Lord Myners attacks UK mortgage sector
Despite being on the end of a number of critical reports himself, Lord Myners today launched an attack on the UK mortgage market and especially the charges racked up by those in arrears. He was appearing before the Treasury select committee of the House of Commons and appears to have somewhat overstepped the mark with a suggestion that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) should pay "serious attention" to fees in the mortgage market.
He believes that the process by which those in mortgage arrears incur often hefty additional charges on top of their arrears can, and does, make a difficult situation worse. When you take a step back and consider exactly what is going on, the fact that a customer is in arrears with their mortgage should start to ring alarm bells at which point you would expect assistance.
However, in a blatant attempt to cash in while the customers has an asset and finances, many people believe that mortgage companies are charging excessive fees for such things as legal advice and a debt counselling. Whether or not Lord Myners has gone about his complaint the right way is open to debate, but he has brought attention to an area of the market which is often shrouded in mystery.
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