On the 17th October, the judge at a case management hearing for those landlords campaigning to take legal action against the West Bromwich Building Society's 2% increase on their tracker rates,  said they will be granted a court hearing in the middle of this month-November.

The judge was extremely impressed with the application and said that the case  was “very well presented” and gave them permission to apply for court dates from the 18th November.

It was in September that the Building Society informed their clients, with buy-to-let mortgages, that their rates would be increased from 1.49% up to 3.49%.

Their announcement was met by over 400 clients who were understandably "up in arms", as they believe the Society's action was in breach of their contractual rights. Together they raised over half a million pounds to cover all legal costs and it worked out that each client made a personal contribution of £1,144 towards the case.

West Bromwich's reasoning for the hike was that it was perfectly correct in raising the rate as within their terms and conditions of the accounts because of:" “a reflection of market conditions and the need for us to carry out our business prudently, efficiently and competitively”.

 

The leader of the group Mark Alexander, feels that they had called the Building Society's bluff and all those financing the action had “a very strong case”.

Ray Boulger, a spokesman for a leading mortgage advisor and broker said: “Buy-to-let is not regulated by the FCA although they clearly regulate West Brom, so the mere fact that buy-to-let is not regulated is not going to give them a ‘get out of jail free’ card but [does] make it more difficult for the borrower.

“One could argue this contravenes the regulator’s TCF requirement if West Brom relied on a clause buried in its contract. Borrowers would be surprised of this rise and take the view this is not something West Brom can do. Clearly those involved could launch a class action.”

West Bromwich Building Society is preparing for the day in court as it refuses to back down from its original decision.