Urgent: Repossession Advice Required

[Niki]

Hello,
Forgive me for the long series of events which follow--- As a sinlge mum looking after 2 children i am trying all i can until i am able to sell property but......
Major problems started in May—I am thankful that there are forums like this which are providing advice--- Please could I have more views on the following scenario--- I’ll begin from the date of my possession order hearing:

May 14th—Repossession order granted--- judge did not even discuss the repayment proposal
Sent plenty of letters/proposals to bank & solicitors--- no written response –
30th May—recd letter asking for repayment proposals to clear arrears--- made an offer and posted by special delivery the very same day---together with £300 to start of the monthly repayment of arrears--cheque cashed on June 4th
No written replies to this from bank or solicitor
June 13th-- the 28 days passed on June 11th...the letter that i was supposed to receive 'within days'( judges quote) after the repossession hearing on May 14th---finally arrived June 12th!! informing me that i had to give up possession 'on or before 11 June 2008' !!

The order of possession has the following:

' the order has been made on discretionary grounds and the court orders that
1. The defendant give the claimant full possession etc etc et

is the above a reason why this district judge barely listened to me or why he was un-interested in my proposal plan??? Hope someone can advise

• EVERSHEDS still not responding to my offers of repaying the arrears---
• the bank( birmingham midshires) asked for a proposal on 30th May- which i sent off by recorded delivery immediately---again NO written response

I have sent so many letters since May 14th--it's unreal---and i have no responses at all...
what do i do now??
The 28 days passed on the 11th June--- no letters from anyone
June 21st- still no letters from either Birmingham midshires or Eversheds
However- in a verbal phone call to mortgage company ( June 16th) - a lady I spoke to said if I maintained the payments that i had said( she discussed with me on phone the income/expenses etc )-- then they would not apply for eviction...

Yesterday (June 20th) - called again as nothing still received in writing---spoke to yet another person in collections and she said that the lady I had spoken to on June 16th had no authority to accept /reject any proposals!!! The one i spoke to yesterday said decision had not been made to my proposal of ( MAY 31st)---and that they were looking for me to offer a lot more than the £300 extra that i am paying!!!!--( i have names, times, date of whoever i speak to at Birmingham midshires)

• Please can anyone here advice----can they constantly keep me on edge here by stringing me along?
• And i have not yet received an eviction notice---can they have this hanging over my head indefinitely???
• Why the mortgage company are being so inhumane? they do not even have the courtesy to respond to any of my letters but then give me strict deadlines to get my proposals to them etc
• 28 days passed on June 11th--- so is the threat of an 'eviction' order arriving a constant thing that I will have to live with for as long as i stay here??
• can I do ANYTHING to get the mortgage company to either accept/reject my proposal of repayment--- as I simply cannot live day by day with this massive un-certainty--- I have told them several time that at £300 month ---the arrears will be cleared in approx 1.5 years---

I go to sleep most nights wandering if an eviction notice will land on my doorstep in the morning---all this is now beginning to have an adverse affect for myself and my 2 daughters..
I really could do with some advice - but after yesterday conservation with Mortgage Company I am at my wits end again
Thank you

[Amethyst]

Re: Urgent: Repossession Advice Required

what are the circumstances leading up to the repossession order being granted ?


Welcome to the forum Niki and massive :hug: for ya xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


(nb for others BM are part of halifax)

[Amy]

Re: Urgent: Repossession Advice Required

May 14th—Repossession order granted--- judge did not even discuss the repayment proposal

Did you attend the repossession hearing at the court to put forward your repayment proposals?

June 13th-- the 28 days passed on June 11th...the letter that i was supposed to receive 'within days'( judges quote) after the repossession hearing on May 14th---finally arrived June 12th!! informing me that i had to give up possession 'on or before 11 June 2008' !!

I don't understand this. Is this letter from Eversheds?

[Happyolddog]

Re: Urgent: Repossession Advice Required

Hi Niki,
Welcome to the forum.

Do you have copies of all corrispondences between you, Birmingham midshires and the solicitors?
In your circumstances I would suggest that you get everything together and make a date to see the branch manager of Birmingham midshires and discuss your proposals in person, if you have not already done so. If you have done this already and they are still harrassing you and not accepting your proposal contact the judge who gave judgement, try and get him to see that all of your efforts to resolve this matter have been ignored.

Good Luck,
Hod..Liam..

[madbutterfly]

Re: Urgent: Repossession Advice Required

How much are your arrears?

Can you realistically keep up with the payments and pay a little towards the arrears?

If so when you receive the eviction notice then you need to apply urgently to the court for the possesion order to be suspended, I think you do this on a court form N244. I am not sure what you put on it, but I expect either someone from here will know, or we could find out between now and then.

If you can't afford the house, then you still need to suspend the possesion so you can take control of the sale.

Have you any equity in the house?

[Guest]

Re: Urgent: Repossession Advice Required

There are, broadly speaking, two grounds for repossession. Discretionary and Mandatory. As the possession order was granted on a discretionary ground you may apply to suspend any warrant you receive.

Should you receive an Eviction Order and apply to suspend the eviction, you should use a Court form N244 and include:

• Why you breached the terms of the possession order
• What your current financial position is
• Whether there is a Housing Benefit or other benefit claim pending
• What you can do to remedy the problem, for example, to pay off the arrears

Additional information to consider in your application are:

• any changes in the your circumstances since the original order was made
• whether previous warrants have been issued and
• whether you had previously received advice and assistance

You do not need to file an N244 unless you have received the Notice of Eviction.

Finally and as has been amply demonstrated to you, do not communicate with them by telephone, they cannot be trusted. Communicate only in writing and where possible send letters via Recorded Delivery or at the very least obtain proof of posting. Ensure that your letters contain a call to action and a date by which you expect to have received a reply.

They really should not keep you on tenterhooks like this but I am pleased to tell you that you may, if you can, stop worrying quite so much, because as above, you can very easily apply to suspend any eviction and we can help you to draft the Application Notice here.

Regarding the longer term, you can rely on s.36(2)(b) of the Administration of Justice Act 1970 which allows the court to suspend the possession order for such a term as the court considers reasonable. If you can repay with in the reasonable time no possession order is granted. If you can maintain the payments at the current level, meaning that the arrears will be discharged within eighteen months, then you should do so.

Under s.8 AJA 1973 in exercising the powers under s.36(2)(b) the court only has to consider the sums payable in arrears and not any term which may render the full amount repayable.

What amounts to a reasonable period will depend on the circumstances of your case and can include the whole remaining term of the mortgage as occurred in Cheltenham & Gloucester v Norgan. This case also stated the factors the court will take into account when deciding what is reasonable, these are, ability to make payments now and in the future, likely duration of financial difficulty, reason for arrears and the period of agreement remaining.

Essentially, if you can show you can pay off the arrears over the remaining period the court will not order the enforcement of an Eviction Notice.

[Niki]

Re: Urgent: Repossession Advice Required

hi,
many thanks for all advice received so far---

I did attend the hearing but the judge made me feel totally insignificant---
What worries me still is that although i am and can pay back arrears---
on an eviction notice if i fill in N244---what if at court i get another district judge like at my possession order hearing!!! ifthat happens i will be in big trouble
nay ongoing advice would be a great help to me
thank you so much
niki

[madbutterfly]

Re: Urgent: Repossession Advice Required

If you think you will panic and not get your case across, then I would suggest that you prepare the paperwork and then get a solicitor to act for you on the day. Look through the yellow pges and see if you can find one with the initial half hour free. I am not sure if you would get legal aid for this?

[Guest]

Re: Urgent: Repossession Advice Required

Yes you can get Legal Aid. Furthermore, the ‘Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme’ provides last minute free access to a duty solicitor or other legal adviser for those facing possession hearings who will represent you at the hearing and deal with any follow-up proceedings. Since the scheme was introduced in 2005, the number of people taking advantage of the scheme has grown rapidly to 30,000 a year.

In addition, The Legal Services Commission, the government body that administers Legal Aid, has also advised people in difficulty with their mortgages to seek urgent legal advice as soon as possible – and emphasised that for many cases Legal Aid will be available to pay for the cost of this advice. During 2007, Legal Aid was granted to 120,000 people with debt problems and 135,000 seeking housing advice, more than 50% more than the numbers recorded in 2006.

A list of the courts operating the scheme can be found at LSC Website : Welcome to the website of the Legal Services Commission

[Niki]

Re: Urgent: Repossession Advice Required

This has been a great help--- thanks again---i will keep you informed as to progress

Thanks
Niki

[scoobydoo]

Re: Urgent: Repossession Advice Required

Hi Niki

glad you found your way here so quickly and are getting some good advice

Keep posting any questions you have and anything else you can think of that is relevant .

Your initial summary was concise and to the point

Well done

scooby (aka jansus)
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
One thing the poster did was panic and she had offered to mae her MP plus £300 per month - which I believe she has been doing . However neither the solicitors or BS have ever accepted this in writing so I dont think there is a formal agrrement at all.

Would it be better for her to keep paying this or just pay MP plus say £100 until the next hearing? and make a new proposal then?

It is just that I would not like to see her fail because she has panicked and offered too much?

( this is my understanding after posting OTR) correct me if I am wrong Nikki

[Niki]

Re: Urgent: Repossession Advice Required

Thanks again---I think you guys could be right in that i had initially panicked & probably offered too much---However- with help i'm getting i can just about sustain this but would have prefered an additional payment of £100 extra...

All i'd like is for birmingham midshires to come to a conclusion, actually to answer at least one of my many letters, stop charging me ridiculous charges, and let me get on with my life...

Pity i did not come across forums such as this until i'd already been re-possessed!!!
Thanks again

[Niki]

Re: Urgent: Repossession Advice Required

Dear All
Not much of a update as still no news--i would certainly appreciate if someone can advice:I am trying to get advice fom forums such as this
(1) how long can the bank keep me indefinately hanging on like this
(2) since the straight possession order granted on May 14th--i have heard nothing from either bank or Eversheds Re: my repayment proposal--nothing in writing at all---the few phone conversations were a waste of time
(3) no eviction notice or any news at all
(4) do i now pay the £75 and complete aform N244 to get some response from birmingham midshires

Please can someone help as i find this very difficult that anyday an eviction notice could land---
why is it that they just don't reply???--
I want this order to be suspended as opposed to the current staright reposession order
thank you

[Guest]

Re: Urgent: Repossession Advice Required

An N244 is an Application Notice, you do not need to file one unless you wish to apply to the Court for something, such as to vary the Eviction Order or the original Possession Order. Not only that, you may not have to pay court fees as if you cannot afford the fees right now you may complete and file an EX160 along with your N244 which allows that fees can be waived or at least reduced. In order to qualify for remission you need only demonstrate that if you paid the whole fee you would suffer financial hardship.

Even though they may not be exempt from paying a fee but think you would suffer financial hardship if you did pay it, you are entitled to apply for a remission. At all times Court staff must ensure that they meet the statutory obligation contained in s.92(3) of the Courts Act 2003 of protecting access to justice.

"(3) When including any provision in an order under this section, the Lord Chancellor must have regard to the principle that access to the courts must not be denied."

The exemption and remission applies to all fees, including the fee for filing the N244.

The test for remission is based on both income and expenditure—it takes full account of all of a person's commitments and liabilities not just how much money they have or receive.

This is not means tested, it does not matter what you earn. What matters is whether or not the fee for filing your claim will cause you financial hardship. That means right now, when you need to file it. If you do not have the money to file your claim then that qualifies you for remission.

By law you are entitled to access to justice as and when you need it - not just when you have some spare cash.

You may wish to file an N244 to request a hearing in order to vary the original Possession Order and have it suspended in order that your repayment proposal can be heard. However, I would be inclined to write to BM and demand an answer regarding your proposal, give them seven days to reply and if they do not, file an N244 and apply to vary the order. This way at least you can show that you have tried to resolve this with the lender directly and the Court can see that you have tried. This may make them more likely to find for you and suspend the order.

[jet_black]

Re: Urgent: Repossession Advice Required

Hiya, I just wanted to offer my moral support here, as these are the cold hearted barstewards who repossessed our house and made us go to hell and back. I was heavily pregnant at the time, they just didn't care, I hope you get the conclusion you want soon. At least you have the benefit of this wonderful site to give you advice