Tracker mortgage not tracking!!!

Kashkai

I'm on a tracker mortgage with Halifax and over the past few years it has tracked the ECB rate rises very diligently, i.e. ECB puts the rate up, my next repayment goes up.

However, the ECB cut its rate on the 9th October and again on the 9th November but I receive a letter from Halifax stating that my monthly repayment from December will reduce by the first rate cut. Why the 2 month delay in reducing the rate when the bastards have no problem putting it up straight away when the rates increase.

Am I stupid and missing something obvious or is the fecking bank screwing me???

achtungbarry

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

I'm on a tracker mortgage with Halifax and over the past few years it has tracked the ECB rate rises very diligently, i.e. ECB puts the rate up, my next repayment goes up.

However, the ECB cut its rate on the 9th October and again on the 9th November but I receive a letter from Halifax stating that my monthly repayment from December will reduce by the first rate cut. Why the 2 month delay in reducing the rate when the bastards have no problem putting it up straight away when the rates increase.

Am I stupid and missing something obvious or is the fecking bank screwing me???

Same thing happened to me with PTSB. As soon as there is a rate increase, it comes into effect straight away......... as for a decrease....... I am still waiting for either decrease to take effect.

I rang their mortgage dept and a rep admitted that while increases where applied straight away, the bank waits about a month to apply a decrease.

Surely this is illegal. I will be reporting this to the financial regulator and I suggest you and anyone else being ripped off by these scum bag banks do the same.

krudler

I dont know what a tracker mortgage is

jor el

Check your mortgage terms to see how much range is allowed between the ECB and tracker rate. If your outside this range, then the bank would appear to be screwing you, and in breech of the mortgage agreement. If you get nowhere, get on to your solicitor.

darc

Are mortage payments not a month in arrears?

e.g. if the mortgage was taken out on 1st Feb 2005, then the first payment would be 1st March 2005 at the interest rate pertaining to 1st feb?

Likewise your payment on 1st Dec is your November payment

Sam Vimes

darc wrote: »

Are mortage payments not a month in arrears?

e.g. if the mortgage was taken out on 1st Feb 2005, then the first payment would be 1st March 2005 at the interest rate pertaining to 1st feb?

Likewise your payment on 1st Dec is your November payment

But that doesn't explain why increases take affect before decreases

dotsman

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

Am I stupid and missing something obvious or is the fecking bank screwing me???

You're with Halifax. The Ryanair of banking. What did you expect?

Anyway, there's a whole thread about this here...

In a nutshell, AIB are the only ones I am aware of who are passing on the rate cuts within the same time frame as when the rates were going up (typically 5 working days after the ECB rate is changed - not announced, the announcements can happen days before the ECB actually changed. See here for when the ECB rate was ACTUALLY changed). Some are a bit slow (maybe a few days or so extra). Certainly Halifax and Permanent TSB (the 2 cowboys of banking) are extremely slow, but again, what do you expect?

We are now in a place where a standard variable rate mortgage over 20 years with AIB (the cheapest)* is 2.5% less than Permanent TSB (the most expensive)* so there is huge differences between the banks. In this example, according to quotes from both websites the exact same 300K Variable mortgae for 20 years would see you paying €210 more per month with TSB (that's €50,000 over the life of the mortgage).

*This comparison is based on my own observations from the respective banks websites. AIB were the cheapest I could find. Permo were the most expensive. So don't sue me if they are wrong - check them out for yourself!

brettmirl

I have a Halifax tracker and the rate has decreased alright. OP, you should prob give the mortgage advisor in your branch a buzz.

If you look at the small print on your mortgage documents, you will see how much time they've given themselves to allow the rate change to kick in. It's 30 days on mine.

Kashkai

I rang Halifax, got put through to their Scottish call centre and asked why my tracker is sluggish when it comes to reducing the rate but like Usain Bolt when it goes up. They gave me the usual "blind him with the science" bit as follows (my responses in brackets btw):

- we must give you 28 days notice before we change the direct debit (yeah so that would mean the interest rate cut in October should have been reflected in my November payment?)

- no this means that as you pay by one month in arrears, it will be reflected in the December payment (but why do rate increases kick in straight away?)

- they don't SIR, (getting tectchy here he was) it takes the same period to put up rates (not true as I'm looking at my bank account and the ECB rate rises and you applied them the next month, there was no 10 week delay)

- that is incorrect (no SIR this time as he was really getting annoyed) and you must be mistaken (I'm looking at my bank account right now)

- sorry but you are mistaken, is there anything else I can do to help (well you could try to help for the start instead of fobbing me off. I know you are not Halifax bank in person and just trying to do your job but I feel I'm right here and your employer is getting an extra amount out of me instead of my tracker mortgage moving down as quickly as it goes up)

- I have already stated the position sir (long pause and then I say so we're going round in circles here then?)

- Is there anything else I can help you with sir? (well you haven't helped with my first query so I guess there's no point in trying anything else)

- he hung up.

Now when I took this mortgage out, I was dealing with their call centre in Dundalk and they were ever so helpful and I thought they were a breath of fresh air since my dealings with First Active who were abysmal in the customer service department (I was a customer of their s for 20 years so I've seen how their "service" levels have dropped). Now that they have me as a customer on a tracker thats probably costing them money or at best they make shag all out of it, they are being at best unhelpful in explaining why my tracker is afraid to come down in line with the ECB rate cuts.

And for clarification, I checked my mortgage conditions and it states that they will adjust the tracker rate in line with the ECB rate within 30 days of the ECB rate moving. So unless I'm missing the bleedin obvious, they are in breach of the terms of the mortgage contract.

sunnysoutheast

I checked our pTSB tracker and the new rate takes effect four weeks after the ECB rate change.

Not sure if that's consistent across rises and drops in the ECB rate, I seem to remember it was.

SSE

The.Q

sunnysoutheast wrote: »

I checked our pTSB tracker and the new rate takes effect four weeks after the ECB rate change.

Not sure if that's consistent across rises and drops in the ECB rate, I seem to remember it was.

SSE

I've just got off the phone to PTSB, as neither the October nor November rate change has been applied to my account yet. My last payment was called for on 19 November, and actually left my current account (in a different bank) on 24 Nov. The guy on the Call Centre said that the new rate is applied 30 days after announcement, but the payment change is only applied 15 days later, as it take them that long to acutally apply it.:mad:

I asked when I'll see the effect of the Oct rate cut, and he said in the December payment, and the November rate cut will take effect in January. I then asked him when I could expect the refund for the 15 day delay, and he said that won't happen. Yet he had no explanation as to why this should be the case.

I actually asked the guy what are ye doing for the first 30 days, then, if it takes a full 45 days to apply the change. It'll actually be (by my reckoning) 58 days between the rate cut and it being applied to my account.

I'm in the process of writing a letter to their customer complaints department, but I don't necessarily expect anything much. I'm willing to take this as far as I can, though.

AAARRRGGGHHH, I'm so mad now!!!!!!

Q.

sunnysoutheast

The.Q wrote: »

I've just got off the phone to PTSB, as neither the October nor November rate change has been applied to my account yet. My last payment was called for on 19 November, and actually left my current account (in a different bank) on 24 Nov. The guy on the Call Centre said that the new rate is applied 30 days after announcement, but the payment change is only applied 15 days later, as it take them that long to acutally apply it.:mad:

I asked when I'll see the effect of the Oct rate cut, and he said in the December payment, and the November rate cut will take effect in January. I then asked him when I could expect the refund for the 15 day delay, and he said that won't happen. Yet he had no explanation as to why this should be the case.

I actually asked the guy what are ye doing for the first 30 days, then, if it takes a full 45 days to apply the change. It'll actually be (by my reckoning) 58 days between the rate cut and it being applied to my account.

I'm in the process of writing a letter to their customer complaints department, but I don't necessarily expect anything much. I'm willing to take this as far as I can, though.

AAARRRGGGHHH, I'm so mad now!!!!!!

Q.

The same thing was explained to me (well kind of) a couple of days ago. The payment amount won't change until the payment after the first one following the rate change.

I was, however, informed that the 15 days of daily interest during this period would be charged at the lower rate so, in effect, the higher payment results in a small overpayment to the mortgage.

I'd be interested in seeing what response you get from complaints dept.!

SSE

DingDong

The same thing happened to me with PTSB when I check online the interest rate has dropped but the repayment is still the same. They told me I would get the new rate in December but it looks like the repayment is still the same. Is this the same for anyone else.

Trampas

You are usually a month behind in payment. Say you pay on the 1st of each month. So the 1st of Dec would be Nov payment.

dudara

Moved to Banking & Insurance & Pensions

dudara

homer911

When I had my tracker with NIB (now paid off!) it was 3 days!

BendiBus

homer911 wrote: »

When I had my tracker with NIB (now paid off!) it was 3 days!

They're still pretty good. After each rate cut so far, I've had a letter within days and my subsequent payment has been at the lower rate.

Bass Cadet

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

I'm on a tracker mortgage with Halifax and over the past few years it has tracked the ECB rate rises very diligently, i.e. ECB puts the rate up, my next repayment goes up.

However, the ECB cut its rate on the 9th October and again on the 9th November but I receive a letter from Halifax stating that my monthly repayment from December will reduce by the first rate cut. Why the 2 month delay in reducing the rate when the bastards have no problem putting it up straight away when the rates increase.

Am I stupid and missing something obvious or is the fecking bank screwing me???

I received the same letter saying my repayment would go down this month (for the october ECB cut)...money has been taken out of myu account today for my November repayment...yet its the same amount!!!! :mad: another lunch time wasted on the phone awaits with these b*stards