Mortgage obtained under duress

[akania]

Hi There

Im new to your forum so thank you for letting me join.

I am about reaching my wits end with my mothers mortgage situation and feel i maybe out of my depth trying to deal with it so i wondered if someone would be able to help me or point me in the right directon. This is a bit lengthy but i will condense it as much as possible in order to get to the point.

My mother entered into a relationship with a man about 4 years ago. In the beginning he looked fine however quickly turned out to be extreamly violent mentally and physically. He terrorised my mother and got her into horrendous debt. This man has been arrested 5 times , been sent to prison for what he did to my mum and is currently in prison for attacking another woman with a knife.

Whilst together this man threatened my mum that if she didnt get money for him he would kill her or even me. My mother being beaten by him many times was terrified so did what he wanted. He took her credit cards and took them up to the limit gambling on line. took ker to Natwest and made her get a loan and once there was no other way to get money made her take a mortgage out on the house she owns and give him the money. He has been arrested 5 times for crimes against my mother and still continues to harrass her. Thankfully not at the moment as he is in prison for threatening another woman with a knife. My mother, bless her, still has yet another court case to attend in april this year regarding him.

I have managed to get all of the credit cards and loans written off with the help of my MP and due to the circumstances that surround my mum. However I have one left which is the mortgage. Apparently the mortgage was all done over the phone and 'fast tracked'. No supporting documentaton was required by the building society which, if it had of been, would have shown that my mum only earned approx £9,500 pa as a dinner lady. My mother never met the broker or spoke to the building society. I guess they gave her the money as she owned the house outright.

I have looked into a few cases and found this one which has some similarities

Wright v Cherrytree Finance Ltd and others - [2001] All ER (D) 307 (Mar)


I have recieved a reply back from the building society which is very unsympathetic and lays the blame firmly at my mothers door which to a point is right but im trying to explore every avenue as my mother is very unwell and the thought of her losing her home is making her severly ill. She is 60.

I understand that this is a difficult one and ive tried to keep it as short as possible but should you need anymore info just ask.

My point is that she should never have been given this mortgage as there was no way she could afford it , she never met anyone, never had any kind of advice and was under sever duress at the time which all of the other financial institutions can appreciate which is why altogether they wrote off £28,000.00.

Thank you so much for reading my post and fingers crossed someone can help me.

Akania

[akania]

Re: Mortgage obtained under duress

Sorry to ask but is there anyone around that knows anything about this sort of thing?

[WendyB]

Re: Mortgage obtained under duress

I'll flag your thread up for attention.

[akania]

Re: Mortgage obtained under duress

Thank you, I dont mean to be a pain but i could really do with some advice.

[Amethyst]

Re: Mortgage obtained under duress

Well done on supporting your mother and helping her deal with the horrendous debts this man has left her with. There are a few case laws on this kind of situation. Obviously that the man has been prosecuted for attacking another woman helps her case greatly and that other lenders have recognised the situation on written off the debts. I'm not sure how far along communicating with the bank you are and what you have already tried.

Few questions then;

Is the mortgage solely in your mother's name ?
How much is the mortgage for and how much was the property worth at the time ?
Who is the mortgage with ?
Who is the mortgage broker ?
Is she keeping up the payments or are the mortgage lending threatening reposession ?


Obviously you don't want to wait for arrears to build up so your mother ends up defending herself in court.

Have you spoken to the ombudsman at all? They have previously dealt with cases of undue influence and may be able to assist. If you have exhausted the complaints procedure of the mortgage company you should be able to take the complaint to them. They are quite helpful usually (depending who you speak to) if you give them a call. There is the undue influence side and the mortgage broker/lenders misselling.

[akania]

Re: Mortgage obtained under duress

Thank you so much Amethyst for getting back to me. Feel like ive been staring at my post waiting for a reply for hours lol!

Ok in answer to your questions

1. Yes the mortgage is soley in my mums name.

2. The mortgage is interest only (set at 5%) for a 5 year period, 2 years left i think) for £78,000.00. One months in arrears as i have cleared them and i am and have been paying this mortgage for years at £450.00 per month. Because its only interest my mum still owes all this money. By the time the 5 years are finished i would have paid £27,000.00 for nothing. To say im gutted is an understatement.

3.The mortgage is with Skiptons Building Society.

4. As I said i have cleared most of the arrears and now i pay them monthly whilst trying to find a way out of this nightmare.

I spoke to the ombudsman who told me that they would look into the case but i should try and sort it with the building society first. All of my mums other creditors didnt bat an eye lid regarding wiping out the debt which at the time i didnt even know was an option. The first were National Westminister who had actually issued court papers. I wrote to them and one of the big wigs wrote back telling me they were writing it off. I called him via telephone and he said that because of what he or Natwest had done all of the other credit cards and financial insitutions would folow suit, which they did. All 9 of them. But im stuck with this mortgage.

I have all the paperwork from Skiptons. On the form it states that my mum was earning £17,000.00 per annum. She earns £9,000.00. They said because it was a 'fast track' mortgage that they didnt need any supporting documentation and took the broker and my mum on her word. If they had of seen supporting documentation they would have known that there was no way she could have afforded this therefore her home would be at risk.

[Amethyst]

Re: Mortgage obtained under duress

I think if you have already had a chat with the ombudsman, gone back to Skiptons and complained with no resolution and its been 8 weeks since you did so, then I think it would be wise to get a formal complaint in to the ombudsman.

It may well be the broker who is responsible...if he put the application through without the necessary evidence and either lied about your mothers income or encouraged her to exaggerate it in order to get the loan she was asking for. It could also be that at the time she applied or now she was receiving some form of benefits etc which boosted her income up ?

You are doing the right thing keeping up the payments, if you have evidence that you have been paying it for your mother since you found out about it, it does help to show your Mother cannot have supported this mortgage on her own. Your name isn't on the title to the house or anything is it ? (just checking) It helps keep her stress levels down a bit, although it does mean Skipton might be unlikely to do anything as they are still receiving their money.

I assume that £78k was squandered away by your Mothers former partner Is the house value more than £78k ?

2002 ombudsman report on a case of undue influence - a selection of recent cases scroll down to 19/07





DB Mortgages to compensate customers in arrears for unfair treatment - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum might be of some interest.

[pompeyfaith]

Re: Mortgage obtained under duress

DB Mortgages to compensate customers in arrears for unfair treatment - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum might be of some interest.

Just returned here to post that link Amethyst but see you already have fantastic so can I suggest the OP also copy the Ombudsman letter to the FSA as it may help them and possibly the OP too.

[akania]

Re: Mortgage obtained under duress

Thank you so much. I was unable to get on yesterday.

I will look at everything you have suggested and fire one more letter off to Skiptons. My problem at the moment is i feel a bit overhwlemed by all of this and dont know how to approach skiptons again. They were quite dismissive in the first response and passed the blame to my mum for lying and said if i have any issues i need to address them to the broker but surely they have some responsibility towards being a responsible lender?

I feel like a mouse trying to fight a lion at the moment
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Also i just wanted to ask what you thought. I was told or heard some time ago that the FSA and FSO rule 9 times out of 10 in favour of the finacial insitutions. Is this correct?

[leclerc]

Re: Mortgage obtained under duress

Thank you so much. I was unable to get on yesterday.

I will look at everything you have suggested and fire one more letter off to Skiptons. My problem at the moment is i feel a bit overhwlemed by all of this and dont know how to approach skiptons again. They were quite dismissive in the first response and passed the blame to my mum for lying and said if i have any issues i need to address them to the broker but surely they have some responsibility towards being a responsible lender?

I feel like a mouse trying to fight a lion at the moment
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
Also i just wanted to ask what you thought. I was told or heard some time ago that the FSA and FSO rule 9 times out of 10 in favour of the finacial insitutions. Is this correct?

Depends on the topic of the complaints. Some complaints are without foundation, are not well prepared but some have really poor case handlers.
FOS complaint figures show 90% of complaints won by the consumer so context is everything.

[akania]

Re: Mortgage obtained under duress

I think if you have already had a chat with the ombudsman, gone back to Skiptons and complained with no resolution and its been 8 weeks since you did so, then I think it would be wise to get a formal complaint in to the ombudsman.

It may well be the broker who is responsible...if he put the application through without the necessary evidence and either lied about your mothers income or encouraged her to exaggerate it in order to get the loan she was asking for. It could also be that at the time she applied or now she was receiving some form of benefits etc which boosted her income up ?

You are doing the right thing keeping up the payments, if you have evidence that you have been paying it for your mother since you found out about it, it does help to show your Mother cannot have supported this mortgage on her own. Your name isn't on the title to the house or anything is it ? (just checking) It helps keep her stress levels down a bit, although it does mean Skipton might be unlikely to do anything as they are still receiving their money.

I assume that £78k was squandered away by your Mothers former partner Is the house value more than £78k ?

2002 ombudsman report on a case of undue influence - a selection of recent cases scroll down to 19/07





DB Mortgages to compensate customers in arrears for unfair treatment - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum might be of some interest.

The broker told my mum to say she earnt 17,000.00 per annum and said as the mortgage would be fast gtracked they didnt need supporting documentation. My mum owed her house outright. I think at todays prices its worth around £237,000.00 minus the £78,000.00 Skiptons mortgage. She was on no benefits at the time, just the money from her dinner lady job and her 2 cleaning jobs.

I dont mean to sound disrespectful but my mum isnt the sharpest tool in the box. She only worked until she was 19 when she had me and then my dad took care of her for the next 25 years. She wouldnt have realised the implications of her actions. Sure, she would have known it was secured on the house but on the basis she was terrified coupled with the fact that she has no finacial savvy makes this all the more tragic. I feel she has been taken advantage of by so many people who are going to benefit out of her and its disgusting.

Can i just say though thank you for helping me here. I know there has to be some way of sorting this im just a bit lost right now.
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Depends on the topic of the complaints. Some complaints are without foundation, are not well prepared but some have really poor case handlers.
FOS complaint figures show 90% of complaints won by the consumer so context is everything.

I see. Thats why i need to get as much info, background, and case studies as possible? So my case has credibility?

[Angry Cat]

Re: Mortgage obtained under duress

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010...gage-crackdown

[Amethyst]

Re: Mortgage obtained under duress

Yes, after you first complained to Skiptons and 8 weeks have passed then you can get the complaint in to the ombudsman - with copies of every bit of evidence you have, including evidence from the other lenders about writing off due to the circumstances under which the loans were taken out.

I am sure there is an onus on the bank to check out the income claims of applicants however if the mortgage the broker recommended was a self certifcated mortgage then often income claims weren't checked. Self certs and fast tracks are being banned. FSA to ban fast-track and self-certified mortgages | Money | guardian.co.uk FSA finds improvements from lenders but mixed results for brokers in self-certification mortgages

And just in case you consider using a fee charging CMC - DON'T !!! - have a read this article - http://www.independent.co.uk/money/m...s-2239699.html from Saturday, it is quite straightforward to put your complaint in to the FOS.

You can get the complaint forms how to complain – the first steps

[Angry Cat]

Re: Mortgage obtained under duress

Was the mortgage obtained through Amber Homeloans?

Amber Homeloans

• Amber Homeloans was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Skipton Building Society which was founded in 1853. Amber Homeloans was established in 1995.
• Amber Homeloans offered mortgages that also included adverse mortgages, self-certification mortgages and buy-to-let mortgages through mortgage brokers and intermediaries. The type of mortgage product that a customer was offered depended, primarily, on which section they fell under. There was Amber Prime, Feather Adverse, Light Adverse, Medium Adverse, Heavy Adverse, Super Heavy Adverse and Bespoke. Amber Homeloans also traded mortgage portfolios with other lenders.
• In May 2005, Amber Homeloans teamed up with BuildStore to increase its available lending in the self-build market.
• In April 2008, Amber Homeloans ceased trading and ‘withdrew from the lending market for the foreseeable future’.
• Will continue to manage existing loan portfolio

[akania]

Re: Mortgage obtained under duress

No it was done via a broker and then direct with Skiptons Building Societyabout 3 years ago