Second Charge on Land registry by Barclays

karlsp

My FIL passed away very recently, and my MIL has terminal cancer. As a result MIL has come to live with us, and is selling her property.

Sale is agreed , but the solicitors have advised there is a second charge outstanding on the property, from Barclays, and they cant complete until we remove.

MIL has no recollection of this charge, as it was 42 years ago, so clearly was repaid, the only thing she can think of is they had a new kitchen back in the early 80s...

Therefore she has no account number, and no-one at Barclays appears to be able to help without the Account number. So we are at a standstill...

Can anyone advise how we / she can go about getting this charge removed for her.

I have contacted Barclays as above, but they cant find any debt, or any account number relating to it, so claim they cant help ??

As I said, she is poorly herself already, and is becoming increasingly stressed and worried about this outstanding charge, at a time when we simply want to keep her safe and well cared for.

Any ideas who we can contact to get this removed ?

Cheers

user1977

Barclays can help, you just need to get it onto the desk of somebody capable of doing so. Making a complaint is one way.

karlsp

thanks any ideas of how to find somebody capable ? . Spoken to 3 people so far, one tried to help , but couldn't find a reference to anything about a loan or mortgage, nothing against the address or names , and nothing against the deed title.... and the other 2 people were a waste of time. Spent 4 hours on the phone to them already today. Have sent all the paperwork I have to their Mortgage office in Leicester, but due to circumstances we need to progress this quickly. Cheers

user1977

As I said, you make a complaint. Turn it around - if they can't find a reason why they should have a security, why would they not be prepared to discharge it?

Hoenir

karlsp said:

thanks any ideas of how to find somebody capable ? . Spoken to 3 people so far, one tried to help , but couldn't find a reference to anything about a loan or mortgage, nothing against the address or names , and nothing against the deed title.... and the other 2 people were a waste of time. Spent 4 hours on the phone to them already today. Have sent all the paperwork I have to their Mortgage office in Leicester, but due to circumstances we need to progress this quickly. Cheers

Unlikely to be one person that will handle this. Will be a number of stages to be gone through. Before finally the legal team is requested to action the removal of the charge. 

singhini

If Barclays are saying they cant help, could it be worth contacting Land Registry to see if they can help.
https://customerhelp.landregistry.gov.uk/forums/general-info-and-guidance/2492ba3d-5aee-ed11-a81c-00224801e3da


 

flaneurs_lobster

Naive question - is this not something that your solicitors could/should be doing as part of their conveyancing service?

p00hsticks

flaneurs_lobster said:

Naive question - is this not something that your solicitors could/should be doing as part of their conveyancing service?

Realistically, without any meaningful input from the owners on when and why the charge was put on there and how much it is currently for, the conveyancer is unlikely to have any more success that the OP, and will probably charge handsomely for trying to sort it out. I think a conveyancer would only normally deal with a charge when it is clear how much is still owed and to whom, and this doesn't seem to be the case here. 

housebuyer143

As the other poster advised, it's way too niche and long ago for someone in the call centre to be able to help. They probably have destroyed or archived all the paperwork.
A formal complaint will be the way to get it to someone who can help, but I imagine it's not going up be quick.

Land registry will not remove the charge without proof it's been paid or without instructions from Barclays. 

flaneurs_lobster

p00hsticks said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

Naive question - is this not something that your solicitors could/should be doing as part of their conveyancing service?

Realistically, without any meaningful input from the owners on when and why the charge was put on there and how much it is currently for, the conveyancer is unlikely to have any more success that the OP, and will probably charge handsomely for trying to sort it out. I think a conveyancer would only normally deal with a charge when it is clear how much is still owed and to whom, and this doesn't seem to be the case here. 

This is why I described my question as naive - I thought the detail of a charge shown on the Register would define who held the charge (rather more specifically than "Barclays").

There must be some kind of formal link defined between the Land Registry and the entity holding the charge? How else would the Registry know that an instruction/advice that a charge had been, er, discharged was legit?

Hoenir

housebuyer143 said:

A formal complaint will be the way to get it to someone who can help, but I imagine it's not going up be quick.

The paperwork has been sent in. Complaining isn't going to get anybody further up the queue or given preferential treatment. No doubt there's other similar cases in the process of being resolved.