Making payments

When you took out your mortgage you will have been told how much your monthly payments will be. Your N&P mortgage will need to be paid by Direct Debit. We make this a condition of taking a mortgage with us, but it is the easiest way to pay and offers two main advantages:

  •  You don’t have to remember to make your mortgage payment – we’ll collect it from you through the banking system.
  •  If your mortgage payment changes, you don’t need to notify your bank. The amended amount will be collected automatically.

We’ve changed the date your monthly payment is due from the 25th of the month to the date of your Direct Debit.

This means that if, for example, your Direct Debit payment date was on the 18th of the month and you, unfortunately, miss it; you no longer have until the 25th to make a payment. You will therefore be in arrears as soon as you miss your payment and we’ll contact you shortly afterwards to confirm this. Of course we want to help you to avoid this, so you can change your Direct Debit payment date at any time to a date which suits you best.

If you’re happy with your current Direct Debit payment date then you don’t need to make any changes to it, but please make sure you have enough funds in your payment account to cover your mortgage payment to us each month.

If your preferred payment method is not by Direct Debit (e.g. standing order), your payment will still be due on – and should be received by – the 25th of the month.

If you miss a payment, for whatever reason, you’ll be in arrears and we’ll contact you shortly afterwards to confirm this. We really want you to avoid this, so please make sure you have the necessary funds to cover your payment.

If you have any queries about your mortgage payments, please call our mortgage advisers on 0345 848 0246. If your mortgage is in arrears, it may be possible for you to pay by Debit Card or other payment method. In this situation, our mortgage advisers will discuss the best payment option for you. If your mortgage is in arrears you may be charged additional fees. See our tariff of mortgage charges for more details.

 

Daily interest

Your interest will be calculated daily and charged to your mortgage account at the end of each calendar month. This means that every payment you make will affect the amount of interest charged to your account and, if you make an overpayment now and then, this will reduce the balance on which interest is charged.

Please remember that this works the other way round too. If you underpay or miss a payment, this will increase the balance on which interest is charged. Also, if any fees, charges, insurance premiums or other sums are added to your mortgage account, these will increase the balance on which interest is charged. See our tariff of mortgage charges for more details.

 

Overpayments and payment holidays

We know that life can be unpredictable, and that there may be times when you need to skip a few mortgage payments. This can be arranged (with the society's agreement) as long as you have overpaid enough to cover the missing amounts. If you regularly pay in more than your normal monthly figure, this could be treated as an advance amount against future payments and means you can then contact us if you would like to arrange a payment holiday.

Please note: interest will continue to be charged during a payment holiday.

 

Lump sum payments

If you’ve come into some money, you might want to make a lump sum payment to reduce what you owe on your mortgage. The minimum amount you can pay in this way is £250 and an overpayment cannot be refunded or claimed back once it has been made. A lump sum payment is different from a regular overpayment and can’t be used to support payment holiday requests.

If you are paying our standard variable rate of interest on your mortgage and make a lump sum repayment, you have a choice of either reducing your monthly payments or not - just tell us which option you would like when making your payment. If you have a special type of mortgage, such as a Fixed Rate Mortgage, we may apply an early repayment charge if you make an extra payment.

You can contact one of our mortgage advisers on 0345 848 0246 for more information.

 

Annual review of payments

Your Monthly Payment will be reviewed once a Year on 31st December to take account of any changes in the interest rate on your mortgage (as well as other changes to your account balance, including any fees added). We will tell you of any change in your Annual Mortgage Statement. Your new Monthly Payment will take effect in the following March. Your Monthly Payment may also change at any other time, for example, when a fixed, capped or discount rate period ends.

 

Early repayment

If you are looking to change or transfer your mortgage, the first thing to consider is whether your current loan is within its early repayment period. This is the period typically with a fixed rate or promotional discounted rate mortgage when you may be liable to a charge if you wish to leave that mortgage. If your mortgage is subject to early repayment charges you must pay these charges when repaying your loan.

If you're not sure whether you have early repayment charges to pay, these, and the period they apply to, will be detailed in your mortgage offer. Alternatively, contact one of our mortgage advisers on 0345 848 0246 to find out more.

A redemption administration charge will be applied when your mortgage is repaid in full. See our tariff of mortgage charges for more details.

 

Difficulty paying your mortgage

If you are having trouble making your mortgage payments, please contact us as soon as possible.
Call us 0800 952 0615. Choose the Mortgage option and you will be put through to an adviser.
 

We might be able to help you to:

  • Arrange an affordable payment plan which will reduce what you owe over time.
  • Agree to make lower payments for a short time. (Your debt may rise during this time.)
  • Switch your mortgage payments to only cover the interest for a set time.
  • Move your monthly payment date or extend your mortgage term.
  • Move what you owe into your main mortgage balance. This means you will repay everything over the length of the mortgage term.

Further support

You can get in touch with Money Advice Trust (MAT) for extra help. They will give you free, independent advice on your debt problems and help you find
realistic ways to solve them.
 

The Mortgage Charter

The Government, the Financial Conduct Authority, and lenders like us have agreed a new set of standards, designed to help people with mortgages. 
It’s called the Mortgage Charter. It makes sure that those affected by increased mortgage repayment costs are treated fairly and get the help they need. We are offering all the extra support agreed in the Mortgage Charter. It doesn’t matter if you arranged a mortgage through a broker or came to us directly.
 

What you can do

  • Talk to us: Let us know straight away if you're having trouble paying your mortgage or think you will soon.
  • Free independent advice: If you’re finding it hard to talk about your debt, there are free independent charities who can help. They’ll help you to find realistic ways of paying what you owe. You can find advice online, chat to them over the phone or via web chat.

National Debtline
www.nationaldebtline.org
Call: 0800 808 4000

If you are self-employed:
Business Debtline
www.businessdebtline.org
Call: 0800 197 6026

  • Keep other mortgage holders up to date: Make sure anyone else who is responsible for the mortgage (joint holder or guarantor) knows what's happening.
  • Create a personal budget: Make a list of what you earn, owe, and spend. You can download our household income and expenditure form to help with this.
  • Keep up with your new payments: If a new plan is agreed, make sure you stick to it.
  • Tell us if anything changes: including if you move to a new address. 
  • Check if you're entitled to benefits: Visit gov.uk  to see whether you can get financial help.
  • Check your mortgage payment insurance (MPI) policy: If you have MPI, you may be able to claim on it to get help with your payments.
  • Consider selling your home: If it's unlikely your situation will improve, you may need to sell your home.

 

Cost and charges

If you are in arrears, we may charge you for any administration or legal costs which we incur. You will be informed about all charges which we may make. These will be charged to your mortgage account. Details of these charges are found on our Tariff of mortgage charges .
 

What happens if we can’t find a solution?

We may arrange a home visit to discuss your financial circumstances face to face. The cost of the visits will be charged to your mortgage account.
We may go to court to start proceedings to repossess your home. If proceedings take place, we strongly recommend that you attend court and that you seek independent legal advice.

Starting court proceedings does not necessarily mean that we will repossess your home. We will keep trying to solve the problem with you. Repossession is very much a last resort.
 

What happens if we repossess your home?

If we do have to repossess your home, we will suggest that you get in touch with your local authority to see if they can find you somewhere else to live.
We will sell it for the best price we can reasonably get. We will try and sell it as quickly as possible.

We will give you reasonable time to take your possessions from your home.

We will use the money raised from selling your home to pay your mortgage and any other loans or charges.
If there is any money left over, we will pay it to you.


What happens if selling your home does not raise enough money to pay off your mortgage?

If there is still not enough money from the sale to repay the whole of your mortgage, you will still owe us the amount that is left (this is known as a shortfall debt). We will tell you how much this is as soon as possible.

Everyone named on the mortgage is responsible for all the money borrowed. This is true even if you normally only pay part of the mortgage.
We will contact you to arrange for you to pay back what you still owe. We have 6 years to do this (5 years in Scotland).

We will take account of your income and outgoings when we arrange a payment plan for this shortfall debt with you. But if we cannot arrange a suitable plan, we may go to court to get our money back. You may have to pay additional court costs.

If a shortfall debt is not paid, it could affect whether you are able to get credit in the future.
 

What happens to my home and mortgage if my relationship breaks down?

If you take out a mortgage with another person and your relationship comes to an end, your mortgage payments will still have to be paid. Both of you will remain liable to us for the amount outstanding.

This means that even if you agree between yourselves that just one of you will pay the mortgage, the other will still be liable to us in the event of the required payments not being made.
 

Can I hand my keys back to you if I’m having difficulty paying my mortgage?

Even if you decide to hand your keys back to us, you will still be responsible for paying the mortgage until the property is sold.

If your house sells for less than you owe, your mortgage won't be fully repaid, and you will still owe us the amount that is left. Please discuss this option with us before taking such action.

 

Terms & conditions

If you would like our terms and conditions for your records you can download them here:

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