The important thing is not to lose sight of the power of the idea. I suspect that pretty much ANY reasonably sized association of consumers should be sufficient to initiate the complaint referred to in the Regs as pointed out by rdm2006.

Of course, it's not a waste of time to ask the OFT to clarify what they mean and ask them to name a few organisations that qualifies in their view.

When/if this gets to court, simply focus on

Anyway, the worst that can happen is that it goes to court, a payment plan is re-instated (to better suit your terms) BUT they get costs awarded against you.

Btw, when agreeing a new payment deal, be wary of giving too much away in relation to income and affordability! Unless you want to start paying more than mortgage + £50 pcm!

Any idea what they've been charging you in monthly arrears fees, late/returned payment fees etc over the years? Be careful because they've probably changed over the years (usually upwards!).

Btw, when did you first start having payment difficulties with this mortgage account? Since they got the suspended repo in 2005, trouble must have started before then which means the charges started from before then too.

More on Letters you Should Think About Writing

Each time something untoward happens, write to query it and ask for an explanation. Your letter and their response/lack thereof becomes an audit trail that can be reference letter. I know the horse has bolted with the letter writing thing if you had not been doing it before but what you can do now is:

1. Get the SARN out

2. Gather all the evidence you can of past conduct (i.e. misconduct!) by them. From payment receipts to dodgy reponses to the stuff you mentioned about the buildings insurance.

3. Letters I suggest you write - these are story telling letters that will be extremely handy for highlighting their past misconduct when the time comes. Each one is focused on a particular chain of events. It's better this way than one mega-letter that covers everything!

You will want to write a letter that covers each of the following episodes NOW, it you have not done so in the past:-

a. What's just happened in December/January. I.e. your agreement to pay and catch up amd the dates you made payment.

b. The shocking comments in your recent phone call.

c. Details of past dialogue where they've been unreasonable about changing the payment date. MCOB says they have to give you a reason in writing if they say no to change of payment date and their reason must be reasonable, considering your circumstances!!!

d. Details of past dialogue where they've been unreasonable about capitalising the arrears, despite the clear advantages this offers to both parties. This letter should also highlight their refusal and the fact they probably did not give a substantial reason for doing so.

e. One that documents the debacle over the buildings insurance. How it started, what's been happening and the current state of play.

f. A seperate letter that guestimates the unlawful charges they need to refund. Don't include the buildings insurance premiums in this letter for now. Just keep it focused on charges.

g. Following letter f, there are other things to explore concerning remedies/damages to you which should be looked at later such as Credit File corrections, rebating of Legal Costs where necessary and remedy over the Buildings Insurance premiums matter.

Is the mortgage Capital and Interest (Repayment) or Interest Only?

When/if this gets to court, simply focus on

1. Your past payment record

2. Your current and future ability to pay

3. ENSURE the new payment date is set to last working day, EVEN IF the lender wants to contest this, insist on it. The judge will be lenient - his/er focus will be to keep you and your spouse housed so take advantage of that.

4. Whilst waiting for the SARN data to arrive, you can send a pre-emptive letter to the lender to warn them about the implications of their actions. Highlight the fact that you now understand they potentially owe you much more than the arrears they are claiming. For now, until your SAR statements arrive, just guestimate this on the basis of their monthly arrears fee, any late/returned payment fees plus 8% interest per year applied to each charge (I have a spreadsheet that'll help with this later but a rough estimate is sufficient for an initial letter). The purpose of this is to try and get them to cancel the Warrant of eviction without you needing to go to court to defend it. Even if you win, they would normally get costs added to your mortgage UNLESS you can show the hearing was a waste of everyone's time as I say below.

5. Demonstrate to the judge your efforts to catch up and thereby stop this hearing altogether and to save further costs and wasting of the courts time and resources. Ask if s/he will make a costs order against the lender. Your letter in 4. above goes a long way towards this. I would send it to BOTH the lender and their solicitor as soon as possible and urge them to act accordingly. The fact that you have now caught up and can show you will have no problems paying the set payments should stop them trying to evict you.

Such correspondence will prove helpful when appealing to a judge for a costs order against them. i.e. not only should they be denied their costs (i.e. you don't have to pay) but they should also have to pay YOUR costs!!!...and wouldn't that be fun!!!

Anyway, the worst that can happen is that it goes to court, a payment plan is re-instated (to better suit your terms) BUT they get costs awarded against you.

If this happens, you should be able to get it back when/if it goes to the FOS! Imo, they are nuts with a capital N to be doing this - repossession is supposed to be the last of the last thing they do at this time - when everything else has been shown to fail!!! It's not even funny that they are being so hasty! They are seriously in breach of MCOB 13 at this point, BUT YOU, must, and I repeat must, document their behaviour in writing (even if you don't know the specific codes they've breached, which I suspect you don't - but neither do most until we read up).

My comments in blue

Hi there brief history...

2005 spml get a repossesion notice it was suspended as long as i paid the mortgage plus £50 off the arears every month (arears at the time was £3300)it was to be paid on the 1st of every month.

Whilst this is true, the FSA Arrears Guidelines direct lenders to show sensitivity and be flexible on this point - especially where payments are being made within the month.

throughout that time until december this year i have paid within the said months,

This is a phenomenal payment record, for anyone, not to mention being in arrears to the extent of having a suspended repo order to deal with! It is both shocking and disappointing that they did not just capitalise your arrears after 6-12 months as many lenders would have done this automatically, even without you asking!

but not on the 1ST sometimes it was.

Well, would have been best if you'd had the due date set to last working day but never mind.

most i have ever been is 5 weeks behind, unexpected bills etc,

Goes with the territory doesn't it?

but always caught up.

Again that speaks volumes. Any judge will like that. So will the FOS when you go to claim all those monthly mortgage fees plus interest back!

december 2010,comes and i have a problem with my car, clutch goes £500 bill.

in hindsight i should have informed the MC.

Bozos that they are, may not have made any difference, BUT it would have made you look more responsible. Especially if you had this in writing.

28th of dec i send a cheque off for £600 december payment and a bit of jan (mortgage is £320 + £50 arrears) so that left a shortfall in jan of £140 i have just payed £176 now to ascendan where the other £26 come from ...god knows... so it is jan the 19th and i am up to date with my arangement from 2005,

Write to them confirming these payments and your concern at the current arrears balance and ask them to explain why .... you still have arrears of £3200???

 

The SARN will help to sort out their clever figure work:!: The more they've taken unjustly, the more they'll have to credit you back with. I see some lender spanking coming on

The woman on the phone was very clever with me and said" we are still evicting you, even if you pay the £176....you do know that dont you"

So i said well that will be down to the judge, so she says "oh have you requested a suspension" i said yes .. woman:"well we can still contest it":x i said at the end of the day it is the judges desicion...

then she changed her tune and said "oh of course it is, we will abide by the judges ruling, and if you win can you call us back to make a new payment plan"

Jesus christ is it a game of chess to these people!!!

I think a manager was listening in and told her what to say for the last part...

I also told her that most of the arears must be fees and told her to do the maths £50 per week for 5 years = £3000

Hi Dave, below is the response by Suetonius from the main SPML/Acenden/Crapstone thread. It seems either one is fine so take your pick and off you go.

The address is the same for both SPML and Acenden. As Acenden administer the accounts, it might be worth while sending any Subject Access Requests to them

Data Controller: ACENDEN LIMITED

Registration Number: Z9251023

Date Registered: 01 November 2005 Registration Expires: 31 October 2011

Address:

ST JOHNS PLACE

EASTON STREET

HIGH WYCOMBE

HP11 1NL

OR

Data Controller: SOUTHERN PACIFIC MORTGAGE LIMITED Registration Number: Z7369271

Date Registered: 16 December 2002 Registration Expires: 15 December 2011

Address:

ST JOHNS PLACE

EASTON STREET

HIGH WYCOMBE

HP11 1NL

Does anyone with recent experience know what contact details to send a SARN for these bozos to?

I've asked for you on the main SPML thread Dvae so you'll get an idea soon.

Unfortunately I can't help who is considered to be the "Official" consumers association lol

My point is, make makes Which? the official one? Aren't they just one of many? Sure they've been around a long time and may even be the best known but who decides who the official UK Consumer Association is? Are they a Charity or for-profit entity?

Just asking really....

Hi Folks

For the benefit of Dave121 and other Caggers who urgently need to SARN SPML/Crapstone/Ascenden in the near future, can anyone with recent successful experience of sending a SARN to any of the above please post the contact details and address(es) you used?

Many thanks.

These articles should give you some encouragement about reclaiming those outrageous mortgage arrears and other fees:-

Thousands of homeowners set for big mortgage refunds

We find that 30 lenders may be forced to return millions of pounds in arrears fees to 80,000 borrowers

By Robyn Hall

More than 80,000 homeowners in mortgage arrears could receive millions of pounds compensation for unfair charges, an investigation by Times Money has discovered.

Customers of Bradford & Bingley, the Derbyshire and Cheshire building societies and a number of other specialist lenders, such as Kensington and Morgan Stanley, could be due refunds of late-payment fees after a crackdown by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

The City watchdog recently fined Gmac-RFC, the specialist lender, £2.8 million and forced it to return £7.7 million to borrowers after finding it guilty of treating customers in arrears unfairly between October 2004 and November 2008. The fine was partly due to the £45 a month that the lender levied on borrowers who went into arrears. The FSA said this was “excessive” and did not reflect administration costs.

An investigation by Times Money has discovered that as many as 30 lenders have a similar charging structure to Gmac-RFC, with each levying high monthly fees for arrears.

Gmac-RFC outsourced the administration of its loan book to Homeloan Management (HML), part of the Skipton group, which had a standard model for dealing with customers who were behind in their payments. The outsourcing organisation also processes loans for more than 400,000 other borrowers, including customers of the Derbyshire and Cheshire Building Societies. They, too, would have been subject to the same or similar £45 monthly charge if they had fallen into arrears.

Although HML refuses to publish statistics on arrears, a similar pool of 400,000 loans from Gmac-RFC shows that 20 per cent of borrowers are behind with payments. This suggests that as many as 80,000 customers with loans processed by HML are being charged a monthly fee that the FSA deems unfair.

The ruling against Gmac-RFC means that all borrowers with loans administered by HML and who have gone into arrears since 2004 could be eligible for a refund.

A source close to the situation, who does not want to be identified, says: “It was common practice for lenders to follow each other when it came to charging for arrears. It is a question of when, not if, this will apply to other lenders. It is causing a mighty problem as lenders and HML do not have the staff to look at individuals on a case-by-case basis.”

Neil Warman, the chief commercial and finance officer at HML, says: “We are not able to comment on specific client circumstances but we work closely with a number of lenders, managing their customer mortgage accounts in line with their lending and administration policies.In the event of one of our clients wanting to make a retrospective adjustment to the mortgage accounts we manage for them, then we would work with them to help this to take place effectively.”

The FSA says that it is examining the issue, but industry insiders expect it to fine five more mortgage lenders.

Cerris Tavinor, a spokeswoman for the watchdog, says: “We completed our investigation into Gmac and published the results of that case. We have made the point publicly that we have referred other lenders to enforcement, so other work is carrying on. But we can’t talk about individual firms. If there is evidence that a firm is doing something wrong, then we investigate that firm and take action.

“If borrowers are worried about their situation, they can make formal complaints to that lender. Anyone worried about arrears, getting into arrears and how arrears are being managed can ring our consumer contact service to get more information about the help that is out there.”

With the FSA yet to take action, borrowers can complain to their mortgage adviser, the lender or both, although they must first lodge their complaint directly with the firm deemed to be at fault.

All FSA-regulated firms must acknowledge receipt of a complaint within five days and write back with their conclusion within eight weeks.

If the company fails to write back within eight weeks, or if their conclusions are unsatisfactory, you can lodge your complaint with the Financial Ombudsman Service, a free service set up to settle complaints between consumers and companies that offer financial services. It reviews all sides of the story and makes a judgment, which is usually binding. However, if any party decides to appeal against this decision, the matter is passed on to a senior adjudicator and, if need be, to an ombudsman.

If you disagree with the ombudsman’s decision, you can take the matter to court. At all times it is vital that you keep copies of all correspondence relating to your complaint.

Fahim Antoniades, a broker with Mortgage Centre IFA, says: “If you feel that you have been unfairly treated by your lender, the first starting point is to read carefully the terms and conditions of your mortgage offer.

“If you are not sure what the terms and conditions mean, seek help from the adviser who initially arranged the mortgage. You may feel that the terms and conditions were not explained to you properly, in which case you could lodge a complaint against the advisory firm. However, this could be a separate issue to how the lender itself has treated you. You may feel that a complaint against the lender is also warranted.”

One of the hardest parts is working through the paperwork that may have mounted up. David Hollingworth, of London & Country, a mortgage broker, says: “Debt charities could be invaluable as a first port of call in establishing what action borrowers may be able to take.

“If the property has not yet been repossessed, then clearly the first concern is to avoid the need for such a serious course of action.”

There are useful links on the FSA and the Financial Ombudsman Service websites, as well as free support from your local Citizens Advice Bureau.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/property_and_mortgages/article6998539.ece

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has set a precedent by fining the mortgage lending company GMAC-RFC, which no longer takes on new business in the UK, £2.8 million for treating some of its customers unfairly. GMAC also had to repay £7.7 million to the customers concerned.

The customers were those that fell into arrears on their home-loans and the cause of the unfairness was due in part to the monthly fee of £45 that was charged on overdue accounts. The FSA decided that this was unfair as it was disproportionate to the actual cost of processing to the lender.

The administration of the GMAC mortgage book was outsourced to Homeloan Management Ltd (HML), a subsidiary of the Skipton Group who uses a standardised format for dealing with those in arrears. HML also manages loan books for many other lenders and applies that same format to other mortgage holders who are in arrears. This could mean that there are vast numbers of borrowers out there who could claim against HML as well as any other lender/administrator who uses this model of charging.

This is almost a mirror of the bank and credit card charges fiasco except that the FSA acted and got a result but with the banks and credit card companies the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) missed the open goal. I can see many parallels between the two but no joined up thinking. The OFT were robbed of a result at the last minute by a legal technicality that they should arguably have spotted. But why the difference between the two cases? Is it than one group are lovely home-owners and the other group are dirty credit card defaulters?

There will no doubt be an industry forming around reclaiming mortgage arrears fees over the coming few weeks, if one isn’t already out there.

The overall majority of those in mortgage arrears will probably also have unsecured lending problems too. It is strange that they can rely on one regulator to force lenders to act properly, but not in the other. Especially when you consider that the unsecured credit charges could well have exacerbated the position with respect to their mortgage payments situation.

A borrower is a borrower and should be treated fairly whatever the loan was for and whoever the regulator is.

Read more: http://www.economicvoice.com/fsa-cracks-down-on-mortgage-arrears-fees/5006098#ixzz1BVFCPTtx

Mortgage lenders have been banned from hitting borrowers behind on payments with punitive charges if they have already set up a payment plan to clear any arrears.

The new rule, introduced from today by City regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), will give struggling homeowners more breathing space (see the Mortgage Arrears and Redundancy guides).

Some lenders hit those in the mire with hundreds of pounds of charges (see the Huge mortgage fees MSE News story for lender-by-lender examples).

As well as banning charges for some, under the new guidelines, payments by customers in financial difficulties must first be allocated to clearing the missed monthly payments, rather than to arrears charges.

The FSA has also re-affirmed past statements that repossessions should always be a last resort.

Reclaim charges

The FSA has previously told MoneySavingExpert.com that homeowners hit with excessive mortgage arrears charges should demand their cash back.

It has hit numerous lenders, such as GMAC-RFC and Kensington, with fines for unfair or exorbitant fees (see the Arrears crackdown MSE News story).

We have heard numerous reports of consumers successfully claiming charges back by complaining to their lender or by contating the free Financial Ombudsman Service.

MSE will soon by publishing a full guide to reclaiming mortgage arrears fees. See the free weekly email for updates.

Lesley Titcomb, from the FSA, says: "We think it is wrong arrears charges should be taken from customers already in difficult circumstances, trying to get their finances back on track."

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/mortgages/2010/06/fsa-gets-tough-on-mortgage-arrears-fees

Here is a SARN Template you can use:

REMEMBER THE £10 POSTAL ORDER AND SEND RECORDED DELIVERY

[ your address ]

The Data Protection Compliance Manager

[Their Address]

[DATE]

Dear Sir/Madam

ACCOUNT NUMBER: xxxxxxxxx (or multiple numbers if more than one account)

Please supply me with copies of all the data which you hold on me in relation to all my business with yourselves.

Please note that I require disclosure of any personal data which you hold on me for the entire period of my business with you. The Subject Access Request is not limited to my transaction history and it is not linited merely to 6 years of historical information.

Additionally, where there has been any event in my account history over this period which has required manual intervention by any member of your staff, or any other person, I require disclosure of any indication or notes which have either caused or resulted in that manual intervention, or other evidence of that manual intervention in relation to my financial business with you.

I require all information on details of all insurance products supplied by or through your company. This is to include the statement of means, statement of price, details of all insurance premium tax paid, underwriting sheets and commissions to third parties.

If mortage indemnity insurance was added to the agreement, I require all details on who this premium was paid to, and who underwrites this insurance.

If you are unable to supply this data because there has been no such manual intervention by any of your staff please be so kind as to confirm this in your response.

If you intend to send a reconstituted copy of an agreement you must declare the reason why it has been reconstituted and if the original exists, the type of filing system or archive the originals are stored on.

If it is the case that any of the requested documents can not be supplied because they have been destroyed, please confirm;

1.The date the document (s) was/were destroyed,

2.The method used for destruction and

3.The names and position of the individual(s) tasked with destruction.

Enclosed is the statutory maximum fee of £10. You have 40 calendar days in which to comply with this request.

Furthermore, if it materialises that you have levied disproportionate penalties or charges which are invalid under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations, against me, then I shall be reclaiming the levied amounts together with interest as due.

As it is my opinion that your dereliction of duty on my account has created the necessity for this Subject Access Request, I will also be reclaiming the enclosed £10 fee.

If there is specific information which you require in order to satisfy yourself as to my identity, please let me know by return. However, please note that the above address is the one which you normally use to communicate my private business to me and which you have hitherto found to be acceptable, not warranting any further checks by you.

Yours faithfully,

[Your Name as usually referenced]

*** Enclose £10 postal order, send recorded, keep proof of postage***

*** Ensure that this is sent either to their official registered address OR a recently confirmed suitable address such as a return address on a recent letter received from the lender ***

Rdm2006, what would it achieve? And why "Which?" in particular? Are there not others? Why not CAG for example?

Rebel11, what's so unfair about it? They do have subscribers etc, but over the years they've campaigned on a number of issues that affects everyone. I think it's the result that counts - any person/association with the voice to get the OFT to lift it's finger would be suitable, no?

Hi Dave

Take heart. Like I said, the more torts (a wrong that involves a breach of a civil duty owed to someone else) they commit against you, the greater will be your compensation when the time comes. For every 'tort', you are entitled to receive 'damages' which is usually monetary compensation from the person(s)/party liable. The easier it is to prove the tort, the easier it is to get the damages. This is just one importnat reason why putting everything discussed/agreed by phone in writing is vital. In fact, if you've never documented the fact that you've been trying to get their rubbish insurance off your account, send them a letter NOW, with copies of all the Insurance certificates over the years PLUS the fax/postal receipts showing you DID send it to them.

Regarding the MCOB rules (the FSA's Mortgage Conduct Of Business), here is just a sampler from MCOB 13

MCOB 13: Arrears and repossessions is of particular importance in the context of mortgage litigation:

13.1 Application

Who does it apply to?

Mortgage lenders and mortgage administrators (and firms that were mortgage lenders or mortgage administrators before the sale of a repossessed property took place).

13.2 Purpose

What does it do?

It applies the provisions of MCOB 13 with respect to administering a regulated mortgage contract, and administering a mortgage shortfall debt

It amplifies MCOB 6 (duty to treat customers fairly) in respect of the information and service provided to customers who have payment difficulties or face a mortgage shortfall debt

13.3 Dealing fairly with customers in arrears: policy and procedures

(1) A firm must deal fairly with any customer who: is in arrears on a regulated mortgage contract; or has a mortgage shortfall debt

(2) A firm must put in place, and operate in accordance with, a written policy (agreed by its respective governing body) and procedures for complying with (1).

13.3.2 Policy and procedures: content

A firm should ensure that its written policy and procedures include:

(a) using reasonable efforts to reach an agreement with a customer over the method of repaying any payment shortfall or mortgage shortfall debt, in the case of the former having regard to the desirability of agreeing with the customer an alternative to taking possession of the property;

(b) liaising, if the customer makes arrangements for this, with a third party source of advice regarding the payment shortfall or mortgage shortfall debt;

© adopting a reasonable approach to the time over which the payment shortfall or mortgage shortfall debt should be repaid, having particular regard to the need to establish, where feasible, a payment plan which is practical in terms of the circumstances of the customer;

(d) granting, unless it has good reason not to do so, a customer's request for a change to:

(i) the date on which the payment is due (providing it is within the same payment period); or

(ii) the method by which payment is made;

and giving the customer a written explanation of its reasons if it refuses the request;

(e) giving consideration, where no reasonable payment arrangement can be made, to the customer being allowed to remain in possession to effect a sale; and

(f) repossessing the property only where all other reasonable attempts to resolve the position have failed.

Text in blue is my highlight for your attention.

I will look up and post a suitable SARN template letter you can use. Get it off recorded delivery ASAP.

Regarding the lender's charges, you will need to know

1. Every charge they have levied

2. Why they levied it, when they levied it and what it was for.

Unless it is a justifiable charge, you can reclaim it, with interest and to a degree, the FOS will back this up.

For now, the ones I am aware you can reclaim are:-

a. Mortgage Account Arrears fees

b. Late payment fees

c. Returned payment fees

d. Mortgage payment protection insurance

e. Some legal fees. With these, it depends how they came about. Quite often they are easily justified but can be refunded if the lender would have avoided needing to take legal action by for example not levying arrears admin costs when a payment arrangement was/is in place.

This is one of the things the SARN will help you resolve.

...and because I was able to provide reasons and could afford my payments the judge did not want to grant possession. Keep positive

Well said, my point exactly...

Hi Dave

I've only just managed to pop in now due to work and family commitments. I'll do my best to help you out in this matter.

For now

1) SARN them ASAP using recorded first class delivery. You want ALL your statements from inception. The SARN isn't to stop the eviction - necessarily - it's to arm you for future further action, though it may make them think twice, if someone there realises you're probably now more clued up than you may have been.

2) Apply for the Warrant to be set aside ASAP. It IS possible that once you make the latest monthly payment they might cancel it themselves OR that once you send them your draft of the letter I plan to draft and send to you in a day or two, they will cancel this themselves as it will clearly highlight how hasty and unrestained they've been (assuming all you've said so far stacks up).

3) Can you post up your own recollections of your account conduct since the 2005 suspended repo order please? If you can give a blow by blow, year by year account to date, including what triggered the current action by them, that would help us all to assist you. Please be totally honest so we can give you the best help as we see it, nothing worse than shooting yourself by holding back key information.

4) Put everything in writing to the lender and keep your own copy plus proof of postage and fax if you use it! If /once you make a payment, I would immediately ask them to cancel the Warrant themselves as it is pointless now that you've paid and will continue paying. You also need to state a plausible reason why you missed the payment when it was due. With this, you can then ask them to cancel the Warrant and this saves both you and them costs so that the costs associated with a hearing (which you will no doubt win but they will charge to your account) can be avoided.

The only way you won't win at a hearing is if you can't show ability to service the mortgage going forward.

I might have a go......not!!!

Ok, you'll get a lot more direct relevant support on your own thread.

Can you post the link to it back to here for ease of reference?

I have asked them to put the arrears on the mortgage and they said no numerous times

yes since 2005 made payments fine i am just £176 behind from 2005

Well, the more torts they commit against you, the more rewarding should be the outcome of any claims against them. A lot will need to be explained by them...but before I/we get too excited about sticking it to anyone, let's wait for the fuller story...please start or link your own thread!

Hi Dave

Do you have a thread for this?

This sounds like you have been ROYALLY shafted. Once you have a payment arrangement IN PLACE i.e., you agree to pay say the monthly interest only mortgage amount plus X amount each month towards the arrears, THAT IS an arrangement! If the lender has agreed to it, it's an arrangement! The FSA has ruled that once this arranegment has been made AND is being maintained, the lender CANNOT continue to charge you an arrears Admin fee. This is daylight robbery!!!

Also, when a court sets a date for payment, this is flexible. As long as you are paying within the month, this is normally OK and you are not breaking 'the agreement'. In my (little) experience, the court does not normally set the date for you to pay by anyway, just the amount to be paid each month. The judge will normally ask YOU when is convenient for you to pay by each month - last working day is usally best as it gives you greatest flexibilty. Anyway, the payment date is flexible and is determinable between you and the lender. What you will find is that Lenders will typically set the first of the month ad the DUE date but will allow payment any date up till the last working date!

If not already, start a thread asap and link it back here. I can help you with at least one area and that is to recoup those blasted £125 per month arrears charging they've been adding to your account...plus interest!!! Mind you, if/once they refund it, it won't be cash in your pocket but will offset/reduce your mortgage balance. Who's your lender????? Start a thread mate, quick!

Madness!!!

Just had a thought...have you actually had this suspended repo since 2005? Since then, have you made 6-12 monthly agreed payments consistently in that time without missing a single one? I'd imagine you have if things have not progressed towards eviction in the last five years???

Anyway, if so, why has the lender not capitalised your arrears onto the main mortgage? Did you ever ask them to do this for you?

Had they done that, it would have had the effect of

a) Cleaning up your credit file from the point of re-capitalisation

b) Stop all ongoing arrears and legal charges

c) Cancelled the Suspended Repo

d) Merging the arrears into your principal

All this leads to greater peace of mind, added incentive to stay 'up to date' and it gives you a much better chance of remortgaging elsewhere should you need to.

You should look into this if it was not done...

I have just been given an eviction date do i need to do a form for the court

1. The solicitors requesting the eviction will have been instructed by the lender.

2. You can negotiate with either but the lender is much better as they instructed. If you negotiate with the Sols, if you don't offer what they've already pre-agreed with their client (your lender) they have to refer back to client for further instructions. Also, the more 'interaction' you have with the Sols, the more they'll bill their client who'll just add those costs to your mortgage account. So...I would always negotiate with the Lender in such circumstances unless their arrears management staff are particularly brutal and you cannot stomach delaing with them. Also, since the Lender is regulated, they have to behave themselves in a certain way as you are in difficulty and are being pro-active, trying to resolve things.

3. Whatever offers or payment you make, put this in writing and send it to the lender, and possibly a copy or fax of the letter to the Sols. Always, always, always, always (even when the lender/Sols says there's no need to), always put everything agreed/discussed in writing. For your own peace of mind. Remember the Sols, Lender staff and even the judge are just 'doing their job' and yours will be one of many cases they are dealing with. YOU however are fighting for YOUR HOME. Who else has as much interest in that as you do?

4. With your historic payment record since 2005, I cannot believe there is a single judge in the UK who will allow an eviction to go through just because you recently missed a payment or paid less than was due.

Yes you've breached the suspended repo Order etc BUT you can have the eviction Warrant set aside and you get the opportunity to show the judge

a) How good a payer you've been b) You have income that's sufficient to service the mortgage + agreed arrears payment (I assume that's what you've been paying right?) c) Any good explanation as to why/how you ended up in this situ in the first place.

If you're a family man, it always strengthens your case, if not, there's still a duty of care to you. Remember that regulated lenders are duty bound to ONLY use Repossession as a LAST resort. i.e. when pretty much all else has failed!!! It's not supposed to be used as a weapon of threat. Make sure you remind everyone who'll listen of this: The judge (if it gets that far), the lender, their Solicitors...anyone!!!

5. If you have funds to pay, make a payment ASAP, anything!!! Judges are very reticent to evict anyone who is servicing their debts in some way!

6. Once you breach a suspended Repo, your lender is SUPPOSED to contact you to try and make it 'good'. They are within their rights to say they'll go for eviction if they want to but if you challenge the eviction (as I'm sure you will), they have to show that YOU WILL NOT be able to keep servicing either the currently agreed payments OR a new lower payment that you can commit to.

7. Btw, in these situations, never agree to payments + arrears servicing that you doubt you'll be able to sustain. It's just not worth it!

8. If you had agreed to something you can no longer maintain e.g. mortgage = £700 + arrears servicing of £200 = £900 but you can now only afford £700 + £50 = £750. You should have gone to the lender first with the new proposal. If they tell you where to go, then when it gets back to court (which it will) the judge will look very favourably on your proposal, as long as you demonstrate your affordability going forward and you were proactive in raising it and not the lender.

9. The above mainly applies as long as you're fighting for your primary residence and not say an investment property.

If there was more than one way through which she can be reached, that would also be a boon I think, post, email, website, phone/fax etc...

In my own minimal experience, I would say I have witnessed incorrectly placed defaults (as opposed to warranted and therefore correctly recorded defaults) affect up to 50 people. I would guestimate about 1-in-4 people in the credit having adult population of the UK are affected. That's a huge number and the ramifications are therefore consequently huge.

Can I ask therefore, in your view and experience, what exactly is wrong with the current state of play and what change(s) is/are required to deliver justice? I think it's important to be clear from the outset what it is we are rallying behind and trying to achieve.

Thanks D. So she's a potential saviour of a kind...but who is she and who does she work for/with etc?

The implications of the case you are referencing here appears to me to be one of the most important issues in modern finance at the moment. It affects the degree of responsibility and accountability that banks and credit reference agencies have between them and the rights of 'consumers' in that regard.

It is therefore a defining issue that has implications for millions and millions of people across the UK and possibly EU too. Getting the right people behind you for the fight and spreading the word out wide enough to get people sharing their stories is therefore vital. I'd be VERY wary about entrusting this to the OFT or any other government agency that's allegedly pro-consumer. The issue is just too big and the implications too massive for banks to let this one go easily.

... please e-mail Frances McCartney at

 

Email address removed

....

Richard.

Hi Richard, heads up please on who she is and what she'll do when contacted?