23 June 2023 , 13:01
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Martin Lewis has shared his response to the new measures that aim to support those struggling with the cost of their mortgage.
Yesterday the Bank of England upped its base interest rate by more than expected to 5% and the Money Saving Expert responded by saying that "help was desperately needed".
Martin described the continued interest rate rises as a "one trick method" that was causing "huge pain" to many people on variable mortgages.
Earlier this week, Martin met with the Chancellor to discuss the issue and Mr Hunt then spoke to major UK lenders today about what they could do to help.
Then this lunchtime Jeremy Hunt announced some new measures to assist homeowners with mortgages - but no government assistance.
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This included:
- People can go to their banks or lenders and speak about their options, without it having an impact on their credit score
- Mortgage lenders have said they will implement a 12-month waiting time before they start repossession proceedings
- People who change the length of their repayment term or go onto interest-only plans can reverse this decision within six months without it impacting their credit rating.
After the announcement of the new measures, the Money Saving Expert said he was "pleased to see it looks like the Chancellor has listened".
In his formal response shared on Twitter, Martin Lewis said: "The unprecedented steep rise in mortgage rates is causing a nightmare for many with variable mortgages and those coming off fixes.
"Therefore, the most important thing we can focus on right now is appropriate, flexible forbearance measures.
"While the Bank of England’s aim is intended to squeeze people’s disposable incomes, no one wants people’s lives to be ruined by arrears and repossessions – and that is the urgent protection we need to focus on."
“I met the Chancellor on Wednesday and reiterated that the minimum we needed was to ensure that when people asked for help from lenders, they knew that if things changed, it wouldn’t be detrimental to their financial situation and their credit scores would be protected as much as possible."
“I’m pleased to see it looks like the Chancellor has listened. "
Earlier this week, Martin said that the "mortgage ticking time bomb" he had warned about in December last year had now "exploded" and the UK was "scrambling" about what it could do.