Mortgage Mis Selling

CheekyGirl

Hi All, I need some advice, I was sold a mortgage in 2006/2007 in which I was made to say I had a part time income self employed as well as a full time job in Barclays Bank (which I did have). I have never been self employed. I defaulted on the mortgage and it was repossessed from me in 2008/2009. It was then sold for half the value I bought it for which was £110,000 so now I have a balance of £61,000 and I am receiving letters in regards to this debt. What is the first step I should take? The mortgage was with Gmac Mortgages.

Can anyone give me any advice?

Thanks

kingstreet

Always tough when you get a situation like this.

TBH as you went along with this deception, any sanction against your advisor may rebound on you.

You can make a complaint to the advisor firm and see what that yields, but if you take it too far, you might end up facing a charge of mortgage fraud, or at the least being added to the lenders' anti-fraud databases, CIFAS and National Hunter.

What was the reason for the default and repossession?

dunstonh

There is no easy option here. If you were told that then you were mis-sold. However, you were also complicit to the mortgage fraud. So, you would be dropping yourself in it aswell as the individual that sold it (assuming that individual is still around). Getting yourself added to the anti-fraud databases could damage you for a very very long time.

Also, it could affect your employment with Barclays as it would likely be a declarable event to them as part of your contract of employment and could lead to dismissal.

If you did decide to face those consequences and pursue a complaint, then first thing I would expect to see as part of the defence is that you were a bank clerk and a bank clerk would know what is right and wrong about making an application for a mortgage. It would be hard for you to persuade innocence.

A lot of people committed mortgage fraud in the boom years as they wanted property. The vast majority of them knew what they were doing and why. This is partly why you see so few complaints going on. None of that makes it right but that is what happened. You got what you wanted. Instead of being told you can get what you want. Ironically, back then, a mortgage adviser that was honest and told you that you couldnt get a mortgage was considered a bad broker. And the one down the road that did get the mortgage agreed using these dodgy methods was seen as the good broker. Whilst some complaints do get upheld (not that many if you look at FOS stats), you really need to think through the consequences to yourself.

CheekyGirl

Thanks for the advice, I'm wondering though if they done it with me imagine how many others were sold mortgages this way?

The reason was due to being made unemployed in June 2007 then I claimed HB which was not enough to cover the mortgage payments, I kept getting late charges etc and eventually it was overwhelming and they said they couldn't help me no more and that's when it was repossessed.

I don't fancy ending up on a anti fraud register but I don't have £61,000 either

Johnnytwostep

CheekyGirl wrote: »

My name is Clare I need some advice, I was sold a mortgage in 2006/2007 in which I was made to say I had a part time income self employed as well as a full time job in Barclays Bank (which I did have). I have never been self employed. I defaulted on the mortgage and it was repossessed from me in 2008/2009. It was then sold for half the value I bought it for which was £110,000 so now I have a balance of £61,000 and I am receiving letters in regards to this debt. What is the first step I should take? The mortgage was with Gmac Mortgages.

Can anyone give me any advice?

Thanks

Where you really? Gun against your head, or was it that you couldnt afford the mortgage and should never have thought of buying a house.

CheekyGirl

Johnnytwostep wrote: »

Where you really? Gun against your head, or was it that you couldnt afford the mortgage and should never have thought of buying a house.

I never should have done it but I did.

kingstreet

Why GMAC?

Did you have a poor credit history at the time?

CheekyGirl

kingstreet wrote: »

Why GMAC?

Did you have a poor credit history at the time?

Yes, when I was just turned 18 I got everything on credit and never paid bills on time. I'm turning 27 this year and I'm trying to sort my life out - I wanna be able to have kids get a house in years to come and all I get are debts contacting but this mortgage one is the one that scares me the most.

[Deleted User]

Have you tried speaking to a debt charity like StepChange? They won't be able to magic away your problems but they will be able to let you know what your options are (potentially bankruptcy?) if you have debt on top of this mortgage problem, their website is: http://www.stepchange.org/

You're in a tricky position because your options both have serious consequences. Would you be okay to tell us more about your current position? Are you in full time employment at the moment and how much are you earning? And do you have a partner at the moment who you wish to have children with soon, or are you aiming to be in a position to have children in the next 5 years or so? Your long term plans and situation now will be important when it comes to deciding on the best solution

CheekyGirl

citricsquid wrote: »

Have you tried speaking to a debt charity like StepChange? They won't be able to magic away your problems but they will be able to let you know what your options are (potentially bankruptcy?) if you have debt on top of this mortgage problem

You're in a tricky position because your options both have serious consequences. Would you be okay to tell us more about your current position? Are you in full time employment at the moment and how much are you earning? And do you have a partner at the moment who you wish to have children with soon, or are you aiming to be in a position to have children in the next 5 years or so? Your long term plans and situation now will be important when it comes to deciding on the best solution

I'm currently unemployed have been for 6 months but actively seeking work. I'm aiming to have children in the next 6 years. I've thought about bankruptcy as I have an additional £9,000 worth of debt with credit cards, store cards, catalogs, overdrafts etc - bankruptcy is somethings that scares me.

[Deleted User]

CheekyGirl wrote: »

I'm currently unemployed have been for 6 months but actively seeking work. I'm aiming to have children in the next 6 years. I've thought about bankruptcy as I have an additional £9,000 worth of debt with credit cards, store cards, catalogs, overdrafts etc - bankruptcy is somethings that scares me.

Bankruptcy is scary but it can also be the best choice you can make. There are people that fight tooth and nail to avoid bankruptcy and in the end they become much worse off (my family has experience with this...).

There's a really good section here with lots of stories about bankruptcy and information on how it works, spend some time reading if you're scared of the process, lots of people felt the same but discovered it's actually not so bad (compared to the alternatives!): http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=136

I don't know the ins and outs of your situation so bankruptcy may not be the right option for you or it may not be suitable, but it's possible that it is so you should definitely look into your options: StepChange can help you with that. There's no commitment required on your part, just phone them up and they'll help you as best they can, they're there to help!

Goodluck