This announcement is far from crystal clear and lenders are one by one making their own individual announcements, with various levels of detail available and it differs from lender to lender

I’ve tried to put together my best reading of this situation below:

1) It doesn’t apply to everyone automatically

2) It will only apply to those financially affected by the current Coronavirus

3) You will need to contact your lender directly to discuss your circumstances and agree the payment holiday

4) If a holiday is agreed it won’t affect your credit rating

5) If a holiday is agreed it won’t entail charges being added

6) If a holiday is agreed it will likely mean your mortgage will take longer to repay

7) If you’re currently suffering financially due to the Coronavirus you will still need to contact your lender directly to agree this holiday. If you simply cancel your direct debit this will result in missed payments and charges being added to your account

Basically folks I don’t see this announcement as a major intervention like it has been in other countries and I also imagine lender phone lines will be absolutely jammed tomorrow and in the coming days. I tried to get through to one particular lender today to help a client and was on hold for almost 1 hour. I anticipate this could be similar if not worse as this situation deteriorates

My advice if you’re already financially affected or will become financially affected is to get in touch with your lender ASAP via any means available – some lenders have live chat and/or email facilities. If they do try those first as the phone lines will be extremely busy

Please note that the above is my best possible reading of the situation and isn’t 100% reliable for every single lender or individual circumstances. My main message for now would be to contact your lender ASAP if you’re financially affected by this virus

I’ve also gathered together a list of the major mortgage lenders here and their contact numbers for those that may face financial difficulty due to this coronavirus:

Halifax 0808 145 0437

Santander 0800 389 7000

Nationwide 0800 464 3030

Natwest 0800 161 5909

HSBC 0345 766 2255

Danske 0800 633 5783

Bank of Ireland 0800 169 9722

1st Trust 02890 821 682

Progressive 02890 160 949

Ulster Bank 0345 301 6910

If any customer wants to chat things over before phoning their lenders, or simply want to discuss their situation then you know where I am

Once again I hope everyone looks after each other and stay safe