Mortgage payment support 

We will contact you as soon as we notice you may be struggling with your mortgage payments if you have not contacted us first. 

Repossession is always our last resort, and we will always first try to see what support is available, to help you get back on track.

Our first step involves understanding your situation and financial circumstances. We’ll take the time to listen to you so we can see what support would be most suitable for you. It’s likely that we will request further information or documents from you, such as bank statements, so we can fully understand your finances. We will then explain what we can do to help, which could include:

• Change your payment date or how you make your payments to us.

• Agree to an underpayment or suspending your payments for a brief period of time.

• Allow a payment holiday if you have made previous overpayments.

• Extend the mortgage term for a brief period of time.

• Pay the interest only, if you have a repayment (capital and interest) mortgage for a brief period of time.

• Refer you to one of our mortgage advisers, if we think you could be on a better interest rate.

• Recommend 3rd party support to help you with your specific circumstances.

There may be other options we can consider that aren’t shown in the list above.

When we look at what support is most appropriate for you, we consider your short and long term circumstances and how any support will impact you and your mortgage payments. This may mean rather than making any changes to your mortgage payments, we will refer you to 3rd party support. If this happens and we decide not to make any changes to your account, we will explain why.

So that we treat you fairly, we will ensure that we will:

• Talk to a debt-advice agency, if you want us to, about your payment arrangements if you have sought their advice.

• Give you reasonable time to pay back the debt.

• Use a solution that is tailored to your situation and best for all those involved.

• Maintain a regular conversation with you and keep you up to date on your account.

• Give you time to consider your options and any arrangements we offer.

• Only start proceedings to repossess your home if we have exhausted all other options.

As part of any arrangement we make, we need a little more information from you about your current budget. This will allow us to get a better understanding of your financial situation and ensure that what we can offer you is affordable.

By being proactive, open, and honest with us about your situation, we can offer an arrangement better suited for your needs.

• Maximise your income – for instance, you can look to see if you’re receiving all the benefits you’re entitled to, or if you’re working part time, seeing if you could work more hours.

• Reduce your spending – have a look at your expenditure and see if there’s anything you can cut down on, it could be as small as reducing how often you eat out, or cutting those media subscriptions.

• Prioritise your debts – if you’re struggling with payments elsewhere it’s important to seek debt advice and make sure you pay your ‘priority debts’ first. Money Adviser Network can help you seek independent, free, debt advice if you're struggling with personal debts or payments. If you’re self-employed or a business owner, you can contact Business Debtline (0800 197 6026).

• Keep us up to date and informed – let us know as soon as you know you will have difficulty paying, updates on your situation and support you’re receiving. If your contact details change, it’s important you let us know.

• Provide information we ask for – we’ll need to know about your circumstances and finances. Consents.online provides a safe and secure way to share your information online using Open Banking technology, which provides us a snapshot of your current account. It’s as easy as logging into your online banking. 

Click here to share your information using consents.online. If you want to know more or have any questions, please visit our FAQ section or contact us.

By taking the first step and contacting us we can start helping you today.

Talking to us about any payment difficulties you are experiencing does not affect your credit rating in any way. 

We notify credit reference agencies at the end of every calendar month of mortgage accounts where there are arrears (overdue payments) equal to or greater than the normal payment due. We report the number of months the account is in arrears by. 

For example, if the monthly mortgage payment was £500, and there were arrears of £1,500, the account would be reported at the end of the month as being in 3 months’ arrears to credit reference agencies.  

If we have agreed a financial arrangement with you, you will be reported as in an arrangement to credit reference agencies for the period of the arrangement. Once the arrangement ends, the account will then be reported as up to date or in arrears, depending on the status of your account. 

These notifications will remain on your credit report for six years and are likely to affect your credit rating (also known as credit score). However, its impact on your rating will reduce as the record ages. This is because lenders usually pay more attention to your most recent credit history.

If you pay the arrears and keep up with future payments, you should see your credit rating improve over time. For more information, visit StepChange.

The cost of living has been rising for the last few years.

The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) have launched a 'help with cost-of-living guidance on their website to help people manage their money in uncertain times. These resources and tools are aimed at people who: 

• Are struggling to keep on top of their bills and payments.

• Have experienced a reduction in income or squeezed budgets.

• Are self-employed.

• Have been or are worried about being made redundant or losing their job.

We’ve partnered with Money Adviser Network (MAN) to support those who are struggling with their other debts or have already fallen behind. If you have personal debts and you're not self-employed, the MAN can link you to an available debt adviser from one of their partner services to provide you with independent, free, debt advice. 

We will contact you 3-4 weeks before the end of your first mortgage payment deferral to advise you what will happen when it comes to an end and how the amount deferred is due to be repaid.

Unless you contact us to the contrary, at the end of your payment deferral period we will “capitalise” (add to your mortgage balance) the amount deferred including interest and recalculate your monthly mortgage repayment over the remaining term of the mortgage. 

We will provide you with information showing you the impact of capitalising the deferred amount on your monthly repayments and general information relating to the impact on the overall cost of your mortgage over the remaining term. 

If, having read the information provided, you wish to proceed with capitalising the amount deferred, you do not need to contact us. If you would prefer an alternative solution, we will ask you to complete our “End of Mortgage Payment Deferral – next steps” form, which is available to the right handside. When we receive it, we will contact you to discuss your situation to understand the likely longer-term position and to ensure that what you have requested is suitable.

If you had mortgage arrears or a concession in place (e.g. paying interest only) prior to your payment deferral, we will telephone you to discuss your circumstances to ensure we consider repayment of any arrears outstanding or other factors that may be affecting your ability to pay your mortgage.