Halifax BOS repo problems - SUSPENDED

[Sodem Hall]

Hi Everyone,

 

My wife has a mortgage with Halifax which is in arrears because halifax are messing about. My wife was signed off work ill by her doctor for nearly seven months whilst waiting for an operation. She has been paying for payment protection insurance since inception of the mortgage (approx 8 years) and we thought we could claim on the said insurance to cover the mortgage. We sent the claim forms off and heard nothing. We have tried phoning but their overseas call centre cant even get our names right let alone help with the insurance. We received numerous arrears letters (£35 a time) and we again tried to phone, but no joy. Then we had a debt advisor call (cold call from halifax) and I told him before he entered the house that the account is in dispute and we would not talkto him because of the cost that would be charged fo his fee. We then receive a letter saying we had been charged £100.00 for his attendance. Now 17/07/09 we have received a letter from Drydens saying that they have applied for a possession hearing and we need to pay the whole amount now. I phoned them a discussed the situation and they informed me tha they can not deal with insurance issues and I need to talk to Halifax, however when I contact Halifax they say because it is in the hands of the lawyers they cant discuss the case with us. Catch 22 or what. I have been advised by Drydens to post a letter to Halifax and cc them, can anyne help with this letter as im not sureas to the legal situation as to whether they can repo the house whilst it is in dispute. Mortgage is £140 per month and arrears are about 1200.

 

All help greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks:confused:

[Rorschach]

Hi Sodem-hall

Pre-action protocol brought in by the CJS last year states that a lender should not take action against someone who is actively pursuing an insurance claim. So you need to be able to prove that you are doing so. I know it can be frustrating to speak to off shore call centres, but ensure that you are doing everything you can to pursue the insurance claim. Send them letters and cc your mortgage company in.

What you also need to do, is accept that, techincally, you are in arrears as your mortgage payments have not been met, albeit due to this issue you are having with your insurance provider (is it a seperate provider from your mortgage company?).If you can pay anything, even token payments, make sure you are doing this as at a Court Hearing this will be of benefit to you.

Lastly, if you get a Court Hearing date do not be afraid of this. It will be more like a meeting with only a few people present. If you can explain the difficulties you are having with the insurance and what you are trying to do to solve this to the Judge then he/she is likely to look favourably on this. It is also ridiculous for Drydens to insist on the whole amount, as if you can afford to meet your monthly instalment and pay a little to the arrears a Judge would allow this.

As for the letter about the insurance, it does not have to be in legalese, just explain your issues and what you feel should be done.

[Sodem Hall]

Thanks

 

Yes it is Halifax mortgage and Halifax insurance. We can pay arrears off before any court date but worried we may not get money back from insurance.

 

Thanks

[debtdeception]

Did you take out the insurance with the Halifax at the same time as you took out the mortgage?

If so talk to the broker/account rep that sold you the package. Also read the section on mis-selling of PPI.

My advice (for what it is worth) is write letters on a continuous basis and phone to check they have received them.

Also talk to Halifax and refuse to be put off by them saying it is in the hands of their solicitors. If they say that write to them expressing your frustration that they are refusing to discuss the problem with you. Make sure that you can then show this to the court if you end up there.

Make sure you are making any payments you can afford, otherwise you could end up loosing your home on a matter of principle. Also you could have a case for mis-selling of PPI and perhaps get compensation.

Worth looking into.

[Sodem Hall]

Thanks debtdeception, yes the insurance was taken out at the same time as the mortgage but have no idea who the broker was it was done centrally at HBOS with the mortgage application. We were told we had to have the insurance for the mortgage to be approved. Do you recommend paying the full amount and trying to claim back or just keep chaising? the concern I have isnt losing the house as I cant imagine a repo order being granted whilst in dispute but im sur the Halifax rip offs will apply court costs (which they have done before, we went to court over similar situation and even though the case was thrown out they applied £800 solicitors fees) this is nearly 6 months mortgage.

 

Thanks

[debtdeception]

I had a repo order while I was in dispute, the judge refused to listen to my explanation that we were in dispute, so be careful, judges can be a law unto themselves and they are not on your side!

Have you been in constant contact with your bank? I made the mistake of getting argumentative with them, which did not help.

Certainly write to you bank and restate the problem, also state that as the PPI was a requirement for you to get the mortgage, could they assist you in making a claim as the insurance company is not responding to you.

Ask them to cancel the repossession order and help you to get the Halifax Insurance company to pay. They probably won't but it is certainly good brownie points with the judge, because you have asked them for help.

State that when the insurance company pays that all the arrears will be cleared immediately.

Make sure the judge can see that you are being polite, responsive and that you are seeking help from them in this difficult situation.

Also keep writing to the insurance company.

As for how much you should pay, I cannot advise you on that, but be prepared to pay it all if you have to.

[Ell-enn]

Hi SH, if you need help with a letter please let me know and I'll happily draft one for you.

 

Ell-enn

[Sodem Hall]

Hi Ell-enn

 

Nice to speak to you again, if possible it would be great if we can prepare a letter on the basis that we may have to go to court. The solicitors cant help with the insurance issues and halifax wont speak to us because the solicitors have been instructed. We are sending letters to Halifax's PO Box and cc the solicitors but they are proceeding through the courts until their clients tell them to stop.

 

Thanks

[Ell-enn]

Hi, I'll draft something and post on here later this evening

 

Just a few questions:

 

Did you send the PPI claim forms by recorded delivery? Have they ever acknowledged receiving them?

Am I right in assuming that you wife is not being paid while she is off work?

Have you sent your letters to Halifax by recorded delivery and if so have you got the proof of delivery?

[juneandon]

Lots of advice about something so simple. Your mortgage is very small, your arrears are tiny you are incurring huge costs. At this rate those costs will be higher than the arrears. Is the husband working? If not, claim ESA at the jobcentre, pay as much as you can AND AVOID GETTING INTO A FIGHT YOU CANT WIN. Please EVERYONE dont encourage this frivolity. Sort out the payments, THEN AND ONLY THEN look at charges etc. How can you all spend so much time about such a small amount. Safe-guard the home and then go to war and I will advise you how to get ALL the fees back and look at the terms of the insurance policy. Dont endanger your home over a principle YOU CANT AFFORD to be right - but LOSE YOUR HOME.

[Ell-enn]

I will advise you how to get ALL the fees back and look at the terms of the insurance policy.

 

Perhaps you'd like to give us some background to that statement.

[jansus]

I know this may be a silly question because of wll the mergers and take overs that are very confusing but can you not go into a high street branch make an appointment with a manager take in your paperwork and ask them to sort it out for you? they must have all the correct contacts etc?

 

If not you somehow need to get yourself a contact in the UK with a name and a number that you can email or correspond with. Even if it has been passed to a solicitor there must be a dedicated department in the UK somewhere and that is who you need to talk to.

 

Have you been missing whole payments or been paying what you can afford each month?

 

Worry about the charges later - this is only relevant in court if they have included them in the arrears figures.

[jansus]

Also for good measure you could make an official complaint about how they have handled your arrears situation and lack of communication . stating that if the PPI is not to pay out thaen you consider is mis-sold . Your next move is a complaint to the FOS. the address they give is :

 

If you have a problem, we can help

 

We aim to offer you the best possible service, but there may be occasions when you feel you have cause for complaint. If so, we will always try to resolve the problem quickly and to your satisfaction. If you are unhappy with our response, you can take your complaint further through our complaints procedure.

 

Where you first make your complaint

 

We aim to resolve your concerns within 24 hours. Sometimes it may take longer to look into the matter fully. If this happens, we will let you know within 5 working days who will reply.

 

Often the people you first raise the matter with are able to help, but there may be occasions when a specialist area needs to be involved. If you don't know who to contact, you can:

• Telephone Customer Relations on 08457 25 35 19*
  
• Contact us using Textphone if you have a hearing impairment on 08456 00 17 50*
  
• Write to us at: Halifax, Customer Relations, PO Box 548, Leeds LS1 1WU
  
• Fax us on 08451 28 13 85*
  

[Sodem Hall]

Sorry Ell-enn I should have learnt by now, the claim forms were sent normal post and they hvnt acknowledged them, although the call centre acknowledged they were on file.

 

My wife was paid SSP during her period off sick.

 

We havnt sent the letter to Halifax and Drydens yet as we were hoping for help on what to say, which may help us in court and gee Halifx up.

 

She went back to work in March and the payments which were due since have been made but she is now 7 months pregnant and is now on maternity leave and receiving Maternity Allowance till 2010.

 

Thanks

[Ell-enn]

OK, I'll get back to you this evening - I drafted a letter for you, but it is on my PC at home so will post it on here later.

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, letter affixed - second page is letter for solicitor. Send both by recorded delivery (special delivery if you can afford it!). Keep copies, as we will need them for your defence.

Sodem Hall letter.doc

[Sodem Hall]

Thanks Ell-enn just received paperwork from court, hearing set for 10th August, the previous case was adjourned and this has just been re-activated so no court papers to fill in. If I dont receive a response by the court date what should I offer in payment or payment proposal and what would my defence be to the non payment of arrears etc.

 

Thanks

[Ell-enn]

Hi, if you don't get an answer by next monday of next week, we can start to prepare a statement for you to put into the court. Lets just see if the reply to your letter - do you have the signature receipt from royalmail website to prove they received the letter?

[Sodem Hall]

Hi nSorry I have had to go away on a training course with the threat of redundancy if i didnt go. I have receipt for the letter to Halifax but upon checking with the post office they dont have a receipt of delivery. In court monday so will need to present a defence i know its late but any help please. Still no responce regarding the halifax PPI. Wife now on maternity pay so will need to pay from now on.

 

thanks

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, I'll start to draft a statement for you to take to court - will post on here later. May need a bit more info, but will see how I get on with it.

[Sodem Hall]

Thanks Ell-enn I apprteciate your help, The basics are the arrears are now 1200 and my wife has been on sick pay for just over 12 months. She started maternity leave therefore maternity pay this month. We can afford to pay double the mortgage ie 300 per month but feel that the PPI should have covered this. Also we have been charged £455 in letters/charges, £100 for a debt councillor we didnt speak to and now we are going to end up with probably about £800 in legal costs for this court hearing. All because tyhey wont or cant speak to us.

 

What a rip off.

 

Thanks once again

[jansus]

The first thing is to concentrate on keeping your house and then tackle the charges later in a complaint to the FOS . Although of course you will mention all this in court the hearing will be about the possesion and not the legality or morality of the charges .

 

I agree about the ppi - you obviously thought you were doing the responsible thing in protecting your mortgage payments so lts hope this gets sorted out as soon as possible.

 

Sometimes it is a matter of finding the right person to speak to - or heading the letter Official complaint - with the threat of taking the matter further if you do not get a prompt reply.

[jansus]

oh just to add if you let Ellen deal with the possession defence and then if you need any help with a letter about the PPI/charges just give me a shout and I will see if I can help

[Ell-enn]

Hi, can you fill in the affixed budget sheet to go with statement. Remember when you are filling it in that the amount you are offering towards the arrears each month in addition to the normal monthly payment, is the amount left over after everything else has been accounted for.

 

Are you saying the arrears amount of £1200 has the charges included, or are they additional?

 

Also, you will need a copy of the letters you sent to Halifax and their solicitors and the proof of delivery - these will need to go with the statement. Do you have a copy of the PPI policy? and any documentation regarding your claim?

 

Back shortly

 

Ellx

Budget Sheet.xls

[Sodem Hall]

Hi

We have the prrof that we are still paying the PPI as it is included on our mortgage statements when we get them but we cant lay our hands on the policy because we are refurbishing the house for the new baby.