Charge Notice on Property - Drydens Law

JennyBean1974

Hi All - I am new to this site - nice to meet you all.  Not sure if I am in the right category, so apologies if not.  Just looking for a bit of advice, if possible

My son received a letter regarding a large charge notice on a house he inherited from his late father.  His dad must have had a loan secured on it from 2014, but passed away in 2017.  We were only made aware of this last year in August 2024.  Does anyone know if the charge can be partially settled or negotiated?  If anyone could advise, I would really appreciate it - thank you!

ACG

Its unlikely they will negotiate if it is secured against a property. No harm in asking the question, but it should have been dealt with at the same time as the property ownership was transferred. 

It might be worth speaking to the solicitors who dealt with that (assuming you used a solicitor). 

silvercar

I don't know if this is relevant or not, but may be worth a look: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1839539/charging-order-the-myth/p1

I don't know the answer, hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be along soon. In between, it may be helpful to know if and when the property was transferred to your son's name. Also, when was the charging order put on the property? When the property was transferred to your son's name, was the charging order removed?

It isn't unheard of for debt companies to chase a debt they are no longer entitled to. It may be that your son can refute this debt rather than start negotiations. It may be wise to do nothing until you are sure of the situation. Acknowledging the debt may be a bad idea.

JennyBean1974

ACG said:

Its unlikely they will negotiate if it is secured against a property. No harm in asking the question, but it should have been dealt with at the same time as the property ownership was transferred. 

It might be worth speaking to the solicitors who dealt with that (assuming you used a solicitor). 

The solicitor who dealt with it were closed down in January last year, for dishonesty.  If they were aware of this charge, we werent notified of it (

JennyBean1974

silvercar said:

I don't know if this is relevant or not, but may be worth a look: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1839539/charging-order-the-myth/p1

I don't know the answer, hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be along soon. In between, it may be helpful to know if and when the property was transferred to your son's name. Also, when was the charging order put on the property? When the property was transferred to your son's name, was the charging order removed?

It isn't unheard of for debt companies to chase a debt they are no longer entitled to. It may be that your son can refute this debt rather than start negotiations. It may be wise to do nothing until you are sure of the situation. Acknowledging the debt may be a bad idea.

Thank you!  Unfortunately we reached out to Drydens last year as we thought it was an error.  My son and his dad both have the same forename/surname.  So we have already kind of acknowledged it.

JennyBean1974

The property was transferred to my son in 2023.  The solicitor did not make us aware of this at the time though.  Should they have known this? 

Voyager2002

JennyBean1974 said:

silvercar said:

I don't know if this is relevant or not, but may be worth a look: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1839539/charging-order-the-myth/p1

I don't know the answer, hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be along soon. In between, it may be helpful to know if and when the property was transferred to your son's name. Also, when was the charging order put on the property? When the property was transferred to your son's name, was the charging order removed?

It isn't unheard of for debt companies to chase a debt they are no longer entitled to. It may be that your son can refute this debt rather than start negotiations. It may be wise to do nothing until you are sure of the situation. Acknowledging the debt may be a bad idea.

Thank you!  Unfortunately we reached out to Drydens last year as we thought it was an error.  My son and his dad both have the same forename/surname.  So we have already kind of acknowledged it.

If you simply asked a question that doesn't count as acknowledging it. I hope he didn't tell them that he understood he really owed them the money.

JennyBean1974

Voyager2002 said:

JennyBean1974 said:

silvercar said:

I don't know if this is relevant or not, but may be worth a look: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1839539/charging-order-the-myth/p1

I don't know the answer, hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be along soon. In between, it may be helpful to know if and when the property was transferred to your son's name. Also, when was the charging order put on the property? When the property was transferred to your son's name, was the charging order removed?

It isn't unheard of for debt companies to chase a debt they are no longer entitled to. It may be that your son can refute this debt rather than start negotiations. It may be wise to do nothing until you are sure of the situation. Acknowledging the debt may be a bad idea.

Thank you!  Unfortunately we reached out to Drydens last year as we thought it was an error.  My son and his dad both have the same forename/surname.  So we have already kind of acknowledged it.

If you simply asked a question that doesn't count as acknowledging it. I hope he didn't tell them that he understood he really owed them the money.

No we just asked what was it about and they asked for a copy of the title deeds.  They have only sent me some vague information of what it actually relates to and then told me to get Legal advice.

housebuyer143

I imagine if they had made you aware of it on 2023 the result would be as it is now - you need to pay them to have the charge removed. If the charge is on your son's deeds then the debt needs paying to have it removed. The solicitor should have made you aware at the time and the change should have been paid/removed then.
Do you know how much it's for? If you don't have the money to pay it, they may accept a settlement as otherwise they will have to wait until your son sells to recover their money.

JennyBean1974

We were only made aware of it in 2024, we were completely in the dark.  The solicitor dealing with the estate didnt notify us of any charge on the property when it was transferred either.  The debt is £62K.  

JennyBean1974

PS, its an interim charging order.  What is the difference between interim and final?  Sorry for all the Q's!  Thanks everyone who has contributed so far!