Halifax & Firstplus

Pem_2 · 26 August 2012 at 4:00PM

Hi,I have a mortgage with the Halifax & a secured load via Firstplus, i have just lost my job & have a couple of months funds,after that I will struggle, my question is that I know you can contact Halifax before you get into trouble and talk it through but i dont know if Firstplus has a similar policy.

If I couldnt afford to pay both,how would they both react?
I owe Firstplus £15000 & there is £75000 left on the mortgage, would Firstplus force a repossession before the Halifax? or would Halifax take charge because they are owed the most?

The house probably has about 35/40 thousand equity on it.

Any help much appreciated because i am very concerned about the situation.

Simon

Krojan · 26 August 2012 at 5:21PM

I was in a similar situation, almost identical to be honest, here's what I learnt.

I found Halifax are very friendly and understanding you shouldn't have many problems there, FirstPlus however are another story.

You'll find they arn't so understanding to those whom are suffering financial hardships and it's very difficult to come to an affordable agreement with them as they'll literally want every penny of any disposable income you have, plus any agreement you put into place will be VERY short term before they start ringing you daily demanding higher payments etc... and then push it further to debt collectors etc.

FirstPlus, in my case, were very quick in going for reposession despite frequent contact, even Halifax couldn't believe they were so fast in going for it, despite sending income and expenditures, keeping them updated etc... Always, and I mean ALWAYS get written copies of anything agreed over the phone with Firstplus (and Halifax to be fair), if possible record the calls, get names, times/dates, extension numbers etc... If possible only deal with them after your inital call in writing and send via recorded so you have a "paper-trail" as you'll find they've rather incompitent in keeping to any agreements made.

Halifax will (assuming your mortgage is with them, and you later had a secured loan with fp) have first charge on the property, meaning IF it was repossessed and sold on, Priority would be Halifax>Firstplus>you for the monies from the sale.

My advice would be to visit your local CAB as soon as possible and get help directly in dealing with both. Take as much detailed information as you can get together about your income and expendature, your credit agreements with them and any others, so you can draw up a realistic sustainable payment plan for both should you be unfortunatly long-term unemployed,

It'd be worth investigating if your local council has a "Mortgage rescue scheme" in place and start talking to them as soon as possible.

CAB_Swansea_Bay_representative · 28 August 2012 at 10:03AM

Hi Pem, thank you for your query regarding Halifax and Firstplus.
Firstly it is important that you communicate with your lenders and explain the situation and see what they are able to do to help. They may be able to give you a repayment holiday or change your mortgage to interest only for a limited time to reduce the repayments so you don't fall behind. I would also suggest you contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau for assistance as they can complete a benefit check to see if you have any benefit entitlement, especially to Support for Mortgage Interest which may be able to help with the mortgage payments but not usually for the first 13 weeks of unemployment. I would also check to see if you have an Payment Protection Insurance that would help with repayments and look into whether you have any entitlement to a redundancy payment (it was not clear in your post how you lost your job). After you have maximised your income and reduced your expenditure you need to prioritise your debts and offer any available income towards the mortgage and secured loan and any other priority creditors you have but a specialist debt adviser will assist you with this. Regarding your query as to who would seek possession first, it is usually a second charge lender as the first charge lender will have priority when it comes to the proceeds from a forced sale of the property in repossession but that does not mean you should just pay your secured loan and a specialist debt adviser will be able to assist you in negotiating with your lenders. You can find your local Citizens Advice Bureau at www.citizensadvice.org.uk. I would suggest you prepare for you debt appointment by getting all the paperwork regarding any debts you have together, including any original credit agreements if you have them, complete a detailed income and expenditure and take with you proof of any income you have coming in. Hope this is of assistance.

Halifax & Firstplus

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