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Blemain Finance repossession Unfair relationship Unfair charges

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  • Blemain Finance repossession Unfair relationship Unfair charges

    Firstly, thank you to everyone who has posted useful Blemain info here. Please, please contact me if you have a file of useful references documents in existence. I am getting one together myself. Would be interested in: trying to get Blemain investigated by the OFT as a general issue of consumer concern - any ideas?; in-person meeting for people currently fighting Blemain in the London area to pool knowledge and experiences. No doubt Blemain will be paying someone to monitor the internet so it would have to be in person so we all know who we are dealing with. We could make sure we each sign a confidentiality agreement not to disclose other people's details. I am very interested in hearing about experiences at London courts of people trying to get applications heard against Blemain. Name of court, name of judge, application you made. Were you told you couldn't eg. apply for a Time Order?

    I have Blemain CCA secured loans on my home. It's a bit confusing when you first read this forum as some people refer to the FSA, others to the OFT and FSO rules. So to recap: if you have a first charge mortgage it is regulated by FSA. If you have a secured loan, it is not regulated by the FSA, they can't help you, it is regulated only by the Office of Fair Trading and they don't take individual complaints. However I believe you can take an individual complaint to the FSO. Is that correct? I am already in court, unrepresented so it is what happens in court that counts. I would be very grateful for any informed comments on the following:

    1. Is it true that Ocean Finance, broker, were or are a part of the Blemain Group? These are the people who referred me to BG saying they were the only co that would lend to me, and at no time was I told they were part of the same group. Ocean called themselves independent!
    2. Are they likely to have taken a secret broker fee from my loan/s, in addition to the declared one added to the loan/s? Are there any actual cases of people having found that Blemain paid a secret broker fee? If so why haven't these cases been reported, as they would invalidate the relationship and the case would surely have been reported? I would be extremely grateful to hear from you if you have evidence that they did this.
    3. In Dec 2012 Cheshire Mortgage Corporatation (CMC) were fined by the FSA for, among other things, the unfair practice of charging their customers fees of £100- £200 to transfer the debt to agents - Monarch Recoveries - which were in fact an in house company of the same group, so they were just passing it to a different floor on the building. They then charge interest at 10% to 1?% plus per year on these fees. CMC have been ordered to pay these charges back.
    CMC is part of the same group as Blemain. Blemain has indulged in exactly the same practice. (Blemain CCA secured loans are not currently subject to FSA rules, but they are regulated by the OFT (Office of Fair Trading). A member company of the same group, with the same directors, housed in the same building, engaging in the same practice. So, surely, if the FSA has said the CMC charges were unfair, the identikit Blemain charges must also be unfair. Why have Blemain not refunded these charges to their loan holders? Every Blemain customer referred to Monarch must be entitled to a refund.
    4. Arrears charges imposed while a payment arrangement is in place. If a suspended possession order is in place, and the Order says that payment shall be on the 28th of the month, how can Blemain keep imposing arrears fees (£46 per loan per month), on a date earlier in the month, which was the original due payment date? They did not oppose the payment date on the Order. I am sure that I have seen a statement from OFT saying that arrears fees should not be charged while a payment agreement is in place. Could anyone point me to that?
    5. The following is the only case report that I can find of a case subject to a court judgement, in which someone who was obviously in a vulnerable position at the time, had a second charge secured loan held to be unfair:

    Barons Finance v Olubisi (Mayor's and City of London Court) 26 April 2010 - see OFT website:
    http://oft.gov.uk/about-the-oft/lega.../#.URQ3coW5khI. Does anyone know of other cases please?
    6. There is also the Blemain v Bentley High Court example (Oct 2009)... there was no judgement in this case, it was settled out of court and the possession claim was dismissed, but the terms of the settlement were subject to an order of the court. According to the OFT website, "Bentley defended the claim on the grounds that the creditor had failed properly to assess his ability to repay the loan and had taken advantage of his situation". I suspect those conditions would apply to very many people who borrowed from Blemain, you wouldn't do it unless you were desperate,and they defiintely apply to myself. However I have read elsewhere that there were other grounds as well on which Peter Bentley's lawyers challenged the fairness of the loan. Does anyone have more information? And does anyone know what happened to the lawyers who fought this case please? At the time they were quoted as saying they were going to fight more cases against Blemain, then they disappear without trace? Very grateful for any help and very keen to meet up with others who are in debt slavery to Blemain Finance and already fighting repossession.
    Tags: None

  • #2
    Re: Blemain Finance repossession Unfair relationship Unfair charges

    ["""1. Is it true that Ocean Finance, broker, were or are a part of the Blemain Group? These are the people who referred me to BG saying they were the only co that would lend to me, and at no time was I told they were part of the same group. Ocean called themselves independent!"""]

    I thought Ocean Finance were a lender not a broker, Ocean Finance were one of the lenders that Blemain used to steer customers towards probably as far back as 1999. Not sure whether Ocean Finance still trade or not, not heard of them for a while.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Blemain Finance repossession Unfair relationship Unfair charges

      Hi and welcome
       
      Firstly well done on your research, for a newcomer I am impressed.
       
      Now I may be able to help with information you require, but I will only give it on an open forum, the reason is that what I say I want to be available to everyone, what blemain have done that is wrong is already done (in the past) so in posting on an open forum everyone learns.
       
      now answer the following questions
      1 you say “ I have Blemain CCA secured loans on my home” dose it say on the top of your agreements consumer credit act regulated ?
      2 have you got a suspended possession order from the courts ?
       
      3 roughly when are you in court ?
       
      4 go and find a copy of a default notice that blemain would have sent you before taking you to court, (this is important)
       
      Now answers
       
       
       
      1. Is it true that Ocean Finance, broker, were or are a part of the Blemain Group? These are the people who referred me to BG saying they were the only co that would lend to me, and at no time was I told they were part of the same group. Ocean called themselves independent!
      Different companies
       

      2. Are they likely to have taken a secret broker fee from my loan/s, in addition to the declared one added to the loan/s? Are there any actual cases of people having found that Blemain paid a secret broker fee? If so why haven't these cases been reported, as they would invalidate the relationship and the case would surely have been reported? I would be extremely grateful to hear from you if you have evidence that they did this. Yes they did pay the broker a hidden commission, I will give you this information but its late now.
       

      3. In Dec 2012 Cheshire Mortgage Corporatation (CMC) were fined by the FSA for, among other things, the unfair practice of charging their customers fees of £100- £200 to transfer the debt to agents - Monarch Recoveries - which were in fact an in house company of the same group, so they were just passing it to a different floor on the building. They then charge interest at 10% to 1?% plus per year on these fees. CMC have been ordered to pay these charges back. Monarch recoveries weren’t on a different floor, they only existed as a name, they had no employees,
      Someone would phone you in the morning and say they were from blemain, same person phones you in the afternoon and says they are from monarch,
      The accounts filed at company house for monarch recoveries state that they have no employees


      CMC is part of the same group as Blemain. Blemain has indulged in exactly the same practice. (Blemain CCA secured loans are not currently subject to FSA rules, but they are regulated by the OFT (Office of Fair Trading). A member company of the same group, with the same directors, housed in the same building, engaging in the same practice. So, surely, if the FSA has said the CMC charges were unfair, the identikit Blemain charges must also be unfair. Why have Blemain not refunded these charges to their loan holders? Every Blemain customer referred to Monarch must be entitled to a refund. You got the basics but this is much biger than I think you know.
       
       

      4. Arrears charges imposed while a payment arrangement is in place. If a suspended possession order is in place, and the Order says that payment shall be on the 28th of the month, how can Blemain keep imposing arrears fees (£46 per loan per month), on a date earlier in the month, which was the original due payment date? They did not oppose the payment date on the Order. I am sure that I have seen a statement from OFT saying that arrears fees should not be charged while a payment agreement is in place. Could anyone point me to that? All their charges can be challenged as basically they are a penalty
       

      5. The following is the only case report that I can find of a case subject to a court judgement, in which someone who was obviously in a vulnerable position at the time, had a second charge secured loan held to be unfair:

      Barons Finance v Olubisi (Mayor's and City of London Court) 26 April 2010 - see OFT website:

      There is a lot more than just case law protecting you from unfair treatment
       
      Answer my questions above and find the default notice, it is more important than you realise


      wp
      Last edited by welshperson; 8th February 2013, 02:36:AM.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Blemain Finance repossession Unfair relationship Unfair charges

        ["""2. Are they likely to have taken a secret broker fee from my loan/s, in addition to the declared one added to the loan/s? Are there any actual cases of people having found that Blemain paid a secret broker fee? If so why haven't these cases been reported, as they would invalidate the relationship and the case would surely have been reported? I would be extremely grateful to hear from you if you have evidence that they did this."""]


        If there were any brokers fees to do with the loan it will be on the loan contract or on a letter from the broker explaining the relevant fees. There was a suspicion that mortgage applications were passed from one broker to another one that would package the mortgage application for a specific lender.

        Example: You ask Blemain to find you a mortgage, they charge a brokers fee, they then find you another broker, Ocean Finance, that can offer you a specific mortgage and they will package the application and also charge a fee.

        Same as: You ask Ocean Finance to find you a mortgage they charge you a fee, they then pass you to Blemain Finance that can offer you a specific mortgage and they will package the application and also charge a fee.

        They both get paid a fee for something that one could do without the need for the other but because they know you can't go to a normal lender they take advantage and make out that because of say, adverse credit history, that is the only lender available and as you think they are doing you a favour you accept this and then end up with what may not be the best available mortgage for your needs at the time and will no doubt have a higher interest rate, this is now known as Mis-sold Mortgages.

        The one that packages the mortgage to a specific lender will be paid a commission for introducing you to them.

        Comment


        • #6
          Re: Blemain Finance repossession Unfair relationship Unfair charges

          What a lot of companies........

          Comment


          • #7
            Re: Blemain Finance repossession Unfair relationship Unfair charges

            Hi Blem-ished I think you'll find that the OFT have not re-newed Blemain's CCA licence since May 2011....and already maybe under investigation.

            You have posted up quite a lot of good information......and I was just wandering if you have any strong points that we could use against Blemain?

            You also suggest meeting up in person......may I ask if this were to happen how you would be able to assist anyone fighting against Blemain?

            Also I am sure that Blemain take many people to court outside the London area.....so is it just specifically people going to London courts that you want to assist?

            Comment


            • #8
              Re: Blemain Finance repossession Unfair relationship Unfair charges

              Blem-ished you have asked some big questions, the answers given will be different for different types of agreements you have said that this is a second charge so there are only two options Consumer Credit Act regulated, or unregulated.

              As for the questions you asked below, they will require quite a lot of information so pick one point from below and I will try and give you the answers you are looking for.One at a time (not so confusing)
               
              1. Is it true that Ocean Finance, broker, were or are a part of the Blemain Group? These are the people who referred me to BG saying they were the only co that would lend to me, and at no time was I told they were part of the same group. Ocean called themselves independent!
              2. Are they likely to have taken a secret broker fee from my loan/s, in addition to the declared one added to the loan/s? Are there any actual cases of people having found that Blemain paid a secret broker fee? If so why haven't these cases been reported, as they would invalidate the relationship and the case would surely have been reported? I would be extremely grateful to hear from you if you have evidence that they did this.
              3. In Dec 2012 Cheshire Mortgage Corporatation (CMC) were fined by the FSA for, among other things, the unfair practice of charging their customers fees of £100- £200 to transfer the debt to agents - Monarch Recoveries - which were in fact an in house company of the same group, so they were just passing it to a different floor on the building. They then charge interest at 10% to 1?% plus per year on these fees. CMC have been ordered to pay these charges back.
              CMC is part of the same group as Blemain. Blemain has indulged in exactly the same practice. (Blemain CCA secured loans are not currently subject to FSA rules, but they are regulated by the OFT (Office of Fair Trading). A member company of the same group, with the same directors, housed in the same building, engaging in the same practice. So, surely, if the FSA has said the CMC charges were unfair, the identikit Blemain charges must also be unfair. Why have Blemain not refunded these charges to their loan holders? Every Blemain customer referred to Monarch must be entitled to a refund.
              4. Arrears charges imposed while a payment arrangement is in place. If a suspended possession order is in place, and the Order says that payment shall be on the 28th of the month, how can Blemain keep imposing arrears fees (£46 per loan per month), on a date earlier in the month, which was the original due payment date? They did not oppose the payment date on the Order. I am sure that I have seen a statement from OFT saying that arrears fees should not be charged while a payment agreement is in place. Could anyone point me to that?
              5. The following is the only case report that I can find of a case subject to a court judgement, in which someone who was obviously in a vulnerable position at the time, had a second charge secured loan held to be unfair:

              Barons Finance v Olubisi (Mayor's and City of London Court) 26 April 2010 - see OFT website:
              http://oft.gov.uk/about-the-oft/lega.../#.URQ3coW5khI. Does anyone know of other cases please?
              6. There is also the Blemain v Bentley High Court example (Oct 2009)... there was no judgement in this case, it was settled out of court and the possession claim was dismissed, but the terms of the settlement were subject to an order of the court. According to the OFT website, "Bentley defended the claim on the grounds that the creditor had failed properly to assess his ability to repay the loan and had taken advantage of his situation". I suspect those conditions would apply to very many people who borrowed from Blemain, you wouldn't do it unless you were desperate,and they defiintely apply to myself. However I have read elsewhere that there were other grounds as well on which Peter Bentley's lawyers challenged the fairness of the loan. Does anyone have more information? And does anyone know what happened to the lawyers who fought this case please? At the time they were quoted as saying they were going to fight more cases against Blemain, then they disappear without trace? Very grateful for any help and very keen to meet up with others who are in debt slavery to Blemain Finance and already fighting repossession.
               
              Last edited by welshperson; 8th February 2013, 21:16:PM.

              Comment


              • #9
                Re: Blemain Finance repossession Unfair relationship Unfair charges

                Hi Welshperson

                A) Thanks for your useful information.

                re: Monarch Recoveries charges (ruled unfair by the FSA when charged by the Cheshire Mortgage Corporation and part of the FSA's case for heavily fining and banning various of the Blemain beasts) - just to quote our your very useful comment on my first post:
                3. In Dec 2012 Cheshire Mortgage Corporatation (CMC) were fined by the FSA for, among other things, the unfair practice of charging their customers fees of £100- £200 to transfer the debt to agents - Monarch Recoveries - which were in fact an in house company of the same group, so they were just passing it to a different floor on the building. They then charge interest at 10% to 1?% plus per year on these fees. CMC have been ordered to pay these charges back. Monarch recoveries weren’t on a different floor, they only existed as a name, they had no employees,
                Someone would phone you in the morning and say they were from blemain, same person phones you in the afternoon and says they are from monarch,
                The accounts filed at company house for monarch recoveries state that they have no employees

                That's useful - and explains my experience - I recall being rung by the same bloke, I thought he had moved companies! But you're saying Monarch Recoveries was essentially a front - they just created this company so staff of the lender companies could claim to be "Agents" of MR when they called and wrote to people, and used that as a pretext for charging extortionate charges which are listed on loan accounts as "Instruction to Agent". I have calculated that I am due a refund of nearing £1000 on MR fees. That point seems to be clear - anyone so treated should be entitled to refund of the MR fees plus interest charged. Does this not also mean that as this was unfair behaviour (ruled by the FSA to be so) it is grounds for a Judge to review any Blemain loan account subject to MR fees as an unfair relationship.
                In addition, one has to wonder what the defence of Moser and the other Blemain beasts have, for not having written already to all Blemain customers, to inform them that these charges will be removed from their accounts? What excuse could they have?

                B) Yes, my loans are Fixed Sum Loan Agreements regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 secured on...

                C) I would like to meet up with others whose lives are being ruined by Blemain, in the London area, because it would be very useful to pool resources and learn from each other. I also suspect that pooled knowledge about Blemain's venal practices will assist us all. I would like to see a Blemain pack with all the key info - about case law, legislation, regulatory bodies and their guidance and how this can be used, plus any rulings/sanctions against the Blemain beasts (directors) for similar practices in their capacities as directors/officers of other companies - in one place, since at the moment everyone trying to survive Blemain has to start and get all this together for themselves. There is useful info on this site but one has to hunt about all over to collate it and it also requires knowledge acquired elsewhere to make sense of what's on here. As you say, I am sure there is a lot I don't know, but the point is, I need to have that info readily accesible somewhere. Currently, I have to work out what question to ask, post it, and hope for a helpful person with the info, to reply. People under pressure from Blemain just can't deal with having to start and reinvent the wheel each time, there is very little legal advice available and a lot of us, by definition having borrowed from Blemain, certainly can't afford solicitors.
                Last edited by Blem-ished; 9th February 2013, 10:32:AM.

                Comment


                • #10
                  Re: Blemain Finance repossession Unfair relationship Unfair charges

                  I have a battle with Blemain, and would love to be part of a group to share experiences, and to meet in London

                  Comment


                  • #11
                    Re: Blemain Finance repossession Unfair relationship Unfair charges

                    Originally posted by figaro123 View Post
                    I have a battle with Blemain, and would love to be part of a group to share experiences, and to meet in London
                    Hi Figaro Thanks for your reply, great to hear from you. I'll PM you with my phone number and hope we can meet up as soon as. Looks like you and I both have Loans regulated under the CCA 1974, secured.... It would be great to have a small group of people in exactly this situation so we can focus on getting on top of exactly what resources and defences apply to us.

                    Comment


                    • #12
                      Re: Blemain Finance repossession Unfair relationship Unfair charges

                      Hi Blem_mished are you currently involved in court proceedings with BLemain?

                      Comment


                      • #13
                        Re: Blemain Finance repossession Unfair relationship Unfair charges

                        Hello jumper999. If you are able to offer any advice on the questions in my post that would be very kind, thank you.

                        Comment


                        • #14
                          Re: Blemain Finance repossession Unfair relationship Unfair charges

                          Originally posted by Blem-ished View Post
                          Hello jumper999. If you are able to offer any advice on the questions in my post that would be very kind, thank you.
                          I am not sure about offering advice but can offer my opinions and views......which may or may not be of help to you. A lot of us fighting Blemain have gained a vast amount of knowledge but I am sure no one would say they were qualified to give advice...just what their own personal opinions are and what they think.

                          Apologies as I don't want to sound odd.....but you do not seem to answering the questions that WP3 or myself are asking you....as we would like to know what your situation is...whether you are personally involved with any legal proceedings with Blemain.....or not? but it is not the normal thing that people do on this forum as far as I know....to meet up and disclose information they have about their own personal cases...I maybe wrong......but have not heard of anything like this before that is why it would be nice to know how you are able to assist us?

                          I have personally a lot of info and gained a lot of knowledge about Blemain....so would not mind sharing.....but not too keen on meeting up...as WP3 said things are better in an open forum for all to see....and safer.

                          So please answer my questions before going any further....then we can go in to as much detail as you like and answer whatever questions you would like to know about.

                          Comment


                          • #15
                            Re: Blemain Finance repossession Unfair relationship Unfair charges

                            Interesting points if it can be proved that Blemain loaned irresponsibly:


                            What defences might a Surveyor attempt to raise?

                            Even if a Surveyor’s valuation was negligent, that is not to say that it was the actual cause of any loss suffered by the Lender. Causation of loss is a very complex area of law (see, for example, our previous article Cause and Effect in Professional Negligence Claims), and for that reason the Surveyor may well argue that the losses were actually caused by reasons other than the negligent valuation (such as the property crash itself). In the July 2012 High Court case of Platform Funding Ltd v Anderson & Associates Ltd [2012] the Surveyor was found not liable for the losses suffered by the Lender (notwithstanding that his valuation had been negligent) because the entire loss suffered by the Lender had been caused by underlying fraud perpetrated by the vendor (with the assistance of others).

                            A Surveyor may also attempt to allege that the Lender was itself contributively negligent if, for example, it failed to follow correct underwriting procedures, it failed to take adequate steps to verify the borrower’s financial status (particularly relevant in relation to self-certification mortgages), or it failed to detect recognised fraud methodologies. These allegations are often grouped together under the umbrella term “careless lending”

                            Comment

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