How to complain about your mortgage provider

If you have a problem with your mortgage provider, such as unfair contract terms, there's a complaints procedure you should follow. Our guide tells you more.
Which?Editorial team

1. Contact your lender

The first step is to send your complaint to the lender or mortgage intermediary (broker) in writing. 

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require your lender to send a written acknowledgement of your complaint within five business days.

Your lender should investigate your complaint thoroughly and make enquiries as appropriate. 

If you make your complaint in person or by telephone, note down the name of the person you speak to, as well as the date and time of your call or consultation.

If you don't hear back within three weeks, follow up your phone call or consultation with a letter detailing your complaint. 

Make sure you keep copies of the complaint letters that you send for future reference.

2. Contact the Financial Ombudsman

If the lender or broker cannot make a final decision on your complaint after a month, it must keep you informed. 

Once your lender has made a decision, it should provide you with a final response letter.

If you're not happy with the final response, you can refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

The FOS provides a free and independent advice service for consumers who would like to make a complaint. 

Once the FOS has received your referral, it will take over the running of your claim on your behalf. 

You can also escalate a complaint to the FOS if your lender hasn't responded to your complaint within eight weeks. 

ADVICE

What types of complaints can the FOS rule on?

The FOS may be able to adjudicate on complaints on the following issues:

  • Early repayment charges
  • Issues with equity release
  • Financial difficulties with mortgages
  • Interest-only mortgages and interest applied to mortgages
  • Mortgage arrears and shortfalls
  • Mortgage underfunding
  • Mortgage valuations

The FOS provides a full list on its website.

3. Wait for the FOS ruling

You won't need to do anything else unless the FOS requests further information.

It's important to note that the FOS has an extremely heavy caseload and as a result, your claim may take a substantial length of time to complete. 

The exact timeframe will depend on the complexity of your case, and how quickly the financial services provider responds to the FOS.

If the FOS rejects your complaint, you won't be able to appeal and may need to consider legal measures against your lender if you wish to take the matter further. 

The FOS provides full details of how it makes and communicates decisions online. 

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