Jump to content


What do I do now? Platform Funding - Mortgage


gemspan
style="text-align: center;">  

Thread Locked

because no one has posted on it for the last 2343 days.

If you need to add something to this thread then

 

Please click the "Report " link

 

at the bottom of one of the posts.

 

If you want to post a new story then

Please

Start your own new thread

That way you will attract more attention to your story and get more visitors and more help 

 

Thanks

Recommended Posts

Hi

 

I'm looking for some advice.

 

I have received a solicitor's letter saying that I am in arrears on my mortgage and if no agreement can be reached then the house may be repossessed.

 

I am querying the arrears as it includes a multitude of charges etc.,

 

When I first became unemployed I requested that the arrears be added to the end of the mortgage...capitalisation...but Platform refused..because this was something that they didn't do.

 

I also asked if I could buy myself out of the high interest rate to a lower interest rate...and they refused.

 

My original mortgage was for £93,000 interest only. I opted for interest only because I was stuck in a really high interest rate and planned on going onto capital and interest after the initial 3 year fixed term.

 

Remember that I asked if I could capitalise these arrears and was refused. I just discovered today that my current mortgage payment is including the arrears amount ie the £93,000 plus arrears plus charges! My mortgage payment is £288.50 per month. I pay £290.

 

As I am already paying a higher mortgage to pay interest on the arrears and the charges...I have said that they have effectively capitalised the mortgage by adding the arrears to my mortgage balance and increasing my mortgage payment to cover the interest on this.

 

I have asked for complete breakdown of all charges, arrears, mortgage payments and, they added insurance to my payments too at an extra £22 per month despite giving me no option to look at different quotes. The insurance is with their own insurance company and despite paying £22 every month, plus interest on my mortgage, the insurance doesnt cover me if anything happens to my home.

 

If Platform capitalised the arrears I would be paying no more than I am paying already....effectively paying the interest on the arrears.

 

I have had mortgage arrears before with other mortgage lenders and they did not add the mortgage arrears onto the mortgage. They were completely separate and were paid off when the mortgage was paid off. The way I see it Platform are not treating me fairly...they are receiving the interest payments for the arrears but have refused to capitalise.

 

Is this common practice? Any help would be great! I need some advice on how to deal with this.

 

Gemspan xxx

 

Can somebody give me some help please? Is there anybody around that can advise?

 

Thank you

Gemspan

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • Replies 53
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

I am sure someone will be along soon, gemspan :)

 

Site team are aware :)

Have we helped you ...?         Please Donate button to the Consumer Action Group

Uploading documents to CAG ** Instructions **

Looking for a draft letter? Use the CAG Library

Dealing with Customer Service Departments? - read the CAG Guide first

1: Making a PPI claim ? - Q & A's and spreadsheets for single premium policy - HERE

2: Take back control of your finances - Debt Diaries

3: Feel Bullied by Creditors or Debt Collectors? Read Here

4: Staying Calm About Debt  Read Here

5: Forum rules - These have been updated - Please Read

BCOBS

1: How can BCOBS protect you from your Banks unfair treatment

2: Does your Bank play fair - You can force your Bank to play Fair with you

3: Banking Conduct of Business Regulations - The Hidden Rules

4: BCOBS and Unfair Treatment - Common Examples of Banks Behaving Badly

5: Fair Treatment for Credit Card Holders and Borrowers - COBS

Advice & opinions given by citizenb are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.

PLEASE DO NOT ASK ME TO GIVE ADVICE BY PM - IF YOU PROVIDE A LINK TO YOUR THREAD THEN I WILL BE HAPPY TO OFFER ADVICE THERE:D

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank you CitizenB. I have been researching this afternoon. It would appear that I have been charged excessive charges for missed payments and am being charged interest on the payments. My original mortgage was £94025....it is now sitting at over £101,600. I am paying a mortgage payment on the WHOLE amount which includes arrears charges and arrears.

 

I asked them to capitalise around 1.5 years ago and they refused. I have carried out mortgage calculator trials today and my mortgage payment of £288.50 per month is higher than it should be for a mortgage rate of 3.26%.

 

They say my mortgage arrears are £5614.94.....so it means my charges are sitting at just about £2000. These are all hidden charges because they say they are not included in my mortgage arrears but I am paying for them through my monthly payment so effectively I am being charged interest on missed interest payments AND excessive charges.

 

This is just not on..... When I spoke to the paralegal they have employed yesterday she was dumbstruck when I asked what my monthly payment was covering. I asked her what I would be paying if they capitalised the arrears - and she told me I would be paying the same! That is absolutely scandalous....and I definitely think they are treating me unfairly. I am prepared to go to court over this....they won't get away with this. I am paying more than my mortgage payment at the moment....and they're shafting me big time...while I am struggling with ill health. I am giving all my benefits to this crowd to make sure I keep a roof over my head...some days not eating. I am really poorly so I really can't afford to not feed myself or it makes me worse.

 

Thank you. I am desperate for help with this.

 

Gemspan xxx

Link to post
Share on other sites

You might want to have a read of MCOBs to see if there is anything in there that will help. Have you made attempts to reclaim the unfair charges they have been applying ?

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/content.php?700-Hot-news-for-anyone-who-has-suffered-mortgage-arrears-charges-irresponsible-lending-or-other-unfair-lender-conduct

Have we helped you ...?         Please Donate button to the Consumer Action Group

Uploading documents to CAG ** Instructions **

Looking for a draft letter? Use the CAG Library

Dealing with Customer Service Departments? - read the CAG Guide first

1: Making a PPI claim ? - Q & A's and spreadsheets for single premium policy - HERE

2: Take back control of your finances - Debt Diaries

3: Feel Bullied by Creditors or Debt Collectors? Read Here

4: Staying Calm About Debt  Read Here

5: Forum rules - These have been updated - Please Read

BCOBS

1: How can BCOBS protect you from your Banks unfair treatment

2: Does your Bank play fair - You can force your Bank to play Fair with you

3: Banking Conduct of Business Regulations - The Hidden Rules

4: BCOBS and Unfair Treatment - Common Examples of Banks Behaving Badly

5: Fair Treatment for Credit Card Holders and Borrowers - COBS

Advice & opinions given by citizenb are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.

PLEASE DO NOT ASK ME TO GIVE ADVICE BY PM - IF YOU PROVIDE A LINK TO YOUR THREAD THEN I WILL BE HAPPY TO OFFER ADVICE THERE:D

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi CitizenB

 

I was researching this forum all day yesterday and into the wee small hours. I think I'm fairly clued up now on what I should be doing so will be getting on to drafting my letter to the solicitors today. I don't think this is repo...I think they are just trying to scare me...

 

The solicitor who is acting for Platform are a very highly regarded firm in Edinburgh. I'm very surprised that they are dealing with pond life like Platform to be honest. It's definitely the case that if you follow the money the truth will "out". I don't understand how anybody could do work for the sub-prime lenders. I really couldnt sleep at night thinking I was making somebody homeless...with the knowledge that they are probably having their family home taken from them unlawfully. Shame on them!! I think it may be time to name and shame the legal firms who take their business..... :?:

 

I wonder if I could have my thread moved to the Mortgage Companies forum please. I think I have posted in the wrong place. I will probably get more help there.....thank you..

 

Gemspan

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi all

 

I spent all yesterday reading around this forum and into the wee small hours. I feel I have gained a lot of information to fight Platform Funding Limited for treating me very unfairly during my time with them when I have been ill and trying hard to keep a roof over my head.

 

Platform have been adding arrears to my mortgage total...as well as charges and inflated insurance premiums...that cover them but not me!

 

The mortgage is interest only and when the monthly payment comes out, any outstanding gets added back onto the mortgage so effectively I am paying interest twice. Is this double accounting? I am paying interest on interest charges.

 

I have been paying my full mortgage payment for some time now...previously it was being paid by the DWP...with me adding a bit on to cover the payment.

 

They have passed my details on to a solicitor now despite the fact that the mortgage arrears are coming down and I am paying the full mortgage payment. The mortgage is interest only so every month I am paying the interest on the whole mortgage amount....including the arrears, charges and insurance premiums. It is just wrong!

 

I am sending a letter off to the solicitor tomorrow asking for all my financial dealings with Platform to be sent to me listing all charges, payments and insurance premiums. I am going to claim back the excessive charges etc., that they have been adding interest to....

 

These companies are getting away with so much and it shouldn't be happening. It's just criminal.

 

I have read here about people losing their homes when the balance is full of unlawful charges and interest. This just has to stop and we all need to fight. Nobody wants to go into arrears and if we do, we don't want to be in it forever. The companies, however, are not providing anybody with any help to try and get out of arrears and sort their financial situation out...they are placing them into a continuous circle of debt and the effect on health can only be bad!

 

I'm putting up a copy letter that I am sending and I really want us all to take this on board and work together to stop people feeling like constant victims.

 

I will fight this...and I will win! Stay positive because the law is on our side..but we have to use it to get what's rightfully ours.

 

Gemspan

Link to post
Share on other sites

Copy of letter being sent with relevant personal info taken out!

 

 

 

 

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

 

 

Dear Sirs

 

Platform Funding Limited

Account No:

Alleged Arrears of

 

I refer to your letter dated xxxxxxxx, in relation to the alleged arrears on the above mortgage account and my telephone conversation with your office.

 

I confirm that you advised me you would contact Platform Funding Limited to obtain a complete breakdown of my account with them from its inception to date. This breakdown should include all payments made to my account, any charges applied by Platform and insurance premiums debited to my mortgage account – including dates. I was also informed that a request for capitalisation would be presented to your client at the same time as the request for financial data.

 

I am very concerned that, despite the alleged mortgage arrears of £x, the outstanding mortgage balance is above £x. As the original mortgage advance was originally £x, if one adds the alleged arrears to this figure the total is £xx. I suspect that the additional monies “owing” to Platform Funding Limited is by way of charges, levied on my account for my failure to pay by direct debit or due to my payment falling out-with the normal payment date. You may or may not be aware that the FSA has fined many sub-prime mortgage lenders for applying punitive excessive charges to customer accounts when the customer is experiencing financial difficulty; thereby exacerbating the situation. The organisations in question were ordered to repay the excessive punitive charges to their customers as the charging structure was found to create an unfair relationship under the UTCCR’s. Although Platform Funding Limited was not included in the recent raft of Mortgage Lenders receiving fines, it is now generally considered by the FSA that excessive charging is unfair and that charges should reflect the “actual cost” to the company involved in administering the account. There should be no profit made by organisations applying charges that may be regarded as unjust enrichment. It is essential therefore that I am furnished with a full financial breakdown of my account with Platform Funding Limited.

 

I would further advise that on xxxxxxx I requested Platform Funding Limited capitalise the alleged arrears on my mortgage account but they refused to do this. From the limited information I have received from Platform Funding Limited it would appear that I am being charged mortgage interest payments on the total mortgage outstanding. Platform Funding Limited have therefore enjoyed interest accruing on, not only these arrears but also, I suspect, on charges and inflated premiums for buildings insurance they have applied to my mortgage balance. As I currently pay an interest only mortgage, this would suggest that Platform Funding Limited have effectively “capitalised” the alleged arrears, despite them advising me they were unwilling to do this.

 

This is very confusing insomuch as, if Platform Funding Limited have added the balance of arrears to the mortgage account and are gaining contractual interest on the overall amount, why are they instructing your company to collect alleged arrears which have been reducing – and when they are effectively receiving contractual interest on this amount? The full mortgage payment is being paid, together with a small amount towards arrears and, if Platform Funding Limited were not applying interest to the whole outstanding balance, thereby increasing the monthly mortgage payments, then the alleged arrears would reduce quicker. This seems to suggest a relationship that is unbalanced, in favour of Platform Funding Limited, and therefore would be considered unfair under the UTCCRs.

 

I consider that there are many areas of my relationship with Platform Funding Limited that need to be investigated and clarified – including why my mortgage terms and conditions are relevant to England and Wales – when I live in xxxxx. This will no doubt become clearer when the information requested is received. I am somewhat concerned that a reputable firm of solicitors like xxxxx would agree to take on such debt recovery action when they have no background information on the alleged debt – apart from a name, address and amount outstanding. I find this very disappointing especially due to the recent bad press surrounding sub-prime lenders and their unfair practices towards their customers.

 

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Yours faithfully

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes, of course I will do that now for you.

 

Thread moved to "mortgages and secured loans"

Have we helped you ...?         Please Donate button to the Consumer Action Group

Uploading documents to CAG ** Instructions **

Looking for a draft letter? Use the CAG Library

Dealing with Customer Service Departments? - read the CAG Guide first

1: Making a PPI claim ? - Q & A's and spreadsheets for single premium policy - HERE

2: Take back control of your finances - Debt Diaries

3: Feel Bullied by Creditors or Debt Collectors? Read Here

4: Staying Calm About Debt  Read Here

5: Forum rules - These have been updated - Please Read

BCOBS

1: How can BCOBS protect you from your Banks unfair treatment

2: Does your Bank play fair - You can force your Bank to play Fair with you

3: Banking Conduct of Business Regulations - The Hidden Rules

4: BCOBS and Unfair Treatment - Common Examples of Banks Behaving Badly

5: Fair Treatment for Credit Card Holders and Borrowers - COBS

Advice & opinions given by citizenb are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.

PLEASE DO NOT ASK ME TO GIVE ADVICE BY PM - IF YOU PROVIDE A LINK TO YOUR THREAD THEN I WILL BE HAPPY TO OFFER ADVICE THERE:D

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Hi there

 

I really need some advice because I am very confused at the latest developments in my dispute with Platform Mortgages.

 

I've really had a turbulent few years with health problems and being unable to find a job. I had to wait for 28 weeks before mortgage assistance kicked in through DWP. I therefore got into arrears with my mortgage. I have been paying these arrears off gradually as well as my monthly payment.

 

When the DWP started paying the interest I contacted Platform and asked if they would capitalise the arrears....they refused. I also requested to buy myself out of the high interest rate that was fixed...almost 8%...they refused. They have refused every offer I have put to them to try and get rid of these arrears. The mortgage has been paid and is still being paid. I am currently about to undergo investigations for any heart problems so at the moment I cannot work and am claiming ESA. Because it is contributory I don't get any help with my mortgage. I have £93 per week working tax credits. I am paying my full mortgage payment but cannot pay anything to the arrears...apart from a few pounds per month...but I am paying mortgage payments on the entire balance of the mortgage...including the arrears....and it is an interest only mortgage so, effectively, I am paying a higher mortgage payment and paying interest on the arrears anyway.

 

I got a letter from a solicitor regarding the arrears on my mortgage and to cut a long story short I ended up writing a letter advising them that I was unhappy at the way I have been treated....£530 in excess charges because I didn't pay by direct debit or pay on time and 2 years worth of insurance premiums that only protect them...and not me...so that if anything happens I have no house insurance. I have got house insurance now and sent them a copy but they are still charging me. This has brought my mortgage up to around £101,000 from £94,000. The arrears are around £5000 but the monthly payment was almost £700 when I went into arrears due to the high interest rate.

 

Now, they have come back to me and again refused to capitalise the arrears saying that I am not running my mortgage correctly...but it has been paid on time every month for the past year and a half....and they say that the insurance premiums are fair....no they are not because they didn't even give me the opportunity to get insurance...they just added them and I'm also being charged interest over the term for these premiums.

 

The letter also enclosed terms and conditions of my mortgage....but they are not the T&Cs I signed up to...the ones I signed were England & Wales version....they have sent me a copy of the Scottish version T&Cs. I have never signed these conditions. I have copies of the originals that apply to my loan.

 

Effectively, they are trying to repossess my house when all the mortgage payments are being met, the arrears are being paid off slowly....and under the Scottish version of T&Cs that I have not signed and are nothing like the T&Cs that refer to my mortgage based on English and Welsh T&Cs.

 

Can anybody help me as to where this leaves me please? Can they repossess my home using T&Cs that are not the ones I have been sent? What can I do to stop this happening? I'm not trying to get out of paying my mortgage....I just want to keep my home and I wondered if I would have a good case because of the differences between Scottish and English law.

 

Please can somebody give me advice on this....it's really worrying me.

 

Thank you

Gemspan

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks Ida! I appreciate your help. As far as I can gather they should have issued me with Scottish Terms & Conditions covering the laws here - they are so different. The terms and conditions I have been given are relevant to English Law....I am so confused! I don't know if there is a Law Centre in West Fife. Would you know that? I feel as if I need to get legal advice on this...I don't want to lose my home. I'm going without food to pay my mortgage and that's still not good enough for them....:sad:

Link to post
Share on other sites

Depends on where your west fife is :)

 

There is one in Lochore

Please contact a member of the site team if you are offered help off the forum for a a paid or no win no fee service.

 

Please consider making a small donation to help keep this site running

Click here to donate through PayPal (opens in a new window)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh is there? That's not too far away....but the one in Leven is too far for me...but if needs must I would use it.. I need to get some advice on this...I'm worried sick!

 

Thank you

Gemspan xxx

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes - they are not bad - i have used them via email for info they have a website:

 

http://www.fifelawcentre.co.uk/contact

Please contact a member of the site team if you are offered help off the forum for a a paid or no win no fee service.

 

Please consider making a small donation to help keep this site running

Click here to donate through PayPal (opens in a new window)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Ida

 

Just thought I would update the situation. Have spent all today doing research and it would appear that there is the very strong possibility that the mortgage contract is invalid and thus the Standard Security fails too. The T&Cs are relative to the property laws in England...not Scotland. The contract covers property in England and Wales.....but my property is in Scotland. It is a very different Act here to cover properties.

 

They cannot enforce the contract in England because the property is in Scotland and the T&Cs refer only to properties in England....they cannot enforce it in Scotland because it's an English Law.

 

I'm going to get in touch with the Advice Centre on Monday....but I wonder how many other homeowners this affects! It's their fault for not getting their paperwork right...and for the Broker who, incidentally, charged me £500 to arrange the mortgage...and was paid £528 from the mortgage provider...a nice little earner...should have checked. My solicitor was also rubbish in the whole process so it appears that their incompetence may be working in my favour and put me in a very strong position relating to negotiations.

 

They have added lots of different charges which, now, I will be asking them to remove...and I might even go as far as asking the Court to Discharge the Standard Security as it is invalid - as per the contract. The contract cannot be enforced.....I'm almost sure of it - from my research.

 

I'm really angry about the way I've been treated. I've been paying my full mortgage payments and a little bit more to cover any arrears...but it's not enough for them....and they are adding charges every month! I hope somebody else is able to benefit from this interesting little nugget! I'm going to post in the Home Repossessions forum too.

 

I feel quite clued up on Scottish Law re repossession now....

 

Gemspan xxxx

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi there

 

Looking for some advice about the legalities of this please.

 

Mortgage terms and conditions (contract) is based on the law in England and Wales.

 

Property is in Scotland - who have different laws and different jurisdiction.

 

Mortgage Company sent me a copy of my T&Cs which are Scottish T&Cs...but they're not the ones I signed. I signed E&W T&Cs which use Property Act 1925 are the law governing my mortgage

 

Scottish law now has Homeowner & Debtor Protection Act which all repossessions must follow - protocols etc.,

 

Can an English Company, with no office in Scotland, repossess my home in Scotland using E&W laws? Or, do they require to use Scottish Law? If I have English T&Cs how can they repossess a property in Scotland as both laws are different?

 

I'd like to know if there are jurisdiction issues here please!

 

Contract is English....with English jurisdiction and therefore only can be applied in England.

Property is Scottish, with entirely different laws which govern repossession etc.

 

Not trying to get out of paying my mortgage, just want to know what my negotiation status can be. They have refused to capitalise and yet I am paying interest on the total sum...inlcuding arrears....so no change in my mortgage payments if they did.

 

Sub-Prime lender who paid £520 to broker for introduction...and I paid broker £500 for the mortgage. Not sure if I've been sold the correct mortgage but that's beside the point here now. I am paying my full mortgage payments but just a little to the arrears. They have added charges and insurance premiums to the balance of the mortgage and they are refusing to remove them.

 

I just want to keep my home!

 

Gemspan

Link to post
Share on other sites

I've been in touch with Shelter Scotland today but they just don't seem to get where I am coming from. They can tell me about pre action protocols etc., but if the contract is null and void in Scotland then they don't have the right to repossess.....they need to take an action in England....but they cannot reposssess a scottish property in England.

 

My solicitor missed this when doing the conveyancing...as did the broker.....it's not my fault. The company sent me copies of Scottish T&Cs so they were in force at that time. I think they have made a huge error here....what do you think?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Subbing please ....Had bad times with Platform many moons ago ...Well rid now though ...Took them FOUR AND A HALF MONTHS to give me a re- mortgage on my house .....Left a bad taste and they were told in Plain Scottish to go and forth and multiply .

 

Good luck gemspan in your venture ;) ...

 

Regards

 

RS

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

hi gemspan, I had the same problem with platform, our troubles started when my partner lost his job around the same time of me having a baby, basically we fell behind with our payments, we owed about £500 & what puzzles me to this day is I called to clear these arrears & was told theres no arrears, i asked how come and they said they had capitalized them, dont they have to have something signed by us to do this or advise us beforehand???

 

anyway another year or so on my partner fell at work and broke his arm an leg, his self employed so was off work again, we fell behind by £1600 in total, we continued to pay our monthly payment plus extra £100 each month to clear arrears, this lasted 5 months then they said this isnt good enough and got solicitors involved and arranged for repo at court, lucky we mananged to borrow the money & cleared the arrears but now they have sent a letter saying we are having £950 costs to our mtg for solicitors etc, plus they have added their own insurance at £40 a month cos my insurance cert didnt have them named on it so ive been paying 2 lots of insurance which wont cover us,...

 

ALSO they have added late payment fees throughout my mtg as i was under impression i had from 1st till 28th to make my monthly payments but oh no, my due date is the 28th so it has to be on this date only and if before it went towards arrears and if no arrears went as extra money to mtg, this was never explained like this so i have loads of charges when i was clearly paying,,, I would love to get rid of them and get a new mtg but with us having not so good credit think we are stuck for a while, i wounder if we could get all our charges back? i hope you sort your problem out and good luck

Edited by citizenB
formatted for easier reading
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I have sent a letter to my mortgage company because I agreed to the English T&Cs. I had a post about it previously. They have come back to me saying that with any court action they will provide the Standard Security as evidence that I agreed to the Scottish Terms...as this is part of the Standard Security.

 

Now, I've just found that my solicitor had to send in a checklist to the company stating that I had been shown the relevant conditions and all had been explained to me. Clearly my solicitor has sent this back as having been carried out when it could not have possibly been the case because it was the English T&Cs that I received....via my solicitor!

 

They have told me that I should have pointed out the discrepancy at the time....but I just signed what my solicitor put in front of me.

 

I had a terrible time throughout this conveyancing and had to make a formal complaint about the guy. He has now left the company....I think he was probably fired! I got money off my conveyancing fees because of his negligence. This appears to be something that can be added to the trail of negligence.

 

How can I possibly be accountable for signing something that my solicitor has lied about receiving? I am currently paying my mortgage but on the current BOE rate...and not the rate that they think I should be paying.

 

I have told them that I am not disputing that there was the intent to enter into an agreement - as advised by a solicitor - and have told them I am still prepared to negotiate. The solicitor has now passed this back to the mortgage provider and they are saying that I should negotiate with them now.....and not the solicitor.

 

If my solicitor has negligently put together a Standard Security and advised them that everything was in order...when it wasn't....then surely the case they have is against the solicitor? Am I right?

 

thanks a lot.

Gemspan

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

Hi there

 

I have a repossession hearing next week. Papers were served on me by a Sheriff Officer who told me "they're going to repossess your house and you need to get a lawyer". I told them they are "trying" to repossess my house...the decree hasn't been granted yet! I mean to defend the action and have my case put together for a Proof.

 

I have not received an Initial Writ...only citation for summary application! I tried to get in touch with my local calling court today to see if there was any form I had to complete to put forward my Defence. Phones were down. I called Edinburgh Sheriff Court and they told me that I should just turn up and the Judge would hear my case and reasons for defending.

 

Is this right? Do you suggest I do anything at this stage or just turn up?

 

Thank you in advance. Just need some guidance here as obviously not used to this sort of thing but determined to see it through to the end.

 

Why have they not served an Initial Writ? Is there a reason for this?

Link to post
Share on other sites

I am assuming this relates to Mortgage arrears , this being the case then your defence will require detail of how you intend to repay the arrears and maintain future mortgage payments . I understand that at present and due to funding cuts Shelter are only dealing with cases that are referred through CAB or other free advice agencies, therefore it may be worth going down this route as Shelter do provide expert advice.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Gem

 

Sorry i missed this. How did you get on?

Please contact a member of the site team if you are offered help off the forum for a a paid or no win no fee service.

 

Please consider making a small donation to help keep this site running

Click here to donate through PayPal (opens in a new window)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Guys,

 

Well had my day in Court today....and it was continued until 19th October due to the fact that the other side lied by saying I had not tried to negotiate a payment programme. I was lucky enough to have the confirmation that indeed I had....constantly....and they had failed to enter into negotiations with me. The solicitors' last letter said to me that no arrangements will be entered into until Decree!

 

I was lucky enough to find some very interesting cases on which to base my Defence. The Sheriff did not want to see what I had prepared. I'd prepared a copy for him, the Pursuer's agents and myself. A waste of time...but great to be able to refer to cases.

 

I was fighting this on two fronts....the first that the Pursuer had not following the Pre Action Protocols. For this I used Platform Funding v. A Glasgow Woman (know her name but don't want to give it out as you might imagine!). The Sheriff ruled at Proof that the case be dismissed with expenses to the Defender...using C&G v. Norgan...as the persuasive case law in his judgement that the term of the mortgage is a reasonable place to start when negotiating the repayment of arrears.

 

Using this case I was able to put forward that Platform had consistently refused to enter into negotiations with me for a longer term payment solution to pay off my arrears. They refused to consider Norgan....despite them having this ruling against them in April. They refused to consider it after the expiry of the Calling Up Notice - which is the time that the Pursuer has to exhaust all options before starting Court Action. This didn't happen with me and they went straight for action when I put forward proposals to repay the arrears over a "reasonable" time which would take 15 years...some 11 years before the mortgage matures. In addition, they did not supply the necessary up to date information required. Case Law I used for this was a GLC test case where the judge dismissed actions and awarded expenses to the Defender because the Pursuers did not produce all the relevant information in relation to the Pre Action Protocols.

 

I also wanted to test the English T&Cs. The judge said that as far as he was aware the jurisdiction of the Defender is the Law that is used ie if I am resident in Scotland, it is Scottish Law. He did say, however, that contract law may be different AND that there was nothing definitive in relation to this area. Interesting! Don't know what to do about that...what do you think?

 

The one thing that happened today that I was truly disgusted with was the fact that the Pursuer's agents didn't attend but employed somebody to attend on their behalf and didn't give them the correct information. The lawyer was put in a very embarrassing situation when I told her that I could prove I had indeed contacted the Pursuer on several occasions. The judge wanted to know how my mortgage was being paid. It is currently paid by the DWP and, unbeknown to me, a payment of just under £1500 had been paid last week by them for back payments. They still went forward to get decree despite this. It means that the only arrears outstanding on my account are historic which have reduced substantially...together with double payments I have made when I wasn't getting DWP help. I think they are just leeches. The fact is that they are taking people's homes and they are lying in order to do that. Something has to be done. Thank goodness I can provide evidence.

 

The judge said that I should bring with me all the correspondence received from the solicitors from now until then when I attend. He said if I could prove that was wrong then he wanted to see their response.

 

Very sad in there. Lots of repo cases and most of them undefended. I was the only person being represented by myself. 70% of cases being heard today were sub-prime and people were losing their homes. I found that very distressing. I hope I don't become another statistic in a month.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • Recently Browsing   0 Caggers

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Have we helped you ...?


×
×
  • Create New...