Halifax accidentally tells customers the Bank of England has hiked interest rates

In March, interest rates rose to 0.75% from 0.5% – the highest level since March 2020 as the Bank of England tried to cool rising inflation. Another rate hike is set to follow on Thursday of this week, and several more in the coming months

Halifax has apologized after accidentally emailing customers that the Bank of England has hiked interest rates.

Some mortgage customers received a message on Tuesday stating: “The Bank of England’s base rate has changed today”.

However, the central bank’s decision on a rate hike will not be made until Thursday afternoon.

The lender later followed up with a second email, apologizing to customers for “any confusion” it caused.

The email was prepared ahead of Thursday’s vote by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) “so that if there is a rise, we could quickly advise customers and help them understand how it could affect their mortgage “.

“We are emailing customers today to apologize and confirm there are no changes to their mortgage or rates,” they added.

It is understood some Lloyds customers, also part of Lloyds Banking Group, also accidentally received the message.

Halifax informed customers with a fixed-rate mortgage that their repayments would not be affected by an increase.

UK inflation stood at 7 per cent in March – the highest since 1992, but that was before Ofgem’s 54 per cent increase in April’s energy price cap was factored into the calculations.

Inflation is now likely to be higher – expected to be around 8% in April – and this will put even more pressure on the Bank of England to act again.

In March, interest rates rose to 0.75% from 0.5% – the highest level since March 2020 as the Bank of England tried to cool rising inflation.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has also warned of successive increases in the coming months.

The next announcement from the nine UK economists who make up the MPC is due on Thursday at 12pm.

Investec economist Philip Shaw said: “Of course, it should be recognized that raising interest rates will do very little to dampen inflation over the next six months and that the goal of monetary tightening now is to prevent the Inflation remains above 2% in the medium term -duration and to protect the credibility of the central bank.”

If the interest rate goes to 1%, millions of mortgage holders would be affected.

Martijn van der Heijden of online broker Habito said: “For the quarter of UK homeowners who have a variable, tracker or standard variable rate, any vote to raise the base rate means their repayments will increase; With tracker mortgages, the change is instant and safe, but with a variable rate, it’s up to the lender.

“For homeowners with mortgage contracts that are due to expire in the next six months, this is the ideal time to consider whether fixing their mortgage costs is the right course of action. Some lenders allow you to close a contract six months early. If you have a mortgage offer, your lender will usually honor the interest rate they offered you.”