Capstone Mortgages – Disgraceful – Ripoff
Capstone Mortgages – Rip Off
UPDATE 12/01/2010
I am getting a letter a week at the moment from Capstone Mortgage Services telling me that they are charging me for my arrears. My insurance company have told me in writing that they faxed this years insurance documents directly to Capstone and yet Capstone have still forced me to have their Insurnace product.
The Ombudsman is weak and inept and companies such as Capstone are able to play on this, Capstone Mortgage Services will not be getting this money and I am now talking to a solicitor to see what my options are for sueing them direct.
I will update on how my capstone action pans out.
But ANYONE reading this must avoid using this company at all costs.If you are contemplating using Capstone Mortgages then you may want to read about my experience which is similar to many others, you may well want to think again.
UPDATE I am getting a huge amount of negative feedback on Capstone Mortgage Services, it must be time for some investigation with teeth into the practices deployed by Capstone Mortgage Services by official watchdog bodies.
Capstone have been the worst mortgage company I have ever dealt with and I am amazed they are getting away with the practice of trying to intimidate people into paying twice for home insurance and when they don’t pay twice then Capstone levy charges which I believe must be against the code of conduct.
How is this done?
Well its quite simple -
- First you must be one of the unlucky people to have taken a mortgage out with them or their other face which is ‘Preferred Mortgages’.
- Then what you do is get your own house insurance because the home insurance they offer is not competitive.
- Then on the anniversary of that insurance you renew your policy as normal because its value for money.
- About two months later Capstone start sending you letters telling you that your mortgage is in arears.
- Your name is then entered on an auto dialing system and their collections department start ringing you night and day but when you answer the phone hangs up immediately and you hear a message to urgently call them.
- You call them and stay on hold for up to 30 mins.
- When somebody answers you are accused of having mortgage arears and that your house it at risk if you do not pay up.
- After 15 mins you find out that what they have done is forced you to have their home insurance without you signing a single document and that the arrears is actually the £300 they have charged you for this privilage.
- After explaining that you have your own house insurance you are then told that you should of sent a copy to them and because you didn’t do this they can force their own expensive product choice on you.
- When you argue about this practice you are told that it is in the small print of your contract but when pushed they refuse to show you this.
- When by chance you discover that Capstone have a copy of your own house insurance on file because your insurance company sent it direct they still refuse to refund the money and continue charging admin costs.
When this happened to me I contacted the customer services manager after four months of Capstone telling me not to worry on the phone and then sending demanding letters through the post and threatening answerphone messages left on the phone.
This Capstone manager promised to sort it out and promised that the Capstone Mortgage Auto Dialing service and their collections team would leave me alone. He also promised that the charges that should never have been levied would be rescinded. Now almost a year on I am still getting the same letters, the same threatening phone calls and the same charges being levied, whats more today I had a big suprise!!!!
You guessed it, one year on from the first attempt at extortion Capstone Mortgage Services have sent me a new letter for this years insurance, even though Legal and General faxed the insurance policy DIRECT to the Capstone HQ and Legal and General wrote to me confirming this.
That is another £300 added to my ficticious outstanding account!!!!
I rang them immediately and was told by customer services once again that this was an error and that they would refund the cost of the insurance, however, they cannot refund the charges because that is the collections department who are independent. I then found out that last years insurance was refunded but only to the tune of 50% , the other 50% they requested from Legal and General who quite rightly told them to get stuffed so they levied it back on me.
Now considering that they cannot show me my original contract or where I am bound to take their insurance without signing for it, even though I have asked repeatedly to see this contract, also considering despite this lack of proof I have complied with their wishes and so has a leading insurance provider, how can this practice be legal and not outright extortion?
- When you investigate further it becomes clear that this practice is designed to bully people into giving Capstone Mortgages money under the pretence of mortgage arrears.
It does not make sense to avoid factoring this story into your decision making process when looking at mortgage providers – Capstone Mortgages would be the last company I would use and I will not roll over and just accept this immoral and unethical practice either.
Watch this space too…..
September 25, 2009
Posted in: Holidays
58 Responses
The contents of this letter should be shared with the Financial Services Authority, the Office of Fair Trading, the Financial Services Ombudsman and the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee.
This sort of bullying behaviour should be stamped out.
Thank you for your comment Wendy,
I will be taking this further but I do have the power to shame Captone Mortgages publicly which makes me very fortunate as often action will be swifter.
Thats why I started this letter because I will now ensure that it gets to the top of Google in a search for Capstone Mortgages and this will hurt them publicly.
Once that happens and it is in the public eye there will be a large volume of comments posted as people get to read it, in addition I will next week feed this into Google News as well and that will be embarressing for Capstone.
As I said watch this space.
Capstone Mortgages | Property Renting Online - September 25, 2009
[...] when we obtained our mortgage in France we didn’t have to deal with a company like Capstone Mortgages and the way that BN Paribas has treated us has been [...]
This is great advice and am really glad I read it, Capstone hassled me just the same and they bullied me into paying up because they were affecting my credit rating.
I now wish I didnt pay them, I hope they all lose their jobs one day and then see how being rude doesnt get you through life in the real world.
Capstone or Preferred – stay away
Sorry the message about Capstone came too late for you, lets hope that others see it now the post is page one in Google.
We lost our home through these people at two days notice, depite the fact we had a purchaser. We can elaborate, but do not want to make a litany of our harrowing experiences in public. The Law it seems is on their side.
Capstone Ripoff - Im Still Waiting - September 28, 2009
[...] am still awaiting my promised call back from Capstone Mortgages, they said I would get a call in 48 hours and now we are up to 96 [...]
I cannt begin to explain the pain i have had with this company, my wife is at near-breaking point with it all, their fictiscious charges are a complete joke and now we are in danger of losing the home we love. Please somone give us some advice on how to tackle these bullies.
Capstone mortgages are harrassing me for insurance payments too. I have my own insurnce and always have, they should be taken to task by the ombudsman but of course they know they are safe from the toothless self regulating body.
Capstone mortgages are calling my insurance premium mortgage arears? That is to scare people, they are bullies and need sorting.
I have had a similar problem with this company each year since taking out a policy. Really the only way to progress this is for everyone to complain directly to the FSA regarding this practice. I think it is great that Shaun has highlighted this issue.
If you are thinking of taking out a mortgage, avoid Capstone / Preferred at all costs.
If you already have one and are being bullied in this way, make sure the complaint reaches the FSA. Eventually the weight of complaint should force action.
I can categorically reaffirm all the negative reports about this Third Party Administrator. They ‘administer’ loans and mortgages on behalf of the now defunct Lehman Brothers. The FSA and the OFT are well aware of their unlawful conduct but have been painfully slow to take action. I have written extensively on this subject and have been published on it.
Well done Shaun on bringing this to a wider audience. MAy I have your permission to post a link to a forum where the issues surrounding this firm have been extensively debated?
Hi Dennis,
Of course you may post a link, I have not finished this by a long shot, my original plan was to use my blog as an SEO resource, SEO is about positioning websites in search engines and its what my company does for a living, that has changed because I am fed up of rip-off Britain, I am now using my power to shame those companies and government institutions that survive by good public relations and am going to continue doing this.
As far as Capstone goes I am still awaiting for two refunds and the refunding of my charges, Capstone are a complete ripoff company and my aim is to highlight this as much as I can.
I have just got married and so the lead up to that meant Capstone Mortgages were getting off lightly due to time constraints. Now I am back at work and will now use resources at my disposal to become a thorn in their side.
Please feel free to publicise and get people to link to this post using anchor text Capstone Mortgages, I aim to push this higher in profile now.
Best of luck.
Oh and as a caveat, the only reason I am with Capstone in the first place is because I got divorced a few years ago and for a short while I had to maintain two mortgages, the second one ended up with Preferred as the High Street was reluctant. I dont mind in those circumstances paying extra for the risk they took even tho it was slight but I am not going to be ripped off by Capstone because they feel they can ride over peoples rights.
Capstone Mortgage Services.
I had my home repossessed by capstone/spml or what ever they are calling themselves……I have just found out that my home was sold for £25,000 pounds more than was owed….when i rang them to question this, i was told the information I was given was wrong….I have contacted land registry and got a copy of the file and capstone still say its wrong…..well I am taking them to court…..When I had my mortgage through them they screwed me left right and centre, with insurance as has been spoken about on here, and interest on arrears etc and illegal charges that I am almost positive they made up….anyway I have been told I have a very strong case against them..STAY AWAY FROM CAPSTONE/SPML/PREFERRED THEY ARE RIP OFF B***ARDS
I am keeping a steady watch on this company’s continued survival despite the ambiguity of their status as so called administrators of Lehmans. If you contact consumer agencies or television programmes they do not seem to be terribly bothered. I must admit to being a little perplexed.
I see this resource on Capstone building, there are many Capstone Mortgage comments that I cannot allow due to their tone but what is obvious is that I am not alone with my contempt for this company.
What I want is to get this post higher in search so I can raise the level of publicity higher, Capstone really must become accountable for the way they treat people.
I hope the tightening of mortgage criteria puts the brakes on the type of business this company does and that maybe if they have a shrinking client base they will turn their attention more towrds client service.
There are several concerns about this group on a forum called Consumer Action group which is available for customers to add comments. It is diffult to make a critical comment publicly I hope this helps if anyone is looking for detail. It is all to easy for the small individual to be buried in the sand.
Hi Shaun
I had the most horrific experience by them as well. I will join you in your mission of taking them to the cleaners as I really don’t want to mention on this public website about my experience with them.
If you care to email me I will share that with you and discuss strategies with you as they cannot continue in this manner on innocent citizens!
Kind regards
Mina
Hi Shaun
I cannot understand how a company like Capstone can carry on treating people like they do. And what the Regulatory bodies are doing about them seems to be zero. They are causing people and their families total misery with no conscience and if there’s any company that should be closed down it should be them and exposed to what they are doing. I myself cannot understand why the media is not interested in these people.
Shaun,
I have the same aims as you but lots more anger – probably !
I would really like to get together with others like me/you/et al to organise a co-ordinated campaign of publicity about certain issues like this.
I am a public relations consultant as well as journalist by training, so I know how to go about these things (hopefully).
Meanwhile I will re-post this on my blog Modern Times in Mudshires at http://rocketspage.wordpress.com.
If you look at my blog you will se it is full of my blatherings about injustices of one sort or another. And I haven’t even started on any blathering about my astonishing mortgage (Capstone included) experiences !
Very specifically, I really would like to learn from you more about how to use SEO etc. My knowledge of these things is not good – despite using computers for decades !
Capstone Mortgages – Beware! « MODERN TIMES IN MUDSHIRES - November 7, 2009
[...] Capstone Mortgages – Beware! By Boz By Guest Blogger Shaun Parker [...]
As a former Capstone employee, i feel your pain. They are the most unorganised company imagineable. If I was still working there, I would happily help you guys, unfortunately the majority of people there do not take ownership, therefore your disputes never get sorted. The insurance is a joke, they argue they apply the insurance because they need to ensure the property is insured. What kind of homeowner would not have insurance, and why dont they request a copy of the insurance every year before levying a charge. I really do feel sorry for you guys, you dont deserve such poor service
Hi,
Thanks airing your experiance,s with Capstone,SPML, Preffered really appreciate it.
Yes we too had a Mortgage with SPML/Capstone,my husband had to give up work wearly as he was being bullied. I worked away from home Sunday evening to Friday evening,72 hrs a week, no life for us at the weekend as exhasgted.
They were making our life a misery. we did however managed to sell our property before they gor their hands on it.
Thers was hardly any capital left as we had taken this mortgage out with hem to subsidise my husbands loss of earning, I know now we should not have done that.
Now we are in sheltered accomodation.
We worked hard all our lives, we adopted a little boy from 6 weeks old, he is so cleaver,went to Private School, then to Oxford, now gained his Doctorait. Drained us financially but would not change a thing as he brought us more pleasure than anything else in this world.
I hope that something is done very quickly with these Cowboys, so others don,t have this mental abuss that we have all have suffer.
I wish you all well, things can ony get better.
Lynn
I AM CURRENTLY PUTTING A CASE OF MY OWN TOGETHER REGARDING CAPSTONE/PREFFERD MORTGAGES. I HAVE HAD TREMENDOUS PROBLEMS WITH THIS COMPANY LOOSING MY PAYMENTS, CHARGING ME EXESSIVE FEE’S, RUDENESS OJN THE PHONE AND THREATENING LETTERS TO NAME BUT A FEW. I RUN A COMPANY CALLED BRANTWOOD GRANGE CONSULTANTS AND DEAL WITH CONSUMER PROBLEMS IN THE UTILITY INDUSTRY, SO I HAVE A GOOD KNOWLEGE OF CONSUMER LAWS ETC. I AM PUTTING TOGETHER A CASE TO SENT TO THE OFT AND THE GOVERNMENT (AS WELL AS TAKING CAPSTONE IN FRONT OF A SHERRIFF FOR ALL THE PROBLEMS I’M HAVING WITH MY OWN MORTGAGE. I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IT IF ANYONE WHO HAS HAD DEALINGS WITH THIS COMPANY E-MAIL ME AT BRANTWOODGRANGE@BTINTERNET.COM AND LET ME KNOW OF THEIR EXPAERIENCES, AS I AM WANTING TO GET EVERYONE WHO HAD PROBLEMS WITH THIS COMPANY TOGETHER TO PUT A STRONG CASE TOGETHER TO PRESENT TO THE GOVERNMENT AND THE OFT, SO THIS COMPANY CAN BE EXPOSED FOR WHAT THEY ARE.
I cannot understand the trading position of Capstone. They are a subsidiary of Lehmans, so I would have expected that it would be included as part of the assets of the bankruptcy. As it is they appear to have taken over the ownership of the assets rather phoenix like, and are trading on the value of those in their own portfolio. They claim that they are administrators. This is ambiguous because in a bankruptcy as i understand it the court appoints its own independent administrators. I would appreciate it if anyone could resolve my apparent confusion.
I have a partial answer to my query. Price Waterhouse Coopers are the official administrators for Lehman Brothers UK. There is such an apparently complex situation that they have given pages of explanation. There is a contact website http://www.pwc.co.uk/eng/issues/lehman_faq_1008.html# if you want to study their information.
I hope this helps people in their search for greater clarity.
When trying to purchase a house through Capstone they said they were willing to accept my offer as long as i use their solicitors and that we must exchange in 30 days. As it turned out there was a clause imposed on the property that they must have known about saying that an option must be given to the council and remain open for 8 weeks, meaning that this was impossible and subsequently the deal would be cancelled and the solicitors fees paid to capstone.
I was lucky by refusing to use their solicitors, however, the day after they agreed they said that i’d been gazump and i incurred fees of nearly £500 seperatly.
I have now found that countless others have fallen foul of this and suspect they are using the property to generate solicitor fees.
The question is, how can this be proved? any whistleblowers out there??
It is enough to say that the 30 days is a con in itself?
That’s a very interesting perspective James, and the detail is illuminating. I suspect this is happening with my old house. It has been on the market with them for nearly a year now, and we have heard rumours from friends of sales under way, and then withdrawn. No doubt they are people who have been enticed into the contract you describe on the basis of a bargain because a substantial property is advertised at a very favourable price.
I just had another letter asking me to ring about my ficticious arrears and at the same time I have a phone message asking me to ring about my refund.
The letter is quite menacing and has really got under my skin, currently I am testing out the legality of my contract, I have requested and received their copy plus a copy of my original application form from Preferred Mortgages, both are with a high quality lawyer.
I will keep you informed but I am looking at whether the original contract is legal.
yes i am having the same problem with capstone i am in arrears and now they are trying to get a repossesion they are not helpfull at all on the telephone, they wont even reduce my payments or come to some sort of agreement to pay it of they want the full monthly payment or nothing
Shaun,
I have copied your post here onto a new ‘blog’ page I have set up which has the sole aim of becoming a vehicle to obtain publicity to attract people wishing to see these devious mortgage lenders sued in a test case.
We would hope compensation from these thieves disguised as mortgage providers will be ordered by the courts.
This has already happened in the USA !
This blog is located atHomeownersforjusticeagainstmortgageracketeering.wordpress.com/ have a look and join in.
I have copied your post here onto a new ‘blog’ page I have set up which has the sole aim of becoming a vehicle to obtain publicity to attract people wishing to see these devious mortgage lenders sued in a test case.
We would hope compensation from these thieves disguised as mortgage providers will be ordered by the courts.
This has already happened in the USA !
This blog is located atHomeownersforjusticeagainstmortgageracketeering.wordpress.com/ have a look and join in.
I give up with this wordpress software. It is really mucking around today – hence my errors with website
Hi,
I need some advice, my mum has just passed away suddenly and she has a mortgage with Capstone. She is in litigation and they are threatening to repossess even though she has been maintaining her payments on the arrears. When we contacted them to advise that she had passed the advisor was so rude and demanded payment or they would enforce the repossession order. She refused to even listen to me and I had to ask for a manager. It was only when I mentioned contacting FOS that they allowed me a month to get mums affairs in order.
I understand that my parents are in arrears but my father really does not want to lose his home. Looking at the paperwork they had refused to transfer them to interest only and not offered any other hardship tools and caused my parents so much stress.
Therefore, I was just wondering if you guys had any suggestions on what I can do. They really are the most heartless company I have ever dealt with and I really could do with some help.
Thanks
I have had a multitude of issues with Capstone. I have written to the FSA, my MP, and a government minister about them. I want to track the directors down and personally ask them what they think is going on with their outfit.
I cannot believe they are getting away with it…..
Essex Police Performance - January 4, 2010
[...] outlook transcends all walks of life, it could be something simple like Capstone Mortgages ripping their customers off or maybe something more complex such as the Essex Police section of the [...]
The Daily Mail has a commentary site on this. What concerns me is the slowness with which the Government seems to be acting, compared with the rapidity with which it introduces ministerial regulation and investigation in other areas that are so close to its heart.
There appears to be a misconception that the ‘clueless’ victims of this group are a bunch of hopeless debtors who have only themselves to blame. This is not so, as anyoone who has had dealings with them can testify.
The Key issue perhaps to reflect on is:
Your company is now bankrupt, and our country is in a state of crisis, but you get to keep $480 Million. I have one very basic question: Is that fair?
Henry Waxman questioning Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Field.
As an issue of natural Justice, it is perhaps a question that many people could or should be asking.
Hello
My family and I have had a horrific experience with capstone.I got into errears for various reasons tried to sort it out with them but they would have none of it all they kept saying was how much they were going to charge me.Back in 2007 I found out there was a court date for a repossesion order. The afternoon before, we agreed a figure to pay off the arrears and they said its all sorted it wont go to court but guess what it did and as I was not working I went to court to make sure. everyone was shocked to see me but the biggest shock was I got charged £2000 for less than five mins explaining to the judge what was going on.This was more than the arrears.I tried to pay more but struggled.When I got a statement I noticed I was being charged £140 a month which was more than what they advised me to pay on the arrears so my arrears were climbing.Then in Jan 2009 we recieved an eviction order there was no warning just the letter giving us seven days,I managed to swap a life insurance in and after capstone changed my offer three times i had to borrow more money they eventually stopped the eviction.I asked if I could have a letter faxed to say they had stopped the eviction as i did not trust them as i did not want them turning up at our house as my wife is disabled and did not want to put her through any more distress the manager said we wont do a letter you will have to phone our solicitor so i did he said im off to dinner so i cant do it i will do it later he did a few hours later.In may my fixed mortgage came to an end so March time on the advice of a financial advisor i rang them and asked to put my mortgage to interest only for a year she refused this straight away saying i asked in Jan and was refused then (this is a lie)I said my mortgage is due to change on 1st may as interest rates have dropped she said no its june as weve moved the goal post and changed things. my rate actually changed in july.Ive been struggling to make payments then in november i spoke to them and was told theres no prob your paying your mortgage then 2 weeks before xmas we were told we were being served an eviction order when i rang all they wanted was a proposal of payment I made a proposal and was told wait 48 hours but it was turned down I explained about my wife and we were having the house adapted for her and it was also xmas why do this to us now she said that doesnt come into it and whats my wife got to do with it i said 4 years we have fought to get the house adapted we got a grant from the council and also had to get permission from capstone to do the adaptions so they tnew about the works and how much it was costing she just said so.I asked when and where it was going to court she said i dont know.My wife phoned them and was told it will be weeks before it goes to court for eviction date that was 18th DEc 2 days later we got eviction notice it went to court on the 16th 2 days before we spoke to them so who was lying ?Also their solicitor lied about it? I then made another proposal which was about half the arrears told wait 48 hours that was 22nd Dec I eventually spoke to them on 4th Jan You can imagine what sort of xmas we had.he said the proposal had been refused so to stop the eviction I have had to borrow the full amount then i was told a fee of £800 was put on our mortgage for it going to court then another £115 because i paid the arrears after the 1st.THIS COMPANY MUST BE STOPPED as they are criminals and getting away with it.We will be pleased to help in any way to show what this company are doing.
Many thanks
Brian & sandy
I used to work for this company they are so geared towards profit that customers loose. Capstone are just the servicing company for your mortgage they buy them in bulk and then when you cant pay they hit you with fine after fine.
When the recession hit the company was having a new kitchen fitted on each floor (3 of them) and loads of new members of staff to cope with the demand of debtors……… The company was glad there was a recession.
Dear Shaun
I really hope you can name and shame this company. Unfortunately due to lack of work over the last few months we are in arrears but every time we speak to somebody (they say they cannot ring me on a mobile!!) we get somebody different who tells me another story. Despite payments to the arrears it seems to be going up. Please, please can we stick together and try and stop this bullying urgently. It is such a nightmare and they shouldnt be allowed to get away with it any longer. I am so relieved to find I am not the only “victim”
I also have had the same problems Capstone Mortgages insurance products forced upon me. I have taken out my own home insurance as this is much more competitive than what Capstone have to offer. I was written to and asked for a copy of this. My insurance company twice faxed copies of the documents to 2 different phone numbers given by their customer service department. I then recieved further letters saying they had not heard from me and that I had to provide copies otherwise they would enforce their own expensive insurance on me. I called them yet again and explained that I have my own insurance (you would be mad not to have home insurance) and that this time I would send a copy myself. I sent 2 further copies and both they claimed not to have recieved! I finally scanned a 5th copy of the document and emailed it across to somebody who finally applied this to my account. In this time they started writing to me claiming I had now taken out their own expensive insurance, this is like most other people without me agreeing or signing anything! I didn’t actually think it would be a problem as I would ignore their requests for payment however they started taking payments through my direct debit I pay for the mortgage payments. I called the customer service department and spoke to some idiot who said it was in the small of my agreement. I like the previous replies haven’t seen any evidence of this? Are Capstone Mortgages allowed to force their own insurance onto their customers even when they already have insurance and have provided evidence of this on several occassions? It doesn’t seem right to me and I suspect this will happen once again next year when the years anniversary is up. One suggestion is to send a copy recorded delivery that way you can prove it’s been recieved. I’ve contacted the ombudsman who weren’t that helpful, is the FSA much better then?
I did everything I could to provide evidence that I had my own insurance to Capstone Mortgages yet they still took money from my account. I’m now out of pocket and will not let this drop until I recieve my money back. Any advice would be welcome? Helen
Hi Shaun,
I remortgaged with Capstone in 2006 and I must say that it has been the biggest regret of my life. I have been in arrears previously, it even went to court and an arranged amount was agreed, but yet they still kept on phoning. I hope that you will be successful in suing them. Capstone should not be in business at all. Let us hope that they will be struck off and we will be mortgage free. Please let me know how you get on. They are a disgusting firm. Lydia
Hi Helen,
I am sorry that you are experiencing the same problems as I am, I cannot believe what they are doing is legal and am currently talking to a solicitor about it.
As soon as I make progress I will let you know, I am hoping there could be a case for harrassment.
I contacted Watchdog but heard nothing, there seems to be no teeth with any consumer body any more leaving us all to the wolves!!
Shaun
Hi To Everybody Who Has Posted
I have today written to The Mail to see if they could get involved in any way, in addition I have found Martyn Woodison on Linkin so will contact him there, for those of you who don’t know him he is head of customer care.
Good for you Shaun. We personally have nearly lost everthing, and have been where many of your contributors seem to be now. The ‘innovative’ solicitors of Capstone seem to be able to entrance the courts, or at least the junior officials who they work through. It costs money to oppose them in court, and they very well know that somebody already having financial difficulty will have little money available for proper representation.
The watchdog bodies as you have discovered…just give the impression they are not interested and hope it will all go away when the recession ends.
my mortgage was with their sister company and now with capstone in previous years i too have had arrears cleared them and also told that i have insurance ihave now been served with an eviction notice withn 2 young children and no partner they are just not interested i hope you get the justice you deserve in shaming them good luck it may have come to late for me
ive just read in the daily express that there has been much injustice done about bank charges, and capstone aka kensington mortgages have been mentioned, anyone know how you go about getting your charges back??
Hi Shaun
I would just like to say that I too have had many problems with this company but I have found the putting everythin in writing seems to work.NEVER bother speaking to them on the phone.
I have also been successful in getting charges refunded via the Financial Ombudsman and am in the process of my second complaint to them.
If any of you are interested there is a wealth of info on the dodgy dealings of SPML/PML and capstones on the consumer action group website.
Also of interest is Companies house website check the details of you mortgage company on there. SPML are late filing their accounts and their one remaing director is facing prosecution.
I could go on but as there are so many victims it would be really good if all the various sites to get together and collate the experiences of people and put together some sort of joint action.
The FSA are supposedly due to make an announcement on the 4 sup-prime companies they have been investigating (GMAC have already been fined} but they seem not to be rushing.
Hi Shaun
Many apologies for not following up on this. However I will make amends now. Good luck with your quest. Read it and weep – all 220 pages of it. You are not alone.
http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/mortgages-secured-loans/170607-spml-london-mortgage-company.html
I am making it my life’s work to bring this scumbag organisation to account.
I wonder if there would also be any mileage in naming the firms of solicitors who represent them. I know they hold a certain amount of client priviledge, but some must surely be acting in an unethical manner in the full knowledge of what they are doing. I suppose to do so would result in years of court cases where they would win by attrition.
Hi I am due at court on the 1st march as I have got into arears due to the economic downturn I have been in and out of work for the past 2 years but have still been making payments and have been keeping in contact with preferred mortgages throughout. I have 5 children and a wife to support and have made an offer of payment 2x what my new mortgage payment should be as my fixed term has ended now and am £160 better off per month to catch up with my payments I worked it like that so it would be payed off after 8 months, I got told that this would be going to the managers to approve and this would stop the application been made,I received a letter the next day stating that “due to the level of arears they are still going to persue legal action” I then recived the summons to court yesterday and once again contacted the litigation department to say I have made a proposal of £600 per month which will pay £308.88 off the arears each month plus the new lower monthly payment of £219.12 I will be making a payment of this befor the court date pluss have only just made a payment of £566 10 days ago so I am showing you I am serious about paying off any outstanding monies, there reply was once again that it would go for review before court on weather to accept my proposal or to go to court. Preferred have not been any help at all they have in no way tried to help me by suggesting capitalizing the arears or any other options available which I am told that they must do this by law,so not sure weather I can counter claim and get costs refunded as they have said it is un unregulated agreement, do the oft of fsa still govern mortgages or not if so what has happened to preferred mortgages treat customers fairly polocy that is meant to apply to comply wih fsa guidelines. Any help is gratefully received and will keep you updated.
We thought we were the only ones going through this mess the distress this company has been causing us is getting too much to bear. We have been served with another eviction notice but it turns up without any warning on a Saturday when you can’t contact anyone and have to sit on it for the weekend worrying about losing your home. This company is the lowest of the low and we regret ever getting involved with them. Redundancy forced us to miss two payments but arranged to pay £50 off the arrears each month only to find out they have been putting another £145 charges on top of what we are already paying. Charges alone have now reached £1100 and getting bigger each month. I thought the government had stepped in and warned these companies more useless fresh air coming out of gordon brown’s mouth. We went to the CAB who contacted them about the charges etc even they said what a dispicable company they were but could not help us any further. Surely someone out there can stop this company for the rip off tactics they are up to and to be honest I’m not sure how they can live with themselves never mind sleep at night. We will keep you posted and any help received is more than capstone will ever give.
Well where do i start. I hate this company with a passion. I have been with them for about 5 years now and they have done nothing but rip me off, lie call every other day and generally pester me.
We had 1 months arrears due to work problems and they called us every other day until it was paid off, then we made sure we kept up to date. In dec i noticed our payment hadn’t been taken, so i called them to let them know. They said it had been paid, i left it 3 days then called again on the 6th to say it still hadn’t been paid, they again said it had. I then called a third time and was told again that it had been taken. We then received our mortgage quarterly statement which said that the direct debit had been paid. On 22nd Jan 08 we got a letter saying we hadn’t paid dec payment and as we hadn’t bothered to contact them they were going to be adding interest to our arrears. As you can imagine this was a kick in the teeth as we had done nothing but contact them!!
Well we have just finished off paying the arrears through gritted teeth.
Also we had duel home insurance, they have acknowledged and we have been entitled to a refund of nearly £450- they took this off our arrears despite telling us the cheque was in the post and as of today i am still waiting for a call regarding another refund of home insurance £250 this time, which again they say they have taken off out “arrears”. We have a statement now to say we are in credit, yet they wont give our money back…..my complaint with them is so lengthy these are just some of the main points, i would love to see them brought to justice, i also have knowledge of another person who wants to.
I have a solicitors appointment on Monday
I will keep you posted but am glad i found this site, i thought i was the only one
We have problems with Captsones mortgages and are facing a repossession hearing next week. All the arrears cited in the POC cited are for ficticious fees and charges and we have had unsatisfactory responses to our letter before claim regarding this situation. Capstones have tried to wrong foot us by seeking a repossession. We are dealing with this but last Friday we were contacted by Companies House Criminal Investigation Team asking for information about our Capstones/SPPL mortgage. Does anyone know what’s going on? We have since done some internet searching and came up with information from your site and CAG but still not entirely clear. We are submitting a complaint to the OFT and FSA and share the pain of the other contributors.
TESSA
LOG ON TO THE CAG AND SIGN UP. THERE’S A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE IN FIGHTING REPOS THERE.
ITS THE SPML THREAD ABOVE. POST 46.
Hi Tessa
That is very interesting that Companies house have contacted you. SPML have just had their accounts posted on the companies house website (you can download a copy for £1) and they make for very interesting reading.
It appears they and the other Lehman parasites i.e pml &sppl and not solvent and say they are in the process of winding down.
You will get some fantastic help re your court case on cag so do start a thread on there.
What a relief that I found this website. Thank you Shaun and thank you all the contributors. Having read all of the posts I dont think there is anything new I can add. I spent 4 hours on the phone today to Capstone, yes you read correctly, 4 hours!! The reason i called them is because I am over 5000 pounds in arrears, 4800 pound of this is various charges. The first man i spoke to refused to put me through to his boss, said they were all busy!!!!!! I almost lost mind. I asked what they do to justify their charges, one girl actually said “well,we have to pay our staff” I am lodging an official complaint on Monday to the Managing Director, Ken Burke. This person probably doesnt exist because as we all know they are unbelievable liars. They bullied me by threatening me with eviction before Xmas, i paid them 2000 pounds to get them off my back, it ruined my xmas because i was so angry. They are crooks without a doubt and id love to see them shut down and the liars and crooks jailed but i fear in this liberal country where criminals have more rights than the victims we have no chance.
Im sorry to read about everyones misfortune at Capstones hands but do not give up,keep fighting,hassle them, threaten them with the FSA,FOC,OFT etc. I hate to admit it but sometimes if im bored while on a long drive Ill ring Capstone just to abuse them and ask them awkward questions, I then marvel at their extraordinary tactics. I’ll post again if i have any luck with my claim for getting charges back. Has anyone else had any luck with this by the way???
Thank you,keep fighting and if youre not fighting then get started NOW!!
Hi Everyone,I cant believe i am reading your stories i am with LMC (london mortgage comapany) and they are about to sell my mortgage to this company ..i dont want to leave LMC can anybody help so I dont move from LMC??
Thanks
Hi Shaun
Just read this:
http://www.standardandpoors.com/ratings/articles/en/us/?assetID=1245199060457
And this is what I make of it…
Particularly revealing are the following:
In more recent times as the economic environment has deteriorated, there has been more emphasis on special servicing, with increasing arrears/possessions and losses in the portfolios. Capstone is experienced in special servicing and has developed proven processes and tools for debt management and loss mitigation.
Capstone Mortgage Services was created in 2006 from the combination of loan origination and servicing operations of Southern Pacific Mortgage Ltd. (SPML) and Preferred Mortgages Ltd. (PML), which were wholly owned subsidiaries of Lehman Brothers Holdings PLC (now in administration). Now defunct, both the SPML and PML brands were active in the origination of U.K. nonconforming mortgages for a number of years.
We understand that the Lehman administrators intend to retain Capstone and develop and grow the business, by retaining control over the loans owned by Lehman and diversifying into third-party servicing. Thirty-five long-term servicing contracts are currently in place, giving greater certainty to cash flow.
CHART 3 (Organisational flow chart) shows that the have a TCF (Treating Customers Fairly) Manager. Yes I bet they do since the FSA started sticking their noses in. Get their name and apply the pressure because they need real help doing their job properly. What a joke.
Capstone employed 481 staff as of March 31, 2009. 65% (314) are employed in either customer services (104) or default (special) servicing (210). As a comparison, there was 140 staff in special servicing when we reported in January 2008, representing a 50% increase in headcount in this area.
That’s twice as many staff dealing with repos compared to customer services…
The work environment is positive, with culture-building in place through training, a company newsletter, and other activities such as philanthropy-related events.
That’s where we’ve been going wrong…they’re philanthropists not the abusive loan sharks we had them marked up as. All caggers should consider a serious attitude adjustment. They’re nice people really.
Training is mandatory for all employees and incorporates all regulatory and legislative requirements.
Well at least their training takes note of regulatory and statutory requirements.
The primary responsibilities of the compliance team are:
Supporting the business regarding all aspects of relevant regulation and legislation;
Primary liaison with the Financial Services Authority (FSA);
Identifying regulatory, legislative, and commercial impact on the business and assisting in implementing any required changes to processes and practices;
You wouldn’t know it would you…?
Capstone has provided its mission statement, which confirms a commitment to customer service. Its processes are established accordingly and give recognition to the concept of Treating Customers Fairly (TCF). There is a TCF manager/champion reporting directly to the director of servicing, who assists the business with ensuring that fair outcomes are delivered, and there is a steering group that meets monthly to debate issues arising and to maintain consistency.
Can we ask for a copy of the mission statement?
The general servicing team supports such key processes as indexing of scanned images into appropriate workflows, setting up direct debits and keying failed payments to accounts, and processing manual fees and refunds. The department deals with variations to customer agreements, e.g., lettings, deeds of postponement, and transfer of equity.
There we go. Clear as day. The great equity cash grab scam. Relieving people of the burden of looking after their own equity.
Capstone produced, on average, 3,847 redemption quotes per month in the first quarter of 2009.
Obviously we can’t know how many of these were people who managed to remortgage away from Capstone/SPPL/SPML/Preferred etc (probably only a small fraction) but on this figure extrapolated across all 4 quarters that in my estimate makes Capstone responsible for about one-qarter of all possessions in the UK. THIS IS AN ASTONISHING FIGURE.
With no new loans now being originated, the size of the portfolio has been steadily reducing as demonstrated in table 4. Since our last report, management focus has continued to be on arrears management and recoveries processes, particularly in light of the nonconforming nature of the pools and the current economic environment.
April 2009: 412 Repossessions
January 2009: 347 Repossessions
October 2008: 494 Repossessions
That’s 1200 families chewed up and spat out in the space of six months. Nice work Capstone. Hope you sleep at night.
TCF is embedded in arrears management to ensure that all customers, particularly those who have a genuine desire to resolve problems, are treated fairly and consistently
Anyone out there with any experience of such? I certainly can’t recall ever being treated fairly, despite raising numerous issues with them.
As an overlay to the special servicing team, there is a loan modification (LM) team whose responsibility is to assess loans that have either: (i) the potential to go into arrears?say, if a customer contacts Capstone to advise that their income has reduced and that they cannot afford full payments; or (ii) loans that are already in arrears. This team has the authority within a structured mandate matrix to agree modifications.
We should write to the loan modifications team and ask what the criteria are of the structured mandate matrix and specifically ask if they can modify 50 loans a month what can you do for me…
On Repossession:
If a loss remains on the mortgage account post-sale, there is a recoveries team that will ascertain the likelihood of obtaining payment of the shortfall from the debtor. This is done via debt collection agencies (DCAs), of which Capstone has a panel of three. The DCAs operate on a “no trace?no fee” basis.
There we have it. Absolute proof that repossession is the beginning of the horror not the end. They will pursue you for years after they have stolen your home.
In addition, a review of the file is undertaken to ascertain whether negligence action can and should be taken against professional advisers, i.e., solicitors and valuers. There were 363 new claims in the past 12 months. Going forward, all losses will be reviewed in the context of possible professional negligence claims.
Unbelievable…when they have pushed you to the wall they then going after all of the other people in the machine that helped in this criminal enterprise. Even the solicitors, estate agents and valuers who assisted capstone in robbing you of your home have strong reason to be very wary indeed of the blood sucking scum.
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