The group of so-called mortgage prisoners originally took out a deal with Northern Rock called the Together Mortgage which allowed borrowers to access lending of up to 125% of the value of their homes.
Northern Rock, one of the most high-profile casualties of the financial crisis, collapsed in 2008 and the government managed the £3.3bn worth of mortgages before they were sold on to TSB exactly six years ago today.
Since then, TSB has administered these mortgages under the ‘Whistletree’ brand and has claimed it offered all customers who transferred from Northern Rock the opportunity to switch to other, better value, TSB mortgage products.
However, Harcus Parker Limited – the law firm representing the 200 mortgage prisoners – said since TSB bought the loans, it has charged its Whistletree customers almost double the rates charged to its other customers.
The Law Firm claimed, until recently, TSB had refused to allow these ‘mortgage prisoners’ access to ‘ordinary’ TSB fixed-rate deals on the same basis as its other customers.
Mortgage prisoner’s story: ‘I had some very dark times’
One of these customers was Margaret Lea, 73, of Bexhill, East Sussex, a retired charity CEO and grandmother of two. She found herself struggling to keep up with repayments on her two-bedroom flat after interest rates on her Together Mortgage increased.
Margaret explained how in 2009, she was made redundant and then Northern Rock collapsed, before long her payments has soared from £486 to £631 per month.
“That’s when I really began to struggle,” she said.
“I was desperate to keep the house. My health wasn’t great – I have asthma and COPD – so becoming homeless would be a death sentence.
“After making the monthly repayments, I was living on £13 per week to cover food and bills. I wasn’t putting the heating on; I was cold and hungry.
“Paying between 2% and 3% more interest each month than an ‘ordinary’ TSB customer in my position has been both financially and emotionally hard – it feels like the bank has charged me more just because it feels it can get away with it.”
Margaret said she had some very dark times at, at one point, felt suicidal. “Had it not been for the support of my daughter, I dread to think what would have happened,” she said. “She’s helped me financially get through this.”
Lawyers say Whistletree customers are eligible to claim
Today, which is six years to the day since TSB bought £3.3bn mortgages from Northern Rock, the lawyers have lodged the case at the High Court before a hearing in Autumn.
Around 200 homeowners whose mortgages have been administered by TSB’s ‘Whistletree’ brand have issued claims for around £50,000 each in overpaid interest.
The law firm thinks as many as 27,000 people could ultimately join the Whistletree claims litigation.
It said anybody whose mortgage has been administered by ‘Whistletree’ was eligible to claim.
Matthew Patching, senior associate at Harcus Parker, said: “Our clients have been treated terribly by TSB: they have been charged interest on their mortgages at rates significantly higher than those charged to other similar customers at the same bank.
“This has had a real and devastating impact of the lives of homeowners who, other than happening to take out a mortgage with Northern Rock prior to the global financial crisis, are often identical to large numbers of TSB’s other customers.”
Harcus Parker is encouraging other victims of the scandal to join the Whistletree litigation by visiting www.whistletreeclaims.com
TSB’s response to the group action
TSB sent us the following statement in response: “TSB is aware of potential action proposed by Harcus Parker and will robustly defend its position.
“We are committed to treating our Whistletree customers fairly. TSB took ownership of the Whistletree mortgages in 2016 and subsequently created access to product transfers for customers who did not previously have access to them.
“Since then, over two-thirds of Whistletree customers have either transferred to a new Whistletree product or closed their mortgage with Whistletree. We write to customers twice a year to remind them about the opportunity to switch.”
