GE Money repossession

[tinner]

I'm very worried. My husband passed away in August 2007, and since then I've been struggling terribly.

 

My son took his death terribly and was forced to leave his job. We fell behind on the mortgage payments, now to the tune of £3,400 (£800 of which are charges).

 

My son has now made somewhat of a recovery, found a new job a few weeks ago, and is contributing towards the household income. We thought we were finally back on our feet, and could clear the arrears.

 

Then a letter came today, informing me that GE Money were going to take my house. I have to go to court on 28th October. I have no idea what I'm going to do.

 

I suffer from agoraphobia and depression, I don't know how I can face them. I feel like it's all gone wrong.

 

I have worked my budget out, several times over, and I've found I can only afford £80 per month towards the arrears. Is this too little?

 

Thank you very much in advance.

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, please don't panic. As long as you can afford to pay a little towards the arrears each month you will be OK, and we will help you with your court case.

 

How long does the mortgage have to go?

 

You say you have £800 of charges - are you sure they have added them onto the arrears? if so they shouldn't have done, they should be added on to the outstanding balance of the mortgage.

 

Have you received an N11M defence form from the court? If so, I will guide you through completing it.

 

In the meantime you need to write to the mortgage company detailing the reason for the arrears and giving your offer of payment - this will show the court that you have tried to come to an arrangement with them. You will need to enclose a budget sheet to back up your offer (I have affixed one to this post). It's best to print out the budget sheet and fill in in pencil first before completing a final copy so you get your figures right.

 

If you need help with writing the letter to GE, please let me know and I will draft one for you.

 

Please try not to worry too much, there is no way a judge will award possession to GE at the first time of asking, especially as you can show you are able to make payments towards the arrears.

 

Stay positive, you will get plenty of help here. Have a read around some of the other repossession cases and you will see what can be done.

 

Kind Regards

 

Ell-enn

[tinner]

Hi Ell-enn. Thank you very much for your reassuring reply.

 

There's still 14 years remaining on my mortgage.

 

I think you're right - the charges haven't been added to the arrears, they're held separately. At present, for every month I remain in arrears, they're charging me around £60...which would almost 'eat up' the full arrears payment I can afford.

 

Yes, I have received an N11M form from the courts this morning, and I'll write to GE Money today, and ask my son to post it for me when he gets home this evening.

 

Thanks again for your help, I truly appreciate it.

[OLIVE.FAMILY]

Hi there tinner. Like Ell-enn says you will be fine. You have had and still do have exceptioanal circumstances. Ell and the rest of us are all here to help and advise. Trust me I am one of those people that have been helped to fight reposession.

 

Just remember when your son [posts the lettter to send it first class recorded so that they have to sign for it and you have proof that they have received it.

 

Goodluck

 

Olives xx

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, please make sure you affix the budget sheet to the letter and you must send it by recorded delivery - keep the receipt for posting safe with a copy of the letter and budget sheet - you will need those to send in with your defence to court. If I were you I would only offer £50.00 per month - the court has the power to order that arrears can be paid over the remaining term of the mortgage if necessary. I've helped people with much larger arrears than yours where they are only paying £40 or £50 a month extra, so please don't offer more than you can afford as you may struggle later on.

 

You have until 14 days before the court hearing to enter your defence, so lets see if you get a response from GE to your letter.

 

Kind Regards

 

Ell-enn

[tinner]

Thank you both for your advice, and congratulations on your win Olive.

 

I wasn't able to download the budget sheet from your original post Ellen, but I found one you had posted on another thread. Will this be OK?

 

I'll have to wait until tomorrow to post it recorded, as our post office closes at 5pm and my son isn't home until after that.

 

I would be more comfortable with £50 or so, as £80 would be stretching us to our very limit, but I'm just so worried about them thinking it's too little.

 

I plucked up the courage to telephone GE Money after my son got a job, and they said that unless I paid them £190 per month they would take my house. They said that I can't pay off the arrears in any more than 18 months.

 

I'm really grateful for your advice, as I was terrified thinking that there's no way I could afford almost £200 extra.

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, stick with £50 per month if that is what you can comfortably afford. GE might want you to pay the arrears in 18 months to suit them, but as I said there is case law for stretching the arrears over a much longer period where necessary.

 

I have affixed the budget sheet again.

 

Kind Regards

 

Ell-enn

Budget Sheet.xls

[tinner]

Just an update - GE Money have refused my offer of payment (£50 p/m). I'm now resigned to going to court in 11 days time.

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, if you have not returned the N11M forms to court yet I can help you with a statement for Q.27 of the form.

 

Please let me know.

 

Kind Regards

 

Ell-enn

[lucky01]

sign-up & lets put the pressure on!

 

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/savemyhome/

[tinner]

Hi Ellen, I haven't handed in the N11M forms yet. Any help you could give me would be very gratefully received. Thank you. Lucky, I'll sign the petition. Not sure how much good it'll do, but fingers crossed for anybody in this sort of position.

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, Ok I'll start to draft a statement for Q.27 and get back to you later this evening. In the meantime you should complete the rest of the form - if you get stuck on any of the questions just shout. Use the information on the budget form you sent to GE to complete the financial section of the form. You will need a copy of the letter you sent to them and also a copy of their response refusing your offer. We will send those in with your defence to prove you tried to come to an arrangement.

 

Ell-enn

[tinner]

That's great, thanks again for taking the time and effort. I really appreciate your help with this, I don't know where I'd be otherwise.

[Ell-enn]

No problem, happy to help

[Ell-enn]

Affixed is the statement for Q.27. In the box for Q.27 write "please see affixed sheet". You need to write the claim number and your name at the top of the statement.

 

You will see I have referred to Appendix 1 - this is your letter to GE and their reply rejecting your offer. On the top of both of these (use photocopies) you need to write the claim number on the top left hand corner and Appendix 1 on the top right hand corner.

 

Take a copy of the completed form and appendices before stapling the original securely and taking to the court.

 

Keep the copy at home for you to take to the hearing so you can refer to it if need be.

 

When was your last payment? and when will you be able to make another?

 

Kind Regards

 

Ell-enn

Tinner Q.27.doc

[tinner]

Thank you very much, once again Ellen. That's great. I last made a payment in August, and my October payment is due at the end of this month - which I can afford, as well as the payment towards the arrears.

[tinner]

I also meant to say that GE Money, a couple of weeks ago, said that they could offer me an interest only mortgage for a period of 6 months whilst i got back on my feet. I said that I would be happy to do this, but he advised that it wouldn't be possible until after the hearing. I asked for it in writing, but so far haven't received anything.

[Ell-enn]

Hi, we can do a statement for you to take to court detailing the offer GE made for interest only for 6 months. Will you be able to make the October payment before the hearing on the 28th?

 

Ell

[tinner]

Hi Ellen, yes I'll be able to make the payment before the hearing.

[Ell-enn]

Excellent, make sure you can get some kind of receipt for that payment i.e. internet bank statement or ATM mini statement so we can include it in your statement for court.

 

El

[tinner]

I can get a print off from my online banking to take with me.

 

As it gets closer to the date, I find myself getting more and more worried. Would it be possible for my son to appear on my behalf? He has offered to do this for me, and it would be a great relief - but firstly I don't know if it would be allowed...and if it were allowed, could it be perceived that I'm not taking things seriously (when actually, it's all that dominates my thoughts recently).

 

Thanks all.

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, I know you will be worrying about the court hearing, but it is not as bad as you might think. The hearing will be conducted in a private room with just the judge, yourself and a representative from the other side. The judge will be sympathetic to your situation and know that you will be nervous. He/she will guide you through the process which should take no more than 10 minutes.

 

It would really be best for you to attend and your son can accompany you. Also, you could telephone the court and ask if they have any CAB representatives or legal volunteers in court on that date, many courts have them these days and they can go into the hearing with you and support you.

 

I will write a statement for you to take to court with you on the day and I am confident you will be OK.

 

Ell-enn

[tinner]

Thanks once again for your reassuring words.

 

I think I'd feel a lot better having my son there with me, and it's a comfort as well to know that there will just be a few people in the room. I was imagining something a lot worse.

[OLIVE.FAMILY]

You could go with your son and let him talk on your behalf. I can completly understand how you are feeling at the mo. I have also been there. It really honestly is not as scarry as you imagine. You go into the judges office with a rep(ususally a youngster)from the other side and sit at his/her table. The Judge will ask for each side to give their view and then he/she will make a decision. It will be over in 15 minutes

 

olives xx

[OLIVE.FAMILY]

Not sure quite how that happened but you both seemed to have beat me to it, Must have got distracted