Just looking for some advice please. We are in our 4th year with a Barclays mortgage. Although we didnt ask for it, they have just given us a ‘financial health check’ at the local branch where we have been asked to submit recent pay slips etc (they said they do with all their customers on a regular basis) We have never missed a payment or been late but they said it is to prevent ‘money laundering’!
At this time they have told us that we MUST take out our buildings insurance with them and not any other provider. We have been insured since we completed on the property for buildings and contents with another company and have offered to give Barclays a copy of this. However, they say it is ‘Spanish Law’ that your buildings insurance is done through your mortgage provider for the term of the mortgage (and not just for the first year)
Is this true? and has anyone else had the same issue with Barclays or another lender? Its not a major problem but it means you can’t shop around for a competitive quote. Wished we had never gone in the branch now! Usually do everything on line but just popped in to drop off the non residents declaration form and got sucked in to managers office!
Our bank told us that we had to get life insurance with them only, but when we asked around we could actually go to other institutions. They just say that you have to because the bank worker wants to earn themselves some commission selling the product.
Example, I went to pay 40 euros into La Caixa yesterday for a friend who has ordered something online for me from her account. Blimey, they were so lovely suggesting we use them for insurance etc. etc. They are all at it then. They aren’t able to scam much from lending so they have to earn top ups somewhere?
It sounds as though they are taking an over judicious approach to what is internally called ‘KYC’ (Know your Customer) which also builds a profile to assist is spotting Money Laundering. In terms of offering proof i.e. payslips …. I’d just ignore them and their ‘health check’. Barclays is not alone in wanting to know a lot more about their customers and in my opinion are using AML (anti money laundering) and KYC as a way of gathering marketing information to look for cross-selling opportunities for other financial products.
In THEORY, banks can ask that you provide evidence that your circumstances (in terms of ability to pay) are the same as when you took out the mortgage but it is EXTREMELY rare and is mainly confined to commercial mortgages.
With regards to having to take out insurance …. absolute tosh, as you have obviously had their mortgage product for some time and if you didn’t sign up to it as part of a ‘discounting deal’ on your interest rate, then ….. just ignore them. ‘Spanish Law’ they say ….. get them to tell you which law this is in writing ….. I think you may find they crawl back under their rock.
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