Do you have a Northern Rock Together Mortgage? Read This.

[hebby]

Talk about been laid back ! I didn't even know about any of this, were coming to the end of our mortgage I was searching the web for northern rocks base rates and found this link. I didn't even know about this Extra charge on our unsecured load part of the agreement. So this is a big blow for us, like everyone else here we have been conned, our mortgage will go on to northern rocks svr in the next few months, what do I do if they only offer me there base rate? Like so many others have stated before me, no one else will take us on with the unsecured load? I will be forced to comply ! Please keep me update and I to will like to take this to the courts as a group.

[stevenm306]

Hi,

 

What was the outcome with the putting this case to the courts?

 

Me and my wife took our together mortgage back in 2006, we are in negative equity in our one bed flat and now have a 3 year old daughter with all 3 of us cramped into 1 bedroom, so much for having pride that we both work fulltime. Should have been a couple of wasters on the doll and got a nice 2 bed house with a garden!!

 

I will be contacting Northern Rock Asset Management tomorrow to ask what options we have, if any, but would like to know if anything came of your plan to take them to court.

 

Regards

 

Steve

[CSC1]

Hi,

 

I was one of the original posts on this forum. Came off a fixed deal linked to Base Rate and went on to SVR which doubled mortgage overnight. Couldn't move my mortgage as too high LTV and NRAM won;t offer new deal, so as someone put it, we're in this unhappy marriage.

 

Took complaint to NRAM, which stated I had no grounds for complaint over a year ago. I advised them in writing afterward that I therefore was applying an arbitrary rate of interest the same as they had - they want to charge me 4.75 SVR; so I stated that a fairer market norm was 3.83%, I had never missed a payment (still haven't) and that I wasn;t prepared to pay for the mistakes of their crappy business model. I cancelled the direct debit with my bank and every month I pay them £800 on my debit card instead of what they want. Arrears accrue.

 

About 10 times a month they ring me and we have a chat although most of the time I ignore their calls now - can be grinding at times, but take heart from the fact that you know the case history and that the person on the other end of the phone is generally clueless - to be fair to them, some do try really hard to be helpful. Every time, I advise them that we are in dispute and that until that dispute is resolved, I shall pay the amount I feel is appropriate, and not what they feel. They've advised that arrears will reach a limit where they consider court action - I await that day and would welcome it, but based on the differential that's about 5 years away!

 

There's about 350,000 to 400,000 of us at NRAM, with around 300,000 or potentially less as mortgage account holders. NRAM is repaying the government at a rapid rate because you and me are paying uncompetitive / penal rates of interest because we can't move to another provider and therefore NRAM has us by the short and curlies. In 2011, they made £790m profit - that's around £2,500 (over £200 a month) in pure profit from every one of us. If you consider how much operating costs NRAM has because of its bureacratic make-up and extensive collection costs, then I think you'll find that profit figure is a whole lot higher than £2,500. We're being ripped off hook, line and sinker.

 

I am about to finally write to FOS on my complaints - been meaning to do this for over a year and no doubt they'll try the 6 month rule on me. I'll let you know how I get on.

 

For anyone receiving calls or being hassled by them, don't let them get to you. Come on to this forum and discuss issues with fellow strugglers. How I choose to deal with NRAM might not be right for you and while I may just be saving up problems for the future, I will not have these crooks dictate my life. Liberate yourself and take control! Better still, do it in numbers and maybe they'll listen.

[Clint Magnum]

Hi,

 

I was one of the original posts on this forum. Came off a fixed deal linked to Base Rate and went on to SVR which doubled mortgage overnight. Couldn't move my mortgage as too high LTV and NRAM won;t offer new deal, so as someone put it, we're in this unhappy marriage.

 

 

 

I am about to finally write to FOS on my complaints - been meaning to do this for over a year and no doubt they'll try the 6 month rule on me. I'll let you know how I get on.

 

For anyone receiving calls or being hassled by them, don't let them get to you. Come on to this forum and discuss issues with fellow strugglers. How I choose to deal with NRAM might not be right for you and while I may just be saving up problems for the future, I will not have these crooks dictate my life. Liberate yourself and take control! Better still, do it in numbers and maybe they'll listen.

 

Good Luck with this, seems the only way is to get nasty. I tried changing the rate of my unsecured loan to something less than the 20yrs when I paid off my mortgage back in 2004. It was Northern Rock then and I got repeatedly fobbed off.

I've recently sent a letter to NRAM Complaints as I've overpaid my monthly standing order by 50% and I still owe the same as I did last year due to the interest rates! I'll keep watching this forum with interest as I'd love to know if there's a way we can force them to change the lengths and SRV of our loans.

[karenha]

Hi

My fixed rate has recently ended and have now began the process of moving the secured element of my mortgage. NRAM have written to me to inform me the rate on the unsecured part of the loan will increase from 4.79% to 12.79%. I don't mind paying but being ripped off is to this degree is outrageous. I would be interested to here if anyone has had any joy. Unfortunatley I dont have my orginal agreement to check the terms and conditions of this awful product.

[CSC1]

karenha

 

Under normal conditions, Northern Rock (NRAM) would have the right to charge you an additional 8% for moving away the secured element and leaving the unsecured element where it is. This is a decoupling penalty and it is clearly stated in their terms and conditions.

 

But market conditions ain't normal and personally I'd be telling NRAM where to go. There are other forums about this subject and very specific about this subject. Search high and low (go to MSE.com also as they have many threads) possibly under Northern Rock Togethr Mortgage Unsecured Loan rate and I am sure you will find someone who has been through this process and out of the other end.

 

I would complain formally to them, advise them you ain't paying i and if necessary get them to issue you with a formal "final response" letter which'll allow to take your complaint the Financial Ombudsman Service. Essentially, NRAM is saying to you that they cannot offer you a mortgage and that your only choice is to move your mortgage, so that's what you do if you're lucky enough to have a low enough LTV. But if you do move your mortgage they'll penalise you for doing so.

 

I'm surprised this hasn;t been through the courts yet. I just can;t see how this is legal. Fight them.

 

Hope that helps, but go searching as many (not me) have been through this exact same process.

 

C

[geoffthechef]

Hi,

 

What was the outcome with the putting this case to the courts?

 

Me and my wife took our together mortgage back in 2006, we are in negative equity in our one bed flat and now have a 3 year old daughter with all 3 of us cramped into 1 bedroom, so much for having pride that we both work fulltime. Should have been a couple of wasters on the doll and got a nice 2 bed house with a garden!!

 

I will be contacting Northern Rock Asset Management tomorrow to ask what options we have, if any, but would like to know if anything came of your plan to take them to court.

 

Regards

 

Steve

Some may say that your so called wasters on the dole would not of been silly enough to take out one theses mortgages...you might end up there due to bad decisions..

[katesully]

Hi,

 

I was one of the original posts on this forum. Came off a fixed deal linked to Base Rate and went on to SVR which doubled mortgage overnight. Couldn't move my mortgage as too high LTV and NRAM won;t offer new deal, so as someone put it, we're in this unhappy marriage.

 

Took complaint to NRAM, which stated I had no grounds for complaint over a year ago. I advised them in writing afterward that I therefore was applying an arbitrary rate of interest the same as they had - they want to charge me 4.75 SVR; so I stated that a fairer market norm was 3.83%, I had never missed a payment (still haven't) and that I wasn;t prepared to pay for the mistakes of their crappy business model. I cancelled the direct debit with my bank and every month I pay them £800 on my debit card instead of what they want. Arrears accrue.

 

About 10 times a month they ring me and we have a chat although most of the time I ignore their calls now - can be grinding at times, but take heart from the fact that you know the case history and that the person on the other end of the phone is generally clueless - to be fair to them, some do try really hard to be helpful. Every time, I advise them that we are in dispute and that until that dispute is resolved, I shall pay the amount I feel is appropriate, and not what they feel. They've advised that arrears will reach a limit where they consider court action - I await that day and would welcome it, but based on the differential that's about 5 years away!

 

There's about 350,000 to 400,000 of us at NRAM, with around 300,000 or potentially less as mortgage account holders. NRAM is repaying the government at a rapid rate because you and me are paying uncompetitive / penal rates of interest because we can't move to another provider and therefore NRAM has us by the short and curlies. In 2011, they made £790m profit - that's around £2,500 (over £200 a month) in pure profit from every one of us. If you consider how much operating costs NRAM has because of its bureacratic make-up and extensive collection costs, then I think you'll find that profit figure is a whole lot higher than £2,500. We're being ripped off hook, line and sinker.

 

I am about to finally write to FOS on my complaints - been meaning to do this for over a year and no doubt they'll try the 6 month rule on me. I'll let you know how I get on.

 

For anyone receiving calls or being hassled by them, don't let them get to you. Come on to this forum and discuss issues with fellow strugglers. How I choose to deal with NRAM might not be right for you and while I may just be saving up problems for the future, I will not have these crooks dictate my life. Liberate yourself and take control! Better still, do it in numbers and maybe they'll listen.

 

Hello thereJust wondering how you have been getting along? I too don't believe that I should be paying for Northern Rock 'bad' management with a SVR of 4.79%. I have just been taken to court by NRAM for a few thousand pounds arrears. Even though I was paying the full contractual amount. It back fired on them as the Judge went in my favour and lowered the amount I have to pay each month. Only 14 years and 5 months to go.......

[Delboy1]

I've subscribed to this fantastic site now for many years and the advice has been overwhelmingly useful, especially for my PPI claims. However, I have been consistently looking at ways to fight my Northern Rock (NRAM) mortgage. Its is, not I am told a Together mortgage, although, it was described as this in correspondence, when I first took the mortgage out in October 2006. However I am supposed to be getting the loyalty interest rate after 7 years and should have been able to move this mortgage on if I ever moved house.

The crux of the problem is that the property was overvalued at £200,000 and they provided me with an interest only re-mortgage of £194,000 which I used for debt consolidation.

I have been keeping the mortgage payments up to date but now I've been made redundant and life is going to be more difficult.

But I have been looking at the law of tort around this issue and found a court case.

I refer you to the high court judgement, ‘Forster v Outred & Co [1982] 1 WLR 86’, in which, the plaintiff successfully struck out their mortgage, because she suffered actual damage upon entering into a burdensome mortgage agreement where she suffered actual economic loss. The judgement concluded that any detriment, liability or loss capable of assessment in money terms includes liabilities which may arise on a contingency, particularly a contingency over which the plaintiff had no control.

I sent a letter back in January 2012 to NRAM with the following statement:

"I have suffered actual economic loss as a result of the overvaluation of my property which secured this mortgage, for which I hold NRAM responsible for, in view of the fact that they undertook the valuation and appointed the solicitors concerned to complete this mortgage. I suffered an economic loss resulting from the overvaluation over which I clearly had no control, but for which NRAM should have provided a duty of care.

I therefore feel that this agreement should be corrected to take into consideration the losses that I have sustained for which I had no control over."

To date, I have received no reply from them and after finally contacting them on the phone yesterday, I am now told that a letter is on its way to me but they couldn't divulge the contents.

I therefore wait with baited breath and keep you all informed of the reply

[sonnab]

myself and my husband took out a together mortgage in 2007 through a mortgage broker who has since ceased trading..(lifstyle finance) .

 

luckily i have just requested a copy of my offer of loan so have all the details infront of me.

 

secured loan is £90,202.00 fixed for 5 years @ 6.79% plus £995.00 product fee

 

purchase price is £94.950.00

 

we then needed extra to actually buy the house so borrowed £7.172.00 as unsecured loan.

 

so secured is £91,197.00

unsecured is £7,172.00

 

totalling......£98.396.00

 

out of that £7,172.00,

 

£4,748.00 was to cover the short fall of the mortgage.

£300.00 was to cover solicitors fees

£1,995.00 was to cover brokers fees

 

so out of the unsecured loan we actually had £129 pounds which we had to put to removal expenses.....our broker had said we would have a couple of thousand pounds left for us....

 

it also says that the unsecured loan is charged at the same rate of interest is the same as the secured loan.

 

i was under the impression that together mortgages were given out at 125% of the mortgage...so who can tell me why we had to get another loan because we were not offered the full price of the house.

 

 

totall payback after 25 years is £204,847.30

[DJM199]

Hi guys I am new to this thread but I noticed it wile I was looking into the mortgage. I noticed the NRAM loyalty scheme- discount below 0.25% below SVR after 7 years. We have just come up to 7 years and wondered why we did not get a reduced rate. only 0.25% but better than nothing. As we have the together mortgage we have the so called special rate which means we are gauranteed a rate at less than the SVR currently 4.79. I was not surprised however that our current rate is 4.78%. Unbelievable who would believe they would be so brash. I feel this is unfair and looke through T&C. see below

 

Standard variable rate

Our Standard Variable Rate for mortgages is currently 4.79%

Our Loyalty Rate for qualifying customers is currently 4.54%

Questions and Answers:

What is the NRAM Loyalty Rate and how do I qualify for it?

The NRAM Loyalty Rate is a discount of 0.25% from our Standard Variable Rate and applies if you meet the following criteria:

you are an existing residential NRAM mortgage customer and have held your mortgage with us on the same property for 7 years, and

your mortgage payments are up to date, and

you do not currently benefit from a special rate (such as a fixed or tracker rate), and

you are not currently within an Early Repayment Charge period

 

The key here is the point that states you do not currently benefit from a special rate!

 

I would say that those sucked into this mortgage and excluded from the loyalty rate (which should be worded ripped of and -ve equity cant go elsewhere rate) are not benefiting from a special rate there fore this statements basicly states ( assuming you meet the over criteria) that you are entitled to this discount. I will be putting this to NRAM and then the FSA if I do not get a farer reduction. I know it is not much but it is a slight consolation and if the Bank base rate falls any more it would make a further nice addition. Has anyone had similar problems or experience around this. Please reply with your views.

[katesully]

I've subscribed to this fantastic site now for many years and the advice has been overwhelmingly useful, especially for my PPI claims. However, I have been consistently looking at ways to fight my Northern Rock (NRAM) mortgage. Its is, not I am told a Together mortgage, although, it was described as this in correspondence, when I first took the mortgage out in October 2006. However I am supposed to be getting the loyalty interest rate after 7 years and should have been able to move this mortgage on if I ever moved house.

The crux of the problem is that the property was overvalued at £200,000 and they provided me with an interest only re-mortgage of £194,000 which I used for debt consolidation.

I have been keeping the mortgage payments up to date but now I've been made redundant and life is going to be more difficult.

But I have been looking at the law of tort around this issue and found a court case.

I refer you to the high court judgement, ‘Forster v Outred & Co [1982] 1 WLR 86’, in which, the plaintiff successfully struck out their mortgage, because she suffered actual damage upon entering into a burdensome mortgage agreement where she suffered actual economic loss. The judgement concluded that any detriment, liability or loss capable of assessment in money terms includes liabilities which may arise on a contingency, particularly a contingency over which the plaintiff had no control.

I sent a letter back in January 2012 to NRAM with the following statement:

"I have suffered actual economic loss as a result of the overvaluation of my property which secured this mortgage, for which I hold NRAM responsible for, in view of the fact that they undertook the valuation and appointed the solicitors concerned to complete this mortgage. I suffered an economic loss resulting from the overvaluation over which I clearly had no control, but for which NRAM should have provided a duty of care.

I therefore feel that this agreement should be corrected to take into consideration the losses that I have sustained for which I had no control over."

To date, I have received no reply from them and after finally contacting them on the phone yesterday, I am now told that a letter is on its way to me but they couldn't divulge the contents.

I therefore wait with baited breath and keep you all informed of the reply

 

Hello Yours is by far the best angle to approach NRAM. Just wondered what the reply was from NRAM. If they bothered to reply at all?

[doyin22]

Just woundering how you are getting on with this?

 

Hi,

 

I was one of the original posts on this forum. Came off a fixed deal linked to Base Rate and went on to SVR which doubled mortgage overnight. Couldn't move my mortgage as too high LTV and NRAM won;t offer new deal, so as someone put it, we're in this unhappy marriage.

 

Took complaint to NRAM, which stated I had no grounds for complaint over a year ago. I advised them in writing afterward that I therefore was applying an arbitrary rate of interest the same as they had - they want to charge me 4.75 SVR; so I stated that a fairer market norm was 3.83%, I had never missed a payment (still haven't) and that I wasn;t prepared to pay for the mistakes of their crappy business model. I cancelled the direct debit with my bank and every month I pay them £800 on my debit card instead of what they want. Arrears accrue.

 

About 10 times a month they ring me and we have a chat although most of the time I ignore their calls now - can be grinding at times, but take heart from the fact that you know the case history and that the person on the other end of the phone is generally clueless - to be fair to them, some do try really hard to be helpful. Every time, I advise them that we are in dispute and that until that dispute is resolved, I shall pay the amount I feel is appropriate, and not what they feel. They've advised that arrears will reach a limit where they consider court action - I await that day and would welcome it, but based on the differential that's about 5 years away!

 

There's about 350,000 to 400,000 of us at NRAM, with around 300,000 or potentially less as mortgage account holders. NRAM is repaying the government at a rapid rate because you and me are paying uncompetitive / penal rates of interest because we can't move to another provider and therefore NRAM has us by the short and curlies. In 2011, they made £790m profit - that's around £2,500 (over £200 a month) in pure profit from every one of us. If you consider how much operating costs NRAM has because of its bureacratic make-up and extensive collection costs, then I think you'll find that profit figure is a whole lot higher than £2,500. We're being ripped off hook, line and sinker.

 

I am about to finally write to FOS on my complaints - been meaning to do this for over a year and no doubt they'll try the 6 month rule on me. I'll let you know how I get on.

 

For anyone receiving calls or being hassled by them, don't let them get to you. Come on to this forum and discuss issues with fellow strugglers. How I choose to deal with NRAM might not be right for you and while I may just be saving up problems for the future, I will not have these crooks dictate my life. Liberate yourself and take control! Better still, do it in numbers and maybe they'll listen.

[MrsS79]

If you have a Northern Rock Together mortgage, the one that is a mortgage account plus an additional unsecured loan, then I’d like to hear from you.

Like you, I have this product and it the fixed rate product soon comes to an end. I’ve spent the past few weeks reading up on what is best to do with this ie remortgage or just sit on the SVR.

However, on reading the terms of the fixed-sum loan agreement I’ve found a few areas on the contract which are clearly debatable in a court and am currently preparing a case. In order to strengthen the claims, I am keen to find others in the same or similar position.

Here are the points I have:

1. This is not a concern as it plays in my favour, but the loan is for £30,000. It is unsecured and at the time of the agreement (late 2005) the Consumer Credit Act 1974 covered agreements upto £25,000. However this contract is a “Fixed-sum loan agreement regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974”. As this wording appears clearly at the head of the page, I am informed by numerous legal advisors that it cannot be argued that this agreement, despite not formally required to be covered at the time, is indeed covered by the Act and must fulfil the requirements of the Act in full, therefore:

2. The information regarding the terms of the loan must be clear. The document clearly sets out the amount borrowed and the term together with the APR percentage and the total charge for credit. However, it does not display the monthly payment amount, nor does it display the total amount payable. These missing areas fail to meet the CCA requirements. The view is that it should have stated the fixed payments for the first 60 months (eg £165 per month) and then stated a monthly figure based on the SVR at the time with “subject to change” next to it. Likewise the total charge for credit is incorrect as it is based on the SVR of 6.59% and not taking into account the 5 year fixed rate percentage.

3. At the foot of the first page, there is a paragraph which states “If you are not or cease to be a Borrower with us under the Mortgage, (or transfer to a new mortgage product with us, or enter into a new mortgage with us) a variable rate which will be 5.00% above our Standard Variable Rate will apply to this agreement.” I have shown this clause to a number of legal advisors and all agree this is an unfair term under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999. The fact that when my five-year fixed-rate term comes to an end, regardless of keeping my business with Northern Rock I shall be penalised by 5% interest.

4. On speaking with Northern Rock recently about what happens to the loan contract at the end of the five-year fixed-rate term I am told (by at least three NR employees) that it will revert to the Standard Variable Rate (SVR). However the interest rate stated on the loan agreement states “So long as you remain a borrower with Northern Rock under this agreement, the following Interest Rate(s) will apply: a fixed rate of 5.79% until 1 January 2011 followed by a variable rate which is guaranteed to be below Northern Rock’s Standard Variable Rate, which is currently 6.59%, for the remainder of the term of the loan. Please note that the payments illustrated for this period of the loan, are based on Northern Rock’s Standard Variable Rate.” If I am reverted to the SVR at the end of the fixed term, this would be a breach of contract as this clause clearly states that it will be “guaranteed to be below” the SVR.

As I stated at the head of this posting I am currently instructing solicitors to draw up a complaint to NR regarding this contractual points and a follow up complaint to the Financial Ombudsman, however this complaint would have a much better grounding if others are in, or about to be in, the same position as myself and the complaint was from a group of customers instead of just one.

I’d also be interested in hearing from anyone that has already complained to NR directly or indirectly through legal advisors regarding these points – not in the case of agreements not signed by the customer.

I look forward to hearing from some of you in the same boat as me in due course.

 

 

I would be interested in finding out how this situation is progressing.

 

I have a together mortgage secured loan approx £60000, unsecured loan £29999, property purchased 2003. My fixed rate came to an end in 2008 and I have been on the inflated SVR since 2008. Hoping to sell soon however current value is approx £92000 so minus £7000. I would consider a joint complaint.

[joecase]

Hi Delboy

I too have suffered a loss by overvaluation by Northen Rock, I have long thought that they are legaly responsible for creating my losses. I am interested to hear if you have had a reply on the subject. Do you have a copy of the court transcript in Forster & Outred? I have done much research and cannot find any court decisions relating to overvaluation by a building society and any legal outcomes in such cases. Can you update? Rgds Joosepi

[joecase]

Are their any unsecured borrowers that have been asked to sign an agreement to pay the "shortfall" that have advice to be shared/discussed re the legal position "duty of care" please post details Joosepi.

( 0nce Northern rock release the charge on your property the balance becomes an unsecred loan) I think Northern Rock should accept the part they played in giving the overvalation mortgage traps they created. Rgds J

[billyboy132]

Hi I am new to this forum,

 

My husand and I also got the Northern Rock Together mortgage back in 2007, with a £106k mortgage and £25,625 unsecured loan. At the time we were very naive, first time buyers and had no advice or help from family about finances/mortgages. We went through a broker who said we would never get on the property ladder if we waited to save up a deposit as prices would be too high for us then. My husband had a couple of loans and were told the only way we could get a mortgage would be through NR and to consolidate his loans and roll it up into this £25k+ loan that would also include a small 'deposit' towards buying the house and all attached fees. In effect my husband's original debt was increased because at the time he was charged heavily for early repayments on them.

 

Obvisously from the worry that prices were going up and this was our last chance to get onto the property ladder we very badly (in hindsight) took the mortgage out.

 

Fast forward 5 years, now on the bad books with NRAM, we paid £112k for our house, which is now worth £96k if lucky, and in negative equity. Very worried what will happen in a few years time if we manage to pay enough off to sell the house to cover the mortgage, but then the unsecured loan will be subject to raise by 8% interest!

 

Was anyone else requested to consolidate their debt at the time of taking out the mortgage/loan in order to be able to afford it?

 

I would like to be added to the complaint. Thanks.

 

I'm so glad to have come across this posting. One more member of the NR together mortgage club!

 

I am particularly interested in the comments I have posted as my mortgage details show below:

 

Purchased a house at £85,000. Used an independant financial advisor who advised us on our income and with no deposit the only option was the together product. we were informed that we would only be accepted if we took a total of £95,000 (£75,000 secured/£20,000 unsecured) and use the extra £10,000 to pay off an existing personal loan and all the mortgage costs etc.

 

As usual, niaivety at the time and desperation to buy a house before we were priced out of the market!

 

I am now not with the partner who I purchased the house with, she moved out with her fiancee then left me paying the mortgage. Then Ii have now moved in with my partner as she has a bigger, nicer house with a garden a stones throw from my work. NRAM will not let me rent the house, i can only sell if i make the £75,000 secured value (next door has been for sale for £75,000 since February!!) and then I would be stuck with the unsecured portion with horrendous interest!

 

What the hell do I do?? Ii am very worried as right now the monthly cost of my mortgage is affordable although very annoying as I dont even live in it. But I foresee in the future that it is only going to get more and more expensive. I am now also realising that an existing £10,00 debt with 4 yrs left to run has now translated into a very expensive 35 year loan!

 

I canot seem to find any escape from this and even though seeing that so many people have the same problem I dont see anything to show a way out. I am desperate to the point that I am now looking into whether letting it be repossessed is actually my best option. I obviously understand the reality of it being repossesed and how it will hit me but to be honest this option appears to have some advantages over the current potential future if I go on as I am doing.

[ElectrofunkDaddy]

Hey Same Boat here, Took out a together morgage almost 6 years ago, now that I need a bigger house, I have been looking for options, property was £100,000 secured 75,000 unsecured 25,000, have been paying varibale rate for a year almost, also advised that if I moved the morgage the Interest on the unsecured would almost double.

 

I will dig out my paperwork and post the interest details

 

after 6 years we still owe about 97,000 ...went one worse we took 35 year....we were desperate and needed somewhere to live.

 

I just feel completly screw, esp with a little one on the way (1 bed flat), we might break even or close to it if we sell, but a max of 10k loss, cant decide if I should save to pay the unsecured off and hope we dnt have too much of a loss so I can use it for a deposit for another property or not.

 

Think I will go see a finacial advisor at the end of the month, post any options I am given.

[ElectrofunkDaddy]

Dont Lloyds have a negative equity scheme came across an article the other day, I was going to investigate.

 

Hand in there dude your not alone. Helped get us homes, but screwed us long term .

 

I'm so glad to have come across this posting. One more member of the NR together mortgage club!

 

I am particularly interested in the comments I have posted as my mortgage details show below:

 

Purchased a house at £85,000. Used an independant financial advisor who advised us on our income and with no deposit the only option was the together product. we were informed that we would only be accepted if we took a total of £95,000 (£75,000 secured/£20,000 unsecured) and use the extra £10,000 to pay off an existing personal loan and all the mortgage costs etc.

 

As usual, niaivety at the time and desperation to buy a house before we were priced out of the market!

 

I am now not with the partner who I purchased the house with, she moved out with her fiancee then left me paying the mortgage. Then Ii have now moved in with my partner as she has a bigger, nicer house with a garden a stones throw from my work. NRAM will not let me rent the house, i can only sell if i make the £75,000 secured value (next door has been for sale for £75,000 since February!!) and then I would be stuck with the unsecured portion with horrendous interest!

 

What the hell do I do?? Ii am very worried as right now the monthly cost of my mortgage is affordable although very annoying as I dont even live in it. But I foresee in the future that it is only going to get more and more expensive. I am now also realising that an existing £10,00 debt with 4 yrs left to run has now translated into a very expensive 35 year loan!

 

I canot seem to find any escape from this and even though seeing that so many people have the same problem I dont see anything to show a way out. I am desperate to the point that I am now looking into whether letting it be repossessed is actually my best option. I obviously understand the reality of it being repossesed and how it will hit me but to be honest this option appears to have some advantages over the current potential future if I go on as I am doing.

[kinkie tinkie]

I will be interested to see what happens here; I am currently trying to stop repossession by Nram - LTV stands at 161% !!

[Delboy1]

Hi joecase

I'm sorry I've not been on this forum for a while as I have been dealing with ppi issues.

However, I can find plenty of references to the Forster v Outred & Co transcript but also feel that the Nykredit Mortgage Bank PLC v Edward Erdman Group.would be relevant which has a clear statement regarding the Forster case. This can be found on the parliament uk web site although I am not able to post the link on the forum.

 

Needless to say. NRAM rejected my argument indicating that they cannot be held responsible for the reduced value of my property.

I have a dilemma in that I may have to take proceedings against the solicitor who completed the mortgage for me, although it was Northern Rock that appointed these solicitors for me and it was Northern Rock who arranged the valuation of the property. I requested an SAR from NRAM under the Data Protection Act which has another 4 days before the 40 day time limit is up and all I have received is my annual mortgage statement from them and a copy of the original agreement to date.

I've since had a retrospective valuation of my property this month by a professional surveyor at my own expense, which confirms that the property had been overvalued by £25000 in October 2006 and that I am in negative equity by some £40000.

I am waiting for the SAR period to expire before proceeding to court and I still have a lot of my original documentation relating to the mortgage.

I will let you know what happens next when there is something to report.

To everyone else, particularly those who are going through the throws of repossession is to consider challenging it on the basis of Northern Rocks negligence and a lack of duty of care as outlined in these High Court cases. A lot of these Northern Rock valuations were undertaken by what was known as 'drive by' valuations at the time, which have been proved inaccurate, particularly when these types of valuations were used to assess council tax bands which have been successfully challenged over the years.

Remember, all NRAM want to do is to get these mortgages off their books and get whatever return they can from repossessions and judging by all the other comments on this forum, there are many of us who are caught in a negative equity trap which no one has yet challenged.

[tuttle]

I want to take NRAM to court. I have a great deal of information, and would like to find similar cases of people who have suffered at the hands of NRAM. We could use the power of people to change the way they work.

[Delboy1]

I want to take NRAM to court. I have a great deal of information, and would like to find similar cases of people who have suffered at the hands of NRAM. We could use the power of people to change the way they work.

 

Hi Tuttle

I know that the FSA are now looking into mortgage mis-selling in more detail particularly interest only mortgages. I have now received my SAR and curiously there are no copies of the originally signed mortgage deed ( which has to be signed by both parties) or a copy of the original terms and conditions. From my original documentation I have found two lots of different T&C's relating to the mortgage. Neither is their any copy of the deed of transfer between Northern Rock and NRAM. and the number of tariff changes I have had over the years is unbelievable.

I can request a copy of the legal documentation for a fee of £35 which I am going to do, but this is yet another area where I believe there are options to contest the agreement in addition to the overvaluation.

What information do you have where we could mount a combined legal challenge?

[tuttle]

Hi Tuttle

I know that the FSA are now looking into mortgage mis-selling in more detail particularly interest only mortgages. I have now received my SAR and curiously there are no copies of the originally signed mortgage deed ( which has to be signed by both parties) or a copy of the original terms and conditions. From my original documentation I have found two lots of different T&C's relating to the mortgage. Neither is their any copy of the deed of transfer between Northern Rock and NRAM. and the number of tariff changes I have had over the years is unbelievable.

I can request a copy of the legal documentation for a fee of £35 which I am going to do, but this is yet another area where I believe there are options to contest the agreement in addition to the overvaluation.

What information do you have where we could mount a combined legal challenge?

 

Its to do with the current practice they employ, using phone calls, letters, non-helpful etc. AND Because they run by UKAR, The current government are pursuing these debts, plus controlling the market, the money, the jobs, the Unemployment benefit and mortgage help. They are using an exponential number tactic to push people out of their homes to reduce the national debt.

[hawkit12]

Hi, I have a 'together mortgage'. The property was £75000, the balance on the account is £121000 over 34 years! The houses is currently worth 60k. This was done through a broker, a little like interest only scandal, they shouldn't have relied on the value increasing. Any way this is with the fos and an adjudicater is looking at it, I get my response from them by 27th dec. the broker is no longer traiding.