It just got worse and we're worried sick...

[Trelawney66]

Hi, I've been using the PPI forum recently as I had discovered that we were not only in a lot of debt but it seemed that my wife has been fleeced by lenders for unasked for extras, amongst other things. However things have just got a whole lot worse as our mortgage company has broken off negotiations and late yesterday we received a letter telling us that they were instructing their solicitor to start repossession proceedings.

 

I am retired with just a basic state pension. Until Nov last year my wife had a good job. She lost it in such an underhand way that her union has taken up the case and a tribunal is sitting sometime in Dec. The union barrister has told us that she has a good and valid case and should she win there will be a substantial payout. However, this is not Dec and is no real help! She has been trying to get back into work, but so far with no success. Her health has suffered as a result and I'm extremely worried about her.

 

 

We have been paying as much as we can afford to them each month, and even more whenever we have some spare money. The DWP has also chipped in with a contribution which they pay direct to them. We have tried to negotiate with them but their stock stance is that we should pay the arrears or face eviction.

 

 

We are paying way above the odds in interest rates, as this mortgage was sold to my wife by a broker who knew he could bamboozle her and has since gone out of business. We tried a while back to get legal advice about how we could start proceedings for a miss sold mortgage but he advised that as the company had gone out of business (Crystal Clear Home Loans) there was little chance of success. (I have since discovered that one of the directors is still trading , in the same building, offering financial services)

 

 

Recently our loan was transferred to the 'solutions' dept in GE and we were in contact with a 'nice' guy who gave us the impression that they were actively working on a solution for us. On Tuesday morning he rang us to say that he hadn't heard back from Finance but was expecting to hear later in the day and would ring back around 5. 5o'clock came and went as did Wednesday and Thursday. Late Friday afternoon a letter arrived informing us of their proceedings.

 

 

We immediately rang him but they refused to put us through to him, instead insisting that we spoke to their legal Dept. This young man was as close to being a brick wall as is humanly possible. Despite anything we said to him his stance was to repeat over and over again that we had to pay the arrears before the solicitors action would be stopped.

 

 

The thing is, we did everything we could to reassure them that we were not simply 'not paying'. We rang them as soon as my wife lost her job, we kept them informed every month, and as I said we paid as much as we could without fail. Even the 'brick wall' we spoke to yesterday conceded that he would have expected the arrears to be much higher. They currently stand at about £2,500.

 

 

As the title says, we are worried sick. Housing down here is at a premium and as rare as hens teeth. The council list currently has 29,000 on it, and we're not on it either. We have however phoned the Council to ask about the mortgage rescue scheme, but the word is that around here it's almost impossible to get onto it unless you're almost gasping your last, and I'm a few years off that I think...

 

 

So... What on earth can we do? This feels like the end of the world for us. We have a house full of memories, a retired greyhound and a couple of cats, and it seems that everything is crashing down around our heads.

 

We always saw this financial situation as a temporary blip. We remained optomistic that we would be able to heave ourselves out of it (In fact my wife has a job interview next week, small salary but it's a start) We're terrified that GE will steamroller through the courts and the glimmer of hope we see on the horizon will be lost in all the debris.

 

 

Sorry to go on in such a long post but I'm genuinely at my wits end trying to hold all this together and seeing my wife's face looking so devastated is hard to take.

 

 

Hope someone can point us in the right direction, in fact any direction would be good... Thanks.

Edited September 8, 2013 by citizenB
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[Ell-enn]

Hi there, I can see that this is a very worrying situation for you. Hopefully we can offer some advice, but will need a little more info so if you could answer the following questions we can make a start.

 

Is the mortgage capital and interest or interest only?

How much is the normal monthly payment and how much have you been paying ?

 

If they are only just applying for a possession hearing you have a few weeks before they get a court date so we have time to try and do something about the situation.

[Trelawney66]

Hello Ell-en, and thank you for hearing our plea for advice...

The mortgage is capital and interest, and the monthly repayments should be £728:63 (although this seems to fluctuate a bit)

We are paying from my pension and pension credit £200:00 (sometimes up to £50 more if we can afford it, and the DWP is adding a further £69:81 per week.

Now, to us the DWP part works out at 302:51 per month (multiplied by 52 and divided by 12)

GE claim it is only £279:24 per month (they have only multiplied it by 4)

So therefore what we are actually paying is either £502:51, or £479:24, depending on whose is the correct calculation!

Once again, thank you so much for replying, it means a lot...

Edited September 7, 2013 by Trelawney66

[Lea_HTH]

I understand that you think the chances of getting Mortgage Rescue are slim, but make an application anyway. Get a confirmation letter from the local authority that they have, and are considering, your application. When the case comes to court, you can use the letter as proof that you are looking for an alternative, and ask the judge to adjourn for 3 months whilst your application continues. MRS apps take anywhere up to 9 months to complete, sometimes longer, so the judge will not be phased by a request of 3 months. This will undoubtedly get you past the December date for your wife's tribunal, and hopefully a payout that will assist you in the future.

 

In additon, you should write to the mortgagee and ask to be placed on interest only for a period of 12 months - explaining that this will give your wife time to get back into work, and will allow you to pay something each month towards the arrears as well as the interest only payment (it'll be less than or equal to what you're paying currently if they take the capital repayment off). Inform them that under the pre-action protocol they have 10 days in which to reply to your offer. These letters will also be of use in court.

 

If you're lucky, this won't come into court until early November, and if so the adjournment you can ask for due to an MRS application will take you to February at least, and by then your wife should know what her position is regarding the tribunal.

[Ell-enn]

As LeaH says you have time to apply for the MRS and also to write to them asking to be put on interest only for a period of time (which is why I asked what sort of mortgage it was) and we can help you with a letter requesting this. From now on you should only communicate with them in writing as copy letters will help you in court.

[Trelawney66]

Hello Lea_HTH, and thank you so much for your reply.

We have managed to secure an initial telephone consultation with the council regarding MRS on Monday, (despite my misgivings, and as far as we are concerned nothing is off the table). So we'll see how that goes.

Your insight into court timings is very helpful, as is your advice about an interest only request. I don't hold out a lot of hope for that as their argument is that "we have had plenty of time already and why make a bad situation worse" ...all under the guise of 'helping' us!

Is there a template letter somewhere we could use for guidance?

Thanks for helping us....

[Trelawney66]

Thanks Ell-enn, I'd aready posted my question about a template before I'd read your post.... this interweb thingy will be the death of me....

[Ell-enn]

Hi, I'll draft a letter for you and attach later.

[Trelawney66]

Hi Ell-enn, Thanks, I'll pick it up tomorrow as I'm cooking tonight and am going to try and relax a bit after so I'll be more on the ball tomorrow...

We both really appreciate this...

[Lea_HTH]

Hello Lea_HTH, and thank you so much for your reply.

We have managed to secure an initial telephone consultation with the council regarding MRS on Monday, (despite my misgivings, and as far as we are concerned nothing is off the table). So we'll see how that goes.

Your insight into court timings is very helpful, as is your advice about an interest only request. I don't hold out a lot of hope for that as their argument is that "we have had plenty of time already and why make a bad situation worse" ...all under the guise of 'helping' us!

Is there a template letter somewhere we could use for guidance?

Thanks for helping us....

 

Try not to worry too much. If your wife is genuinely going to find another job and perhaps get compensation for her dismissal, then the extra time you'll buy yourself by applying for MRS will genuinely make a difference to the court proceedings.

 

Don't forget to include in your letter requesting interest only that the MCOB states that possession should be a last resort, and if there are other options open (such as interest only), then there is no reason why you should not be given that opportunity.

 

Of course, all of this also depends on the remaining term of your mortgage, as that will play a large factor in the time they can offer to you.

[Trelawney66]

Hi Ell-enn, Just found your excellent CAG guide and have cobbled together a letter using cut and paste with a few bits added that are relevant to us. Have printed it and will post it to them in the morning.

I have a question that has been puzzling me. If we were to find a property to let that we could afford, and have to move fast to secure it, what is our position then? What I mean is, can we just vacate and move? Is the mortgage then frozen? (as we would be effectively handing the house over to them). I know this may seem a stupid question, and obviously it's not a solution we would relish... But I can't afford not to look at as many exit strategies as I can think of... and ideally we don't want to move if we could at all avoid it.

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, sorry for delay in responding - I have affixed a letter which should suit your particular circumstances. You need to send by special delivery - keep the receipt for posting safe and check on the royalmail website a few days after posting to print off the signed for proof. Keep the proof with a copy of the letter you sent in a safe place as we may need to produce it in court.

[Trelawney66]

Thank you Ell-enn, don't worry about delays, we're just grateful that you are giving us guidance as we have only a very basic grasp of all the ins and outs of this situation at the moment (although we're learning fast...)

Brilliant letter, and we'll get it out as soon as...

When or if you have a spare moment , could you consider the question I asked in my last post about exit strategies?

Thanks again ...

[Ell-enn]

Hi, is there any equity in your property ?

[Trelawney66]

Hi Ellen, Not much I'm afraid, but possibly just enough for MRS...

[Trelawney66]

Hi all... A quick update... I sent the letter that Ell-enn kindly attached and waited for a response. In the meantime we had a call from the council about the mortgage rescue scheme, and we were told that there would be some forms in the post on their way shortly. She also told us that she would be arranging a home visit to see if our property was suitable for the scheme. So far we haven't received the forms or the visit, but we do have a name, department number and her desk number to phone, so fingers crossed.

The next day we had a call from the mortgage company, and our proposal for a 6 months interest only payment was rejected. However, the call was from the person designated to deal with the mortgage rescue scheme, and she told us that if our application was successful they would then be likely to propose a payment that we can afford until the deal with the MRS was finalized... So, we are probably on our way to some kind of resolution I guess... but it's early days yet... I'll keep you posted...

[Ell-enn]

Good news - hope it all goes smoothly for you