My Mortgage company won't help me

ninjashell

In the last couple of months I have fallen behind on a months mortgage, which is £925.
I have caught up on £500 and they are demanding the rest by the 26th November with my November payment of £925 plus £200 for the interest calculated from the 21st November, as I had to move my payment date slightly later to coinside with my pay day. Total £1550
Each time I have rang them they just won't budge, I have asked to spread the payments, I have asked to put the payment at the end of the term, I have told them I have no extra money for anything like food etc if I was to pay the November payment + the arrears, never mind bouncing about 6 direct debits and that's before my non-existant Christmas even starts!
I really thought if you were to get in to trouble once they could arrange at least something for you, I havent refused to pay anything but just to make some sort of arrangement.
Can anyone help on this one. I have stared at my bills all day to day and whatever way I juggle I will be left with nothing in November. The alternative is that they will default my mortgage as I they had given me an unrealistic double payment last month which I could not manage.

Please helpNinjashell

foot_loose

what direct debits have you got to pay???  :)

the reason y i ask is cause u should cancel your dirct debits ie water, telephone, gas etc.. because they will just send you red letters for at least two months then you just pay them half the money you owe them,  if you do this they wont cut off any of your sevices.

PEOPLE MAY SAY YOU SHOULD NOT DO THIS,  IM JUST GIVING YOU SOME IDEAS OF HOW TO RASIE SOME MONEY..

you can ask your mortgage company to change your mortgage to intrest only for a few months this should give you some extra money.  

Also you can be atleast three months in arrears b4 they will take legal action. it is to much hassle for the bank to repossess your house. in the end the bank will rather sort out a payment plan with you

dunstonh

Your mortgage company will not start repossession for just one months missing and part payment made.   If the situation was to continue over the next 3-6 months, then that is a different matter.

If you have a history of doing this though, they may be harder than if its your first time.

bozzy18

My best advice to you is to visit your local citizens advice bureau (CAB). They are experienced in helping people with their debts problems (including mortgages). They can contact your mortgage provider on your behalf and they usually succeed.

Good luck.

dougk_2

My advise is to go and see the adviser/manager at a local branch of your lender (unless they are internet based) in person and discuss things.

It is far better than doing it over the phone and you will get explain your position better.

brannyrhino_2

Cab is the best advice so far.

My advice is

Write to the Chief Executive personally.
Copy In the FSA
Copy in your MP

Express your shock and disapointment at their attitude to helping you as they are in breach of FSA guidelines.

Make them a fair and reasonable offer.

Tell him you expect no further charges to be added whilst this arrangement is in force.

Maintain the arrangement.

Do not cancel any other debtor payments Gas elec water etc

Examine your finances NOW and cut back for three months in all quarters
ie Sky/ Phone/ Pack ups/ travel/ freeze credit card spending etc etc Short term pain for long term gain

Finally you should name and shame this company on this board.

Clearly it won't be a mutual organisation

dunstonh

Express your shock and disapointment at their attitude to helping you as they are in breach of FSA guidelines.

And what guidelines are those?

Write to the Chief Executive personally.
Copy In the FSA
Copy in your MP

Chief exec will pass it to branch/dept
FSA will pass it back to lender and ignore it
MP will sympathise and fob you off unless it happens to be their flavour of the month.

brannyrhino_2

And what guidelines are those?

The MCOB guidelines- Mortgages Conduct of business Chapter 13 see section 13.3 this applies to regulated mortgages but equally will apply to all mortgages. The FSA will not run 2 policies in this regard.

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/handbook/BL2MCOBpp/MCOB/Chapter_13.pdf

As an IFA i'm suprised your not aware of this as you need to be aware so you can FULLY advise your clients in similar circumstances.

Chief exec will pass it to branch/dept

Of course he wont deal with it personally but i can assure you that when he sends it to whoever he will ensure the company responds fairly for fear of the FSA and the new guidelines.


FSA will pass it back to lender and ignore it

The FSA do not ignore it they hold it on file but they refer you to the company. The company has to report back to the FSA when the issue has been closed satisfactorily.
You are putting the FSA on Notice in the mind of the Chief Exec/Company and no lending company at the moment wants to rock the boat with the FSA so soon after mortgage day. Trust me!

MP will sympathise and fob you off unless it happens to be their flavour of the month.

Absolute rubbish. What MPs have you dealt with. Certainly no MP i have dealt with would fob you off. I have dealt with many during arrears proceedings. They will write directly to the Chief Exec on your behalf and ensure a satisfactory arrangement that suits both parties


Not very good at this editing lark sorry!!!

dunstonh

And what guidelines are those?

The MCOB guidelines- Mortgages Conduct of business Chapter 13 see section 13.3 this applies to regulated mortgages but equally will apply to all mortgages. The FSA will not run 2 policies in this regard.

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/handbook/BL2MCOBpp/MCOB/Chapter_13.pdf

That section discusses arrears and that they should be dealt with fairly.  

This guy hasnt made a complaint yet.  He cannot jump straight to the FSA without a complaint being made to the lender.    Also, who is to say the lender isnt being fair.   They have allowed it to go into arrears.  They are now ensuring it gets out of arrears.   We dont know if there is a history of this or not.   They may have the view that getting it out of arrears is unlikely.    Just because the lender is insisting on repayment it does not mean they are doing anything wrong.

If you go into arrears, the lender is justified in trying to get the money back.  If they are not willing to budge any further, then there may be a reason why.  Perhaps they are aware of other credit arrangements and fear the borrower has over extended and are now protecting themselves from further loss.

Lets note that they have changed the repayment date (in accordance with the rules) to allow extra time for repayment, and it is not one months arrears but a number of months.    They are also asking for only £625 more than the usual monthly payment.  A third of that is because the borrower asked to move the mortgage repayment date.  

We are not aware of the full facts in this case so cannot say whether they are being harsh or not.   In one sense they appear to be taking a hard line when the mortgage is only £625 in arrears.   On the other, there has to be a reason why they are taking such a hard line.  

As an IFA i'm suprised your not aware of this as you need to be aware so you can FULLY advise your clients in similar circumstances.

There is no need for me to be aware of this.

Chief exec will pass it to branch/dept

Of course he wont deal with it personally but i can assure you that when he sends it to whoever he will ensure the company responds fairly for fear of the FSA and the new guidelines.

So the lending dept will get two letters then.  In my banking years, any letter sent to head office tended to come back to the branch with a comp slip.   I have never known anyone in a compliance department be afraid of the FSA.   They do their job within the timescales (usually) and that is their primary concern.  

FSA will pass it back to lender and ignore it

The FSA do not ignore it they hold it on file but they refer you to the company. The company has to report back to the FSA when the issue has been closed satisfactorily.  
You are putting the FSA on Notice in the mind of the Chief Exec/Company and no lending company at the moment wants to rock the boat with the FSA so soon after mortgage day. Trust me!

Of course they log it but they do not deal with it.   So writing to the FSA at this stage is a waste of time as they will not deal with it.   There is a perfectly good complaints proceedure and trying to bypass it will not result in an outcome different to if you follow the correct complaints proceedure.   You just waste a lot of time.

MP will sympathise and fob you off unless it happens to be their flavour of the month.  

Absolute rubbish. What MPs have you dealt with. Certainly no MP i have dealt with would fob you off. I have dealt with many during arrears proceedings. They will write directly to the Chief Exec on your behalf and ensure a satisfactory arrangement that suits both parties

I have dealt with an MP on one occassion and yes, i had a letter sent to me agreeing that it sounded like i had grounds for complaint as rules had been broken and he also sent a letter out to the council planning dept (who i was complaining about) to ensure that my case was looked into.   Didnt do the slightest bit of good.  

So, yes, i have a jaded view on what an MP would do.

Not very good at this editing lark sorry!!!

Its certainly a lot harder when the message doesnt appear under the reply box anymore. Copy and paste the text from the previous message. Highlight it and press the blue box with the grey rectangle and blue arrow (bottom row, 2nd from right). This adds the quote either side of the text highlighted.

dougk_2

I agree DD, the full facts of the case are not known.
As the orginal query states "rang" then its not often that you get the best person on the phone to talk to in the first instance. I would still suggest seeing the lender face to face as its much easy to sort things out. If th lender is a high street bank then the Branch manager has more say and (usually) more experience then a customer support rep on the phone.

dunstonh

As the orginal query states "rang" then its not often that you get the best person on the phone to talk to in the first instance.

Very true. If anyone reading this is in a similar situation, you should never do it over the phone. You could just be talking to the first line answering team.

Plus, we are talking about arrears. It is not something you should just phone up about. This is a very important subject and really needs to be discussed face to face.