Why is getting a break fee such a convoluted process

I understand banks dont really want you switching, or understanding when you can or cannot, but surely getting a break fee at any point in time should as easy as logging into your online portal and pressing a button. Its a formula and all the information is know, it couldnt be that hard surely?

Blackrock1 said:

I understand banks dont really want you switching, or understanding when you can or cannot, but surely getting a break fee at any point in time should as easy as logging into your online portal and pressing a button. Its a formula and all the information is know, it couldnt be that hard surely?

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I'm only guessing but I suspect that some lenders have not built internal software to calculate the break fee – they may have to plug the numbers into the formula each time.

Or if they do have such software, it might only be available in one department, and so the customer service department has to send them a request, wait for the quote to come back, do up a letter and get it sent out.

Completely insane, if true, but old-school lenders are not known for their cutting-edge software and processes.

It sounds like it's buried in an ancient system somewhere. It was probably one of the first things to be computerised as it is just a formula calc based on a small number of inputs which are probably uploaded periodically by an ancient batch. And they're no pressing reason to spend money on exposing it to integrate with the wider internet \ available externally.

Paul F said:

I'm only guessing but I suspect that some lenders have not built internal software to calculate the break fee – they may have to plug the numbers into the formula each time.

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Bank of Ireland Mortgages staff have a tool at their fingertips that does it. They quote you over the phone and send you a written offer immediately.

It might not be cheap to integrate this into a consumer-facing portal, and I am not sure that demand is all that high either. Most mortgage holders at most times have very little need to break.

NoRegretsCoyote said:

Bank of Ireland Mortgages staff have a tool at their fingertips that does it. They quote you over the phone and send you a written offer immediately.

It might not be cheap to integrate this into a consumer-facing portal, and I am not sure that demand is all that high either. Most mortgage holders at most times have very little need to break.

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Plus if you are breaking ... more often than not it is because you want to switch away from them...