People across the UK may be wise to check the original terms of their mortgage deals, as experts have warned that lenders are looking to increase interest rates .
The Daily Telegraph reports providers are searching for legal ways to bring about these hikes for individuals on cheap tracker home loans or standard variable rates .
According to the newspaper, one such company is Manchester Building Society, which is upping its tracker rates for some homeowners even though its mortgages track the bank rate.
A representative of the organisation – which has been in operation since 1922 – explained this possibility was detailed in the terms of the arrangement, adding: “We have a duty to all of our borrowing and savings members and need to appropriately balance their competing interests.”
The spokesman described this as a “fine balancing act”, as for every borrower, the firm has around seven savings members.
He explained, however, that this development should only impact a small number of its users – but the move could be seen as a wider attempt to garner greater profit from existing customers by the industry as a whole.