House loan with surprises
We started the process to secure a mortgage for a new housing project, requiring a bank guarantee to ensure our purchase. Initially everything was fine until we received a bill. We were shocked when they informed us of a 4% quarterly interest rate on the guarantee itself, which would amount to a 12,000 dkk even before we received any loan. This seemed absurd, especially when interest rates were nearly zero at that point.
Upon contacting them, our advisor insisted this was standard, but skeptical, I reached out to three other banks: Nordea, Jysk, and Løn og Spar. All three confirmed that such guarantees should be free for at least 6 months, with interest only starting once the loan is disbursed at the time of purchase.
Faced with this information, I informed our bank of our decision to switch, stating we had secured a better deal elsewhere. Suddenly, they backtracked and offered to waive the fee for future quarters but not for the one we just got a bill for.
It felt like dealing with amateurs and that's why they lost a client :)