NRAM Payment Holiday refused

sh01

Hi, I have a together mortgage with NRAM. About 5 years ago I had financial difficulties and the unsecured aspect of the loan was turned into a secured loan (I got a CCJ for this I think). Since then my mortgage payments have always been on time (for the initial mortgage and the part that was originally unsecured). I've had a couple of payment holidays since then, however I rang to try and get a payment holiday today and was told that due to the whole loan being secured it was not possible. They could offer no explanation about why it had happened in the past/what had changed. They weren't prepared to do anything else - my only option is to put in a complaint which can take up to 8 weeks to get a response - not much help for a payment holiday for next month! Any idea's on what else I can do or has anyone had a similar experience? I'm stuck and was really hoping for a payment holiday next month....

opinions4u

Unless a payment holiday is contractually guaranteed they don't have to allow it.

Even if it does form part of the contract they will probably have a "subject to our assessment" type clause which allows them to look at loan to value and other things.

I've had a couple of payment holidays since then

Are you planning to keep increasing your debt every couple of years? Perhaps your lender is concerned that you may never repay the debt.

notanewuser

sh01 wrote: »

Hi, I have a together mortgage with NRAM. About 5 years ago I had financial difficulties and the unsecured aspect of the loan was turned into a secured loan (I got a CCJ for this I think). Since then my mortgage payments have always been on time (for the initial mortgage and the part that was originally unsecured). I've had a couple of payment holidays since then, however I rang to try and get a payment holiday today and was told that due to the whole loan being secured it was not possible. They could offer no explanation about why it had happened in the past/what had changed. They weren't prepared to do anything else - my only option is to put in a complaint which can take up to 8 weeks to get a response - not much help for a payment holiday for next month! Any idea's on what else I can do or has anyone had a similar experience? I'm stuck and was really hoping for a payment holiday next month....

A mortgage payment holiday should be an absolute last resort, and you're looking for your third in 5 years?

You need to find a solution to your money troubles that allows you to pqy your mortgage. What else is going on?

sh01

notanewuser wrote: »

A mortgage payment holiday should be an absolute last resort, and you're looking for your third in 5 years?

You need to find a solution to your money troubles that allows you to pqy your mortgage. What else is going on?

It would be my third in 5 years, whilst I can afford my monthly outgoings it doesn't leave much for when extra's come up and I need some general maintenance work doing on the house and was planning on using the payment holiday for this and not day to day expenses (last time was new door/windows). I'm not in a situation to remortgage and have a high mortgage but only 7 years left to pay, I'm resigned to paying it monthly but at times it can just leave me under a but of pressure if unexpected expenses arise.

sh01

Are you planning to keep increasing your debt every couple of years? Perhaps your lender is concerned that you may never repay the debt.[/QUOTE]

No apparently the reason for the refusal is purely due to the fact my entire loan is secured - however this appears to have changed and they can't explain why hence me trying to find out if anyone else has been in similar situation. Since any payment holiday I've not missed a payment/been late.

Also as the payment holiday is a feature of the mortgage I don't see why it should concern them - last time my monthly payment only increased by around £20 which I can afford but we didn't even get to discuss that today....

droiderm

I think the general issue of being able to live within your means is a valid one.
Maybe you should budget for absolutely everything , car , house maintenance etc.
I think a mortgage payment holiday is a desperate way of getting by.

I am not having a go , it just might be a signal of other issues which you may need to consider.

sh01

Thanks for the advice but I'm not in a situation to do much else or I would. I have a company car/fuel card, I've negotiated my debt payments down with all other creditors so I can cope day to day life but its those extra expenses.....

I don't have a clean credit history so a remortgage (or trying for additional credit which I don't want to do anyway - I'm on route to pay my debts off so don't want to cause further issues) isn't an option. A payment holiday would solve the problem (and leave me with some spare cash as a buffer which I don't currently have). In reality I don't see that I've got much other choice than struggle to sort out the repairs I need doing (which might cause longer term maintenance problems which would be more expensive) or try for a payment holiday. Unfortunately nobody else seems to have had this problem with NRAM before!

asummers

Hi, reading this is a mirror of what happened to me today. My together mortgage was also taken to court to have it secured and since then I have taken 2 payment holidays (childcare costs for starting a new job and maintenance on property). Their reason for turning me down was the fact that the unsecured loan is 0% rate which means we are not paying any interest on it..what that has to do with it I don't know, as I did not request that to happen! I have logged a complaint which will take 8wks!!

sh01

How random, sounds like that might explain it although why we've both had previous holidays approved is what's really confusing. I'm not even sure if i've logged a complaint as my mobile signal dropped out whilst he was logging the complaint. Would you keep me updated if you get a response from them? Thanks very much, lets hope we both get it resolved!

asummers

Hi, reading this is a mirror of what happened to me today. My together mortgage was also taken to court to have it secured and since then I have taken 2 payment holidays (childcare costs for starting a new job and maintenance on property). Their reason for turning me down was the fact that the unsecured loan is 0% rate which means we are not paying any interest on it..what that has to do with it I don't know, as I did not request that to happen! I have logged a complaint which will take 8wks!!

Thrugelmir

sh01 wrote: »

Also as the payment holiday is a feature of the mortgage I don't see why it should concern them

Given that you've had two in 5 years and are struggling to pay other debts. Then it very much concerns NRAM. Ultimately they have the final say on the matter. So a complaint is futile.