Not upheld: Mortgage administration / arrears handling complaint against Santander UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr D complained that delays in his remortgage to Santander caused him financial loss as he had to pay his previous lender's standard variable rate for two weeks. He blamed the solicitors (O) provided by Santander for the delays. The mortgage application was made on 11 August 2025 with a formal offer issued on 9 September 2025, but completion did not occur until 14 October 2025. The ombudsman found that the nine-week timeframe was not unreasonable and that the solicitors were acting on behalf of Mr D, placing them outside FOS jurisdiction. Santander had taken reasonable steps to assist and had not caused delays itself. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman determined that solicitors O were acting on behalf of Mr D and therefore fell outside the FOS jurisdiction. The nine-week timeframe from application to completion was not unreasonable given the application was made on 11 August 2025 and would have needed to complete within six weeks to meet Mr D's deadline, which was always a tight timeframe. The change of borrowers added complexity. Once the mortgage offer was issued, matters were largely out of Santander's hands as legal work fell to O. Santander took reasonable steps by contacting O directly. The 'float' drawn down by O was standard practice for remortgages and was O's responsibility, not Santander's. Mr D had chosen to use the free legal service and could have selected his own solicitors instead.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website