Natwest Possession Hearing

[roland60]

Hi there

I have a possession hearing coming up in under 10 days and I only received the notice yesterday with the postage stamp date for the day before, giving us less than 14 days to sort out a solution with our mortgage provider.

The hearing is due to the arrears accumulated during the pandemic, our monthly contractual payments are all up to date for the last 5 months all on time, no late payments and the arrears have not increased since.

I have spoken to the mortgage provider over the last 2 days and they are willing to set up an arrangement for the arrears over a maximum of 30 months only, the arrears are just over £19K and works out higher than our contractual payment itself!

I have been trying to get them to extend the repayment term for the arrears but they are saying 24-30mths is their usual policy but this is only doable with the help of additional funds from the family, to which I have said that this policy is old and not right for what’s happening in the market today with the mortgage crisis and a lot has changed over the last 2yrs, policies need to adapt with what’s happening today, and according to the media banks will look at each case individually.  

My query is that will I be risking it to attend this 10mins hearing that has been arranged to try and get the judge to extend the repayment term for the arrears? 
 

Thanks

Roland

[honeybee13]

Hi.

I'm flagging your thread for @Ell-enn who is great at arrears problems. Hopefully she can get here soon.

Have you had problems in the past with this lender or is it since the pandemic started, please?

HB

 

 

[roland60]

Hi Honeybee

Thank you for replying and flagging this to Ellen.

I had a few health issues in the past and fell into arrears during that period, Natwest have a policy where you can capitalise arrears once every 5yrs, which is what i did back then.

I have just over a year remaining in order for me to try and capitalise again, to which I have asked to do it now but they have said they won't do it even as an exception earlier than 5yrs, again an old policy of theirs. 

Regards,

Roland

 

 

 

[Ell-enn]

Hi - I'm sure we can help you with this.  Firstly, how many years are left on the mortgage ?

[roland60]

I have 22 years left

[Ell-enn]

Thanks for that info.  The reason I asked is because there is case law (Cheltenham & Gloucester v Norgan) which is a precedent for asking the court to consider payment of the arrears to be spread over the remaining term of the mortgage in order to make repayment affordable (although spreading over 22 years may be asking a bit too much of the court)  you can also use s.36 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970.

How much could you comfortably afford to pay towards the arrears each month in addition to the normal monthly payment ?   for example £150 towards arrears would clear them in around 11 years,  £200 would be around 8 years.

I can help you with a defence statement for the court hearing if you need me to ?

[roland60]

I can comfortably do £150, and your help with the defence statement would be very much appreciated.

 

 

[Ell-enn]

OK,   have you received an N11M defence form  in the court documents you received ? (I will give you instructions for filling it in).

Could you please answer the following questions so I can start to draft the defence statement:

Is the mortgage in joint names ?

Are there any children living in the property?

What was the reason for the arrears?

Are you able to work with Word documents?  and have a printer?

What is the date of the hearing?  and are you able to physically take documents to the court ?

I will come back to you tomorrow when I have all the above info  if that's OK ?

 

[roland60]

There was no N11M form.

Is the mortgage in joint names ? yes.

Are there any children living in the property? yes one child 2 years old.

What was the reason for the arrears? Pandemic, we are self employed and had no Government help.

Are you able to work with Word documents?  and have a printer? yes

What is the date of the hearing?  and are you able to physically take documents to the court ? 3rd July, yes I can take the documents to court.

I will come back to you tomorrow when I have all the above info  if that's OK ? Thanks Ell-en

[Ell-enn]

I'm surprised there was no defence form included - can you please describe the documents you received

[roland60]

Hi Ellen

Thank you for getting back to me, appreciate it.

Yes I do have the ——— Forms which were sent in the original claim in Jan ‘23 but the hearing was adjourned with liberty to restore for a year only. The original claim was issued as a miscommunication with the solicitors & Natwest, we were in midst of sorting out the arrears directly with Natwest and our account was on hold, but the solicitors requested a date for the hearing which was then adjourned. 

We were in midst of sorting out a variation deal where we extended the term for our mortgage to free up some money to put towards the arrears. This all went through but took until end of March for them to implement it, which they apologised yesterday for but no one got back to me regarding sorting the arrears after the variation was completed which is what should have happened.... we continued to pay our mortgage Direct Debit every month since Jan ‘23 with no missed payment and the arrears have not increased since. I have NOT spoken with the Legal team at Natwest but the financial support team who only have the authority to set a plan for 30mths maximum.... 

The letter I received couple of days ago was to restore the hearing with a date and I have attached the order, as can be seen it’s less than 14 days they have given us to sort it out.
 

Court Letter.pdf

[Ell-enn]

Thanks for the info - it makes sense now.  As there is no N11M   we will submit a defence with a financial statement.  I have affixed the budget sheet we use in these situations,  it calculates automatically as you fill it in.    Make sure you put your name(s) and the case number at the top (case number will be on court documents).  

If possible you should print out proof of all monthly payments being made from Jan this year.

Do you have anything in writing from the lender stating they want the arrears paid back quickly it would be good to have a copy of that to show the judge.

 

Budget Sheet - CAG use.xls

[roland60]

Thanks Ell-een.

My partner had a chat with Natwest today as we were not happy about the way they reinstated the possession hearing in the midst of setting up a repayment plan, and that we have had no correspondence or calls regarding the hearing from Natwest or their Solicitors. Natwest apologised and have said they would look into the matter and will get back to me on Monday, as they agree this should not have happened and the order doesn't give sufficient time scales. I will update you on Monday.

Yes the N11M form was only with the original claim which i never filled in as the hearing was adjourned as mentioned in my previous post.

Thank you for helping with the defence and sending the budget sheet calculator.

I will print off the monthly payments to my mortgage since January as proof.

I don't have anything in writing/email regarding the payment arrangement they are offering me of 30mths, i will request this from them on Monday.

 

 

 

[Ell-enn]

Hi,

I will start to draft a defence statement and get it to you asap.   I think you should definitely take the statement to the court on Monday just in case Natwest drag their heels and don't cancel - no point in waiting to see what they do, at least you will have lodged your defence and the court will send a copy to them - that might make them have a re-think.

[roland60]

Thanks Ell-enn

I will definitely go to court on Monday as I can't wait on Natwest.  

[Ell-enn]

Hi,  affixed is your statement for court - you need to fill in the boxes at the top (the info will be on court letter).

On the budget sheet and your list of payments since January make sure you write your names and Case number at the top of those documents.

Print out the statement (set printer for A4 not letter size) and make sure it all stays on one page  - then sign and date.

Affix the budget sheet and payment list to the statement securely before handing in to the court office (take a copy of it all for yourselves so you have one to refer to in the hearing).

When you hand it in to the court ask if there are any duty legals there on the day of your hearing - if so you should get to the court a little early and approach them to ask for their assistance - they can accompany you into the hearing and give support to your case.

Any questions just shout

Roland60 statement.doc

[roland60]

Thanks Ell-enn

I will get these documents completed and hand them in tomorrow.

[Ell-enn]

Great - don't forget to keep us updated.  If by any chance Natwest say they will cancel the hearing, you should ring the court to confirm as lenders have a bad habit of "forgetting" to follow it through and if you didn't turn up at the hearing they would get a possession order by default - I'm afraid you just can't trust them

[roland60]

I will definitely keep you posted and if the hearing gets cancelled I will get confirmation from court.

many thanks

[roland60]

Hi

I spoke with Natwest and they have confirmed that the hearing has been adjourned and were confused as to who had requested the hearing as it wasn't Natwest or their solicitors?... I then rang the court and there was an issue getting into the system and I was told that someone will call me tomorrow morning to confirm.

[Ell-enn]

Did you take the statement to the court ?

[roland60]

The court has confirmed that they have received an email from the claimant stating that both parties agree to have the case adjourned with liberty to restore.

The court informed me that the hearing will still go ahead and the letter from the claimant will be put on file for the judge to see, I was also told I could email the court if there is anything i would like to put forward to the judge.

I haven't taken the statement to court.

[roland60]

Hi

Just a quick question... do I need to put anything in writing to court?

[AndyOrch]

On 27/06/2023 at 15:15, roland60 said:

The court has confirmed that they have received an email from the claimant stating that both parties agree to have the case adjourned with liberty to restore.

The court informed me that the hearing will still go ahead and the letter from the claimant will be put on file for the judge to see, I was also told I could email the court if there is anything i would like to put forward to the judge.

I haven't taken the statement to court.

 

[Ell-enn]

Yes, take your statement to the court or email it