Exit fee clampdown comes up trumps

Research conducted by the firm has shown that the average cost of leaving a lender is still around £150 though.

The Royal Bank of Scotland group, Standard Life Bank, Cheltenham & Gloucester and Lloyds TSB have all scrapped exit fees.

The highest fee is currently around £295 from Alliance & Leicester, while Woolwich charges £275. Other lenders such as Abbey have renamed exit fees as 'administration fees' with the charge set at £225.

In August, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) urged lenders to make their exit fee terms clearer - ruling that customers were able to reclaim fees in January if they could prove that the charge was higher than the one set out in the original t&c's.

Francis Ghiloni, mform.co.uk marketing and business development director, said: “It is good news for borrowers that some lenders have scrapped exit fees and the trend for rapidly rising redemption charges has stopped thanks to the work of the FSA and pressure from borrowers.

“However it is clear that these charges don’t relate to the cost of administration when closing down a loan and borrowers are waking up to the fact that these charges are really just part of the price of the mortgage deal. They should be considered at the start rather than come as a nasty surprise when it’s time to move on. Even after FSA action there are still substantial exit fees being charged."