Hi, Don't know if this is any help to you, but have you thought about writing to the newspapers. Example "Ask Sally" at the Telegraph, might yield some kind of result, (become a subscriber first though) regards.

Not quite clear what you mean by saying your parents had the opportunity of switching to a lower rate. Do you mean that there were lower rates available at the time they took out the policy, either with the Newcastle or some other provider? Or was there some subsequent opportunity to switch to a lower rate, that they were not made aware of? If so, how do you know about it and why was this only a one off event? This is not clear at all. The interest is obviously reducing the equity in the property, but this shouldn't affect your mother's standard of living, as she makes no monthly payments. It will, of course, reduce the value of any inheritance, but isn't that absolutely clear from the outset to anybody with their natural faculties, however slippery the sales person might be?

Any thoughts out there on starting Equity Release now when we are in our 80s. The cash received would be used to reduce our estate and IHT by giving it to our 5 grandchildren and invested for them in Bare Trusts and Child ISAs hopefully increasing at the same or greater rate as the compounding lifetime mortgage interest.

Worry is if we have to downsize outside the terms of the lifetime mortgage we would suffer the quite steep early repayment charges.

We are less likely to suffer the same problems as your contributor who has been paying 6.5% compound since 2003. We may not last as long as they have. And current rates are lower. But it is a consideration even if 40% will eventually be covered by a reduction in IHT.

A more likely problem is the loss of the enhanced IHT zero rate band if the house may only be sold to redeem the mortgage and so can't be left to our children or grand children. Glad of any tips on ways round this.

And thought or experiences on any of this.