Thank you both I will do these things now

I have today received a letter from HMRC stating that I owe them £3944.74 in tax credits overpayments dating back from 2011 - 2015! The debt has been passed to the DWP. This is a total shock and I haven't received any tax credits since April 2015 when they stopped because of an increase in my wages (I was just over the threshold by literally a matter of pounds when they ceased). I'm a single parent struggling to make ends meet as it is and there's just no way I can afford to repay this. I'm on payment plans for my electricity (to stop me being cut off), my council tax and just about everything else so this is just utterly devastating. I have just been diagnosed with stage 2 hypertension as my BP is consistently over 170/100 and have been referred to a cardiologist and this is stress I can do without. My boss has been tested positive for COVID-19 and I am now self isolating with my daughter so can things get any more stressful. Please can someone advise what I an do as this will really push me over the edge

I was in the process of going through all the paperwork when the letter from the court arrived this morning. what I’d like to know is what the letter means? Now the possession order is active will they seek a date for an eviction or does this mean they don’t have to and can just give me notice to leave? I’m still none the wiser as to why they’ve not reset the arrangement as they said they had done in writing

Apologies for the unintended 2nd post and any annoyance caused. I am understandably worried.

Hello, In July this year I asked for help with Acenden cancelling my payment plan without notice or warning and received some very helpful advice and have also requested a SAR as suggested. However this is still rumbling on and I am struggling. A little history - back in 2010 a possession order was granted as I had fallen into arrears. This was granted in my absence as I was unable to attend having been in a car accident the day before the hearing. I subsequently came to an arrangement/payment plan with Acenden and they cancelled down the eviction. Over the last 9 years, repayments have been made each month with the exception of two occasions in the last 12 months (October 2018 and December 2018) when my monthly direct debit bounced because of an issue with my child maintenance not being paid into my account on time by my ex-husband. As Ive said in a previous post In July this year I noticed that the monthly Acenden direct debit was less than usual and I contacted Acenden in writing to query this. (Incidentally I always deal with then in writing as I have had many situations when they have denied speaking to me and when requests for call backs have not been honoured so I like to have a record.) I was advised that my payment plan had been cancelled due to the bounced direct debits and the direct debit had been reset as my contractual amount each month only. I complained about their failure to advise me of the cancellation of my arrangement prior to the monthly contractual direct debit being taken or advise that they needed to discuss my account. Several weeks later, I received a letter on 6thAugust to apologise about not notifying me before they had decided to cancel the arrangement. I was also advised that (and I quote) “I have spoken to the relevant department who have agreed to reset your arrangement.” I thought this was the end to the matter but I noticed again in August the direct debit was only the contractual amount. I contacted them to query this and then on 11thSeptember (after yet again September 1st’s payment was only the contractual amount) I received a letter from them notifying me “you have not maintained an acceptable level of repayment or reached a mutually agreeable payment arrangement with us” so they were going to apply to the court to have the warrant for possession enforced. They also stated they had made several attempts to contact me but I have honestly received no telephone calls and the only correspondence I had other than this was the letter stating my arrangement had been reset. Naturally horrified I called them and was promised a call back from the relevant department. No call was received so I wrote to them on 12thSeptember to complain and ask why (once again) my arrangement hadn’t been reset as stated in their letter dated 6thAugust and why they are taking this action when they have not told me the current arrangement was unacceptable or contacted me to discuss if there were any issues with the arrangement being reset. No correspondence or calls have been received until this morning when I received a letter dated 26thSeptember from the court stating the following: UPON the Claimant’s application (no date) it is ordered that (1) The Claimant be granted permission to enforce the Possession Order dated 12thJanuary 2010. (2) The possession Order shall remain enforceable for 1 years from the date of the Order without the need for the Claimant to seek further permission from the court. (3) Any party affected by this Order must apply to the Court within 7 days of the date of this letter to ask for the Order to be set aside or varied or stayed. Dated 20thSeptember 2019 Even if I wanted to apply to the court within the timeframe I can’t because this order is dated 20thSeptember, the covering letter was dated 26thSeptember and today is the 30th!!!!!! What can I do now and what does this mean? I have received nothing from Acenden or their solicitors and they appear to now be ignoring me. It’s been weeks and they have not responded to my letter or called me back. I genuinely thought everything was ok having been told by them that my arrangement had been reset and I see from online banking that once again only the contractual amount has been taken today.

Hi Andy, Yes I will but will also write to them as they are absolutely terrible to deal with so want something in writing. There’s one DD amount which covers the monthly contractual and the arrears which was agreed by myself and Acenden. They’ve adjusted the DD and removed the arrears payments so just the contractual has been made this month. I’ll query the insurance as I have my own which they are well aware of so will need to reimburse me. But it’s the fees and security related charges of over £8k which haven’t shown up on my annual mortgage statement. Again I’ll query these but wondered if anyone else had experienced this before I get in touch with them. thanks

Hello, I am hoping someone can advise on a very troubling letter I received today. Bit of history: I have the misfortune to have had a mortgage with Acenden for the last 12 years. It probably won’t be of any interest but I mortgaged with Acenden at the time of my divorce, not knowing any better, not having had a mortgage on my own before and having been told this was the best deal I could get by my ex-husband’s financial broker. A few years later I fell into arrears, tried to sort it out myself but ended up in court and a suspended possession order. Since then, (albeit with a few late payments due to changes in circumstances which I have always spoken to Acenden about), the payment plans plus monthly contractual payments have been adhered to via DD on the 1stof each month. This morning I receive a letter dated 5thJuly stating that (I quote) Since you have not made payments to us as agreed we have cancelled your payment arrangement. You are breaking the terms and conditions of your mortgage. Your mortgage account has an overdue amount of £11950.58 as shown above. Please contact us now on the telephone number above to let us know what payment you can offer to us. If you are not able to make payment in full, we have a team of experienced staff to help you……” The overdue amounts they quote are as follows: Payment arrears: £3105.89 – I thought these were included in the payment plan? Insurance related charges: £476.05 – no idea what these are? Fees and security related charges: £8368.64 – totally shocked by these and no idea what these are? Total overdue balance: £11950.58 Checking my annual account statement June 2018 – June 2019 the security related charges and insurance related charges have a balance of zero and there are also no charges under the heading other debts (fees, charges and expenses). Checking the account my mortgage goes out of, on the 1stof July only the contractual amount was taken out via DD so yes, they did cancel the payment arrangement. My questions are numerous as my head is buzzing, I’m so upset! Firstly, can they just taken it upon themselves to cancel a payment arrangement when payments are being made and reduce the amount of the DD without prior warning i.e. this letter is dated 5thJuly but they cancelled the payment plan prior to this an adjusted the DD accordingly? Even if they think I’ve not been keeping up with payments (which, checking my mortgage statement I have), should they not issue me with a default notice of some sort or warning that this is what they intend to do? The Insurance related charges of £476.05 and fees and security related charges of £8368.64 do not show up on my annual mortgage statement??? I’ve no idea what these are! Obviously, I will put something in writing to them but wanted to ask what your thoughts were first and if there is anything I need to include in the letter. Thank you!

I’ve not asked for a copy of what I’ve signed or their T’s & C’s yet but I can do. I’ve not responded as I was so shocked! Should I ask for these? Good point about asking work to pay - not sure I can as it’s a university and they’re pretty tight on what you can claim for. I’ll check.

Thank you! Sorry, I couldn’t see a forum which matched this type of query. No they don’t have a website, just a FB page where no pricing schedule or terms & conditions are given. I did complete and sign a form per dog while I was there but at no time was I advised about their cancellation charges or any T’s & C’s for that matter, nor was I given a copy of the forms I completed. All I was given when I left was a business card with a handwritten £17 per dog per night on it so I have no way of knowing if even this is what he actually charges. i appreciate there’s a potential loss of earnings here for him but is it fair to charge 50% when I’ve given 18 days notice and have not been made aware of the charges? Thing is I can see this escalating as I’ve said so want to handle this correctly and carefully

Hi, I’m hoping someone can advise on the best course of action. I was planning to go away with work overseas for a week next month and had booked my dogs into a home boarders for 7 days/nights. I had visited the boarders a month ago with my dogs and must admit didn’t feel very comfortable leaving them there . Not only did the man discipline one of my dogs in front of me (Mog, she was very nervous of him and barked which resulted in a harsh telling off from him) but he also had no experience of the breed and was reluctant to deviate from the strict two hours walk each day. I should have cancelled there and then really but I had no other option. My overseas meeting venue went into administration without warning and I had to replan the entire event using a local UK venue which was an absolute nightmare. I contacted the home boarders 19 days before my booking to advise cancellation and was advised I needed to pay a 50% booking cancellation charge - that’s a total of £138 for the pleasure of not boarding my dogs!!! At no time was I advised of the cancellation policy and although I did complete paperwork while I was there, I certainly wasn’t made aware of these charges. I don’t even have a copy of the paperwork!!! Checked other boarders, the maximum cancellation fee is £30 for cancelling within 24 days so I do think £138 is absolutely extortionate!!! I don’t have an issue with a small cancellation fee but simply cannot afford to pay 50% of the entire booking! Before it escalates, is there anything I can do?

Hi gemspam, Thank you so much for your reply to my post. As of today, I have (I hope!) managed to sort things out with Arrow and they have confirmed in writing that they will be contacting their solicitors to cancel the current legal proceedings. I say "I hope" because I will not believe it until I see the letter from Eversheds! Briefly, I wrote to Arrow and expressed my concerns with the handling of my account, and their apparent unwillingness to accept that I had been proactive in trying to resolve the situation. Essentially, the payment plan agreed with GE should have been the same once the debt was bought by Arrow. Long story short, I said I would continue to make payments at the figure previously agreed and would apply to the court via a N244 if they continued to be difficult and proceed with the warrant for eviction. Arrow even refunded my interest for December! Pity it has taken this long to sort out as it did really ruin my Christmas. I wanted to ask you (and others who have commented) about the process for obtaining a SAR from GE and Arrow. Do I need to send two separate ones as GE Money are no longer in business or will Arrow be able to fulfil the request from the inception of the loan? Excuse my ignorance on this but can I claim for all the fees for admin charged monthly such as arrears management charges etc? I did complain to GE about this a few years back but they sent me chapter and verse stating they were entitled to do so and a breakdown of the fees which were certainly excessive. Who decides if I cam claim these fees back? Is it the loan holder or do I need to go to an independent body such as the FSO? Many thanks!

Yes, I've ensured I have a little left over on the expenditure sheet and detailed every expense - mortgage, all household bills, car insurance, petrol, food etc...

Hi Andy, Eversheds have attached to the N244 a statement of arrears for my account from 23-05-2008 - 30-11-2017. It is a list of all my payments, those missed, fees charged. I have not received a statement from Arrow showing the capital and arrears outstanding, just two separate figures quoted on their latest correspondence. It is interesting that the statement of arrears was dated 30-11-2017 which is the same date they wrote to me to inform me my rate had gone up and advised that they would not be increasing my payments to reflect this until I had spoken to them.

Hi, ok, apologies. This is an emotional time and I got carried away. I have amended and attach again and would appreciate your comments. Arrow Global December 2017v1.pdf

Hi Andy, Arrow, by instructing their solicitors Eversheds have made an application to the court for permission to enforce the suspended possession order. I uploaded the documents yesterday - is this what you mean? On Evershed's N244 they only state the following wording in the evidence section: “The claimant is seeking possession to enforce the suspended possession order dated 23rd November 2009 as the time for enforcement has expired. "We took over conduct of this file in December 2017. The previous solicitors filed a summons of possession of land and a particular of claim. A hearing was listed for 23rd November 2009. At the hearing on 23rd November, a suspended possession order was granted upon payment of the current monthly arrears plus £69.87 per month towards the arrears. The reason for the delay in issuing the warrant of possession is because the claimant considers repossession as the last resort. The Claimant wishes to enforce the order dated 23rd November 2009 in an attempt to keep costs to a minimum as opposed to issuing fresh proceedings, which will incur additional costs. We therefore humbly request that the honorable court grants permission to the clamant to allow us to issue a warrant of possession to seek eviction without delay and at the earliest opportunity” So, no specific details of my breach of the order in there but they have attached a statement of my account to the N244 showing payments and interest plus fees applied. I have received a letter from Arrow showing the outstanding balance and the arrears balance on their latter dated 4th December advising me that have instructed their solicitors to ask the court to set a date to take possession of my property.

Many thanks! I have attached a letter drafted to Arrow - took me absolutely ages but I hope it's ok? It will be sent with an income and expenditure sheet plus a letter from my employers. Could you take a look and let me know what you think x Arrow Global December 2017v1.pdf

If I draft a letter and a budget sheet would you mind checking it over for me? Just in case there's something I need to add or remove?

I cannot make a full payment to cover all of the arrears but I can and will make payments to them via my bank. However, in the meantime I do have the issue of their solicitors applying to the court to enforce the suspended possession order and they are requesting "an eviction date at the earliest opportunity". Reading the link Andy sent (if I've understood it correctly?), it is not guaranteed that the court will decline their request so I need to do what I can to try and prevent a possible eviction. Arrow are insisting I speak to them, they will not accept the proposals I have made in writing without speaking to me. So, I was thinking I should first write to them then following it up with a phone call to go over what I have said in the letter (the letter will include repayment proposals and supporting documentation)

Hi Andy, Many thanks for this. Can I just ask that in the case of Estoppel (in this matter were a Court as already determined payment and therefore that legally stands) does this still apply if I have missed payments this year? Under the original suspended order I have missed none. Then when the debt was transferred to Arrow, no DD arrangement was in place it took a few months for me to get a response from them as to how much I should be paying each month. I thought it should be the same as I had agreed to pay GE Arrow were saying they needed to assess my account, start from scratch with income and expenditure details etc... I wish I had known then that I should have referred them to the original suspended order instead of playing ball with them. The debt was purchased by Arrow in July 2016. It took three months of wrangling with them to agree what my monthly figure should be. I even sent back the blank DD mandate they issued with the figure I had previously agreed with GE. I was just wondering if, before I speak to them (which will have to be tomorrow as our phone lines are down at the moment and the mobile reception here is terrible), I should send them something in writing first, setting out my repayment proposals together with supporting documentation to prove affordability. I could mention that I have tried, and am trying to resolve this and if we cannot reach a reasonable agreement I will be applying to the court with a N244.

Many thanks for getting back to me. Do you mean have I submitted a N244 application to the court? No not yet as I thought I couldn't do this until I had a date for the eviction? I have already told Arrow that I have sought advice and if they insist on refusing any reasonable proposals I make I will be applying to the court and will be attaching copies of my previous correspondence to Arrow which clearly detail my complaint(s) and also my repayment proposals. There's no point in writing to Arrow again because they are refusing to do anything until I speak to them in person and go through an income and expenditure plus supply full bank statement and wage slips. I've never been asked to provide wage slips and bank statements? Essentially, what I want to do now is to try and set up an arrangement with Arrow before it's gets to an eviction date stage. I wanted to ask your advice on what to say and what not to say first though.

Many apologies. I have attached the document as a PDF. I am worried sick about this and have been unable to sleep these last few days. For this to happen just before Christmas is just devastating. I want to go back to Arrow with a proposal for repaying the loan plus arrears over the remaining term and need advice on the best possible course of action to prevent my home from being repossessed. I would be very grateful for your opinion and advice on the following: Arrow have said that they have been unable to formalise any arrangement on my account so are taking these steps because they needed to discuss my circumstances and affordability, have not been able to do this so have had to resort to enforcing the suspended repossession order. I have submitted the same repayment proposals on three separate occasions in recent months, supported by documentary evidence from my employers and an income and expenditure breakdown. I have also completed a direct debit mandate form and returned this to Arrow so I am confused as to why they are saying they need further information. Arrow contacted my mortgage providers to ask if I was in arrears, if payments were up-to-date, what the total amount outstanding was and how many years I had left. My mortgage providers refused to give them this information. I complained about this to Arrow they have not explained why they took this course of action. Surely this is not right? What is this Global Substitution Order dated 4th May 2017 (attached)? It says at the bottom that “if you object to the Order you must make an application to the court to have it set aside, varied or stayed within 7 days of receiving it” I did not receive this back in May and the first time I’ve seen this is when I received the N244 from Arrow’s solicitors. hat does this mean and should I have been sent a copy in May? What is this “expiry of 6 years in accordance with CPR Rule 83.2(3)” (see attached) and why in the evidence box are they stating “The reason for the delay in issuing the Warrant for Possessions is because the Claimant considers repossession as the last resort”? Surely this is just lip service as they have not shown any interest in acknowledging my repayment proposals and supporting documentation. Do I really have to provide them with my bank statements? I currently have just under 10 years left on my mortgage, payments are up-to-date and I have in the region of £200,000 equity in my property (based upon valuations provided early 2017). If the repossession were to take place, my home would be sold for far less than the current market value just to repay the Arrow loan which is currently £25,494. My ability to secure a mortgage would be seriously affected, if I could get one at all. I am a single parent and rely on the help and support of my neighbours and my daughter is at the local school. We would never be able to afford to buy another property in this area so the effects of losing our home would be devastating in so many ways. I wrote to them about this and they declined to answer when I spoke to the chap from Arrow on Thursday last week he said it was “within their rights”. It was not a smooth transition. I posted on here about how Arrow from the start were hassling me for the full arrears and how they sent a chap from Excel around to discuss my account then charged me for the visit and consultation even though I wasn’t in. There was no clarity on what my monthly repayments should be and I even received a blank direct debit mandate. Previously, with GE Money my monthly repayments were in total £237.60 which was £167.73 contractual plus £69.87 arrears payment. I have already provided Arrow with an income and expenditure sheet clearly showing I was proposing my payments to them could be increased to £260. Is there not some evidence of disproportionate action against me here? I disagree with the evidence set out in the N244 by Arrow’s solicitors in that they consider repossessing my home other than as a last resort and they most certainly have not explored all other possible options. Not responding to my proposals is surely evidence of this? docs1.pdf

I have attached the N244 application from Eversheds which details the order they are requesting and the evidence. There is no witness statement. Interestingly there is also a global substitution order dated 4th May 2017 ordering Arrow be substituted for GE Money in all civil proceedings which are set you in the attached schedule (there is no schedule attached). There is a statement at the bottom where if there any objections to the order an application must be made to set it aside within 7 days of receiving it. What does this mean? I never received the global substitution order until now along with the N244 or does it mean I have 7 days to request the warrant for eviction/suspended repossession be set aside?

Thanks Andy, that is a very interesting read. Do you have any advice given the contents of the article on how I should proceed now? I really want to try and sort this out with Arrow before I receive the eviction date. Should I go back to them with a proposal?

I have already told them I will be opposing their N244 application and they basically said "that's your choice". In the meantime, should I not do as they ask and try to set up an instalment plan to repay the debt plus arrears over the remaining term?

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. I am confused as to the wording "The Claimant wishes to enforce the order dated 23rd November 2009 in an attempt to keep costs to a minimum as opposed to issuing fresh proceedings, which will incur additional costs." and also "The reason for the delay in issuing the warrant of possession is because the claimant considers repossession as the last resort." What does this mean? I can defend their application via a form N244 in the first instance wanted to see if I could make an arrangement with Arrow before the court issues the eviction date (how lovely to receive this just before Christmas!!) Would it not prove to the court if it goes to a hearing if I submit a N244 that I am trying to resolve the issue with Arrow? Do I really have to provide them with wage slips and bank statements? I just have a gut feeling that they are paying lip service and will say "no" to any attempt I make.