Urgent help. Mortgage say charges are fair and threaten to charge for court costs

[caro]

Yes you need to be able to respond to anything they've put in the defence, so if they say about CPR 16.4 then you have to be able to respond to that when it comes to court or mediation. Much better to get your research done now so you're prepared when you need it than leave it to the last minute and panic about it.

[slick132]

The case of Sempra Metals v Inland Revenue Commissioners deals with the issue of restitutionary interest. You'll find summaries of the case on the web which will help identify the salient points.

 

Are you happy about Defence item 3(i) which questions the identity of the Claimant/Borrower.

 

[Tessy1]

Thank you caro.

 

Slick. Yes my husband is the borrower and the claimant. Though he changed his first name around last year and they have amended their system already (proof was sent). So that paragraph 3(i) is completely irrelevant. What do you think ?

 

Also, do you think we should send a letter and new POC to amend the previous mistake about the intereste. Thank you

[SabreSheep]

what was the mistake regarding the interest?

[Tessy1]

As caro (post 13) and sabresheep (post 20) stated. I have had a look on our poc and soc (post 5) and realised we claimed restitutional interest at 24.9% instead of the lender's interest 7.2%. Thank you

[SabreSheep]

In which case

Find a product that the lender offers at 24.9% apr or greater

 

Restitution is the surrendering of money they made by taking your money unlawfully (Charges) and lending it back out. This does not have to be leant out to you it could be leant out to anyone

[SabreSheep]

Who is the defendant? (Lender)

[Tessy1]

Hi sabresheep. Sorry i dont understand post 31.

The defendant is mortgage express and apr given in my last post is what the lender confirmed when my hubby requested for it some days back.

[slick132]

Hi Tessy,

 

Re your post #30, if you have the doc'ts to show the name is right, that's fine. Remember, the Defence is an attempt to put the claim in doubt but their assertions are not necessarily right.

 

I think claiming restitutionary interest @ 24.9% is a reasonable option if you can show they lend out at 24.9% on any products, bearing in mind they are part of a larger company, UKAR Ltd.

 

I have concerns that your PoC is wrong when addressing s.69 Int't. Stat'y Int't can be claimed from the date of each charge to the claim date, and/or from the N1 claim date on the full amount of your claim total. As said earlier, this can be addressed in settlement negotiations.

 

[Tessy1]

We have just received this afternoon. How do we go about this as that money they are willing to settle with is too small. Funny enough, there are not even considering to pay the court fees of over a hundred pounds.

[SabreSheep]

I simple reply back stating that you still disagree with their assessment of the case and that you know you have a strong case. Unless they pay the full amount claimed you will proceed with the litigation.

 

IN essence they have already admitted the costs involved in defending the action will exceed the amount you claim.

 

Big chance they will settle closer to the time on a commercial basis.

[Tessy1]

You mean i should not correct the s.interest.

Also we have received mediation appointment slated for towards the end of the month.

[SabreSheep]

nope do not correct the interest. As advised by slick, better suited to dealing with that in the mediation.

 

Mediation is where you will show you know what you are talking about.

[Tessy1]

My hubby would send the letter to them tomorrow. Thank you so much

[Tessy1]

I have searched everywhere on their website and could not find their list of products. All i can saw was that they sold part of their savings and retail branch businesses to satander in 2008. They also transferred most of their Insurance and protection customers to a new provider and thirdly, they no longer offer their wealth and investment products.

 

Question is how do I find out if they offer any product at 24

9% to justify my claim. Can we ask for this from them ?

[slick132]

Hi Tessy,

 

It's a good sign that they're offering to settle.

 

Politely refuse the offer and see what Mediation brings.

 

[Tessy1]

Hello. My husband has Appointment tomorrow morning with the mediation team to contact him through phone call and he is a bit nervous what they might ask him and why he thinks he has the right to claim the charges back.

I would really appreciate your prompt reply and any suggestion. Thank you

[slick132]

Hi Tessy,

 

The call is not about convincing the Mediator of the merits of your case.

 

It's about the Mediator seeing what common ground there may be, to help the parties reach a mutually acceptable settlement, thereby avoiding further court involvement.

 

YH does not need to have legal arguments ready to use. But he SHOULD have in mind a figure he's willing to accept to bring the court action to an end, IF he's willing to compromise at this stage.

 

[Tessy1]

oh I see. Thanks for the clarification as we have been all over the internet reading different articles.

 

 

Ok what he plans to settle with if below....

He currently charge restitutional interest at 24.9 on his POC which the lender questions. As advice here that if he can find a product the lender offers at that rate ,that would be okay. We are unable to locate their product online so therefore we decided that pherhap he should offer to settle at the rate (7.2%) the lender claimed to be their charges rate, although don't know if this is correct though but that is the figure they gave when he requested for it.

 

 

Is it okay to start the settlement with the above as am thinking they may further request a reduced amount after hearing this which will reduce the amount to little Or he just ignore about the 24.9 already used on POC and decide to reduce the total amount they already have.

[slick132]

Hi Tessy,

 

I do NOT think you should be looking to settle so low as 7.2% at this stage.

 

I would stick to the figure of 24.9% for now, argued on the basis that this is compound restitutionary interest to which you are entitled.

 

So seek refund of the charges plus 24.9% compound int't; plus 8% simple Statutory Int't calculated from the date of court claim to date.

 

If you're willing to settle for less, you could say, "The claim total currently stands at £xxxx.xx but I would be willing to drop by 10% to bring the matter to an end."

 

Or choose your own figure to reduce by.

 

[slick132]

Any update about Mediation ?

 

[Tessy1]

Sorry been tied up. My husband later settled for £500, too low but was happy with it.

Thank you

[slick132]

Hi Tessy,

 

So was that all charges refunded and a nominal amount on top ?

 

I assume there was no Confidentiality Clause imposed.