new member - I am looking forward to help for my brother

[diamondgal]

Hello everyone,

I'm currently feeling the lowest I ever have and am looking foward to regaining my fight partly from this website! My brother fell sick in 2006 and was not diagnosed properly until Dec 2008. In that time, his financial situation has become a bit of a challenge for me to stay on top of. While fighting his corner medically, and caring for him, and my family for almost 3 years, I am worn out! But we need to continue and I am hoping that fellow members will help me as I have been battling alone for so long. To be honest, I fight daily against the urge to throw in the towel as it seems such a mammoth task against bailiffs, threatening letters and numerous daily tasks.

Anyway, I think I have a plan, and if anyone can suggest a better way, please do tell me!

So I'm thinking, first of all, quickly put in a claim for bank charges. I think he meets the financial hardship criteria. Where do I start - (do I need to make an SAR? Can I apply for the charges for his business bank account using this criteria?)
Then use any monies recovered to clear his mortgage arrears.
His house is under threat of repossession - the lender has an order for repossession although they have told me that they will continue to negotiate with me for now and we are awaiting the DWP decision on the amount of mortgage interest they will pay.
He has a couple of credit cards which have now gone into default.
He has a bank loan which is also in default.
Some creditors have registered charges on his home for storecard balances.
There are other creditors sending demands for store card and mobile phone balances.
He has arrears on his water supplier. His utility supplier has overcharged him for electricity and are penalising him for gas, claiming there are arrears on it. I would like help tackling them. I tried over the phone to ask that they offset the credit on one to reduce the arrears on the other - but that seems like too much common sense for them?!

I recently managed to get him a debt adviser from the CAB but she said recently he needs a solicitor's help..
Any suggestions? He is receiving income support and incapacity benefit so I understand he is entitled to legal aid.

That's enough to start with I think!

Thank you for taking the time to read this long first post!
I'm looking forward to your help.

regards,
diamondgal:help:

[natweststaffmember]

Re: new member - I am looking forward to help for my brother

A Warm welcome to Legal Beagles. On the base of what I can see I think you have a case for financial hardship. Can you tell me a bit more about the Business account? is is sole trader/limited?
Furthermore, on the credit/store cards are there any charges even the £12.00 ones?
Which DCA's are on the case? I know a few people here who can provide suitable amunition to get them off your back......

[Happyolddog]

Re: new member - I am looking forward to help for my brother

Hi Diamondgal.

There is a guide to making claims under hardship.


Good Luck,
HOD...Liam..

[Amethyst]

Re: new member - I am looking forward to help for my brother

good for you helping your brother out, its the finances tend to go when someones taken ill, and then they go on to cause a lot of stress further down the line.

okey dokey, might be an idea to have seperate threads for each section so you can follow progress without it getting all muddled....put links to each on in here so you can find them easily.





So I'm thinking, first of all, quickly put in a claim for bank charges. I think he meets the financial hardship criteria. Where do I start - (do I need to make an SAR? Can I apply for the charges for his business bank account using this criteria?)

Yes he probably does, incapacity and the mortgage/utilities arrears will definately put him in this bracket. Yes first place to start is with the SAR - however i would write to the bank now asking for ALL charges back and stating financial hardship at the same time, as the SAR does take up to 40 days to get back and the banks will calculate it for you (though still get the SAR in to cross check their calculations) Have a read of the hardship guide as happy posted, and a few threads in the hardship forum...which bank is it?

The business account isnt affected by the waiver, and thus the hardship doesnt count either,although it might give them a kick in the right direction if you include his circumstances in the letter asking for a refund.


Then use any monies recovered to clear his mortgage arrears.
Yep good - they may well pay something direct to the mortgage company if he indicates he is happy to do this, also shows the bank you are trying to sort out the problem and they may be more inclined to help.

His house is under threat of repossession - the lender has an order for repossession although they have told me that they will continue to negotiate with me for now and we are awaiting the DWP decision on the amount of mortgage interest they will pay.

good, you seem to have that under control for the moment, the lender shouldnt do anything whilst you are negotiating and awaiting the DWP. Is it a possession order or a suspended posession order they hold against him? How did they get this/did he defend the case?

He has a couple of credit cards which have now gone into default.
Make a thread for each of these with as much info as poss, has the CAB advisor assisted with a DMP type plan to repay these ? We can also look at charges and the consumer credit agreement.

He has a bank loan which is also in default.
as above


Some creditors have registered charges on his home for storecard balances.

are the charges alongside installment orders from the court?

There are other creditors sending demands for store card and mobile phone balances.
If you want to list these and which creditors/dca's are chasing would be helpful. A simple list of all the debts, companies and approx balances and status would be great.


He has arrears on his water supplier. His utility supplier has overcharged him for electricity and are penalising him for gas, claiming there are arrears on it. I would like help tackling them. I tried over the phone to ask that they offset the credit on one to reduce the arrears on the other - but that seems like too much common sense for them?!
Again post up a thread to deal with the utilities, what are the arrears/overcharges, do you have in writing about the overcharge?


Like I say i would get a seperate thread for the different areas. You may have to write quite a few letters.

What did the CAB advisor think he would need a solicitor for?

[enaid]

Re: new member - I am looking forward to help for my brother

Welcome Diamondgal,
Without pushing you into giving info on an open forum that you may not want to, I just wondered if your brother was getting all the benefits he is entitled to.
You stated "! My brother fell sick in 2006 and was not diagnosed properly until Dec 2008" "While fighting his corner medically, and caring for him" "He is receiving income support and incapacity benefit"
If you are still having to care for him in any way now and if his circumstances meet any of the criteria on this link
Search results : Directgov - Search results then I would suggest you get a proper benefit check. Sorry to maybe put more pressure on you at this time but sometimes you are not always given the full picture on benefits.
Enaid x

[TUTTSI]

Re: new member - I am looking forward to help for my brother

Hi Diamondgirl,

A very warm welcome to Legal Beagles and we will do all we can to help. With regards to the repo...but you may need to enlist a solicitor to act for your best interest in court. But we will do all we can to help you. It sounds like you have had a horrendous time and I hope that your brother is not suffering to much.

From what you have said so far it does sound like you may well have a claim under financial hardship. You will need to complete an Income and Expeses Sheet to start a hardship claim. When completed you can PM either PKea or Amethyst and they will advise from there.

Tom Brennan a barrister from Atas Chamber is currently looking into doing a Group Litigation and again you may qualify for this as you state that you could be legally aided. Here is the link to this. Which bank are your charges from!http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...ad.php?t=13898

Also, credit cards are not on hold so it is possible to start work on these immediately, do you have all your statements for at least the last 6 years!

Then as Amethyst said you need to start a thread in the relevant sections for each i.e Mortgages section, Credit cards section and for Bank charges in the hardship section where we can concentrate on giving you all the help that you need.

Tuttsi xx

[diamondgal]

Re: new member - I am looking forward to help for my brother

thank you everyone for your helpful guidance. I'm taking in all the information and starting to gather the information together, one case at a time., as it feels like this at the moment! :juggle::juggle::juggle:

[WendyB]

Re: new member - I am looking forward to help for my brother

If the bank account is a business account, then surely can't go down the hardship route? As business accounts are not covered by the waiver wouldn't it just be a straight claim of charges? Or am i missing something? Is there a personal account as well to go down the hardship route with?

[diamondgal]

Re: new member - I am looking forward to help for my brother

Hi Nattie,

the business account is a sole trader account. If you need any other details, I'll try to find out the information. When he first got sick, the bank's response was to reduce and then remove his overdraft facility, cancel all the direct debits on the account, and use the credits for their charges. Resulting in his creditor accounts all attracting charges for failed direct debits!

Tuttsi, some of the credit card companies have obtained judgements for the debts and secured them on his house - where do I start with those? They obtained judgement in his absence - he never acknowledged service or attended any hearing. As far as I'm aware, there are no instalment orders, just charges. Bank is Lloyds..!

Amethyst, my brother has not attended a single court hearing. His condition was such that he couldn't get out of bed for days at a time! In the last few days he has begun to show signs of recovery, but before that, there was a long time when he was barely alive and would certainly have passed away if I had not been there - I can't bear to recall the times when I found him barely alive and the doctor's response.. In December 2008, without admitting to me that his doctor had wrongly diagnosed and treated him for 2 years, he was seen by the consultant who said to me that she was reviewing all the patients of the doctor, and following the consultation, she was taking over his treatment. She changed his treatment and medication immediately and so after two years of being mistreated, he is finally coming back to life.
Re his mortgage, I spoke to his lender and wrote to them and their solicitors. I attended court as his power of attorney. But I stepped in after the lender had obtained an order for possession and an eviction date. I then made an application to stay the eviction.

The CAB advisor is suggesting he needs a solicitor to deal with the business related debts. She is taking care of his benefit entitlements.

I'm going to read the hardship guide now and get going. Unfortunately I fell very sick Sunday night and have just recovered enough to work again - it's taking its toll on us, but I won't give up!!
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
Hi Wendy, He has both a business and personal account with lloyds.