Eviction due 21st June, can anyone help!

[sonya key]

Hi All,

found your forum when looking for assistance about stopping our family home from being repossessed.

GE Money has decided to repossess our home on 21st June at 11.40am.

I am trying desperately to fill in the N244 but I sought some legal advice earlier who said I don't have cat in hells chance of stopping the eviction.

cutting a long story short in Jan 2011 we had arrears 2,500 managed to stop GE money from repossessing and our mortgage stood then at 100082.55.

My husband had a car crash in march and wrote the car off, hitting a brick wall at 65mph on the M25 tends to do that, he walked away with a scratch but his car which is a taxi was dead.

Desperate to get him back working we used every last penny to get him a car and up and running again.

Now GE money state that arrears are 5600 and unless i pay in full by 21st, it is time to pack bags. I offered to pay this months installment plus a hundred extra but no it is either all or nothing and to borrow it from family and friends.

Our mortgage now stands at 91,758 so as you can see we have made good progress on paying mortgage and just when we though every thing was going so well, our world has turned upside down.

I'm i wrong in trying to get a judge to look at this again or should I be doing as GE state and saving all my money for the rent on house.

We also have two children aged 9 and 6 and I'm terrified of letting them down.

Can anyone help or should I pack my bags.

Thanks in advance

[renegadeimp]

Try not to worry, Ge money are terrible and im sure someone will be able to advise soon. I find it surprising that they want to repossess the house for such a tiny amount. Why wouldnt they just get a charging order?

[Ell-enn]

Who told you that you didn't have a chance of stopping repossession??? are you able to make payments towards the arrears going forward?

 

Did you attend the original possession hearing ?

[sonya key]

Hi all many thanks for the replies.

A local solicitor from the local law firm stated that we did n t have a chance of getting the repossession stopped a second time.

we attended the hearing in jan 2011 as husbands business went under and he went bankrupt, we complete overhauled all our expenditures and judge was satisfied we could make payments plus 50 extra each month.

I feel so stupid was all for filling out N244 but after speaking to the solicitor today I was made to feel I would be wasting money, and the courts time. I just wanted to show that it was only a temporary set back and now things were back on track and could pay an additional 100 towards the arrears.

Just feel that I have let my children down.

[Ell-enn]

You should certainly enter an N244 as soon as possible, if you can show the judge you are able to make payments going forward you won't lose your home.

 

How much were the arrears at the hearing in Jan 2011 and how much are they now?

 

I can help you with the N244 but it will have to be tomorrow as I need to log off. In the meantime have a look at my guide here: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?325527-CAG-guide-Are-you-facing-eviction-or-repossession where you can download the N244 and see examples of how to fill it in. You can also download the budget sheet you need to affix to the form. There is also an example of how to set out a statement to go with Q10 of the form.

[sonya key]

Hi Ell-enn

Arrears in 2011 were 2,500, mortgage was 100082.55. Arrears currently are 5,600 and mortgage is 91,758.

I had gathered together evidence of crash plus photos. My husbands latest pay sheets from work. the private sale receipt of vehicle plus a copy of the V5 to show when we took ownership plus council documents to prove when vehicle was authorized to work as taxi and a budget form.

I;m I forgetting to include anything just feeling so rejected after been told I had broken one agreement and had blown it getting a second chance.

We also offered to pay this months installment plus 100 extra but GE was not interested in payment.

[Ell-enn]

OK, I'll catch up with you in the morning

[sonya key]

Ok think i'm just about ready to hand everything in. I have gathered evidence of RTA plus wage slips, V5 and receipt of new vehicle, Budget form is completed. Have I missed anything?

My only concern is the statement of the N244 and also I have no refusal letter from GE for the amount I offered to extra each month as the adviser just said no down the phone.

I also really want to make this months payment before going to court but again she refused to take payment. Can i insist they take it?

By my calculations I would repay the arrears in 4 years 7 months and the remaining time on mortgage is 15 years 4 months.

they have also been increasing my monthly payments to reflect their charges I owe so they are covered at the end of term, I have letters to prove this from them.

Still feeling nervous as playing on my mind what solicitor said yesterday.

[Ell-enn]

Hi, can you email your N244 statement? [email protected] and I'll look it over. You need to include the fact that the advisor refused to take your payment.

[Ell-enn]

Hi, got your email - your statement is fine, well done don't forget to take a photocopy of everything before you hand it into court. There will be a fee of £40 to pay at the court counter (take the eviction notice with you) and they should be able to tell you the date and time of your hearing.

 

Also ask at the counter if there are any free duty legal advisors at court on the day of your hearing, the can go into the hearing with you and support your case.

 

Let us know what the date for the hearing is.

 

Does GE have an automated telephone payment line? or website payment service ?

[sonya key]

Hi Ell-enn

Many thanks for all your help.

I have made two copies of everything and will attend court first thing in the morning to get a date.

There is an automated line for payment I think, Don't know about the other but will look into it.

Really want to get this payment made so frustrating, they wont take it.

Will keep you updated on all accounts.

Thanks for everything, feel i can breathe a little.

[Ell-enn]

If they have an automated payment line then please make the payment today - and keep the reference number. If you have internet banking you will be able to print off the transaction tomorrow morning and alter your statement to state you made it via their payment line as the advisor refused to take it - affix the bank print out.

[northernbloke]

If you want to do an internet banking payment to GE the sort is 20 19 90 and account is 80896950.(And no, that isn't my own account! Most banks have a facility on their payments screens to search for companies so you could check). I must have been really lucky with GE, as I've said before on here, they got a possession order but didn't enforce it for over two years even though I was paying very erratically. Try not to worry too much, I got the repo stopped and my arrears were about £15000!

[sonya key]

Many Thanks Northern bloke and Ell-enn,

Just made payment, amended statement to say monthly payment made.

fingers crossed here goes nothing.

[Ell-enn]

Did you email the budget sheet to me ?

[the puffin]

GE are a nightmare - fact! I have been through and am still going through hell with them and I know exactly what your saying about them refusing to accept things - they will (or get their representatives to ) lie through their teeth in court. You have done the right thing by filling in the N244 and by making the payment - if you can remember dates and times that you contacted GE write them down and take them with you to show the judge you have tried to resolve this with them as they will claim to have no record even though all their calls are recorded. Their solicitors are Simply Law but if you challenge them they will say they are acting for GE when you challenge GE about them they will say they are independent yet Simply Laws website clearly states they work exclusively for GE and are based in the same building.

 

If you cant get representation from the court contact Shelter and ask them if they have a court desk scheme - they will often send someone to court to help you and go into court with you - theres nothing worse than going it alone. I am currently in limbo with GE after losing my home and then getting it back the same day - see my thread on here - at moment they are under investigation by the Financial Ombudsman and then I am going to sue them for the £10000 worth of charges they have taken off me in the past 6 years.

 

Good luck with your hearing will keep everything crossed for you - if you want any tips on dealing with GE and how to get answers out of them drop me a message as I have finally worked out how to play them at their own game. They are not invincible and you sound like you have a very secure reason for suspending the posession please dont let them wear you down they are bullies but they will back down. Oh yeah just a note, ask the judge for the claimant to pay their own costs - otherwise you are going to be hit with a bill for around £500 if the posession is stopped and you are looking at in excess of £2k if the eviction goes ahead - I know I'm fighting the charges to prove it.

[sonya key]

Hi guys,

Sorry for not replying sooner mad few days at work plus getting to court to hand in N244 waiting for court to call with hearing, the wait is killing me.

Puffin I'm sorry to hear about your circumstances,anything you can think might help would be appreciated. feeling really low at moment just wracked with guilt for messing up.

spoke to shelter but no representatives for local court.

I have spoke to council today just in case, worst case scenario got appt with them on monday.

I did receive letter from GE today saying we can still come to an arrangement blah, blah.

Plucked up the courage to phone and got we want £6k and might not boot your family out. My arrears are only £5k but they want some towards the charges, said but the letter says nothing about these charges.

well you have charges, clear the arrears and you might get to stay if we decide, came off the phone crying why are they so nasty and rude.

letter was worded as if they wanted to help and instead I feel worse.

Will let you know when I have hearing date. Thanks for all the help guys.

[Ell-enn]

Sonya please don't let them get to you - they say that sort of thing to everyone in the hope they don't turn up at court. You must stay positive, I'm sure it will be ok.

[the puffin]

Sonya please do not worry this wont do you any good whatsoever and please dont beat yourself up you aint messed up we all make mistakes I have been where you are and I know what your going through. Firstly as the very knowledgeable Ellen has said this is just a scare tactic you will probably have a few more letters this week up to the actual day and a few phonecalls as well. This is going to sound very very negative but ... be careful what you say to them on the phone they record their calls and anything that weakens your case will be used against you. Okay now going to court aint all that bad. I represented myself on my own over 4 years or so of battling GE - the court is very informal you them and the judge - be cool calm and stay focused ansa the judges questions clearly and concicesly, be honest and if you dont understand or disagree with whats being said dont be afraid to interupt. You are not on trial and the court doesnt want you to lose your home unless it is necessary - if you have proof of what you have told us and can show you are able and willing to make payments then in all likelihood the court will see in your favour and order a suspension. If it doesnt you can go back to court even on the day of eviction and try again - but hopefully it wont be necessary.

 

If you get a suspended posession order and the judge gets you to make an undertaking to pay xyz amount ontop each month - beg steal or borrow to make that payment and as soon as you are aware that you cant get yourself to court and ask the court to reduce the amount - if you dont then GE will go straight for the jugular and you will find yourself with an eviction order before you can bat an eye and the court will look badly upon you for not approaching them first. You might get another suspended order at this point but it will all depend on your circumstances.

 

When you are in court, dont be afraid to tell the judge what has happened in your telephone dealings with GE - if you dont tell him/her they will not know - sure as hell GE wont tell them. Dont go over the top dont slag them off state the facts clearly and concisely eg. refusal to accept payment, telling you to save your money to pay for next property etc. If you tell the court the truth you cannot be penalised for it. GE claim they rely on facts they will quote the number of missed calls offers to pay that have not materialised but most importantly of all they rely VERY heavilly on the amount of arrears any previous agreements and p[ayments made to date - they dwell and make the court dwell on the negatives so show them the positives.

 

Now hopefully this will give you some hope - last week I filed an N244 with my local court even though I have an ongoing investigation with the Ombudsman. I filed as I wanted the posession order they hold either suspended or cancelled as I do not trust them an inch and I owe them nothing my account is in credit at the moment and also I asked the court to put a hold on an increase of £100 a month that they were charging me to cover the 2k charges they were charging for the eviction that never happened. Received court papers yesterday date set for 26th June then today totally out ofthe blue had a call from Simply Law solicitors (GE's in house law firm) they are prepared to waive the posession order and put a hold on the charges as long as I cancel the court action and tell the court it is my decision - so they dont have to pay charges as I asked the judge to make them pay their own as it was their fault that we were in court. My response - When you send me a letter of confirmation I will cancel the court action until then it will remain. This is the first time GE have shown any sign of backing down and I am chuffed. See they are not invincible and they do know when they are on a hiding to nothing - when right is on your side so is the law.

[Ell-enn]

In all likelihood the solicitor GE sends to the hearing will be from a local firm who has just been instructed the day before and will only have brief information about the case. You will find that judges are usually very sympathetic to you as they understand how stressful you will be feeling. Judges don't take people's homes away when they have an income and can make payments.

[Lea_HTH]

First of all, don't EVER interrupt anyone in court - you will get your turn. It might seem formal, but no judge appreciates you trying to run his court, which is precisely what you'd be doing if you thought you could interrupt someone when you felt like it. Make notes of anything you disagree and refer to them when it's your turn.

 

Secondly, don't make an agreement to pay what you cannot afford (you should NEVER have to 'beg, borrow or steal to keep the roof over your head). The judge will be reasonable within the law - even if it takes you the rest of the life of the mortgage to repay your arrears, if that is all you can afford, that is all the judge will order you to pay.

 

Thirdly, the court won't 'look badly on you' for not approaching prior to getting an eviction order - they are well versed in people leaving it to the last second to try to sort things out. The only time this will reflect badly on you is if you are on your 5/6th stay application and have previously received a civil restraint from a judge ordering you not to leave making a stay application to the last minute (it would likely be worded that you have to make a stay application not less than three days before the eviction date). It is not very usual for a civil restraint to be made, so don't worry about it unless it happens - and even if it did happen, it still won't affect the judge dealing with your case on the facts at the hearing.

 

You should tell the judge that you were told by GE Money that you had to pay the arrears and an amount towards charges if you wanted to stop eviction - they cannot do this and it is underhand and against their code of conduct. My suggestion is that once the warrant is suspended that you get on with attempting to reclaim some of those charges.

 

You've received sterling help from Ell (as always!), so make sure to follow her advice - and bear in mind the advice I've given above regarding court - if there are duty advisers at your court you are better off if you ask them for help with representation.

[northernbloke]

Of course you are correct, but it is only natural, if you are not used to the etiquette, to remonstrate if someone is saying something wrong or something that you don't agree with! At my hearing the GE solicitor was coming out with a load of drivel and I just said "But..." and the judge just said "let Mr.X speak, then you'll have your turn". I said "Sorry Ma'am" and it was ok.

[sonya key]

Been flat out again, sorry for late reply.

Well I;m in court tomorrow at 10am, so at least I have only got 1 more night of bad sleep to go!

Thanks for all the advice everyone I will try to remember all that has been said.

Attended council yesterday as advised by shelter, just in case worse case scenario for housing, they were very helpful and I now feel better knowing I have a back up plan.

GE on the other hand were not very nice to the council official even with full authorisation and data protection form, I have never known such elusive people in all my life, ended up with council putting an official complaint in to ombudsman.

will of course let you all know the outcome. Thanks again for all your help, advice and support you are all one in million.

[Ell-enn]

Hi Sonya, hope it all goes well for you - stay positive, it will soon be over.

[sonya key]

Dear All.

just wanted to drop a quick line, will fill in all other details later as I have to get to work. I managed to get the order suspend !

So happy, you guys are the best, I really could not have done this without your help and support. I will post full details for the benefit of others.

but Thank you, thank you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!