Well I would certainly say I'm another one who has suffered at their hands. They bought the debt from future Mortgages, immediately set about charging me for everything they could, soon started repossession action, I tried to offer amounts towards it, they wouldn't listen. Eventually I agreed to go to court, their solicitor approached me before hand and tried to get me to agree to whole payment each month plus a huge amount per month in addition. I took every piece of paper and bit of advice with me and offered to pay £275 per month which the judge felt was too high and decided we should only pay £225 per month. We have been for 14 months and now they are trying it again and yet we have paid every single payment on time, which must be really upsetting them!

Hi Usual Engage complaint. We got into mortgage arrears awhile ago for various reasons since resolved. They rushed us off to court, the Judge took a dim view of them trying to repossess us as we had young children and could prove we could now offer to pay the whole payment every month plus gradually clear the arrears. We offered to pay £275 additionally per month but the Judge said he felt we were offering more than was comfortable so said he preferred £225 per month. We have been paying that faithfully for the past 14 months. Last Friday I called to make my monthly payment and got a nosey jobsworth (I swear they keep you ages on the phone anyway so that they can rack up the call charges) who said the arrangement was up for review. Hmmm thats odd I thought, there had been no mention of this at any point and why do it at 14 months and not 12 or 18? She said I would have to complete a new income and expenditure form, which I am not inclined to do. She said it was to see if I could start paying more each month to clear them sooner. As we are already keeping up on the plan, I can't see that I need to entertain them. She said it was because we seem to have income free every month. With young children? Yeah right I wish! So I said I found it odd because the Judge had looked at our case at the time and he had decided the amount per month and I was sticking to that. She seemed to back down a little bit then. However could I have some advice please? Can they force me to supply a new I&E form? I'm not afraid to as nothing has changed I would just prefer not to as I don't trust them. Neither do I really fancy going back to court. The situation is that the arrears will be cleared before the end of the year anyway so why are they making a fuss with probably 5 months left to go? Is this part of a bigger picture? We are on interest only with them at the moment, should I be worried they are up to something there too? In addition to the interest they charge me every month on the mortgage they are also charging me about £26 per month additional interest on the arrears and fees balance, is that right? Thanks

Similiar situation with us, I'd be happy to add my name to any group action.

Just to clarify. I kept phoning to tell them I didn't need it as I was already covered. I then sent them several copies of my policy and this year after seven months of being charged it they stopped charging and refunded me 5 months worth. I am now sending a copy of the previous policy to claim back those two months which I hope they will do. However this is happening every year and in the past I know I haven't been fully refunded. I was also charged a insurance lapse fee at one point! There is a fees balance too which includes solicitors costs but also monthly arrears fees of £35pm at various times and £55 monthly litigation fee at times. This balance is going up by around £25 per month due to interest? But on each months statement breakdown I am seeing Interest charge (monthly payment) Additional interest charged (the amount roughly being added to the fees) Then instalment due underneath. This instalment due should surely be the same as the interest charged amount? But it isn't. It's always more. I have queried it now with two staff members who fudged and seemed as baffled as me, the first said "oh that because you are being charged interest on the additional borrowing" (ie the arrears and fees) but the second person couldn't give me any explanation at all! Am I being charged twice then for the same interest? Also they've asked me to put the query in writing and enclose a photocopy of the mortgage statement. I find it dubious they would need that when it came from them originally?

In addition to the fees I can try and reclaim, can anyone explain why I am being asked to pay one amount (and do pay it) and yet the instalment due on their statement is actually higher every single month. This has probably added around £330 to my arrears balance over the past few months. Should their buildings insurance premiums be included in their arrears balance? I know I got a partially refund of these, I will have to ask for a further reduction as they didn't refund me two months worth but shouldn't they only be going on the account balance NOT the arrears balance?

So the months I was charged an arrears fee of £35 I can claim. Also the insurance lapse fee? As I always had my own insurance which I sent a copy of the info to prove I had?

Hi. I am looking at my annual statement for my Engage Credit mortgage and can't make sense of it! Every month I pay what I'm told to pay plus an amount off of my arrears (which I've nearly cleared) but that is always different from the instalment expected according to the statement. For instance in a month I was asked to pay £879.27, the instalment due amount says £892.18. What concerns me is in the statements 'amounts added to the balance of the loan column it shows interest charge for the month and then also an 'additional interest charged' of around £30. I am not being asked to pay this amount each month but it is being added to my loan balance and shows as part of the fees balance each month. Is this right? Thanks

Hi I am with Engage credit for my mortgage and have received my annual statement today and am a bit baffled. I was in arrears originally about a year ago but have almost completely cleared them now. So that's the good news. However there is a fees balance on there which is going up and I will have to contact them about it but want to have my facts straight first. I am being charged additional interest every month which I am guessing is for being in arrears? So in the amounts added to the balance of the loan column it shows the monthly interest charge and also the additional interest charged. In the amounts reducing the loan is my monthly payment, however this isn't for the payment plus additional interest, it's just the normal payment plus my arrears amount. So I am not being asked to pay the additional interest it's just being added to the loan every month. Is this right? Also the payment expected and the amount I am being asked to pay is varying by about £3-4ish a month. What would that be for? Thanks

Hi Hoping someone can help me as I am getting frustrated. My question is: Can you appeal a Council Tax Summons? If you need more info here it is: I have paid every months Council Tax within the month it's due but always at the end of the month as that's when we are paid. In June I received a letter saying they had sent two rinders for late payment (never received so this was a shock). I spent 2 day calling and eventually got through to someone who said whilst they could see I was upto date it is classed as Kate as the money is due on the first of the month and I was paying too late. I explained this was due to when we were paid and they said that wasn't their problem and what I should have done was paid one in march to get ahead. Very little point telling me this in June! I paid June and then late July got another letter saying they would issue a summons if I didn't get it sorted. I sent an email directly to the department explaining everything and asking if there was a way of working this out as I was paying every month within the month. I heard nothing but realise these things take a few days. I paid July. Now I've received a Sunmons and a £60 charge. I spent two days on the phone gain before finally speaking to someone who said te same as above and said its because I am paying too late. She suggested that if I agreed to pay by direct debit on the 22nd of the month it could be sorted out. I said fine, I would borrow the money for a few days just to get it sorted. But when I went to set up the DD s she said it woul include the summons costs and magistrate fee. So basically still going through the summons. I said this was unfair as I have always paid and I they ha replied to my previous email we could have sorted it before it went to Summons. She replied 'we have a very busy in tray' Couldn't believe my ears. She said I should speak to the manager to see if he woul stop the action and refund the fees, so I have been trying to speak to him every since but he is apparently alway off an back tomorrow. I've emailed him but again no reply. Help!

I did think that but thought as I was now an eviction succes rather than ongoing people would probably not read through to the end of that thread. Shall I just post the questions on here now and ignore that other thread completely so as not to confuse things? As this is an ongoing issue I need a little help with and am not sure where to turn next?

Hi I've just posted this is my old thread and realised it is probably better served here. Any advice gratefully received yet again . Right The mortgage company have seen my insurance paperwork at last and have confirmed I had cover the whole time they have sent me a letter today saying that they will refund me an amount but it is £243 less than all the premiums they have actually charged me. So I need to write to them I imagined and query this, but I have one question. Can I ask for the refund to include the difference plus the interest on the amounts ie the 8%? Also there are charges going back the past year or so, they have also said in the letter they normally charge a £35 for every month you are in arrears BUT won't charge it if I stick to my payment plan (which I will barring something unforeseen of course!) so again a couple of questions. Do I dare go after the current company or is that risking their wrath and if I go for it, I guess its the SAR route again? Also if they will charge this only if I don't pay one month from now on, can I then argue that it doesn't actually cost them £35 or £50 a month to administer an arrears account if they are prepared to waive it now?

Right The mortgage company have seen my insurance paperwork at last and have confirmed I had cover the whole time they have sent me a letter today saying that they will refund me an amount but it is £243 less than all the premiums they have actually charged me. So I need to write to them I imagined and query this, but I have one question. Can I ask for the refund to include the difference plus the interest on the amounts ie the 8%? Also there are charges going back the past year or so, they have also said in the letter they normally charge a £35 for every month you are in arrears BUT won't charge it if I stick to my payment plan (which I will barring something unforeseen of course!) so again a couple of questions. Do I dare go after the current company or is that risking their wrath and if I go for it, I guess its the SAR route again?

It's thanks to you for all your help and support. I feel like a different person today and know that reading how others managed helped me, so thought I would update and help others where I can.

It's thanks to you for all your help and support. I feel like a different person today and know that reading how others managed helped me, so thought I would update and help others where I can.

No, surprisingly it wasn't that bad! Thanks to CAG. Right will dig about on here and find the SAR, so is it ok to send to current and mortgages PLc? What about the fact they turned me down in 2006, does that mean I can't try again as it is after three years or can I argue that since the world has moved on and the Redstone case I have cause to believe I am entitled to ask again now?

Hi I've just managed to stop our eviction and this has thrown up the possibility I can try and claim back all my arrears charges etc. I once had a mortgage with Mortgages PLC going back 10-5 years ago, I know there were charges on there from a time of redundancy, we are no longer with them. My current mortgage used to be with one company but they have sold it to another. So 1) Where do I start? 2) Mortgages PLC turned me down in 2006, can I still try again on the basis that we now know that we can go for it? 3) Would it be safe to go for the current company or can this cause problems, the judge suspended the warrant and said as long as we clear the current arrears we are safe Thanks

Hi Just had my eviction stopped by following the steps that were given to you on here. You can do it. Get those income and expenditure forms and the N244 prepared and GO FOR IT! Good luck

Hi Just had my eviction stopped by following the steps that were given to you on here. You can do it. Get those income and expenditure forms and the N244 prepared and GO FOR IT! Good luck

Hope everything went well. I was at my hearing yesterday and we won, so hope it went the same for you?

Hope everything went well. I was at my hearing yesterday and we won, so hope it went the same for you?

Some courts had a free legal adviser who can help you on the day, mine didn't yesterday but the upshot was that thanks to those on here I walked away with an agreed payment proposal and my house! Have you been paying the £150 a month the whole time, will your bank statements give you the proof of this? Were you with Future Mortgages before this?

I have just gone through the same situation myself so I can start to help you until the experts arrive here, which they will. Thanks to the people on here I have just had my eviction warrant suspended. Get down to your local court and grab yourself a N244 or you can print one off from this site, I'll try and find the link and post it in a minute. Its just a double A4 sheet, if you find my thread, Ell-enn, one of the friendly CAGGERS has listed what you need to put in each box. On the advice of people on this site, I completed the budget sheet from on here and Ell-enn helped me complete a statement explaining why I wanted teh eviction stopped and why the arrears had happened and what steps I was taking. Once completed you go down to the court offices with £40 (must be in cash) and they will check it and then allocate you a hearing. It is usually a couple of days later dependent on how close to the repo date you are.

Update: I arrived at court in plenty of time to find there were no advisers there to assist. Found the usher and signed in, at which point I was introduced to the representive from the other side, he looked about 20 but was a really nice man and said, "Having looked through your papers I can't see why the mortgage company haven't accepted your proposal but they are requesting that I oppose it on the basis that if the warrant was suspended you might default further down the line. This gave me a bit of a boost because it seemed a rather limited arguement. He ran through a couple of points with me, which I was easily able to clarify and then we chatted about general non case stuff as the judge was 20 mins late calling us. On entry I found it was not to intimidating, just a room with the judge behind a desk, friendly smiles all around. The judge said he knew he was supposed to let me speak first as I am the bringer of the hearing but was it ok if the rep went first to just explain current conduct on the account. The poor man had been given several facts wrong, included the actual arrears amount. I let him speak though and waited my turn. Once I could speak I explained the actual figure, why the problems had arisen, my reasons for asking to stay put in the house and my plans to combat and clear the arrears. The rep was still claiming the payments were the higher amount which included the insurance premiums but the judge said he was mistaken and it should be without that. Then the judge said that he was going to suspend the warrant and not allow eviction because of two things: 1) He was very impressed with the pack I had presented to court and how I had conducted myself. He said if everyone presented their pack as well as mine a district judge's job would be so easy. He could see clearly all the facts and figures from my budget sheet (thank you CAG!) and my well presented statement (Thank You Ell-enn!) and my charges schedule (Thank you ukaviator!) 2) He could see that we were only in this position due to some unfortunate circumstances and that we were making every effort to right ourselves again, that our payment proposal was a reasonable, sensible offer and he felt we would be able to clear the arrears easily. He actually made the order for a lower amount than in our payment proposal but said if we wanted to pay the higher amount he suggested we did when we could. As we left the room, he actually smiled and I think winked at me, what a lovely man he was. Once outside, the rep was also lovely and said he was happy for us that the outcome meant we could move on with our lives. So first battle won and it is all down to you fantastic people for helping us. I went to collect my children and just hugged them all, I know it sounds a bit Hollywood but the relief of knowing we can stay in our home and the kids won't have to deal with all of this feels amazing. So next battle is to get the mortgage company to refund us all the insurance premiums and I am going after them for all those charges. To anyone going through this, the Caggers are right, I think a judge will try and keep you in your home if he possibly can

Update: I arrived at court in plenty of time to find there were no advisers there to assist. Found the usher and signed in, at which point I was introduced to the representive from the other side, he looked about 20 but was a really nice man and said, "Having looked through your papers I can't see why the mortgage company haven't accepted your proposal but they are requesting that I oppose it on the basis that if the warrant was suspended you might default further down the line. This gave me a bit of a boost because it seemed a rather limited arguement. He ran through a couple of points with me, which I was easily able to clarify and then we chatted about general non case stuff as the judge was 20 mins late calling us. On entry I found it was not to intimidating, just a room with the judge behind a desk, friendly smiles all around. The judge said he knew he was supposed to let me speak first as I am the bringer of the hearing but was it ok if the rep went first to just explain current conduct on the account. The poor man had been given several facts wrong, included the actual arrears amount. I let him speak though and waited my turn. Once I could speak I explained the actual figure, why the problems had arisen, my reasons for asking to stay put in the house and my plans to combat and clear the arrears. The rep was still claiming the payments were the higher amount which included the insurance premiums but the judge said he was mistaken and it should be without that. Then the judge said that he was going to suspend the warrant and not allow eviction because of two things: 1) He was very impressed with the pack I had presented to court and how I had conducted myself. He said if everyone presented their pack as well as mine a district judge's job would be so easy. He could see clearly all the facts and figures from my budget sheet (thank you CAG!) and my well presented statement (Thank You Ell-enn!) and my charges schedule (Thank you ukaviator!) 2) He could see that we were only in this position due to some unfortunate circumstances and that we were making every effort to right ourselves again, that our payment proposal was a reasonable, sensible offer and he felt we would be able to clear the arrears easily. He actually made the order for a lower amount than in our payment proposal but said if we wanted to pay the higher amount he suggested we did when we could. As we left the room, he actually smiled and I think winked at me, what a lovely man he was. Once outside, the rep was also lovely and said he was happy for us that the outcome meant we could move on with our lives. So first battle won and it is all down to you fantastic people for helping us. I went to collect my children and just hugged them all, I know it sounds a bit Hollywood but the relief of knowing we can stay in our home and the kids won't have to deal with all of this feels amazing. So next battle is to get the mortgage company to refund us all the insurance premiums and I am going after them for all those charges. To anyone going through this, the Caggers are right, I think a judge will try and keep you in your home if he possibly can

No Ell-enn, the first we knew of it was a hand delivered envelope through our front door saying this man had visited us but we were out. As it was connected to our mortgage, the following morning I called the mortgage company and was told "Oh yes our solicitors send him to go through your I&E and discuss options with you, we are obliged to send him and you are charged whether you see him or not, its an automatic charge!"