Not upheld: Mortgage administration / arrears handling complaint against HL Partnership Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs T complained that HLPL failed to apply for a lower interest rate five-year fixed mortgage product they wanted, resulting in higher interest payments. HLPL had recommended a five-year fixed rate product in December 2022, which Mr and Mrs T accepted. In January 2023, HLPL informed them of a lower five-year rate and asked if they wanted to proceed. Mrs T replied asking about two-year products due to concerns about being tied in for five years. HLPL stated it would not make changes until Mr and Mrs T confirmed their preference. On 17 February 2023, Mrs T requested a two-year product, but this was after the lender's deadline for switching. The ombudsman found HLPL had not made an error, as its email contained sufficient indication that it would not proceed without final confirmation, and Mr and Mrs T's enquiries about alternative products were relevant to their decision-making rather than separate matters.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that HLPL's 25 January 2023 email, while potentially unclear in its opening statement, contained sufficient indication that HLPL would not proceed if Mr and Mrs T wanted to explore other options. The statement 'I will come back to you with this before making any changes' should have alerted Mr and Mrs T that no switch would occur without their final confirmation. Mr and Mrs T's enquiries about two-year and tracker products were not separate matters but relevant to their decision-making, making it appropriate for HLPL to wait for confirmation. The ombudsman noted that Mr and Mrs T should have expected to receive confirmation documents if a switch had occurred, and their failure to question the absence of such documents suggested they may not have genuinely believed the switch had been completed. While HLPL did not explicitly remind them of the deadline, it sent follow-up emails in February asking for a decision, and Mr and Mrs T could have asked for clarification if unsure.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website