On this page you’ll find the information you’ll need to prepare you for the end of your mortgage payment holiday extension and the options available if you need further support.
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End of mortgage payment holiday extension
Before your payment holiday extension ends, we’ll write to you to explain your options. If you haven’t heard from us yet, you can see your options below, but you’ll need to wait until you receive this letter before deciding what you want to do. And if you haven’t taken a mortgage payment holiday extension, but would like to, see how to apply.
What if I want to review my new payments?
The letter you receive will let you know your new monthly payment. You may find your monthly payment will increase after your payment holiday extension. That’ll be because:
- interest has continued to accrue and been added to your outstanding mortgage balance during your payment holiday
- there will be fewer months of your mortgage term remaining for you to repay your balance.
Below are some options that may either:
- make your new payment easier to manage
- further extend your payment holiday (available if your previous extensions total less than 3 months)
- allow you to reduce your overall balance and the interest you’re charged.
If you’re comfortable with your new monthly payment and don’t want to explore the options below, your regular monthly payment will recommence and you don’t need to do anything.
Your options
The options below could help you reduce your monthly payment or reduce your overall balance. There's also the option to apply to extend your payment holiday, although an extension would not reduce your future monthly payments and would increase your balance.
Reduce your monthly payment
Extend the term (length) of your mortgage
Extend your payment holiday
Apply for a payment holiday extension of 1 or 2 months (if your previous extensions total less than 3 months)
Explore making some payments during your payment holiday extension
If you feel you won’t be able to begin making payments at the end of your payment holiday or need additional support, it’s important to let us know as soon as possible.
Extend the term (length) of your mortgage
If you have a capital repayment loan (rather than interest only), you may be able to extend the term (length) of your loan by up to 6 months. This could help reduce your monthly payments so they’re closer to the amount they were before you took your payment holiday.
How it works
The table below helps illustrate how your monthly payments could change by extending the term of your loan up to 6 months. This table uses rounded figures.
| Loan balance | £150,000 | £250,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Loan balanceRemaining loan term | £150,00015 years | £250,00030 years |
| Loan balanceInterest rate | £150,0002% | £250,0002% |
| Loan balanceMonthly payment before extension | £150,000£965 | £250,000£924 |
| Loan balanceMonthly payment after 6 month term extension | £150,000£939 | £250,000£913 |
| Loan balanceDecrease to monthly payments | £150,000£27 | £250,000£11 |
| Loan balanceFuture total cost of borrowing | £150,000£174,573 | £250,000£334,156 |
| Loan balanceAdditional interest payable (incl. in future total cost of borrowing) | £150,000£826 | £250,000£1,499 |
Next steps
1. To see the likely change to your monthly payments by extending the term of your mortgage, enter your revised payment details from your end of payment holiday letter into our calculator.
If you're unable to view the calculator, or would like to discuss the possibility of extending your mortgage term for longer than 6 months, please call us on 03 456 100 103 Mon to Fri 8am to 8pm, Sat 8am to 6pm and Sun 9am to 6pm.
2. Once you’ve used our calculator to illustrate the likely financial implications of extending your loan term by up to 6 months, if you'd like to apply, you can complete the online form below or call us on 03 456 100 103 Mon to Fri 8am to 8pm, Sat 8am to 6pm and Sun 9am to 6pm.
Please note, if you apply to extend your term, you won’t be able to extend your payment holiday.
Complete the form > Opens an overlay [Will show a security message first]
Switch to a different mortgage rate
You can switch to a new interest rate at any time during your mortgage term and depending on your circumstances, switching rates may save you money each month.
If your next mortgage payment is due within 21 days and you wish to select this option, please call us on 03 456 100 193 Mon to Fri 8am to 8pm, Sat 8am to 6pm and Sun 9am to 6pm so we can discuss this with you.
Step 1 – Find and compare our current mortgage rates or view all our mortgage rates.
Step 2 – Book an appointment to speak to someone about your options.
To book an appointment, please call us on 03 456 100 103 Mon to Fri 8am to 8pm, Sat 8am to 6pm and Sun 9am to 6pm.
Make an extra payment
If you have funds available, you could make an extra payment to reduce your capital balance. This could also reduce your ongoing future monthly payments.
How it works
The letter you’ll receive confirms the amount of interest that has accrued and been added to your balance during your payment holiday. By paying this amount, or any other sum, you’ll reduce the balance of your loan on which interest is charged and your monthly payment.
Next steps
You can call us on 03 456 100 103 Mon to Fri 8am to 8pm, Sat 8am to 6pm and Sun 9am to 6pm to discuss making an extra payment. We’ll be able to tell you what impact it would have on your monthly payment. We can then arrange this for you if you want to go ahead.
Apply for a payment holiday extension of 1 or 2 months
If you've already taken a mortgage payment holiday extension, you may be able to apply for a further extension if your original extension was for less than 3 months
For example:
| Scenario | Eligibility |
|---|---|
| ScenarioYou're coming to the end of a 1 month payment holiday extension. | EligibilityYou can apply for a further 1 or 2 months payment extension. |
| ScenarioYou're coming to the end of a 2 month payment holiday extension (this could be taken as either a single 2 month extension or two 1 month extensions) | EligibilityYou can apply for a further 1 month payment holiday extension. |
Important to know first
- extending your payment holiday will mean that interest will continue to accrue and be added to your loan balance, further increasing your future monthly payments and the total cost of borrowing
- although taking a payment holiday extension will not worsen the status on your credit file, bear in mind that lenders may take into account other information when making future lending decisions
- Following revised guidance issued by the Financial Conduct Authority, payment holidays are now referred to as ‘payment deferrals’, so you may see this phrase used elsewhere.
See the likely impact of extending your payment holiday
If you’d like to see the likely change to your monthly payments and future total cost of borrowing by extending your payment holiday by 1 or 2 months, enter your revised payment details from your end of payment holiday extension letter into our calculator.
Next steps
Keep in mind, you can only apply to extend your payment holiday if you’ve received your letter from us explaining your end of payment holiday options and you have previously had less than 3 months’ extension.
If you’ve used our calculator to see the likely impact of a payment holiday extension and would like to apply, you can apply online.
Complete the form > Opens an overlay [Will show a security message first]
If you're unable to view the calculator, or have any questions about extending your payment holiday again, please call us on 03 456 100 103 Mon to Fri 8am to 8pm, Sat 8am to 6pm and Sun 9am to 6pm.
Making payments during your payment holiday extension
If you're able to afford payments of any amount during an extension to your payment holiday, we strongly encourage you to make these as the impact on the amount of interest accruing on your balance, as well as the amount of your future monthly payments and the total cost of borrowing, would be lessened.
You can pay as little, or as much, as you like and whenever suits you. You can:
- make a single payment
- set up a standing order
- make ad-hoc payments when your finances allow.
To set up a standing order, or one-off transfer, you'll need some details from your end of payment holiday letter:
- beneficiary – name(s) on your mortgage account
- sort code – first 6 digits of the mortgage account number on your letter, this will always begin '40'
- account number – the following 8 digits of the mortgage account number on your letter
- reference – choose your own reference, this is how the payment will appear on your mortgage statement.
If you want to make payments to more than one mortgage account, you'll need to follow the process above for each account.
Dealing with financial difficulty
If you’re experiencing enduring financial difficulties and require support for any reason, please fill out an Income and expenditure form to help us understand your current financial position.
How it works
It’s a series of questions about your income and outgoings (such as salary and mortgage payments/rent) to help us assess your circumstances and find a solution to support you.
It should take about 10-15 minutes to complete and once you’ve completed the form we’ll be in touch to provide personalised support.
To complete the form, you’ll need to:
- provide basic information about yourself and your current employment status
- detail your current monthly income and expenditure information. If you have a joint debt with another first direct customer, you’ll also have to provide their income and details of any shared household bills
- be as precise as you can so we get an accurate view of your current financial position.
Next steps
If you’re a joint mortgage account holder, you’ll also need to complete the partner income section of the form. You only need to complete one form between you – rather than one per named account holder.
Fill out the Income and expenditure form >
Filling the form out won’t impact your credit file. However, depending on your circumstances, some of the solutions we offer may. If this is the case, we’ll let you know.
If you would like to call us to discuss this option, please contact us call us 03 456 100 103 Mon to Fri 8am to 8pm, Sat 8am to 6pm and Sun 9am to 6pm.
Further Support
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has provided further guidance that you may want to consider. This includes:
- Making a list of all the organisations you make payments to. Record how much you pay them and whether you have fallen behind on any payments. This includes essential household bills such as electricity and gas, as well as loans and any other debts or payment obligations you may have.
- Understanding which of your debts are priority debts. Some debts will be more urgent than others, because the consequences of not paying them can be more serious than for other debts. For example, these priority debts may include things like your mortgage and anything where you have made a contractual commitment to pay.
For information on which debts you should pay as a priority, see the Money Advice Service ‘How to prioritise your debts Opens an overlay [Will show a security message first]’.
Once you have prioritised your debts, you can work out a budget to understand how much money you will have available going forward to pay your commitments. You might want to use a tool such as the Money Advice Service’s budget planner Opens an overlay [Will show a security message first].
If you’re worried about being able to make future payments, it’s important to contact the organisations you make payments to and let them know. They may be able to talk to you about options for changing how, or when you pay.
For more information on managing your money during and after the coronavirus pandemic, see the Money Advice Service’s website Opens an overlay [Will show a security message first] or contact the Money Advice Service for help on 0300 500 5000.
Who can I speak with to get independent advice?
You can also get free independent advice from:
- StepChange Debt Charity: visit their website Opens an overlay [Will show a security message first] or call 0800 138 1111.
- The Money Advice Service: visit their website Opens an overlay [Will show a security message first] or call 0300 500 5000.
- National Debtline: visit their website Opens an overlay [Will show a security message first] or call 0808 808 4000.
- Citizens Advice: visit their website Opens an overlay [Will show a security message first] or call 0344 411 1444.