Warning over £260 fee to find mortgage errors

HOMEOWNERS are being lured into handing over cash to a claims firm which says it could get a large chunk of their mortgage debt wiped off.

A new TV campaign invites borrowers to stump up £260 to find out whether their mortgage has been sold on by their original lender to another company.

The firm behind the advert argues that errors in the paperwork when these mortgages were sold could allow borrowers to make a claim against their lender to get ‘up to 70 pc’ of their mortgage debt written off.

But the same company had its previous radio adverts banned by the watchdog for misleading listeners. The Advertising Standards Authority said last month that Easeyourmortgage.co.uk ‘did not make it sufficiently clear that [its claims] were based on a theoretical possibility only’.

It added that the firm had yet to prove its case in court or successfully get any mortgage debts cleared.

A spokesman for Easeyourmortgage says: ‘At no time do we indicate or imply that this is a proven case, but merely that we have strong evidence to support our position.

‘We are not seeking compensation, but to correct an error or omission that may result in there being no legal or valid reason for a borrower to continue repayments.’

He added that the new TV advert has been approved by regulators.