London Mortgage/Matlock bank or whoever

Big_Pellet

Hi all,

I took out a secured loan back in 2005. I have been before a judge on a couple of occasions for non-payment (due to being made unemployed, not for want of not paying) and on both occasions the judge has sided (if that is the correct word) with me and granted that I can stay in our house providing that I maintain the payments.

My last visit to court was about 18 months ago. The judge advised that I pay approx £600 per month. Last year I became unemployed (govt cuts etc) and was not able to pay for about 3 months. I agreed with LMC that I will increase my payments to £850 per month and have maintained those payments since August last year. In Jan this year, I was off poorly for 3 weeks and missed a payment. I have received an eviction notice (again), although I have made a £850 payment in March and another is imminent. Here is the thing....

I feel that I was mis-sold PPI. I was informed that I would get 3 years PPI free - approx a couple of years ago, I enquired about PPI and was informed that it was not free (offered by Sterling Insurance or something) and that it was £3k for 3 years of cover. After this 3 year period, my monthly payments did not alter (£416 whilst paying for PPI and £416 when not paying for PPI).

In addition, the company has changed its name or the debt has moved from London Mortgage Company to Matlock bank to South London Pacific Mortgages, now it is with Acenden.

No one will tell me what the total is that I have paid on the account since inception, nor will they tell me the total charges added to the account.

I have been getting charged £30 per month for a 'Management fee' for years. Also £115 per month for missed payments and allsorts. I am lost with the account/debt. Not sure what I owe or is owed. The debt has been a huge strain on my family and has nearly been the cause for my wife and I to divorce due to finances etc.

I want to do something about this, is it worth going to see a solicitor?

If I issue a claim whilst the secured loan is still 'live' (about 17 months left to pay) what will the loan company do in retaliation? I spoke with Acenden tonight 4/4, to stop the eviction dated for later this month. They wanted me to do an expenses form over the phone (I said no as I am sick of doing them), I told them that I will make a payment of £850 and a further payment before the eviction date of the same amount. they said no that is not acceptable (at first) then when I mentioned that I will go before a judge and tell them how they have handled the account, the PPI thing, the charges they have added to the account in addition to my paying over double my normal repayments, they then went away to confer and have agreed my proposal.

I have been charged litigation fees and all sorts.

What do/can I do?

(sorry for going on, but trying to give as much detail as possible) I want to fill in an N1 form and go before a judge, but not sure (already done it twice) just so that I can tell the judge what is happening with the account, but don't want to go alone on this one.

roonaldo

You should make a complaint about the PPI to broker that sold it to you. They sold you a single premium, with the payment spread over the term which incurs interest. They would not have offered you 3 years free though.

Is your loan adminstered by Capstone?

Big_Pellet

I did all the paperwork through the loan company and did not deal with the PPI broker (Sterling)

Capstone have been involved at some point. The company administering the loan seem to be continually changing!! It is now with Acenden and I have just received another letter saying that £115 has been added to the account for litigation.

The loan was taken out over a period of 7 years, therefore should the PPI not be for the same period, but I recall receiving a letter or something to say that my PPI was only valid for 3 years. Am I paying for 3 year PPI over the duration of the loan - 7 years? (is that what you are indicating??)

Thanks

BP

roonaldo

yes, the ppi would cease at 3 years and you are basically still paying for a 3 year policy for 7 years, plus interest. its pretty shocking.

refie999

Hi
I am pretty much in the same situation as you. I took a secured loan in 2003 with London Mortgage Company/Capstone now Acenden.
These people are a nightmare, they won't let me make any arrangement to pay off arrears which have now escalated to £1212
(all charges). I too have completed umpteen Income and expenditure forms, they just push you further and further into arrears with outrageous charges.
I have PPI paid up front but it only covers 5 years of a fifteen year loan!!
I have tried for 3 years to reclaim PPI which was sold to me by Central Trust but they were not regulated in 2003 so they would not budge. I have now passed my complaint to the FOS
who are looking at going after the Underwriters Sterling Insurance.
As for the charges I am now reclaiming them.
You need to send a Subject Access Request they will have to send you all paper work statements etc. they hold. You can then work out the charges and send a refund request letter, obviously Acenden won't budge but you can then go to FOS.


Any arrears charges which exceed actual administrative costs are unfair and therefore unlawful.
Other unfair practices including unarranged counsellor visits - even if they have been attempted.

You are entitled to refuse counsellor visits and not incur any charges.

Any charges for counsellor visits must not seek to make profits. The cost of the visits must be passed on to you at cost price.

You should ascertain how much has been taken from you and claim it back. The chances of winning are better than 90%. It is highly likely that the lender will attempt to avoid court action and offer you back your money.

However, you should ensure that you receive a proper rate of interest and this means that you should be seeking at least restitutionary damages - which would be much higher than the statutory 8%.

Furthermore, you should assess whether the paying of demands for unlawful excessive charges has also out you further into arrears and if this has caused you further penalties in terms of extra interest or any other prejudice. This should be claimed as well.'


You definately need to know just how must they have put on your account in charges.
I don't know if I should mention this here but there is a fantastic person Ell-en on Consumeractiongroup forum who will help you if you need to fill in any forms to take this back to court. She is a whizz on repossession orders.
Hope this helps a little, you are not on your own there are thousands of us suffering at the hands of these morons.

little_miss_spender

Hi Guys Reffie is right 100% these barstewards have rebranded themselves from capstone mortgage services to Acenden so they are one and the same who serviced th loans for SPPL/SPML/London mortgages/Preffered mortgages and others which are all companies owned by the Lehman Brothers. So is there any suprise that this company is trying its best to unlawfully repossess peoples homes. They even lie in court and make up arrears even if you dont have any, and sadly judges have granted these vultures possession of innocent peoples homes. They should be brought to trial a criminal one because that is what they are criminals, but are being allowed to get away with it for god knows what reason whilst companies who's charges are no where near as much as what Acenden load on like Kensingtons and GMac get fined. I am in the process of trying to get to the bottom of this, I have written to my MP who has writtten to the FSA, who are passing my letter on to trading standards, I have an ongoing complaint with the fSO and I have just wrote a letter to the treasury committee. I really sympathise with you I started out with arrears of £1,000 which over 5 years is now over £4,000 and I have a suspended repo hanging over me. Its a nightmare. I am probably not supposed to mention these guys on here either but you need all the help you can get there is also a dedicated website to victims of acenden called the acenden action group it is well worth a visit and these guys really know their stuff. check it out. Best of luck keep battling on LMS

genguskhan

Hi
I too have had problems for 6 yrs with these idiots...you need to send them a SAR (subject access request) along with the £10 fee for them to send a full breakdown of your account since day dot.

They have 40 days to send the info,that way you can work out what you owe & what are charges etc...

The FOS are a waste of time,I waited 18 months for someone to look at my case,to be told it was my own fault for falling into arrears. Even though I was self employed & work to a drastic drop just before the recession.

I now have a lawyer on the case who has audited the agreement along with charges etc to find im not even in arrears like they say i am but actually in credit.

It is a lot of hardwork to go through but don't give up & don't let them numptys win either.

Good luck

Lube

No success but shut door on your way out