Having Difficulties Paying Your Mortgage?

Where an account is in arrears, we will provide you with a regular written statement of the payments due, the payment shortfall, the debt and where relevant any charges incurred.

Charges include all charges and fees levied directly as a result of the account falling into arrears.  This includes charges such as monthly administrative charges, legal fees and interest.

If there are insufficient funds to repay your mortgage balance you will still owe us whatever is remaining. This will be referred to as a shortfall debt. We will try to arrange a suitable repayment plan with you to recover the shortfall debt.

An unpaid shortfall debt could stop you from getting credit in the future.

Repossession is reported on your credit file.

Repossession is always the last resort; we will always try to work out the best solution for you based on your individual circumstances.   We will write and try to speak to you several times to arrange a suitable payment plan before commencing litigation with a view to repossessing your property.

We will not commence litigation with a view to repossessing your property unless all other reasonable attempts to resolve the position have failed.

However, if your home is repossessed, we will do all we can to obtain the best possible sale price for your property.

The proceeds of the sale will be used to repay all loans and charges including your mortgage which are secured against the property and any fees incurred from the sale. If there is any money left over, we will pay this to you.

Repossession is reported on your credit file.

Where the mortgage is considered to be no longer sustainable, then we will discuss with you whether a sale of the property is the most suitable option – this would be where you can no longer afford the mortgage repayments, and all other options have been considered but are not suitable.

Budgeting is making a list of the income coming in and expenses going out of your account each month.  The easiest way to think of this is to make a list of what you earn, what you owe, and what you spend.

Don’t do this before speaking to us.

If you don’t maintain your mortgage payments, there are a range of charges you may be expected to pay.

Details of all our current charges can be found in our Tariff of Charges.   We will notify you of any costs incurred in the ongoing management of your mortgage account.

Any actions to repossess a property will only be taken as a last resort.

Where there is a shortfall on your account or where you have made a payment arrangement to clear a shortfall, then your credit score and history may be affected.

Direct Debit – To make payments by direct debit you will need to complete a Direct Debit Form and send it to us at the address below.

Alternatively if you would like to request a direct debit form from us, please contact us on any of the following:-
Email address: mortgagesupport@srbs.co.uk
Telephone number: 01785 223 212
In addition we offer the following alternative payment methods;

Debit Card – please contact us on 01785 223 212 to make a one-off payment over the telephone by debit card. Please have your mortgage account number available as we will need this to allocate your payment.

Cheque – you can either send a cheque to the address below or pay this in at our branch.

Standing Order – to make payments by standing order, these are controlled by your bank. Please contact your bank, ensuring that they quote the Sort Code and Society Account Number below, together with your individual mortgage reference number.

Online – when setting up a new payment facility from your bank or building society’s online banking platform, you will need to enter the below details to ensure your bank can check the details using Confirmation of Payee (CoP).

CoP will give you greater confidence that you have entered the correct details for your online payment, eliminating the risk of the payment being rejected when we receive it. It will help avoid simple mistakes like mistyping account details when you set up a new payment.
We have set up a list of frequently asked question (FAQs) about CoP, which can be found here.

Choose ‘Personal Account’
Name: Your name
Sort code: 40-05-30
Account number: 24575962
Reference: (10-digit mortgage account number. Include any capital letters but don’t include any dashes.)

If your bank is in the “Faster Payments” scheme, your payment will normally be credited to your mortgage account on the next working day.

Cash – Payments made by cash are subject to daily maximum of £2,500.00 and should be paid at our branch only. We do not recommend that you make cash payments via any other method.

Any arrangement made with you will depend on your individual circumstances, this is likely to involve reviewing the agreed arrangement at appropriate intervals.

We will not automatically renew the arrangement with you on the same basis without considering whether this continues to be appropriate.

We will react appropriately to any relevant information we are made aware of, such as correspondence from a debt advisor.

Arrangement for additional payment to clear arrears (ATP)

If you are unable to pay the arrears in full immediately but can afford more than your monthly repayment, then a suitable option would/may be to enter into an arrangement to clear the arrears over a period which is suitable for your finances.

Before agreeing to this solution, we will need a budget planner form to be completed and consider what surplus income you have.

Payment holidays were set up by the Government at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, these have now ended. The Society does not offer payment holidays, however as part of the Society forbearance process and/or Government directive, a payment holiday may be identified as being the most appropriate action for the borrower, and this will form part of the forbearance assessment.
Our mortgage products do not offer a contractual allowance for a payment holiday. However, you may have the option of a payment holiday where your mortgage is in credit. We may be able to consider this with you.

By changing your mortgage product, you may be able to reduce your repayments.  Remember, your mortgage might have Early Repayment Charges associated.

If you decide to look at other products, we can help you see if you are eligible to switch your mortgage product.

If you have a capital and interest (repayment) mortgage, we may be able to accept interest only payments for a short period.  This will reduce your payments as you will not be paying back any of the original amount borrowed during this time.  This unpaid amount will need to be repaid in the future, and we will discuss this you.

This may be a suitable option dependant upon your individual circumstances

If you have a capital and interest (repayment) mortgage, spreading the repayments over a longer period of time will lower your monthly repayments.  However, it means that you’ll have a mortgage for longer and pay more interest than you would have done originally.  This may be a suitable option dependant upon your individual circumstances.

Where your income has reduced temporarily, a short-term arrangement to make a reduced monthly payment may be suitable.

We will need a Budget Planner to be completed to understand what is affordable for you.

We will review your circumstances again at the end of the short-term arrangement to further understand how your circumstances have changed, and if the arrangement continues to remain suitable.

If you miss a mortgage payment it will be reported to the Credit Reference Agencies, as will any further missed payments.  It’s really important to speak to us before you miss a payment if this can be avoided.

Lenders will use Credit File information when making decisions of any future loans, and so it’s really something we want to help you avoid.

If you have missed your mortgage payments and have payments overdue equivalent to two or more regular payments, you are officially in arrears. We share this information with credit referencing agencies.

If you’ve already missed a payment, or think you will in the future, call us as soon as possible.

Don’t wait until you have missed a payment, the earlier you speak to us allows us to consider the most appropriate options for your circumstances.