Which way to turn

SeanOD

Hi All
My first post and really not sure if this is the right place.
House repossessed 31.5.12 after loss of mother, cancer had wife and my business ground to a halt looking after her. Owe a lot on credit cards but they seemed to have gone away and are now covered by the Statute of Limitations. However, the mortgage. We never heared from the mortgage company after the repossession until last week when they wrote saying they had put the case int the hands of Moorcroft and that they were chasing me for just over £82K!
I'm so fed up with life I have contemplated suicide but couldnt go through with it because of my wife and teenage daughters. Don't know what to do. Should I go bankrupt or try and offer them a payment plan. Bitter about giving them anything as the agents that repossessed us stole some of our belongings and we cant prove that. Sorry for the ramblings.

National_Debtline

Hi SeanOD and welcome to MSE,

Firstly, it is important to get the support that you need in a situation like this. Debt can be stressful, and if it is affecting your mental state, then you can talk to your GP and/or the Samaritans on 116 123.


With regard to the mortgage shortfall, bankruptcy is a potential option, and so are negotiations. Unfortunately, this is a debt that has a longer statute of limitations (a total of 12 years) - 6 years for the interest element of the debt and 12 years for the capital - unfortunately, it is normally the case that the majority of this would be capital.


You may be able to dispute the debt, if you feel the house wasn't sold for the best price. You can ask Moorcroft for a breakdown of the debt to understand how this figure was calculated and check what is interest and what is capital, but please be aware that by asking for a breakdown it would be considered a written acknowledgement under the limitations act and restart the 12 year clock.


You should do a SOA, that would help assess which option may suit you better - http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php depending on your surplus and other assets will affect whether bankruptcy is more appropriate than repayments. Good luck,


Laura
@natdebtline

maxmycardagain

SeanOD wrote: »

However, the mortgage. We never heared from the mortgage company after the repossession until last week when they wrote saying they had put the case int the hands of Moorcroft and that they were chasing me for just over £82K!

Ok, my experience..

We had a house repossesed in 1992, we only had it 3 years

Midshires sold it at big loss and came after us

We had paid for a mortgage indemnity which was worth £8000 but they said they were "duty bound" to reclaim that off us....yeah, right

they knocked the £8K off the balance and agreed to us paying a monthly sum (cant recall how much) which would have taken 5+ years to clear

after 10 months i offered £3k and they settled (i had casually mentioned going BR which seems to have 5hit em up)

robber2

Sean, sorry for your situation. Is the debt solely in your name or jointly with your wife? This could have a big impact on your best option.

Rob