Can somebody shed some light here please ?

[AlanJohn]

Ours is a very long and complicated story that no single person either can, or wants to answer and staff please feel free to move this post to the correct location on the site if I've indeed posted it in the wrong place. We are a middle aged couple and we've owned our own property for 22 years in North London. 3 years ago we decided to remortgage for consolidation reasons and better management of debts. 3 months later I was made redundant and because I hadnt been at the company for too long I didnt recieve any kind of redundancy payment. 1 month after that my wife was diagnosed with a spinal tumour and as a consequence of that she needed to take 10 months away from work. She has never fully recovered from this condition and is now registered disabled. Because of all the time she took off work we struggled to pay the new mortgage and started to live off of credit cards. The sum total we now owe in loans/credit cards is about £27,000 as well as having £7,500 in mortgage arrears. Our lender is GE Money and if I knew then what I know now about them I would never had remortgaged. They are totally unsympathetic to our situation and there is no one prepared to discuss our situation. I have called them on numerous occasions to try to sort this out but all they tell me is that they want their £7,500 and that I should have made a ''contingency'' to allow for redundancy and illness (mortgage insurance). They have taken me court and put a suspended repossion order on the property where the court agreed I should pay a certain amount over a 6 month period which I did. Their demands for the adjusted amount (After the 6 month period with arrears) is totally unrealistic and we simply can't afford their demands. The whole situation is almost intolerable and this isnt helped by the fact that we are in for about £25,000 negative equity and anyway the house no longer suits my wifes needs - being disabled stairs are very difficult for her. We need to move somehow but are trapped here with a lot of debt. My wife is still managing to get work at the moment in some capacity but shortly she will be medically retired we think. We have appiled for disabilty and mobility benefits but these things take ages to put into place because the wheels grind around so slowly. Our local authority are not too interested in helping us at the moment as they say we are making ourselves intentionally homeless, which of course is the not the case. Its not that we don't want to pay the mortgage its that we can't. Don't know where to turn with this one now people. Any good advice and ideas would be most welcomed.
EDIT: Sorry I forgot to mention that I am back in full time work now.

Thank you.

Alan.

[Amethyst]

Re: Can somebody shed some light here please ?

Hi Alan

When you had the suspended possession order and the court ordered certain payments to be made, were these your normal mortgage payments plus an amount to pay off of the arrears ? Were the arrears cleared within those 6 months or did the court allow you to repay the arrears over the lifetime of the mortgage, but only have the suspended possession in force for 6 months ?

How much are GE asking for now in comparison to what you were paying under the suspended possession order, or are they just asking for a lump sum ?

Have a read of some good news in a comparable case today - Debvfm V Northern Rock I WON!!!! - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum and the background to it - Debvfm v Northern Rock - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum

Welcome to the forum, others will pop along and help but be useful to have the answers regarding the amounts

Ame
xx

[AlanJohn]

Re: Can somebody shed some light here please ?

They want £7.5K to clear the arrears immediatly. The arrears were not cleared in that 6 months but the court said providing I could meet their terms for 6 months it would be passed back to lender to renegociate the terms and arrears. The amounts they then requested were unrealistic. They are now threatening to run us back to court for repossession. Their latest letter states that they hold a ''Order for possession'' which they can enforce. They are requesting that I call them to make a suitable arrangement but any of their ''arrangements'' are totally unrealistic and it seems they are demanding every damn penny I have irrespective of any other bills I have to pay. It seems that their offices are manned by ''White board readers'' who have to say certain things without considering personal circumstances.

Thanks Ame.

Alan

[Amethyst]

Re: Can somebody shed some light here please ?

Do they actually hold an order for possession ? Do they give a timescale in which they want to enforce it ? The suspended possession order you kept to the terms of for the six months. What, according to that order happens next ? You havent tried to reduce the amounts being paid under what that order stated have you ? If they do have possession order and apply for eviction you can argue it with the court.

The judge, as you'll see from Deb's case this morning, he should take current circumstances and proposals into account only. If your IE sheet is up to date and correct and your other bills are priorities, and your other expenditure meets the recommended figures from the money advice trust (common financial statement) and you have made a proposal which is reasonable and takes all that into account, then I can't see they are doing anything other than bullying you. Keep up the mortgage payments and dont let them confuse things into missing any payments, keeps records of all letters and try deal with them only in writing. Put your IE and your proposals to them in writing.

[AlanJohn]

Re: Can somebody shed some light here please ?

They have given no timescale.We couldnt keep up with their demands. They were requesting just over £200 a month in addition to the normal repayment which altogether totalled about £1400 a month.Under the terms of the suspended repossession order the payments were about £930 total. I'm not sure what they actually hold Ame, as their letters totally confuse me sometimes and they havent said whats gonna happen next, all they done is requested yet another call to try to deal with it. The only thing they keep threatening me with is court. Its not that i don't want to talk or try to negociate with them, they just make things extremely difficult. The mortgage actually reverted back to the national baserate back in June '10 (after the first 3 years of the mortgage being on fixed interest) but they do not operate at that base rate and they say that theirs is 3.3% above the Barclays base lending rate. Surely that can't be right either ?
I can only pay them what I can afford each month. Sometimes it is not the full amount.


Thanks.

Alan

[WendyB]

Re: Can somebody shed some light here please ?

Hi amd welcome to Beagles.

What were the terms of the suspended possession order? i.e were you paying the mortgage plus a set amount each month towards the arrears? How long was the Order for? Might help if you could post up exactly what it said.

Are you now paying the mortgage, or the mortgage amount plus some towards the arrears?

Also, have they added any charges onto your moretage acount, i'e for late payments etc.

Likewise with the credit cards, how's it going with them? Are you managing with them or can you negotiate a lower payment/suspension of interest etc with the individual credit card companies, also are there any charges you can claim back from these. Do you have PPI on any of the credit cards that you could claim on for your wife's illness?

Sorry I know it seems a lot of questions but the more background we have, the better we'll be able to offer advice/suggestions.

And as Ame says, deal with GE in writing, don't let them bully you by telephone into offering more than you can afford. If you are currently paying your mortgage plus extra, then keep maintaining this as it can only go in your favour in future.
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sorry crossed in the post

[Amethyst]

Re: Can somebody shed some light here please ?

I think they are meant to confuse you.

Do your IE and write to them with proposals that suit and then stick to them - are you paying at least the £1200 a month at the moment ? How long is your mortgage term, you should at least offer to pay the arrears on top of the standard payment over the mortgage term. If you want some help with your IE sheets let me know.

GE are subprime so their base rate will be a % above base rate. Mine is something like 0.9% above base rate, 3.3% sounds high but not that unusual. Was your previous fixed rate below 4% (just thinking usually coming off a long fixed rate reduces the monthly payment as lots of people ending these now were stuck on 7% odd)

[AlanJohn]

Re: Can somebody shed some light here please ?

I'm sorry, This is all such a mess as I have been sidetracked by my wifes health issues which has to take top priority and I Just kinda let all this go I guess. The order was for 6 months as previously stated. I am confused about exactly what I am exactly paying GE as they have recently readjusted the amount and they said they needed this amount to be paid regularly for 6 months before they could look at it and adjust it again. I pointed out to them at the time that this was still an unrealistic amount and asked if they could do any more to make things slightly easier for all concerned. We have passed other debts to MONEYSOLVE and I've since also been told this was a very bad idea as they probably keep more in fee's than they actually pay out. There is no protection on the credit cards. mmmm sorry for the delay. GE Money just called me ! We can't afford to pay them £1200 a month. We can only pay what we can afford. oooh wow sorry, they have me very stressed now... Yes i would very much appreciate help with IE sheet.

[Amethyst]

Re: Can somebody shed some light here please ?

Did you speak to GE or ignore the phone ?

Concentrate on getting your IE together - you can find one Legal Beagles Consumer Forum - as that is the first step, or use the one you did with Moneysolve if you think that is up to date and a true picture of your circumstances. Work out what you can actually afford on top of the normal monthly payments of £1200? I'm guessing its not a lot if anything though.

As the suspended period has ended and you have underpaid and have tried talking to GE about it you can, I believe, apply back to the court to ask for the payments set affordably and the possession order to remain suspended.

Right I'd get out of moneysolve and go to CCCS or Payplan, probably have a chat with CCCS first before doing anything, but all that can wait till after you have sorted out GE as your home is the most important debt and has to be the priority. And don;t worry you are bound to let the finances go a bit you have had enough to worry about with your wifes health and the redundancy. And its not insurmountable.

[AlanJohn]

Re: Can somebody shed some light here please ?

No I spoke with them and told them that I would in future only communicate with them by letter. They just spouted the usual BS that they do. How much can I pay them was the burning question. I need to speak with payplan or CCCS regarding other debt management and I will be contacting them tomorrow. I will also download and complete a new IE sheet.
What are the implications of getting out of MONEYSOLVE ??
I do really appreciate the quick responses here.
Thank you.

Alan.

[WendyB]

Re: Can somebody shed some light here please ?

The implications of getting out of Moneysolve will depend on what your agreement/contract was with them in the first place, you/we/us would have to have a look at the terms and conditions regarding cancellation/getting shot of them.
If you are not paying the minimum mortgage payment then GE will keep hounding you and you will get further and further into arrears. I'm not sure about going back to court and getting it set at a level you can afford as I'm not sure how that works.
If they don't have a suspended possession order at the moment then they can't repossess your house, but that's not to say they won't go to court and apply for another possession order.

How long is the term, and could you get the term extended thus reducing the payments?

Don't speak to GE on the phone, and insist to them that they put everything in writing. I would write to them, asking for a full breakdown of your account, what charges they have applied, exactly how the debt is made up, and how they are allocating your payments at present.

Also you mentioned earlier about disability, mobility etc, I know these things take time but no harm in giving them a call and explaining your situation and asking how long it wil be before the benefits are sorted out.

[AlanJohn]

Re: Can somebody shed some light here please ?

I need to speak with moneysolve too then. I will again write to GE Money and get a complete breakdown of everything they say I owe them and I will post it here. I know for a fact that there is quite a lot of interest involved. I will also try to contact the benefits office to try and swing a decision but I know its a hard slog. Its taken 2 years to get a blue mobility badge !! Thanks for all your help and positive input.

[WendyB]

Re: Can somebody shed some light here please ?

I am still trying to get my head round this. When you had the agreement for 6 months under the suspended repossion order, you were paying 930 a month. How was this made up, i.e how much of it was your normal repayment and how much on top for arrears? Do you know how much your normal payment should be at the moment (not counting any arrears). I am trying to work outn where the figure of 1200 comes from, or is it just a figure that GE have plucked out of thin air (wouldn't surprise me).
When did the 6 months arrangment come to an end?
Since the change in your interest rate have your payments (proper payments that you are supposed to pay, not counting arrears) gone up or down?
How long is left on your mortgage term?

Once again, sorry about all the questions but I need to get this straight in my head before I can make any suggestions. I know it seems a lot to handle all at once but once it's all in some sort of order then we can tackle it one step at a time.

[AlanJohn]

Re: Can somebody shed some light here please ?

What I will do Wendy is request all the figures and post them so that you can get a better idea of the situation. What I should have done is had all that stuff to hand so I could have given a more accurate picture initially. I'm so sorry and my head is so full of everything else at the moment that its difficult for me to do that at the drop of a hat. I will write to GE tomorrow and try to ascertain a much clearer picture. Once I have some figures here it may become a whole lot easier.

Once again thanks....

Please bare with me so I can get all all this arranged.

Alan.

[enaid]

Re: Can somebody shed some light here please ?

Hello Alan,
Your wife is currently registered disabled and you state it took 2 years to get a blue badge, so I am assuming your wife is not in receipt of any benefits at all and the blue badge was obtained by way of your local authority writing to your GP/Specialist for medical information about her.
I don't know how far you have gone down the benefit road and you say you will contact them to try hurry things along, I wish you luck with that and please let us know what happened.

Has your wife been assessed by an Occupational Therapist?

As for the housing, I would imagine your local authority would only help you with adaptions to your home to aid your wife in any difficulties she may have getting about in the home.
Some info on grants you can apply for http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Disabled...ome/DG_4000642
and there maybe no cost at all to yourselves.
If you do have adaptions made to your house you also get a reduction in your Council tax.
I know things like this will be far fom your mind at the moment as your finances and mortgage problem will be in your forethougths right now. I am sure you can be helped with that and people on here will do their best to help you with it. I am just trying to let you know when that is sorted there are things that you can be done to make your present home a lot more suitable for your wifes needs.
Enaid x