www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk
60seconds Media Y
WITH..... GED HOSTY
MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR EQUITY RELEASE PARTNERSHIP
IS THERE A NEED TO LOOK AT MORE LONG-TERM PRODUCTS IN EQUITY RELEASE? If you look at other markets like annuities, you have a standard annuity rate and then the impaired enhanced products. Equity release is at the earlier stage of that in terms of looking at other factors, not just age.
IS THERE A NEED FOR GREATER INNOVATION IN THE SECTOR? I think there is. For me the next big thing that no-one has cracked is the care market – using equity release to cater for borrowers’ social care needs. There are some structural issues with the treatment of housing assets while owners remain in their home, which is complicated. Councils have to work out whether individuals hit the requirements. But there is a misunderstanding about what local authorities are going to provide in terms of care so people do end up living in more straitened circumstances than they otherwise would.
ARE MORE CONSUMERS AWARE OF EQUITY RELEASE THESE DAYS? They should be but the reality is that the awareness among the public remains low. The recent structural changes at Safe Home Income Plans will reinforce the protections in the market, which will improve consumer confidence.
YOU ARE TRAINING TO DO THREE LEGS OF AN IRON MAN ON SEPARATE DAYS –WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO DO THAT? There was no cohesive plan, it just crept up on me and I’ve ended up in the middle of training looking forward to the end of it – I’m an accidental triathlete. In May I’m doing the Belfast Marathon, then a 3.8km swim in Reading and a 109 mile bike ride. I’m raising money for PROP, a Bristol-based charity that supports young adults with severe learning difficulties. You can sponsor me at
www.justgiving.com/gedhosty.
WHICH THREE PEOPLE WOULD YOU INVITE TO A DINNER PARTY AND WHY? Carlos Tevez because I think he has a great work-life balance and I speak as a Manchester City fan, former rugby player Brian Moore to discuss the scrummaging laws with him and to Billy Connolly to lighten the atmosphere.
WHAT BOOK ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING? Beware Of The Dog which is Brian Moore’s autobiography. You expect it to be one rugby battle after another but it shows a surprising level of self-awareness. INTERVIEW BY ROBERT THICKETT
MORTGAGE STRATEGY April 9, 2012
reveals there are banks and second charge lenders that barely give the minimum help required to customers.
After being sanctioned by the Financial Ombudsman Service and even the courts, some banks continue campaigns of harassment and intimidation. The show begins with a
harrowing story about a man who lost his job, wife and home, and then a bank piled on the misery by asking for debt repayments. Alan left the army so he could see more of his family but was forced to take a job with a lower salary. He then separated from his
wife. The combination of factors meant he went into mortgage arrears leading to his home being repossessed in March 2011 by Northern Rock. The sale of his repossessed
home, which he bought for £112,000, raised just £67,500. On top of the £20,000 extra secured debt and a mortgage worth more than the house, he still owed £102,000. He moved in with his brother, lived on £30 a month, was forced to sell his dog and even attempted suicide.
Enter debt counsellor Mike Thomas,
sent to turn around the poor chap’s fortunes. Thomas explains that Northern Rock sold his house for well under its value and that it was being ridiculous asking for payments within four weeks of a sale. The counsellor is shocked at Alan’s plight and says he must file for bankruptcy because he is in an impossible cycle of debt. Bizarrely, there is a £700 charge to become bankrupt so Thomas suggests he approach army charities to meet the cost. In an emotional end to Alan’s story he is declared bankrupt and his debts wiped.
meet her mortgage costs and other bills, let alone pay the bank’s overdraft charges. FOS found in Joan’s favour. HSBC offered her £440 to cover bills but then began a campaign of threatening phone calls.
Hounding customers into a spiral
of bank charges and the hugely under-valued sale of a repossessed property are two examples of brutal bank behaviour. The programme offers a terrifying
portrait of an industry where it seems customers are merely a means to make more money. Suicide attempts, marriage break-ups and stress-induced illnesses don’t register with the faceless call centre staff paid to hassle those in debt. My Worst Deal brought home the human cost of unnecessarily aggressive lending policies. REVIEW BY SAMUEL DALE
31
SPOTLIGHT
SPOTLIGHT My Worst Deal BBC1, available on iPlayer
ou know a programme entitled My Worst Deal about loan sharks, repossessions and bust lender Northern Rock is going to contain some disturbing tales. And so it does – laying bare a lending
industry focussed on trickery and subtle deceits to make money. The show, part of a series on BBC 1,
The show also highlights cases where
people run into difficulty when buying household appliances on store finance. Invariably it costs them more and the show finds that store staff are not always fully open about the repayment schedule and terms and conditions of contracts. Another example shows a woman,
Joan, getting into a cycle of bank charges from HSBC which eventually consumed a third of her wages. It meant she couldn’t
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32