Arrears accrued in pandemic against my knowledge

stevco72

I hope someone can help or advise, I feel I am being fleeced by Nemo Loans.  I emailed them to say i could not pay the second mortgage due to the pandemic - they emailed back "do not worry" " let us know when you can start repaying" etc etc.  I was asking them for help, and I believed them when they said do not worry etc.  I got a letter yesterday saying my arrears was not £2000 - basically the missed payments due to the pandemic - they never offered help but continued to mislead me and make me think that i had a payment holiday.  I complained yesterday to them, including all the emails they had sent - and surprise surprise they have found in their favour and are now threatening me about the house - i do not know what to do- -i still dont have work due to the pandemic, how on earth do i find this money that i thought was the help they were giving me?  Ive complained to the financial ombudsman, but is there anything else i can use?

Thrugelmir

In what are you being fleeced. By taking a payment holiday the due debt is simply being deferred. Did you think that you got something for nothing and that the debt would be written off. Sadly you are wrong. The FO isn't going to help you either. Speak to the National Debt Helpline for free advice.

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/

mortgage_noob

Have they indicated the repayment terms for the £2000? You were never going to get that money for 'free' but if they were genuinely providing you a mortgage holiday presumably you would either have the option to increase your monthly payments at the end of the holiday or increase the term of your mortgage

stevco72

I was led to believe this was a payment holiday - it turns out it was not and they just turned it into arrears - i am very well aware it i not free money - i am not stupid.  However I was led to believe it was a payment holiday and then payments would be adjusted to account for that - instead i now have a letter stating i have accrued 2000 arrears rather than what i thought was a payment holiday,

TadleyBaggie

What exactly did their email say that made it sound like it was a payment holiday?

Thrugelmir

The deferment (payment holiday) will create arrears.  Once the holiday has ended then it be expected that the arrears are progressively repaid in addition to the normal monthly outgoing. Otherwise the debt will simply spiral out of control. 
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stevco72

I emailed in April saying that i could not afford the payments due to the pandemic - i got emails back stating "not to worry, and we will keep in touch with you for when you are ready to restart paying"  Maybe i was naive and took this as the payment holiday - - this equates to 3 months payments.   I restarted paying again in september.  I am as i have said aware that this is not free money - but i thought as a "payment holiday" the amounts would be accrued onto payments back - not by sending a letter saying you owe £2000 or we take your house away from you.  Maybe i was very naive, and after Sunak said financial institutions would offer payment holidays, that i read their email as a payment holiday, not just randomly missing payments and then get a bill at the end of it.

[Deleted User]

ask them to reclassify them as payment holiday and spread the arrears over the remaining term? 

stevco72

Ive raised the issue with them, they state they are sorry that i may have been mislead, but they are arrears

mortgage_noob

Hopefully you can come to some sort of agreement and payment plan. It seems pretty outrageous that they're unwilling to honor 3 month payment holiday given the scheme was government backed.

kingstreet

A payment holiday is authorised arrears. At some point agreement has to be reached on how the deficit is going to be made up so the mortgage ends on time.