Capstone/Acenden reposession date

[tifo]

if you are like me and you get the final decision and it isnt what you think it should be then ask questions even when they say your case is closed and that they willl not enter into any discussions regarding their decision because that is what it will say on your final decision letter. thats what it said on mine. but i still have questions and i want them answered.

 

But if the FOS will not discuss anything more following their final decision what else can we do?

 

I have many questions which are unanswered but if they will not enter into any more discussions then what?

[cher69cher69]

Hi Tifo

I empathise with you it is a nitemare its like banging your head against a brick wall.

I am asking the ombudsman if i do accept his decision can i still take them to court for what ever. i will let you know what he says because (And this is the hilarious bit !!) you are allowed to ask questions :noidea:as long as you are intending to accept the decision and the questions are not about the merits of your claim or how he came to the decision or the decision itself. they dont make things easy do they???? i wonder if that is intentional :???:all the best cher 69

[Bluestar_Galaxy]

sorry to reactivate such an old thread...but has anyone actually had any luck with this? im currently claiming against regency via goldsmith williams based on misadvice from goldsmith....no win no fee by prem law and ashton fox.......

[Crapstone]

The FOS is surely subject to Freedom of Information so ...are they being fair in their decisions? I won and and I can't see any difference in my case from any others. In fact I think it was worse as payments were deliberately stopped when they started charging excess fees and it wasn't through hardship. The mortgage was affordable but when they start losing documents and refuse to acknowledge the fact you are already insured or start taking more money than they should then you have to make a stand. If you except the Ombudsmans decision it's binding on both parties BUT only on the points covered and not future conduct.

[slgsue]

Thanks to the fantastic help of this forum a couple of years ago,

I am very very happy to report that as of today the 26 July 2012,

my arrears stand at £0.00!!!!!

 

My question is that I do have £505 worth of charges,

which were reduced substantially following a complaint with the FOS,

is this figure included in the SPO

or can I just reduce these over a period of time as my OH is facing redundancy any time in the next 12 months

and we would really like to put some money aside so when the inevitable happens,

so that we are financially ok until he finds another job

or do I have to continue paying the full additional amount until they are clear too?

 

Any help will be greatfully appreciated and I am quite literally at this moment putting my middle finger up to arsenden!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ell-enn]

Hi there slgsue - I remember your case - well done for clearing the arrears the charges should have been added to the outstanding mortgage amount - has the lender aqsked you to start paying them off?

[slgsue]

Hi Ell-en, thank you its such a huge weight off our shoulders!!!! On my online account it shows as other over due amounts and doesnt appear to have been added to the mortgage balance.

 

They have not said anything about paying these off and whilst I want a £0 balance on there, I could really use some of that extra money a month to clear my secured Welcome Finance loan, which I have just managed to come to an agreement with, that as of now no interest will be added to the account for the duration of the loan.

 

I dont know if I should just ask them or pay a little extra each month maybe £50 instead of the £100 I was paying, what do you think?

[Ell-enn]

To be honest, I think I'd wait and see if they contact you about it - just account for a little extra each month (£10 or so) in case you need to offer them something towards the charges, but they'd have a hard job taking you to court over them. Concentrate on getting your secured loan arrears sorted - you've done a great job with clearing your mortgage arrears - imagine how it will feel when you've cleared the WF arrears too

[slgsue]

How do I get one removed??? Thanks to the excellant and priceless advice I received from the posters on this forum 2 years ago, particularly Ell, I am now arrears free and have been since August 2012, so I want to get that order off my property, but have no idea how to go about this.

 

Could someone please advise as I know a lot of people might want to know and I shall be sharing with a few friends.

 

thanks again

[cerberusalert]

Ashton Fox are in administration & the claims have been taken over by AVH Legal http://www.avhlegal.co.uk/ & the test case is being heard next month on the 20th May.

[slgsue]

I am writing for some advice on behalf of my mother. She has been struggling to reduce her mortgage arrears down to a level where Acenden would make an arrangement.

 

Her arrears were initially at the beginning of August around £5,300 and now stand at £3500 approx. Her mortgage payment per month is £863. When she first started talking to them they advised her that she would have to pay £2200 plus her monthly payment in order for them to consider an arrangement.

 

Now she has paid her monthly instalment plus around £1800 and she called them to see if they would come to an agreement and they have now decided to up the ante and tell her that she needs to pay a further £1500 plus the monthly instalment before they will consider and that they have issued court proceedings.

 

My dad is retired and my mum has been working extra shifts and nearly killing herself to get the extra money. There mortgage only has another 7 years to run but should be paid off when my mum claims her NHS pension in 3-5 years.

 

Acenden are being completely unhelpful and really starting to get to her and make her ill. Any advice would be very gratefully received as to what she should do please as she is now panicking about the court papers dropping through her door.

[unclebulgaria67]

Have they actually issued a court claim or were they just trying to frighten her to see what money she could find ? I think i would wait to see if anything is received and come back for advice.

 

Have there been any previous court proceedings regarding this mortgage arrears ?

 

I can't see a court being helpful to Acenden, if your parents are making a real effort to cover the mortage payments including arrears. From what i understand, mortgage companies have to comply with certain industry standards when dealing with arrears. If you search on CAG, you will find threads where Acenden are not always successful with their aggressive manner.

[slgsue]

Thanks for your reply, they have advised her that their solicitors have now issued court proceedings and that the paperwork should be with them within the next few days, this is the first time she has been told this and has asked on many occasions.

 

As far as I am aware there have never been any court proceedings issued at least I know she has never been to court for anything ever! I have told her that she should continue to make payments towards the arrears as well as maintain current payments, but not to kill herself doing so, she has gone from 37.5 hour weeks to 62 hour weeks and at 62 its making her ill.

 

One thing she is really worried about is when the hearing will take place as she has to go away for a wedding which was paid for a year ago and is worried it will be when she is away. How long do courts usually give between issuing proceedings and actually having a court date (hope that makes sense).

 

I am hoping its at least 3 weeks that gives us time for her to get back from this wedding she is dreading and to make her next payment that's due, plus more off the arrears. I don't like to be too hopeful but feel that she would be in safer hands going to court than leaving her fate to Acenden!

[unclebulgaria67]

If a court claim is received, it could be a couple of months before any hearing. But she would need to acknowledge the claim within about 2 weeks and then has another 2 weeks to respond. So it is important that she looks at the court papers and deals with them before she goes away. Or if they don't arrive before she goes away, that someone is checking her post and is able to contact her. The acknowkedgement and defence can be done online.

 

Start researching about mortgage arrears cases and compiling information. The advice to continue making mortgage payments and trying to pay as much arrears as possible is sensible,

 

It might also be worth looking into the way the mortgage account has been handled e.g charges added to account, to see if there is reason for a complaint.

[dx100uk]

i'd be sending them an sar today by recorded post

get all the statements from day one

 

as I suspect 99% of these arrears will letter/arrears/debt management/phone/it will rain tomorrow fees

 

all these are unlawful and can be reclaimed at their int rate too.

 

ideally too she should NOT be talking to them on the phone..writing ONLY else there is no papertrail

and they could claim she agreed to lots of things and folded on lots of threats they will never put in writing.

 

is this her only mortgage/loan secured against the property or is this a 2nd charge?

 

also watch out

there was a thread in another forum on an site

whereby

Acenden capstone spml pml lmc sppl or whatever their name has change too over all the years

were found to have charged customers £1500 when they simply changed trading name!!

 

dx

[Rocco17]

It sounds like appalling behaviour by the lender. The good news is though that it is very unlikely that your parents will lose their home. The arrears of £3500 are not huge, your parents do have a regular income and it seems they have gone to real effort to deal with them and are continuing to do so.

 

The lender should not be refusing to enter into any kind of discussion on an arrangement. They are supposed to consider any reasonable proposal, not demand big lump sum payments at levels that suit them.

 

what your parents should do if they haven't already is fill in and income and expenditure form to work out what they can realistically afford to pay on top of their contracted monthly payment each month and submit that as a proposal to the lender. The lender HAS to at least consider it and if they turn it down they need to say why.

 

The very minimum is for arrears to be paid back over the remaining length of the mortgage, but should ideally be less than that if it is affordable, and if the income and expenditure form backs up the proposal then even if the lender rejects it, the chances are that a judge will not.

 

In terms of the fees and charges, it is an idea to work out what the actual level of arrears are (as in the actual missed payments). The lender will be reluctant to give this information because they know that they are on dodgy ground, but ask them anyway and you might also be able to work these out for yourselves by looking at bank statements etc.

fees and charges should be added to the mortgage balance and not the arrears balance.

 

There are letter templates and income and expenditure forms on this forum so it's worth having a look through the threads.

[Ell-enn]

Hi, Acenden are a pain ! I suggest your mum writes them a letter stating what she can afford to pay towards the arrears (nowhere near what they want!) - if you need help with a letter please let me know.

 

There is no way your mum should be working oer 60 hours a week just to meet Acenden's ridiculous demands.

 

It's always helpful to complete a budget sheet so she knows exactly what her true financial situation is - have a read of my guide to repossession here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?325527-CAG-guide-Are-you-facing-eviction-or-repossession in the second post of that thread there is a budget sheet which you can download - it calculates automatically as you fill it in.

 

Is the mortgage just in your mum's name?

[CosmosBipinnatus]

Acenden are drinking in the Last Chance Saloon. Is the mortgage a SPML-originated mortgage? Do your parents have more than 70% equity in their home?

 

The experience of many, many others over years indicates that Acenden are starting court proceedings only to prevent your mother making a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

But it is your mother's right to be able to use the Service.

 

 

She can make a complaint straightaway

- don't wait for the court papers because Acenden will argue that the FOS can't entertain a complaint once the proceedings are started

- and put in the complaint what you have said here, with a bit more information and in chronological order.

 

http://financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumer/complaints.htm

 

[email protected]

 

i'd be sending them an sar today by recorded post

get all the statements from day one

 

as I suspect 99% of these arrears will letter/arrears/debt management/phone/it will rain tomorrow fees

 

all these are unlawful and can be reclaimed at their int rate too.

 

ideally too she should NOT be talking to them on the phone..writing ONLY else there is no papertrail

and they could claim she agreed to lots of things and folded on lots of threats they will never put in writing.

 

I second this.

Also, take screen captures every day of your mother's account on the Acenden web site.

 

 

If they are not already double-charging arrears management fees they are likely to start doing so now.

 

 

It would be incredibly difficult to pin-point and challenge these later if you didn't know when they had happened.

 

If a court claim is received, it could be a couple of months before any hearing. .

 

Don't bank on this. I know of an instance only last December in which Acenden started the claim in mid December AND got a suspended possession Order two weeks later on the day before Christmas Eve, ie even before the borrower could acknowledge the claim, and the hearing was vacated. There are too many solicitors and deputy district judges who have forgotten or don't care that their first duty is to the court and the administration of justice. The FOS did agree to entertain that borrower's complaint, though, because Acenden had tried to prevent the borrower from using the Financial Ombudsman Service.

 

It sounds like appalling behaviour by the lender. The good news is though that it is very unlikely that your parents will lose their home. .

 

If your parents own more than 70% equity in their home, Acenden will leave no stone unturned, no law unbroken, to try to possess it. Please treat this as a real emergency.

 

I don't like to be too hopeful but feel that she would be in safer hands going to court than leaving her fate to Acenden!

 

Unfortunately, that is no longer true of the County Court. Your mother would be in safer hands by getting her complaint in to the Financial Ombudsman Service, on Monday if possible.

 

I can't see a court being helpful to Acenden, if your parents are making a real effort to cover the mortage payments including arrears. From what i understand, mortgage companies have to comply with certain industry standards when dealing with arrears.

 

Please don't count on the court not being extremely helpful to Acenden. As for the industry standards, Acenden routinely ignores them.

 

Acenden are being completely unhelpful and really starting to get to her and make her ill.

 

Absolutely par for the course, with Acenden. They have got this down to a fine art, making borrowers feel that there is no escape but to surrender their property to Acenden.

 

I really hope that your mother can get her complaint in to the FOS first thing on Monday.

[mercyblue]

To add to the above post from CosmosBipinnatus which I completely agree with.

 

Acenden do not want to help you quite the opposite they will be going all out to repossess it is their disgusting business practice.

 

 

They will know the possible equity in the house and of course they know the length of the mortgage has left

-they do not want this mortgage redeemed.

 

 

They want to generate enough arrears to get all that juicy equity out of the house that your mother has spent years paying for.

 

How much are actual arrears as opposed to fees?

 

 

This SHOULD be easy to find out as Acenden are required to sent at least quarterly statements showing such I bet they haven't.

The requirement is in the MCOB handbook specifically

 

"13.5.1 Where an account is in arrears, and the payment shortfall or sale shortfall is

attracting charges, a firm must provide the customer with a regular written

statement (at least once a quarter) of the payments due, the actual payment

shortfall, the charges incurred and the debt.

(1) For the purpose of n MCOB 13.5.1 R, charges that trigger the

requirement for regular statements include all charges and fees levied

directly as a result of the account falling into arrears. This includes

charges such as monthly administrative charges, legal fees and

interest. If interest is applied to the amount of the arrears, as it is

applied to the rest of the mortgage, a firm need not send a written

statement, unless other charges are also being made. If interest is

applied to the amount of the arrears in a different manner to the rest

of the mortgage then a written statement will be required."

 

The entire rulebook is here https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/MCOB.pdf Chapter 13 is what you want to be looking at.

13.5 is also worth looking at as it covers undue pressure on customers.

 

 

Acenden want to go to court

don't believe for one second that repossession here is the last resort it is the first resort.

One it increases the pressure on the customer (in the hope they just give up) but more importantly they can add all their legal costs onto the customer.

 

 

They will actually want an ongoing court case so the costs rapidly increase and become untenable for the customer it is all part of the business model.

 

Now there is a way to stop this hopefully.

Acenden must follow the pre-action protocol if they don't the court should be able to disallow Acenden all their costs including legal ones.

 

https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/protocol/prot_mha

 

Cosmos idea of a complaint to the FOS is a good idea that could help stop proceedings.

I would suggest making a proposal asap to Acenden they have to consider it.

Even if they say it's too late we've started action blah blah we would still be able to show their action was unnecessary

[CosmosBipinnatus]

I endorse everything mercyblue has said. Acenden have decided they want your mother's house. The experience of others indicates that they intend to double- and triple-dip in the profit of the proceeds of the sale. Eg if the profit is £47,000, Acenden may keep £43,000 (actual reported instance on this forum). It does not cost £43,000 to sell a house.

 

If my experience is typical, Acenden will lie on every single document submitted to the court, even though doing this is contempt of court. They will even lie, on an official court form, about how they responded to your mother's payment proposals.

 

Please make a complaint to the FOS immediately. I can't say more about my experience yet. But Acenden would have been stopped years ago, if they had not got at least two other action web forums taken down.

[slgsue]

I have been so busy trying to help my parents that I forgot my own mortgage.

 

 

I am currently in arrears by £1095.

I will be making a payment of £700 tomorrow bringing arrears to under 1 month.

 

Today I have received a notice of change of legal representation from the courts with a case number.

Am I being taken to court for repossession.

This is all I have received and I am worried.

 

On 1st October my arrears will be £795 and I can pay this off on 15th

so I know I can sort this out in the next 4 weeks.

 

 

I have not called them but am panicking that they have got a court date that I don't know about and I could lose my home as I will not know when to attend.

 

Any advice greatly appreciated. My monthly payment is £401 and interest only.

[Ell-enn]

Hi, has this already been to court and you have a suspended possession ?

[slgsue]

Sorry I have been inundated with getting the kids back to school but will be talking to my mum on Saturday so will start the fossil complaint.

I now have my own issues with them so any help on my other thread as well would be great

[slgsue]

Hi, has this already been to court and you have a suspended possession ?

 

From 6 or 7 years ago yes.

[CosmosBipinnatus]

Today I have received a notice of change of legal representation from the courts with a case number. Am I being taken to court for repossession. This is all I have received and I am worried.

 

Under the Civil Procedure Rules, if a party to a court case change their legal representation, they have to notify all the other parties. That is probably all it is. Who is the new legal representative?

 

 

On 1st October my arrears will be £795 and I can pay this off on 15th so I know I can sort this out in the next 4 weeks. I have not called them but am panicking that they have got a court date that I don't know about and I could lose my home as I will not know when to attend.

Any advice greatly appreciated. My monthly payment is £401 and interest only.

 

If there were a court date, you would have been sent a Notice about it several weeks in advance.