secret commission payment from lender

Temrael

I received a letter today from these guys regarding my late mother's estate. I called them, and like others here, the premise seems to be that she took out a secured loan or mortgage in the 90s and there were undisclosed commissions. They had the address of the property and the date of the loan. I was very cagey/frosty as I'm a pretty sceptical person, and my initial suspicion was that it was just a straight up scam and they were going to ask (George Abdebebwongo style) for my "bank account details".

I did ask them how on earth they planned, given that mum is no longer with us, to prove damage (i.e. that she was unaware of the commission) and he seemed a bit flummoxed by that, but said something about them having other examples and it was standard practice back then....hmmm.

Anyway, they are sending me forms, which I have said I will review, discuss with the other executor and return if we are interested in pursuing any claim. A part of me can't be bothered to get involved with them (just feels a little seedy) but then another part thinks, well if it requires no fees from me, is owed to mum's estate, and they will only take a cut of any money they recover (which would be difficult to recover on my own) then why not let them have a crack at it? What really have we got to lose?

But has anyone here actually received any recovered money?

Itsonlymeme

Hi

We have recently had to sell our home in order to pay off a very bad loan we took out in 2007 with Blemain Finance through Freedom Finance.

They are complete sharks and it was one of the worst decisions we've ever made to get involved with them. Take head anyone considering it!

It was for a large amount, as a second charge on our home and at a very high interest rate which was supposed to be variable but it never went down despite the huge drop in interest rates shortly after this loan was established.

The agreement mentioned a brokers fee of £1300 which was added to the loan.

Several years later when we were questioning Blemains behaviour I decided to send an sar request to Blemain and Fredom because I felt there was something dodgy happening.

Freedom by then was no longer trading but their parent company replied with lots of paperwork. This included a commission screenshot. This page shows a commission of £10,271 and a broker fee of £1300.

I am sure we were never told that there was commission as well as a broker fee!

Having read this thread

1. I'm thinking I have a claim against them for the £10,271 plus interest?

2. Being that Freedom no longer exist am I right in saying I should be making a claim against Blemain for this?

thanks in advance for your time.

magpiecottage

Yes - as per
Wilson & Anor v Hurstanger Ltd [2007] EWCA Civ 299

Itsonlymeme

Thank you for the reply Magpiecottage.

Can you please tell me what reason I give them for claiming from them?

I have already tried asking Blemain but their reply was that I needed to speak with Freedom.

I should have also told you this loan was unregulated.

Thanks again

[Deleted User]

Itsonlymeme wrote: »

Can you please tell me what reason I give them for claiming from them?

Read about Wilson & Anor v Hurstanger Ltd [2007] EWCA Civ 299 here;
http://www.out-law.com/page-8928

Itsonlymeme

Thank you moeyineptitude

I've read your link and understand that I should be claiming that Blemain were accessories in the bribe therefore are responsible for paying me the commission plus interest in the absence of Freedom?

I'm wondering if I should also be claiming unfair relationship due to the fact that they didn't reduce the interest rate from the 12.1% that was initially quoted despite it being a variable loan and the U.K. Interest rates dropped like a stone within months of us taking out the loan?

Am I pushing my luck as this is an unregulated loan?

Thanks again

dunstonh

'm wondering if I should also be claiming unfair relationship due to the fact that they didn't reduce the interest rate from the 12.1% that was initially quoted despite it being a variable loan and the U.K. Interest rates dropped like a stone within months of us taking out the loan?

That is largely irrelevent. Loans like these were sub-prime and had higher rates. Second charge are also more expensive and interest rates were not the only factor involved in setting the borrowing rate.

Itsonlymeme

Thanks for the advice dunstonh

Itsonlymeme

Last question guys!

Should the interest be accumulated and should it run from the start of the loan until now or until the time we paid off the loan?

Thanks again