Nram

unhappy_dk

I am sure this has probably been asked before, however I would be greatly obliged if anyone has any background and/or help. I and my wife had taken out a northern rock mortgage in 2007 which was part secured and part unsecured ino rder to purchase our home. After the crash when Northern Rock went down we weretransferred to NRAM.

As it stands we owe £93,000 secured on the house which is now worth only£105,000 and £24,000 unsecured. The issue is not the monthly payments as they are affordable at this time; however we are unable to obtain any unsecured lending due to the fact that our credit report shows our unsecured lending isat a maximum. I have also been advised that we will not be able to remortgage either as due to the credit score being low due to the unsecured borrowing level being too high. This is a catch 22 situation. We have never defaulted on anything yet we cannot obtain any unsecured lending or remortgage.

This is very detrimental to us and to make matters worse NRAM advise theycannot re-structure the lending due to having no banking license. As it stands at the moment we are stuck with this mortgage which is now on variable for the next 25 years and will not be able to remortgage because the level of unsecured will not reduce because of the unsecured element of the northern rock deal.Surely this goes against all terms under TCF? It is not our fault that northern rock went down and what happens when say in 5 years time the interest rate goesup. We will not be able to move lenders due to the above reason re our credit file. Again surely this goes against competition rules? Where is the help for the customer here as all I can see is that we are at NRAM's mercy and will not be able to obtain a remortgage or unsecured lending until we are nearing retirement age (when the NRAM loans are paid off) which obviously will be too late by then. I can get a staff mortgage with my employer at this time at a preferential rate but have been refused due to high level of unsecured borrowing (nram) Can anyone tell me a good news story in this respect or whether it will have to go through the normal complaint process at NRAM to end up telling me they cannot help me then be refereed to FOS. Sorry for ranting a bit but we have two small children and feel we are being held to ransom for therest of our working lives.
:eek:

opinions4u

You're paying less than you were when the mortgage was taken out.

No lender is required to offer you alternative products, additional borrowing etc. No regulator can force it. No ombudsman can demand it.

Your problem is your level of debt in a changed economic world. Reduce your debts. Overpay.

beecher2

Your LTV is too high to move lenders and all you can do is get your debt levels down. There's no point in going through any complaints channels - put your energy into restructuring your budget in order to pay down the debt as soon as possible. If you post a Statement of Affairs either here or on Debt Free Wannabee, you'll get advice on how to do so.

Thrugelmir

unhappy_dk wrote: »

however we are unable to obtain any unsecured lending due to the fact that our credit report shows our unsecured lending isat a maximum.

Previously you accumulated £24k of debt. That was consolidated into the loan with NRAM. So why do you require yet more?

Take a hard long look at your budget. Make savings and overpay the loan element of your mortgage. In essence its your only option in order to remortgage onto the staff rate available to you.

So stop blaming NRAM and accept the fact that you need take personal responsibility for your financial affairs.

As Beecher says the Debt Free Wannabe forum is great place to start. Many people on there have had a light bulb moment. You'll get support and advice on how to tackle the challenge you face.

RenovationMan

You might be better off posting in the Debt Free Wannabe board in order to get advice about how to change your lifestyle to a more frugal one to help pay off some of the debt.

You need to reduce your outgoings and then you need a financial plan. I usually find it easier to work towards a major goal if I break it down into 'bite-sized' pieces and I suggest you do the same.

Your financial aim over the next few years should be to work towards a positive net worth, where all your assets (house, savings, etc.) are more than your liabilities (mortgage, loans, credit cards, etc). Currently your net worth is minus £12,000 - not including any other liabilities such as car finance and credit cards.

You therefore need to pay off that £12k, which would give you a little breathing room and improve your credit rating. Remember though that if you do remortgage away from NRAM, then the unsecured loan will no longer be at a preferential rate and so your interest rate will go up on that. You need to make sure that the savings on the mortgage rate outweigh the increase on the loan rate.

Good luck.