Martin Lewis says FCA “must act fast” for ‘mortgage prisoners’ as it’s revealed 30,000 are stuck on expensive deals

The financial regulator has today said that it wants to find ways to help 30,000 'mortgage prisoners' who are unable to switch to new and better deals - after years of campaigning by MoneySavingExpert.com.

MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis says: "There’s a mortgage ticking time bomb in the UK. Standard mortgage rates are soaring way above the UK base rates – and if interest rates rise – there is a huge risk of arrears and repossessions. This needs to be prevented.

"The biggest risk is a forgotten tribe of victims, who have been locked for years into high rate mortgages. I’m delighted the regulator has responded to our research on mortgage prisoners - we’ve been nagging it, the Government and the EU for years to sort out this mess; and this is a decent start.

"The FCA estimates 30,000 people are stuck on an expensive rate but can't switch - even though they would benefit. It must look at fixing this. It’s suggesting a possible voluntary agreement with the lenders – if that will work, great. If not, then it needs to force them. Whatever happens, it must act fast. Each month these consumers are forced to pay vastly more than they should do, constantly eroding their finances.

"Yet worryingly the regulator admits it doesn't have the powers to fix an even bigger problem. Around 120,000 people have mortgages that have been sold off to investors who don’t do mortgages. This means, ridiculously, the consumer really can’t get a new cheaper deal. A lifeline still needs to be thrown to these borrowers, and parliament might need to get involved. We'll be keeping the pressure on."

See the MSE news story on this here.