I'm not sure that a solcitor would be able to advise whether or not a mortgage offer was the best deal (i.e. most suitable/affordable) for a client, although they may be able to suggest terms and conditions that may be overly restrictive in terms of the title deeds and legal implications etc.

Robinson - Check sections 4 and 7 of the Key Features Illustration (which should also be in the mortgage offer) from Coventry which will tell you what you need to know.

Brian

You are not expected to know what a managed rate is. That is why on the paperwork it states that you should take legal advice before accepting the terms to ensure that you are getting the best deal. Ok not many of us would ever actually do this but the bank will use this as an argument with you and the general outlook is that the FOS would side with the bank on this basis.

Having said the above I just checked my mortgage direct debit. Its gone down from £762 to £723 - no letter or anything from the bank.

I'm not sure what the reduction is by percentage (math is not a strong point) - it certainly isn't 1.5% however of that I'm pretty certain.

How am I supposed to know what a "managed rate" is? I'm not a financial expert. I wanted a mortgage that tracked - it appears I do not have one!

I would suggest that you check your paperwork from when you took that rate out. If it is clear on the fact that it tracks their own specified "managed" rate then unfortuantely you would not have much room for action as you have signed for it.

I was under the impression my mortgage with the Coventry Building Society was a tracker. Recently, they've reduced their SVR by the full 1.5%, but my mortgage has not changed at all. Apparently it's what they call "managed". It doesn't track the base rate or the SVR, they just set a value for it and guarantee it will never be over their SVR. I really am starting to feel a little cheated, because I was under the impression the mortgage tracked interest rate changes (either base or their SVR). It does not.

What course of action can I take in this instance?

Edit: it's a so called "Flexx" mortgage. Eventually if interest rates keep falling, I'll be paying the SVR!