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’re struggling to pay your mortgage or think you might experience problems in the near future, we want to help you. It’s important that you don’t panic, but call us on 0800 952 0615 as soon as you can (calls will be recorded). We’ll be able to discuss your circumstances and will do all we can to help you resolve the problem.

We may be able to:

  •  Arrange a new payment plan with you that suits both of us
  •  Change the way you make your payments, or the date you make them
  •  Allow you to pay your mortgage over a longer period of time (to reduce your monthly payments)

We will give you full details on how these options work and give you time to consider any changes. If we can’t offer you any of these options we will explain why. We might agree to you remaining in the property to sell the property yourself depending on your circumstances.

In all cases we will:

  •  Give you reasonable time to pay back the debt
  •  Refer you to Money Advice Trust (MAT), if you wish us to, with whom we work closely. They give free, independent debt advice to people across the UK through their telephone and online advice services – National Debtline & Business Debtline. They are experts in helping people in financial difficulty, providing realistic and affordable ways of solving debt problems.
  •  Only start proceedings to repossess your home if we are unable to solve the problem with you.

There are other organisations you can approach for help and advice. With your authority we will work with them where possible.

Some organisations which may be able to help are:

What can you do to help us?

Tell us as soon as possible if you are having problems repaying your mortgage or if you think that you might experience problems shortly.

  •  Contact us on 0800 952 0615 as soon as you can (calls will be recorded).
  •  Seek debt advice if you would like help with managing your finances.
  •  Get back to us quickly, if we try to contact you.
  •  Make sure you keep any other people paying the mortgage, and anyone guaranteeing the mortgage, up to date with what is happening.
  •  Keep to the payment plan we agree with you, or tell us if there is a change in your circumstances which may affect the arrangement. If you do not make the agreed payments, we might have to go to court to get back any money you owe us, or to repossess your property.
  •  Check whether you can get any state benefits or tax credits which could help to increase your income.
  •  If you have an insurance policy, check whether it would help with your payments.
  •  Tell us if you move to a new address.

Costs and charges

If you are in arrears, we may charge you for our reasonable administrative and legal costs. We will tell you the amount you will have to pay. See our tariff of mortgage charges for more details.

FAQs

What happens if we can’t agree on a solution?

If we can’t agree a solution with you, we may send a debt counsellor to see you to discuss your financial circumstances, and the cost of the visit may 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 debt 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 a last resort. Before we 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.

What happens if you repossess my home?

If we repossess your home, we will give you reasonable time to take your possessions from your home. We will try and sell your home as quickly as possible and for the best price we can reasonably get. The money raised from selling your home will be used 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 my home does not raise enough money to pay off my mortgage?

If there is not enough money from the sale of your home to repay the whole of your mortgage, you 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. If you bought your home with other borrowers, each of you is responsible for all the money borrowed. This is true even if you normally only pay part of the mortgage.

We will contact you within six years of selling the property (seven in Scotland) to arrange for you to pay back what you still owe. 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 and 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?

If you can no longer pay your mortgage, you may be thinking about handing your keys and property back to us. If you do this, 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 talk to us about your situation before taking such action, there may be other things we can do to help.

 

Terms & conditions

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

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