Mortgage Express - Urgent Help please

[Iannun]

Hi,

 

Apart from my other worries, my friendly mortgage company are not willing to play ball.

 

I took at mortgage out with GMAC a few years ago and it was sold to mortgage express.

 

Last year I had all sorts of problems including losing my job, being declared disabled etc. We got into severe arrears with the mortgage and mortgage express were reasonable. Then in August I managed to find a job which started in October.

 

I got the usual dozen or so phone calls from them every week even though we had spoken to them with the stock answer of its an automated service.

 

My wife had a bit of a breakdown and I told mortgage express not to phone us anymore. They refused and continued, so I changed our number.

 

Anyway I spoke to their credit control department in October and gave them our income and expenditure and it worked out that I could pay an additional £400 per month off the arrears. The very unhelpful person on the end of the line refused our offer and said he would proceed to court. I made payment in line with my offer, which if kept would clear the arrears in 14 months.

 

I then phoned them again after the cashed my cheque to confirm my offer and they said, it would be up to the courts as they wanted to go for re-possession.

 

I have received a letter giving me 15 days to pay the arrears in that time or they will seek repossession and add £300 to the account.

 

I will not call them anymore as it is no use. I will only correspond with them via letter.

 

Can anyone help me with a reply? I was under the impression that if there was an offer from me they could not start proceeding. The last thing I want is to end up in court just before Christmas and get a judge who decides to give them possession.

 

I have two kids at home under 18 if that makes a difference. I have made the payments that I offered.

 

Help please?

[zander]

They are being unreasonable and are not treating customers fairly. GMAC have recently been fined 4 million for just that. Quote that to them and listen to them squirm. It would appear that your lender has not explored all the avenues they should to assist you at this difficult time. The fact that you have completed an income & expenditure form and made payments against the arrears stands you in good stead.

In order for a lender to take possession, they have to get a possession order from the County Court (assuming your in England?) Before the court will even consider granting a possession order it has to be satisfied that every avenue available has been explored by lender & borrower and that possession is a very last resort. If writing to them, keep on at them about Treating Customers Fairly and the recent fine by the FSA against GMAC. It seems to me they are using scare tactics and even if it does go to court, the law leans heavily towards the welfare of the borrower. I repeat, they are not being seen to help you bring the account to order and are not differentiating between can't pay, won't pay. You are paying.

[Iannun]

Can anyone help with a draft letter?

[zander]

Can anyone help with a draft letter?

 

If you take the bones of my reply and personalize it, that should do the trick.

[debs18]

I would just like to say that mortgage express had been brillian with me after i fell into arrears last year due to unemployment this year i had said when i get my inheritance money i will the arrears off they set up a payment plan where i pay half now and the other half in 4 weeks they also sent me a letter on the 17th may confirming this. I tried to pay the first half with my daughters debit card they wouldnt accept it even though this is how we had made the past 18 months payments, they also said i had no payment plan in place so they refused my payment as it was my daughters card and said i have to pay in full they were very arogant in thier manner and very unhelpfull like i was some dirt who owed them personally for the mortgage. They must have just changed thier staff or retrained them to be ingnorant pigs. Also asking to talk to a manager is like talking to your self in a different accent as each time it is the same person but a bit more arogant. I did have lots of good things to say about them but stuff that i wouldnt recommend them to my worst enemy. thhhhrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrpppppppppp :O