Mortgage Express Repossession Hearing - Query on legality?

[Upsetandfrustrated]

Hi there,

 

Is there anyone out there who can help me?

We have a former GMAC mortgage that went over to mortgage Express.

We were keeping up with the mortgage until I finally succumbed to my illness and disability.

 

We are currently five months in arrears which works out to be £4250.

I was working part time and my wife was working full time and up to earlier in the year keeping up with our mortgage.

We thought we had sorted ourselves out with my working part time and my wife getting a full time job a while ago.

 

I had an operation several years ago, that resulted in damage to my spine, this means I take 35 tablets a day, and have fentanyl (type of morphine) patches, oramorph (another type of morphine). I am stuck in a wheelchair now, I am typing from a special bed installed in our bedroom that is like a hospital bed.

 

All this means I cannot really work a lot now. I am waiting for the first of five operations at the start of August so will be out of any sort of working fulltime loop for a few years.

I will be able to work part time and an employer is willing to let me do this fitting around all my issues.

My wife works fulltime, but had to take a few months off without pay due my being in and out of hospital.

overall a loss of income.

 

We have managed to stabilise our position, but need to sort out the mortgage arrears.

We were in arrears a few years ago with MX and it was hell.

Four of five phone calls a day, refusal to accept a deal, threats of a home visit etc.

we changed our phone number, managed to pay off the debt and were debt free for three years.

How can I write a letter offering an extra £150.00 a month, which we can pay and try to forestall any action?

 

We had a knock at the door which was out of the blue.

It was an advisor and valuer from them.

We told him to go away, we were only going to deal with Mortgage Express in writing as our last experience told us they bullied on the phone, never agreed a deal, and kept on phoning us.

 

Despite our telling him to go away,

he came back four times,

each time was when our neighbours were coming home from work.

He would stand outside the house and with a raised voice tell us he was there to deal with our mortgage arrears.

our neighbours know our business.

 

Can someone point me towards a letter template our help me out with one to send them as soon as possible?

I just want to stop and action which the valuer told us they would do, that being taking us to court for repossession.

I know the court might end up giving possession and then stay it, but it is a worry I could do without.

 

I get full DLA, I am as previously stated in a wheelchair.

I have four outpatient’s appointments a week, which I know is not MX’s fault, but being thrown out of the house will result in my ending up in hospital.

 

Please help.

Edited February 12, 2019 by dx100uk

[BornThisWay]

First of all, do not be scared of Court. I promise you that a judge is a much easier person to deal with than the sort of low life individuals that mortgage companies employ.

 

Can you explain what stage you are up to with the company? Have they told you formally that they are going to apply for a possession order? Believe me you are a long way from losing your house, and there are many protocols the company should be adhering to. The Council Of Mortgage Lenders ask that their members not even begin repossession proceedings until you are 6 months in arrears, and then only if the borrower is refusing to communicate.

 

Keep calm and lots of people on here will help you. £150 may be too much to offer per month, a judge can spread the arrears over the whole of the rest of the loan.

 

How long have you got to go on the loan and what is the sum outstanding?

 

...........we will come back to the people visiting you and shouting your business in the street since that is a contravention of the Data Protection Act and needs to be dealt with separately.

[Upsetandfrustrated]

We have today received a letter saying that they will send it to their solicitors if we do not give them a firm proposal to clear the arrears within 6 months. We are five months in arrears as it works out.

 

To be honest, I would prefer they agree to an amount that I can afford until it is clear. They have said it will be sent to their solicitor for possession if we do not give them a firm proposal within 14 days, of which I have 13 left.

 

We owe 249K, originally a 95% mortgage. The house is valued at 220K so lots of negative equity there.

 

I would prefer to not going to court as one mistake and your out.

[Lea_HTH]

You might want to contact the local authority (housing department) and ask to speak to someone who deals with the mortgage protection fund. In most areas this is woefully under-used. It is a pot of public funds used to assist people who are in difficulties with their mortgages. Depending on your exact circumstances the local authority can pay the arrears off for you as a one off payment, no repayment required from you, or loan you the money at a relatively low interest rate in order that you can repay the arrears. They will only do this if there is a good prospect of you not falling into arrears again.

 

Another scheme to consider is the mortgage rescue scheme - whereby the local authority or a housing association buy your property, or a share thereof, discharge the mortgages against it, and then you become a tenant.

 

Those are things to explore.

 

In the interim, you should write to the mortgagee and explain your position, inform them that you can pay the CMI plus X towards the arrears and that you will begin payment of this on , and that under the pre-action protocols they have ten days in which to accept or decline your offer and provide reasons if they decline.

 

I would suggest you include an income and expenditure form with your offer letter so that they can see that you are paying as much as you can afford. You will find a guide about possession proceedings and an income and expenditure form at the following link: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?325527-CAG-guide-Are-you-facing-eviction-or-repossession

[Lea_HTH]

Your negative equity is a problem. How many years/months exactly do you have left to run on the mortgage?

[BornThisWay]

Lea is absolutely right that you should talk to your local authority. Your's are 'special' circumstances and you may well qualify for some help.

 

Non mainstream lenders such as these seem very keen to get rid of their mortgages and your negative equity will be making them very twitchy. That said they cannot simply ignore the rules and if you can't agree a reasonable monthly sum then you would be better going to Court and getting a suspended possession order.

 

There have been many people on this forum who have ended up paying much less than the lender was pushing for, since the Judge will look for a reasonable solution, rather than whatever suits the lender best. However, the lender will also add pretty much any legal fees they like, so it is worth trying to avoid Court from that perspective.

[Upsetandfrustrated]

We have 19 years left on the mortgage. I always thought the higher value houses never got help?

[barbershop0]

Your local authority should give you assistance regardless of the value of your house.

[Lea_HTH]

We have 19 years left on the mortgage. I always thought the higher value houses never got help?

 

You don't have a higher value home, it's only £220k and it's in negative equity.

 

If you are offering £150 per month towards the arrears that will clear the arrears well within the remaining term of the mortgage, which is what the case law, Norgan allows.

 

You should still contact the local authority to see if there is any assistance they can offer you.

[barbershop0]

Hi Op,

 

Lea_HTH said "In the interim, you should write to the mortgagee and explain your position, inform them that you can pay the CMI plus X towards the arrears and that you will begin payment of this on , and that under the pre-action protocols they have ten days in which to accept or decline your offer and provide reasons if they decline.

 

I would suggest you include an income and expenditure form with your offer letter so that they can see that you are paying as much as you can afford. You will find a guide about possession proceedings and an income and expenditure form at the following link: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...r-repossession"

 

I think that is good advice and if you need help with the letter then someone on here maybe able to offer you some assistance.

 

Your local council can help you, without the need of paying for a solicitor's letter.

 

Hope this helps.

[Upsetandfrustrated]

I all,

 

Is it possible someone could help me with a draft letter?

We have written a letter to them, sent them a cheque for the month plus £150 which is just about what we can afford according to the spreadsheet on the link.

 

They have cashed the cheque, but still sent another letter informing us that they will refer it to their solicitors if we do not give them an acceptable proposal within 14 days.

I don't think my letter covered all the legal angles that to be honest I think their in house legal dept would look at and decide to accept as the court no doubt would either enforce or give a lower figure.

 

For me, and please do not think this is a sad story call, I cannot handle as I was diagnosed with cancer on Friday and have an operation next week.

 

Any help in the form of a letter that I can just add my details and account number would be ideal and really help me.

My head is spinning as I type this now.

 

Is there anyone who can help with pointing me towards a draft letter to the Mortgage Express reminding them of the procedures?

I have contacted the council as suggested and they have definitely said they cannot help.

 

If someone can please point me to a letter template that just puts the rules they must follow as they just ignore everything.

I am totally lost with what to do.

 

Thank you if anyone can help.

Edited February 12, 2019 by dx100uk
merge

[Upsetandfrustrated]

Sadly, I have a mortgage with Mortgage Express. I never wanted one with them, never knew they were a sub-Prime lender. I believed they were a regular mortgage lender when we first signed for it as their rates were roughly those I had on the High Street.

 

In October I missed a payment, due to illness. I phoned and told them I was ill and would make a payment as soon as I could. They asked to be kept informed.

 

In November, I managed to do some work, and made a payment that was equal to 2/3 the regular sum. However, twenty days later on the 30th of November I received a letter from Hamblins Solicitors telling me that I needed to bring my payments up to date and on the same letter told me they were “attaching Statement of my account”. I had two pages of my statement of my account, payments, interest, payments, interest, missed payment etc.

 

I continued to receieve anything between four four and six phone calls from Mortgage Express, which I answered for the first week, but got fed up of explaining and confirming that I had reached agreement to pay the arrears when I was fit and had returned to work and stopped answering the phone calls. At this point Mortgage Express started to text me too. I cannot change my number as I have had the same phone number since 1988 and have customers call me out of the blue who last used me in 1990.

 

On the 25th January, I received a “Statement of Account” letter informing me that I would have a County Court date in March for repossession. This letter made me very ill, I was put on strong medication and taken into hospital.

 

I was deemed to be better last week and told I could go home, but to be careful to my movements as the several operations would take a while to recover from. Only today have I felt strong enough to go through letters and correspondence.

 

That meant speaking to Mortgage Express, I had a long conversation with one of the service team and queried why they were taking me to court for repossession of my home. I told them I was still bed-bound and that it’s a life changing event I would have to deal with, but once better I would be able to return to work and pay off the arrears. I was told by them that the matter is now in the hands of the court and I could ask for an extension in not being repossessed.

 

My questions are :

 

1. Are they in their rights just to send me a statement in the same November from their Soliciitors despite the fact I had made a payment and was now 2.1 months in arrears?

2.Is it right the first I know of any Court action is at the end of November with a Court date?

3. They appear to be saying we are going to court to have it rubber stamped?

4. What can I do? There was no notice of going to court either from Mortgage Express or Hamblins until they had done the deed.

 

Thank you you for your time.

[AndyOrch]

Have you actually received anything from Court with regards to this application ?

 

 

Andy

[dx100uk]

I've merged an old thread with a bit more history and tidied things up for you

 

dx

[Upsetandfrustrated]

Have you actually received anything from Court with regards to this application ?

 

 

Andy

 

Andy, I received a letter this morning with a date next month. They have never sent so much as a default notice, they commenced action 20 days after having our last payment.

 

The Crisis Team who are treating me have written to them, however, they have said they will only discuss any repossession delay once they have had Judgement. I am helpless as being bed-bound, the next visit from the Council is next week, I am worried sick that there’s no options left.

[AndyOrch]

Take a read of the following sticky prepared by Site Team expert Ell-enn then you can prepare for the hearing.

 

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?325527-CAG-guide-Are-you-facing-eviction-or-repossession

[Upsetandfrustrated]

Just an update,

 

Because I suffered a medical issue, ME applied for  “Stay in the process, with Liberty to Restore”. 

We cleared the arrears in May, have just made July’s payment and asked ME for confirmation that they have discontinued their application (we never got to the going to Court stage).  I got told by the operator in the Accounts dept that he would not do so as they would, if I ever missed a payment again, apply to re-continue the original application from November 2019.

 

Is this Right? As we have no debt with them, nor the fact we never got to the hearing stage, how can I have a repossession hearing hanging over my head? I told them that I was going to go into arrears before I actually went into it because of an upcoming operation and that I had not been able to do any work for a few months before hand, I was paying the Mortgage out of savings. 

 

To be told they can simply reapply to have a hearing for an event that is not only in the past by nine months, one that I had paid for. I even paid the £450 Court fee’s and Solicitors costs on the account. 

 

Can Mortgage Express do this?

[dx100uk]

Did nt  they already have an spo?

[Upsetandfrustrated]

Hi Dx100uk,

 

No, we never even had a hearing. I got as far as receiving their N244 claim pack. They agreed to suspend any further action and the proceedings were stayed with liberty to restore.

[dx100uk]

their n244?? 

 

stayed with liberty to restore.

 

which i think means it was granted but suspended??

[Upsetandfrustrated]

100% we never had a hearing, nor did they get a possession order. I have had it confirmed by Mortgage Express and the Court. 

 

The chap in the arrears dept said he will not discontinue proceedings in case we go into arrears anytime between now and when the Mortgage is paid. 

 

I feel I have the Sword of Damocles over our heads.

Edited July 8, 2019 by Upsetandfrustrated

[dx100uk]

 

so the claim is stayed??

 

proceedings cant be stayed with liberty to restore.??

only a judge can decide that, and there was no hearing you say?

 

who said 'liberty to restore'?

 

I think you mean you got an N1 not an N244...that would be to lift a stay that was already in-force..

[AndyOrch]

The above would only apply if they actually had made a claim for repossession and it was suspended....you can't discontinue a Suspended Repossession Order..it remains in force for the remainder of the term of mortgage,

 

But you state there was never a hearing for the Repossession Order so assume it was stayed by the claimant with liberty to restore should you ever fall into arrears again.

 

I would be asking for a refund £450 Court fee’s and Solicitors costs...thats only awarded to the claimant should they restore and win the claim...which they wouldn't because you would suspend it.......best option is to not fall into arrears again.....if possible.

 

Andy

[dx100uk]

thanks andy.

 

bet you've £100's in arrears fees or letter fees etc etc too?

[Upsetandfrustrated]

19 hours ago, Andyorch said:

But you state there was never a hearing for the Repossession Order so assume it was stayed by the claimant with liberty to restore should you ever fall into arrears again

 

Andy, 

 

Yes, that’s it, you have it 100%. The claimant stayed their application with Liberty to Restore. I was sent a notice from the Court that the Claimant had agreed to Stay the claim with Liberty to Restore. It never went as far as the Court. 

 

I phoned the local CC this morning and the woman on the phone said that if I paid their claim including costs, they must update the online form and inform the Court that it’s been paid in full and therefore they must Discontinue the Claim”.

 

She pointed me to the MCOL guide page 20

 

”If at any stage of the proceedings you decide you no longer want to proceed with a claim, or if it has been paid in full, you must click on the ‘update claim status’ button from your homepage. Please note that the information may take up to 10 working days to be recorded onto the court system. Remember - it is your responsibility to inform the court that a case has been paid and should be discontinued. You should also inform the defendant that you have taken the appropriate action to update the claim”.

 

on that basis isn’t Mortgage Express breaking the rules by not following CPR 38.2(b)

 

b) where the claimant has received an interim payment in relation to a claim (whether voluntarily or pursuant to an order under Part 25),

 

Any help would be great.

I do not know why Mortgage Express are taking this stance, I paid as per our arrangement (we told them I would receive a large payment on X date from a Customer and once I had it, I would pay them. Come the day, full payment was made.

 

I gave it a few months before calling to ask for them to discontinue their claim.

I argued my case with a person in the unit that deals with arrears, he put me on hold and the next person I was talking to was their Solicitors.

 

He hadn’t a clue why Mortgage Express had put me through to them and said “if you have paid several months ago and paid all their costs, I don’t understand why they have not contacted me to arrange for a notice to be sent to the Court. That’s if you are in agreement”.

 

Does this look like I will have to go to the Court myself and ask it for a Discontinuance?

 

thanks everyone