The Times recommends that repossessees get advice before responding to any shortfall claim. In a full-page article on the shortfall problem in the 3 July Weekend Money section (p55) Karen Woolfson sets out much of the problem and some solutions. One option, the article points out, is to do nothing. Whatever you do, the first thing you should do is get qualified help.

Repossession shortfall advice from Internet pages is partial and unreliable, says a spokesman from National Debtline (0645 500511). As far as I know, the Home Repossession Page is the only significant Internet source of advice on this issue so you have to assume that National Debtline's experienced staff disagree with some of the material I've put up on the Home Repossession Page. Obviously, it's very much in your interests to get as accurate and as wide a range of advice as you can, so I strongly recommend that any Home Repossession Page readers who are facing problems contact National Debtline and get their advice on what to do. Don't just rely on what I say.

I've updated the Free Help page to include National Debtline's number and a link to the Citizen's Advice Bureau's web-page.

The Sunday Times has continued its strong reporting of alleged lender misbehaviour over the last couple of weeks. The 27 June issue was almost a naughty lender spectacular. It said Portman Building Society had twice increased mortgage interest rates on a fixed rate deal after new customers applied for the mortgages but before the funds were released. The Sunday Times argued that many of the applicants were forced to accept the deal because they had spent hundreds of pounds in surveyor's fees or made offers on houses that they didn't want to lose. They had done this, the paper said, in between applying for the mortgage and seeing the funds released.

It also said that Alastair Rutherford-Warren, the secretary of the independent review body that is monitoring the voluntary codes of practice that lenders have rolled out, is concerned that lenders are not telling customers about their cheapest mortgage deals. He is said to have written to the Council of Mortgage Lenders about the issue, claiming that lenders may not be "acting fairly and reasonably" if they don't at least give customers a pointer to the cheaper deals.

The same edition of the Sunday Times also reported that senior mortgage industry bods, including former Council of Mortgage Lenders director-general Mark Boleat and ombudsman Brian Murphy, think lenders will have to scrap extended lock-ins soon. Murphy reported that the number of complaints about lock-ins has increased and Boleat said neither the public nor lenders' sales staff understand them. Which, if true, doesn't inspire you with confidence.

But for the choicest, most intriguing piece of news, you have to turn to this week's Sunday Times. It claims that Abbey National will show the Government "internal industry data" that shows how lenders profit from lock-ins on fixed, capped and discounted home loans. Can it be true? Apparently, yes. Abbey will tell Don Cruickshank - the Treasury official in charge of the Government's review of banks - that it is losing customers to lenders with lower rates because… customers don't understand the implications of lock-ins. Abbey dropped lock-ins in October 1998 and Nationwide has too, said the report. Halifax refused to comment on the Sunday Times' claim that it still offers a two-year discounted mortgage with an optional lock-in.

I was so surprised to read this (I'm less than impressed at the way Abbey National and its lawyers treats some of its customers) that I ran a check on newspaper reports of the Abbey National to see if it has benefited from the lock-in tactic themselves. I couldn't find any negative reports published during 1998 but I'll check a bigger archive when I can get access to it and report back to you.

And some Data Protection Act news. Those of you who have been reading the Home Repossession Page for a while will know that I am a big fan of the Data Protection Act and it's ability to deliver - into your hands - documentary evidence of lender cock-ups. The new Data Protection Act is likely to come into force next spring. We don't yet know if it will definitely give access to paper records (there's a lot of anti-paper record lobbying going on behind the scenes) but details are available at:

http://www.open.gov.uk/dpr/prepare.htm

The date there is aimed at the companies that hold records but still offers insight to those of us whom those records are about.

I've changed the way I write these newsletters. It may not work for all of you. In particular, you may find that this text is scrolling beyond the righthand side of your screen. If it is, let me know and I'll work up a fix for future newsletters.

[ends]

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