Hello and thanks for reading,

im new to the forum so please bare with me.

My mum died in 2008 when i was only 15. She had a mortgage through hallifax and had a loan secured on her house through swift.

The loan was taken out on 20.10.2006 for £19,133 (I believe this was the amount with interest added on, i think she only received about £15,000.

At the time she died her estate was handed to my aunty to deal with as i was too young. The market wasn't great for selling so my aunt thought it would be in my interest to keep the house on and have a tenant living there in the mean time until there would be a profit from the house sale so this is what she's done. While the tenant was there (the last 8 years) she's been paying the mortgage and the loan with swift. However we have now decided to sell the house.

I had a look at some paperwork and my aunts been paying £280 a month, but they've added monthly interest of £300 so the debt is getting £20 worse a month, which I don't understand.

We thought it would be straight forward as when the house sells we can pay off the remainder of the mortgage and the loan and bobs your uncle. However after doing some research on here of swift it doesn't look like that's the case. Is it true they will add a huge sum on the original loan amount for a settlement figure? how best to proceed from now? i really do thank you for your time reading this and hope someone can help because im at a loss

So sorry to hear of your mother's passing James.

Request a settlement figure from Swift. Do you know of any life insurance cover for the mortgage and the Swift loan?

Get back with info when you can.

So sorry to hear of your mother's passing James.

 

Request a settlement figure from Swift. Do you know of any life insurance cover for the mortgage and the Swift loan?

 

Get back with info when you can.

Thanks for replying. I have sent off for a SAR as advised on here. As i said my aunt deals with all her things so i dont know the full ins and outs of it all. she had PPI on the loan, and life cover,however apparently both wont pay out because of the way she died (alcohol induced liver failure.) I dont know how true this is. And she believed she had life insurance through the mortgage but apparently when she re-mortgaged she didn't add this back on.

Hopefully you can see how confused i am as i dont have full access to anything of hers.

I would also consider sending a section 77 request for a copy of the loan agreement James....then you can evaluate the T&Cs and interest position.

Regards

Andy

I would also consider sending a section 77 request for a copy of the loan agreement James....then you can evaluate the T&Cs and interest position.

 

Regards

 

Andy

Thanks for replying Andy. Is this something I can do over the phone or is it best to do this is writing? Thanks

Must be in writing with a £1 payment...see our template in the Library

Thanks for replying. I have sent off for a SAR as advised on here. As i said my aunt deals with all her things so i dont know the full ins and outs of it all. she had PPI on the loan, and life cover,however apparently both wont pay out because of the way she died (alcohol induced liver failure.) I dont know how true this is. And she believed she had life insurance through the mortgage but apparently when she re-mortgaged she didn't add this back on.

 

Hopefully you can see how confused i am as i dont have full access to anything of hers.

Is there a reason why you feel you have limited access to your mother's estate? I think it is also a good idea to make an appointment with your local CAB and explain your personal circumstances in more detail so they can ascertain your position in your mother's affairs.

Must be in writing with a £1 payment...see our template in the Library

Thank you I will send this off also.

Is there a reason why you feel you have limited access to your mother's estate? I think it is also a good idea to make an appointment with your local CAB and explain your personal circumstances in more detail so they can ascertain your position in your mother's affairs.

As said above my mum died when I was 15, from then all my mums things were dealt with by my aunty mainly and granddad. They never really got me involved in the process, even when i turned 18 and it should have been handed to me to deal with, but wasn't. Unfortunately I have nothing of hers but 1 photo as they've kept everything. They claimed to have done this in my best interest, which i can understand to an extent, but are very shady about her affairs and where 8 years of rent money has gone as a significant amount of the debt and loan should have been paid off, and as it stands there is little difference in the accounts from when my mum was alive.

I will phone the CAB and try to get an appointment. I'm just worried they're taking me for a fool which is primarily why I came on this forum to try to get an insight into the situation with swift to see how my situation reflects with others here.

If the property was in trust for you until you turned 18 then their are ways to sort this out. Trust law is very complicated and you should seek professional advice...

Mismanagement of the estate should be looked into...

If the property was in trust for you until you turned 18 then their are ways to sort this out. Trust law is very complicated and you should seek professional advice...

 

Mismanagement of the estate should be looked into...

Thanks for the reply, is trust law any solicitor can help me with? Or would CAB help?

The CAB will give you basic advice formally, if you feel you have not been dealt a fair hand in this then paid for professional advice is the best that can be given.

You should ask a local Solicitor the deals specifically in this field. See this link >> http://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/

The CAB will give you basic advice formally

CAB are not always the best place for legal advice, particularly when it deviates from the usual consumer and debt issues that they normally see. Check to see if you have a local community law centre: http://www.lawcentres.org.uk/

Thank you James for giving more information.

You will need legal help for your situation. The CAB is a good start for the journey you are about to take. To give you an idea of their extensive work, here is the initial link

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

I then entered a relevant search topic and you will see from the left of the page the A-Z of the subjects covered. Much more than people are aware of

A quick search in A-Z gave me this

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/relationships/death-and-wills/dealing-with-the-financial-affairs-of-someone-who-has-died/

I then clicked on a link on this page 'who can inherit if there is no will and then I clicked on close relatives

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/relationships/death-and-wills/who-can-inherit-if-there-is-no-will-the-rules-of-intestacy/#h-close-relatives

You can begin with the CAB, personally I'd make an appointment to see an advisor at your local CAB Office and see how you get on.

James, a word of caution from just quickly reading your thread. Your family might have made some errors while administering the estate but I wouldn't be to quick at jumping to that conclusion where Swift are concerned. They seem to have an habit of letting the accounts fail and not informing the victims but just letting the accounts accrue more interest. If you read a lot of forums that have swift threads on you will find a lot of people complaining that the balance hasn't really dropped since the loan started, I am one, and it seems to be a trick they play. Really do some homework and keep an open mind on who is to blame until you acquire the required info. While asking around knowledgeable people enquire how a loan facility in the name of you departed mother could be administered by anybody else and whether that facility has been carried out properly. I am just thinking that if it shouldn't have been allowed to carry on then there might be an argument that it also couldn't accrue further interest. Just thinking out loud.

I have to be honest and say I am confused how this position has been come to. Is the mortgage and loan in somebody else's name as well because I cannot understand how there could have been any choices after your mother passed away. The usual terms and conditions of both the mortgage and secured loans is that there should be life insurance in place to pay them in this situation. If there is no insurance then the mortgage company usually sells the property to recover their funds and any shortfall would be taken up by the estate and either wrote off or paid from other funds. The loans would have been in your mums name so only she should have been allowed to pay unless something had already been put in place. The other thing that really needs looking into is Swift's conduct, if the loan was only for £15,000 it would be a regulated loan that is covered by consumer credit laws which means they would have had legal obligations for it not to get into this position so when you get paperwork you need to start a case with the ombudsman.

I also do agree there are unanswered questions as to how this situation has occurred. One question is what was put in place so that the house could be rented out? Where and who were you living with after your mother passed away?

These questions and those above, the CAB or a solicitor will ask. It is a plus the Swift loan will be regulated.

One step at a time and gradually the situation will become more clear.

CAB are not always the best place for legal advice, particularly when it deviates from the usual consumer and debt issues that they normally see. Check to see if you have a local community law centre: http://www.lawcentres.org.uk/

Agreed. Nationally CAB cover a vast amount of subjects, but it depends on individual's knowledge and experience at local level whether you drop lucky and find an advisor who can help with your specific problem.

From my experience, the CAB advisor will have their own experience coupled with other legals working at the same time plus access to their legal oracle on the system. As I say, a good place to start before you pay out money. Remember, they can send letters to whoever concerned and make phone calls which can start the process moving on.

You should also get a free first appointment with any solicitor if you are guided in that direction.

From reading between the lines

I am imagining that the mortgage company and Swift are unaware of James's mothers passing and his Aunt has just kept up the payments which if it is the case then getting the required info might be difficult if the account holder is unable to authorise access.

The only other answer would be that they were joint mortgages/loans and the other account holder is still around.

I cant believe that the mortgage and loan would have been allowed to continue if the lenders were aware the borrower, who the agreement would have been with, was no longer around to fulfil their side of the agreement.

The only way the property should have stayed in the estate would have been either an insurance policy clearing the mortgage/loan, a new agreement made which sounds very unlikely or just a grace period for bereavement in my opinion.

Yes, there's info to be teased out to understand the conundrum.

As you mentioned Meelis, was the mortgage in James's mother's sole name or joint owned with another. If solely owned, then another set of questions.

James will find out where he stands with inheritance and taking over the affairs.

Woah guys thanks for the response! I haven't a lot of time before work to reply to you all individually, but will try to answer all your questions to maybe shed a bit more light, i can understand its confusing, i'm very confused myself. Also thanks for everyone sharing links, i will check them out in the morning!

Is the mortgage and loan in somebody else's name as well The original mortgage was joint between my mum and dad. I was told when they split (never married) She got the loan to pay him his share of the place and re-mortgage. so it was only her on the loan and mortgage. However this confused me because i don't see the need in the loan if she would get money from re-mortgaging.

The usual terms and conditions of both the mortgage and secured loans is that there should be Life Insurance in place to pay them in this situation. I thought she would have had life insurance, my aunt told me she had life insurance on the loan, but it wouldn't pay out because of the way she died. (liver failure due to being an alcoholic.) I knew sometimes life insurance wont pay out if you commit suicide, but didn't realise this would be a feasible reason to not pay. and apparently the mortgage didn't have life insurance cover on.

what was put in place so that the house could be rented out? Where and who were you living with after your mother passed away? My aunt didn't pay the mortgage for a year after my mum passed (I seriously didn't think a bank would let a mortgage not be paid for this amount of time!) She apparently informed the mortgage company of my mums passing and gained probate. She then started renting out the house whilst i lived between my other aunt and granddad.

I am imagining that the mortgage company and Swift are unaware of James's mothers passing and his Aunt has just kept up the payments which if it is the case then getting the required info might be difficult if the account holder is unable to authorise access. As far as i'm aware they both know of my mums passing. All letters are sent to my aunt, c/o address and she has regular visits to the bank etc. she is also the person to phone up swift/hallifax and has access to all documents/accounts etc.

I know this is complex so i do thank you all for your time to reply and supply your insights/advise. Trying to get my aunty to send off the paper work for a SAR is proving hard, so i don't know how easy it will be to get all the documents. i'm hoping things go better when i manage to speak to the CAB and then hopefully a solicitor who can help me with some of this confusion.

Thanks again James for your reply. Is there a reason your aunt gives for not sending off the SAR request? Can you ask your aunt for the Swift loan agreement which hopefully she has. Explain to the CAB advisor at your appmnt, the difficulty you have to get an SAR from Swift. With regards to a life Insce policy, I would take a copy of your mother's death certificate and the life insnce docs with you so the advisor can scrutinise the information.

I'm wondering if your aunt was given lasting power of attorney by your mother and this would explain the authority your aunt has. Once the CAB advisor has gathered the answers to questions, it will be explained where you stand as heir to your mother's estate, which then starts the process of relieving your aunt of further interest in your mother's financial affairs.