DRN-6252258

The complaint Mr I complains that Santander UK Plc didn’t agree to port his mortgage to a property he already owns. He’d like it to agree to port the product to another property. What happened Mr I took out a mortgage with Santander in 2021. The mortgage was recommended by a broker. Mr I chose a fixed interest rate product. Mr I says the fact that the product was portable was fundamental to his decision. Mr I ported the mortgage in 2023, via a broker. In 2025 Mr I contacted Santander as he wanted to sell the security property and port the mortgage to a property that he’d previously been renting out. Santander declined. Mr I paid an early repayment charge (ERC) of about £5,000 when he repaid the mortgage. Mr I says it’s unfair that Santander declined to port the product and the mortgage was mis-sold. Our investigator said Santander acted in accordance with the mortgage terms and conditions. He said it was clear that porting was to a new property that was being purchased. And Santander didn’t recommend the mortgage to Mr I. Our investigator said Santander didn’t make an error. Mr I said regardless of any hidden small print he had a fair and reasonable expectation of being able to port his mortgage. He said £5,000 is a lot of money and Santander should extend the porting window to 12 months from March 2026. What I’ve decided – and why I’ve considered all the available evidence and arguments to decide what’s fair and reasonable in the circumstances of this complaint. Mr I took out the mortgage with Santander with a fixed rate product in 2021. The mortgage offer issued by Santander in 2021 said an ERC applied if the mortgage was repaid before 2029. When Mr I ported the product in 2023 Santander issued a mortgage offer which also said an ERC applied if the mortgage was repaid before 2029. The mortgage was repaid in 2025. I think Santander was entitled to apply the early repayment charge, in accordance with the mortgage terms and conditions. Mr I wouldn’t have had to pay the early repayment charge if he’d ported the mortgage product to a new mortgage. He says Santander’s decision not to port is unfair. I appreciate Mr I’s frustration that Santander declined his porting application. But I don’t think it made an error. Both mortgage offers (issued in 2021 and 2023) say the mortgage is portable: Moving Home You have the right to transfer this loan to another property. You must meet conditions

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set out in the mortgage conditions under “Transferring your loan to a new mortgage”. You must also meet our lending criteria and pass our affordability assessment at the time. One of Santander’s lending criteria is that the product is ported to a property that is being purchased. It does not allow porting to properties already owned by the borrower. The mortgage conditions say the mortgage can be transferred to “another property that you wish to buy”. There’s no suggestion it can be transferred to another property already owned by the borrower. The mortgage and the product were recommended by a broker. It was for the broker (not Santander) to discuss Mr I’s plans with him, recommend a suitable product and explain the terms to him. Santander can’t reasonably include information about all possible scenarios in a mortgage offer. If it was important to Mr S in 2021 that he could port the mortgage to a property he already owned, this was something he’d have needed to raise specifically, via his broker. Regulations in place in 2021 required Santander to provide information that is clear, fair and not misleading. The mortgage offer set out the amount of the ERC and when it applied. While Mr I says he had a reasonable expectation of being able to port, the mortgage offer says this is subject to meeting conditions set out in the mortgage conditions, lending criteria and an affordability assessment. I think the information provided was clear, fair and not misleading. I don’t think Santander made an error or treated Mr I unfairly. It follows that I don’t think it’s fair and reasonable to require it to refund the ERC, agree to port the mortgage to Mr I’s property or extend the porting window. My final decision My decision is that I do not uphold this complaint. Under the rules of the Financial Ombudsman Service, I’m required to ask Mr I to accept or reject my decision before 26 May 2026. Ruth Stevenson Ombudsman

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