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Despite announcing a link-up with Lloyds TSB for borrowers with less than 80 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) deals at the beginning of June, Newcastle-based lender Northern Rock told Mortgage Adviser the deal had yet to be implemented, although it should still come into force this month (July).

When asked if it had come up with a solution for customers with greater than 100 per cent LTV deals, the Rock said its advisory panel would find those clients deals. But intermediaries questioned whether they could help such individuals find a similarly competitive mortgage to the one they originally took out.

Ron Stout, assistant director of PR for Northern Rock, said the deal with Lloyds TSB was close to being finalised and would be implemented in July as planned, although no specific date had been set for when it would come into force.

When asked what progress the lender had made in finding alternative deals for customers on high LTVs, Mr Stout said: "Our restructuring plan entails reducing the size of our balance sheet to a sustainable level and we are working towards achieving a considerably higher level of mortgage redemptions than has historically been the case.

"The redemption programme involves contacting all our customers whose front-end deals are coming to an end to give them sufficient notice of the product maturity, at all times observing regulatory requirements to treat customers fairly.

"We have also established a panel of mortgage intermediaries who are able to help customers directly by searching the market for alternative products."

Stephen Smith, director of housing for Legal & General, believed to be a member of the Northern Rock adviser panel, said: "Clearly someone who comes to us with negative equity would have a great deal of difficulty and I do not think anybody in their best endeavours would be able to get certain cases away.

"There would be no point in Northern Rock passing out [to the panel] large numbers of 120 per cent LTV cases because no one would be able to shift them."

Ray Boulger, senior technical manager for John Charcol, said Northern Rock had done nothing for customers with an LTV of more than 90 per cent.

He said unless Northern Rock could come up with a similar link-up as the deal with Lloyds TSB that accepted high LTV customers, they were unlikely to get a better deal than a standard variable rate.

Mr Boulger said: "For those who have to borrow more than 90 per cent I believe most of them will find there is nothing worth remortgaging on to and they may as well stay on the Northern Rock SVR.

"Anyone who took out a Together mortgage has been left high and dry."