Mortgage arrears- Kensington. Nervous wreck.

[sillygirl1]

Despite what Kensington say it "isn;t down to the judge on the day of hearing". It is down to them - they can stop the hearing at any point but don't. Mention this in your defence that you have been trying to negotiate and that Kensington keep saying it has to go to court.

 

You don't mention that you have children, if you have children things are different in the courts eyes....

[sillygirl1]

That is a good point ot put on the forms, that your child will have their education badly interrupted at a difficult age - and that any eviction should be stayed until they finish full time education.

 

You can also ask to have the arrears 'Norgan'ed, ie the payments made smaller over the life of the mortgage and request that any fees be frozen at that point too - ie late payment fees, non payment by dd fees etc.

[sillygirl1]

I'm in rented property now and enjoying not having to spend every penny I earn on mortgage payments and rent, I've got a social life starting up again around things I enjoy and can afford the odd weekend away without any worries.

 

Hopefully the judge will see sense with the mortgage company, so many of them are pulling the plug now and will be out of business completely in the next year or so if the market doesn't improve. It should help the housing market as people won't be able to get big mortgages any more and then house prices won't go through the roof.

[sillygirl1]

They are NOT ALLOWED to charge for debt counsellors, its in the OFT guidelines. All the debt counsellors do is come and see if you are 'living outside your means, ie you have flash tvs and cars' and they are NOT there to help you in the least.

 

If this does go to court Kensington will have very little to go on as you are about 1 month in arrears with a clear payment plan in place. If it does go to court ask the judge to tell them to freeze all their charges on the account - that should help shut them up a bit.

[sillygirl1]

DONT up your offer, leave yourself some room just in case interest rates rise (there is that possibility). They are playing a dangerous game and want to push you over the edge - keep your offer as it is and you should be okay - increase it higher and you will be left with nowt....

[sillygirl1]

They are desperate at the moment to get as many cases into court as they can, it gives them some 'legroom' as their lending source has dried up. If they think they can take somebody's house and sell it quickly they will.... sadly it's very much a sign of the times now.

 

Make sure ANY correspondence from them is shown to the court, DO NOT talk to them on the phone 'as it's gone to court now' - use their tactics against them.

 

Also don't forget as son as the arrears are paid off you need to get a Notice of Disassociation to stop them going to court quickly again. It puts them back at square one with the paper trail and gives you an advantage that as you've paid off the arrears once, you can do it again in a short timescale....

[sillygirl1]

Charging for a counsellor to visit is very much against the OFT rules, you should mention this on the forms....

 

A lot of the charges are outrageous, surely they must see that if you can't pay the full mortgage payment charging up to £125 per month in some cases only puts the debt further out of reach....

[sillygirl1]

I agree with Tawnyowls description at no 10 in their post - I was in court and the solicitors (very young girls really, early 20s at most) were discussing 'their greatest successes' very loudly. The receptionist however took them to one side and said 'Don't breach confidentiality in that way - we have breakout rooms for you to carry on your discussion. Don't intimidate the waiting defendants.'

 

Incidentally the solicitor for GMAC was one of them and did she annoy the Judge or what - I said I had tried to come to an agreement but was told it had to go to court for the Judge to decide - he went ballistic and tore her off a strip and asked that the clients be written to to stop them 'abusing the court process'. She didn't talk to me when we left the court and sulked off with her mates.

[sillygirl1]

There is a certain sub prime company based near me who has made 300 people redundant with no chance of anyone finding decent jobs in their own sector. Won't mention the name on here but it is a UK based one. I foretold this at the beginning of the year.

 

Good luck Tawnyowl, once all the pressure is off you won't believe how well you feel - I've been through it and now nearly two years down the line they have sent two letters, both told 'come up with breakdown of shortfall' and gone away. They can send annual letters and they will be ignored. Biggest worry now is they might try to get their grubby mits on any pension lump sum I might have due to me.

 

Keep your chin up against these twats, at least they aren't taking on additional business at the moment either - it seems everyone in that sub prime market has stopped taking in customers and are hastening to dump their existing ones to show "Not us, Gordon Brown, some other company perhaps....."

[sillygirl1]

Err. has anyone told Kensington that the OFT do not like companies who charge for a 'debt advisor visit' - they are basically going to send somebody round who will lie on the income and expenditure form and see whether you are 'living beyond your means' to get their commission as high as possible. I had one from GMAC who told them I had a car and spent £400 a month on it - I complained when I found out but they said 'Sorry its his word against yours' but eventually gave in when I could prove due to two medical conditions I am unfit to drive.

 

Pass their letter onto the OFT and let them get investigated for it.... cost them £400 in return.....

[sillygirl1]

Sounds a bit like my niece's experience, Carmella arrived at 22 weeks but was okay - she's not been well lately but I reckon its the drugs they pumped into her when she was in the womb coming out. Luckily she is a fighter and seems to be rallying round.

[sillygirl1]

Tawnyowl, I know how you feel, I was briefly with Kensington and they came after me after 1 days missed payment, they really are going downhill rapidly now, expect to see an announcement in the press that they are out of business, to my knowledge they haven't taken on any new business since about February this year... good riddance to them I say.

 

Hopefully like Tilly (and myself) you will be able to build a new life without the strain and hassle these companies inflict - if they had seriously thought about it making people who can't afford it pay MORE in interest is a bad idea, why not do a 50/50 deal with them and that way everyone benefits, but of course it is too simple for them to work out.

 

This credit crunch is far worse (IMHO) than the press reports, more people are being stung and more companies going under than is reported.

 

What you could do is leave some dog poo in a strategic place, to catch the bailiffs when they do come, or a bucket of stagnant water left in front of the door.....