A family said they are having to sell their “much-loved” house – after missing a mortgage payment by just three days.
Dr Brian McDonough and his wife Jessie are “horrified” at having to sell up, but the couple with two young kids can barely afford to pay the huge interest rate imposed on their credit cards after missing a mortgage payment two years ago.
They say that after missing one payment by a few days, their mortgage lenders Metro Bank put a marker on their credit score – which saw payments on their credit cards spiral. Dr McDonough, a university lecturer from Andover in Hampshire, said that he has “never missed a payment” in 20 years.
He said: “In February 2022 my wife got a new job, and we did not know we missed a mortgage payment, when her pay day changed. We didn’t know that it hadn’t come out of her account.
“Metro Bank didn’t text us, they didn’t email us, they didn’t telephone us, they didn’t write to us for six days and when they phoned us on the sixth day after the payment was due we paid within 20 minutes but they still marked our credit files. In my eyes you don’t mark someone’s credit file without at least asking for the money first at least letting the person know there’s an outstanding balance.”
Dr McDonough said the situation with Metro Bank is a “scandal” even though the Financial Ombudsman explained that they were legally entitled to add the marker. At present, the family cannot downsize or rent either because they are failing the credit checks due to the marker originally applied by Metro Bank.
They have the necessary equity in the house to consolidate debts but are being refused additional borrowing by Metro Bank because of the marker they applied. A spokesperson from Metro Bank said: “We have sympathy for the situation Dr McDonough and his family are facing.
”As a responsible lender we follow our policies and procedures which do not allow us to lend to any customer without the necessary credit checks. Our specialist also spoke with Dr McDonough to discuss ways we may be able to help with his mortgage payments. While he declined to pursue any of these options at the time, he is welcome to arrange another appointment with us in the future”.
But Dr McDonough claimed Metro Bank “offer no reasonable solutions whatsoever”. He said: “I’ve no problem with paying the mortgage payments it’s the interest on our existing debt which is now double our mortgage payments a direct consequence of the mortgage marker Metro Bank placed on our files. They refuse to help with this because their computer credit checker will fail us.”
He added that a Metro Mortgage Adviser apologised for the marker – calling it a “mistake”. But he said that the bank then “sanctioned” him, saying he was “wrong”.
“The bank applied the marker in 2022, then removed the marker in 2023, at first saying it was a mistake they made, but then saying it was removed to support us going forward,” said Dr McDonough.
However, he said that the marker sent their credit cards skyrocketing from 0 percent to 30 percent interest rates. Dr McDonough said that banks like Metro will not consolidate 0 percent credit cards into a mortgage and they will not consolidate the family’s debts now – as the automated credit checker fails them.
“They are basically leaving us homeless because they rely on a computer,” said Dr McDonough. “The robots are failing us.”
Local MP Kit Malthouse has written to the bank twice asking them to help the family. The family asked to meet with the Managing Director Metro Bank but said the bank has refused.
They are having to sell their family house in Portland Close, Andover, and are preparing to move in with Dr McDonough’s parents, who live in Liverpool, until their credit score improves. Dr McDonough said: “I love my house – it is the home to my two beautiful children”.
