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

Decision detail

Summary

Mr L complained about Wave Lending Limited's administration of his mortgage redemption process during a refinancing attempt in 2024. Key issues included Wave's response to a request to suspend legal action pending refinancing, delays in providing a redemption statement, addition of legal costs to the mortgage debt, and late delivery of correspondence. The Ombudsman found Wave acted reasonably in requiring evidence of refinancing before suspending legal action and that while there was a delay in the redemption statement (caused by Wave's solicitors), this did not cause the ultimate delay in mortgage repayment, as Mr L's solicitors requested it very late and the mortgage was not repaid until nearly three weeks after receiving it. The Ombudsman upheld Wave's offer of £125 compensation as fair and proportionate, rejecting Mr L's request for refund of October 2024 interest.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman found that Wave acted reasonably in requiring substantive evidence of refinancing before suspending legal action, as this is standard lender practice. While there was a delay in providing the redemption statement (approximately two weeks), this was caused by Wave's solicitors rather than Wave's direct actions. The Ombudsman noted that Mr L's solicitors requested the redemption statement very late (end of business day 27 September) and did not request an earlier statement despite standard conveyancing practice. The mortgage was not repaid until 24 October 2024, nearly three weeks after solicitors received the redemption statement on 4 October 2024, indicating Wave's delays did not cause the final delay in completion. The Ombudsman found Wave's treatment was more than fair in allowing the situation to progress based on the broker's word without formal offer documentation.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website