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Mortgage Shortfall Debt from 6 years ago (Scotland). Help!

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  • Mortgage Shortfall Debt from 6 years ago (Scotland). Help!

    Hi there,

    6 years ago I got into bad debt and decided to walk away from it all and left the country. This included credit cards, a bank account overdraft and a mortgage.

    I came back to the UK a few months later and decided to try and forget about the debt and avoid it - a fact I have really come to regret.

    Although there has been the odd letter come through the post the past few years for credit cards, I have chosen to ignore it. For the past 12 months I have heard nothing and have assumed that the outstanding debt had fallen under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973.

    Last week I received a letter from a debt collection agency informing me that they are seeking £35,000. From what I can see this will be to do with the mortgage - there was a shortfall after my property was repossessed I believe. Also, when I took the mortgage, I can vaguely remember it being both secured and unsecured.

    In short, I am extremely anxious about this and wondered if anyone was able to provide me with some information on what may happen. Here is some information broken down:

    Bought the property 16th May 2007 for £65,000;

    Stopped paying the mortgage and severed all contact with the lender 2 June 2008;

    Property repossessed and sold on 12th Aug 2009 for £54,000 (info from house price websites).

    I've read so many different things regarding the lender being able to pursue the money for 12 years - although some say it is 5 years and some say 6 years. It seemingly also depends whether court action was taken (I do not know if it has and it does not show on my experian account if there are any outstanding court orders/CCJs). As I said, I am really worried about this so if you are able to tell me what my options are I would very appreciative.

    Many thanks

  • #2
    Re: Mortgage Shortfall Debt from 6 years ago (Scotland). Help!

    Hi and welcome

    I don't blame you for deciding to throw in the towel and leave the country, especially in 2008, when the greedy banks caused the global financial meltdown.

    The confusion with the number of years comes from the fact that, for unsecured debts, the limitation period is 6 years in England and Wales and 5 in Scotland, but for mortgage shortfalls it's 12 in England and Wales, that would explain the figures you have been quoted.

    There are a couple of things to bear in mind:

    If you were made to pay mortgage indemnity insurance, also known as higher lending fee, the insurance should have reimbursed the lender for any shortfall. However, as the insurance was intended to cover the lender rather than yourself, the insurers could pursue you for the debt.

    Lenders have a duty to sell repossessed properties for the best price they can obtain, rather than just rushing to auction them off at any price. If they didn't make the effort to obtain the best price (thus leaving you with a bigger shortfall), then you could have a cause for complaint against the lender and to dispute the amount owed.

    This page offers a lot of useful information regarding mortgage shortfalls in Scotland: http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/get_a..._mortgage_debt

    Before doing anything else, you should read the following paragraph, quoted from the page linked to above:
    Your lender may treat the shortfall as capital and argue that they have twenty years to begin action against you for the debt. You may be able to argue that the shortfall is what is known as an unsecured debt and your lender only has five years to pursue this kind of debt.

    If your lender or insurer contacts you after the five years have ended, talk to a solicitor or a money adviser before taking any action. Whatever you do, don't acknowledge that you owe the debt. You may not have to pay and you may be able to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
    This page also has plenty of useful information: https://www.nationaldebtline.org/S/f...s/Default.aspx

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Mortgage Shortfall Debt from 6 years ago (Scotland). Help!

      Thank you so so much for getting back to me.

      Comment

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