Re mortgage and name change issues

[Marigold101]

Hi, will try and keep this concise!
My partner is getting divorced (settlement all agreed and straightforward). To do this he's ex wife needs to be removed from the mortgage (she is very happy about this), and my name added.
Partner has had mortgage since 2005 with Cheltenham and Gloucester a division of Lloyds, for the majority of the time mortgage was solely in has name and a payment never missed. But at the moment is interest only.
We recently had a very positive meeting with the Lloyds mortgage advisor who foresaw no issues as it was basically removing and adding a name and I am slightly higher earner than the name being removed. Two days later we are declined as we don't meet criteria. Basically it is a new application and they will not allow it to stay interest only.
Has also been declined as repayment application due to affordability. We are very confident payments would not be an issue but partner is self employed (for 3 years) and it's only this year has shown decent profit £30k. At the meeting we were told it was only this last year that would need to be taken into account. Now adviser has back tracked and says its 3 years which affects the average a lot and makes it look like we could not meet the payments.
Has anyone else encountered the same issues or recommend a solution.
Would we have a case to approach financial ombudsman as C snd G are changing terms of existing mortgage?
We are not looking to increase mortgage. House valued at £330,00 and outstanding mortgage is £229,000.
Please excuse the essay, I have tried to include all salient points!

I think it has always been 3 years of earnings for self employment.

If you are asking the bank to end what is effectively a current contract with 2 people, and restart it with 1 of those people plus a new person, then surely it is a whole new contract. So they are not making any change to existing terms?

I bought out exH share of the home and took his name off the mortgage. No change to the amount borrowed but I had to to apply for a new mortgage product and pay an early redemption fee from our joint mortgage. It isn't just changing a name it's a whole new mortgage contract. It may be worth speaking to a broker and casting your net wider and mortgage elsewhere.

We had awful hassle taking my ex off and putting my partner on. Go through a mortgage broker, we wouldn't have been able to do it without. We are both self employed, I only had 2 years of accounts. Nightmare but it's done now. But yes, it is a new application

Thank you for taking the time to reply. Yes, I agree, it is a new application. It's just frustrating as we would not be extending the length of the loan or increasing the amount. And the terms have changed since the mortgage was first taken out. It's actually on part repayment and interest now not interest only. I just wondered if anyone else has encountered the same issue and over come it.
We took all 3 years proof of earnings and the adviser said, great, but he only really needed the last one. We we under the impression it was the last 3 too. Thanks anyway.

You have no case to go to the Ombudsman from what you've posted.

It is a completely new mortgage and you don't meet their criteria.

Many people wouldn't be able to secure their current mortgage since the MMR rules changed lending criteria and that's before the change in names and the self employed factor.

Aside from anything else, C&G don't exist anymore so any new mortgage has to be under the Lloyds banner which makes it a new mortgage.

Your best bet would be a whole of market broker who can look at your case and see if it can be placed with another lender.

Hello, thank you, I appreciate everyone's responses. We have an appointment today with another broker, so fingers crossed!