Lender ordered to pay compensation following ageism

February 11, 2016 by Brendan O'Neill

Lenders

A 59 year old man who was refused an extension on his mortgage was paid compensation by his lender, as the refusal was a breach of the equality act.

The Co-operative Bank was ordered to pay £2,000 as compensation to Peter Day. The borrower requested to extend his mortgage term by five years, as he wanted some money to put towards a wedding for his daughter. He had almost paid his mortgage in full and had sufficient income to cover his retirement, with three pensions based on final salary calculations. Despite this, he was refused the extension by The Co-operative Bank.

During an interview with the Daily Mail, Day explained to the reporter that he wasn’t happy with the decision, and added:

“It was clearly age discrimination as paying the money back and my current financial position were clearly no problem.”

Since the incident, the bank has issued a statement stating that its policy has been changed and borrowers can now repay a mortgage up to the age of 75 rather than 68 years old. Since the introduction of new affordability rules in 2014, many lenders have become wary of lending to older customers, which has become a problem for many.

However, the Building Societies Association has pledged to review the upper age for borrowing. https://www.beaconfinancialtraining.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/cemap-online-and-classroom-training-uk.jpget Harborough Building Society will lend until the borrower is 85 years of age if they can prove they have the means to repay the mortgage.

A CeMAP trained mortgage adviser will often be able to offer support for borrowers looking for a mortgage.