What are my rights if I have been given incorrect information to the mortgage provider?

Questioner

In September 2020, we received a proposal from our mortgage provider to lower the interest rate. This all seemed fantastic. 400 euros per month down with the mortgage. Clear letter, so signature placed. Why switch if we are doing well here anyway. But then after we have signed, a few weeks later a letter arrives on the mat from the party where the life insurance is running that it will be increased by 200 euros because the interest on our mortgage is going down. Huh? Of course, we immediately got on the phone. The life insurance provider referred us back to the mortgage provider. We reported this, and the man on the other end of the phone responded rather nonchalantly that the insurance was linked to the savings mortgage and that this had of course changed. Why, of course? We did not find this information in their letter about lowering the interest rate. An independent advisor arranged all this for us 10 years ago because we were novices. How could we have known that we would now have to pay so much more per month? Didn't the mortgage provider have a duty to mention this in their proposal?

Lawyer

That is indeed incomplete information that you have obtained. You can start an internal complaints procedure with the bank, but you wonder how great the damage is that you suffer as a result and whether you yourself could not have known this fact according to the terms of the life insurance, but: It remains important to note that a financial service provider must include the entire cost estimate and point out any relevant conditions that may have escaped your attention from an additional product/service.

Questioner

Thanks for the quick response. I do think that we should really get to work on this. We intend to take out a different mortgage form with a different provider. Knowing that the current provider may have defaulted makes it easier for us to contest a possible fine. After all, if we had had the correct information in September when the fixed interest period expired, we would not have signed the new 20-year period.