looking for mortgage arrears advice please....

[Decanus]

Re: looking for mortgage arrears advice please....

Thanks for the replies...
Flamingparrot, thats my thinking as well, I always want a paper trail, and I know if I talk on the phone nothing will be achieved. I just didn't want that cited as me being uncooperative. They already sent a field agent to my home, despite having it in writing twice that I did not give permission for this; I sent him away, refused to engage in any conversation. They want to charge me £50 of course.

Wales01man, options are indeed limited, but I have been trying to reach agreement for 3 months! they refuse everything I offer, or ignore it, yet make no alternative offers. Annoying this is, once my mum-in-laws property is sold we will be able to pay off all arrears (not huge at £1500) and resume normal payments!

[Ruby]

Re: looking for mortgage arrears advice please....

I can't believe they are giving you such a hard time for £1500!

Talk about lack of consistency in treating their customers 'fairly'!!

[Decanus]

Re: looking for mortgage arrears advice please....

thanks as well Ruby and IanM....

Ruby, I know, I am mystified myself. We have been with them 7 years, never a problem, always paid as normal until recently and they just seem to not be interested. I almost feel as though they are just going through the motions with me until they can go to court (I hope not)

IanM, I am doing exactly that. I reference my payment to them in nearly every letter, and requested their bank details so I could transfer the money directly. I have made it clear that 60% is the absolute most I can pay (and to be truthful, that is a bit of a stretch, but we can just about do it)

[Decanus]

Re: looking for mortgage arrears advice please....

hi all,
hoping I can get some advice. Despite more letters and offers to NRAM, all of which have been rejected, today I receive a letter stating that because my arrears have reached £2400 (they don't include this months payment which I haven't made yet, which will bring it down to £1750) they have no alternative but to instigate legal proceedings and a letter before action will be issued 'in due course'.
First question is, is this definite now, or does the 'in due course' bit still hint at pressure rather than action?
Second question is, so what happens next? got the impression the entire time that they never had any intention of helping me out at any stage, nothing but a wall of negative responses and 'we can't accept any payment offers in case it makes things even worse'!

Bit fed up with it all to be honest. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Ruby]

Re: looking for mortgage arrears advice please....

Decanus, I can understand and appreciate why you want everything in writing and I can only speak from my very own personal experience. Please, please call them tomorrow and speak to their Secured Debt Management Team, as they have asked you to. What have you to lose?

I have kept in regular dialog with them and it has saved not only the roof over my family's head but also given me a good night's sleep. Explain to them what you have said on this thread about your prospects and family situation, they are only human and indeed they have been very human and understanding with me over the years. My arrears are MUCH greater than yours and have only in recent months started to get addressed.

Can I ask where you live ie. England/Wales or Scotland?

[wales01man]

Re: looking for mortgage arrears advice please....

As i wrote in Febuary there were really only 3 ways to deal with this one being communication with them in writing or verbally you have nothing to lose all to gain by talking to them if they dont know the situation you are in now as well as in the past they cannot even try to help i gave up with our lender maybe if i tried to work something out things could have been different,
At least try talking

[PlanB]

Re: looking for mortgage arrears advice please....

today I receive a letter stating that because my arrears have reached £2400 (they don't include this months payment which I haven't made yet, which will bring it down to £1750) they have no alternative but to instigate legal proceedings and a letter before action will be issued 'in due course'.

Once you get to the Letter Before Action stage things will move fast in the wrong direction. How is the sale of your MIL's house going and does NRAM even know this is in the pipeline? Ring them and tell them. Then write to them and tell them again because you need a paper trail. Try and put a date on when the property will be sold even if you have to make it up. Enclose a copy of the estate agent's marketing details.
Lenders hate silence and always presume the worst. Give them something positive to look forward to :typing:

[Decanus]

Re: looking for mortgage arrears advice please....

thanks all for your input.
Ruby, what were your dealings like with them? it just sounds as though with me they wanted to see if they could take even more money than my financial planner that I gave them allowed for. I told them 60% is the absolute most I can afford. I am just hesitant to ring as these things seem to always go in their favour.
PlanB, hadn't thought about that with the property. Its a good property, likely to sell in the spring according to the estate agent.

Can I also just ask, somebody said that lenders rarely go to letter before action if you are less than 2 months behind on the mortgage; after todays payment, we are less than 2 months behind (that would be £2140, and we owe £1700) and next month, because of some casual work I can actually make a full mortgage payment, and possibly the month after (though that is not confirmed). Do you think this would be enough to stop them for now?

[wales01man]

Re: looking for mortgage arrears advice please....

We can only guess if the payments will stop them you really need to talk to them if the call is recorded take note of time and who you talk to

[Ruby]

Re: looking for mortgage arrears advice please....

Generic letters!!! This is why it is important to talk to them and explain your situation. I have done the occasional income and expenditure form with them and they have decided what is most affordable for us to pay. It has worked for us, well.

The reason I asked what part of the country you live in is that I just found out quite by accident yesterday that in Scotland they are less likely to go to repossession as the whole process is much more drawn out and 'it is known in the industry' that the courts side with the consumers. In England apparently you can repossess within a couple of months but in Scotland it is a lot more complicated and takes a lot longer.

Do we have a lawyer in the house to confirm that?

[Decanus]

Re: looking for mortgage arrears advice please....

[QUOTE

The reason I asked what part of the country you live in is that I just found out quite by accident yesterday that in Scotland they are less likely to go to repossession as the whole process is much more drawn out and 'it is known in the industry' that the courts side with the consumers. In England apparently you can repossess within a couple of months but in Scotland it is a lot more complicated and takes a lot longer.

Do we have a lawyer in the house to confirm that?[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately I live in England, so no help there. I have already completed an expenditure form though, and I know I can't cut anymore, so I am not sure what they could do over the phone. Are they authorised to accept payment plans when I have been told in writing they won't accept one?

[Ruby]

Re: looking for mortgage arrears advice please....

Sorry I don't know about payment plans. I hope you get a chance to speak to them tomorrow and the very best of luck. I know how stressful this can all be, especially when you have a family to consider.

[PlanB]

Re: looking for mortgage arrears advice please....

hadn't thought about that with the property. Its a good property, likely to sell in the spring according to the estate agent. . . .

Can I also just ask, somebody said that lenders rarely go to letter before action if you are less than 2 months behind on the mortgage . . . .

. . . . Do you think this would be enough to stop them for now?

Don't waste time and emotional energy trying to second-guess the lender's strategy when you should be devising one of your own.

NRAM has thousands of mortgage borrowers all in arrears. Northern Rock sold off the "Good Bank" to Richard Branson (Virgin Money) and the "Bad Bank" became NRAM. When the tax-payer bailed them out the deal was they would pay back the money a.s.a.p which is why they are so quick to repossess. They have a deadline to meet with the Treasury and sadly you're caught up in this mess

So I can only stress the importance of putting your MIL's house on the market and sending NRAM the evidence so that they can see that they'll get the money you owe them soon. It's better to tell that to NRAM than wait to tell it to a county court judge who will most likely grant you a suspended possession order subject to the arrears being paid off. But nothing is guaranteed.

[fuzzybrain]

Re: looking for mortgage arrears advice please....

Have you made a formal complaint and if so when and have they made a formal response?

If you have done a formal complaint and they haven't responded or resolved your complaint after 8 weeks of making the complaint then you could raise a complaint with FOS and ask them for their intervention in getting the mortgage company to be reasonable and agree a repaymwnt plan. They can also request the mortgage reverse any charges placed on the account. FOS can also make a compensation recommendation if they feel you have been unfairly treated - plus the mortgage company will be hit with a charge for you making a complaint - which is an added bonus.

The mortgage do not have to follow any FOS recommendations but it wouldn't look good in court if FOS upheld your complaint and FOS ignored it.

You maybe able to use the fact you have been contiunually writing t them but they aren't responding as evidence of a complaint but FOS usually require evidence that a formal complaint has been made and that a final response or 8 weeks has passed before they will get involved.

[Decanus]

Re: looking for mortgage arrears advice please....

fuzzybrain, I have indeed made a formal complaint (several in fact) and you are right, I think I will take it to the Ombudsman now, it can't hurt. I do genuinely think they had little intention to help, and it did feel as though they were killing time until able to go down the legal route. As Plan B says NRAM only exist now to get rid of the 'bad' debt, so our mortgages!
PlanB I will make a copy of the brochure listing for my m-i-l's property and send it to them; I have told them about it many times but perhaps if they have something in hand it may help....plus the fact I can make 1, if not 2, full mortgage payments in April and May.