Advice please...

[DAZTHEDAZZLER]

As i have just sent a letter to my Bank regarding "financial hardship" it would be interesting to see if anyone knows the answer to this.......

A friend if mine caled me today to say that his Bank has offered to repay all his charges in full, due to his financial situation. ( unemployed, behind on mortgage and council tax etc)
But they refuse to send him a cheque, and have said that they will make a payment direct to his mortgage lender.
I told him that this is his money they are distributing, and although they are being fair and refunding due to his circumstances, he should be able to get a cheque off them for these charges. He doesnt owe the bank any money. Can they do this?

Thanks to all.

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Advice please...

I think they can do this, but he should ask for a breakdown of where the money is going and how much.

[Mochamoo]

Re: Advice please...

I personally would demand the money be sent to me not the mortgage lender. The debts need be put in order of importance some to council tax some to mortgage lender etc

I think a bank tried this with another user , I think it was Tuttsi, let me check.

[DAZTHEDAZZLER]

Re: Advice please...

Thanks for replies, i was just thinking that it aint their money to distribute, i have told him to write a strong letter demanding a cheque.

[Mochamoo]

Re: Advice please...

Cant find it... I know I have seen something similar on here somewhere.....

[Tools]

Re: Advice please...

My own personal opinion is that they are acting correctly and responsibly.

No doubt your friend will have included a list of his arrears for each debt (mortgage, council tax, etc) . If the bank is repaying these charges on hardship grounds based on his figures then the money should be used for those arrears. It negates the temptation of using the money on say "a round the world cruise" and ignoring your debts, extreme example I know, but you get the idea.

I also agree with Nattie (wonders will never cease) that they should also provide a breakdown of creditors to whom the monies will be paid.

[DAZTHEDAZZLER]

Re: Advice please...

Fully understand the last post, but IF by any chance i was to recieve a offer of payment, id be wanting the dosh to come my way 1st.
Other option, depending on the offer recieved is to refuse it, n wait till test case is over.. n hope full refunds are given... n to hope our pound is worth sumthing by the end of 2009!

[Amy]

Re: Advice please...

Why doesn't your friend simply call the bank and ask that they apportion the money accordingly between the mortgage arrears and the council tax arrears.

You could argue that they are doing the right and correct thing in paying it into your mortgage account, but council tax is also a priority debt.

[natweststaffmember]

Re: Advice please...

Fully understand the last post, but IF by any chance i was to recieve a offer of payment, id be wanting the dosh to come my way 1st.
Other option, depending on the offer recieved is to refuse it, n wait till test case is over.. n hope full refunds are given... n to hope our pound is worth sumthing by the end of 2009!

Option to wait is kinda poking your eyes out. The whole point of FInancial Hardship is that you are in financial hardship and that you could potentially be either cut off, kicked out of your home, etc,etc,. To wait because they will not give you the money I think is not good advice to give your friend.

[Sapphire]

Re: Advice please...

Personally if I were in hardship and owed money to priority debts, ie mortgage, council tax etc. I'd send the details to the bank and ask them to pay them directly first and if there was any residue after that then and only then ask for a cheque paid to myself to pay off any other debt.
I honestly believe that to receive the money direct would be too tempting for anyone to have a holiday or a spending spree.

Just my opinion.

[Paule]

Re: Advice please...

There have been people who have made claims under hardship and then used the money not for their debts. And then they are back in hardship again.

In my opinion you are claiming hardship for mortgage payments, tax etc, then the money should go to the mortgage company and the council.

It may well be that the mortgage is with the bank, in which is why they are paying direct.

Better to be out of hardship with a clear slate than have a holiday and be even worse off with NO backup and maybe then lose your house.

I know what my priority would be.

[Sapphire]

Re: Advice please...

Perhaps an idea would be that when sending the monies to hardship cases, the recipient then has to provide proof that the money has been used to pay the bills shown in the hardship claim.

I doubt if that would happen though, so really its definately better for the bills to be paid directly by the bank. I know I have large amounts ready to be reclaimed on our accounts and will be more than happy to have the money allocated to those accounts and knock the overdrafts down.