beneificial bank repossession and dispute help required

[nick1965]

I have a second mortgage with Benificial Finance which has fallen into arrears due to my personal situation and on going divorse.

I have now recieved from the courts a date for a court hearing (11th april) when they are going for repossession of the house.

 

Before this was issue I was already in dispute with them as I had tried to claim under the payment protection insurance due to an accident I had putting me off work. They are denying any knowledge of such a policy being on the account despite having sent them a letter stating that one had been set-up. This has been exculated to a formal complaint which they recieved on the 6th February. To date other than an acknolegement no further reponse has been recieved. When I spoke to the lady dealing with the compliant, she admitted to me on the phone that she had not even yet recieved the letter and proof I had sent in despite many requests for it to be forwarded to her internally. She is not happy about this and stated that she is about to start an internal 'issue / complaint' to resolve this.

 

When I started to get into arrears with them I tried speaking to them to set up an arrangement to cope with the arrears. Every time I done this on the phone and got an agreement, I would recieve a phone call 1 hour latter telling me that the person I had just spoken to had no right to set up the agreement, etc and that I would have to set one up with them for a much larger ammount.

All this sent me into a deep depression at which point I became to affraid to answer the telephone. I therefore asked them to correspond to me in writing only. They did not do this but would phone me up 3 - 4 times a day, any time of the day, every day.

On the repossesion court order they have stated that no contact had ever been made with them to try and resolve the arrears, despite also having spoken to the solicitors as well when I recieved their letter.

 

What I would like form this forum is advice on the letter to write to Benificial to get them to disclose all contact made between them and me, recordings of telephone conversatiosn, all details to do with the loan and any other information necessary to form a defence for going to court with.

 

Many Thanks

Nick

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, try not to worry too much, you will get plenty of help and support on this site.

 

I am going to ask one of the other mods to have a look at your thread - I think he has a letter which is what you need to send to Beneficial.

 

Be back soon.

 

Kind Regards

 

Ell-enn

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, I have found the letter - you need to send it by recorded delivery to ensure they can't say they didn't receive it. Wait a few days after posting the letter and check on the Royal Mail website that it has been signed for, print off the receipt and keep with a copy of the letter.

 

What date do you have to return your defence documents to the court?

 

Send them this:

 

 

In the XXXX County Court

Claimant -v- (YOUR NAME)

Claim Number: (CLAIM NUMBER)

 

 

Dear XXX

 

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

 

I have received a recent court claim from your organisation. In order to file a defence and counter claim I require some information. Given that this matter is now the subject of legal proceedings, you are obliged to disclose under the Civil Procedure Rules, the information and documents detailed below.

 

The information must be furnished within fourteen days of the receipt of this letter. If you fail to comply, this will be reported to the Court, a copy of this letter will be provided as evidence to the same and an Order enforcing your compliance will be sought.

 

1. A true copy of the executed credit agreement and any terms and conditions that applied to the account at the time of default and at the time the account was opened.

2. All records you hold on me relevant to this case, including but not limited to:

 

a. Transcriptions of all telephone conversations recorded and any notes made in relation to telephone conversations by your company, or by any previous creditor

b. Where there has been any event in my account history over this period which has required manual intervention by any 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 account formerly held with ORIGINAL CREDITOR.

c. True copies of any notice of assignment and/or default notice or enforcement notice that you or the original creditor sent me, with a copy of any proof of postage that you hold.

d.Documents relating to any insurance added to the account, including the insurance contract and terms and conditions, date it was added and deleted (if applicable).

e. Details of any collection charge added to the account; specifically, the date it was levied, the amount of the charge, a detailed financial breakdown of how the charge was calculated, and what the charge covers.

f. Specific details of the fees/charges levied by any other agency in respect of this account and a detailed breakdown of said fees/charges and what each charge relates to and on what date said fees/charges were levied.

g. A genuine copy of any notice of fair use of my data as required by the Data Protection Act 1998

h. A list of third party agencies to whom you have disclosed my personal data and a summary of the nature of the information you have disclosed.

i. Copies of statements for the entire duration of the credit agreement.

 

3. Any other documents you seek to rely on in court.

 

 

I will require this information within the next fourteen days. I must advise you that if the information is not forthcoming, it will be reported to the Court that you are trying to frustrate proceedings and denying me the opportunity to file a defence and counter claim.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

XXXX (type, don't sign).

 

 

Just copy and paste the above into your letter.

 

Hope this is helpful. Please let us know if you need any more help.

Kind Regards

 

Ell-enn

[nick1965]

Dear Ell-enn,

 

This is exactly what I was looking for. I shall make sure this goes in the post 1st class recorded tomorrow.

I shall address it to the lady that is already dealing with my complaint re Payment protection Insurance to hopefully add speed to resolve that matter as well. Also she seems the only one there with a bit of sense which will hopefully add weight to my trying to resolve this matter.

 

The court has informed me that the defence has to be in 14 days from the 23rd February 2008, i.e. 7th March 2008. The hearing is at my local court.

 

I will keep the site and you posted on any further delevopments

 

Many Thanks

Nick

[Ell-enn]

OK, if you don't get all the info back from them before you have to send in your defence, you can submit a holding defence stating you are awaiting their reply, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

 

Kind Regards

 

Ell-enn

[tonycee]

I shall make sure this goes in the post 1st class recorded tomorrow.

 

Use Royal Mail Special Delivery.

 

It costs about £4.17p but you can track it including signature.

 

Worth the extra £3 at this stage.?

 

.

.

Oh, and Ell-enn, i havent crossed a bride for years. :p (couldnt resist)

[Ell-enn]

Oh, and Ell-enn, i havent crossed a bride for years. :p (couldnt resist)

 

:D:D ooops... tired fingers tonight Tony

 

Ell-enn

[nick1965]

Dear Ell-enn,

URGENT HELP REQUIRED.

 

No surprise. No response from Benificial Finance to the letter 'Request for information. Not even an acknowledgement letter. Also still no response to the ongoing dispute re the insurance claim.

The defence is due in tomorrow Friday as the courts are closed on saturday which is when the 14 days are up.

I am trying to fill in the form but do not see where to put in that they have not supplied the information requested.

Also how to submit a holding defence due to Benificial Finance not supplying the requested information. Is this different to the defence form I have to submit tomorrow, Friday on form 'N11M Defence form (mortgaged residential premises) (04.06).

 

Any other advise would alos be gratefully recieved.

 

Many Thanks

Nick

[Ell-enn]

Hi Nick, you would put all the details you want the court to consider in Q27 (last part of the form).

 

If you have already completed and taken the form to court, don't worry I can help you write a statement to take with you on the day of the hearing - sometimes it works better that way as the judge gets to read the full story at that time.

 

Kind Regards

 

Ell-enn

[nick1965]

Hi

Thanks for the reply.

I am just finishing off the defence form now totake to the courts before 4pm.

Do i need to state in it that Benificial finace have not supplied the information requested for my defence or is this in a seperate form / letter for a holding defence.

Thanks

Nick

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, in part 27 you should start with the sentence "We respectfuly ask the court to consider the following:"

 

Then list:

 

• Reason for arrears
  
• Recent payments made
  
• PPI issue
  
• If you have any children living at home state their ages and the need for remaining in your home to ensure stability for them.
  
• Refer to the letter you sent Beneficial to which you have had no reply and affix a copy - with the words "please see affixed letter Appendix 1 and receipt for delivery Appendix 2" Also affix a copy of the Royal Mail confirmation of delivery and call it Appendix 2 (on the copies you affix write the claim number in the top left hand corner and Appendix 1 or 2 on the top right hand corner.)

You should then end with "We respectfully ask the court to suspend repossession"

 

Let me know if there's anything else you need.

 

Kind Regards

 

Ell-enn

[nick1965]

many thanks for this information.

Now just off to the court to file my defence.

[patrickq1]

good luck nick your in good hands

[Bona]

Keep the faith we are all here for you cant add anything to Ell-en just we are all here behind you

[nick1965]

Have just recieved today a letter from Benificial Finance.

Despite this being the first level of complaint re the payment protection insurance, they have issued a full and final letter. They basically state that no insurance was taken out. Further that the paragraph of the letter re the insurance was a regrettable error. That the letter was just their standard letter.

The person the states that this brings to an end their internal complaint procedure and if i am not satisfied I should refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Their complaints procedure letter states that their are several levels to go through but this has not happened instead they have immediately issued a full and final letter.

More interesting they seem to have answered the 'Request for Information' in the same letter with just one line at the end of a paragraph as follows:

'Having given careful consideration to all of the information available I am unable to uphold your complaint. I realise that this will come as a disappointment to you and I have summarised below the basis on which I have reached this decision. I do not feel it is pertinent to detail all communication between yourself and HFC Bank.'

Later in the letter the person refers to the court case.

I have also recieved a copy of the signed application ( which seems to have a change in account number right at the beginning to the account number I now have).

Also a copy of the legal agreement and a copy of the default notice.

 

How do I go about getting the rest of the information I requested and as was detailed in the 'Request for information' letter from Beneficial Finance. Do I need to inform the court before the hearing on April 11th that they have not complied with my request for information.

Any help and advise gratefully recieved.

P.S. Ell-enn I did not put the statement "We respectfully ask the court to suspend repossession" as I missed this on your reply which I recieved just as I was finishing my defence to take to the court - sorry.

[Ell-enn]

Not to worry Nick, we would put it in the statement for you to take to court on the day anyway. Let me know as soon as you have a date for the hearing and we'll get to work on the statement.

 

Kind Regards

 

Ell-enn

[nick1965]

Ell-enn

 

The hearing date is Friday 11th April 2008.

 

Is there anything I need to do before the hearing date re Beneficial Finance not supplying the full requested information needed for my defence.

Thanks

Nick

[Ell-enn]

Sorry Nick, I forgot the date of the hearing was in your first post (doh).

 

If they have not provided you with the information you have asked for in order to complete a satisfactory defence, the judge will not be impressed with them.

 

If you put on your defence form that you have asked for this information they will get to see it and if they have any sense they will provide the info before the hearing.

 

Nearer the time, we can write the statement for you to take with you.

 

Kind Regards

 

 

Ell-enn

[nick1965]

I have now recieved a reply back from Beneficial Finance via their solicitors 'Lightfoots' re the Subject Access Request.

However I am not sure as to how to respond to it, as it did not provide any of the information but just how to request the information.

 

The letter stated the following:

'We write further to recent correspondence in this matter and your information relating to the above loan account.

We are instructed that you should write to the following address to request a Subject Access Request Form in order that your request can ve processed by our client:

Address given

We are instructed that you will need to complete the form and send it to Beneficial Finance with your passpost and fee of £10.00.

We await your signed request with respect to information held by Lightfoots Solicitors.

We have been advised by the court that you have attempted to file a defence online at www.possessionclaim.gov.uk/pcol but that the defence form has not been attached. Please could you therefore serve a copy of your defence on this firm in advance of the hearing on 11 April 2008.'

 

This letter brings up several questions. I sent the unsigned subject access letter to the address they stated on the 26th February 2008 with no fee attached. This gave them 14 days to respond which they failed to do in full.

How should I respond this letter to request a form to get the information and supply them with a £10 fee and my passport. Surely they cannot demand my passport from me.

In respect to my defence I did look on the website stated for more information but the defence was physically handed into the court by myself. The court office informed me that I did not have to send a copy of the defence myself to Beneficial Finance or their Solicitors as the court would do this.

Therefore do I now need to forward a copy of the defence to beneficial Finance solicitors or not.

 

Sorry for the length of this post.

Nick

[Ell-enn]

Hi Nick, I will ask one of the mods who knows about court practice and SAR's to have a look at this. Hold on for more info...........

 

Kind Regards

 

Ell-enn

[nick1965]

Hi Ell-enn,

Have we had any reply back yet from one of the mods.

Thanks

Nick

[Ell-enn]

Hi there Nick, sorry for delay - due to the Easter break we've not all been around on the site much over the last few days. However, there is no reason why you shouldn't send a SAR request with a postal order (not cheque) for £10.00, but you most definately do not need to send your passport!! If they are looking for proof of identity you could photocopy a page from your passport and send that, sign the letter in pen but just alter it slightly from your usual signature.

 

Regarding the filing of your defence. Ring the court and get them to confirm that your full defence has been lodged. Tell them that you have received notification from Lightfoots advising that they have not received some of the defence. There is no reason not to send them a copy of your defence, but perhaps you could post it on here first (or by PM if you like) - just so we can see what you are letting them have.

 

We will work on your statement to take to court on the day nearer the time, as you may have more information by then.

 

Please let me know if we can help in any other way.

 

Kind Regards

 

Ell-enn

[nick1965]

Dear Ell-enn,

I will check with the court tomorrow to see if they did forward a copy of the defence to Benificial Finance. If not I will do so.

I will also resend the subject access request with a £10 postal order and photocopy of passport to them.

Below is a copy of the defence information point 27 filed with the court.

 

"

IN THE ******** CLAIM NO: **********

BETWEEN

Hfc bank Ltd T/a Beneficial Finance

Claimant

And

*********

Defendant

Defence Information re point 27 of the defence form

 

I respectfully ask the court to consider the following:

On the 26th August 2006 my then wife, *********, walked out on me following our holiday, taking my daughter with her. There had been no indication that this was about to happen. I then received a divorce petition on the 26th September 2006. All this hit me very hard. From then until now the divorce proceedings and relationship with my ex-wife, *******, have been very strained and drawn out.

Attempts by myself to settle the divorce financially have been meet with complete refusals and unreasonable behaviour. The next court hearing to sort out the financial side of the divorce is on the 27th March 2008 at *******.

All this sent the none essential finances into problems being paid, as before we were only just scraping by.

Then in mid 2007, the payments to the CSA started for a large amount of my take home salary. I tried to speak to Beneficial Finance about this situation but they did not want to listen.

I then started to get into arrears on the account. I tried to speak to Beneficial Finance a few times. Each time I thought an agreement had been set up only to receive a phone call one hour later to tell me that the previous person had no authority to set up the agreement and that I had to pay them the full amount owed immediately.

Beneficial Finance from this point onwards would be phoning me up 3 – 4 times per day, including at work. This put me into a deep depression along with the divorce taking so long. I asked them by phone not to contact me by phone because of the effect it was having on my health but to put everything in writing. They completely ignored this request and kept up the level of phone calls until the end of January 2008 approximately. Due to my depression, I became afraid to answer the phone knowing they way they were going to treat / bully me into paying only the full amount owed. Not listening to anything I said, taking into account my situation or taking any payment unless it was for the full amount. I had tried previously t pay them what I could but it was constantly refused.

I then had an accident which put me in hospital for 3 weeks (20/12/07 – 21/1/08) with a fracture of my femour. Upon coming out of hospital, housebound and on crutches, I phoned them to try to resolve the matter of the arrears. In addition, to activate the payment protection policy that was taken out with the loan. Beneficial Finance denied such a policy existed despite my having a letter from them, dated 5th December 2003, clearly stating the policy had been set-up. I then wrote them a letter of complaint dated 30th January 2008 asking that the policy be honoured. To date I have only received a letter of acknowledgement on this complaint.

Further to this I received, a letter from Beneficial Finance dated 31st January 2008, stating that I had 30 days in which to pay the arrears. I was already speaking to Beneficial Finance about this and re my letter dated 30th December 2008.

Next, I received a letter from their solicitors, Lightfoots dated 4th February 2008. I immediately rang Lightfoots and explained the situation. At the end of the conversation, I was left with the impression that the case had been put on hold whilst the policy situation, etc was being clarified.

I then received another letter on the 19th February 2008 from Lightfoots dated 5th February 2008. I tried to seek advice as to what to do only to receive the court papers on the 23rd February 2008.

Following further advise I then sent Beneficial Finance a ‘request for information’ to help with my defence. To date no reply or acknowledgement of the letter has been received. The letter was sent by first class recorded delivery.

I therefore also ask the courts permission to amend my defence on receipt of such information as requested.

In summary, I feel the following

1) That beneficial Finance has acted unreasonably in the handling of the arrears and any attempt to sort it out.

2) They have committed harassment by the sustained levels of telephone calls to me despite requests not to do so. The level of calls has now dropped to complete silence since my complaint and the start of the court action.

3) That the loan may have been miss-sold to us. By that, I mean what was included in the loan, i.e. the payment protection policy. Also the way it was handled to repay one of their loans

4) It is my intention, subject to the divorce outcome, to either

A) Sell the house and go into rented accommodation to lower my outgoings.

B) Refinance the house again to lower by outgoings.

C) To rent out part of the house to improve my income.

None of the following has been able to be done to date due to the complete in-cooperation of my ex-wife, ******* and her solicitors.

I have attached a number of documents as referred to in this defence along with a schedule of documents.

Dated: 7h March.

Signed:_____________________________

**********."

 

Then also enclosed with the defence was the following documents listed below:

No.

Document

1.

***** Divorce Chronology

2.

Divorse financial hearing date letter re 27th March 2008

3.

*******hospital stay and sickness certificates.

4.

Beneficial Finance letter dated 5th December 2003.

5.

********letter of complaint to Beneficial Finance re payment protection policy dated 30th January 2008.

6.

Beneficial Finance letter dated 31st January 2008.

7.

Lightfoots Solicitors letter dated 4th February 2008.

8.

Lightfoots Solicitors letter dated 5th February 2008.

9.

********letter to Benificial Finance re ‘Request for Information’ for supporting defence dated 26th February 2008.

10.

Proof of delivery of the letter re request for information/

11.

******payslip for February 2008.

 

I have blanked out names with ****.

Many Thanks

Nick

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, well you've certainly given them plenty to consider. Once you have checked with the court regarding the filing of your defence, post on here and let us know what they have said.

 

As I said earlier, we can wait until nearer the time of the hearing to see if you have any further information to put into your statement for court.

 

Please keep us updated on how things progress.

 

Kind Regards

 

Ell-enn

[nick1965]

When I go to the court tomorrow to check the filing of the defence. Should I ask for the court hearing to be delayed until another date as beneficial finance have not provided me with the information requested?

Thanks

Nick