Frequently asked questions

We do not accept Credit Card payments towards your outstanding balance or arrears.

You can make a payment by any one of the following methods:

Debit card
Direct Debit
Standing Order
Cheque

For more information visit make a payment.

What is the Bank of England base rate?

It is the rate of at which the Bank of England charges us to borrow money, this rate is reviewed on a monthly basis by their Monetary Policy Committee and they may change the rate based on a number of economic factors.

If you would like to know more about the base rate you can visit the Bank of England website www.bankofengland.co.uk

Why are interest rates increasing?

The Bank of England has increased the base rate.  As you may be aware some of our interest rates are linked to this, which means we may need to change our interest rates too.

Whether you're impacted or not will depend on your account type and we'll be in touch to let you know.

We'll put everything in writing and clearly explain any changes and when they will begin.

When will the increase take place?

A personalised letter will be sent to you detailing when this will take place and how you will be affected.

How will this affect me?

A letter detailing your new rate of interest and new monthly payment will be sent to you via post.

What do I need to do?

If you pay by standing order or bank transfer please make sure your payment is updated in time to reflect your new payment amount, as detailed in the letter we sent you.

If you pay by Direct Debit or post-dated debit card, there's nothing you need to do. We will amend your payment amount automatically, unless you tell us otherwise.

If you have any questions or are unsure whether you need to make any amendments to your payment method, please contact us on 0345 234 1050.

I am currently on an agreed temporary reduced interest rate; will this increase?

No. Interest rate increases will not apply to a temporary interest rate, only to contractual rates.

If this applicable to you, a personalised letter will be sent to you detailing what this will mean for your temporary agreed interest rate in addition to your pending return interest rate after your current forbearance period expires.

I am on a fixed rate. Will I be affected?

No. Your interest rate stays the same for the previously agreed amount of time (please check your Terms and Conditions if you are not sure what this is). Therefore, a change in the Bank of England base rate does not affect your loan rate or payments during the fixed period.

Your Terms and Conditions detail what happens at the end of your fixed rate period, including where you can get further information about your options.

What if I have further questions?

If you cannot find the answers to all your questions here, you can call us on 0345 234 1050 and we'll be happy to help.

Yes, you can change your payment date. We understand your circumstances don’t always stay the same and this may mean you need to change your payment date. We can do this if you get in touch but would remind you that it is important that you continue to make payments every calendar month, regardless of the date.

Yes, you can request a settlement figure if you get in touch. This figure will be calculated and you will be advised what you need to do next.

It's really important that we are able to contact you in case we need to discuss your account. So if you have recently moved house, or are about to move, please get in touch so we can update our records.

If you have changed your name then it's really important that we update your account to reflect this. In order to change the name on your account, we need you to send us an official document showing your new name. You can send certified copies or originals. If you send originals these will be returned by recorded delivery as soon as we have updated our records. Please send your documents to:

Moorgate Loan Servicing
PO Box 16140
Solihull B91 9HH

We want to support our customers experiencing financial difficulty and our key focus is always to help you through periods of financial stress. Our payment help information leaflet will explain some of the options we can offer and we encourage customers who think that they may have financial difficulties to get in touch with us as soon as possible so that we can discuss the support that is available.

If you are experiencing financial difficulties, you may want to talk to an independent advisor. You can find a list of organisations which offer free debt advice and services that many of our customers have found useful on our help and support page.

If you miss a payment then depending upon the type of loan agreement you have with us, you might incur penalty fees or additional interest. Also, your credit file may be affected and this might impact your ability to get credit in the future.

We will contact you to discuss your account and assist you if you are facing financial difficulties. You may also find our help and support section useful. For those accounts where penalty fees or additional interest could be incurred through late payment, please see our general fee tariff.

Yes, we will be happy to discuss your account with any company or person you nominate. However, before we can do this, you need to complete a third party consent form. Once complete and signed please post to:

Moorgate Loan Servicing
PO Box 16140
Solihull B91 9HH

If you change your mind and don’t want us to discuss your account with the nominated third party, you will need to get in touch to let us know.

We are always seeking to improve the level of service we offer, so if you are unhappy with the service you have received please let us know. We welcome and value your feedback and will endeavour to resolve any issues quickly.

Please contact our dedicated customer relations team on 0345 849 4108 or email them at [email protected]

Alternatively, you can write to:

Customer Relations Manager
Moorgate Loan Servicing
PO Box 16140
Solihull B91 9HH

If we are able to resolve your complaint within three working days, we will send you written confirmation of this.

Where we cannot resolve your complaint within three working days, we will send a written acknowledgement within five working days. We will then undertake a full investigation to enable us to make an informed assessment of your complaint.

We will send you a final response within eight weeks, which will:

• Let you know the outcome of our investigation
• If appropriate, advise you of what we intend to do to rectify the problem
• If we disagree with your complaint, clearly explain the reason why

Throughout the eight week investigation, or until a final response is issued, we will keep you informed of our progress and we may contact you to ask you to provide further information regarding the issues you have raised.

If you are still not satisfied with the response you receive, you can take up your complaint with the following organisation:

The Financial Ombudsman was set up by Parliament to sort out individual complaints that consumers and financial businesses are unable to resolve themselves.

www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

The Credit Services Association (CSA) are a national association in the UK for companies active in the debt collection and purchase industry.

www.csa-uk.com

From time to time you may be asked to complete an income and expenditure form. This form asks you to list your incomings and outgoings so that we can assess affordability and review your payment arrangement, to ensure it continues to be affordable for you.

Affordability is assessed in accordance with guidelines issued by several industry financial bodies (Finance & Leasing Association, British Banking Association and Money Advice Trust).

Income and expenditure forms are available in our help and support section.

If a customer is involved in legal proceedings, this team processes appropriate papers on behalf of the business, and liaises with third parties and courts as required.

Our team work with customers to make suitable payment arrangements in line with customer affordability to help them repay their outstanding balance on terminated accounts.

We do not own your account, but instead we have been employed to manage your account by the owner on their behalf. This means that we will manage everything to do with your account including: providing you with information, updating your account records and applying payments to your outstanding balance. If you have any questions about this, then please get in touch.

In the unfortunate circumstance of the death of a loved one, please call us on 0345 322 7900 and we’ll guide you through the next steps. Or If you would prefer, you can contact us via email at [email protected].

We are also a member of the Death Notification Service, a free service which allows you to notify a number of banks and building societies of a person’s death, at the same time.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) defines a mortgage prisoner as someone who cannot switch to another product, or remortgage to a new lender, despite being up to date with their payments.

A mortgage prisoner is a customer trapped on an old mortgage product which does not offer the ability to switch to a cheaper rate. This may be due to new affordability rules that have been introduced since the original mortgage was taken out, meaning that a customer would no longer qualify for their original loan. It could also be because the customer’s circumstances have changed since they took out their mortgage, or because their current mortgage is with an inactive lender or firm not authorised for mortgage lending.

The FCA defines someone as a mortgage prisoner if:

• They hold an existing regulated mortgage
• They have not missed any payments within the past 12 months
• They have no outstanding arrears or fees/charges on their account

We are currently reviewing all customer accounts and will be sending a letter to any customer that we consider to be a mortgage prisoner by 15 January 2021.

For further information about the rule changes, the Money Advice Service has a section within its website dedicated to providing information for mortgage prisoners at www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/help-for-mortgage-prisoners.

You may also wish to seek advice from an independent mortgage adviser as they will be able to advise whether switching to a new product is right for you. The FCA has information to help you find an independent financial adviser available on their website www.fca.org.uk/consumers/finding-adviser.