Voluntary Reposession

Iwanttobefree

Speaking from personal experience although it was 27 years ago.

I lost my job when the company I worked for went bankrupt.

I had a mortgage with a very well known high street building society (well bank now)

My mortgage was for around 50k and I was 3k in arrears, my wife was pregnant with our first child.

I said I was now in a position to carry on my mortgage payments but unfortunately am not in a position to clear my arrears.

They said they couldn't do anything about the arrears and unless I cleared them they would keep having interest applied.

I said I obviously don't want my debt increasing and asked what they advised.

They advised me that if I handed the keys back, that would be that.

Which is what I stupidly did.

And all seemed fine for a few years (although I did find it a bit off that the person that ended up buying my old property, did so at a hugely discounted price, told my friends who lived in the flat below that she got it dirt cheap as she worked for the building society)

A few years past, I got a bit of inheritance and bought a new house (got first time buyer deal too and I explained about my past). My life finally seemed on track again. Then out of the blue I received what can only be described as a very very very threatening letter from a well known insurance company saying they had paid out £15k on the indemnity to my flat I handed the keys back to and I could either pay it back in full, offer x amount a month .........

I wrote to them explaining the Building society said I would owe nothing, it fell on deaf ears. I spoke to a solicitor, he too said I had no chance of winning as I have nothing in writing.

I spoke a few times to this insurance company and they were really pig headed, patronizing etc, talking down to me in a smarmy way saying everyone knows if its not in writing you (I cant put into words how sarcastic and annoying this person was)

And I wrote to the ombudsman (and I pointed out the person that bought my flat worked for the building society and argued that they could have probably sold it for more if they had tried).

To cut a long story short, even though the legal advice from a solicitor said I was wasting my time, it took over a year, but I won, a new precedent was set, both the building society and insurance companies were told to get off my back and never contact me about the money again.

But it was a very very very very stressful year and a bit, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone (Funny enough I have my current mortgage with the same building society/bank )

Being older and wiser, I was silly not to get it in writing in the first place, but you live and learn.