Suspended Repossession Order Halifax threatening repossession if we don't pay a lump sum, please help

[faithandnoah]

Hi, we have a suspended repossession order from 2010 (when my partners ex wife was still on the mortgage, she is now no longer) and we have fell into arrears of 6100 over the 5 year period due to unemployment.

 

We made a partial payment in august last year and missed a payment in November last year other than that we have maintained our mortgage payments and have been paying some off the arrears each month for nearly 2 years, now the Halifax have said they are going to be seeking an eviction date if we don't pay £3000 by the 28th of this month.

 

We have kept them informed of the payments missed and have tried to come to new payment arrangements with them each time.

 

We spoke to a man at the Halifax in December who said that we had to pay the full arrears or it would go to repossession, we explained that we didn't have access to that sort of money so we couldn't pay that much, then we spoke to a different woman at the Halifax last week trying to come to an arrangement were we pay £100 extra a month to clear the arrears quicker and she said that if we paid £1400 it would stop any more proceedings, then we got a phone call on Friday saying that we had to pay £3000 by the 28th of the month or they would seek an eviction date, we explained that we didn't have access to that sort of money and that my partner didn't get paid until the 29th of the month and we would be making a payment of £625 (which includes the £100 we said we would pay to clear the arrears quicker), she then replied that they would be sending us an eviction date.

 

We are panicking now as we have 3 children, our eldest child is in her final year at juniors and we are currently waiting to hear if she has got her secondary school place, she also suffers from anxiety, our second child also has epilepsy and possible autism (we have just got an appointment with a specialist doctor after a 19 month wait) so everything is in place at his school for his needs, the Halifax are aware that we have children and one with a disability.

 

I had to give up work in June last year due to severe hand eczema and stress and anxiety, however my partner has a good job and can pay the mortgage and the arrears no problem.

 

I am really really worried they are going to repossess our home as I don't drive and we won't get a private rent in the area and if the council put us in an area where I won't be able to get my children to school, I don't want to have to change my children's schools as there is support in place for them at the schools they are currently in and it could change my sons hospitals and doctors if we aren't in the catchment area.

 

I am going to write to the Halifax with our proposal again, with a breakdown of how long it will take to pay the arrears back, I just don't know what else to say to them and I think it will be rejected as well, I just don't know what else to do.

[AndyOrch]

Thread title amended faithandnoah so posters are aware of what stage you are at.

 

Andy

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, it's a good idea to put your offer in writing (send by recorded delivery). If you look at the guide here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?325527-CAG-guide-Are-you-facing-eviction-or-repossession on page 9 you will find an example letter which you can adapt for your own purpose. Keep the explanation short and to the point. The accompanying budget sheet can be downloaded from the second post in the guide thread. When filling in the budget sheet make sure you have accounted for everything that your family spends so there is a very small sum left over in Box E for emergencies. If you have any questions about this, don't hesitate to ask.

 

If you are in a position to make extra payments each month to clear the arrears, then there is no way they would get possession.

[faithandnoah]

Thanks for replying so quickly.

 

I will do the letter and send it to the Halifax by recorded delivery tomorrow and the budget sheet.

 

Since I have posted on this forum I have relieved a letter from the Halifax Evictions Team, which was sent before the lady at the Halifax told us we had to pay £3000 to stop legal action.

 

The letter states that they will be instructing solicitors to enforce the order of possession of our property and that we will receive notification of this in a further letter (even though the lady we spoke to said we had to the 28th of this month to find the £3000).

 

It then states that they are sending an external field agent to collect information related to the possession which is then passed to them for consideration and that we will be charged £55 and it will be added to our mortgage account, which will make our arrears even worse

 

At the bottom of the letter it says "if your situation has improved since last speaking to us meaning that you can pay the arrears or any court order arrangement up to date, please call immediately".

 

We have informed them we cannot pay the arrears in full but we have been trying to come to a new arrangement for weeks, we paid our December payment in full and some off the arrears and we will also do this this month on the 29th.

 

I am confused does this mean they have already started eviction proceedings??

[Ell-enn]

Hi, you should put in your letter " We have received notification from you that you are sending a field agent to our home - we do not wish this visit, nor do we expect to be charged for it. We have included a budget sheet showing our income and expenditure and believe this should suffice. Please note as we have made a reasonable offer to clear the arrears we are prepared to defend any enforcement action by yourselves".

 

Put that before the final paragraph in the letter.

[faithandnoah]

Thanks for replying.

 

We have received a letter this morning dated the same date as the letter we received yesterday saying they are repossessing the property and we will be notified of the date in due course and that £100 has been debited to our mortgage account????

 

So they asked for a lump sum but never had any intention of letting us make a payment and now they have added more money to our mortgage account.

 

Don't know what to do now feel like were in limbo??

[AndyOrch]

Ell-enn will be along shortly faithandnoah ...stay calm.

 

Andy

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, have you send the letter we discussed yesterday ?

 

Try not to worry too much about the different letters they keep sending - they are only making themselves look disorganised and if you have to defend possession (we will help you with that), you produce these letters in court plus a copy of your letter to show the judge that you have tried to come to an arrangement to pay the arrears but they are confusing the situation with different demands

[faithandnoah]

I am printing off the letter as we speak. The amounts they have stated were done on the phone, how can I get proof of these??

[Ell-enn]

OK, don't forget to put in the paragraph about the home visit (post 5) and send by recorded (or special delivery by 1pm next day if you can afford it) then lets wait and see what their response is. Make sure you keep a copy of the letter and the budget sheet, also keep the receipt for posting in a safe place so you can check on the royal mail website a few days after posting the letter to print off the signature receipt. Keep all of this paperwork together with their letters in a folder so you know where everything is - we may need to affix to a defence is they take further action.

 

Hopefully, the letter will stop further action and they will agree to your payment plan.

[faithandnoah]

Can I send you my budget sheet?

[Ell-enn]

Yes, you can send it to [email protected] (there is no space between the c and o, the site just shows it like that) Let me know when you have sent it so I can look out for it.

[faithandnoah]

Hi thanks so much for your time we really appreciate it, I have sent the budget to you

[Ell-enn]

Hi, I've got it and replied to your email saying it's fine with just a tweak here and there.

[Ell-enn]

Do you know how much of the £6k arrears they are quoting is just missed payments and how much is fees ? True arrears are missed monthly payments, if they try to take it further then they cannot include fees and charges in the arrears total.

[faithandnoah]

My partner will ring tonight and ask for a breakdown of the arrears to be sent to us.

 

Sent the budget and letter by recorded delivery yesterday but have a feeling in my gut that we will receive an eviction date today, I'm not sure how long it takes from receiving a letter saying they have instructed their solicitors to receiving a date??

 

Should I have put in the letter that we have a disabled child in the property?? We have told them repeatedly that we have children, that one is disabled and that I suffer from stress and anxiety.

 

Can the Halifax stop the eviction if they agree to the payment proposal or will we still have to go to court, I will of course be asking for all this in writing.

[Ell-enn]

Hi, it can take a couple of weeks for an eviction notice to come through but we will help you apply to the court for a hearing to stop it. Let's wait and see what response you get to your letter - you have said in your letter that you will defend any enforcement action by them so they will be aware of what you will put in your defence.

 

Halifax can stop the eviction at any point in the process and it would be in their interests to do so given you have made a reasonable proposal to pay the arrears off.

 

Unfortunately it is impossible to rush these people and they will keep you waiting for a decision/next step with no care about the stress is it causing you

[faithandnoah]

Just an update.

 

Halifax solicitors Shoosmiths have sent a letter to my in laws address, saying that we now have to pay the full arrears by the 26th or they will recommence court proceedings to obtain possession. We haven't received this letter at our address and we have no idea why they have sent it to my in laws??? Surely they can't send such confidential letters to an address my partner hasn't lived at for over 10 years???

 

Also the names on the letters is my partner and his ex wife???? His ex wife hasn't been on the mortgage since 2013 (she went bankrupt and my partner bought her trustees share of the property, her name isn't on the land registry).

 

It does say at the bottom of the letter it is not too late to stop repossession even if we are not in position to pay the full arrears, should I also send a copy of the budget and letter to Shoosmiths??

[AndyOrch]

"should I also send a copy of the budget and letter to Shoosmiths?? "

 

I think that would be advisable but see if Ellenn agrees first.

 

Andy

[Ell-enn]

Yes, send a copy of the letter and budget sheet you sent to Halifax with a covering letter saying "Please see affixed letter sent to Halifax by recorded delivery on (date). We are awaiting a response " Send that by recorded delivery too.

 

I would also ask them to explain why they have sent a letter to the wrong address when Halifax have been communicating with you at the correct address, and Mrs XXXX is not, nor has been for XXX years, jointly responsible for the mortgage. The mortgage is in Mr XXX's name only.

[faithandnoah]

Hi everyone

 

Keep checking to see if the Halifax have recieved our budget and payment proposal and it is still saying that it hasn't been delivered just when it was sent and where from.

[faithandnoah]

Also my in laws have received another letter to their address (we still not had any correspondence from Shoosmiths to our actual address) this time addressed to my partners ex wife, so we are hoping that she hasn't received any documents at her current address or that she is actually speaking to Shoosmiths when she has no right to (she has done this and attempted to on several occasions). Was wondering if anyone could look at the letter before I send it recorded delivery.