The Mortgage Charter is a set of standards to help with rising mortgage costs

Lenders like us, the Financial Conduct Authority and the government have worked together to support you in paying your mortgage.

If you’re affected by higher mortgage repayment costs, these standards will help make sure you are treated fairly and get extra support.

We’re proud to give the support agreed by the Charter. We're giving this support to all our mortgage customers.

How the Charter can help

Advice  –  If you’re worried about your mortgage repayments, you can contact your lender for advice. If your mortgage payments are up to date, there’ll be no impact on your credit file.
Switching – If your mortgage payments are up to date, you can switch to a new mortgage deal at the end of your current deal instead of a standard variable rate (SVR) mortgage. There will be no need for another affordability check.
Information – You’ll get information in good time before your current rate comes to an end, to help you plan.
Support – If you’re struggling with your mortgage payments we will offer you support to pay off your mortgage alongside other financial commitments.
Options – You also have the option to extend your mortgage term or switch to paying interest only. Both of these options need a lot of consideration as they will have an impact on your mortgage.

Coming to the end of your current deal

Switching your deal

Any time in the 120 days before the end of your deal, you can choose a new product from our existing customer range. Your new deal will begin when your current deal ends.

What if rates fall after I’ve chosen my deal?

If the term, mortgage type and any fees and incentives are the same, you can choose a lower like-for-like deal. In fact, you can change as many times as you like until 2 weeks before your new deal begins. 

You can find the existing product range applicable to your mortgage by logging in to your mortgage account.

Here's an example of a change you could make:

  • Your chosen deal: 2 year Fixed at 75% LTV with £995 fee at 6.99%.
  • Is replaced with: 2 year Fixed at 75% LTV with £995 at 6.49%. 

Your mortgage options

Swapping to interest only

You can change your mortgage to interest only for six months. Interest only is a repayment method where you make regular payments towards the interest on your mortgage. It reduces your payments as you’re not repaying the capital of the mortgage.

You can swap to interest only by using our interest only form.

Extending your mortgage term

You could extend the term of your mortgage to reduce your monthly payments. You can also switch back to your original term within the first six months. Extending the term of your mortgage means you would pay it off over a longer time. This will lower your monthly payments but increase the total interest you pay.

To extend the term of your mortgage, call us on 0345 120 0822
9am - 5pm Monday - Friday
9am - 1pm Saturday
 

Important information about making these mortgage changes

  • By changing to a temporary interest only mortgage or extending your mortgage term you will pay more interest and increase the total overall cost.
  • If there are no other changes made to your mortgage, your repayments will increase when they are recalculated.
  • If you extend your mortgage term past your retirement age, we may need to run affordability and credit checks.
  • If you change your mortgage term back within 6 months, there’ll be no affordability check. It won’t affect your credit score.
If you can afford your existing mortgage payments, think carefully before making these changes and consider the longer-term cost on your mortgage.

Message us

If you would rather contact us via secure message, you can log into your account and get in touch. All the same protections we offer over the phone are in place via our messaging platform.

Important information about the impact of switching to temporary interest only

If you are considering changing your repayment mortgage to an interest only mortgage for a temporary period of six months, it is important that you understand the following information:

  • Your mortgage will automatically switch back to a repayment mortgage once the agreed six-month period has ended. At this time, your mortgage payments will be recalculated and assuming there are no other changes, your payments will increase.
  • There is no guarantee that interest rates will be lower, or the housing or financial markets will have significantly improved, and you could end up in a worse position than you are in now.
  • You will continue to be charged interest on your outstanding loan. Without capital repayments reducing your mortgage balance, you will pay more interest and increase the total overall cost.
  • Where you have the means to maintain your repayment mortgage payment and reduce the capital element, you should seriously consider doing so.
  • We cannot guarantee any further extension on an interest only basis past the agreedextension period, even if your position has deteriorated.
  • You must continue to maintain your agreed monthly mortgage payments and any missed payment could affect the arrangement which has been agreed.
  • If you are experiencing any financial difficulty, there may be more suitable options available. Please contact us to discuss.
If your circumstances change, please contact us as soon as possible so we can support you further.