Isn't the whole point about variable rates that there are absolutely no guarantees?
If it helps anybody, I had a variable rate mortgage with EBS 5/6 years ago, which I watched in horror steadily rise to something like 4.3% I think while the ECB rate was steadily falling. (Ok, I can't remember exactly how the two rates moved relative to each other but I remember that it got to the stage where I decided I had finally had enough of EBS, and switched to BoI for a variable rate of 3.15%.)
No brainer?
First of all, the switching process was nothing short of torturous. The number of times I had to present more documents to BoI was just ridiculous. Anyway, after what was probably about 4-6 months I finally completed the switch.
Within a month or so, BoI increased my rate by 0.5%, and within a month or so after that, they increased it by another 0.5%.
I'm currently on 4.05% with BoI and it's very tempting to switch (back) to EBS and get my 2K cashback, which would come in very handy. But I'm very wary of just getting burned the same way again.
It's not laziness that stops me switching, it's fear. It's not that I couldn't be bothered going through the whole torturous process again, it's the risk - as I see it - that I might just be no better off at the end of it.
If it helps anybody, I had a variable rate mortgage with EBS 5/6 years ago, which I watched in horror steadily rise to something like 4.3% I think while the ECB rate was steadily falling. (Ok, I can't remember exactly how the two rates moved relative to each other but I remember that it got to the stage where I decided I had finally had enough of EBS, and switched to BoI for a variable rate of 3.15%.)
No brainer?
First of all, the switching process was nothing short of torturous. The number of times I had to present more documents to BoI was just ridiculous. Anyway, after what was probably about 4-6 months I finally completed the switch.
Within a month or so, BoI increased my rate by 0.5%, and within a month or so after that, they increased it by another 0.5%.
I'm currently on 4.05% with BoI and it's very tempting to switch (back) to EBS and get my 2K cashback, which would come in very handy. But I'm very wary of just getting burned the same way again.
It's not laziness that stops me switching, it's fear. It's not that I couldn't be bothered going through the whole torturous process again, it's the risk - as I see it - that I might just be no better off at the end of it.