Are you worried about paying your mortgage?

• If you’re concerned about money, have missed a mortgage payment, or worried you won’t be able to make a payment, it’s important you speak to us as soon as possible, our dedicated team can help. Talking to us won’t affect your credit score
• Reply quickly if we try to contact you. The sooner you get in touch the more opportunity we have to work with you to agree a way forward
• Tell us if you have a new address
• Make sure you keep any other people paying the mortgage and anyone guaranteeing the mortgage up to date with what is happening
• Check whether you can get any state benefits or tax credits, which could help to increase your income. See our other free, impartial help available section below
• If you have an insurance policy, check whether it can help with your payments
• You may want to talk to a professional adviser, such as a debt counsellor or a lawyer, before you change your mortgage arrangements. We would strongly encourage you to seek independent, free debt advice. See our other free, impartial help available section below
• If we agree a payment plan with you, keep up the agreed payments or tell us if there is a change in your circumstances that may affect the arrangement.

• We’ll contact you as soon as possible to discuss your situation, using your preferred contact method
• We’ll take the time to understand your individual circumstances
• We’ll provide detailed information about options that may be suitable for you and the impact this may have on your financial circumstances
• We’ll help direct you to an agency of your choice, who can help give free debt advice. See our ‘Other free, impartial help available’ section below.
• We’ll give you reasonable time to pay back your debt
• We’ll only start proceedings to repossess your home, as a last resort, if we cannot resolve the situation with you, or when it is detrimental to your financial well-being.

Our Mortgage Specialists will take the time to understand your circumstances, including your income and outgoings. They’ll chat through the options available to help you. We have a range of options we may be able to consider in the short and longer term, including:

Short term

• Update the way you make your mortgage payment
• Change the date you make your mortgage payment on
• Agree a period of reduced mortgage payments
• Temporarily change a repayment mortgage to interest only

Longer term

• Arrange a new payment plan with you to make up any arrears
• Allow you to pay back your mortgage over a longer period of time (which might reduce your monthly payments)
• Change the mortgage repayment type
• Offer you a different mortgage rate
• Consider if selling the property is an option

If there are no suitable options for your individual circumstances, we’ll explain why and discuss your next steps, as well as pointing  you to other independent organisations that can help like those in the ‘Other free, impartial help available’ section below.

Other charities and agencies provide free support and guidance to help if you’re facing payment difficulties. They cover areas including money guidance, debt advice and budgeting.

Just some of them are named below:

Cost of Living Support
www.helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk
We understand that this is a challenging time of rising living costs. The increase in the price of everyday essentials, like heating, fuel and food, alongside interest rate rises, is affecting us all. The Government has created a website ‘Help for Households’ which details support and benefits which may help you.

MoneyHelper (formerly Money Advice Service)
0800 138 7777
www.moneyhelper.org.uk
Set up by the Government, the MoneyHelper service offers free, impartial advice on everything from budgeting to managing periods of financial difficulty. You can read the Moneyhelper guide here.

Citizens Advice, England and Wales
0800 144 8848 (England)
0800 702 2020 (Wales)
www.citizensadvice.org.uk
Citizens Advice offers free, impartial advice on a wide range of subjects, including specific help with mortgage problems.

Step Change Debt Charity
0800 138 1111
www.stepchange.org
Step Change offers free, impartial advice, including budgeting and managing credit commitment information.

National Debtline
0808 808 4000
www.nationaldebtline.org
National Debtline provides a free, confidential and independent telephone advice service.

Business Debtline
0800 197 6026
www.businessdebtline.org
Business Debtline offers free, confidential and independent advice for self-employed people and small businesses.

Mind
www.mind.org.uk
Mind offer help whenever you might need it through information, advice, local community services and networks.

• We won’t charge you any fees if you’re unable to make your mortgage payments. Other charges, for example, relating to our repossession of the property, may apply later in the process. You can find more information in our Tariff of Mortgage Charges.
• Some companies may offer you new loans or even invite you to sell your property to them and then lease it back as a way of resolving your short term financial difficulty. Please be careful, as such actions may not be in your long term best interests. We would strongly recommend you seek independent advice before entering into any arrangement of this type.
•  You may be thinking about handing your keys over to us. If you do this, you will still owe us any outstanding debt, please talk to us first, other options may be available and our dedicated team is here to help.

If you do not think we have treated you fairly, you should contact us using the details below:

Market Harborough Building Society
Welland House
The Square
Market Harborough
Leicestershire
LE16 7PD
customersfirst@mhbs.co.uk
01858 412412

If your complaint is not dealt with to your satisfaction, you may then take it to the Financial Ombudsman. The Financial Ombudsman Service provides a free and independent service for consumers and can be contacted at: 

Financial Ombudsman Service
Exchange Tower
London
E14 9SR
0800 023 4567
complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk