By Elliot Wright, 8th January 2010
Millions of homeowners are having to shell out up to £1,200
extra on their mortgages a year despite the Bank Of England's base
rate remaining unchanged on 0.5%.
According to financial information firm Moneyfacts, a number of
lenders have increased their standard variable rate (SVR) during
the 0.5% rate freeze which was set last March.
For example, building society Nationwide has increased its SVR
by 1.49% to 3.99%, meaning that a customer with an average
repayment mortgage of £150,000 will have to cough up an extra £118
a month.
SVR mortgages are often seen as the cheapest deals and have
increased in popularity in recent years with 5.5m mortgages linked
to a lender's SVR.
A customer with an average repayment
mortgage of £150,000 will have to cough up an extra £118 a
month
But Moneyfacts has warned that more lenders may decide to
increase their SVR in the near future. Darren Cook, of Moneyfacts,
said : "The momentum to increase SVRs appears to be gathering pace.
Now that a few have taken the step, it is highly possible others
will follow."
Other lenders which have increased their SVR are Mansfield
Building Society, Ipswich Building Society, Skipton, Accord
Mortgages, Scottish Building Society, Cambridge Building Society
and Marsden Building Society.
Nigel Quinton, chief executive of Mansfield Building Society,
said that SVRs are increasing due to the difficulty of competing
for mortgage and savings customers with major state-subsidized
banks such as Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds.
Useful links:
Claims
Financial
Has your
mortgage been mis-sold?
How
to claim back mortgage arrears charges
Testimonial
"I just had to put pen to paper and write to say I'm more than delighted with my settlement that you won me back from my PPI I had with Lloyds TSB. The Claim Forms were simple to fill in. It was a breeze"
Mr R Evans 11 Nov 2010