Mortgage question "SVR"

[mattSV]

HSBC do have some good rates, however there service is crap. I started an application on 7th April for a re-mortgage, and will finally complete tomorrow - after weeks of chasing and hassling them. The originally sent the wrong offer details, then did not return calls as promised. Only started getting sorted once I had raised a 'Head Office' complaint. It was worth it in the end though for the deal I got - 3.79% fixed for 5 years, much cheaper than I can get from my bank (RBS) even as a member of staff!

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by mattSV

HSBC do have some good rates, however there service is crap. I started an application on 7th April for a re-mortgage, and will finally complete tomorrow - after weeks of chasing and hassling them. The originally sent the wrong offer details, then did not return calls as promised. Only started getting sorted once I had raised a 'Head Office' complaint. It was worth it in the end though for the deal I got - 3.79% fixed for 5 years, much cheaper than I can get from my bank (RBS) even as a member of staff!

First direct tend to have even better rates and are pretty much just HSBC with slightly improved customer service. Still got my grumbles of course, but better than HSBC & their CS team.

[Doinitmyway]

And make sure you factor in the 'Mortgage Arrangement Fee' into account, with some lenders this is now nudging £2000!!!!

We are lucky to be on a lifetime BoE tracker paying 0.95%.....

I'm sure I've heard that there are 'capped tracker' mortgages available where it will track at so much above BoE rate but will not go over - say 6%.

Mortgages are well worth putting the effort into.

I hope it all works out well for you

Chris

[Sir Trev]

Originally Posted by mattSV

HSBC do have some good rates, however there service is crap. I started an application on 7th April for a re-mortgage, and will finally complete tomorrow - after weeks of chasing and hassling them. The originally sent the wrong offer details, then did not return calls as promised. Only started getting sorted once I had raised a 'Head Office' complaint. It was worth it in the end though for the deal I got - 3.79% fixed for 5 years, much cheaper than I can get from my bank (RBS) even as a member of staff!

Agree on the HSBC service comment, and a previous one about first time buyers getting better deals. HSBC looked good on the comparison site but the hidden fees and poor service were the pits. Was cheaper to stay with current lender in the end, and a lot less hassle (partly what they're counting on). Make sure you know how much your "extra" costs are - the headline rate is nothing like the full picture!

Was also not keen on trackers. I know they are better right now but if the BoE base and/or SVRs start to rise the fixed rate deals will vanish overnight. Don't rely on being able to swap at will as you may find the product you want will not be there when you want it.