There could be a number of reasons why you might need help in managing your account or other financial affairs. You may want to ensure bills are paid while you are in hospital, or you may want to ensure your finances are looked after if you’ve been diagnosed with a long-term illness or disability.

Types of power of attorney

Lasting power of attorney (LPA)

There are two different LPAs: one for financial matters and one for health and care decisions. The LPA for financial and property decisions is the one we'll need in respect of managing your mortgage accounts with us. A financial LPA can be used by an attorney as soon as it’s registered, as long as you give permission for this in the instructions of the LPA. You can also opt for the LPA to only be used if you lose mental capacity. You can find out more about registering an LPA at www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-of-the-public-guardian.

Enduring power of attorney (EPA)

This is an old form of power of attorney used for financial decisions. If you created one before October 2007, it’s still valid – but you can’t create a new one. For any new applications, an LPA would need to be used instead.

For extra support during temporary situations, for example when travelling or during a planned hospital stay, there’s also an Ordinary power of attorney (OPA). This is used for financial decisions and is only valid while both parties still have mental capacity, so it’s not an alternative to an LPA.

A power of attorney can be created with or without a solicitor. Even if you don't use a solicitor, there will be fee to register the power of attorney.

Who can be my attorney?

The role of the attorney is a vital one which involves a serious responsibility for making decisions on someone else's behalf. The person you choose to appoint as your attorney should be someone you completely trust. They must be over the age of 18 and have the mental capacity to make their own decisions. This could be a partner, a relative, a friend or a professional e.g. solicitor. Depending on whether you need to appoint an attorney on a temporary or long-term basis, there are a number of factors you should consider, such as:

• How well they look after their own financial affairs.

• How well you know them.

• If you trust them to make decisions in your best interests.

• How happy they’ll be to make decisions for you.

What if I haven’t made a power of attorney?

If you’re married or in a civil partnership, you may have assumed that your spouse would automatically be able to deal with your bank account and pensions if you lose the ability to do so. This is not the case. Without a valid power of attorney, they won’t have the authority or access.

If there comes a time when you can't make your own decisions and there isn't an LPA in place, the Court of Protection may intervene. This can be a timely and costly process.

Find out more at www.gov.uk/courts-tribunals/court-of-protection

Further information

For further advice and information, contact your solicitor, local Citizens Advice Bureau or the Office of the Public Guardian.

We’ve listed some useful contact details below:

Make, register or end a power of attorney
www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney

I’m struggling to pay my mortgage

We know it can be hard to talk about your finances, but we’re here to help you. As a responsible lender, making sure our customers feel supported and protected is central to everything we do.

Your mortgage is a priority debt, so if you’re worried you could miss a payment, you should contact us as soon as possible so we can provide early assistance.

We have a fully trained and experienced team who will understand your circumstances and find a manageable solution.

We’ll work with you provide support that’s tailored to your individual circumstances and based on what you can afford to pay. Your credit score will not be impacted by contacting us to find out what options are available. However, if you have arrears on your account, this will have an impact – so please do get in touch as soon as possible.

You can contact our Financial Support team on 03300 584714. They’re available between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. You may also find it useful to visit the Moneyhelper or UK Finance websites. In addition, we’ve compiled a list of free, third-party resources in a downloadable guide at the foot of the page under “further support and advice.”

You may also want to visit www.payplan.com to see how they can support you. Payplan offer free debt advice and can help set up appropriate solutions depending on the level of debt you have. It's worth contacting them to find out what options may be available to you.

To help you understand how we may support you, we’ve outlined a number of options that we could consider. Please remember this is a guide – not an exhaustive list. We’ll also tailor solutions to your situation.

It’s important to remember that where we agree an arrangement which temporarily reduces your mortgage payments, the amount unpaid will still be owed when the arrangement comes to an end.

Temporary payment of just the interest

You can take out an interest-only agreement for up to six months without it impacting your credit file. This will temporarily reduce your monthly payments by only paying the interest instead of making payments towards the current balance of your mortgages, also known as the capital balance. We’ll write to you before it’s due to finish to explain your options when it comes to paying back the capital balance that is not paid during the interest-only arrangement.

Things to consider:

• Higher monthly mortgage payments after the temporary interest-only period. As you’re only paying off the interest on your mortgage, your capital balance won’t be reducing.

• Capital balance will continue to have interest charged on it. This means you’ll end up paying more interest over the remaining term of your mortgage.

To speak with someone about an interest-only arrangement, please call our financial support team on 03300 584714.

Extending your mortgage term

Extending the length of your mortgage term means you’ll benefit from lower payments as you’ll be paying your mortgage balance over a longer period.

You'll be able to reduce the term up to six months after the extension takes effect without an affordability assessment, which can take you back to the original term or a term in between the original term and your new term.

If you want to reduce the term after the six months term extension, an affordability assessment will be required.

Please note this is not available for customers with an interest-only mortgage.

Things to consider:

• Your mortgage will take longer to pay off. If you decide to change back to your original term, your payments will be higher but you’ll be paying less interest, so your mortgage will be paid off sooner.

• The overall cost of your mortgage will increase.

• As interest rates changes, your payment may also change.

To speak with someone about extending your mortgage term, please call our financial support team on 03300 584714

Switching to a new product with us

Switching to a new product may be a good way to help you lower your repayments. You can switch products up to three months before your existing deal is due to end without the need for another affordability check. We’ll write to you three months before your existing deal is due to end to let you know.

To speak with someone about switching your product, please call our financial support team on 03300 584714

Interest rate reduction

Having a temporary reduction in your interest rate may be an appropriate way to lower your payments in the interim. Following a review of your circumstances and an affordability check, we could lower your rate for up to six months.

This will show as an arrangement on your credit file which could affect your ability to borrow money in the future. We’ll write to you before the rate ends and could look at further support if required.

To speak to someone about a temporary interest rate reduction, please call our financial support team on 03300 584714

Reduced payments

Following a review of your circumstances and an affordability check we could accept an amount lower than your full monthly payment. However, this means it may take longer to repay your mortgage balance on result in your future mortgage payments increasing.

This would show as forbearance on your credit file and would increase your arrears balance. This may also be reportable as an arrangement on your credit file which could affect your ability to borrow money in the future.

To speak to someone about a concessional payment, please call our financial support team on 03300 584714

Payment deferral (or payment holiday)

If your affordability check shows that you can’t make a payment but your circumstances mean that you’ll be able to recommence payments in the future, we could suspend your payments for a period. Interest would still be charged on your mortgage.

After the payment deferral period, the suspended payments will be added to your mortgage and you balance will increase. This means that your contractual monthly payments will increase so that the suspended payments are cleared by the end of your mortgage term.

This will show as an arrangement on your credit file which could affect your ability to borrow money in the future.

To speak to someone about a payment deferral, please call our financial support team on 03300 584714

Capitalisation

If you are able to maintain the monthly mortgage payments however have arrears outstanding on your account, we may be able to treat the arrears as if they were part of the original mortgage amount. This means repaying the arrears over the remaining term of your mortgage. We would need to discuss your full affordability and financial situation before we make this change on your account. You would also be paying more interest in the long run due to increasing the balance of your mortgage.

To speak to someone about capitalisation, please call our financial support team on 03300 584714

An option to sell

If you don’t expect to be able to afford the mortgage in the long term, we can give you time to sell your property, and help you along that process by holding off any action. To further support, if you need help setting up the sale of your property, we can appoint an estate agent on your behalf while still allowing you to remain in control of the property sale.

To discuss assistance during the sale of your property, please call our financial support team on 03300 584714.

Information we’ll need:

We’ll need a full understanding of your current income and expenditure, so we know how best to support you. Before calling us, it would be helpful for you to gather your bank statements, payslips and anything else that’ll help us work out how much you’re spending and earning.

We’ve worked alongside Paylink solutions to create an online income and expenditure form for buy to let borrowers who have up to, and including, three rental properties. If you are a buy to let borrower with more than four rental properties, it is best to give us a call on 03300 584714 and we can walk you through completing your income and expenditure with us.

If we’re unable to offer assistance, our team will provide guidance on what steps you need to take and may suggest that you seek free debt advice. These organisations can review all of your debts and help you find solutions to manage payments to your creditors, review access to benefits, support budgeting and help you cut your costs.

Examples of these free debt advice organisations, including not for profit bodies, are:

• Pay Plan www.payplan.com
  Telephone number 0800 280 2816

• StepChange www.stepchange.org
  Telephone Number 0800 138 1111

• National Debt Line www.nationaldebtline.org
  Telephone Number 0808 808 4000

• Citizens’ Advice www.citizensadvice.org.uk 
  Telephone Number 0800 144 8848

You may also find the following website useful www.moneyhelper.org.uk

Frequently asked questions

I’m in debt and worried about my home, where can I find free help and advice?

If you are in debt and struggling with mortgage payments or worried that you could lose your home, there are other organisations that can help. We’ve compiled a list of trusted organisations who have the expertise, skills, knowledge and provide the support you might need. Click this link to access the form.

What happens if I am already in arrears on my mortgage?

You should contact your specialist team who could help you stay on top of your payments depending on your personal circumstances. Even if you have missed payments, we may still be able to help you. The sooner you contact us, they more options we could give you and the sooner we may be able to help you financially.

Should I cancel my Direct Debit if I’m finding it difficult to afford payments?

Don’t do this before speaking to us. A missed payment will be reported to the Credit Reference Agency. This could affect you if you want to apply for a loan or further credit in future, so it’s something we want to help you avoid.

What’s the impact on my credit file?

If you miss a 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 on future loans and further borrowing so it’s something we want to help you avoid. A poor credit rating can mean there are less product options are available to you in the future or you may pay a higher rate of interest for any credit taken out.

What information do I need before I speak to you?

We will need to understand your current circumstance and any changes which you are aware of. We may also need to understand what money you have coming in and outgoings, to understand what is affordable. It can help if you have payslips, bank statements and details of any upcoming expenses so that we can better understand your income and expenditure when we speak to you.

I have recently been through a significant life event which is affecting how I manage my finances, is there anything you can do to help?

We understand that going through a significant life event, such as a bereavement or separation, can be difficult and there is a lot to think about. We have specialist teams who can support you in these situations so please get in touch with us as early as you can on 03300 584714