Written by John Kruse, one of the leading experts on Bailiff Law, this consumer friendly guide is essential reading for anyone who comes into contact with a bailiff.
The book is easy to understand and clearly explains the rights
a bailiff has, and also what they cannot do when collecting debts and repossessing goods etc.
My friends at GE have submitted a claim for possession of our property. Our arrears are at around £650 which represents three months payments. GE are treating me like a terrorist (Will not negotiate!!!). They sent a default notice earlier in the year (not on letter headed paper - does this matter?) They have not filed any financial information with the court. No details of arrears, monthly payments or outstanding balance.
My wife and I are both training to be teachers so money is naturally tight. I have applied for 'Access to Learning Funds' from the University but I will not know if I am entitled, and if I am, how much I could receive for another few weeks.
Does anyone know under what circumstances I may request an adjournment?
you need to do a statement of income and expenditure work out what you can afford to pay of the arreas, and put it to them before the case, then they will say no sit tight and go to court with all the information be honest dont try to say that you can pay more than you can is your mortgage an interest only or repayment, if it is repayment when you get to court you could ask the Judge to allow you to pay the interest only untill you qualify
you can say what your expected income will be when you qualify just remeber no Judge will take your house away if they think you can pay ,your arreas are small compared with a lot , a judge can make any order for repayment of the arreas as long as he thinks they can be paid in a reasonable time if he accepts ( your offer which he will first time) then say that any costs they have incurred after you offered them a payment plan were unreasonable and you should not have to pay them hope this helps please come back to me or others if you need further information
Thanks for that. It's nice to have some reassurance.
If the Judge makes an order, how long is it likely to last for? ie: If my payments slip again, can GE enforce an order for the remaining duration of the loan?
Also, they have taken more than the outstanding arrears in late payment charges... But I think my charges account is run alongside my loan account.
The order will last as long as it takes to pay off then you need to apply for it to be dismissed or they can come back under the same order, arreas payments are difficult if they can be proved to be a penalty then you can possible get them back
when is your hearing and what type of mortgage do you have
Bona is right you need to do a personal budget. If you have a look at the letter templates in the general debt forum you will find a personal budget planner, on the second page, which you can use.
Work out exactly what you can afford to repay. Be realistic its no good agreeing to something you can not afford and being pressured to agree to more. That will only cause difficulties in the future. Once you have worked out what you can afford send an offer to pay off the arrears.
If they refuse this offer or if they have already refused an offer send the following letter:
Dear xxxx
Thank you for your correspondence of xx/xx/xxxx. I am very disappointed that we seem unable to reach a satisfactory compromise in this case. As I have already explained, I can only afford £XX per month at the present time. This is the only realistic payment proposal bearing in mind my personal budget.
The continuing of legal proceedings desite all attempts by myself to reach an agreement could be counter to the ‘Overriding Objectives’ of the Civil Procedure Rules. You will be aware that the ‘Overriding Objectives’ underpin everything the court does. Moreover, paragraph 4 of the Protocols Practice Direction states that in cases not covered by an approved pre-action protocols, the court will expect the parties “to act reasonably….. in trying to avoid the necessity for the start of proceedings”.
I would suggest that your consistent refusal to accept my offer could be viewed as unreasonable and I would ask the court to consider this matter with reference to the ‘Overriding Objectives’. This could leave you liable to paying for your own costs. I’m sure that we could sort this without the need to take the time of the courts and the offer of £xx per month, is of course still open to you to accept.
Yours faithfully
If you do not have the details of charges send off a SAR immediately if you have not already done so. Also put in a defence based on the unlawful charges stating the charges are to be confirmeda nd in your defence you can state that the Claimant's particulars disclose insufficient details for you to fully particularise your defence. If you wish you can also make an application to the court for the claim to be struck out on the grounds that it does not fully particularise the claim.
Also put in a defence based on the unlawful charges stating the charges are to be confirmeda nd in your defence you can state that the Claimant's particulars disclose insufficient details for you to fully particularise your defence. If you wish you can also make an application to the court for the claim to be struck out on the grounds that it does not fully particularise the claim.
I had a mortgage with this company once...
i was 2 payments late they had me in count straight away,they would not accept reduced payment at any cost...They also told me i couldn't sell the house privately as they own it...It was the Judge when i went to count told after he gave a 60 day or there abouts time order(i think thats what its called)that it was in my best interest to sell the house asap.....
I had a buyer for the house but GE Money still tried to get possession a 2nd time and the same Judge gave me more time...
I finally sold my house at 25 k under market value..
Be very careful dealing with this company,i had mortage insurance and when i cancel my building and contents insurance they also canceled my payment protection...
The one thing i wish is i had gotten to this site before i sold my house...
good luck dealing with these...
We have a case in court tomorrow against GE. I agree that they wont negotiate and they wont answer letters. Furthermore they put our phone number on computer recall and dialled us at least six times a day after I told them that I was ill and didnt talk on the phone. They also sent a counsellor to see us. He called at 8.50pm without warning and I refused to see him as I was ill, he got me out of bed and as I was alone I had no intention of having him in the house.
Thanks to a cheque received we paid the arrears off fully on 30 April and on 3 May we received a possession claim from the court. We have paid our May instalment and also finally received, after four months of asking, a new standing order mandate which we have filled in and returned.
On May 22 I spoke to the litigation department who told me that the case would not be going ahead although to be quite frank they seemed very vague and stated that they had not yet received a date for the hearing. Surely they would have had notification by then? However I have not received any official notifocation of the fact that it will not go ahead and I can still track it in the POCL. I intend to go to court and will take what you recommend even though there are no arrears whatsoever
Also reading back would it be feasible for me to question any costs they are claiming re solicitors fees as they had plenty of chance to cancel the possession application even before it was sent out?
Yes ask the Judge for your cost and ask him to make an order for them to disclose to you all their costs including solicotors say you have probally been charged vat and they are vat registered and can claim it back tel the Judge exactly what you have posted and make sure yoiu tell him the date you [paid in full ask that no costs after that date be debited from your account let us know what happens make sure the Judge dismisses your claim or if you get into arreas again you could problems I will be thinking about you tomorrow good luck
Yes ask the Judge for your cost and ask him to make an order for them to disclose to you all their costs including solicotors say you have probally been charged vat and they are vat registered and can claim it back tel the Judge exactly what you have posted and make sure yoiu tell him the date you [paid in full ask that no costs after that date be debited from your account let us know what happens make sure the Judge dismisses your claim or if you get into arreas again you could problems I will be thinking about you tomorrow good luck
Thank you once again. I spoke to a lady from the CAB abd she came in with me. GE didnt turn up and the judge had no hesitation in awarding a dismissal and order for costs against them.
Thank you once again. I spoke to a lady from the CAB and she came in with me. GE didnt turn up and the judge had no hesitation in awarding a dismissal and order for costs against them.
On talking to the CAB lady she made it clear that she was not impressed with GE and that she found them obstructve and non communicative.
Hi all,
I'm just after some advice on GE mortgages also if poss? We had a possession order put on our house last year as we had a few thousand pounds of arrears. Anyway, we have just paid that all back as of Monday which has been a real hardship I have to say!
We have now put the house for sale as we want to downsize but will this possession order affect this? We haven't told GE yet that we're selling - should we have?
Many thanks in advance for all your advice
Lisa x