# Abbey Mortgage



## mattm (Jun 1, 2007)

I've always found DW to be a wealth of information and not just when it comes to keeping my car looking it's best.

I realise that there are loads and loads of "what mortgage?" threads on here which I am going to look through. However, in the meantime I was wondering if anyone on here has a mortgage from Abbey and if so, what are there thoughts/experiences?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Matt


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## GlenStaff26 (Mar 10, 2007)

Hi Matt

We currently have our house mortgage with Abbey, has recently come to the end of it's 3 year fix and their SVR isn't as good as the one from Morgan Chase on our flat. However, had zero problems with them throughout the last three years so can't comment on them from a customer service point of view as never needed it :thumb: All good I guess


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## mattm (Jun 1, 2007)

FocusTDCi180 said:


> Hi Matt
> 
> We currently have our house mortgage with Abbey, has recently come to the end of it's 3 year fix and their SVR isn't as good as the one from Morgan Chase on our flat. However, had zero problems with them throughout the last three years so can't comment on them from a customer service point of view as never needed it :thumb: All good I guess


Cheers for that :thumb:

I have some savings with Abbey so it seemed like a logical place to start.


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## WEBBY (Sep 8, 2007)

I'm a mortgage broker, and have to say that generally Abbey are one of the better lenders out there, as they can be quite flexible on their lending criteria, and their interest rates are always there or thereabouts compared to other lenders. 
Not just saying this next bit because I'm a broker, but your application process will go a lot more smoothly using a broker than going in branch as they don't really concentrate their efforts in branches as about 80% of their mortgage applications come from brokers/advisers.

Good luck and hope that helps you make your decision!


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## petemattw (Nov 3, 2008)

Stay well clear. They nearly lost me my last property after arsing about for a month and then told my solicitor i'd changed my mind, which was a down right lie.

I've had to threaten legal action twice over savings accounts which i've closed and not had the balance moved after closing, they sat on the money for several weeks during the arguing. Abbey are trouble trouble trouble as far as i'm concerned!


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## Crafty (Aug 4, 2007)

had no problems at all, My SVR is +0.79 base rate, so I'm paying 1.29% at the moment. 
My mortgage is a flex one and I've borrowed from it, then overpaid, then dropped the payments back down and then upped it again. Whenever I speak to them on the phone they give the right information and do what they say they are going to. Couldn't ask for much more really.


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## APK (Oct 6, 2008)

Agree with what Webby says, they are reasonably flexible, but they have have a high SVR, this did not used to be an issue, but with lenders currently uninterested in remortgage business, it is something to consider if in 2 years time you are stuck on a high follow on rate.
With regards to broker/branch, find a good fee free broker, and why trek into a branch? the broker will do the legwork, branches are geared to cross sales so will try to sell buildings and contents, current accounts etc.
Just one final note, why Abbey? a broker may find a better deal, Abbey have been good, but have become less competitive recently.


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## Crafty (Aug 4, 2007)

APK said:


> Agree with what Webby says, they are reasonably flexible, but they have have a high SVR, this did not used to be an issue, but with lenders currently uninterested in remortgage business, it is something to consider if in 2 years time you are stuck on a high follow on rate.
> With regards to broker/branch, find a good fee free broker, and why trek into a branch? the broker will do the legwork, branches are geared to cross sales so will try to sell buildings and contents, current accounts etc.
> Just one final note, why Abbey? a broker may find a better deal, Abbey have been good, but have become less competitive recently.


A broker I know (who does alot of business) uses Abbey a fair bit as they are quite accomodating for people with difficult circumstances.

Another friend was told by a different broker that he'd be better off going to Abbey direct as they'd probably get a better deal than they would via him.. go figure!

I don't trust anyone to do this sort of thing for me - it doesn't take much to figure out whats what - loads of information and forums on the web. I've seen quite a few people end up with an unsuitable product via brokers (not just mortgages - savings, pensions etc as well).


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## APK (Oct 6, 2008)

Crafty said:


> I don't trust anyone to do this sort of thing for me - it doesn't take much to figure out whats what - loads of information and forums on the web. I've seen quite a few people end up with an unsuitable product via brokers (not just mortgages - savings, pensions etc as well).


Do you do the same with medical ailments? there is a lot of info about them on the web as well, I hear DIY surgery is very popular!

There are good brokers and bad, but most are good, I would reccomend going through a good broker, but like everything you need to do some research yourself, if you would rather take time off work to trek into town to go into a branch rather than have a broker come to you after work that is your choice.


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## Crafty (Aug 4, 2007)

oddly enough yes I do, I suffer from Ménière's disease and have found quite a bit of useful information on the web that my GP and consultant didn't tell me.

As the saying goes, google is your friend.


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## ArcticVXR (Apr 10, 2007)

petemattw said:


> Abbey are trouble trouble trouble as far as i'm concerned!


+1 for me too

Abbey sold me and my wife an Endowment mortgage 13 years ago when we bought our first house together. Not knowing ANYTHING about mortages or the difference between a 'repayment' or 'endowment' mortgage or let alone how they worked we put our trust in their hands. We found out 7 YEARS into our mortgage that they had failed to also sell us an endowment policy to pay into.......needless to say we paid off NOTHING in those 7 years so had to start again from scratch.

We removed all our bank accounts, savings and mortgage elsewhere and sought compensation for their bad practice which was sorted......eventually!!

In my opinion they should be given a wide birth :thumb:


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## APK (Oct 6, 2008)

thevaleter said:


> +1 for me too
> 
> Abbey sold me and my wife an Endowment mortgage 13 years ago when we bought our first house together. Not knowing ANYTHING about mortages or the difference between a 'repayment' or 'endowment' mortgage or let alone how they worked we put our trust in their hands. We found out 7 YEARS into our mortgage that they had failed to also sell us an endowment policy to pay into.......needless to say we paid off NOTHING in those 7 years so had to start again from scratch.
> 
> ...


Look on the bright side, you've saved the cost of the endowment, which would have been worth nothing by now anyway!!


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## APK (Oct 6, 2008)

Crafty said:


> oddly enough yes I do, I suffer from Ménière's disease and have found quite a bit of useful information on the web that my GP and consultant didn't tell me.
> 
> As the saying goes, google is your friend.


Sorry to hear that, had a few friends suffered from that a couple of years ago, weird suddenly came, but lasted a couple of months, very debilitating.

Agree Google is your friend, but I see you still use a GP and consultant, you should apply the same principle to anything, do your home work first, then take guidance frrom a specialist, so you can ask the right questions, often the issue is not the advice given, but the correct questions were not asked/or answers given, tell the truth, not what you think you should say.


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