Partially upheld: Mortgage administration / arrears handling complaint against Furness Building Society

Decision detail

Summary

Miss N complained to Furness Building Society about various issues arising from her self-build mortgage project, including a Decision in Principle that was not guaranteed, short notice of a payment increase, and unclear communication about how a payment adjustment was handled in November 2023. The ombudsman found that many of Miss N's frustrations were directed at a third-party intermediary B rather than Furness, and that Furness had generally responded fairly to her complaint. However, the ombudsman upheld the complaint in part regarding the November 2023 payment adjustment, finding that Furness failed to clearly communicate that it was still charging the full amount to the mortgage account while only collecting the previous amount. The ombudsman directed Furness to pay £200 compensation, with differential interest of approximately £545 already waived.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Furness made some mistakes, many of Miss N's frustrations were directed at the third-party intermediary B rather than Furness. The decision to defer the payment increase for one month was reasonable, but Furness failed to clearly communicate that it was still charging the full amount to the mortgage account. The ombudsman accepted the Investigator's recommendation to waive the differential interest and pay £200 compensation as fair. Minor errors in communications did not cause financial detriment and did not warrant additional compensation. Furness' options for forbearance were limited given the property remained unfinished and uninhabitable.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website