Eeeeee Gabriel, yes - over 2 years it would be cheaper to pay the 6.6% tracker Halifax were offering me (hilarious rate).  Or the hilarious 6.3% fixed rate. But then I have to go through the whole sheebang again in 2 or 3 years time.  So no, in the longer term it's cheaper to do this, switching over to this Coventry deal.  Total Cost on Halifax would be around 6.8%.  Total cost on Coventry is about 6.2%.  No competition ;).

My point was really that everyone who has to do anything, even if it involves opening the mail and filling the contents into a draw, will charge you as much as they can and there is not much you can do about it.  I got a response from the management company about how they fix their charges for this.  I wanted a breakdown of their costs (£64).  The reply was:

"We are instructed by
our Directors to charge these fees in accordance with the terms of the
Lease/Transfer."

In other words, the Directors decided they would charge you that much and so that's how much they are going to charge you.  No attempt is made to make this cheaper for you.  There is no competition for your attention you see (apart from in the new mortgage market).  The lender tries to make it hurt a little when you leave (release fees) and everyone else wants a piece from you if they can possibly get some.  To me, it's all a little parasitic and I'm a guy who stopped reading Noam Chomsky books when he left University.