Hi everyone

I received this hand delivered letter today from Debt Management Services LTD.

They say they are acting on behalf of Bradford and Bingley,

I had a mortgage with them over 21 years ago and my house was repossessed.

I have made payments on the account over the years but not anything in the last 4 years.

The letter says they want to discuss any problems I may be having with the outstanding account.

In order to bring my account upto date they want me to contact them.

I can't find out much about them on the net, are they debt collectors or bailiffs ?

Any help or info would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

Ignore them. They can't do anything. They're just a scan. Not bailiffs and never will be. Ever.

Hi

DMS have been around since 1959

but looking at their filing history at Companies House,

they are a very small company and don't make a vast profit so on that score,

I agree. Ignore!

Renegadeimp thanks for the reply.

I was a bit concerned as the letter looks quite official and has my the account number on it.

Do you think they are acting for Bradford and Bingley?

My ex contacted me last week telling me someone had rang his new place of employment asking if he worked there, I think it could be these people trying to track him down, as he has changed employer and his old place has given them his new employer..

I am thinking just ignore as you suggested, thanks again.

just had a phone call to my land line from a mobile number.

Answered the phone to find its a guy called Rob Hancox from DMS.

He wants to meet me and my ex to discuss the debt outstanding to Bradford and Bingley,

talk about our financial situation and get our payment plan back on track.

Do I still ignore, getting worried now.

Having read around a little, ignoring may not be the best option.

I take it this is a mortgage shortfall that you have been paying off?

Has your ex contributed?

Was it a joint mortgage?

This may help

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/11%20EW%20Mortgage%20shortfalls/Default.aspx#

Do you know of any charges or fees added to the debt.

well you are under NO OBLIGATION to talk to them at all

and most certainly never agree to meet either.

as they'll prob try and charge upwards of £100 for the visit

if you were paying B&B directly before

deal with them directly too.

you say this mortgage was 21yrs ago! and so was the repo?

and you were paying from the repo time right up until 4yrs ago?

dx100 uk and silver fox........

Our house was repossessed and the house was sold for a lot less than we paid for it.

We were re housed

about 6 years later Bradford and Bingley caught up with me as I had split from my ex.

We agreed to pay so much per month

then I was moved again by the council due to a redevelopment project.

We stopped paying and then they found my new address about 5 years ago.

I had to take an income form into the county court and they agreed to our payments.

We did pay for so long

then my ex had a hip replacement and never got paid from work and I lost my job so we stopped paying.

It's been about 4 years since I paid

although I did try and contact them but nobody could help me

as Santander had taken over Bradford and Bingley and all accounts numbers were different.

I got passed from pillar to post so gave up.

They reckon we owe about £42,000.00 or even more.

Thanks for the help.

are you indicating that

from the date of the repo/court?

to the date B&B caught up with you chasing the shortfall could have been more than 6yrs?

[so what I an saying is, was there a 6yrs gap whereby you paid them nothing?]

and

can you go over this court bit again.

then I was moved again by the council due to a redevelopment project.

We stopped paying and then they found my new address about 5 years ago.

I had to take an income form into the county court and they agreed to our payments.

so it went back to court [how? new case for the shortfall?]

as this was more than 7yrs since the repo

the original case cant been held for 7yrs?

if a lender does not chase a shortfall for 6yrs the MLC say

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?387506-Mortgage-shortfalls-Lender-should-not-pursue-under-CML-policy

dx100uk

It was probably just under the 6 year mark when they caught up with me if my memory serves me well.

When I moved into my current house in 2000/2001 there was a knock at my door one night

and when I answered this guy asked if I was Mrs #####

and after I said yes he served me with some papers from the court.

I had to attend a financial interview which I went to

filled out a form and made an offer of payment which the bloke said yes that will do.

I was only there a matter of minutes.

We both paid for quite a few months until our circumstances changed.

It's been about 4 years since I paid anything or my ex.

Thanks again.

so a judgement was made then

have you ever gotten any statements since then?

it might pay you to get an sar off to Santander

lets see what has actually gone on

and how much of this shortfall

is penalty fees

visit fees

debt management fees etc etc

and ofcourse to bogus insurances that you prob didn't need

oh and PPI...

Since having this debt I have never ever had a statement of any kind from anyone.

I don't know we're to start as last time I got past around and ending not knowing who was handling my account.

I now have the account number as its on the letter from DMS LTD.

Any suggestions as to who I contact,

should I speak to this guy from DMS to get some much needed info?

Thanks all your help is appreciated as always.

no no no

never ever ever ring any DCA/debt chaser etc etc

they are not bailiffs

and have no such legal powers.

I would be sending an sar off to

did you say

Santander, who now own B&B accounts.

I assume you've not got any of the old court paperwork anymore?

who were you paying the money to following the court appearance?

dx100uk

I don't have any papers, in fact I never have had any court papers.

I don't know the exact figure of what I owe if I'm honest.

The last time I went to court I was sent a letter with the arrangement on it and a telephone number who I ring to pay.

After I stopped paying I did try and ring the number a year or two later but it was a dead line,

that's when I did a bit of digging and found B&B no longer exists.

I think I need to do some more research and see if I can find who I need to talk to.

I have rang Santander but I just kept getting other numbers to ring

but none of them could help me or point me in the right direction.

It was very frustrating.

dx100 uk,

Just had another letter from DMS and several phone calls

telling me they want to talk to me about my financial situation. Ignored all calls.

I have done some searching and found out that Bradfoed and Bingley

are still currently in charge of all their old mortgages.

I have found a contact address so I can send a SAR to B&B with my £10 cheque.

It says I have to sign the letter or they won't send anything to me,

is this my signature or just sign my name?

Do I let DMS know that I am sending a SAR's so they stop pestering me?

Thanks again, Debbie.

you must sign SAR

its not to a DCA so quite safe.

read the full sar clickme thread

ignore the dca

Ignore the DCA totally.

They are acting on behalf of the OC so they cant do a single thing to you.

Forget they exist and deal with B&B direct.

Just a quick update.

Have sent my SAR of to B&B yesterday by recorded delivery.

I signed the letter( not a signature ) and enclosed a £10 postal order.

So let's see how much I owe and what my next step will be.

If a court order was granted

the last time I had a financial interview a few years ago can they enforce it ?

I'm not sure if we have one to be honest.

Thanks again for your help.

let things run.

stop worrying.

UPDATE........

Got my SAR back from B&B

also got a separate letter from them asking me to fill in an income and expenditure form.

Also enclosed was a letter saying that they had heard from DMS who they employed as a field agent

and I was refusing to talk to him lol

What do I do now as they said if they hear nothing from me they will enforce the court order.

According to the original paperwork it says we took out PPI

but there are no figures only that it was £13.75 per month on top of the mortgage and buildings insurance.

Thanks in advance.

oh building insurance

did you already have that when they charged it?

so you can now put in a claim for the PPI

and any other penalty charges,

bet they owe you loads.

dx

Dx the paper work is so confusing,

they have sent me best part of 500 sheets of paper.

We're do I start ��.........

I rang them when I got their letter and told them I wanted to deal with them direct.

They want the income form back ASAP.

tough

who says you owe anything.??

right well the statements are the first port of call

work backwards

1st check those payments you made a few years ago are showing

then look for PENALTY FEES

these will be in the form of a repeated fixed whole £ sum like £25]

for letters

DD return

debt management

arrears fees

etc etc.

they are ALL RECLAIMABLE

note those down

if you wish pop them straight into our CISHEET.

then look for PPI, insurances [other than buildings if you didn't already have that elsewhere?]

any other insurances like: life- contents-critical illness

those can be reclaimed too

then confirm what happened at court

and when they FIRST chased for the shortfall. in the comms/account log.

test

dx