~Help/Advice Needed Urgent~re Mortgage company demanding money with no proof ~

Didismump

Hi All....
REALLY hope someone can help here...:(
Four weeks ago we had a call from our Mortgage company, saying that we were £440 (ish) in arrears..
We had previously had the same call back in June (ish) saying the same, and we then sent proof to the Mortgage company showing that ALL payments were up to date...

When they called four weeks ago we argued that we had already sent in our proof (via registered post) when requested in June, but they STILL insisted that we owe the £440 (ish), and when we asked them to prove what we owe, they refused and said it is up to us to prove we DON'T owe it..:( (I thought we had, via our letter to them???)

We are only in receipt of benefits, and we are both registered disabled, so we have to pay half after the DWP have paid the other half (approx).
By our paperwork and Bank Statements all payments have been sent in correctly by both the DWP and us.

We already have an arrears agreement from 6 years ago,which was granted/accepted through the Courts, which we are slowly paying off over a lengthy period at £25 a month.

We have checked our payments again today, and CAN see that we had a shortfall of £111.00 which was omitted from last month..and we DO know we owe...
However today when we called to say we have re-checked all figures and we DO owe them £111, they NOW say we owe £625!!!

When asked for proof AGAIN in writing, they refused again, and stated that WE have to prove we do not owe the amount and also that they are not obliged to send anything out in writing!!!

However, they also said that IF we do not pay the outstanding amount on top of our regular payment then they will take further action, and take us us back to Court again!!!

PLEASE someone..tell us where we stand from here..as we have checked and re-checked all our accounts ( of which we usually are very thorough) and we CAN only see the £111 outstanding owed from last month, and certainly nothing else ''this year''...
HELP!!!!!...:(

holly_hobby

Well to correct them, they do need to send you proof of arrears being requested.

If they refuse to this, if taking the matter to court, you are able to demonstrate that the lender has been obstructive and vague in their dealings over the matter, with their attempt to pursue the matter through the courts being both unreasonable and without merit.

A general term in (criminal law), is he who asserts must prove, but the same may be said of civil cases - which is what finance comes under (unless in relation to fraud).

However, having already apparently achieved a court order (from what you say), if you do not maintain the arrangment as per the court order, then they may apply for reposession proceedings - as in essence you have defaulted on a defualt arrangement.

Firstly, to cover your back, you must send in a letter of complaint, bascially what you have aired here and to clearly demonstrate that the account is in dispute. You within your correspondence ask for a complete statement of account which clearly evidences the claimed amount of arrears, and/or the basis upon which the arrears have been calculated.

At the same time gather together your bank statements and DSS mge payment statements showing the date and amount of each payment made to the lender.

Once you have a look at the payment history, the arrears may be accurate, or they may not be. If they are incorrect you will have clear evidence of dates and payments made to them, which you should photocopy and provide to them for their consideration.

You may also want to consider a Subject Access Request (SAR) - which costs a maximum of £10, and is in essence a copy of every document, recorded telephone call, payment history, statements issued, letters, internal memos etc ..etc ... ever issued on your account, whilst held with the provider. This should give you the full picture on what they hold too - and will be particularly helpful if the lender continues to remain obstructive in their resolution of the matter.

If in that case, they are still unable to quantify the arrears requested, and refuse to acknowledge any evidence you have been able to provide - off to FOS you go (if effected post Oct 2004).

As a side issue - when you have been the subject of a court directive and have an arranged payment programme, it is imperative that it is managed to the letter, as to fail to do so the creditor may easily seek, in this case, a repossession order. (although your personal circs, and the manner in which the lender has handled the issue, may infludence a Judges decision as if to grant the order or not).

A trip to CAB - where the guys there can write letters for you, and contact your lender on your behalf, may also be of valued assistance here too (and costs nothing but your time and effort).

Hope this helps

Holly