Not upheld: Mortgage administration / arrears handling complaint against Wave Lending Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs M complained that Wave Lending Limited incorrectly valued their buy-to-let property in 2007 and provided poor service while they attempted to sell it after the mortgage term expired in August 2016. Multiple offers were received between 2016 and 2019 but all fell through, resulting in Wave commencing recovery action in April 2019. The ombudsman found that Wave was entitled to rely on a qualified third-party valuer and was not responsible for valuation accuracy. The ombudsman also found that Wave acted reasonably in allowing the mortgage to continue beyond its term and did not unreasonably delay consideration of offers or cause them to fall through. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that lenders' valuations are standard practice and are for the lender's purposes only. Wave was entitled to rely on the opinion of a suitably qualified third-party valuer and is not responsible for the accuracy of the valuation. The ombudsman noted that house price fluctuations do not indicate previous valuations were incorrect. Regarding service, Wave reasonably allowed the mortgage to continue beyond its term to permit a sale attempt, and did not unreasonably delay consideration of offers or cause them to fall through. Wave's decision not to cease legal proceedings in April 2019 was reasonable given the time elapsed since the mortgage term expired.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website