Issue
Every record in the archive tagged "Legal fees".
A complaint against Pepper (UK) Limited trading as Engage Credit about a mortgage taken out with Kensington Mortgage Company Limited in 2005 and transferred to Engage in 2022. The complaint concerned the interest rate, the balance and fees and charges added to the loan. It was upheld.
A complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC about an interest-only mortgage and a linked mortgage current account whose term ended in 2017. The borrowers were unhappy that the bank's solicitors sent them a notice to quit and that legal fees were added to the mortgage balance after they believed the mortgage had been repaid. The complaint was not upheld.
Rooftop Mortgages Limited publishes a tariff of mortgage charges on its website. The version archived here states that it is effective from 3 February 2025 and sets out the fees the business says it may apply during the life of a mortgage, including fees connected with arrears, field agent activity, instructing solicitors, instructing receivers on buy-to-let accounts, repossession and redemption.
An interest-only mortgage taken out in May 2001 transferred to Rooftop in 2019; the term ended in May 2021. In July 2022 it emerged that the title deeds could not be located and had to be reconstituted, which was completed in August 2023. During that period the interest rate was set at 0% and no payments were required. The complaint concerned the lost deeds, a legal fee, resumed payments and a refused settlement offer, and was not upheld.
The earlier version of Rooftop's tariff of mortgage charges, printed as effective from 1 May 2019 and still hosted on the company's own website. It sets out the fees the business said it might apply during the life of a mortgage, including arrears, field agent, solicitor instruction, repossession, ground rent and service charge, and redemption fees. It contains no receiver instruction fee.
A complaint against Barclays about legal fees of £6,943 charged to a shared ownership mortgage account after possession proceedings were stopped. The borrower's relatives said Barclays had refused to give a breakdown of the fees. The Ombudsman obtained and reviewed the confidential breakdown, the solicitors' charging scheme and the invoices, was satisfied that reasonable legal fees had been charged, and did not uphold the complaint.
A complaint about the level of arrears and legal fees added to a mortgage account administered by Rooftop Mortgages Limited. Rooftop had already removed £230 of fees. The adjudicator recommended a further £250 be removed. The Ombudsman identified one additional monthly arrears management fee of £50, applied in July 2010, and ordered a total of £300 of charges to be reversed.
A thread posted on 24 July 2012 in which a contributor describes the repossession and sale of their home and the costs applied to the account.
Charges and interest
Ownership, authority and servicing