You've spent years paying off your mortgage. That last instalment is something special, worth celebrating.

But then you discover there's still more money to be found.

In this case it's for things like a fee to get your deeds back.

Yet another example of small print, but it's worth checking in case you find yourself in the same position as Working Lunch viewer Brid Mercer.

"When we found out that Northern Rock planned to charge us �75 to release the deeds of our own property to us, we were outraged," she says.

"We decided to travel to their head office and collect the deeds ourselves.

"We felt this was a gross imposition on the customer to expect them to pay to get their own property back."

Northern Rock says the fee is clearly explained in its terms and conditions, although Mrs Mercer says she wasn't aware of it.

But it is an example of how many surprise charges might be lurking round the corner, especially when it comes to redeeming your mortgage.

There can be a big difference in what banks and building societies charge for your deeds - indeed, some charge nothing at all:

"What the lender's saying is 'We've got to hold on to your deeds and keep them safe', " says David Hollingworth of London & Country Mortgages.

"But when you start looking at the charges between different lenders you see there is a disparity, so I think what you're seeing here is that they're using them a touch just as a deterrent."

In some cases - including Northern Rock - the fee isn't payable if the mortgage goes to its full term.

But if you'd rather not pay to get your deeds back, David suggests leaving them with your lender, for which there'll probably be a small annual charge.

There is also something called a sealing fee, which is payable for actually terminating your mortgage.

Again, there can be variations. The Halifax, for instance, will waive the sealing fee if the account has been held for more than 10 years.

"Most lenders will waive either the deeds release fee or the sealing fee, or possibly even both, if you're coming to the end of the natural term of your mortage," says David.

But he cautions against hastily switching lenders out of annoyance at these unseen charges.

"You've got to take them all into account - it is a cost associated with your mortgage.

"But you mustn't cut your nose off to spite your face," he says.

"If you're looking to move to a new lender just make sure they've got the rate to go with it as well because if you're talking about half a per cent you're looking at �500 a year."