Endowment policy problems

mc303m

Hi, i have a very low endowment policy that i jointly took out with my ex partner in 1988/89 ( i believe the value is about £3,000.

My marriage broke down in 1991 and my ex returned to her native country in france, i have not seen her or heard from her since that year, i have no idea where she lives or even if she is still allive,, in 1998 through circumstances beyond my control i put the keys through the letterbox and walked away from the property,


I recently contacted the company that holds my policy and asked them if i could cash my policy in, their response was, they needed both signatures, and they need proof from my mortgage lender that i didnt owe them any money.


my question is this:


1. Is it possible to cash in the policy with just my signiture ( i have explained i have no knowledge where my ex partner is)


2. I obviously owed the lender money because i walked away from the property, however after all these years am i still eligable for any debts?


Any advice would be truly grateful

Thank you so much

dunstonh

1. Is it possible to cash in the policy with just my signiture ( i have explained i have no knowledge where my ex partner is)

Not without a court order.

2. I obviously owed the lender money because i walked away from the property, however after all these years am i still eligable for any debts?

Whilst debts may be statute barred this does not mean the debts no longer exist. If the policy is assigned to the lender and there was an outstanding debt then the lender can use the surrender payment to offset the debt. Time does not change that.

Did they give you a surrender value? You may well find after just a handful of years that there is negligible value on the policy.

mc303m

Hi, thank you for the reply, yes the surrender value was just short of 3k

Edit: how would i know if the policy is assigned to the lender?
thank you

dunstonh

Edit: how would i know if the policy is assigned to the lender?

By asking the endowment provider.

However, you comment "they need proof from my mortgage lender that i didnt owe them any money" indicates that it is assigned.

Assignment means that the lender has first call on the money. For you to get the money. The surrender value is payable to them when it is assigned. For both you and your ex-spouse to get your share of the money, you would need the lender to tell the insurer that they have no claim on the money. If there was a debt outstanding, the lender can refuse to do so to ensure they get the money.

mc303m

thank you, and if there is an outstanding debt from 1998, and i approch the lender and give them my current address would this affect my credit report?

dunstonh

It has no impact on your current credit record.

mc303m

thank you very much

mc303m

Hi, i am updating this post with this information, the mortgage was taken with Abbey National, since then it was taken over by Santander, i contacted two of their mortgage debt departments today and they both stated they have no record of me or the address, however one rep did request i write to them with this query so that they can investigate it further, if for some reason they do not find any record of debt, can i request a letter from them stating I owe them no money whatsoever as is requested by the company the policy is with?
thank you for any advice