Joint and Several liability

[Riggers]

Hi, I wonder if anybody can advise? Without going into the full detail I owe a shortfall on a mortage after voluntary repossession and after a few years of various fact finding, the figures are correct and I am jointly liable with my wife for £69.682! My ex wife has made no contact at all and I have been in contact from 2014 when the house was re possessed. I have no money to pay the shortfall and haven’t entered into any payment plan, however I discussed my options with them and they offered me a Full and Final settlement deal of £20,000 to release me (not my partner from liability) obviously I couldn’t raise the funds. However my parents offered me a loan of £7,000 which I offered to them and they have accepted this. Aparently they have stated the following is response to the offer

....It is The Society who have made the decision to accept this reduced amount in settlement andÂ*upon receipt of cleared funds for the agreed amount,Â*you would be provided with written confirmation from this office that you have no further personal liability to the account.Â*The Society would no longer pursue you for any remaining balance.Â*Â*Please note that we are under no obligation to seek authorisation for this via courts or solicitors.Â*
Â*
Your credit file would be updated to show a zero balance via partial settlement.
Â*
The mortgage account will remain open for the purposes of recovery collection from the other named party to the account.
Â*
I trust this answers your queries.
I have the following questions I cannot find an answer to, is this legal? will this be the end of it for me? As the account is still open with my name on could this come back to haunt me via a debt collector etc! I’m stuck I just don’t know what to do? many thanks in advance.

[nemesis45]

Yes it is legal your "half" of the debt has been settled the creditor will now pursue the balance from your ex.

nem

[Phaeton]

Well done I would grab the opportunity with both hands, getting a £34,841 down to £7,000 is good work, now just make sure you pay your parents back.

[Diana M]

The lender may be willing to 'release' you from your liability to them but you need to take independent legal advice on whether your ex wife can claim the shortfall balance from you since you entered into a legal agreement with her when you took out the mortgage on a Joint and Several Liability basis.

She may be silent now, and possibly for years, but if/when the lender tracks her down be prepared for her to get back in touch.

As you say the mortgage account has not been closed and your name remains on it.

I suggest you talk to a solicitor before taking 'advice' from your lender which will not be impartial.

Was there a Mortgage Indemnity Guarantee on the loan?

Di

[Diana M]

the creditor will now pursue the balance from your ex.

nem

Who may then decide to pursue the OP direct.

Di

[warwick65]

Looks to me as if they are saying yes we will accept 7K off you and then chase your ex for the full remaining amount. Maybe she would then have a claim against you for part of it- I would get some legal advice from a qualified solicitor - it might be £120 (standard rates of £200 P/h +VAT) well spent. i did it when my wife died just so i knew what my legal position was with regard to any debts she had - gave me some security that they couldn't chase me.