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Northern Rock - Together mortgage loan problems
katchambers
Posts: 1,129 Forumite
Hi,
Just been on the phone to Northern Rock (NR) for the last 1hr talking to various different people and trying to get a straight answer.
I am on a DMP with CCCS and have been for over 2 years. We have several creditors and actually have a separate personal loan with NR for £20k and a together mortgage which is £173k mortgage and £30k unsecured loan.
Since the dmp encompasses all unsecured debts we made reduced payments to the loan portion of the together product, which they were never happy with, although they did take my reduced payments for 2 years before they took us to court over it.
They tried to make us pay the £30k forthwith, which we couldn't afford so it was brought before a judge and the judge decided to increase our payments to NR from £90ish to £135, they said they didn't like the way cccs had worked out the payments to our creditors, apparently cccs based the reduced payments based on monthly amount rather than total amount due. Anyway, we were fine with that, just means our other creditors get less.
When we got a statement through a few months ago I realised that interest was still being applied, it says somewhere that going to court means interest should be frozen, but unfortunately I didn't know that when I went to court, otherwise I would have asked the jusdge to freeze or reduce the interest, so now we are paying interest at a rate of £4.84 a day, which totals £150 per month although we are only paying £135 a month to them, so our payment doesn't even pay the interest, which means every year that goes by our loan goes up by £180 despite the fact that we are making payments.
So I have rang NR 3 times to try to talk to someone about this but always being fobbed off, finally today I decided to take no crap, and I have spoken to collections, collection team leader, unsecured team, unsecured manager, and now the unsecured manager's manager should be ringing me back.
I keep saying to them why won't they agree to freeze the interest because I will never ever, for the rest of my life pay this debt off, their arguments:
1. The judge only set the £135 as a reduced payment for now, when you get your money back on track you can make overpayments.
No we won't because we are going to be on this dmp for 14 years, unless of course we win the lottery.
2. NR don't stop interest on any loans - thats not our policy.
That was a funny one, I actually got 2 different people to sware to me that NR as a company never, ever reduces interest on any of their loans, in any dept. After they swore to that I said, thats funny because I also have another loan with you that you have agreed to stop the interest on...
After a lot of being put on hold and passing me off to managers and supervisors
3. Your unsecured loan with your Together Mortgage is different to your other loan, its a different dept, we have nothing to do with them.
Yes but they are both unsecured loans regulated by the Consumer Credit Act.
4. No this loan runs alongside your mortgage at the same rate as your mortgage, it has different terms and conditions.
Right then so if I sold my house and this loan then because a standalone product, then would I be able to ask you to freeze the interest.
Goes off to ask a manager
5. No we still wouldn't freeze the interest because it would be a togther loan that is de-linked from the mortgage.
Really how long can they keep going on with all this. So in the end I said, fine, let me at least appeal to your conscience. It says at the bottom of all your letters that if we are having trouble paying "we will try to help you". Your not doing that, you're not trying to help me at all, one of your threatened me with a charging order, and most of you are lying to me saying that you never freeze interest so just level with me, are you really happy to accept that we are paying £135 to you but the interest is £150, which means no matter how long we live we will never, ever be able to pay off this debt to you.
She then said I will talk to my manager and see what he says as I understand where you are coming from.
Anyone have any advice of what I should say to this manager to try to get him to freeze or reduce the interest??? I am running out of witty retorts and comebacks.
Thanks
Kat x
Just been on the phone to Northern Rock (NR) for the last 1hr talking to various different people and trying to get a straight answer.
I am on a DMP with CCCS and have been for over 2 years. We have several creditors and actually have a separate personal loan with NR for £20k and a together mortgage which is £173k mortgage and £30k unsecured loan.
Since the dmp encompasses all unsecured debts we made reduced payments to the loan portion of the together product, which they were never happy with, although they did take my reduced payments for 2 years before they took us to court over it.
They tried to make us pay the £30k forthwith, which we couldn't afford so it was brought before a judge and the judge decided to increase our payments to NR from £90ish to £135, they said they didn't like the way cccs had worked out the payments to our creditors, apparently cccs based the reduced payments based on monthly amount rather than total amount due. Anyway, we were fine with that, just means our other creditors get less.
When we got a statement through a few months ago I realised that interest was still being applied, it says somewhere that going to court means interest should be frozen, but unfortunately I didn't know that when I went to court, otherwise I would have asked the jusdge to freeze or reduce the interest, so now we are paying interest at a rate of £4.84 a day, which totals £150 per month although we are only paying £135 a month to them, so our payment doesn't even pay the interest, which means every year that goes by our loan goes up by £180 despite the fact that we are making payments.
So I have rang NR 3 times to try to talk to someone about this but always being fobbed off, finally today I decided to take no crap, and I have spoken to collections, collection team leader, unsecured team, unsecured manager, and now the unsecured manager's manager should be ringing me back.
I keep saying to them why won't they agree to freeze the interest because I will never ever, for the rest of my life pay this debt off, their arguments:
1. The judge only set the £135 as a reduced payment for now, when you get your money back on track you can make overpayments.
No we won't because we are going to be on this dmp for 14 years, unless of course we win the lottery.
2. NR don't stop interest on any loans - thats not our policy.
That was a funny one, I actually got 2 different people to sware to me that NR as a company never, ever reduces interest on any of their loans, in any dept. After they swore to that I said, thats funny because I also have another loan with you that you have agreed to stop the interest on...
After a lot of being put on hold and passing me off to managers and supervisors
3. Your unsecured loan with your Together Mortgage is different to your other loan, its a different dept, we have nothing to do with them.
Yes but they are both unsecured loans regulated by the Consumer Credit Act.
4. No this loan runs alongside your mortgage at the same rate as your mortgage, it has different terms and conditions.
Right then so if I sold my house and this loan then because a standalone product, then would I be able to ask you to freeze the interest.
Goes off to ask a manager
5. No we still wouldn't freeze the interest because it would be a togther loan that is de-linked from the mortgage.
Really how long can they keep going on with all this. So in the end I said, fine, let me at least appeal to your conscience. It says at the bottom of all your letters that if we are having trouble paying "we will try to help you". Your not doing that, you're not trying to help me at all, one of your threatened me with a charging order, and most of you are lying to me saying that you never freeze interest so just level with me, are you really happy to accept that we are paying £135 to you but the interest is £150, which means no matter how long we live we will never, ever be able to pay off this debt to you.
She then said I will talk to my manager and see what he says as I understand where you are coming from.
Anyone have any advice of what I should say to this manager to try to get him to freeze or reduce the interest??? I am running out of witty retorts and comebacks.
Thanks
Kat x
My darling boy born December 2011
0
Comments
-
Kat, if you are on a DMP with CCCS, have you advised them about this?
They will be dealing with people in Financial Institutions everyday who are just ( and only just ) about capable of answering the phone and remembering to breathe!
Give CCCS the full story and ask them to contact NR. They will know WHO to speak to.... and it will be no-one that you have had words with.
Good luck with it.......it can be very frustrating trying to deal with the 'I dont know what to do or who to speak to so I'll just say NO! Department'.
:D stay wonky :D
....one-way ticket to Portugal booked !0
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