Urgent advice needed! Can I cancel a remortgage we only just took out a week ago? We signed the deal but don't have the actual money yet.

[ilikeyoursleeves]

As the title says, we took out a remortgage for a house extension just over a week ago, were approved on the spot, signed documents and were told that it would take 7-10 days to get the money through. We still don't have the money but for various reasons we are thinking of delaying the extension for a year or so. I read that there would be £3k penalty for paying the mortgage back (ie cancelling) but if we don't actually have the money yet do you know if we can cancel without a penalty?

Please help! The bank are closed today so I can't speak to them.

Do you have the paperwork that you signed?

Isnt there always a 14day cooling off period with anything financial?

Worst case scenario, can't you just put the extra money in a savings account for a year rather than incur a £3K fee?

Read the paperwork regarding cooling off period.

I didn't get a copy of the paperwork we signed and a cooling off period wasn't discussed. Argh.

Have you tried the moneysavingexpert forums?

A quick search on there and it looks like if you used a broker there is no cooling off period but if you went direct to a lender there may be one

Why did they not provide you with a copy of the agreement??

From the Which Advice website:

If the contract is for credit or hire purchase (HP)
Under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, contracts for loans, credit or HP must be signed by both you and the credit provider to be valid.

If the contract was signed away from the supplier?s business premises (at your home, for example), you have a five-day cooling-off period to cancel it. By law, the credit provider must tell you about your right to cancel. The five days start when you receive your notice of cancellation and a copy of the contract. If you sign a credit contract at the provider?s business premises, you don't have this cooling-off period.

If you take out a credit agreement ?at a distance? (by phone or over the internet, for example), under the Financial Services (Distance Marketing) Regulations 2004 you have 14 days to cancel.*

We signed it at the bank. We weren't told of any cooling off period or right to cancel. We have a copy of what we will be paying in monthly mortgage payements but no copy of the papers we signed.

Feck.

If you have not had the money yet I am pretty certain that you can cancel the agreement. I would cal l them first thing tomorrow morning.