SPML/LMC anyone claimed for mis selling and unfair charges?

[bustthematrix]

I have just been given an eviction date do i need to do a form for the court

1. The solicitors requesting the eviction will have been instructed by the lender.

2. You can negotiate with either but the lender is much better as they instructed. If you negotiate with the Sols, if you don't offer what they've already pre-agreed with their client (your lender) they have to refer back to client for further instructions. Also, the more 'interaction' you have with the Sols, the more they'll bill their client who'll just add those costs to your mortgage account. So...I would always negotiate with the Lender in such circumstances unless their arrears management staff are particularly brutal and you cannot stomach delaing with them. Also, since the Lender is regulated, they have to behave themselves in a certain way as you are in difficulty and are being pro-active, trying to resolve things.

3. Whatever offers or payment you make, put this in writing and send it to the lender, and possibly a copy or fax of the letter to the Sols. Always, always, always, always (even when the lender/Sols says there's no need to), always put everything agreed/discussed in writing. For your own peace of mind. Remember the Sols, Lender staff and even the judge are just 'doing their job' and yours will be one of many cases they are dealing with. YOU however are fighting for YOUR HOME. Who else has as much interest in that as you do?

4. With your historic payment record since 2005, I cannot believe there is a single judge in the UK who will allow an eviction to go through just because you recently missed a payment or paid less than was due.

Yes you've breached the suspended repo Order etc BUT you can have the eviction Warrant set aside and you get the opportunity to show the judge

a) How good a payer you've been b) You have income that's sufficient to service the mortgage + agreed arrears payment (I assume that's what you've been paying right?) c) Any good explanation as to why/how you ended up in this situ in the first place.

If you're a family man, it always strengthens your case, if not, there's still a duty of care to you. Remember that regulated lenders are duty bound to ONLY use Repossession as a LAST resort. i.e. when pretty much all else has failed!!! It's not supposed to be used as a weapon of threat. Make sure you remind everyone who'll listen of this: The judge (if it gets that far), the lender, their Solicitors...anyone!!!

5. If you have funds to pay, make a payment ASAP, anything!!! Judges are very reticent to evict anyone who is servicing their debts in some way!

6. Once you breach a suspended Repo, your lender is SUPPOSED to contact you to try and make it 'good'. They are within their rights to say they'll go for eviction if they want to but if you challenge the eviction (as I'm sure you will), they have to show that YOU WILL NOT be able to keep servicing either the currently agreed payments OR a new lower payment that you can commit to.

7. Btw, in these situations, never agree to payments + arrears servicing that you doubt you'll be able to sustain. It's just not worth it!

8. If you had agreed to something you can no longer maintain e.g. mortgage = £700 + arrears servicing of £200 = £900 but you can now only afford £700 + £50 = £750. You should have gone to the lender first with the new proposal. If they tell you where to go, then when it gets back to court (which it will) the judge will look very favourably on your proposal, as long as you demonstrate your affordability going forward and you were proactive in raising it and not the lender.

9. The above mainly applies as long as you're fighting for your primary residence and not say an investment property.

Edited January 18, 2011 by bustthematrix

[bustthematrix]

Just had a thought...have you actually had this suspended repo since 2005? Since then, have you made 6-12 monthly agreed payments consistently in that time without missing a single one? I'd imagine you have if things have not progressed towards eviction in the last five years???

 

Anyway, if so, why has the lender not capitalised your arrears onto the main mortgage? Did you ever ask them to do this for you?

Had they done that, it would have had the effect of

a) Cleaning up your credit file from the point of re-capitalisation

b) Stop all ongoing arrears and legal charges

c) Cancelled the Suspended Repo

d) Merging the arrears into your principal

 

All this leads to greater peace of mind, added incentive to stay 'up to date' and it gives you a much better chance of remortgaging elsewhere should you need to.

 

You should look into this if it was not done...

[dave121]

The eviction date is 22 of feb, I have asked them to put the arrears on the mortgage and they said no numerous times

yes since 2005 made payments fine i am just £176 behind from 2005

i have always paid it in the month owed but not the date set by court whitch was the 1st of the month and they have been charging £125 a month for not paying on the 1st

i get paid different days of the month so i pay by card

they rang me yesterday to see if i had got a lump some sorted, i said no and the eviction came thruogh today.....i am foaming with them..

so i need the n244, im going to ask for a SAR too yes?

thanks for the help, my mrs is very upset

can i have help with the form i have a printer and stationary and just got a £10 PO

[bustthematrix]

Hi Dave

 

Do you have a thread for this?

 

This sounds like you have been ROYALLY shafted. Once you have a payment arrangement IN PLACE i.e., you agree to pay say the monthly interest only mortgage amount plus X amount each month towards the arrears, THAT IS an arrangement! If the lender has agreed to it, it's an arrangement! The FSA has ruled that once this arranegment has been made AND is being maintained, the lender CANNOT continue to charge you an arrears Admin fee. This is daylight robbery!!!

Also, when a court sets a date for payment, this is flexible. As long as you are paying within the month, this is normally OK and you are not breaking 'the agreement'. In my (little) experience, the court does not normally set the date for you to pay by anyway, just the amount to be paid each month. The judge will normally ask YOU when is convenient for you to pay by each month - last working day is usally best as it gives you greatest flexibilty. Anyway, the payment date is flexible and is determinable between you and the lender. What you will find is that Lenders will typically set the first of the month ad the DUE date but will allow payment any date up till the last working date!

 

If not already, start a thread asap and link it back here. I can help you with at least one area and that is to recoup those blasted £125 per month arrears charging they've been adding to your account...plus interest!!! Mind you, if/once they refund it, it won't be cash in your pocket but will offset/reduce your mortgage balance. Who's your lender????? Start a thread mate, quick!

 

Madness!!!

[bustthematrix]

I have asked them to put the arrears on the mortgage and they said no numerous times

yes since 2005 made payments fine i am just £176 behind from 2005

Well, the more torts they commit against you, the more rewarding should be the outcome of any claims against them. A lot will need to be explained by them...but before I/we get too excited about sticking it to anyone, let's wait for the fuller story...please start or link your own thread!

[dave121]

where do i start my own thread in this section?

ok started 1 in home repos

thanks

Edited January 18, 2011 by dave121

[bustthematrix]

Ok, you'll get a lot more direct relevant support on your own thread.

 

Can you post the link to it back to here for ease of reference?

[dave121]

here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?290676-spml-ascendan-eviction

 

thanks for advise help mate

[Crapstone]

I'm sure I sent mine to SPML as they are the named company but Capstone were the ones that replied . What we got was a lot of stuff headed as SPML and another lot under Capstone. The pile was impressive ..2 VERY large boxes and that was just the SAR. Ascenden have now taken over so they should be providing the same ..along with their bit they have to add. The SAR is the easy bit ..it's reading it all and finding out all their lies that takes it's toll. I'd go for SMPL as that's who your original contract would still be with unless they have told you otherwise.

[nmonline]

Thanks Crapstone - I'll do that

[bustthematrix]

Hi Folks

 

For the benefit of Dave121 and other Caggers who urgently need to SARN SPML/Crapstone/Ascenden in the near future, can anyone with recent successful experience of sending a SARN to any of the above please post the contact details and address(es) you used?

 

Many thanks.

[Suetonius]

Hi Folks

 

For the benefit of Dave121 and other Caggers who urgently need to SARN SPML/Crapstone/Ascenden in the near future, can anyone with recent successful experience of sending a SARN to any of the above please post the contact details and address(es) you used?

 

Many thanks.

 

The address is the same for both SPML and Acenden. As Acenden administer the accounts, it might be worth while sending any Subject Access Requests to them

 

Registration Number: Z9251023

Date Registered: 01 November 2005 Registration Expires: 31 October 2011

 

Data Controller: ACENDEN LIMITED

 

Address:

ST JOHNS PLACE

EASTON STREET

HIGH WYCOMBE

HP11 1NL

 

Registration Number: Z7369271

Date Registered: 16 December 2002 Registration Expires: 15 December 2011

 

Data Controller: SOUTHERN PACIFIC MORTGAGE LIMITED

 

Address:

ST JOHNS PLACE

EASTON STREET

HIGH WYCOMBE

HP11 1NL

[Crapstone]

Thanks Sue for posting that up

[jasperpad]

Hi

 

From what I understand about SPML/Capstone/Ascenden they NEVER capitialise any of the arrears regardless of how long the repayments have been made. I asked for mine to be capitalised but the gave me a blank NO!

 

jasperpad

 

Just had a thought...have you actually had this suspended repo since 2005? Since then, have you made 6-12 monthly agreed payments consistently in that time without missing a single one? I'd imagine you have if things have not progressed towards eviction in the last five years???

 

Anyway, if so, why has the lender not capitalised your arrears onto the main mortgage? Did you ever ask them to do this for you?

Had they done that, it would have had the effect of

a) Cleaning up your credit file from the point of re-capitalisation

b) Stop all ongoing arrears and legal charges

c) Cancelled the Suspended Repo

d) Merging the arrears into your principal

 

All this leads to greater peace of mind, added incentive to stay 'up to date' and it gives you a much better chance of remortgaging elsewhere should you need to.

 

You should look into this if it was not done...

[peterjm]

jasper it would be of great benefit if you could quickly post up your own personal experience on daves thread here.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...endan-eviction

 

Hi

 

 

From what I understand about SPML/Capstone/Ascenden they NEVER capitialise any of the arrears regardless of how long the repayments have been made. I asked for mine to be capitalised but the gave me a blank NO!

 

jasperpad

[jasperpad]

I certainly will but how do I do that? I am very interested in helping anyone who are being defrauded by this pariah

 

jasperpad

 

jasper it would be of great benefit if you could quickly post up your own personal experience on daves thread here.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...endan-eviction

[jasperpad]

Hi Dave

 

if you can have a look at my posts and experience of this pariah.

 

I know it will help!

 

once you have had a look let me know what your situation is and i will do what I can to help you.

 

Things are not as bad as they actually look but it does not stop you from worrying.

 

They can and regularly are beaten

 

jasperpad

 

here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?290676-spml-ascendan-eviction

 

thanks for advise help mate

[Crapstone]

Copy and paste from any other posts you have to the link or just click on it and then type your experience.

[bustthematrix]

Hi

 

From what I understand about SPML/Capstone/Ascenden they NEVER capitialise any of the arrears regardless of how long the repayments have been made. I asked for mine to be capitalised but the gave me a blank NO!

 

jasperpad

1. Jasper did you ask them for this in writing? If not you should have. What was your payment history like at the time you asked for the capitalisation?

2. Did they reply to reject your request in writing and give you an explanation? If not, get them to do so. Keep writing and insist on this if you have to.

3. The reason is that while they are not compelled to capitalise arrears (it's on a case by case basis and is influenced by things like arrears amount vs mortgage size and term of loan etc), they are required to be reasonable in considering your request and should give you a reason why they say NO.

4. In an arrears or suspended repossession situation, IF you've shown you can afford the mortgage plus arrears by 6-12 months (varies by lender) of consecutive unmissed payments, it is certainly open to you to request capitalisation of arrears.

[rocket1]

I was accepted for the Mortgage Rescue Scheme & it was all completed & handed to the housing association. There was just one last thing for them to do before completing the process - they had to send a surveyor to inspect the house & list any repairs with estimated costs.

 

They did that & then told me their total estimated of costs exceeded their budget and therefore they would not be 'rescuing' me.

 

The thing is, they had completely fabricated the list of works and costings to be artificially high so as to give them an excuse to refuse to take on the house.

 

This is certainly immoral, certainly wrong, possibly fraudulent & very definitely very wicked & I now face imminent eviction.

 

I was wondering if anyone else was having problems like this with the Mortgage Rescue Scheme ?

[Crapstone]

I was accepted for the Mortgage Rescue Scheme & it was all completed & handed to the housing association. There was just one last thing for them to do before completing the process - they had to send a surveyor to inspect the house & list any repairs with estimated costs.

 

They did that & then told me their total estimated of costs exceeded their budget and therefore they would not be 'rescuing' me.

 

The thing is, they had completely fabricated the list of works and costings to be artificially high so as to give them an excuse to refuse to take on the house.

 

This is certainly immoral, certainly wrong, possibly fraudulent & very definitely very wicked & I now face imminent eviction.

 

I was wondering if anyone else was having problems like this with the Mortgage Rescue Scheme ?

 

I don't have any experience with them as I just wouldn't have fitted in with their very strict criteria.

 

I'm sorry to hear you are having such difficulties. The only thing I can suggest it getting a second opinion and asking for a copy of the surveyors report if they haven't already provided one.

 

Their list of works and costs may seem unreasonable but keep in mind that they will probably already have their own insured and approved contractors and can't just call Joe Bloggs that could do it cheaper. They also would have a duty, as a landlord, to make sure the house fulfills all the legal standards so what you may see as minor would be more of an issue to them even though you'd be happy to live with it.

 

They should get all that out of way before building peoples hopes up and wasting more time.

[peterjm]

Saw this posted in" t,other place" with the interesting comment of whether it will fill the black hole created by the non regulated SPPL loans which are second charge,I think this may apply to eagleforms and many others,surely they cannot leave these as unregulated?? also it mentions the sale of loans to non regulated entities such as the spvs and receiving fair treatment,is that some sort of a joke?whats the point of regulation if there is an opening for sale to a non regulated lender,surely thats the point of it,if your loan is sold on to a non regulated lender all the protection of regulation is lost,fair treatment is simply not enough and when has it ever worked in practice.

 

HOME > MONEY > YOURMONEY > Protection for homeowners

PROTECTION FOR HOMEOWNERS

 

 

The Government has announced stricter regulation of the mortgage market

 

 

Sunday January 30,2011

 

By Esther Shaw

 

 

STRUGGLING homeowners are set to benefit from increased protection after the Government announced stricter regulation of the mortgage market.

 

 

The new measures will mean more protection for vulnerable borrowers who cannot keep up repayments on their home and will ensure that repossession is the last resort.

The regulation of new and existing second charge mortgages will move from the Office of Fair Trading to City watchdog, the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Second charge mortgages, also known as secured loans, are usually taken out by borrowers deemed “higher risk” and tend to be more expensive than standard deals.

Lenders can be quick to act if a customer falls behind with payments but with them coming under the remit of the FSA, those having financial difficulties will no longer be threatened with repossession at an early stage.

First charge mortgages already fall under the remit of the FSA.

The Treasury’s measures also include proposals to ensure homeowners who run into difficulties continue to receive fair treatment, even if their mortgage has been sold on to a new, unregulated company outside the mortgage market. Such a company might push for repossession quicker than a lender.

“The new measures will increase protection for borrowers as they will help provide uniform standards, and make it easier to understand the rules that regulate the mortgage market,” says Una Farrell, from the Consumer Credit Counselling Service. “This is particularly important at this time of year when households are feeling pressure on their budgets and making big financial decisions.”

The Money Advice Trust (MAT), which runs the National Debtline, said the move was good news for struggling borrowers.

 

 

Read more: http://www.express.co.uk/money/view/226090/Protection-for-homeownersProtection-for-homeownersProtection-for-homeowners#ixzz1CboOwqSv

[ajbaines]

Hi. I have a secured loan with Paragon. I am concerned as I do not receive any statements off Paragon and they could be putting all kind of charges on our account. We are in arrears but have an agreement to pay these. Are they suppose to send yearly statements like standard mortgage companies. They do seem to be underhand in hiding all the charges.

[slgsue]

I have started my own thread but so far have not had any response and I would really like to know the best way to handle this.

 

Could someone please advise, I have made a claim with the financial Ombudsman

Services against SPML/Capstone/Ascenden whatever they want to call themselves. Over the term of my mortgage they have charged me nearly 3000 for late payments etc. They took me to court and we have a suspended repossession order the arrears (including charges stand at just over 2500) Capstone as they were called in October charged me 115 for late payment but as I could prove their agents had said this would not happen, they ever so kindly took the charge off! I informed fos

of their dodgy dealings and today told them that they had removed the charge.

 

My claim has at this point been passed to an adjudicator whomI have informed of all issues with the aforementioned ****! The adjudicator has today come back and advised me that due to them refunding this single charge, the whold case is going to be looked at again in the next few days in order for him to make his final deecision.

 

Should I be worried? The reason for the charges mainly stemmed from late payments as beore my court appearance they refused to change the date of payment. Yes they did refund one charge but I strongly believe they need to refund all the charges. Is this a lost cause, I am quite concerned now

[Suetonius]

I have started my own thread but so far have not had any response and I would really like to know the best way to handle this.

 

Could someone please advise, I have made a claim with the financial Ombudsman

Services against SPML/Capstone/Ascenden whatever they want to call themselves. Over the term of my mortgage they have charged me nearly 3000 for late payments etc. They took me to court and we have a suspended repossession order the arrears (including charges stand at just over 2500) Capstone as they were called in October charged me 115 for late payment but as I could prove their agents had said this would not happen, they ever so kindly took the charge off! I informed fos

of their dodgy dealings and today told them that they had removed the charge.

 

My claim has at this point been passed to an adjudicator whomI have informed of all issues with the aforementioned ****! The adjudicator has today come back and advised me that due to them refunding this single charge, the whold case is going to be looked at again in the next few days in order for him to make his final deecision.

 

Should I be worried? The reason for the charges mainly stemmed from late payments as beore my court appearance they refused to change the date of payment. Yes they did refund one charge but I strongly believe they need to refund all the charges. Is this a lost cause, I am quite concerned now

 

You could email the Adjudicator something along the lines of (this is from an FOS complaint form, I have previously posted here and has been copied elsewhere):

 

My complaint is about the excessive and unfair fees and charges applied to my mortgage.

 

I consider the application of these charges and fees clearly demonstrate that my lender treatment of me has not been sympathetic or positive and incompatible with ‘Treating Customers Fairly’. I also consider that the application of these fees and charges is in clear breach of the requirement of MCOB.

 

 

To resolve my complaint, I require a full refund of all of the additional charges and fees, including but not limited to late payment charges, monthly administration fees and litigation fees that have been applied to my account.

 

In addition I require a payment equivalent to interest at 8% simple from the date each fee and charge was applied to my account until the date of refund.

 

Taking into consideration recent events with regard to the Financial Services Authority, GMAC and Kensington Mortgage, I also request an additional award in recognition the additional distress and inconvenience caused by my lenders breach of DISP 1.4.3. My lender should have reasonably have known that my complaint would be upheld by the Financial Ombudsman Service and therefore should have taken steps to resolve my complaint at an earlier opportunity.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to draw your attention to the enclosed ‘Final Notice’ issued by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) the regulator of the finance industry. My lender breached Principle 6 during the Relevant Period in that it failed to pay due regard to the interests of its customers and treat them fairly.

 

They applied certain charges to my account that were unfair in that they did not accurately reflect the actual cost of administering an account in arrears. They had not arrived at a cost-based approach to the calculation of its arrears charges and therefore could not be sure that they were reasonable compared to the actual cost incurred. (if a FSA regulated agreement add) Therefore, my lender is in breach of MCOB 12.4.1R.

 

 

Lesley Titcomb, FSA Director responsible for the Mortgage Sector, also said

 

“As our data shows in these current market conditions more people are struggling to meet their mortgage payments and it is vital that firms treat them fairly. This means paying attention to their individual circumstances and not repossessing their homes when there may be an alternative solution. Repossession has to be the last resort. The FSA’s programme of actions to address the problem areas, includes a closer examination of charges, in particular the circumstances in which these are levied, and whether they are compatible with Treating Customers Fairly”

 

Source: FSA reiterates call for firms to treat customers fairly in current market conditions - FSA/PN/087/2008 - 5August 2008

 

I consider all of the additional charges and fees applied to my account to be unfair as per the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 because they did not accurately reflect the additional administration work to the mortgage account caused by the fact that I was in arrears. I also contend that by applying these charges and fees to my account my lender has also not met its treating customers fairly (TCF) obligations.

 

I would like to also take this opportunity to draw your attention to the following

 

“ Elsewhere, the present debates about bank charges and the previous action of the OFT on credit-card charges are also relevant. We have already seen some customers raise queries about the level of charges made by lenders when they are in debt. The Citizens Advice report suggests that some lenders’ debt-collection practices are distorted by including steps that involve the customer paying additional fees. The range, complexity and level of these charges may all be matters for consideration. But the central question that will no doubt be raised increasingly with the Ombudsman is whether or not the charges levied are lawful. More generally, as my earlier brief example of the mortgage arrears fee shows, the application of extensive fees for customers already experiencing debt problems may not be fair treatment. Certainly it does not always sit well with the sympathetic and positive treatment of those in hardship.”

 

Source: speech by Tony Boorman, decisions director and principal ombudsman, at the CML's complaints-handling seminar –London, 12 March 2008.

Edited February 1, 2011 by Suetonius