I have today received a letter from optima legal saying that we have failed to clear the arrears of £1012.83 ( instructed by southern pacific but all letters come from capstone mortages!!) (this is incorrect as when i pay the £380 as promised on the 26th of the month the actual arrears are approx £600) i have sent a few letters already saying we will pay an extra £20/30 per month to clear, but not had a reply, did send another one on MOnday and they have received it, sent recorded, but do i send a copy to this optima legal?? we have 7 days before they apparently start possession proceedings, anyone heard of this company any help please??

anyone had any dealings with this company please, or capstone???

if you have written to the original lender, then chances are they have crossed in the post i would wait and see what transpires.

if you have already paid a chunk off then optima legal arequoting the wrong amount, unless they have added several hundred pounds in charges.

you could phone the OC to see what is going on

I have today received a letter from optima legal saying that we have failed to clear the arrears of £1012.83 ( instructed by southern pacific but all letters come from capstone mortages!!) (this is incorrect as when i pay the £380 as promised on the 26th of the month the actual arrears are approx £600) i have sent a few letters already saying we will pay an extra £20/30 per month to clear, but not had a reply, did send another one on MOnday and they have received it, sent recorded, but do i send a copy to this optima legal?? we have 7 days before they apparently start possession proceedings, anyone heard of this company any help please??

Assuming you agree with the £1012 figure then the letter is correct at the time of writing as we haven't got to the 26th yet. Is the £380 to come off the arrears or does it include your normal monthly payment?

What are your normal monthly payments?

How many months are you in arrears?

Capstone are simply the admin management company for SPML and all letters phone calls etc are routed through them.

hi the £380 is the normal monthly payment and £30 off the arrears as advised i would be doing, just under 2 months in arrears. thanks

In which case I would write to them and ask for a breakdown of the arrears figure they are quoting you. In the meantime keep making normal payments + £30 off the arrears.

yes i will thank you, capstone have received the letter i sent to them on monday but think i will send a copy of it to this optima legal people who sent me a letter today, do you know if i can put the following on the letter for a secured loan or is it for mortgages only :: one of the site team members got me to add this to the mortgage letter at the weekend, but will it apply also to a secured loan company>>

We are sure we do not need to remind you of the Civil Justice Council Consultation Paper - Mortgage Arrears Protocol which requires lenders to negotiate fairly with customers who are experiencing difficulties and only to instigate possession proceedings as a last resort where no repayment offer has been received.

Therefore, we trust you will be able to accept our payment proposal, and look forward to your prompt response.

You can put it on but it's not really relevant as you are asking for a breakdown of the £1012 figure.

Help Needed, Have Now Had A Letter From Optima To Say They Have Issued Possession Proceedings Through Our Local County Court, They Are Currently Awaiting Confirmation Of The Hearing Appointment From The Court And They Shall Serve This Upon You Shortly. Etc Etc Optima Legal. We Have Paid In Full The Last Two Months And Some Extra And Are Due To Pay Again On The 26th October Plus Some Extra Which Will Mean As At 26/10/2008 Our Arrears Are Only Approx £600, Less Than Two Months, I Also Emailed Them Which They Received To Say We Are Paying Extra But Have Had Nothing Back Apart Form This Letter Today, Really Worried Now What Do We Do, Can They Do This For £600, Or Is It One Of Their Threats??? Thanks

Help Needed, Have Now Had A Letter From Optima To Say They Have Issued Possession Proceedings Through Our Local County Court, They Are Currently Awaiting Confirmation Of The Hearing Appointment From The Court And They Shall Serve This Upon You Shortly. Etc Etc Optima Legal. We Have Paid In Full The Last Two Months And Some Extra And Are Due To Pay Again On The 26th October Plus Some Extra Which Will Mean As At 26/10/2008 Our Arrears Are Only Approx £600, Less Than Two Months, I Also Emailed Them Which They Received To Say We Are Paying Extra But Have Had Nothing Back Apart Form This Letter Today, Really Worried Now What Do We Do, Can They Do This For £600, Or Is It One Of Their Threats??? Thanks

is this one of their inhouse companies??

Have you had the breakdown from them, and an up to date figure of what you owe?

hi yes we have they have added lots of £50 chrages on and a £100 fee! we thought it was only £650 but looks more like closer to a £1000, do they add the charges on the balance ot the arrears?? thanks for your help so worried

Hi there,

They should in theory be adding the fees to the mortgage but you may need to check.

Carry on paying like you are. It will take a while to get a date I would have thought, by which time the arrears will be less and the judge will not be happy with the other side.

Optima are not in house as they also deal with my mortgage co. (Kensington Mortgages)

As far as I am concerned they are completly incompetent.

olives xx

Hi there,

They should in theory be adding the fees to the mortgage but you may need to check.

 

Carry on paying like you are. It will take a while to get a date I would have thought, by which time the arrears will be less and the judge will not be happy with the other side.

 

Optima are not in house as they also deal with my mortgage co. (Kensington Mortgages)

As far as I am concerned they are completly incompetent.

 

olives xx

hi olives thank you, we should be able to get the arrears right down by december, have sent letters and have kept all copies and all sent recorded asking for help with the arrears etc and offered small amount per month extra but no firm reply, if the arrears are more or less gone by the time of the court date would they withdraw?

Hi there,

No Capestone have a policy of adding fees to the arrears balance and presenting this as arreas on the court paper work. You are going to need to get the terms and conditions. Also check the court paperwork and mortgage statement to see if the fees are added to the arrears balance. I do not know what a judge will think of this or how you are to proceed. My relative is in the same position on the fees matter. Let me know what you find

DanielF:)

Hi there,

They should in theory be adding the fees to the mortgage but you may need to check.

 

Carry on paying like you are. It will take a while to get a date I would have thought, by which time the arrears will be less and the judge will not be happy with the other side.

 

Optima are not in house as they also deal with my mortgage co. (Kensington Mortgages)

As far as I am concerned they are completly incompetent.

 

olives xx

oh my god help, received date today 25/11/2008, i cannot believe they have done this for such a small amount and the fact that we have constantly kept in touch and paid some of the arrears each month, what do we do now?? if we have managed to pay the arrears are they then likely to call of the court case???

also capstone have sent a letter today asking for another income & expend form to be sent to them, they have already been sent one but say they have not received it!! and they can then negotiate for repayment of the arrears!! they have asked for a number that they can call on us to discuss this account and the arrears, we cannot call them as we have told them many times as we have no incoming or outgoing calls at present, i do have a mobile but am reluctant to let them have this, what do you think??

Hi there, OK - you need to send them a letter by recorded delivery outlining your proposals for repayment of the arrears - if you'd like me to draft one for you I'm more than happy to do so. I can let you have a standard budget sheet which should go with the letter. We can point out to them the recent government guidelines regarding mortgage arrears pre-action protocol, whereby they are required to consult with you and try to find an alternative to court action.

Try the letter first as you don't need to return the defence papers to court until 14 days before the hearing, so there is time for them to withdraw.

Don't panic - you will be ok:)

Kind Regards

Ell-en

Hi there, OK - you need to send them a letter by recorded delivery outlining your proposals for repayment of the arrears - if you'd like me to draft one for you I'm more than happy to do so. I can let you have a standard budget sheet which should go with the letter. We can point out to them the recent government guidelines regarding mortgage arrears pre-action protocol, whereby they are required to consult with you and try to find an alternative to court action.

 

Try the letter first as you don't need to return the defence papers to court until 14 days before the hearing, so there is time for them to withdraw.

 

Don't panic - you will be ok:)

 

Kind Regards

 

Ell-en

hi ell-en thanks so much, i have sent many letters saying we can pay an extra £30 on top of monthly payment, and we have done this for last two months and are doing again on the 26th, when next payment is due, but yes please i will use you letter to see if it will make a difference and post tomorrow morning. thanks for your help, i have crohns disease and really unwell at present and really could do without this but oh well lets keep fingers corssed they withdraw. i did read on the teletext about the new guidelines which come into effect on the 19/11/2008 i think.

Hi there, I will draft a letter and put it on here later today. Affixed is the budget sheet for you to complete in the meantime. Make sure you have the correct department address to send the letter to - even if you have to ring them to get it.

Kind Regards

Ell-enn

ooooppsss. it didn't affix - here it is now

Budget Sheet.xls

ooooppsss. it didn't affix - here it is now

thanks thats brill.

i have the address from the letter capstone sent today, arrears department, is it best if i do not let them have my mobile number?? i dont want to be bombarded with their calls plus you have no way of proving anything do you?? liz

Hi there, letter affixed to send to Optima - no need to send budget sheet with it after all. Just enclose a copy of the letter you sent to SPML/Capstone with that budget sheet and also a copy of the signed for receipt from Royalmail website.

Also send a copy to SPML with a covering note saying please find enclosed copy of letter sent to Optima Legal on XXdateXX

Kind Regards

Ell-enn

liz01 letter.doc

Hi there, letter affixed to send to Optima - no need to send budget sheet with it after all. Just enclose a copy of the letter you sent to SPML/Capstone with that budget sheet and also a copy of the signed for receipt from Royalmail website.

 

Also send a copy to SPML with a covering note saying please find enclosed copy of letter sent to Optima Legal on XXdateXX

 

Kind Regards

 

Ell-enn

quick update, thank you so much for your help and letter which i sent, have now received a reply and they have adjourned the court case and accepted £30 per month towards the arrears (which i have been paying for the last 3 months!!) hope as long as we continue to keep it up nothing will happen now, i have also asked them if they have any other options for us as we have not had any from them,as in the new government guidelines they are supposed to explore all options to help, but i suppose their acceptance of the £30 extra is the only option we will get!!. thanks ell-enn you are a star, just got mortgage express to deal with now and hopefully be sorted, if i get any problems with them i shall be back for some more help! liz

Hi Liz, glad to hear you've managed to come to an arrangement with them.

However, just to be on the safe side you need to ring the court where they originally issued the possession claim and check that the hearing has in fact been cancelled. It wouldn't be the first time people have been told the hearing is cancelled and then found out that it wasn't, the lender turned up and got a suspended possession order in the customer's absence.

I'm sure it will be ok, but please phone to make sure.

Kind Regards

Ell-enn