Dear all

I would be very grateful for any help with my situation.

I had a SPO following mortgage arrears (£3600) in 2008. Since then I have been making my contractual payments but had missed payments on three occasions from unexpected expenses resulting from direct debits being returned unpaid.

I was in a particularly bad financial condition in the last 6 months following an elderly family member falling unwell while abroad.

The mortgage arrears accrued to £3400 again and the mortgage company ( a subprime lender) has now applied to the court for a warrant for possession.

I panicked and raised money from friends and family to clear off the arrears, but the lender is refusing to accept any payments and instead insists that I send them last three months of bank statements before they would decided whether to accept the payments or not. They insist that until I serve them the bank statements, they can't do anything about the eviction and says an eviction date will be issued in due course.

They also made me complete an income and expenditure with them over the phone.

I am very reluctant to send in bank statements, since with the financial difficulties over the last three months, I have resorted to payday loans (cleared) and I am very worried this will again jeopardize the situation.

I am otherwise in a stable job and would be able to afford my contractual payments going forward.

I have raised the money and want to clear the arrears but I am left in this dire situation. With family and young children, it looks as if my fate is sealed.

May be someone else on this forum would have had a similar situation and I am sincerely hoping for some advice and help. Apologies for the long post.

Hi there, have they refused the payment in writing to you ?

Also, which lender is it and do they have a telephone payment facility ?

Thanks Ell-enn

No, I was trying to pay over the phone with them.

Thanks.

It is Kensington. They do have a telephone and online payment facility.

So did they interrupt when you were trying to pay ?

No.

I rang and requested, whether I could clear the arrears over the phone.

( I didn't use the automated facility).

They refused saying that they won't accept a payment unless they have seen three months bank statements.

Also asked how I got the money.

When I said family, they said the family member has to write to them saying that he/she does not have any financial interest in the property and that the money was given to me as a gift.

It was £3600.

Try making the payment by the telephone facility, if you have no arrears they can't get a possession order. Let me know if the payment goes through ok.

Thanks Ell-enn.

Yes. the payment has now gone through.

Wouldn't it be a problem, if they get to know this?

Would I still have to defend the eviction in court, if I don't send in the bank statements and the letter from family member as they had asked.

On reading the threads here it seems the suspended possession order is valid for life of the mortgage, isn't it?

Could the lender still take me to court saying that I could default again in future? It's all confusing to me.

Hi, you should now write to them saying you have made payment as you are anxious to bring the account up to date and that you felt pressured into giving details for an income and expenditure exercise for which you were not prepared. I can draft an appropriate letter for you to send if you like ?

Thanks very much Ell-enn

I would be very grateful if you would draft me one, when you get time. Would you need any more details from me.

I was further researching on the powers of the SPO which seems to hang like a Damocles sword. Once the arrears are cleared, does the SPO automatically become void or could the lender invoke it any time they choose, if arrears arise in future.

Some law firms working on behalf of lenders,cite the case of Zinda vs Bank of Scotland, which seems to imply that this is the case.

Hi, the SPO will continue, but - after a period of time where payments have been kept up (usually around 2 years) you can apply to the court to have the SPO lifted. The lender can object but if you have a good case you can succeed.

I will draft the letter over the weekend - just need you to answer the following:

How much longer has the mortgage left to run?

Is the mortgage in joint names?

Are you able to make payments every month going forward?

It would be helpful if you could complete the affixed budget sheet - it calculates automatically as you fill it in, and will give a better indication of your finances than the one you did over the phone with them.

Budget Sheet.xls

Thanks Ell-enn.

Something very fishy has happened meanwhile.

Yesterday when I made the payment the automated system would only take £2000 at a time.

So I waited till today to make the remaining payment of £1697 and then the automated system is not letting me make the payment.

The error message which comes up says

"Unfortunately we cannot process your card payment online.

This can be for a number of reasons,

please try again later or contact us"

Could it be just a problem with the automated system.

( I do have a leaflet from them which says their payment systems are available 24hrs a day 7 days a week).

Its almost as if they got wind of what's happening and is preventing me from making the payments. Would that be possible?

I don't know their bank account and sort code, if so I could have made an online bank transfer.

Are there any other options like a bank draft or postal order I could use. If so what happens if they refuse to accept it?

Thanks for the budget form, which I will fill in now.

I think someone on here had Kensington's bank details - I'll have a look around the forum and see if I can find it. Wait a day or so and try again - could just be a blip in their system

Thanks Ell-enn. I have just emailed you my budget sheet.

Dear Ell-enn

Hope you have received my budget sheet.

In response to your other questions

1. The remaing mortgage term at the end of May 2017 would be 12 years and 6 months

2. It is a single mortgage

3.Going forward, current circumstances prevailing, I would be able to make my contractual monthly payments.

Many thanks again.

Hi, I received your budget sheet thanks , I have sent you a reply

Hi, did you manage to get the remaining payment done on the telephone system ?

Unfortunately no.

When I try the telephone service it gets routed to a a customer service agent, and when I try the online system it says "Unfortunately we cannot process your card payment online.

This can be for a number of reasons, please try again later or contact us".

I had a search of the forum too, but couldn't find Kensington's bank details. If only I manage to get them, I could make a payment via my bank. I have no idea why they are being so obstructive and harassing.

Do you think, sending them a draft or a postal order would be another option.

Many thanks again.

Just had a thought - did you previously pay by direct debit ? if so you can get Kensington bank details from the DD in your online bank account - you can then use those to make the fast payment (don't forget to put the mortgage account number in the reference box).

Who do you bank with ?

Unfortunately no. When I try the telephone service it gets routed to a a customer service agent, and when I try the online system it says "Unfortunately we cannot process your card payment online. This can be for a number of reasons, please try again later or contact us".

If you don't already have a screenshot of that online message, try again online ; not in the expectation of success, but so you can show you tried and it wouldn't let you.

Then try again by 'phone, recording the call. If they again decline the payment, it is further proof they aren't accepting payments. Then, if it comes to them trying to activate the SPO, you can show that you've been trying to pay and they won't let you .....

Thanks BazzaS and Ell-enn

The direct debit is still in place and money is being collected. But on my Barclays account it only shows the direct debit reference number not their sort code and account no.

Getting the screenshots is a good idea, which I will do now and also tomorrow.

The sad thing is I have already paid £3410 as arrears fees , £215 (Returned DD charges over the last 12 yrs) , £429.15 as Field Agent charges, £118.64 as Solicitors Charges while my arrears is £1697.97.

Many thanks again for all your continuing help.

If your arrears are only £1,697 why are you trying to pay over £3k ?

Thanks Ell-enn.

Last week when I first tried the online payment system, it said you can only pay £2000 today and I did that. it was after that the system seemed to block any further payments.

The remaining arrears shown is £1697.

They have been charging £50 pounds per month towards arrears and in the last 10 years, I have paid £3410 as arrears fees.

Although I have missed direct debit payments, I have also made several over payments.

There was particular hardship in the beginning of this year which resulted in two direct debits not going. In 2014 and 2015 I had only missed one DD and had made an overpayment.

When you try to speak to them, it is very demeaning .

When I said I was expecting a salary arrears payment next month, they wanted a letter from employer saying that I am owed this much amount and that it will be paid on this date etc.

Completing the income expenditure was another harrowing experience with every expenses ridiculed and questioned.

I really hope there is an option without going to court, but at the moment I don't feel optimistic and I am dreading the next batch of solicitor fees and court costs.

Hi

.

Just to let you know this bunch Kensington have been fined £1.225m by the financial regulator

for treating borrowers who were in arrears unfairly.

.

Claim those charges back plus the interest and tell them not to add any more to the account.

.

There are a few news stories here you can get the info for a letter to send to them.

.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8615870.stm

.

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/final/kensington.pdf

.

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2010/apr/12/fsa-kensington-mortgages-fine

.

http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/news-and-analysis/mortgages/fca-orders-kensington-to-change-unfair-mortgage-terms/2005762.article

http://www.mortgageintroducer.com/mortgages/236498/5/Industry_in_depth/Thousands_of_homeowners_set_for_big_mortgage_refunds.htm

Thanks dx100uk

I will certainly do that. The FSA fine does not seem to involve Arrears fines and Agent fees (no actual visits) though but includes returned DD fees. But looking at the CAG posts, it seems there is a legitimate reason for claiming back these fines.

I wanted to get rid of the arrears first for peace of mind but they are not even letting me do that.