Mortgage company not taking payments!!

LionKing

Hi,

i remortgaged with Northern Rock (i was with Northern Rock previosly but moved to new product) over 3 months ago and have noticed since remortgaging they have not taken any payments from my account.

I have anumber of other payments/loans/savings in and out my account and didn't notice untill a recent scan through bank statements.

Can anyone advise if Northern Rock can take all the back dated payments out without prior notice as this will now leave me overdrawn? Can i agree with them to start taking payments as per normal as of next month?

Northern Rock are not aware they have not taken any payments so i guess i will have to let them know but just want to understand my rights as it is their fault for not taking payment as agreed in direct debit form.

If i don't tell them i'm sure they will pick up at some later stage?

Any advice much appreciated.

cattie

I think you'll probably find they want all the back payments at once as they are actually arrears. You know what these financial institutions are like.

The best thing you can do is phone them & point out their mistake & say how absolutely shocked & disapointed you are that such a thing could happen with their administration of your account, how totally unprofessional & all that. With luck they may be prepared to spread the arrears over the next couple of months or more.

Write a letter to head office to support it if need be, especially if you do end up overdrawn & have to pay bank charges.Point out that it's their mishandling of your mortgage account that has put you in this position. Don't forget to stress to them that you were the one having to point out the error to them. It's worth the price of a stamp & letters to the top often bring better results than phonecalls to a member of customer services.

It would be great if you could lay low about them not taking payments & got away with having to pay back your mortgage , but as you say they will twig sooner or later, so you may as well own up & avoid owing thousands in back payments. Tempting to say nothing in the hope, but not really worth it unless you've got a good stash in the bank to pay them off if & when they came calling for the arrears, or that you make sure you bank the mortgage money each month so it's there for them should they come looking for it.

It's always best to check your statements each month to ensure not only that the DD's are being paid, but that nobody has taken more than they should.

Good luck & be sure to post back & let us know how you get on.

LionKing

Thanks Cattie. Much appreciated

brannyrhino_2

Yes you will be able to negotiate paying the missed payments but it does beg the question are you in control of your finance if you can miss so many payments and spend this money without realising.

The most important thing to ensure they fix is the credit rating at Callcredit/Experian/Equifax as you will have had a default marked against your account. Untill they confirm all three have been cleaned do not apply for any credit whatsoever.

kenshaz

This is going to damage your credit score

dunstonh

Get it sorted ASAP. Just because the direct debit hasnt started doesnt mean you dont need to pay it.

Can anyone advise if Northern Rock can take all the back dated payments out without prior notice as this will now leave me overdrawn?

Yes they can. As 3 months payments taken 3 months late = 1 payment per month. You should have budgeted for that so it shouldnt be a problem.

Can i agree with them to start taking payments as per normal as of next month?

You can try but you will be shown both for now and for as long as you have this mortgage as being in arrears by 3 months. That will cripple you when you next want to move house or change mortgage.

As mentioned, they will probably allow a spread but make sure it isnt on your record as arrears and the spread isnt too long. It could easily be interpreted as arrears by other lenders.