Upheld: Service failures generally complaint against Quilter Mortgage Planning Limited
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-5794069 of 2025-09-03T00:00:00+00:00. Service failures generally complaint against Quilter Mortgage Planning Limited. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-5794069 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2025-09-03T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Quilter Mortgage Planning Limited |
| Product | Mortgage |
| Claim type | Service failures generally |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | Quilter Mortgage Planning Limited must: (1) calculate and reimburse the differential interest Mr W has paid and will pay each month from 1 September 2024 up to the end of his current 5.3% mortgage product instead of the 4.8% product (conditional on Mr W providing evidence of re-making the lump-sum part-redemption within four weeks of accepting the decision); (2) reimburse any early repayment charge if triggered by the re-made payment; and (3) pay £300 compensation for trouble and upset. If Mr W does not re-make the payment within the four-week deadline, only the £300 compensation is required. |
Summary
Mr W pre-booked a 5.3% two-year fixed-rate mortgage in March 2024 and was told by Quilter's advisor that the cutoff date for substituting a different product was 26 August 2024. On 22 August 2024, Mr W identified a better 4.8% deal available if he made a lump-sum part-redemption to lower his LTV band and made the payment. However, the actual lender cutoff date was 20 August 2024, making the substitution impossible. The ombudsman upheld the complaint and ordered Quilter to reimburse the differential interest Mr W paid and will pay (conditional on re-making the lump-sum payment within four weeks) plus £300 compensation, but rejected additional compensatory interest as the offsetting factors balanced out.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman determined that fault had been established and the issue was what fair redress should be awarded. The differential interest award was made conditional on Mr W re-making the lump-sum part-redemption, as without it he would have no eligibility for the lower 4.8% rate. The ombudsman rejected the investigator's recommendation for compensatory interest on the differential payments, reasoning that approximately half of the differential payments had not yet been made, meaning Mr W would receive redress in advance of incurring the loss, and the two opposing factors balanced out. The ombudsman also noted that any early repayment charge triggered by the re-made payment should be reimbursed by Quilter.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Quilter Mortgage Planning Limited, all decisions | 32 | 27% |
| Service failures generally, all decisions | 32,767 | 33% |
| Mortgage, all decisions | 24,740 | 22% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website