Mortgage prisoners are still suffering the consequences of the financial crisis – with thousands stuck paying high interest rates.
A mortgage prisoner is someone unable to switch mortgage lender. They are vulnerable and could be stuck with a lender which will exploit them by keeping them paying a high interest rate, not give them any new deals or fixed rates and not show them any flexibility.
There are up to 200,000 people who are currently mortgage prisoners. This includes over 120,000 former customers of Northern Rock who were sold off by the Government and UK Asset Resolution (UKAR). In 2016, Lord McFall wrote to the Government, UKAR and the FCA to express concern about the lack of safeguards for the mortgages being sold. Instead of listening to these concerns, the mortgages of thousands of former Northern Rock customers were sold to unregulated lenders and vulture funds.