Equity Release

A regulated loan servicer must act fairly and reasonably when assessing redemption valuations and should not unreasonably reject a valuation without proper justification or allowing the borrower opportunity to respond to concerns before fin

A lender must handle requests for mortgage repayment fairly and efficiently when a borrower enters long-term care, though it may require medical evidence to confirm the contractual conditions are met.

An adviser must ensure a consumer is made fully aware of the risks and downsides of borrowing, and cannot simply defer to a consumer's stated preference without proper documentation and challenge where the advice appears unsuitable.

A regulated firm administering a government loan on behalf of an unregulated lender must handle applications fairly and reasonably, including responding to documents and requests within reasonable timeframes.

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 only provides recourse against a lender for actionable misrepresentations or breaches of contract by the supplier, requiring evidence of false statements of existing fact.

An equity release lender's lending decision must be made responsibly with regard to property valuation and appropriate loan-to-value ratios, assessed against the regulatory framework and industry practice at the time of lending.

Complaints about mortgage sale advice are time-barred if made more than six years after the transaction; the sending of promotional marketing material to customers is not inherently wrong if customers can opt out.

A lender should not disclose customer financial information to third parties without consent or a court order, though premature disclosure may not change the ultimate outcome if a court would likely order it anyway.

A lender is not required to have identified fraud at the point of sale where there were no objective red flags in the application documentation, and enforcement action cannot be indefinitely delayed while a criminal investigation proceeds.

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 requires evidence of actionable misrepresentation or breach of contract by the supplier for connected lender liability to apply.

A lender may default and close a credit card account after a customer fails to make payments during an agreed nil-payment plan period and their financial difficulties are assessed as long-term rather than short-term.

A lender is not obliged to accept a sale of mortgaged property at negative equity unless the proceeds would clear the mortgage debt in full.

A lender is not liable under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 for a supplier's misrepresentation unless the misrepresentation constitutes a factual and material false statement of existing fact.

A lender is not required to extend an interest-only mortgage term beyond its expiry simply because the borrower requests it, even if reassured about forbearance and time to repay.

A lender may reasonably require a grant of probate to establish authority to deal with a deceased borrower's estate before releasing funds or returning property.