Repayment on repossession

[graisbeck]

Hi,

 

Back in the early 90's my ex-wife and I had our home repossessed as I had previously lost my job. We did speak to the lender at the time but to no avail and the repossession went ahead.

 

In 2007 a solicitor/collection agency contacted me asking me to complete a incoming/outgoings form and to make an offer of repayment on a monthly basis. I agreed to this and have continued to pay £40 a month. They have now sent me another incoming/outgoings form and are expecting me to offer a substanial increase in my monthly payments.

 

Are there any laws, guidelines etc which would protect me from this agency demanding an unreasonable amount of money for repayment of the repossession.

 

Thanks for any assistance in this matter.

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, was the house repossessed before 1995? If so, then when the solicitors contacted you in 2007 the debt would be over 12 years old and therefore statute barred. Even if you start to pay the debt after the 12 years it cannot be "un-statute barred" (no matter what they try to tell you!!).

 

If you can give more detail on dates etc we can advise further. Who are the solicitors collecting this money?

[graisbeck]

Hi Ell-enn, thanks for your reply.

 

The solicitors are;

 

HL Solicitors

Spring Gardens,

Manchester

 

I've checked the dates and they are as follows;

 

Repossession date - 06/09/95

I first replied to their correspondance on - 12/04/07

Edited October 9, 2009 by graisbeck

[Ell-enn]

What date was the last payment on the mortgage ?

[graisbeck]

What date was the last payment on the mortgage ?

 

Sorry I can't remember when that was. I suppose it would of been at least 3 month before the repossession date.

 

Could you possibly suggest the best way to find out?

Edited October 9, 2009 by graisbeck
Added question

[Ell-enn]

You need to send the original creditor (the mortgage company) a Subject Access Request - it will cost you £10 but will give all the information on the account you had with them, including the payment details and property sale info. If the last payment was made before April 1995 then I suspect the debt is stature barred, but we will know more when you receive their reply to the SAR.

 

Send the £10 by postal order and ensure the letter is sent by recorded delivery (keep a copy of the letter and check on the royalmail website a few days later to print off the signature receipt, keep that safe with your copy of the letter. You will find the SAR letter in the templates library, you will need to adapt it to read mortgage information instead of bank charges info, so make sure you delete references to bank charges. You are still asking for all the information they hold on you.

 

You should also send a copy of the SAR to the solicitors with a covering letter letting along the lines of "Please see affixed letter sent to (name of lender) regarding the above account. We will contact you again on receipt of the information we have requested."

[graisbeck]

Thanks for that Ell-enn.

 

I will try and sort that out today and will be in touch once I receive a reply from the lenders.

 

Thanks again.

 

Gary

[graisbeck]

Hi again,

 

I have received a whole load of paperwork from the creditors after sending off the SAR. Can you please advise me on what it is that I'm looking for as I'm not exactly sure.

 

Thanks,

[graisbeck]

Ell-enn,

Can you please continue to help with this problem.

 

Thanks in advance,

[postggj]

graisbeck

 

you should have statements of accounts

 

we are looking for the very last transaction/payment by you on the mortage before it was repo

[postggj]

Hi Ell-enn, thanks for your reply.

 

The solicitors are;

 

HL Solicitors

Spring Gardens,

Manchester

 

I've checked the dates and they are as follows;

 

Repossession date - 06/09/95

I first replied to their correspondance on - 12/04/07

 

ok got it

 

repo 06/09/95

last payment three months previouse 06/06/95

add 12 years 06/06./2007

 

well and truly statute barred

 

ill dig out a template for you to send the solicitors

 

its over

[postggj]

Letter sent when debt is statute barred (send recorded)

 

1 High Street,

Newtown,

Kent

R21 4RH

June 28, 2006

 

The Loan Company

Company House,

Church Street,

Newtown,

Kent,

R1 7HG

 

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Acc/Ref No 4563210025897412

 

You have contacted us regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by ourselves.

 

We would point out that under the Limitation Act 1980 Section 5 “an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of twelve years from the date on which the cause of action accrued.”

 

We would also point out that the OFT say under their Debt Collection Guidance on statute barred debt that “it is unfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from the creditor during the relevant limitation period”.

 

The last payment of this alleged debt was made over twelve years ago and no further acknowledgement or payment has been made since that time. Unless you can provide evidence of payment or written contact from us in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, we suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against us to recover the alleged amount claimed.

 

The OFT Debt Collection Guidance states further that “continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred could amount to harassment contrary to CPUTR2008

 

We await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed and that no further contact will be made concerning the above account after that last letter.

 

We look forward to your reply.

 

Yours faithfully

Mr A N Other

[Ell-enn]

Hang on - the OP has been paying £40 per month since 2007 - if he started to pay before 06/06/07 then he has admitted the debt before it became statute barred.

 

Graisbeck - what date in 2007 did you make the first payment of £40.00 ?

[postggj]

Cripes

 

Hope Its Ok

[graisbeck]

Sorry for not getting back before now.

 

As far as I can tell, according to the paperwork the last mortgage payment was a direct debit paid on 01.06.94

 

As for the first payment to HL solicitors that was by cheque sent on 25.04.07

[Ell-enn]

Provided you didn't make any written offer of payment after June 1994 then the account would be statute barred in June 2006.

[graisbeck]

Since my last post I've looked through the paperwork again, and there seems to be a mention of a court order(???) and payments made to it but I can't remember any of it.

What would happen if I went ahead and informed them that the debt was expired but they replied saying the dates I supplied were incorrect? would they ask for the payment in full? Also, can I claim back the amounts that I've already paid to HL for the last few year?

 

What do I do next, do I send the above template?

 

Thanks for your assistance in this matter.

Edited July 29, 2010 by graisbeck

[graisbeck]

Anyone???

[enamae]

Bumping for advice.

 

 

 

 

enamae

[Missy81]

Even if the account comes back as NOT statute barred, the company cannot make you pay back more than you can afford.

I recently filled out an income/expenditure form for a company after me and could honestly only afford to pay £40 a month. The company refused this amount saying it would take XX years to pay off. They then sent a debt management agency out and they went through the income/expenditure form too and all I could REASONABLY afford to pay was £4 a month. The company accepted this! As the court would see it as I have offered to pay something, so it's pointless trying to get money from me that I simply do not have (not sure of the relevant law there, maybe something to do with human rights??)

 

Unless your earnings have increased significantly, fill the form out and put in a figure which you can reasonably afford (may be less than £40 a month!)

[Ell-enn]

Fill out this budget sheet as it is more realistic and is the one used by Nationaldebtline. If you fill it in on the screen it automatically calculates for you.

Budget Sheet.xls

[graisbeck]

Thanks for the response people So just to clarify, do I try sending the template first?

[graisbeck]

Bumping for info

[graisbeck]

Bumping for info

[Ell-enn]

Hi. You have nothing to lose by sending the Stature Barred letter first, it is then up to them to prove it is not SB. Send it by recorded delivery and keep a copy of the letter together with the receipt for the recorded delivery so you can print the signature receipt off the royalmail website - the keep in a safe place in case you need to prove they received it.