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Existing clients 'should be offered same deal as new clients'
03 April 2008
Mortgage lenders should reward loyal customers coming off fixed rates with the same deal as new clients coming in off the street, the Repossessions Advice Centre (RAC) has said.
With more Britons confessing to be worried about how to meet their mortgage repayments, the RAC said that lenders could do a whole lot more to support their customers in times of financial hardship.
Customers coming off fixed-term mortgage rates are finding themselves in a standard variable rate - which is normally much higher than their fixed deal.
David Warnes, director of the Repossessions Advice Centre, said that he would like to see a little more goodwill from lenders.
"Just because a client is suffering they automatically switch them to a standard variable rate which is a more expensive rate than they would get from a fixed or discount rate," he said.
Mr Warnes encouraged banks to allow any arrears to be capitalised onto the mortgage for any customer who has sufficient equity so that customers do not fall too far behind.
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors estimates that 123 houses per day will be repossessed in Britain each day in 2008. 
