Mortgage arrangement fees are rip off says Darling

Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has recently warned banks in the UK that they need to stop ripping consumers off over the mortgage arrangement fees that they charge. This comes at a time when many mortgage lenders have hiked up the arrangement fees on their mortgages, making affordability even more difficult for consumers.

Mr Darling recently said: ‘I’m very concerned that people ought to be treated fairly, especially people coming off fixed rates and going onto different rates. We have met the Council of Mortgage Lenders to try to reach an agreement to ensure that people are treated fairly, but if that isn’t happening I will ask the FSA to pursue the matter.’

He also said: ‘Everybody accepts there are costs that have to be met when they change over, but I think we have to make sure people are treated fairly and are not taken advantage of.’

Darling is already in discussion with the UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority, with regards to working out what a fair arrangement fee would be. This comes after recent report showed that these fees had rocketed over the past year.