A straightforward guide to your mortgage Area for photographic placement (if needed)
A straightforward guide to your mortgage Area for photographic placement (if needed) Mortgages – Reference Guide Mortgages from Santander This guide explains the important features of your mortgage or Additional Loan. If you have any questions or require any further help in relation to understanding your mortgage please call us or speak to an adviser in one of our branches. Contents Our range of mortgages 03 n Joint borrowers 07 Benefit package 04 n Your property 07 Mortgage repayment method 04 n Early Repayment Charge 07 Mortgage process 05 Things to consider in the future 08 n Arranging your mortgage 05 n Borrowing more with an Additional Loan 08 n Solicitors and Licensed Conveyancers 05 n Mortgage deal coming to an end 08 n Valuations and Surveys 05 n Moving home 08 n Your formal mortgage offer 06 n Want to change something else on your mortgage? 08 n Exchanging contracts 06 About our services 09 n Completion 06 Confidentiality and use of your personal data 09 07 Your application and credit scoring 11 The things you should know about your mortgage n Mortgage Account Fee 07 Direct Debit Guarantee 14 n Monthly payment 07 Making a complaint 14 n Monthly payment date 07 How else can we help you? 15 n Changes to interest rates – what happens if the interest rate changes 07 Santander is one of the UK’s leading personal financial services companies and one of the largest providers of mortgages in the UK. Our aim is to create value for all our customers every day, and with over 160 years’ UK mortgage experience and multiple awards to our name, you can be confident that your mortgage is in safe hands. We believe it’s important to make your finances as straightforward and easy to understand as possible. That’s why our expert Mortgage Advisers will listen to your needs and offer advice and recommend the right mortgage for your circumstances from our wide range of mortgages guiding you every step of the way. YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE. 02 Our range of mortgages We offer a range of mortgages to suit you. n n Do you want to pay the same amount each month? A fixed rate mortgage gives you peace of mind that comes from knowing exactly what your payments will be each month during the fixed rate period. n Do you want your mortgage to track the Bank of England base rate? A tracker rate mortgage tracks the Bank of England base rate so your payments will increase or decrease in line with any changes. Fixed rate mortgages Do you want flexibility with your finances? Our Flexible Offset mortgage gives you the ability to under or overpay, take payment holidays or use your savings pot to reduce the amount of interest you pay. Your payments will increase or decrease in line with any changes to the Bank of England base rate. Below is a brief summary of the different types of mortgages we currently offer. If you already have a mortgage with Santander your conditions may vary, so please refer to your mortgage paperwork. Tracker rate mortgages Lifetime Tracker mortgages Flexible Offset mortgages Tracks the Bank of England base rate ✘ ✔ ✔ ✔ Fixed monthly payments ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ From two years From two years For the lifetime of the mortgage term For the lifetime of the mortgage term ✔ ✔ ✘ ✘ Up to 10% per calendar year (minimum £500) Unlimited (minimum £500) Unlimited (minimum £500) Unlimited ✘ ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔ (note 1) ✘ ✘ ✘ Initial rate period Interest rate reverts to Standard Variable Rate (SVR) after the initial rate period Overpayments Underpayment/payment holidays Early Repayment Charge Note 1: On most fixed rate mortgages if you choose to repay your mortgage within the fixed rate period, or make a payment of more than 10% of your mortgage balance in a calendar year, you may need to pay an Early Repayment Charge. Please refer to your Key Facts Illustration (KFI) for clarification. Please note: where a mortgage has a benefit package, if you choose to repay your mortgage within the first two years, the cashback/paid legal fees will need to be repaid. 03 Mortgages – Reference Guide Benefit package Mortgage repayment method The majority of our mortgages come with the following benefit package: You can choose to repay the amount you borrow through a Repayment or Interest Only mortgage, or a mixture of the two. n Free standard valuation – on properties valued up to £2.5million And either: n £250 cashback when you move into your new home; or n We’ll pay your standard legal fees when you move your mortgage to us. You’ll only need to repay the cashback/paid legal fees if you repay your mortgage within the first two years. 04 If you have a Repayment mortgage, your monthly payment is made up of ‘capital’ (the amount you’ve borrowed) and interest. As long as you keep up with your payments your mortgage will be paid off when your mortgage term ends. If you have an Interest Only mortgage, your monthly payment only pays the interest you owe. As you’re only paying interest, you’ll still have to repay the ‘capital’ (the amount you’ve borrowed) at the end of your mortgage term. Therefore you must ensure you have a way to pay this off when your mortgage ends. It’s important that you check, on a yearly basis, that this arrangement is still on track to pay off your mortgage when your mortgage term ends. If at any point you think that you will not be able to repay the ‘capital’ at the end of your mortgage term, it’s important that you contact us to find out what your options are regarding your mortgage and payment arrangements. The sooner you take action, the easier it will be to address any issues. Mortgage process 1 Arranging your mortgage if either: During your mortgage appointment, you’ll be asked some important questions about you, your needs, your circumstances and your finances so we can complete a full assessment of your income and outgoings. This enables us to confirm how much we can lend to you and confirm that it is affordable. We’ll also find out what’s important to you, take details of the property, your solicitor and what type of survey you’d like. You’ll go through a full mortgage application and receive a Key Facts Illustration (KFI) for the mortgage deal – this is your quotation. This shows you the monthly payment and the different costs and fees associated with your chosen mortgage. Booking fee Booking fees are charged on some of our mortgages. You have a choice of either paying the booking fee upfront when you apply for your mortgage or you can choose to add the booking fee to the mortgage. If you decide to add the booking fee to the mortgage you’ll pay interest on this over the term of the mortgage. You can however repay this fee within 14 days following completion of the mortgage without incurring any interest on the booking fee. If you don’t know the exact amount of the fee, please contact us on 0845 6000 346 and we’ll confirm this figure. Simply send us a cheque payable to yourself (with your mortgage account number written on the back and stating that this is for payment of your mortgage booking fee), within 14 days of completion to: Santander, Mortgage & Loans Operations, Bridle Road, Bootle, L30 4GB. Higher Lending Charge The Higher Lending Charge (HLC) is a fee we may charge if you wish to borrow more than 90% of the property valuation or purchase price (known as the Loan to Value or LTV). The actual Higher Lending Charge is calculated as shown in the table below: Mortgage LTV Charging rate Less than 90.10% NIL 90.10% and up to and including 92.5% rate 7.25% (see note 1) Greater than 92.5% and up to and including 95% 8.00% (see note 1) Note 1: The HLC is calculated on the proportion of lending above 75% LTV. 2 Solicitors and Licensed Conveyancers There are legal costs involved in setting up your mortgage which vary according to the circumstances involved. We can let you know what solicitors or licensed conveyancers are in your local area, which are on our approved list. However, if you choose a solicitor or licensed conveyancer who isn’t on our approved list, we’ll need to instruct another firm to act for us, and you’ll be responsible for the additional costs. n The solicitor or licensed conveyancer cannot provide an unqualified report or title for the property; or n By completion, your mortgage offer has any outstanding conditions which need to be satisfied. You may be responsible for our legal costs in connection with your application, whether or not the mortgage completes. 3 Valuations and Surveys Valuation Once the mortgage application is completed we’ll arrange for the property to be valued. The valuation is for our purposes, so we know the value of the property is adequate for the mortgage you require. Once the valuation is received we can make you a formal mortgage offer, meaning your mortgage has been approved. The way we value your property will depend upon the type of mortgage you require and the amount you’re borrowing. The valuation can be completed by using an automated valuation (AVM) or by instructing an independent registered valuer to inspect the property externally or carry out an internal inspection. Where a valuer has inspected the property internally a copy of the valuation report will be enclosed with your mortgage offer. Please note: A mortgage valuation is not a survey. It does not advise you on the condition of the property in any detail. Surveys If you’re buying a property we strongly advise you obtain a survey of the property so you’re aware of its condition before you commit to the purchase. We can arrange for an independent surveyor to provide you with either:n A RICS Homebuyer Report. This describes the condition of a property and provides advice about defects which could affect its value, repairs and ongoing maintenance. It’s designed for standard properties in reasonable condition. It’ll advise on legal issues that need to be addressed and provide information about the location and local environment. n A Building Survey. This is more detailed and designed for larger, older or run-down properties, buildings that are unusual or altered, or if there is an intention to carry out major works. This is the most comprehensive report and provides in-depth analysis of the condition of a property. Whichever survey you choose, it’ll be sent to you direct and you’ll be able to discuss its content with the surveyor. We don’t see survey reports as they’re intended for you when you buy a property. The surveyor will complete a valuation report at the same time and send it to us separately. Please note that your mortgage offer will be withdrawn 05 Mortgages – Reference Guide Fees Details of valuation and survey fees are included in the Tariff of Charges. How much you pay depends on either the purchase price or the estimated value of the property. The fee for the Homebuyer Report includes the cost of providing a separate valuation to us. When a Building Survey is chosen only the valuation fee will be collected and the surveyor will contact you directly to discuss the appropriate additional fee for the survey element of the work. This is because Building Surveys are tailor made to your own requirements and the fee will depend upon the work involved. Fees are provided on request if the purchase price exceeds £1m. Please note, that if the purchase price is concessionary or a reduced figure, eg when purchasing your council home, the fee will be based on the valuation and not the price. Valuation refund policy We realise that in certain circumstances you may need to cancel the valuation. If this happens, you may be entitled to a refund of all or part of your valuation fee. Our policy on refunds is as follows: 1. If you cancel the valuation prior to the valuer being instructed to carry out the valuation we’ll refund the whole of your fee; 2. If you cancel the valuation after the valuer has been instructed to carry out the valuation then you’ll be entitled to a refund of the survey fee minus the applicable non– refundable valuation fee as set out in the Tariff of Charges; or 3. If the valuation has already been carried out then we regret that we’ll not be able to make any refund. Re-inspection Sometimes we may retain part or all of a mortgage advance until work recommended by the surveyor is completed. In a re-inspection, they will check the work has been done but won’t examine or comment on the standard of the work. You’re responsible for ensuring the work meets any relevant standards. A re-inspection fee as set out in the Tariff of Charges is charged when one of the valuers has to make an additional visit to a property in order for us to release money we have retained. 06 4. Your formal mortgage offer In your formal mortgage offer pack we’ll send you: n Offer Key Facts Illustration and Important Information n Tariff of Charges n Mortgage Account Fee information n Terms and Conditions Once you’ve received a formal offer, your solicitor or licensed conveyancer will carry out all the required checks and searches on the property. 5. Exchanging contracts If you’re moving home, when you’re happy with the contract and you’ve signed it, your solicitor or licensed conveyancer will ‘exchange’ your contract with the seller’s solicitor - this is then legally binding. The solicitors will then agree a completion date. At this point, you’ll also need home insurance. Buildings insurance is a requirement of your mortgage and is essential to protect you against damage caused by things like fire and flooding etc. It is also advisable to protect your belongings with contents insurance. If you’re buying in Scotland, when a binding contract has been agreed this is called ‘concluding missives’ (a formal letter). Your solicitor will complete the conveyancing procedures and prepare the documents to transfer ownership of the property to you. The ‘missives’ will specify a date when you have to pay the seller the purchase price of the property in return for the ‘Disposition’ (the transfer documentation) and the keys to the property. 6. Completion If you’re moving home, this is the day when money changes hands and you’re able to pick up the keys and move in! A mortgage deed is lodged with the Land Registry. If you’re moving your mortgage to us, we’ll arrange for the solicitor to complete the transfer from your existing lender to Santander. The things you should know about your mortgage Mortgage Account Fee Your property The Mortgage Account Fee is charged for providing and administering your mortgage. The fee as set out in the Tariff of Charges is payable on completion, however you can defer this fee until the end of your mortgage. The property must be occupied as your main residence unless we’ve agreed otherwise in writing. Monthly payment You must make a payment each month. The amount of your monthly payment will depend on how much you borrow, the interest rate applicable to your mortgage, the period of time in which you must repay the mortgage and whether you have a Repayment or Interest Only mortgage. Monthly payment date You must pay your monthly payments on the payment date in every month. You can choose any date between the 1st and 28th of the month as your payment date. If you don’t indicate a preferred date, your payment date will correspond to the day of the month when your mortgage was completed, unless you completed after the 28th, in which case your payment date will default to the 1st of the month. You may ask us to change your payment date at any time (maximum of four requests per 12 month period). Please note that we normally require 14 days to process a change to the payment date and that we won’t normally allow the interval between the last of the old payment dates and the first of the changed payment dates to be less than 14 days. The monthly payment which we collect on the first of the new payment dates will be larger or smaller than usual, depending on whether the change has caused the interval between the last of the old payment dates and the first of the changed payment dates to be longer or shorter than a month. From then on, the monthly payment should revert to the same amount as you were paying before the change in the payment date. You must not leave the property unoccupied for longer than the period specified in your insurance policy or you may not be able to make a claim on your buildings or contents insurance policy. Please check the terms of your buildings or contents insurance policy to see how long you’re allowed to leave the property unoccupied. You must not take in tenants or let the property or any part of the property without first obtaining our written permission unless we’ve already discussed this with you and agreed to provide you with a Buy to Let mortgage. Early Repayment Charge If your mortgage offer states an Early Repayment Charge applies to your mortgage and you wish to repay the money you owe us during the period when the charge applies (which will be specified in your offer) the applicable Early Repayment Charge will be payable. You’ll also have to pay this charge in certain other circumstances which will be set out in your offer and the terms and conditions booklet. Even where your mortgage offer states an Early Repayment Charge applies, you can still repay up to 10% of the money you owe us (subject to a minimum capital payment of £500) in each calendar year without having to pay an Early Repayment Charge. You can’t carry forward any unused element of the 10% concession into future years. You also can’t take advantage of the 10% allowance if you’re repaying all of the money you owe us upon the sale of your property. If you added your booking fee to the mortgage, you can repay this within 14 days following completion, without affecting the 10% allowance. After completion, we’ll send you some information which will include when your first payment should be made and how much it’ll be. Changes to interest rates – what happens if the interest rate changes If your interest rate changes we’ll write to you and inform you about the change and what it means to your monthly payments in the future. We’ll give you notice of any change in payment amount. Joint borrowers If there are two or more of you, your obligations under the mortgage are binding on all of you together and on each of you on your own. This means that each one of you is responsible for repaying the whole of the money owing under the mortgage. 07 Mortgages – Reference Guide Things to consider in the future We understand that from time to time you might need to change your mortgage to ensure it continues to meet your needs. Moving home Borrowing more with an Additional Loan n Take your current deal with you to your new property – this is sometimes known as ‘porting’. This could save you money if your interest rate is lower than other mortgage rates currently available, and you wouldn’t have to pay any Early Repayment Charge that may apply as long as you ‘port’ the same amount. If you also want to borrow more, you can take a new deal from our current range which includes exclusive deals for you; or n Choose a new deal for the total borrowing from our range of competitive deals including exclusive deals for you. It could save you money if your existing rate is higher than our current mortgage rates. You won’t pay an Early Repayment Charge if you have less than six months left on your existing deal at the time you apply for a new mortgage for at least the same amount. In future we may withdraw this offer. If you have more than six months left on your existing deal at the time you apply for a new mortgage, you’ll need to pay an Early Repayment Charge if one applies to your mortgage. If you’re moving home you have a couple of options available: To arrange an Additional Loan you’ll need to book a mortgage appointment with us, which can be done either in branch or over the telephone. During your appointment, you’ll be asked some important questions about you, your needs, your circumstances and your finances so we can complete a full assessment of your income and outgoings. This enables us to confirm how much we can lend to you and confirm that it’s affordable. You’ll go through a full application and receive a Key Facts Illustration (KFI) for the specific deal we recommend – this is your quotation. This shows you the monthly payment and the different costs and fees associated with your Additional Loan. Once you’ve signed and returned your application form along with all requested supporting documents we’ll complete all the necessary checks. If we require the property to be re-valued this report will be for our use only and you won’t be charged separately. We’ll then send you a formal offer which you’ll need to sign and return as soon as possible. Once we’ve received your signed acceptance of the offer we’ll usually release your money within three working days. Once you’ve completed on your Additional Loan, we’ll send you a letter confirming all the details, including your new mortgage payment. Mortgage deal coming to an end If your current mortgage deal is coming to an end, or you’re paying our Standard Variable Rate, you can call one of our team of Mortgage Advisers who’ll be happy to advise you on the options available to you. Alternatively, if you are happy to not receive advice you could use our Online Mortgage Transfer Service on www.santander.co.uk/changing-deals. It’s easy to use and you could select a new mortgage deal online in under 15 minutes. Mortgage deals can be booked up to four months in advance. The process of changing to a new deal with us is simple. There are no new Direct Debits to set up, and with no legal or valuation fees, it could save you time and money, compared to moving your mortgage elsewhere. 08 A new mortgage on a different property will be subject to status and our lending criteria at the time. Want to change something else on your mortgage? If your circumstances have changed, you may wish to request a change to the way your mortgage is set up. This may include changing your repayment method, term of your mortgage or the people named on it. If you want to discuss this call our Mortgage Service Team on 0845 600 3530 – we will carry out a full review of your circumstances to see how we can help. Alternatively, to see how a change could affect your monthly mortgage payment use our calculator on www.santander-products.co.uk/mortgagechanges About our services Confidentiality and use of your personal data Please read the following section carefully. If there is anything that you do not fully understand please contact us. We treat any personal or business information given to us as confidential. We may share information with other companies in the group of companies to which we belong (the Santander Group) and our associated companies, service providers or agents who may be located in other countries. This includes information about the conduct (including details of transactions) of any account that you have with a Santander Group company. We’ll ensure that your information is only used in accordance with our instructions and our own strict internal confidentiality policies. If we transfer your information to another country, we’ll ensure that it is given the same levels of protection as required under the UK Data Protection Act. Who regulates us? We are authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Which services will we provide you with? Santander will always offer you advice when discussing your mortgage requirements. There are a limited number of customer types where a mortgage application can be completed on an Execution Only basis. In all instances you must meet the eligibility criteria and choose to complete an application on an Execution Only basis foregoing the protection of advice through one of our telephone Mortgage Advisers. If you are unsure about the level of service you have received, please refer to Section 2 of your Key Facts Illustration (KFI) or speak to one of our Mortgage Advisers. Whose product do we offer? We only offer our own mortgages. What will you have to pay us for this service? There is no fee for this service. You will receive a Key Facts Illustration (KFI) when considering a particular mortgage, which will tell you about any fees relating to it. Are we covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)? We are covered by the FSCS. You may be entitled to compensation from the scheme if we cannot meet our obligations. This depends on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim. Mortgage advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the first £50,000, so the maximum compensation is £50,000. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS. This information will be used to provide you with products and services, for administration or marketing purposes and to help develop and improve products and services that we offer you and other customers. Your information may also be made available to our regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, to help as part of their monitoring activities. Your application If you are applying for a mortgage, or an Additional Loan on an existing mortgage, the information you give will be used by us to carry out an Assessment of Borrowing Potential/Full Risk Assessment/Decision in Principle. We will make an assessment from the information you have provided as to the amount of a loan, which may be made subject to any references and survey, and additional information which may be required. It does not guarantee that the loan will be available. If you apply for a credit product such as a: n Credit card n Mortgage n Current account n Unsecured personal loan n Or you request an increase in your credit limit we will give information to and get information back from specific credit reference agencies. This is called a ‘credit search’. When we carry out a credit search, whether or not the application proceeds, the credit reference agency keeps a record of it against your name. This record (but not the company that made the search) may be seen by other organisations when you apply for credit in the future. If you make several credit applications within a short time, this may temporarily affect your ability to get credit. You will find out more about credit searches and filing information at the credit reference agencies in general in the ‘Your application and credit scoring’ section. If you have previously made a joint application for credit, have a joint account or state that you have a financial associate or a partner/spouse, information about you both (including any previous and subsequent names) will be recorded at the credit reference agencies. An association linking your financial records will be created at the credit reference agencies and these linked records will be searched and taken into account in assessing this 09 Mortgages – Reference Guide application. Unless a notice of disassociation is recorded at the credit reference agencies, they may be taken into account if either or both of you apply for credit in the future. Very occasionally, if there is insufficient information to enable us to assist you, we may also use information about other members of your family. If you are applying for a home insurance product, as part of the calculation of your premiums on application and at renewal, the insurer or its agents will check your details against publicly available information. This could include information such as: – Electoral roll – County Court Judgments (CCJs) – Bankruptcy orders – Repossessions Similar checks may also be made in assessing any claims you make. The searches made by the insurer will appear on your credit report whether or not your application proceeds. The searches will be available to other organisations that search your file for insurance purposes but they will not affect your ability to get credit. We may use information about the conduct of any of your accounts and the information you supply, including details of any convictions relating to you or others, to assess your application and any future increase in the credit limit that is available to you. You must confirm that you have the specific consent of anyone else involved in the application to disclose their personal data. When you give us information in connection with a joint application we may give this information to the person you are applying with. We exchange information with other organisations, including insurers, through various databases and through fraud prevention and credit reference agencies to help us check information and prevent or detect fraud. Further information can be found in the ‘Is the information I provide used in any other way?’ section of the ‘Your application and credit scoring’ section. In order to confirm the accuracy of the income information provided as part of an application, we may share information about you and your application with HM Revenue and Customs (‘HMRC’). HMRC will help us to validate whether income information provided by you is accurate. HMRC may also use the information that we provide to inform its risk profiling activities and to establish any mismatch with declared income. 10 Your marketing preferences We’d like to tell you by: Post Telephone Electronic media (email and SMS) about products and services, which we and other companies in our group or our associated companies, think may interest you. (When deciding whether to provide you with details of a credit product we may search the files of credit reference agencies. A record of this search will not be made available to other lenders who search your file.) We may also invite you to take part in market research surveys carried out on our behalf. You can choose not to receive marketing information or be involved in market research. Please let us know if you don’t want to be involved in market research or don’t want to receive marketing from us. Government Schemes If you take out a mortgage that is covered by a Government Indemnity or other Scheme including Help to Buy, information about you and your property, your mortgage application and the conduct of your mortgage account (including any arrears) may be shared with and used by the Scheme Administrators and other third parties (including any insurers) for the purpose of auditing the management of the Scheme and for the processing of any claims made. What are my rights of access to any information held about me? You have the right under the Data Protection Act 1998 to see certain records we hold about you on payment of a fee. This is known as a subject access request and an information sheet explaining your rights is available from any branch. However, subject access requests are not designed to deal with general queries that you may have about your account. If, for example, you want to find out some specific information about your account, you should contact your local branch or Mortgage Adviser. We aim to provide you with the information you require without you having to make a subject access request. Details of how you can obtain a copy of the information held about you by a credit reference agency are given in the next section. Your application and credit scoring What happens when I apply? Private information (including): Whenever we receive a request for a bank account, mortgage, credit card, an unsecured personal loan or credit facilities from a personal customer, we consider each application carefully. n Details of existing credit or loan agreements. n Records of any closed or settled credit agreements within the past six years. n Details of any current or previous arrears – including arrangements to repay outstanding amounts. n Details of any default, write-off or property repossession within the past six years. n Records of any searches made by other loan/credit providers. The two main questions we have to ask ourselves are: n n Does it make sense for the individual(s) concerned to take on the financial commitment – will they be able to honour it? Is the risk acceptable? Should the answer to either of these be ‘no’, we have to decline the application which will be disappointing for both us and our customer(s). How do we decide whether or not to accept an application? When you apply, we will ask your permission to approach a credit reference agency to see if it has any information about you. Our decision will be based on the details you provide, together with information we receive about you from the credit reference agency. Information you give us, for example your age, occupation, details about your business and so on, are all taken into consideration. We also take into account details obtained from the credit reference agency such as how well you’ve managed previous and existing accounts with other organisations. We do not discriminate on grounds of sex, race, colour, religion or disability. We do not refuse credit simply because of the place or area that you live in either. Your application is compared to groups of similar customers who applied to us in the past, making it a fair and objective process. Using this method, we make reliable decisions which are more consistent than relying upon personal impressions alone. What is a credit reference agency? An independent company licensed by the Office of Fair Trading under Consumer Credit Act 1974, to hold information on individuals. The agency holds details about almost every adult in the UK, which includes facts concerning the customer’s financial background. This information helps lenders to verify the identity of the customer and provides details of their past and present financial commitments and/or credit relationships. What kinds of information do they provide? The two kinds of information provided are: Like most financial organisations, we supply data to, and receive data from, specific credit reference agencies for the purposes of assessing applications and credit account maintenance activities. Could information from the credit reference agency be the only reason for declining my application? Possibly, but if this is the case, we will tell you. The information received from the credit reference agency is only one part of the decision-making process. Sometimes, there may be no detrimental information held about you at the agency but we still may not be able to accept an application simply because it does not meet all of our business criteria at the time. Is the information from a credit reference agency always negative? Not at all. Credit reference agencies only supply factual information. They do not state any opinion regarding a customer’s creditworthiness and they do not make the decision as to whether or not to accept an application. That is our responsibility. Agencies do not know which applications are successful or declined either, so they cannot tell why an applicant may have been refused credit. Credit reference agencies do not hold, as is commonly believed, a blacklist of people or properties – instead, the information held usually helps people get credit. Obviously, our decision will be affected if information received from a credit reference agency shows that you are in arrears on a credit or loan agreement or that you want to borrow too much in relation to your income. Similarly, we take evidence of County Court Judgments or other credit defaults very seriously. We always try to be a responsible lender but we won’t automatically decline an application just because there may have been some problems in maintaining past commitments. On the other hand, information that you have existing credit agreements and which shows that you are managing your commitments well will enable us to look at your application favourably. Public information (including): n Voters’ Roll (Electoral Register). n County Court Judgments and Scottish Decrees. n Bankruptcies, Individual Voluntary arrangements, Administration Orders and Debt Relief Orders. 11 Mortgages – Reference Guide Your application and credit scoring continued What information do we supply? n to undertake statistical analysis and system testing; We provide information about how your account is managed. n to manage credit and credit related accounts or facilities; n to recover debt and trace my whereabouts; n to check details on proposals and claims for all types of insurance; and n to check details of job applicants and employees. What we supply is in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Data Protection Statement you are given when you apply or when you sign the formal agreement to be bound by the terms and conditions of the account. For mortgages NO default is registered at the agencies until the property is repossessed. Adverse CAIS are supplied whilst the account is in arrears until possession is confirmed. If, unfortunately, it were necessary for us to take possession of your property, due to a breach of the terms and conditions of a mortgage or secured loan, we would also disclose this fact to a credit reference agency. Your name would be placed on the Council of Mortgage Lenders Possessions Register and, as a result, be passed on to other lenders. The UK credit industry has established an agreement for the purpose of regulating the sharing of credit account performance and related data on individuals. This agreement is called ‘The Principles of Reciprocity’. We comply with this agreement concerning the supply and use of data. Records shared with credit reference agencies will remain on file for six years after they are closed, whether settled by you or defaulted. This information may affect your ability to obtain credit. We may also search and use your internal records for these purposes. We and other organisations may search and use from other countries the information recorded at fraud prevention agencies. Further information on the credit reference agencies and fraud prevention agencies we use is available by telephoning 0845 602 0319. If you open an account with us, your information will be kept after your account is closed. Your information may be shared with and used by the group of companies to which we belong (the Santander Group), our associated companies, service providers or agents for administration purposes and to: n Provide and run the account or service you have applied for and develop and improve our products and services. n Identify and advise you by post, telephone or electronic media (including email and SMS) of products or services which our group of companies and our associated companies think may interest you. (For credit products this may involve releasing your details to a credit reference agency.) n Release your name, address and telephone number to market research organisations for the purpose of confidential market research surveys carried out by post or telephone on our behalf. Details of your accounts that we supply to a credit reference agency may be used by other lenders for credit assessment of you and other people with whom you are financially associated. Information held may occasionally be used for debtor tracing and fraud prevention. Is the information I provide used in any other way? Before we can open an account for you in order to prevent or detect fraud we will check and share the information you provide in your application or at any stage with fraud prevention agencies and may make searches at credit reference agencies who will supply us with information including information from the electoral register, to verify your identity. Scoring methods may be used to verify your identity. A record of this process will be kept that may be used to help other companies to also verify your identity. If you give us false or inaccurate information and fraud is identified, details will be sent to fraud prevention agencies. Law enforcement agencies may access and use this information. We and other organisations may search and use the records held by credit reference and fraud prevention agencies about you, to prevent and investigate crime, fraud and money laundering and for example: n to check details on applications for credit and credit related or other facilities; n to verify your identity if you or your financial associate applies for other facilities; 12 If you do not want to receive any such information or have your details disclosed to a market research company then please write to: Santander UK plc, Freepost, MK1482, Milton Keynes MK9 1LZ (No stamp required) Please note that if you ask us not to contact you about any of our products or services, you may not hear about a new product which may offer you a better rate or something which saves you money. We may disclose details relating to your mortgage account to a credit rating agency to enable it to issue a credit rating on our behalf. If my application is declined, are other lenders likely to do the same? Not necessarily. Other companies may apply different criteria to applications and use different methods of credit risk assessment. In some instances, they may place a different emphasis on the same information. This should not discourage you from applying elsewhere. The fact that we have asked a credit reference agency for information about you will be recorded by that agency. Other credit providers may learn of this if they use the same agency and take it into consideration when assessing an application from you. It is unlikely that a single enquiry would cause problems. Can I check the information a credit reference agency has about me? Yes. Under the Data Protection Act 1998 you may request details held about you by the credit reference agency. Simply send them a written request, stating all names that you have been known by (include full forename and other initials), your date of birth and the address(es) that you have lived at within the last six years together with a cheque/postal/money order for £2. We mainly use Experian Ltd, but we may also use Equifax Plc and CallCredit. You can ask for an application form at any of our branches or contact each agency directly at: Experian, PO Box 8000, Nottingham, NG80 7WF Can I appeal against your decision? Yes, if you think we have made a mistake, or you have further information to support your case. Mortgages and Additional Loans Please contact your Mortgage Adviser to arrange for it to be reviewed. You will be required to provide a detailed budget planner and three full months’ bank statements. Note re: credit repair companies Please be careful when dealing with companies which claim they can ‘clean up’ your credit history. You’ll find the advertisements in newspapers and magazines and even on the TV or the radio. You can sort out your credit file yourself or with expert help. You can get free advice about County Court Judgments, bankruptcy, defaulted accounts or other arrears. It’s also free to find out how to sort out your debts and how to apply for credit even if your past is not perfect. You have the right to write to any of the credit reference agencies and ask for a copy of your credit reference file, which will cost you £2. For more information or advice, contact: n Citizens’ Advice Bureau (look in your local telephone directory for details of the nearest CAB branch) or view www.nacab.org.uk For help with debt or credit problems, contact: www.experian.co.uk/consumer/statutory-report.html n Equifax Credit File Advice Centre, Equifax plc, PO Box 1140, Bradford BD1 5US Consumer Credit Counselling Service telephone: 0800 138 1111 or view www.cccs.co.uk n National Debtline telephone: 0808 808 4000 or view www.nationaldebtline.co.uk www.equifax.co.uk CallCredit, Consumer Services Team PO Box 491, Leeds LS3 1WZ You can even obtain a free booklet ‘Credit explained’ from the UK Office of the Information Commissioner, telephone: 0303 123 1113 or view www.ico.gov.uk. www.callcredit.co.uk/stat-report-online With a copy of your credit file you will be sent a booklet which explains how to interpret the information held and what your rights are. You can, for example, challenge the accuracy of any details shown. If you believe that what you see is not correct then you can contact the organisation that supplied the information and tell them what you believe is wrong and why. If, after investigation it is agreed that the information is not accurate, then it will be changed. Even if there is accurate information held which affects your ability to obtain loans or credit, you have the right to put a ‘notice of correction’ on your credit file. This is your opportunity to make a statement, if you wish, to explain your version of events. Once this ‘notice’ has been placed, every lender who looks at your file must read the ‘notice’ before making any lending decision about you. Naturally, it is up to the lender to make its own decision, but at least they will have taken your statement into account. 13 Mortgages – Reference Guide Direct Debit Guarantee Making a complaint Your mortgage payments must be made by Direct Debit. Please read the Guarantee information below carefully: At Santander we strive to keep our customers happy, however, we realise that sometimes we make mistakes. n This Guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that accept instructions to pay Direct Debits. n If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit, Santander will notify you five working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. n n If you request Santander to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request. If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit by Santander or your bank or building society you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society. – n If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when Santander asks you to. You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society. Written confirmation may be required. Please also notify us. Telling us when you are unhappy is important as it means we have an opportunity to put things right and improve the service we offer in the future. How to contact us The best way to contact us is over the phone so that we can talk to you in person and take action to resolve the issue for you. You can call us on 0845 600 6014 or 0345 600 6014 (mobile), selecting option 1; If you would prefer, you can contact us using one of these other methods. It is important that you provide us with a daytime contact number so we can call you to discuss the matter with you if we need to: Send us a secure message via your Online Banking; or if you are not registered for Online Banking you can email us via the Complaints section of our website www.santander.co.uk If you would prefer to speak to someone in person, you can visit any of our branches across the country Alternatively you can write to us: Complaints Santander UK plc PO Box 1125 Bradford BD1 9PG If you’d like more detailed information about our complaints process, a leaflet detailing how we deal with complaints promptly and fairly is available upon request free of charge from any of our branches, or you can request one by contacting us using the contact details provided above. If we haven’t been able to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you may be able to refer your complaint to The Financial Ombudsman Service (Ombudsman Service). The Ombudsman Service is an external body, an impartial and independent organisation, which plays a key role in the complaints process and helps settle individual disputes between consumers and financial services businesses without taking sides. 14 How else can we help you? We can help with more than just a mortgage for your home. We can help with things such as coping with unexpected disasters like burglaries, fires or floods to your everyday banking needs. To find out more simply visit us in branch, go to www.santander.co.uk or give us a call. Life Insurance1 and Life & Critical Illness Insurance1 Life Insurance and Life & Critical Illness Insurance 0800 100 888 Home Insurance 0800 670 680 123 Current Account 0800 234 6058 (administered by Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited) These can help make sure that you and your family are looked after if you’re diagnosed with a critical illness or if the worst should happen and you are no longer around. The cover aims to pay out a lump sum if you die, become terminally ill or are diagnosed with a specified critical illness during the policy term, depending on the cover selected. My mortgage appointment was with (Phone number Home Insurance1 (underwritten by Aviva Insurance Limited) Buildings insurance is a requirement under your mortgage and essential if you own a home to cover damage caused by things like fire, flood, storm or subsidence. Contents insurance protects your belongings. Our Home Insurance provides flexible cover, features and benefits to suit you and your home, designed to provide peace of mind when protecting your home and your belongings. 123 Current Account With the 123 Current Account, you earn cashback on your household bills, and get interest on your balance. This covers your mortgage payments, where you’ll earn 1% cashback, up to maximum monthly mortgage payments of £1,000, when you pay your Santander mortgage by Direct Debit from your 123 Current Account. To benefit from the 123 Current Account: n Pay a monthly account fee of £2 n Pay at least £500 into your account each month (minimum £1,000 to earn interest) n Set up at least two Direct Debits n For cashback, household bills must be paid by Direct Debit Note 1: Cover is subject to terms and conditions, restrictions and exclusions. Full details are in the policy document - please ask us for a copy. We reserve the right to refuse cover. 15 123 Current Account: Cashback on household bills includes 1% on water, council tax and Santander mortgage payments, 2% gas and electricity bills and 3% on mobile, home phone, broadband and paid for TV packages. The maximum mortgage payment amounts that qualify for cashback are limited to £1,000 per month (for either single or multiple monthly Direct Debits). Mortgage cashback applies to Santander UK plc mortgages. The 1% cashback on water and council tax bills also applies to rates in Northern Ireland. Household bills do not include TV licence, maintenance or insurance contracts, commercial use or commercial mortgages. Interest is paid on the first £20,000 of your entire balance once you have at least £1,000 in your account. Cashback and interest paid monthly. Interest and transfers into the 123 Current Account from any other Santander account do not count towards the monthly funding amount. One single or one joint 123 Current Account (or one of each) per person only. You must be 18 or over and a UK resident. For details of our fees and interest rates, visit www.santander.co.uk or ask for the latest Interest Rates and Fees Information leaflet at any branch. Home Insurance Santander Home Insurance is underwritten by Aviva Insurance Limited. Registered in Scotland No. 2116. Registered Office: Pitheavlis, Perth PH2 0NH. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. The insurer is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. You may be entitled to compensation from the scheme if the insurer cannot meet its obligations. Please ask us if you would like more information about the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or vist www.fscs.org.uk Life Insurance and Life & Critical Illness cover Santander Life Insurance, Life & Critical Illness Insurance, Income Protection and Over 50’s Life Assurance policies are administered by Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited. Registered in England No. 3253947. 2 Rougier Street, York, YO90 1UU. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Firm Reference Number 1858896. Member of the Association of British Insurers. www.aviva.co.uk Santander is able to provide literature in alternative formats. The formats available are: large print, Braille and audio CD. If you would like to register to receive correspondence in an alternative format please visit santander.co.uk/alternativeformats for more information, ask us in branch or give us a call. MORT 0007 JUL 14 HT Santander UK plc. Registered Office: 2 Triton Square, Regent’s Place, London, NW1 3AN, United Kingdom. Registered Number 2294747. Registered in England. www.santander.co.uk. Telephone 0870 607 6000. Calls may be recorded or monitored. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Our Financial Services Register number is 106054. Santander UK plc is also licensed by the Financial Supervision Commission of the Isle of Man for its branch in the Isle of Man. Deposits held with the Isle of Man branch are covered by the Isle of Man Depositors’ Compensation Scheme as set out in the Isle of Man Depositors’ Compensation Scheme Regulations 2010. In the Isle of Man, Santander UK plc’s principal place of business is at 19/21 Prospect Hill, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 1ET. Santander and the flame logo are registered trademarks. This item can be recycled.
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