Do you need help with your mortgage?
Updated on 10 June 2009
Channel 4 News online asks the major high street banks and building societies what arrangements are available for customers with mortgage repayment difficulties.
If you have taken out a mortgage payment protection policy and your rate has gone up or you have had trouble claiming, we want to hear from you. Email us on news@channel4.com.
Abbey National
Flexible mortgages: customers may be offered repayment holidays of up to six months, which is the standard limit. If beyond six months, then customers are advised to contact the bank again.
Fixed mortgages: customers need to contact Abbey's customer service team. Options include a mortgage holiday and a repayment plan involving smaller monthly payments.
Abbey told us: "Repossessions are a last resort for us."
Nationwide
Nationwide told us that they encourage any borrowers concerned about their ability to meet their payments to get in touch. A number of solutions are available.
Nationwide say they do offer payment holidays, but would not necessarily say they are the solution. One alternative might be for a customer to move to an interest-only mortgage for a short term.
Nationwide told us: "We do offer contact details for debt counselling services and links to government initiatives. We also have our homeowner mortgage charter – a 10-point plan."
HSBC
HSBC told us that if a customer has overpaid, they can effectively take a mortgage holiday.
HSBC said they had the lowest rate of customers in financial difficulties of any bank in the UK – and by far the lowest rate of repossessions.
They told us: "It makes no sense for use to foreclose on a mortgage, so we will discuss options such as reducing payments, restructuring the loan by moving to an interest-only situation, or reducing payments by extending the period of the loan. We'll do an individual review.
“We'd certainly consider a mortgage holiday. We’d look at our overall relationship with our customer."
Northern Rock
A one-month payments holiday is available to customers who have made nine months consecutive payments at one time. The balance is, of course, added to the end of the mortgage.
Northern Rock also offer a maternity break option.
The bank told us: "If someone loses their job, we would encourage all customers to contact us straight away and then we would see what options are available for them. We have a range of measures put in place to help them if they get into difficulty."
For more information, click here.
Lloyds TSB
Lloyds TSB say they discuss arrangements with the customer, working through their budget, establishing a repayment plan that is more affordable for them.
"Taking a mortgage holiday isn't always the best option for them," they said.
Dan Watkins, managing director of mortgages, Lloyds Banking Group, said: "We will participate in the Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme. We already do everything we can to help customers facing financial difficulty and this newest scheme will act as an extension to the broad assistance we already offer customers who are struggling to pay their mortgage.
"Most importantly the scheme will offer welcome additional support to families that have suffered a temporary loss of income to ensure they can stay in their homes."
Barclays Bank
Barclays told us they respond on a case by case basis, factoring in the length of time and sum of the outstanding mortgage, the customer's other financial commitments, the customer's income, and the situation that has led to the customer's difficulties.
Tools available to help include: reducing repayments, switching to interest-only repayments for a period, and extending the mortgage term. Customers are encourage to seek independent debt advice.
Barclays stressed that repossession was always a last resort and that the key consideration was always to keep borrowers in their homes, whenever possible.
RBS
An RBS spokesperson told us: "We remain fully committed to the pledge we made in December last year to not commence any repossession proceedings for at least a full 6 months after a customer first falls into arrears.
"We continue to work with customers to help them through financial difficulties. Each case is reviewed on an individual basis and we encourage customers to contact us as soon as they experience any form of financial hardship, to allow maximum opportunity for us to work together.
"We will also sign post customers to the 'not for profit' debt advice agencies to ensure they obtain independent advice and also to ensure they are made aware of the potential benefits they may be entitled to."
For more details from the RBS website, click here.
Insurers hit back
Nick Kirwan of the Association of British Insurers joins Krishnan Guru-Murthy in the studio to respond to accusations of hiking up prices.
The head of the Financial Services Authority, Lord Turner, has attacked the insurance industry for putting up the cost of policies which cover mortgage payments for people who lose their jobs.
If you have taken out a mortgage payment protection policy and your rate has gone up or you have had trouble claiming, we want to hear from you. Email us on news@channel4.com.
