Gmac -i Want My Life + Money Back

[judi3]

The fees and charges impacted are:-

• Charges for non-payment of the monthly mortgage payment by direct debit when the account was in arrears and no monthly mortgage payment was being made.
  
• A portion of the solicitor’s instruction fee (£39) that exceeded the actual cost.
  
• Early Repayment Charges applied to, arrears fees and charges.
  
• A flat rate of interest of 8% will be added to the amounts due to customers.
  
• No other fees or charges that may have been applied to your account are affected by this and no further refunds are due.
  

Upon reading the fsa publication i believe i have been affected by

 

failed to ensure that mortgage servicing staff had an adequate understanding of and implemented the requirement to treat customers fairly in handling its mortgage arrears and repossessions

 

focussed on the collection of payment of arrears over a short period of time within fixed mandates, rather than always establishing a suitable arrangement based on the customer’s individual circumstances

 

sometimes issued proceedings for repossession before all alternatives to repossession had been considered and accordingly, did not always use litigation only as a last resort

 

Field counsellors were engaged by GMAC to visit customers to discuss their mortgage arrears and to consider available options. GMAC regularly reviewed mortgage account servicing, but outcomes in arrears and repossessions focussed on quantitative measurements, such as the average number of days to get to court order, and did not provide any qualitative assessments of performance or TCF.

 

However, the guidance concentrated on information provision and establishing the reason for arrears in dealings with customers rather than a consideration of all appropriate arrears rehabilitation tools.

 

Options available to GMAC included alterations to the payment date, repayment type, extension to the term of the mortgage, capitalisation of arrears or a switch to a different mortgage product. These were considered if requested by the customer, but would not be routinely offered as an option by GMAC. A review of training programmes for mortgage servicing staff indicated that, prior to changes introduced in November 2008, arrears resolution centred on collecting payments via an ATP, with insufficient assessment of the viability of the ATP or whether there were other options to resolve the arrears situation that would produce a better outcome for the customer.

 

Applications for immediate repossession orders were frequently made by GMAC without evidence that all other viable options had been considered and that repossession was being used only as a last resort.

 

 

calculation and imposition of the Early Repayment Charge on mortgage balances which included arrears fees and charges within that balance; and

 

The above charges were unfair because they did not accurately reflect the additional administration work to the mortgage account caused by the fact that the customer was in arrears.

 

9

This led to a risk that the firm’s systems and controls were insufficient in relation to the handling and oversight of mortgage arrears to ensure the fair treatment of customers, and accordingly, the firm was in breach of Principle 3.

5.3.

 

Principle 6 requires that a firm must pay due regard to the interests of its customers and treat them fairly. In doing so, firms should ensure that customers are treated fairly if they are in arrears with their mortgage by being flexible in considering a customer’s individual circumstances to ensure that the firm uses court action for repossession of a customer’s home only as a last resort

 

In focussing mainly on the collection of payment of arrears rather than always considering what may be a more suitable arrangement based on the customer’s circumstances and in issuing proceedings for repossession before all alternatives to repossession had been considered, the firm failed to pay due regard to the interests of some of its customers

 

In addition, GMAC did not treat its customers fairly as a result of applying certain charges and fees to customers’ accounts that were unfair as they did not accurately reflect the additional cost of administering an account in arrears in breach of MCOB 12.4.1R and 13.3.1

 

This resulted in some customers incurring excessive and unfair charges (i.e. charges that were not a reasonable estimate of the costs of the additional administration required as a result of the customer being in arrears) and accruing additional costs that could have been avoided had GMAC adopted a more flexible and fairer approach to arrears management tailored to the customer’s individual circumstances.

 

In determining the appropriate sanction, the FSA has had regard to the seriousness of the contraventions, including the nature of the requirements breached, the number and duration of the breaches, and the number of customers who suffered financial loss

 

the failings persisted over a significant period of time and impacted a large number of customers some of whom already had an adverse credit status;

(2) a portion of GMAC’s lending was to the sub-prime sector and arrears rates in this sector are higher than those in the rest of the mortgage market; and

 

I sold my home for £19k less than it was worth after i received a repossesion hearing . I Repaid 1 month before the erc was to be waived £3600 .

 

I would like help to fight for my money back any help advice would be so much appreciatedhttp://www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/final/gmac_rfc.pdf

 

I am one of the customers

 

The FSA said a number of serious failings by GMAC-RFC were identified in relation to its dealings with customers experiencing arrears and repossessions. The investigation covered the period between October 31 2004 and November 30 2008.

The failings included excessive and unfair charges for customers that did not reflect administration costs; proposing repayment plans that did not always consider a customer’s individual circumstances; and starting repossession proceedings before fully considering all the alternatives.

 

I understand that i will be receiving

 

Our regulator the Financial Services Authority (FSA) have identified that certain mortgage arrears fees and charges paid by current and previous mortgage account holders should be refunded because the fee or charge exceeded the actual cost to us.

Certain mortgage arrears fees and charges will be refunded in full and others in part. Refunds will also include 8% interest.

Edited November 2, 2009 by judi3
erc

[judi3]

bump some mods and boffin! help

[42man]

How much of the arrears were excessive charges if I may ask ?

[judi3]

Hi arrears on the account £3911.44 excessive charges unpaid by direct debit 12x30 arrears fee 16 x £50 total = £1160 + £100 soli inst fee

[42man]

I think if you add compounded interest at 8% then it will be more....you should really get back contractual interest, that to me would be fair...but to give you an example a £50 charge on 1st January 2006 would now be worth £65 - Have a look here and work them out - Bank Charges Reclaiming: They’re unlawful! Inc. free letters ...

[wishboneash]

Hi arrears on the account £3911.44 excessive charges unpaid by direct debit 12x30 arrears fee 16 x £50 total = £1160 + £100 soli inst fee

 

hi judi let me know how you get on with your

figures

wishbone ash same position

see my post

[judi3]

Thanks letter sent off asking for the charges and erc with a note that if i go to court i will also go for substantial damages , standard reply fri thank you wait four weeks will keep you posted

[wishboneash]

i had them call me and a offer of 450 pounds insulting offer

over 6 years of 50 pounds and 15 pound no dd because of no bank account

[42man]

Was this recently WBA ?

[wishboneash]

Was this recently WBA ?

 

yes will make a donation just waiting to see what i can get back from gmac

[42man]

lol no I wasn't asking for a donation....I just wanted to know if this is their response to the recent FSA case...i.e. did they send this, this week ? It seems a derisory offer....

[judi3]

dont know what planet gmac are on but a letter today offering £119.88 taking the urine i think

[wishboneash]

450 pounds thy have offered me

[judi3]

Ok Just Rang Them Asked For A Total Breakdown How They Dreamed Of This Offer And Advised That I Am Not Accepting It . Acknowledged That My Letter Dated 03 Nov Was With Them .

 

Just Emailed And Will Send Recorded Tommorrow Confirmation That I Do Not Accept And Also Letter Before Action Sent

[wishboneash]

spoke with them this morning and told them from 2002 to 2008 i could not pay be direct debit because i had no current account only a building society cheque book

because od defaults and ccj also i was paying into a debt managemt program

i told them £65 pounds a month over 5 years

and having arrears of £2700 and taken to court was unfair as i had tp represent myself

i tld the juge i was able to get for a while 4 hours extra in work to help clear the defecit

wish everyone luck with gmac as the highly polished dont frget they will ave on in house training courses for this amd

had we scripted sheets

i am claiming hardship

will call them friday

see what they say then

[wishboneash]

keep the pressure on them

the made a killing on us all

[ihavereclaimedmyrights]

Advised i did not accept the offer i have waited 7 weeks for a reply to my complaint .

 

part of reply

 

To this end in an attempt to bring about a speedy and amicble resolution of your commitment to your mortgage whilst you experienced difficulties i feel a refund of £359.70 (plus the £119.88 first offer ) is a more than fair and reasonable . full and final settlement

 

this letter concludes stage1 of our internal complaints if you are dissatisfied contact again

 

I Have rung to advice that i remain dissatisfied the complaint handler wants his senior manager to telephone me to try and not go into second stage complaint .

[42man]

If it was me in your situation I would feel exactly the same as you !!!

[ihavereclaimedmyrights]

I have recieved a telephone call from the senior complaints ( good morning if your reading ) handler from gmac he comfirmed that he is well aware of Gac and reads the posts everyday he stated we are only consumers with no substance to our arguements

[ihavereclaimedmyrights]

Gauntlet thrown

Final offer £598.32 +the £119.88 fsa redress full and final

without prejudice as to save costs basis

[geoffthechef]

if we had no substance...why are they paying out??? knobs

[Bona]

Did you get your money

I got some

What I want to know is if it was unjust and unfair on the 24th October 2004 why wasnt it on the 23rd october thinking of testing that in the small claims court

[bobbyh99]

It was unjust and unfair prior to 24/10/2004, however this date is the date the FSA started regulating mortgages and according to them can only investigate from this date!

[Bona]

I agree but if it was unfair terms and conditions then it must have been before I have a good mind to issue a claim

[wishboneash]

yes go for it