A Darlington man says being a “mortgage prisoner” has taken a terrible toll on his family life and saw him have to get another job. 

When Paul Parker, 48, bought his first home with future wife Susan in 2005, it seemed like the start of an exciting new adventure. 

But when the financial crisis struck in 2008, the three-bedroom Victorian terraced house in the town became the bane of his life. 

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Following the collapse of Northern Rock, his mortgage was sold on to other lenders, and he eventually ended up on a TSB Whistletree mortgage which left him stuck with inflated repayment costs for years. 

While others benefitted from very low rates, Mr Parker and his wife were stuck paying 5.9% interest on the £75,000 they had borrowed, plus the £10,000 loan they took out at the same time. 

Like others who could not pass affordability tests, they found themselves unable to leave TSB’s Whistletree brand for another provider. 

Meanwhile, the interest rate kept rising to its current level of 7.88%, leaving him paying £764.90 a month.  

Selling the house was not an option because the property had fallen into negative equity. 

After partly inheriting a property in Knayton, North Yorkshire, the couple decided to let the Darlington house but the rent did not even cover the mortgage repayments. 

Mr Parker was forced to take on extra work just to keep up with the repayments and maintenance costs. 

“Having to work all the extra hours meant seeing my kids less and the high mortgage costs meant that there was less money for nice things like holidays and meals out,” he said. 

“The stress of it all put a strain on my family life.” 

Now Mr Parker is splitting from his wife, he feels he has no choice but to move back into the Darlington house. 

“I've got seven years left and I feel I need to pay off the rest of the mortgage just so I get something out of it,” he said. 

“It's frightening how much extra money we’ve paid. It’s so unfair we've been put in this position through no fault of our own.” 

Mr Parker is among 27,000 TSB customers who leading law firm Harcus Parker believe may have a legal claim as part of a no-win, no-fee group legal action. 

The bank has agreed to a court hearing next year to let a judge rule once and for all whether its Whistletree mortgage customers were financially exploited. 

Damon Parker, senior partner, welcomed news of the court hearing but emphasised that potential claimants should not delay in signing up. 

“While these people have suffered, large institutions have made hundreds of millions of pounds. That simply cannot be right,” he said. 

‘We do not want mortgage prisoners to wait and see what happens because TSB will argue that every day they delay starting their claim will reduce the final amount of money that they can recoup. 

“It’s really important if you think you have a claim to join up as soon as possible.”