One phone call £189 - Mortgage Redemption Scandal

For ages I have been meaning to check the amount I paid, in 2006, when I redeemed my mortgage with The Woolwich (now Barclays) when I switched to The Co-op Bank instead. Last year the FSA made some rulings that redemption fees charged by mortgage providers were excessive - a Motley Fool article explains.

This morning I phoned Barclays on their hotline for redemption fee queries (08000 234180). They told me that when I took out the mortgage I agreed to a fee of £95 and when I redeemed it they charged me £275. Without any quibble at all they paid me back £180 plus £9 interest.

That was a phone call worth making!