I have been pleasantly surprised to see that Mortgage Prisoners are starting to get some coverage and the sector is starting to respond (albeit slowly) to the FCA’s call for action .

It will be like turning a tanker – but you have to start somewhere.

I was personally quite vocal in the media following the FCA’s invitation for the intermediary sector to support Mortgage Prisoners, and for lender to help those at the coal face by being clear on their modified affordability rules and ensuring suitable products are available.

We hosted a meeting recently with Mortgage Prisoners UK, an alliance that has been set up to provide a forum for discussion and support, in order for us to better understand the many different situations faced by homeowners in this situation. We gained so much insight in such a short amount of time which will hopefully lead us to better servicing this area of the market.

I asked Rachel Neale, founder of Mortgage Prisoners UK, for some feedback on our meeting and she responded by saying: “We really welcomed the meeting with you and Ian over at Concept. As you know I am keen to share the plight of mortgage prisoners across the UK and how the intermediary sector can do more to help.

“In the many years of campaigning I can confirm that no two cases are identical and a broad-brush approach will not fit the bill. It will take understanding from the whole of the sector to support people through this.”

My own frustration on behalf of mortgage prisoners is that if they had been on fair trackers during the last 13 years, I am convinced 50% of them would have been able to make capital payments and would now be in mortgageable positions.

I can recall a recent example personally. The mortgage was 1% over base tracker, where nearly 70% of the balance was repaid; a second on SVR averaging at 4.84%, where the balance hasn’t changed, and the borrower is still in negative equity.

The larger interest payments have precluded capital repayments. This is all with a backdrop of a relatively good salary.

So how are those north of Watford ever going to get out of the situations they are currently in?

There are a number of ‘zombie’ lenders that have been sold at a discount over the years to vulture lenders – that stinks somewhere down the line.

Hearing some of the stories of those campaigning for fairer mortgages does make me think more should be being done to eradicate unfair lending. If someone is identified as a mortgage prisoner, and their current rate is hugely out of kilter with market norm, I do not think it would hurt to look more deeply at how this was allowed in the first place.

I love seeing new clients come through our business when we have found a better deal with a supportive and understanding lender (this isn’t exclusive to mortgage prisoners), but I’m often shocked by the rate reduction, and not always due to change in circumstance either.  I’m well versed in my understanding of pricing for risk, but sometimes common sense must prevail.

What can be done?

I would welcome an industry wide forum to talk through this challenge on a practical, operational level and how consumers can be supported through the process.

An example of an area to be looked at in detail would be the approach to mortgage that included unsecured loans (pre-financial crash) that are still impacting lives.  Understanding is key in this area and advisers must look at the bigger financial picture holistically.

All credit to West Bromwich Building Society with its recent announcement of a specific product for mortgage prisoners.  I for one would like to see more lenders following suit and being very clear on how their systems and processes are geared up for modified affordability assessments.

I read in the trade media recently, that NatWest had started to communicate their Mortgage Prisoner Hub to selected brokers.

A tool to help process mortgage prisoner cases with modified affordability. The only brokers that currently have access to the tool are those on the approved FCA list for mortgage prisoners, on the NatWest’s panel and the borrower must have their letter from their existing lender confirming that they are classified as a mortgage prisoner.

I believe that this ought to be market-wide sooner rather than later and not lender specific in order to seek the best outcomes for consumers.

My call to lenders across the UK is to move swiftly in confirming their modified affordability assessments and to speak out more about their success stories when they help borrowers.

I think they would be surprised how much this would inspire others in similar positions to get in touch with someone and get some sound advice.