Letter from Drysden fairfax

mattknow80

Hi ladies and gents first time in posting on here so hoping you can assist?

Received a letter from Drysden Fairfax yesterday and spoke to them today.
Stated no information on the letter as to why so out of curiosity rang them.

They informed me that I am owing 17k due to a house that I bought with my ex in 2009 was repossessed in 2011.
This happened due to us splitting and myself moving to NZ in 2010 but I gave a lump sum to my ex as the house was rented out to tenants but the cost of the rent not meeting the cost of the mortgage.
I received the news from my mother that the house had been repossessed while I was out there.
An email was sent to my ex where she practically laughed in my face after I asked for the money back saying I was the last in the line behind the courts etc.

Cue to today and my partner and I moved in our brand new house and due to be married next June so you can imagine this is the last thing I need.

In the phone call to Drysden Fairfax I denied any liability to the mortgage and when asked if I would like to set up a payment plan i said no.

I did ask for a breakdown of the debts owed and all correspondance ,what would be the next step as the costs involved would not be statutory barred due to being less than 12 years old and only just 6 years old.
I dont want to admit liability by saying the wrong thing due it being my exes fault to decide to have the house repossessed.

My sister does have contact details for her so is there anyway I could pass her information on without myself being liable?

Arleen

You will need a legal advice on this one, the liability is large and the situation is complicated. So best find a solicitor who will take a look at all the facts and paperwork, give you a written opinion on what to do next.

patman99

This is definatley one for a proper legal expert to advise you on.

£17k shortfall on a mortgage from a repo'ed house is a huge amount to have hanging over your head.
As the mortgage was in joint names, they may well have given up on getting your ex to pay, so are concentrating on you instead.

You need to try to deflect them back to your ex.

sourcrates

If you were both named on the mortgage then you are both severely liable for the full amount.

They will chase the easiest target, currently you.

If you cannot afford to pay, then I would be looking at some kind of payment plan or insolvency to deal with it, as this will not go away.

fatbelly

It's true that the debt would not be statute barred at the 6-year point, well at least not the capital - the interest would.

However the CML and MCOB rules still specify a 6-year period for dealing with mortgage shortfall debt.

It is set out well in this factsheet

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/mortgage-shortfalls/mortgage-debt.aspx

I agree for the moment (as the start and end points of the 6-years appear unclear) that you should be careful not to acknowledge the debt. That does not stop you from asking for further information, on a without prejudice basis for this 'alleged debt'.

I like this letter

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/sampleletters/Pages/Ask-your-mortgage-lender-for-a-breakdown-%28sole-name%29.aspx

Bear in mind that these debts are frequently written off with insolvency so lenders are usually open to very small settlement deals around 10%. Again, conduct negotiations 'without prejudice'.

StopIt

Also, if your ex is saying you're "Last in line behind the courts" it may be that they've filed for bankruptcy themselves.


Therefore, any joint debts become solely yours, and you wont be able to deflect them back, especially as you're potentially liable for the full amount regardless of your ex status.


This is most certainly one for legal advice, as the amount is simply far too high to ignore.

mattknow80

Ok I sought legal advice contacting a local solicitor who basically explained as part of the mortgage agreement we are both liable even though its through no fault of my own.
They said its within my legal rights to provide her address if I have it ,My sister still has contact with her via Facebook and has recently noticed she has just moved into a new house.
She is in the process of obtaining said address ,how would I be able to provide Drysden Fairfax the address without admitting any liability to the debt in a letter?

fatbelly

mattknow80 wrote: »

Ok I sought legal advice contacting a local solicitor who basically explained as part of the mortgage agreement we are both liable even though its through no fault of my own.
They said its within my legal rights to provide her address if I have it ,My sister still has contact with her via Facebook and has recently noticed she has just moved into a new house.
She is in the process of obtaining said address ,how would I be able to provide Drysden Fairfax the address without admitting any liability to the debt in a letter?

I hope the solicitor didn't charge for that!

What are you hoping to achieve by giving Drysden Fairfax information that they don't currently have?

Have you checked StopIt's suspicion that your ex is bankrupt?

https://www.insolvencydirect.bis.gov.uk/eiir/

mattknow80

No was done over the phone no charge to local solicitors.
If I can provide her details which they may not have (she has just purchased a new house!) Then maybe they will harass her to admit liability?
Checked and she isn't on there.

fatbelly

mattknow80 wrote: »

No was done over the phone no charge to local solicitors.
If I can provide her details which they may not have (she has just purchased a new house!) Then maybe they will harass her to admit liability?
Checked and she isn't on there.

OK. Of course they may have her details already - it's hard to fly under the radar these days.

That's not going to make any difference to you. They will still work through their standard letters with you. If they decide to take court action, and they may not, then they will just send 2 claims to the last known address for each of you.

I don't think joint liability is in dispute here. You are both liable.