Reposession letter from solicitors

beccibaxter_2

Please can someone help me?
I have some mortgage arrears (£1500) which I was paying back monthly.
(The reason for the arrears is that I became ill and then Several months later, my husband broke his spine. Our mortgage was initially with another lender and we had ppi with that lender. They then sold our mortgage ( without any notification) but didn't pass on the ppi, I didn't know about this until I tried to make a claim when I was signed off from work, I was then told that there was no ppi in place).

The DWP contribute to my mortgage payments each month and I pay the remaining amount plus £50 to go off the arrears balance.
I was paying this religiously and never missed.

In September 2016 my mortgage company wrote to me to say I had failed to maintain the arrangement and that I had to contact them asap to make a new one. Now I knew that I hadn't missed any payments so I emailed them to point out that I had kept up with the arrangement. They then wrote to me to say that it failed due to a systems error and that they were very sorry and that the arrangement would continue as normal.
A fortnight later they wrote again to say they had discovered it had failed initially because a direct debit came back unpaid and that was why they issued a final demand letter. (I received no such letter).

I emailed again and told them that it wasn't possible for it to have failed due to an unpaid direct debit as I didn't pay via that method! I pay via bank transfer!
They wrote to me again and once again said they were sincerely sorry and that they were wrong (again), they could see that payments have been mainatained by bank transfer and to ignore the letters. They said that I would need to make a new payment arrangement and to put my offer in writing, which I did. (Sent it recorded delivery).
They failed to respond so I emailed them with the proposed arrangement ( the same arrangement made previously that I stuck to), they acknowledged the email but didn't respond to it.
I then wrote again and included an income and expenditure form along with my offer of payment. I sent this recorded delivery. Again, no response.
I also sent several emails asking fo someone to please reply to my previous emails and letters.

I wrote to them again the day before yesterday asking, pleading, for someone to reply to my letters and emails.
I tried to phone yesterday but was told they could only a set up a new arrangement in writing as my previous arrangement was showing as failed on their system. I explained that they were not responding to letters or emails and they said they would look into it and get back to me asap.

This morning I received 9 letters, 4 addressed to me, 4 to my husband and one addressed to the owner/occupiers. They were from a solicitors stating that as we have failed to respond to all attempts at communication from the lender, they were now taking us to court for a possesion hearing. This is happening on the 13th of next month.

I have spoken to stepchange who put me in touch with the civil legal advice helpline who were brilliant.
They told me that the lender should have issued a default notice,
(they haven't, no letters regarding this nor is it on my credit file), I should have received a new final demand for payment as the original one was made void due to their error and that they were not following the MCOB rules(?).

I will admit that after they made the errors on my account I stopped paying but only because they told me the arrangement had been broken and they could no longer accept payment until a new arrangement was in place ( I have this in writing), but they have refused to allow me to make a new arrangement by continually ignoring my letters and emails and by refusing to discuss it over the phone. I must point out though that the DWP have continued to make their contributions each month.

I'm terrified that I am going to lose my home next month.
My husband and I are both disabled and we have 3 kids.

Can they do this? I mean, they are the ones that cancelled a functioning and maintained arrangement, they admit in writing it was their error that caused it to fail so do they have a leg to stand on as it were?

I've been crying all day, my husband is devastated and my kids overheard us talking about it and are now terrified we will be homeless.

Until today we had no idea that the lender was even considering reposession action! This is literally the first we have heard of it.

We've had no home visit, no letters, (other than the ones where they admit they made an error and urging us to set up a new arrangement in writing), no nothing.

I'm absolutely scared to death that my family is going to be out on the street and I'm angry that we weren't made aware of this action and I'm heartbroken to think that the house I have spent 13 years turning into a home will be taken from us.

I have copies of all letters and emails sent and received proving that they admit it was their error that caused the arrangement to fail, so realistically, am I going to lose my home?

Can they start possesion without informing me of their intention beforehand? Isn't there certain procedures they have to follow?

All this because someone made an error on the system.
I feel sick with worry, I can't eat, there's no chance I'll be sleeping tonight and I can't stop crying.

Please, please can someone help me with what I do now?

Thank you for reading x

Former_StepChange_Richard

Hi there,

I spotted your post whilst browsing. It sounds like such a difficult time for you and your family so I wanted to offer some guidance on this and what to expect.

The first thing I’ll mention is that it’s never too late sort these things out. Even at the point of courts being involved, if you can prove that you can pay the money back in a reasonable period of time, they should allow this. If you’re in any doubt about what to do after reading through this, please get in contact with ourselves or another free advice charity so that we can help you. Shelter are a great source of information for the legalities and the process that is involved with mortgages.

Here’s some of the facts about the process:

If you have mortgage arrears your lender can take you to court to repossess your home. Pre-action protocol rules mean your lender should only take court action as a last resort and after other options haven't worked.

If your lender doesn't follow pre-action protocol rules, the court could:

• delay the repossession court hearing to give you time to negotiate with your lender
• order the lender to pay your legal costs
• stop your lender from adding their costs on to what you already owe them

Before taking any steps to repossess your home, your lender must try to discuss your finances with you and give you a reasonable chance to pay the arrears.

Your lender must give you details of:

• your payments over the past two years
• your monthly instalments
• the amount of your arrears
• how much is left to pay on your mortgage
• the interest or charges that will be added

The most important thing to bear in mind is that eviction cannot take place without a court order. For a lender to get a court order, your case will have to be heard in court giving you the chance to defend yourself. If you can show that you can make arrangements to pay the debt back in a reasonable period of time, the court will likely rule in your favour allowing you to do this.

Keep all the documents, letters and emails so that you can use these to show what you have tried to do to resolve the matter. In the meantime contact your mortgage lender and the solicitor and try to come to an arrangement with them, it’s never too late.

As no arrangement has been agreed so far you will have received a Possession Claim Form or a summons (N5) accompanied by particulars of the claim (N120) which must contain certain information including details of the state of the account and the rate of interest at the commencement of the mortgage and at the start of the proceedings. A reply (defence) form (N11M) is attached to the summons. This should be completed and returned with a financial statement. It is advisable to return the defence form within 14 days of the claim to avoid any costs from the court. Once the court receives it they will send a copy to the lender. A hearing date is set in advance and is shown on the summons.

There are four different outcomes the hearing could take, the court will usually grant one of the following:

An order for immediate possession.

• A suspended possession order (may be referred to as postponed order for possession) for as long as contractual payments are made, plus a stated amount towards the arrears. The lender cannot take any further steps unless the borrower defaults on the order. At this point the lender could apply to the court for the bailiffs to evict you and would not need another court hearing.
• An adjournment to a set date where the parties have agreed repayments or where there are outstanding issues which need time to resolve such as clarification from the lender on outstanding arrears. Court may instruct that basic instalments are made in the interim.
• An order for possession postponed or stayed until the happening of a specified event e.g. where you want time to sell the property.

I can’t say for certain of the outcome for you, but it is very important you attend the hearing to give yourself the best chance of getting the best result for you and your family. Have someone go with you to (friend/family member) to support you through the process. I know this is a lot of information to take in, so please do call if you need any further help or want to discuss this further.

Richard
StepChange Debt Charity

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

My arrears are currently £6,800. They bounce from £0 to £8,000 per annum. I can do this because I talk to my bank.
Oh, and last year I had two heart operations and was out of work for ten months.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

Further.

There is something that op is gelling us.

1 DWP only pay Mortgage interest. They pay this direct. Once you tell your mortgage provider that this will happen you are not at risk.

2 I pay by direct transfer as well. It is simple. It us in the mortgage within a day. If not i would ask questions.

3 DD not being paid. Abd op never noticed.

4 I have never heard of a mortgage being sold to another provider. My mortgage is run by my banks collection department. It has been since my heart attack in February 2012. They seem to like me.

OP. ring your mortgage bank. Get an arrangement and bl00dy well stick to it. If you can't pay in that month. Ring them again.

Or you could bury your head and ignore my advise.

maninthestreet

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth wrote: »

Further.

There is something that op is gelling us.

1 DWP only pay Mortgage interest. They pay this direct. Once you tell your mortgage provider that this will happen you are not at risk.

2 I pay by direct transfer as well. It is simple. It us in the mortgage within a day. If not i would ask questions.

3 DD not being paid. Abd op never noticed.

4 I have never heard of a mortgage being sold to another provider. My mortgage is run by my banks collection department. It has been since my heart attack in February 2012. They seem to like me.

OP. ring your mortgage bank. Get an arrangement and bl00dy well stick to it. If you can't pay in that month. Ring them again.

Or you could bury your head and ignore my advise.

Have you actually read the opening post??

beccibaxter_2

I was sticking to it, that's the point. I never missed one payment on the arrangement. The mortgage company have admitted in writing that they cancelled the arrangement in error.
I can post the letters to prove this.

My mortgage has been sold twice. Originally it was with platform, then Derbyshire home loans and now its with the mortgage company.

You seem to be very quick to assume I'm in the wrong here. I'm not and stepchange AND civil legal advice (solicitors recommended by step change) agree with me that the mortgage company are in the wrong and could very well end up having to compensate us.

silvercar

Hopefully, if it does get to court, a judge will see that the lender is in the wrong and throw the case out.

I'm no legal expert and wouldn't want to influence you, but there may be merit in putting in a complaint to the lender and telling them that you will counter sue for the errors they have made. Initial action would be to ask for their complaints procedure, every lender must have one and it may focus their attention.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

I have missed a arranged payment. It was last year. I was in hospital under investigation.when I got out I rang them. I was paying online at the time.

Next

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

maninthestreet wrote: »

Have you actually read the opening post??

Have you read my first post.I am about £5,000 more in arrears than op. A d I do not have a letter from my banks solicitor.

beccibaxter_2

"As no arrangement has been agreed so far you will have received a Possession Claim Form or a summons (N5) accompanied by particulars of the claim (N120) which must contain certain information including details of the state of the account and the rate of interest at the commencement of the mortgage and at the start of the proceedings. A reply (defence) form (N11M) is attached to the summons. This should be completed and returned with a financial statement. It is advisable to return the defence form within 14 days of the claim to avoid any costs from the court. Once the court receives it they will send a copy to the lender. A hearing date is set in advance and is shown on the summons."


I haven't received any of the forms you mention. Just a letter saying they are acting on behalf of the lender and one with the date, time and place of the court hearing. There were 2 copies of each letter in my name and 2 copies of each letter in my husbands name and 1 in owner/owner detailing the court time, date, place.
Nothing for me to fill in?

beccibaxter_2

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth wrote: »

Further.

There is something that op is gelling us.

1 DWP only pay Mortgage interest. They pay this direct. Once you tell your mortgage provider that this will happen you are not at risk.

2 I pay by direct transfer as well. It is simple. It us in the mortgage within a day. If not i would ask questions.

3 DD not being paid. Abd op never noticed.

4 I have never heard of a mortgage being sold to another provider. My mortgage is run by my banks collection department. It has been since my heart attack in February 2012. They seem to like me.

OP. ring your mortgage bank. Get an arrangement and bl00dy well stick to it. If you can't pay in that month. Ring them again.

Or you could bury your head and ignore my advise.

It's as if you have skim read my post and then changed it to suit you!

You clearly didn't read it properly as everything you have said is the exact opposite to what I have put!

Either that or you get off on bullying people when they're feeling low.