The FSA said it has since redesigned its software to accommodate the transition between the discount and standard charging period and admitted that this had happened in ‘a handful of other cases’.
The application for direct authorisation from Simon McCabe of Key Mortgage Options in Dorset arrived on 31 March - the last day of the discount period - and McCabe urged all brokers to check their own direct debits to the FSA.
He said: “It is now proving a lengthy process to recover the difference as the Mortgage and Geneal Insurance (MGI) team will not take any details over the phone and have stated I must put my query in writing.”
FSA spokesman Robin Gordon-Walker, said: “The simple answer to all this is he will get his money back. His application came in right up against the deadline on 31 March and the system took a few hours to absorb his information. The reason he has been asked to put his request in writing is because he is dealing with a rapid response call-centre and this is normal policy. A short e-mail is sufficient.”
Gordon-Walker also asserted that since the ‘glitch’ had been fixed the problem would not arise again. The next processing milestone is the guaranteed to be processed date for general insurance applications on 13 July 2004.
