Pepper Mortgages (ex-Danske Bank and new customers)

yop

So those with residential loans that are not bad should be okay and stay on the same rate?
I'd love to get away from them, still sickened at the way they got away with the Offset scam.

Rock Steady Edy

yop wrote: »

So those with residential loans that are not bad should be okay and stay on the same rate?
I'd love to get away from them, still sickened at the way they got away with the Offset scam.

As someone who relinquished a Danske Bank loan within the last 12 months as we wanted to move more than we wanted to stay in our old house on a tracker rate, arranging a mortgage now with a bank is a complete p in the a. You think you have given them everything they requested and then 2 weeks before you move, and 4 weeks since they contacted you previously, they realise they need more documentation. I was not impressed at all. And I don't think the story is unique to the bank we transferred to.

So be careful what you wish for. If I could, I would definitely have preferred to have to stayed with Danske / Pepper.

dolallyoh

yop wrote: »

So those with residential loans that are not bad should be okay and stay on the same rate?
I'd love to get away from them, still sickened at the way they got away with the Offset scam.

Hi Yop

How much longer have you to pay ? I have 2 years or so myself and starting to wonder about the deeds.

yop

16 years left. I've missed around 5 calls from pepper in last few weeks. I'm wondering if they are trying to get us to move to them

dolallyoh

They employ 300 people and have no email address. Incredible.

clint_silver

dolallyoh wrote: »

They employ 300 people and have no email address. Incredible.

Ive had letters replied from them fairly quickly from that shannon po box.

dolallyoh

I last bought a stamp 2 years ago. I must see if I still have it somewhere !

yop

I've had no statements from them since pepper took over. It's stone age stuff. If I see a better deal I'll move.

Thoie

yop wrote: »

I've had no statements from them since pepper took over. It's stone age stuff. If I see a better deal I'll move.

I've been getting an annual statement (usually turns up in January sometime - not the anniversary of the mortgage). I had to call them on Friday and ask for a statement and they said they'd post it out asap - will let you know if/when it turns up.

makeorbrake

yop wrote: »

I've had no statements from them since pepper took over. It's stone age stuff. If I see a better deal I'll move.

I think they have a regulatory obligation to provide a statement once per year. Don't quote me on that buy I'm fairly sure thats the case.


As regards email, a lot of places trying to 'hide' email addresses - anything to discourage contact and cut down the customer support input!

Thoie

Thoie wrote: »

I've been getting an annual statement (usually turns up in January sometime - not the anniversary of the mortgage). I had to call them on Friday and ask for a statement and they said they'd post it out asap - will let you know if/when it turns up.

Statement turned up promptly (possibly Monday?) Looks like the annual one and had everything from January first until the day I called. Each line alternates mortgage payment then debit interest with a running balance on each line.

ABC101

When I log onto Pepper website to check my Danske mortgage... I see a Principle Balance and a Total Outstanding Balance.
There is about 3.5K difference between the two.
So my question is, why the difference? Do I have a mortgage with the lower or higher number to pay?

Thoie

ABC101 wrote: »

When I log onto Pepper website to check my Danske mortgage... I see a Principle Balance and a Total Outstanding Balance.
There is about 3.5K difference between the two.
So my question is, why the difference? Do I have a mortgage with the lower or higher number to pay?

I don't have access to see balance or anything online - did you do something special to get that?

I'd suspect that the lower number is the principal only, and the higher number is the principal with projected interest added, so if you were going to pay it all off today with a big lump sum, it would probably be the lower number (possibly with some additional charges for closing out the account or something, or remaining interest from date x to today). If you just let it run it's natural course over the next x years, then you'll end up paying the higher number.

Looking at the statement I got, they add interest every month, presumably based on the outstanding balance due.

dolallyoh

I didn't know you could go online either. I just registered - need account number and whatever birthdate they wrote down - in this case my wife's. I can now see everything !

Thoie

dolallyoh wrote: »

I didn't know you could go online either. I just registered - need account number and whatever birthdate they wrote down - in this case my wife's. I can now see everything !

Just did it too! Would have saved me some time on the phone over the last while if I'd known about it earlier

I can't see details of previous payments - just the current balances, but that's still handy enough.

ABC101

Hi Folks,
Oh... sorry about that... I thought everybody knew one could log onto the website and check some information etc.
I should have mentioned it before now!!
Anyway Pepper only added the LOG in function relatively recently, perhaps in the last 9 months or so (I think).
I used to ring them up regularly to check balances and make sure extra payments had been received etc.   None of the female staff I spoke to ever mentioned about the facility to log in and check for oneself without the requirement to make a pesky phone call.
Then one day I got a man on the line.... and he mentioned about signing up and logging in etc.   Needless to say I was delighted, no need for pesky phone calls and answering security questions etc.
However the information displayed is fairly minimal, no history or interest calculations etc, just a balance and some contact details.
But two balances are quoted, Principle Balance and Total Outstanding Balance with a 3K difference between the two.

The impression I get from Pepper, is that when you phone them, they are expecting a difficult conversation to begin... i.e. I canna pay, I lost my job etc etc.
But when you tell them "I'm just calling to check my outstanding balance and nothing more" they sound kind of incredulous, like why would you want to know your outstanding balance?
I like to keep informed regularly, and when your mortgage statement is only once a year... it's not enough for me!

When I was ending the call, they always signed off with a statement if you are having any problems paying, please get in touch and we will only be too happy to assist.

Yeah Right!!!

dolallyoh

My principal and outstanding balances are the same.

I also pay an unchanging amount every month.

FWIW I agreed to move off the offset for the 1% diff (as had spent most of my savings the previous year)

ABC101

I have been making extra payments this year, basically whatever interest they applied I also paid that too.   Perhaps that is it?

dolallyoh

I'd imagine they haven't updated the higher sum.

Thoie

ABC101 wrote: »

But two balances are quoted, Principle Balance and Total Outstanding Balance with a 3K difference between the two.

Having logged in, I can see a difference between the two on mine, but can trace it exactly. Numbers below are not real, but give an indication (you're all lovely, but I'm not sharing my financial details with you!)

In my case I see
Principal balance:200,000
Outstanding balance: 199,500
Monthly payment: 1000

I know where the €500 difference came from. I overpay my mortgage each month - let's say I should be paying 900, but I pay 1,000 instead, which I arranged with them by letter years ago. So that explains why the monthly payment says 1,000 - it's not the minimum payment due, but a higher amount that I notified them about.

Last month I actually paid them 1,500, but I never sent them a letter about it, I just did it. So according to their calculations I should owe 200k, but the actual balance is 199,500 due to the overpayment.

So the outstanding balance seems to be the real figure you owe them, regardless of what the principal balance says. Does that help?

ABC101

Yes ... indeed it does... as it agrees with what I am thinking too!
But I am a cynic... a crusty old cynic... and the cynic in me would not be surprised... if on having cleared the Total Outstanding Balance... that they would say... "well you still owe another X thousand"
On another point... I have been making over payments for a long time now... a lot more than 3K.   So not sure why it does not show a greater difference.    I know to date I have reduced my mortgage end date by about 3 years so far.
Unless of course the 3K difference is the difference since the start of the year 2016, and every 1st January the  Principle Balance is reset to match the Total Outstanding Balance.   That might be it.   Paying an extra 3K or so would be about right for 2016.
Only 1 month to go to test this theory!

dolallyoh

Ring and ask - you'd want your interest repayments to be calculated against the lower sum.

Thoie

ABC101 wrote: »

Yes ... indeed it does... as it agrees with what I am thinking too!
But I am a cynic... a crusty old cynic... and the cynic in me would not be surprised... if on having cleared the Total Outstanding Balance... that they would say... "well you still owe another X thousand"
On another point... I have been making over payments for a long time now... a lot more than 3K.   So not sure why it does not show a greater difference.    I know to date I have reduced my mortgage end date by about 3 years so far.
Unless of course the 3K difference is the difference since the start of the year 2016, and every 1st January the  Principle Balance is reset to match the Total Outstanding Balance.   That might be it.   Paying an extra 3K or so would be about right for 2016.
Only 1 month to go to test this theory!

If you're overpaying a regular amount each month, just write them a letter along the lines of "from now on I will pay €x until further notice". They'll update the "monthly due" number in line with that, and the two balances should equal - mine would have (with regular long term overpayments) except for the extra overpayment in November.

The woman I spoke to on the phone said something along the lines of "the system would pick it up and adjust it", so quite possibly they do a year end run which resets it, which would confirm your thinking that the €3k is just for this year.

As far as I can see the monthly interest gets calculated on the outstanding balance, though I still find monthly interest calculations difficult to work out.

For example, my interest rate is 0.55%
If I take the balance at the end of January, then I'd have to multiply that by 0.0511% to get the interest applied at the start of Feb

For Feb/March I'd multiply by 0.0478% to get the next balance, the month after it's 0.0489%, so I can't make head nor tail of it. Maybe it's calculated daily and added up once a month or something. 0.55 / 12 = 0.0458, so that's not exactly it either.

ABC101

I calculate my interest below, for example

200,000 mortgage at 3.15%

200,000 / 100 = 2000

2000 * 3.15 = 6300 interest per year

6300 / 365 = 17.26 euro per day

17.26 * 30 days for November = 517.80 interest added for November only.

Interest is normally calculated daily.

That's why there is a big difference between paying at the start of the month or at the end of the month.

BuffyBot

Posts moved from the old Danske Bank thread

Thoie

Buffy Bot, we're still talking about Danske Mortgages (well, I am at least) - they're just being managed by Pepper. I haven't taken out a new Pepper mortgage.

BuffyBot

Pepper now administrate the mortgages on a day-to-day basis. Seems better to have a dedicated thread than having them in an mingled into an older, longer thread

ABC101

Ah.... that's unfortunate... not only is Danske Bank gone, but so is my Danske Account, and so is the Danske Bank thread on boards!!!!
But it was the last bit of Danske Bank left!!!   It was like a fraternity!!

skippy2

Will be interesting to see if much comes of this

http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/danske-bank-eyes-2bn-sale-of-retail-loan-book-35876475.html

will they offer the mortgage holders the same deal if they put the portfolio on the market ???????

ABC101

On the face of it I would welcome BOI taking over ex Danske / Pepper managed loan book.    My reasoning is this...
1)   I'm on 3.15%  but it is variable.   It is anticipated that the ECB will start to commence a rise in rates in the next 6 to 12 months.   Therefore I could be on 3.65% within the next 12 months or so.
2)   BOI have some fairly good Fixed rate mortgages, so I was thinking of changing to a Fixed rate of around 3.X%, or what ever the best I can get.
3)  If BOI were to take over the loan book, then the hassle and cost of transferring the loan paperwork myself from Danske / Pepper to BOI would have already been covered in the sale.
It is on my mind to get fixed, as I think rates are not going to go lower, only up.

alig123aileen

BuffyBot wrote: »

Pepper now administrate the mortgages on a day-to-day basis. Seems better to have a dedicated thread than having them in an mingled into an older, longer thread

if your. Ortgage/loan is sold you should ask for documentary evidence of who now has proof of title. I think you will find pepper will go very quiet as will your original Mortgage holder. Happy to hello as I have background in this. There are ways through this

skippy2

documentary evidence of who now has proof of title..................do you mean the physical copy of the Title Deeds

what do you mean they will go quiet................ie they dont know where they are
I know a few years ago i asked and was told all docs were held in the North, Belfast possibly in DB Head office at the time as far as I remember

alig123aileen

skippy2 wrote: »

documentary evidence of who now has proof of title..................do you mean the physical copy of the Title Deeds

what do you mean they will go quiet................ie they dont know where they are
I know a few years ago i asked and was told all docs were held in the North, Belfast possibly in DB Head office at the time as far as I remember

Hi they are most likely fobbing you off. They are in Hatch St you can look them up in the central banks website on their register of intermediaries. In a lot of cases the transfer from the original lender wasn't done properly. you need to be sure you are paying the legal owner of your mortgage. Some evictions in the commercial court are being stopped completely because of this. Banks rarely have their paperwork done correctly. PM me if I can be of further help. And please don't worry.

ABC101

Been a while since I posted here, according to MSM reports that there are two US based funds I think who are in the lead to buy these loans from DB. BoI apparently are in 3rd place.

Will our original terms and conditions carry over to the new holder of the loans or will we be all facing 8% rates in 2 years time?

I'm thinking of switching to AIB as they have some attractive variable rates at the moment. I really don't like the thought of having my mortgage held by some US vulture fund.

ECB rates are not expected to rise until 2019 apparently. But BoI have some very good fixed rates.

Decisions, decisions!

makeorbrake

ABC101 wrote: »

Will our original terms and conditions carry over to the new holder of the loans or will we be all facing 8% rates in 2 years time?

What type of mortgage did you take from Danske...

ABC101

makeorbrake wrote: »

What type of mortgage did you take from Danske...

Well that's a good question! I did have the Offset Type mortgage account. I took the option of going to the variable rate at 3.15%. I think I got this rate as I had my main bank account with DB at the time, or I was a prestige customer at the time.

This worked out well as 3.15% was a very good rate in comparison to the variable rates offered by the other banks in Ireland.

However over the last while, the other banks have started to get more competitive. In addition housing has risen in value, so if I were to switch I would be in the 73% valuation which could get me onto AIB at 2.95%.

Short term AIB rates look good, but BoI rates seem better for long term positioning.

However getting back to the sale of DB loan book, I am concerned that my mortgage will be held by these US vulture funds, who do not have a good reputation and like to extract maximum.

Given the fact that I am on variable rate, I am of the opinion that they could raise me to 3.5% etc

makeorbrake

@ABC1: Looks like you were right. I got notification in this mornings post that a Danske Loan Portfolio (inclusive of my own) will transfer to Pepper Finance Corp on the 15th December 2017.

I'm on a tracker - so they can't really screw with me. Not sure how that will all play out for yourself - but I guess if it becomes uncompetitive, look at switching.

ABC101

makeorbrake wrote: »

@ABC1: Looks like you were right. I got notification in this mornings post that a Danske Loan Portfolio (inclusive of my own) will transfer to Pepper Finance Corp on the 15th December 2017.

I'm on a tracker - so they can't really screw with me. Not sure how that will all play out for yourself - but I guess if it becomes uncompetitive, look at switching.

No notification received here....yet.

Hmmm.... the plot thickens. According to your letter... Danske are selling the loan portfolio to Pepper Group.

Reading this article.... Pepper Group was sold to US private equity firm KKR.

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/financial-services/new-pepper-owners-may-seek-to-shed-irish-assets-1.3184058

And the article states that KKR may desire to offload the ex Danske loan portfolio to somebody else.

We are going to be passed around here like a unwanted animal. I sincerely hope our paperwork (deeds) are not going to get lost in all this passing of the parcel.

Personally I am very uncomfortable in having my deeds / mortgage owned by some one other than a mainstream Irish Bank. Fortunately we have options!

Time to jump ship.... methinks!

ABC101

According to this its GS PIMCO who are new masters now!!!

http://https://www.independent.ie/business/gspimco-close-in-on-danske-loan-deal-36253997.html

ABC101

Letter from Danske arrived during the week, loans are getting transferred to Pepper!

ABC101

Letter arrived for Danske just before Christmas, informing me that Danskehave transferred the portfolio to Pepper.

In effect nothing to do with them anymore.

So will a letter from Pepper arrive informing me that the folio has been sold to GS Pimco?

Bye Bye Danske!!!

I've heard on the grapevine that there is a German bank trying to get a License to operate here, they are intending to offer loans at 2.1%

Will the Irish Dept of Finance / Central bank let this German group in?

peckerhead

dolallyoh wrote: »

They employ 300 people and have no email address. Incredible.

They gave me a fax number and it turned out not to be in use. Repeatedly posted documents to the wrong address. Nightmare to deal with IME.

I think I'll write and ask them where our deeds are, too.