Santander UK Plc · DRN-6203543

The complaint Miss A complains that Santander UK Plc treated her unfairly when her mortgage fell into arrears. She says it threatened legal action even though she was trying to sell the property, set unrealistic deadlines, gave her inconsistent information and harassed her with phone calls. What happened Miss A took out a mortgage with Santander in 2008 on an interest only basis. The mortgage fell into arrears in December 2023. Miss A told Santander she was out of work. One nil payment plan was agreed. No plans were agreed after this for affordability reasons. By May 2025 the arrears were over £30,000, equivalent to 16 contractual monthly payments. In May 2024 Miss A told Santander she intended to sell the property. Santander gave Miss A a grace period to sell the property which ended in early March 2025. Santander instructed solicitors to start legal action. It said it would only stop legal action if there was an agreed sale of the property or the arrears were cleared in full. Miss A says Santander breached the Mortgage Charter by starting recovery action too soon. She says it didn’t offer tailored support or freeze interest. It didn’t consider her personal situation, having to care for a partner with cancer. It sent letters saying she’d be charged fees for field agent visits and applied fees when she changed interest rates. Miss A says she speaks to a different person each time she calls Santander and has to wait while they read her notes, which she finds humiliating. Our investigator said, in summary, that Santander had allowed Miss A sufficient time to sell the property. She said Miss A’s circumstances had not improved and Santander didn’t have to hold recovery action indefinitely. Miss A didn’t agree and provided her reasons in detail. What I’ve decided – and why I’ve considered all the available evidence and arguments to decide what’s fair and reasonable in the circumstances of this complaint. Miss A asked for additional time to respond. The role of our service is to resolve complaints quickly and with minimal formality. This complaint came to us in April 2025. I think Miss A has had sufficient and fair time to provide comments and evidence, and to respond to views issued by our investigator in October 2025 and in February 2026. I have sufficient evidence available to me to reach a fair decision. Did Santander give Miss A a fair amount of time to sell the property? Miss A’s mortgage has been in arrears since late 2023, and she’s been unable to make payments since then. Miss A told Santander in May 2024 that she would sell the property.

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In late November 2024 Santander received evidence that the property was being marketed for sale. It agreed a three month hold on recovery action with monthly checks up to 3 March 2025 while Miss A marketed the property for sale. Miss A says three months isn’t long enough to sell the property. She says Santander put pressure on her by contacting her in late February 2025 for an update. Miss A had from May 2024 (or earlier) to market the property for sale. I can’t fairly say that Santander is responsible if Miss A didn’t start to market the property for sale until late 2024. I don’t think it was unfair for Santander to start legal action when, about a year after Miss A said she intended to sell the property, she’d been unable to find a buyer. Miss A offered a part payment towards the arrears, using money borrowed from a friend. In the circumstances, I don’t think Santander had fairly to stop action on this basis. It didn’t receive evidence that Miss A’s circumstances had improved, and it seems likely the arrears would simply increase again. Miss A hadn’t made payments since late 2023. Interest was added to the mortgage balance, increasing the debt owed and reducing the potential equity available to Miss A when the property is sold. Miss A had been unable to sell the property herself. It’s unlikely that delaying action for possession would benefit Miss A. Mortgage Charter and tailored support The Mortgage Charter says lenders won’t usually require a borrower to leave the property within 12 months of the first missed payment. Miss A hasn’t been required to leave the property. Santander instructed solicitors to start legal action more than a year after Miss A first missed a payment. Miss A found receiving letters and calls about her arrears upsetting. But Santander is required to keep Miss A updated about the status of her account. I think it’s fair for Santander to contact Miss A about her arrears, to see what support might be available to help her get the mortgage back on track and to explain the possible consequences of being in arrears. It’s fair that it does this as soon as the mortgage falls into arrears. The Mortgage Charter and rules on mortgage regulation say that lenders should consider what support they can offer a customer to get their mortgage back on track. Miss A’s mortgage has been in arrears since late 2023. Santander offered a retention rate to Miss A, which reduced the amount of interest being applied to the account. It didn’t have to freeze interest. Santander said it didn’t apply a fee when it offered Miss A a retention rate, and I didn’t see any evidence that a fee had been applied. Miss A has been unable to make payments (even reduced payments) since late 2023 and there’s no evidence that her circumstances have improved. I don’t think there are realistic options available for Santander to help Miss A get her mortgage back on track other than for the property to be sold. While Miss A said she’d sell the property in May 2024, nearly two years later she’s been unable to do so. I think, in the circumstances, it was fair for Santander to instruct solicitors to start legal action for possession. I don’t think this was inconsistent with the Mortgage Charter, rules on mortgage regulation or the pre-action protocol. I understand that Miss A finds calling Santander upsetting. But I think it’s reasonable for Santander to ask her to maintain contact and keep it updated about her plans to repay the

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mortgage. The formal notices and documents for the court proceedings Miss A says Santander made false statements on court documents and didn’t follow the pre- action protocol. She says there were delays in her receiving Santander’s letter saying it was about to start legal action, and its solicitors’ letter saying they would issue legal proceeding. Consequently, she didn’t have the required time (15 days or 7 days) to address the matter. Santander sent a letter dated 6 March 2025 saying it was about to start legal action. It asked Miss A to call within 15 days. Miss A says she received this some time later, and says it was backdated. She also received an undated copy. Santander said in its final response dated 28 March 2025 that it would re-send the letter. That doesn’t mean it backdated it, only that it sent a further copy. It’s not clear why Miss A didn’t receive the 6 March 2025 letter sooner. Santander doesn’t have to send post by signed for delivery and it’s not responsible if letters are not delivered. The solicitors said they weren’t responsible if Miss A didn’t receive their letter promptly. I don’t think Miss A would be in any different position if she’d received these letters any earlier. She wasn’t in a position to clear the arrears. No steps were taken to issue legal proceedings within the 15-day or 7-day time frames. Many months have now passed since Miss A received the letters, so she’s had time to address the matter if she’s in a position to do so. Santander and its solicitors should include correct information in documents. Any errors should be corrected. But, if there were errors in the documents, that doesn’t mean it was unfair for Santander to start legal action, given the level of arrears and the time that the mortgage has been in arrears. Ultimately, it’s for the court to decide whether it’s satisfied that Santander and its solicitors followed the correct process and provided accurate information. Legal fees and costs The mortgage terms and conditions allow Santander to add legal fees and costs to the mortgage balance, which Miss A will have to pay. I think Santander made Miss A aware that fees and costs would be added to her account if it took recovery action. The letters below are examples. Santander wrote to Miss A in August 2024 saying the mortgage would be transferred to its late stage collections team. It said Miss A would need to pay legal fees and costs if it’s necessary to continue with proceedings and would be liable for any shortfall if the property is sold. Santander wrote to Miss A in December 2024 saying if it was unable to get in contact with her a field agent would visit, for which it would apply a fee. In early March 2025 Santander wrote to Miss A saying it was about to start legal action. This letter said legal fees and costs would be added to the mortgage balance. Its solicitors letter issued in April 2025 also said costs would be added to the mortgage balance. Miss A’s circumstances Miss A has been out of work since late 2023. She told us that she’s caring for her partner who has a rare illness which left him with disabilities and needing further treatment. This is

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distressing and makes it difficult for her to get back into work. I appreciate that dealing with the mortgage has added to Miss A’s stress. Miss A hasn’t been able to make payments since late 2023. When Santander instructed solicitors there was no evidence Miss A’s circumstances had improved. I can’t see that there was any support Santander could realistically have offered to help Miss A get her mortgage back on track. There was a real risk that delaying recovery action would result in the amount of the debt increasing, leaving Miss A in a worse position when the property is sold. In the circumstances, I don’t think it was unfair for Santander to instruct solicitors to start legal action. What happens now? Santander said in its final response that it would hold action while Miss A’s complaint is with us. This final decision is the end of our process. It’s likely Santander will re-start legal action. Miss A made a payment into the account of about £20,000 in late 2025. The arrears are now about £30,000. Miss A says she intends to clear the arrears in the near future. I can’t fairly require Santander to hold action on the basis Miss A says she intends to clear the arrears in future. If Miss A is in a position to clear the arrears within a reasonable timeframe and maintain payments after this, she should provide evidence of this to Santander. I’d expect it to consider any credible proposal to clear the arrears fairly. My final decision My decision is that I do not uphold this complaint. Under the rules of the Financial Ombudsman Service, I’m required to ask Miss A to accept or reject my decision before 22 April 2026. Ruth Stevenson Ombudsman

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