7/2/25 Press Release below regarding the Serious Fraud Office and the criminals who run the Co-op Bank.
Register below for updates about class action progress. Parts of this website may be removed shortly so as not to prejudice a potential Judicial Review and other legal proceedings.
February 2025 - there is some slow progress with a class action for the victims of the Co-op Organised Crime Gang. Another member of our community is arranging it but I'll keep people informed.
The Co-operative Bank and its executives have been reported by Lord Sharkey to the Serious Fraud Office, press release below
Do you have any information for the Serious Fraud Office?
If you have been harassed by the Co-op Bank/MAS4/5/6, repossessed or put under pressure to agree to an Assisted Voluntary Sale (AVS), or;
if the Co-op has insisted that you pay alleged arrears all at once instead of spreading them over the remaining term of the mortgage, or;
if the Co-op has known that you had to borrow money from someone/somewhere else to pay your mortgage/arrears, or;
if repossession action has been started in order to force you to pay arrears, or;
if an AVS/repossession has been the Co-op's first solution when arrears have been outstanding, instead of the last, exhausting all other possibilities, or;
if you have faced aggressive firms of solicitors in court acting on behalf of the Co-op Bank/MAS, in particular TLT and Aberdein Considine, who may have lied on court documents and during court proceedings:
then email in confidence to: fraud@mas5.co.uk All information received will be passed to the Serious Fraud Office. For a criminal case against the Co-op Bank and its former and current executives, the more evidence we can pass on to the SFO, the better.
Press Release from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Mortgage Prisoners below:
Reported here: Financial Reporter article and Mortgage Solutions article
Also: Head of Financial Ombudsman Service quits (coincidence or incompetence?)
Lord Sharkey calls for an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office into the Co-operative Banking Group's treatment of mortgage prisoners
Lord Sharkey has written to the Serious Fraud Office to request an investigation into the treatment of mortgage prisoners by Mortgage Agency Services Number 5 Ltd, which was part of the Co-operative Banking Group. This came as the Mortgage Prisoners Inquiry Bill, which would establish an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the treatment of mortgage prisoners and the policies of the Government, FCA and FOS, received its Second Reading in the House of Lords.
Mortgage Agency Services Number 5 (MAS5) increased the Standard Variable Rate (SVR) four times over the period 2009 to 2012. It claims that each of these rises was necessary to reflect changes in the cost of funding the mortgages.
• On 1 July 2009 the SVR was increased by 0.75% to 3.74%
• On 1 October 2009 the SVR was increased by 0.76% to 4.50%
• On 1 March 2011, the SVR was increased by 0.75% to 5.25%
• On 1 May 2012, the SVR was increased by 0.50% to 5.75%
An investigation from the FOS has found that “the evidence doesn’t show that there were changes in the overall costs MAS5 was liable itself to pay for the funds that it used” and “As a result the changes to the SVR MAS5 made between 2009 and 2012 – which collectively added 2.76% to the SVR – were not made for reasons permitted by the contract”. The conclusion is clear that “The evidence shows that MAS5’s cost of funding did not increase”
The conclusion from FOS seems to be different to what MAS5 customers were told. For example, in February 2011 the letter sent by MAS5 said that the SVR increase was “a direct reflection of the increased costs of funding your mortgage loan”. In April 2012, the letter said that the SVR increase had been made after “careful consideration” and that the “rate we are charged for funding your mortgage has increased considerably”.
This analysis also confirms a provisional FOS decision from June 2020, where the FCA and FOS allowed the Co-operative Bank to stop a customer from discussing the unfair SVR increases by requiring them to sign a confidentiality agreement to settle their complaint.
Lord Sharkey said “We need a full investigation by the Serious Fraud Office into the conduct of Mortgage Agency Services Number 5 and the Co-operative Banking Group and the statements they made to customers to justify the increases in the Standard Variable Rate.”
During the debate on the Second Reading of the Mortgage Prisoners Inquiry Bill, Lord Sharkey will also ask the new Labour Government when they intend to respond to the LSE Report which was funded by Martin Lewis and contained a series of costed proposals to help mortgage prisoners.
Following the 2024 general election, Martin Lewis wrote to Chancellor Rachel Reeves in July 2024 asking for the new government to respond to the LSE report. Mr Lewis said the “financial, mental and physical toll on those trapped” as mortgage prisoners had led to “repossessions, hardship and, terribly, suicide”. At the time of writing, the government has not publicly responded to the letter.
The Mortgage Prisoners Inquiry Bill proposes to establish an inquiry which would examine:
· The actions of the Conservative Government in selling the mortgages of former Northern Rock customers to vulture funds and inactive lenders.
· The policies and practices of the FCA
· The handling by the FOS of complaints made by mortgage prisoners
Lord Sharkey said “We need an inquiry so we can allocate responsibility and examine the mistakes within Government and regulators that caused the very bad situation for thousands of mortgage prisoners.
We need an inquiry to identify and correct any failures at the FCA and the FOS and correct any miscarriages of justice which may have occurred.
Most of all, we need an inquiry to develop and implement solutions for the current generation of mortgage prisoners; to help them stay in their homes and stop them from being exploited by vulture funds.”
The homepage for the Mortgage Prisoners Inquiry Bill is available here: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3768
The Second Reading of the Mortgage Prisoners Inquiry Bill will take place on the morning of Friday 7th February (watch here)
The LSE Report Releasing the Mortgage Prisoners which was commissioned by Moneysavingexpert.com and funded by Martin Lewis (launched on 1st March 2023) is available here: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2023/03/mortgage-prisoners-lse-report-launch/
The article below is from The Telegraph, 14/11/23 - full article here
Subscribe to updates about how the unethical Co-operative Bank continues to lie to the FCA, the FOS and its customers in its relentless pursuit of profiteering and stealing the homes of mortgage prisoners:
Older updates - scroll down
27th August 2024 - apologies for the extended absence. My own FOS case should be concluded soon and my plan is to apply for a judicial review.
A new complaint template was not provided earlier this year because it became clear in late 2023 that The Co-op Bank was ignoring FOS' initial decision about a 1.25% rate reduction going forward, and making "highly confidential" settlements directly with customers. The FOS decision was changed in March 2024 to reflect the "highly confidential" settlements that The Co-op was already making. So the Co-op decided what the result of the investigation would be, and the Ombudsman obliged. There was little point in providing a new template for a process that ultimately only serves the Bank and not the complainants. A judicial review is needed to investigate the incompetence displayed a decade ago when this issue was supposedly investigated for the first time, and the legality of what went on earlier this year.
Customers who have settled directly with The Co-op, and possibly everyone else, may be able to be part of a class action to recover the whole amount owed. The Co-op has concealed the funding costs of our mortgages at all stages and this concealment and breach of duty are key to obtaining compensation all the way back to 2009. Subscribe below for updates.
MAS5 has now transferred the legal title of our mortgages, but they'll be telling us about that soon... Interestingly, internal documents show that legal action (from us) is expected to recover the costs of the breaches of contract, together with damages to reflect the rate of interest we could have been given in the market had the Co-op not defrauded us and destroyed our credit ratings... and make no mistake - it's fraud, and not something that FOS and the FCA should be turning a blind eye to.
Older information below - now overtaken by events!
Journalists - the video clips above are taken from an online meeting between the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Mortgage Prisoners and The Co-operative Bank, at which I was present. The Bank's treatment of mortgage prisoners will soon be in the news so this resource may be useful, please contact me for a copy of the full video.
The unethical Co-op Bank will soon be refunding some of the money that it has stolen from its mortgage customers by hiking their SVR from BoE base rate plus 1.99% to base rate plus 5.25%. The Financial Ombudsman is currently dealing with 107 complaints from Co-op Bank mortgage prisoners (FOI request 19/6/23) but there are thousands of other customers who have been affected, some have already lost their homes. Astonishingly, the Co-op Bank has a possession order for 13th July for one customer's home who is in contact with this website, despite a previous FOS investigation finding that we have all been overcharged by 2.76% for over a decade! I'll reiterate here that although I have been in arrears and subjected to numerous repossession attempts and legal charges of £5000+, that would not have happened had the Co-op Bank not chosen to increase its mortgage interest rate in a way not consistent with the terms and conditions of its MAS5 mortgage product.
I joined the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Mortgage Prisoners for this meeting in June 2022 and explained to Co-op Bank CEO Nick Slape the devastating consequences for customers of his bank's misconduct. A year later and I have received no response from Nick Slape or the Co-op Bank to any of the points raised in the meeting (but they were quick enough to complain to MPs about me when they found out about this video!) This recording was made for my personal use but it is in the public interest to make it widely available. The views expressed here and in the video are my own. I am very grateful to the members of the APPG for their tireless efforts to hold the Co-op Bank to account, and for their work to help all mortgage prisoners.
Quick updates to the other, older video below (to be replaced soon!):
29th January 2024 - Customers paying the 9.13% Standard Variable Rate who have not yet complained, or any tracker rate - NEW COMPLAINT TEMPLATES ARE BEING WRITTEN - see here Add your email to the subscription list below to stay updated.
4th January 2024 - The Co-op Bank is writing to customers with an offer that is substantially less than the compensation that would be awarded by the Financial Ombudsman - DO NOT ACCEPT THIS AND SEND YOUR COMPLAINT TO THE FINANCIAL OMBUDSMAN SERVICE.
10th November 2023 - a final decision has been made, I have been asked not to share specifics about the amount of compensation because there will be a press release soon. In the 76-page investigation of the test case, there is clear evidence of fraud on the part of the Co-op Bank, which has not been able to provide any evidence to justify our criminally high interest rate. The full investigation will be on the FOS website in a few weeks' time. It is clear why Co-op Bank CEO Nick Slape resigned as Financial Director of MAS5, and deeply concerning that the FCA has had this information since 2019. A few customers have had notification from FOS.
5th September 2023 - there is no final FOS decision yet. At no stage in any investigation has The Co-op Bank been able to prove why interest rates were hiked in the period 2009-12.
ONE MONTH AFTER HE LIED TO MPs ABOUT THE REASONS FOR CHARGING MORTGAGE PRISONERS 5.25% OVER BASE RATE (VIDEO ABOVE) CO-OP BANK CHIEF EXECUTIVE NICK SLAPE RESIGNED AS FINANCIAL DIRECTOR OF MAS5. Ethical, or criminal?
14th August 2023 - Interest rate 9.13%. MAS4 customers on this rate can also complain to FOS using the template on this site. There is no news about the FOS investigation. After FOS gave an initial decision, both sides had until 6th June to respond. No final decision has been given. Much more information has come to my attention about the conduct of Co-op Bank CEO/MAS5 Financial Director Nick Slape and other Co-op/MAS5 directors. My understanding is that the Serious Fraud Office is involved. Some of the concerns are about The Co-op Bank/MAS5 unlawfully repossessing property and MAS5 fraudulently claiming to own legal title to mortgaged properties when it does not.
Following recent information obtained from Land Registry and other sources, it appears that correct procedure was not followed by GMAC and the law firm which (allegedly) conducted due diligence prior to MAS5 allegedly purchasing these mortgages. There is every possibility that ALL the so-called mortgages which MAS5 purchased are, in fact, not enforceable as a result. You may want to consider taking legal action against MAS5 to get its charge/restriction removed from your title deed. Alternatively, this may have to be a separate complaint to FOS. My intention is to commence legal action and subpoena Nick Slape to give evidence under oath, but I will seek advice about FOS' jurisdiction in relation to this. If MAS5 is threatening to repossess your home please get in touch.
The Co-op Bank has written to me with veiled threats about this website and my acquisition of its customers' data. I have not lost any sleep.
17th May 2023 - Current rate 8.13%. A final decision is expected next month about the compensation to be paid back to customers from the amount stolen by the Co-op Bank. I can't comment on any initial decision that may have been made. It is vital to complain to MAS5 using the template on this website and to send MAS5's rejection of your complaint to FOS within six months.
2nd March 2023 - There is no news about the current investigation yet. Interest rate up to 7.88%. Ethical, or criminal? Subscribe below and I will send an email out when I hear anything. Someone just sent me a link to this YouTube video about the crooked Co-op Bank: https://youtu.be/dywgfSFUIBE
18th October 2022 - Now that MAS5 has not been successful in its court case against the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) we have to be patient whilst FOS reinvestigates the unfair increases in MAS5's mortgage interest rate. MAS5 will drag this process out for as long as it can, but it knows that it can't win this battle - FOS has already ruled that the interest rate is unfair (see below) but that was not regarded as a final decision because the MAS5 customers in that case were bribed to withdraw their complaint.
MAS5 is doing its utmost to dissuade customers from sending their complaints to FOS. Many customers have sent me MAS5's responses to their complaints recently. Despite a very clear ruling in court to the contrary, MAS5 maintains that the interest rate increases that took place over six years ago cannot be fully investigated by FOS. That is not what the judge, Mr Justice Griffiths, said (maybe the Co-op Bank staff at MAS5 think they won the case, but they didn't!) Anything MAS5 says in its reply after the words "our position is...." you can safely ignore. MAS5's position regarding FOS' jurisdiction is irrelevant.
MAS5 is also fond of trying to mislead customers by saying "If you decide to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service it will not have our permission to consider complaints, such as rate changes, which occurred more than six years ago." That sentence is confusing many customers, and that is exactly what MAS5 is trying to do. The Financial Ombudsman regards each and every mortgage payment made during the six years before the date of your complaint as a separate event to be investigated. The rate changes that occurred over six years ago are part of those investigations. That is FOS' position and MAS5 failed to convince a judge to rule otherwise. MAS5's permission is not required in this instance.
Make sure you send your complaint and MAS5's reply to FOS and email me if you need help.
4th August 2022 - LEAKED!!! The Financial Ombudsman Service's investigation into MAS5 interest rates that the Co-op Bank tried to cover up! The complainants were pressured by the Co-op Bank into signing a non-disclosure agreement and withdrawing their complaint in return for an undisclosed sum of money so that MAS5's misconduct would not be reported to the Financial Conduct Authority.
28th July 2022 - Dominic Lindley has worked tirelessly with the All Party Parliamentary Group for Mortgage Prisoners and with MAS5 customers to hold the unethical Co-op Bank to account. Thanks to him to we have the complaint template that has been used successfully to challenge the MAS5 interest rate. He has added a new post on the APPG's website here
27th July 2022 - Great News! MAS5 was unsuccessful in court in its attempt to prevent the Financial Ombudsman from investigating the unfair mortgage rate increases which have resulted in many families having their homes repossessed since 2009. Full Judicial Review ruling here
3rd July 2022 - Mail on Sunday article - More lies from the Co-op Bank, they do not "continue to support" me or any other mortgage prisoners. Apart from me joining MPs to meet their CEO last month, we last spoke in December 2020 when I was shielding and was told to sell my home during the lockdown! The only "continual support" I have received is continual legal action to repossess, which I defended myself and has been struck out of court. Thanks for writing the story Patrick Tooher.
21st June 2022 - thank you Lord Sharkey and Seema Malhotra MP for allowing me to join your meeting questioning Co-op Bank CEO Nick Slape about why the Co-op Bank charges some mortgage customers 6.25% interest and then bribes them to withdraw their complaints from the Financial Ombudsman. Not convinced that Mr Slape was pleased to see me.
15th June 2022 - London - attended the High Court to witness the Co-op Bank's attempts to stop the Financial Ombudsman's investigation into their interest rates. The Co-op Bank claims that they cannot show why our interest rate is so high because they lost the paperwork! Farcical!
From the stories I have heard it is clear that the Co-op Bank (I say the Co-op Bank because MAS5 has no staff of its own - they are all provided by and paid for by the Co-op Bank) is flouting Financial Conduct Authority regulations in many areas, not just by charging an unfair interest rate. The more cases I see, the clearer it is that the Co-op Bank has from the start been in severe financial difficulty and saw MAS5 customers as a way of bailing out the Bank.
Please do contact me if you complain to the Co-op Bank. The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Mortgage Prisoners has been incredibly helpful and I will put you in touch so they can monitor how our complaints progress with the Financial Ombudsman Service.
APPG Challenges Co-operative Bank on Treatment of Mortgage Prisoners & Unfair Rate Increases
24th Feb 2022
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Mortgage Prisoners has written to the Co-operative Bank, the FCA and the FOS demanding action for Mortgage Agency Services No.5 (MAS5) mortgage customers who have been hit by unfair increases in interest rates.
The evidence uncovered by the APPG and FOS suggests that MAS5 treated customers unfairly and that the increases to the MAS5 SVR were not in line with the terms and conditions of the mortgage.
The FOS investigator found that MAS5 had treated a customer unfairly when it increased their Standard Variable Rate (SVR) from 2.99% to 5.75% over the period 2009 to 2012.
MAS5 increased the SVR four times over the period 2009 to 2012. It claims that each of these rises was necessary to reflect changes in the cost of funding.
On 1 July 2009 the SVR was increased by 0.75% to 3.74%
On 1 October 2009 the SVR was increased by 0.76% to 4.50%
On 1 March 2011, the SVR was increased by 0.75% to 5.25%
On 1 May 2012, the SVR was increased by 0.50% to 5.75%
In relation to the 2009 increases the FOS investigator found that MAS5 “had not provided any evidence to show that the costs of funds it used in its business increased”. In relation to the 2011 and 2012 SVR increases “[MAS5] hasn’t provided anything that relates specifically to MAS5’s own costs, or how these might have changed.”
The Co-operative Bank and MAS5 are now engaged in a Judicial Review to try and prevent the FOS from examining the fairness of the SVR increases in other cases.
The APPG has also received very disturbing reports about how MAS5 and the Co-operative Bank have been treating vulnerable customers and these have been passed to the FCA for investigation.
Seema Malhotra MP, Co-Chair of the APPG on Mortgage Prisoners said "The Financial Ombudsman's investigator concluded that the SVR increases by Mortgage Agency Services No.5 (MAS5) Ltd were unfair and not in line with the terms and conditions of the mortgage. These unfair increases have had a devastating impact on customers.”
“We hope that the Co-operative Bank will start living up to its ethical values and pay redress to the customers who have overpaid due to the misconduct. The FCA and the FOS need to intervene to protect these customers and stop MAS5 from dragging out these cases and causing more misery to vulnerable people. Many of these customers have serious health issues or financial problems."
Actions requested from the Co-operative Bank / Mortgage Agency Services No.5 Ltd
Share all of the information submitted to FOS about MAS5 funding costs.
Immediately halt all threats of repossession to MAS5 customers paying the SVR.
Cut the rates paid by MAS5 SVR customers by 2.76% to reflect the impact of the unfair interest rate increases.
Pay redress to MAS5 customers for the overpayment of interest due to the unfair interest rate increases.
Allow all MAS5 customers to access Co-operative bank fixed rates by using the flexibility allowed in FCA rules to streamline any affordability assessment.
Institute an independent investigation into whether any staff within the Co-operative Bank or MAS5 sought to conceal the misconduct or failed to comply with the bank’s policies on the treatment of vulnerable customers.
Stop imposing confidentiality agreements on customers which prohibit them from sharing details of their complaints and MAS5 misconduct with the FCA.
Actions requested from the FCA
Open an investigation into the increases in the SVR by MAS5 during the period 2009-2012, including whether senior executives within MAS5 and the Co-operative banking group have misled FCA officials.
Order MAS5 to reduce the SVR by 2.76% to reflect the impact of the unfair interest rate increases.
Order MAS5 to pay redress to customers affected by the overpayment of interest due to the unfair interest rate increases.
Instruct MAS5 to halt any repossession action against MAS5 customers paying the SVR and to offer forbearance whilst this investigation and the assessment of the FOS complaints are ongoing.
Open investigations into the breaches of DISP rules by MAS5 and their treatment of vulnerable customers.
Undertake a 'lessons learned' exercise into why FCA officials and board members failed to uncover or properly investigate the misconduct within MAS5 when this issue was reported to them over the period 2019-2021.
Clarify whether the FCA regard it as acceptable for firms to impose confidentiality clauses on consumers which prevent them from reporting their concerns to the FCA.
Actions requested from the FOS
Communicates to MAS5 that all possession action should cease until these complaints have been assessed.
Reviews its decision to suspend consideration of the MAS5 complaints. In our view, and especially given the time which has already elapsed, consideration and assessment of these complaints should proceed alongside any Judicial Review. As the FOS has already investigated the interest rate rises and found them to be unfair this would have minimal resource implications for FOS and would ensure that these vulnerable customers get an assessment of their complaint within a reasonable length of time.
Explains why it believes that MAS5 customers “ought reasonably” to have been aware that MAS5 was misleading them about whether MAS5’s funding costs had increased.
Reopen any previously assessed cases involving MAS5 as the new evidence gathered by Mr Morris suggests that previous FOS investigators and Ombudsmen may have come to the wrong decision.
Report the issues raised by these cases to the FOS/FCA Coordination Committee and ensure that minutes of these meetings are published to aid accountability.
Nick Slape Chief Executive Officer
The Co-operative Bank Plc
P.O. Box 101
1 Balloon Street
Manchester
M60 4EP
Dear Mr Slape
We are writing on behalf of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Mortgage Prisoners to express concern about the conduct of Mortgage Agency Services No.5 Ltd which is part of the Cooperative Banking Group. The evidence uncovered by the APPG and FOS suggests that MAS5 treated customers unfairly and that the increases to the MAS5 SVR were not in line with the terms and conditions of the mortgage.
MAS5 increased the SVR four times over the period 2009 to 2012. It claims that each of these rises was necessary to reflect changes in the cost of funding.
• On 1 July 2009 the SVR was increased by 0.75% to 3.74%
• On 1 October 2009 the SVR was increased by 0.76% to 4.50%
• On 1 March 2011, the SVR was increased by 0.75% to 5.25%
• On 1 May 2012, the SVR was increased by 0.50% to 5.75%
In relation to the 2009 increases the FOS investigator found that MAS5 “had not provided any evidence to show that the costs of funds it used in its business increased”. In relation to the 2011 and 2012 SVR increases “[MAS5] hasn’t provided anything that relates specifically to MAS5’s own costs, or how these might have changed.”
The conclusion of the FOS investigator was that “For the reasons I’ve explained, based on the information currently available, I’m not satisfied MAS5 has increased the SVR in line with the terms and conditions of [Mr and Mrs X’s] mortgage. As a result, I think Mr and Mrs X have been treated unfairly.”
The FOS investigator thought that Mr and Mrs X’s mortgage should assume that the four increases in the SVR did not take place and that MAS5 should pay redress on that basis.
We are very confused as to why in other cases, such as Mrs D’s complaint, MAS5 is trying to restrict the ability of FOS to examine the fairness of the SVR rises and yet is still relying on those unfair rate increases to charge MAS5 customers a very high SVR. We have also received very disturbing reports of how MAS5 and the Co-operative Bank are treating vulnerable customers. Instead of supporting one of your customers who has given years of service to the NHS, you are threatening to repossess his home.
We are writing to request that you take control of this situation and start living the claimed values of the Co-operative as an ethical bank by taking the following action:
• Share all of the information you have submitted to FOS about MAS5 funding costs.
• Immediately halt all threats of repossession to MAS5 customers paying the SVR.
• Cut the rates paid by MAS5 SVR customers by 2.76% to reflect the impact of the unfair interest rate increases.
• Pay redress to MAS5 customers for the overpayment of interest due to the unfair interest rate increases.
• Allow all MAS5 customers to access Co-operative bank fixed rates by using the flexibility allowed in FCA rules to streamline any affordability assessment.
• Institute an independent investigation into whether any staff within the Co-operative Bank or MAS5 sought to conceal the misconduct or failed to comply with the bank’s policies on the treatment of vulnerable customers.
• Stop imposing confidentiality agreements on customers which prohibit them from sharing details of their complaints and MAS5 misconduct with the FCA.
We would like to meet with you to discuss these issues and to ensure that you understand the impact on your customers of the bank’s conduct. We look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards
Seema Malhotra MP
Lord Sharkey
Co-Chairs, APPG on Mortgage Prisoners
CC Sheldon Mills, FCA