Customer Booklet
Swift Customer Booklet This booklet, together with the information in your Welcome Pack and our Tariff of Charges will tell you about Swift and your mortgage/secured loan. About Swift Swift Group is a specialist lender making homeloans to people whose needs are not served by traditional high street lenders. At Swift, we look at each application on its own merits. Our highly experienced team assesses each individual case which means we are able to help customers who, for whatever reason, may require the services of a specialist lender such as ourselves. All our products are provided exclusively through mortgage intermediaries and brokers. We do not sell directly to the public. For any lending advice the best thing to do is to get in touch with your broker or intermediary, or alternatively contact us to discuss your next step. If your loan is with Swift Advances, this usually means we hold a second or subsequent secured loan (mortgage) over your property. This loan will either be an unregulated credit agreement or a credit agreement regulated by the Consumer Credit Act. All loans made comply with the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) Lending Code. Your Credit Agreement sets out the terms and conditions of your loan. It is important that you familiarise yourself with the terms and conditions of your mortgage/secured loan as these define how your loan works and your obligations to us. YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON A MORTGAGE OR ANY OTHER DEBT SECURED ON IT. Your loan Our loan to you is secured on your property. This means you have given Swift a Legal Charge over your property and this is our security if the loan and the interest are not paid according to the agreed terms. It is possible to have more than one secured loan on your property. If your loan is with Swift 1st, this means we hold a first mortgage over your property. This mortgage is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Your Mortgage Offer sets out the terms and conditions of your loan. The following section is arranged to provide you with the relevant information, depending on whether your loan is with Swift 1st or Swift Advances. 2
Swift 1st Mortgage You and your intermediary At Swift 1st, we will only accept business from mortgage intermediaries, the majority of who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). You will already have received your Key Facts Illustration - indeed this would have been used to provide information about your loan when you discussed your financial situation and your own requirements with your mortgage intermediary. Swift usually pays commission to mortgage intermediaries. Details of any commission payments are set out in your Key Facts Illustration and your Mortgage Offer. Your mortgage intermediary may have charged you an Arrangement Fee as part of their agreement with you. Please note that this fee is not paid to us and neither is it a condition of any of our mortgages.this Arrangement Fee is also set out in your Key Facts Illustration and your Mortgage Offer. If you have any questions about the sales process in relation to your Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance please contact your intermediary. Swift Advances Secured Loan You and your broker At Swift Advances, we generally accept business from mortgage brokers who are registered members of the Finance Industry Standards Association (FISA). All FISA registered brokers are licensed in accordance with the requirements of the Consumer Credit Act. Your mortgage broker may have already provided you with a FISA Borrower Information Guide if your loan is regulated by the CCA. This provides you with important information about applying for a secured loan via a mortgage broker. Swift usually pays commission to mortgage brokers. The commission is a percentage of the loan amount and may include commission for Swift s PPI product if sold with your loan. Your mortgage broker may have charged you a fee as part of their agreement with you. Please note that this fee is not paid to us and neither is it a condition of any of our mortgages. Your broker would have told you the amount of his fee before you entered into your agreement. The fee is shown in your credit agreement. If you have any questions about the sales process in relation to your Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance please contact your broker. 3
Swift Customer Booklet Swift 1st Mortgage Your Key Facts Illustration/our Mortgage Offer Your mortgage intermediary will have supplied you with a personalised illustration which sets out the key facts relating to your mortgage.this will have helped you when you considered which mortgage to take. A copy of your signed Mortgage Offer is contained in this Welcome Pack. This document includes key information on the main conditions of your mortgage, including: The type of mortgage The amount of the mortgage The term (length) of the loan The overall cost of the mortgage The monthly repayment amounts The interest rate Any fees payable to us and to your intermediary The cost of any optional insurance added to the loan Any early repayment charges. The detailed terms and conditions of your mortgage are set out under General Terms and Conditions. Swift Advances Secured Loan Your Credit Agreement Your mortgage broker will have supplied you with a Credit Agreement which will have set out the key information relating to your secured loan. This will have helped you when you considered which loan to take. A copy of your signed Credit Agreement is contained in this Welcome Pack. This document includes key information on the main conditions of your secured loan, including: The type of loan The amount of credit The monthly repayment amounts The number of repayments to be made (term) The interest rate The cost of any optional insurance added to the loan Any fees payable to us and to your broker Any charges payable if you fail to make payments or break any terms of the agreement Any early repayment charges. The detailed terms and conditions of your loan are set out on the second page. Information about your mortgage Interest rates: As stated in your Credit Agreement or Mortgage Offer, the interest rate we charge may change from time to time to reflect a change in the cost of our funds. Your payments may rise and fall with these changes, during the term of your mortgage, and you will be duly notified in writing prior to any change. If you have a special rate that is fixed, capped or discounted for a specified period your interest rate may not rise and fall in the same way. Your mortgage adviser will have informed you of the type of rate applicable to your mortgage and this will be clearly shown in your Mortgage Offer or Credit Agreement. After the specified period ends, your interest rate will be the variable rate. We will charge interest daily on the amount you owe at the end of each day. 4
Changes in payment amount We will notify you of a change in your payment at least 14 days before any payment change is implemented. Repayment methods There are two ways to repay a mortgage/secured loan and the method applicable to your loan will be stated in your Mortgage Offer or Credit Agreement: Method 1: Repayment (capital & interest) Your monthly payment covers both the monthly interest on the loan and a proportion towards reducing the loan itself. Providing each payment is made when it is due, the mortgage will be repaid in full within the chosen term. Other factors for you to consider: In the early years, the majority of the monthly repayment will be interest. It will not be until the later years of the term that the loan will start to be significantly reduced. Method 2: Interest only Your monthly payment consists of interest only and does not repay any of the loan. Other factors to consider: The loan amount will not reduce over the mortgage term. To repay the loan at the end of the term you may have arranged a repayment vehicle - usually with the help of your financial adviser. Examples of these are an Endowment Policy, Pension Policy, ISA or PEP. If you do not have a repayment vehicle in place you should have some other form of loan repayment strategy, such as selling your property. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have a suitable repayment vehicle in place or have set up other arrangements to pay off any mortgage at the end of the term. You should consider whether you should take out life assurance cover to repay the outstanding mortgage in the event of your death. Please contact your financial adviser for more information. If you fail to make adequate arrangements for repayment of the mortgage at the end of the term, it may result in you having to sell your home to repay the balance outstanding, in full. Administration fees and charges The charges that could be applied in connection with our loan are set out in the accompanying Tariff of Charges contained in this Welcome Pack. The charges are those that apply at the time your loan completed. We can amend these charges to reflect any change in the cost incurred by us in carrying out the work. We will provide you with at least 28 days notice of any change to our charges before they come into effect. 5
Swift Customer Booklet Buildings and contents insurance You must arrange for your property to be insured for the insurance reinstatement value as advised by us. Swift s interest must be noted on the policy. Protecting your personal possessions is also an important consideration. Contents insurance will give you protection for your possessions from events such as fire, theft and accidental damage.you should contact your Intermediary for advice on these products. Portability Our mortgages are not portable. This means that if you move house your loan cannot be transferred to your new property. On the sale of your property your mortgage must be repaid in full. However, if you move house we will consider offering a fresh advance subject to our usual lending requirements. This will include details about your income, an assessment of the way that the loan has previously been conducted and the value of the new property. Early repayment charges Any early repayment charges will be clearly stated in your Mortgage Offer or Credit Agreement. About your mortgage/secured loan payments Your monthly payments are due on the date specified in your Welcome Letter (contained in this pack) and monthly thereafter. If you wish to change this payment date, please contact us. If we agree to a request from you to change your monthly payment date to a later date, then you should pay the additional interest that falls due between those dates.we will tell you the amount. Otherwise additional interest will accrue over the life of the loan. Our preferred method of payment is by Direct Debit and we will collect monthly payments on the agreed date. If this date falls on a weekend or bank holiday the payment will be taken on the next working day. Direct Debits make life easier for you as payments are taken automatically when due. However, you may also pay by: Standing order Sending a personal cheque Telephoning Swift to pay by debit/credit card Visiting our website to pay by debit/credit card go to www.swift.co.uk and click on the Existing Borrowers button Bank giro credit (we can provide you with a paying in book if requested) Sending cash or bankers draft to Swift by guaranteed special delivery (at your own risk) Transcash via the Post Office. Establish or maintain a payment reminder Swift can remind you each month when your payment is due with an automatic email. Simply activate this process though our website and specify the day each month that you want to be reminded. This service is available to you free of charge. 6
Swift 1st Mortgage Lump sum payments The minimum amount of additional loan repayment we accept is 5,000. You will get the benefit of the overpayment immediately as interest will be recalculated on the reduced sum owing from the date the payment is credited to your account. The interest charged to your account will be adjusted with immediate effect and your payment will reduce on the next payment date. Swift Advances Secured Loan Lump sum payments Please contact us if you are considering making a lump sum payment to your secured loan as not all credit agreements have this option. An early repayment charge may be made if you make a lump sum payment. Please refer to your credit agreement. An early repayment charge may be made if you make a lump sum payment to your mortgage. Please refer to your Mortgage Offer. Payment problems We understand that your personal financial circumstances may change, perhaps because of redundancy, the breakdown of a relationship or a longterm illness, and that these may affect your ability to repay your loan. If you are unable to make your repayments it is important that you contact our customer services department as soon as possible so that we can do all we can to help. The sooner you let us know, the easier it will be for us to work with you to find a solution. Problems will be treated in the strictest confidence and our trained and experienced staff will discuss your situation in detail, offering practical help and information. We will keep in regular contact with you throughout any period of repayment difficulty. Our customer service department can be contacted on 0845 076 0870. Please have your agreement number ready when you call. At your request, we will liaise, wherever possible, with recognised debt counselling organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau, National Debtline and Money Advice Centres. Their contact details can be found in the Phone Book. Swift Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) If you have chosen to take out our optional payment protection insurance, the Swift Payment Protection Insurance Policy is contained in this Welcome Pack. This is an important document. Please read it thoroughly and keep it in a safe place. If you wish to make a claim, please contact: Creditor Claims Department Sterling Insurance Group Limited 50 Kings Hill Avenue Kings Hill West Malling Kent ME19 4JX Claims Helpline: 0870 224 0858 Email: FSPClaimsAdmin@SterlingInsuranceGroup.com 7
Swift Customer Booklet Use of your personal information Swift will treat your personal information on a strictly private and confidential basis. No information about you or your accounts will be disclosed to anyone other than in the following circumstances: Where we are legally compelled to do so Where there is a duty to the Public to disclose Where our interests require disclosure (this will not be used as a reason for disclosing information about you or your accounts for marketing purposes) Where disclosure is made to other businesses in the Swift Group Where disclosure is made at your request, or with your consent. Information may be passed to credit reference agencies and fraud prevention agencies. Details of how you conduct your loan account may be given to these agencies and may be shared with other lenders and used for credit assessment, debt tracing, fraud detection and prevention to protect you from theft/fraud. Our telephone calls are monitored and recorded for training, quality and security purposes. Complaints Queries about the sales process of your mortgage or Swift Payment Protection Insurance should be addressed to your mortgage intermediary. Just like you, we re only human, and there may be times when things go wrong and you may feel that the service you receive from us is falling short of your expectations. If this happens, then the first thing to do is please let us know straight away so we can at least try to put things right. If we don t know, then there s nothing we can do about it! If you have a concern, no matter what it is, then please contact us - please include your agreement number in any correspondence: Compliance Department Swift Group Arcadia House Warley Business Park The Drive Brentwood Essex CM13 3BE Telephone: 0845 074 8811 Email: complaints@swift.co.uk Whichever way you contact us, please quote your account number, so we can look up your details immediately, and the full details of your complaint. Once we receive your complaint, we will acknowledge receipt of it within five working days and we will try our hardest to give you a full written answer within four weeks. If, for any reason, we cannot meet this timescale then we will explain to you why our investigation is still ongoing. Full details of our Complaints Procedure are contained in your Welcome Pack. Additional lending For further financial support, please contact your original intermediary. If this is not possible, call Swift on 0845 074 8800 and we will try to help. Arcadia House, Warley Hill Business Park, Brentwood, Essex CM13 3BE Telephone: 0845 074 8811 Fax: 0845 072 9004 www.swift.co.uk SW003/EVC/02/08 Designed and Printed by EVC Graphic Design and Print, Pangbourne, Berkshire RG8 7JW, a registered 14001 environmental printer.