unable to move lender so they increased their interest rate to 4.95%. Effectively forcing me to pay over double the signed agreement of 1.99% above BoE.

If there was no signed agreement have they operated against the law?

[Guest]

The overvaluation is another element to this. The property was re-possessed in 2018 and sold at Auction for £30K this was the value after 12 years of ownership surveyed by colleys lended by TMB in 2006 at £79 995. RICS didn't see an issue with this just like Ombudsman. I could understand 5-10% but this is at time of sale was well over 100% off the actual market value.

[Guest]

and just for further clarification. Colleys and TMB both fall under the Lloyds Banking Group.

[atticus]

Are you simply questioning the right to move your account to a higher interest rate, or is there more to it than that?

[Guest]

and just for further clarification. Colleys and TMB both fall under the Lloyds Banking Group.

yes please. TMB have no signed agreement from me other than 1.99% above BoE base rate until the conclusion of the 25 year mortgage. They moved me on to HVR which was 4.95% above BoE. There is no HVR mentioned in the original signed agreement. The SVR was 1.99% above BoE this was okay for them while interest rates were increasing 2006-2008 but they made up a new HVR rate in 2011 of 4.95%. They are unable to provide any signed agreement for this rate. Is this against the law?

[atticus]

You appear to be saying that there is no contractual entitlement to change the rate. Does that answer your question?

[Guest]

You appear to be saying that there is no contractual entitlement to change the rate. Does that answer your question?

thank you for response. Yes but how do I fight this? I have exhausted the complaint route and the Ombudsmen saw no issue with the fact that there is no signed contractual agreement for the HVR rate of 4.95%

[Guest]

I must add that TMB were fully aware of the negative equity situation so I was locked in and unable to move lenders.

[atticus]

You fight this by disputing with TMB their entitlement to charge interest at that rate. If need be you go to court seeking a ruling and an order that TMB refund overpaid/overcharged interest.

I say this without offering any opinion whether you are right. This will require careful analysis of all relevant documents. You may also face a Limitation Act argument over the number of years you can go back with such a claim.

The best advice I can give is that you should consult a solicitor.

[Guest]

thank you for your response and the issue I have is 1. limitation Act and 2. Zero funds to engage with a solicitor. All are reluctant to take on the bank to take on the case as the banks have deep pockets and usually bully people into giving up and losing even more money. A very bitter pill to swallow. This combined with the overvaluation and repossession has left me £60K in debt. The I am paying towards monthly using Stepchange and a debt management plan.

[Guest]

The ombudsman is totally ineffective, I have seen all the transcripts and the TMB complaints lead just bullied the Ombudsman into believing this was all my fault. Yes, I knew the property was overvalued by 100% and that I also knew I would be put on to an HVR rate of 4.95%. Where there is no evidence to even suggest this. I will never trust a bank or surveyor for as long as I live.