Get the information yourself
Get the documents yourself before asking the lender
Public registers hold more than most borrowers realise. Start there, so you are not dependent on what a servicer chooses to send you.
What this problem looks like
- You have asked for documents and been sent a standard letter instead.
- You do not know which company is registered against your own property.
- You are not sure whether the firm writing to you is authorised, or who owns it.
What you are trying to establish
- Which entity is registered at HM Land Registry as proprietor of the charge over your property, and when it was registered.
- Whether the register notes that a copy of the charge or another deed is filed at the Land Registry, because a filed document can be ordered directly.
- Whether the firms writing to you appear on the FCA Register, and with what permissions.
- The corporate position of those firms at Companies House: group ownership, filings, people with significant control.
- What the lender itself has published: tariff of charges, mortgage conditions, arrears and money-worries policies.
Evidence to collect
- An official copy of the register of title for your property (available online for a small fee).
- An official copy of any filed document the register marks as 'Copy filed' — typically the charge itself.
- A dated screenshot or PDF of the FCA Register entry for each firm writing to you.
- Companies House filings: confirmation statements, accounts, charges, group structure.
- The published tariff of charges in force at the time each fee was applied, not just today's version.
What to ask for
- Nothing from the lender at this stage. The point of this playbook is that you can obtain all of it independently.
- If the register refers to a document that is not filed, note the reference — that is a specific, named document you can then request from the lender.
What a useful answer looks like
- You can name the registered proprietor of the charge, with the date of registration and the title number.
- You hold a copy of the charge itself, or you know precisely why it is not obtainable from the register.
- You can show which firm holds which permissions, from the regulator's own record.
What an inadequate answer looks like
- You are relying on what a call handler told you over the phone.
- You have a screenshot with no date and no source URL, which is of little use in a complaint or in court.
Next escalation
- Use the register entry to frame a precise request: name the document, its date and its reference. Precise requests are harder to answer with a standard letter.
- Where the register and the letters you receive name different entities, ask in writing for the discrepancy to be explained.
Example letters for this stage
- Request for named mortgage and security documents — An ordinary document request. Use it for the deed, the conditions, a transfer or an appointment — not a subject access request.
Official sources
Elsewhere in this archive
More on: Get the information yourself
This is information, not legal advice
Nothing here is legal advice and no professional relationship arises from reading it. Time limits apply to complaints and to court steps. Free help is available from Citizens Advice, StepChange and Shelter.