Someone else mentioned them not being allowed to levy on children's toys. They thought this made the whole thing invalid but another CAGGER said he couldn't levy on the swing but the other items were valid. I thought a walking possession order had to be signed by the owner of the goods. This certainly hasn't been signed. The HCEO letters are delivered by hand and have no return address on the outside of them. Anything through the normal post could obviously be sent back marked return to sender but i am assuming original paperwork was sent to the registered office address which is now empty (as far as i know - it's been several months since we moved out). There are no personal names on the paperwork we do have, just the company name. We do have someone helping us with other debts at the CAB so i will contact her and ask for advice too.

Fair-parking - the LTD company was not registered at our home address. It might have been in the early days but not for at least 2 years. Again not traded from the home for same amount of time. Nothing left at home belongs to the business. We were not aware of the CCJ until we started getting 'ambulance chasers' calling us offering their services to overturn the CCJ. Haven't actually seen the judgement but the HCEO paperwork is addressed to the company name. Vicki202 - no he has not been inside our property or into our back garden. He simply walked over the front garden to knock on the front door. The goods he has levied on are what he could see in the back garden over the fence. The trailer is in the front but it really is scrap!! The first time he came my husband spoke to him through an upstairs window. This time i didn't answer at all.

Ok i should have done something about this but i didn't. Have been waiting for the bailiff to turn up again and this morning he did. I am pregnant and my baby is due in 4 weeks so sorting this out has not been on the top of my priority list. Today he turned up and parked his vehicle so as to block my brother in law's car. It currently only has 3 wheels on it so wasn't going anywhere!! Anyway, the letter he left was in an envelope that has 'removal now booked' written on the front. Inside is a one page letter stating 'formal notice' at the top. Still no mention of my husband's name just his old company. Letter states that he has the power to seize goods up to the value of the judgement + fees. It says he has attended today with a vehicle with the intention of removing goods and chattels. 'I will attend again at this address at any time and remove goods even in your absence' He did complete a walking possession order when last here but it was shoved through the letter box and has not been signed by anyone at our address. The items he levied on are pretty much impossible to move (log cabin - he called it a summer house), kids swing/slide set (concreted in ground), or have next to zero value trailer with only one wheel, a bbq and two ancient wheelbarrows. I'm not sure that the possession order is valid as it wasn't signed by anyone apart from the bailiff. On top of this the items levied are personal and the notice related to a business debt. I have since discovered that the non-payment of goods the CCJ was issued for were never formally received by my husbands business. They were signed for by an ex-employee who was walking from the car park. Could have been anyone. We also have written confirmation (email) from the company concerned that they would not despatch anything without up front payment. This was never made so surely goods should not have been sent. I'm not sure that this has any relevance now but i do know we are not in a position to clear the debt and only know about the CCJ from the visit to our home by the HCEO. What i need to know is: Can the guy come back and just take goods? What he does attempt to take (if he can!) won't cover the cost of the debt so can he levy more items? The final paragraph states 'if you fail to make payment and there are not enough goods to sell to cover your debt, a return will be made to this writ which will enable the claimant to take insolvency proceedings and other proceedings against you and your property' Is this an idle threat or a reality? My husband is not bothered about someone making him bankrupt and the same goes for his company which is in the process of being struck off by companies house. We can't afford to to either ourselves so it would actually be a blessing. A worry would however be our home which we have just saved from repossession although there is still an outright possession order on it so if were to default on our mortgage again we would lose that too. One last question... i know full well this man will turn up again but does anyone have any idea how long it will be? It is about 3 weeks from his last visit. I expect next time it will be more quickly! So many questions again!! All advice will be gratefully received and i will of course provide clarification if anything i have written is not clear!

Thanks PT. Finding the original account form could be interesting.... I may just see if i can get hold of a new one somehow and see what their terms and conditions are. It is unlikely to have changed in the last six months. Obviously if there is some form of director guarantee then they could theoretically chase my husband but none of the paperwork (that we've seen) was addressed to him directly, all just to the company name. There is definitely nothing left of the company by way of assets of any description so i think they can't take anything from the house. Does a personal guarantee mean that they can actually take personal effects if there is nothing left belonging to the company? Do you suggest i write to the HCEO or call them then follow up with a letter? I was going to write as the 'innocent wife' stating that they had visitied a residential premises for a business debt (which it appears they can do) AND also state that there is nothing to do with the business here. I can direct them back to the business address but i imagine they have already been there and as far as i know the building is still standing empty. Thanks for your help so far.

My husband never gave any kind of guarantee and was actually told by the supplier concerned that they would only let us have a pro-forma account. So his company should have paid for goods up front but they were sent them out anyway. He doesn't even remember applying for a credit account so therefore it is possible that the debt is not even enforceable. All i am concerned about however is making sure the bailiffs cannot take any of our personal possessions when the debt is related to a limited company. Now i just need some advice on how to contact the HCEO (or whatever it is they are called) to ensure they don't come back. I think they are just showing threatening behaviour and clutching at straws to try and get their money back.

Thank you. There is nothing that belonged to the company left either at our home or the now empty business premises. There has been nothing left of the company for months now. So am i right in saying that i can tell the enforcement officers they cannot take anything from our home? I really don't want them turning up again especially when the kids are around.

This is all totally new to me so some advice would be greatly appreciated. My husband is director of a business that has not traded since January 2010. We are waiting for it to be struck off by companies house so at the moment it is still showing as existing. We cannot afford to liquidate or appoint administrators so are somewhat in limbo. The company is LTD and the registered office is away from our home address. A CCJ has been issued to one of the creditors and as it has not been paid they have taken it to the next stage which i think is an attempt to enforce the judgement. We had a visit from an enforcement officer at 8am this morning to our home address. We did not open the door or sign any paperwork. My husband did unfortunately admit verbally to being the owner of the company and gave his mobile number to the enforcement officer. The guy eventually left after giving some verbal threats that this must be sorted out etc etc and posted the letter below through our letterbox. The debt they are now claiming is around £1300 and the value of the items he has listed (from looking over the garden fence) is next to nothing. The trailer is old and only has one wheel, the swing is a play item belonging to our 4 year old son, the wheel barrows are ancient and both have flat tyres, the bbq may have a small value but nothing great and the 'summer house' we think is the log cabin at the end of our garden. This does have a value but is several years old and would take considerable effort to move. The cabin is currently used by my brother in law and nothing that is inside belongs to us. From what i can make out from other posts these guys cannot gain entry to our house but they can break into outbuildings/sheds etc. We do have a shed and the cabin. There is nothing of value in the shed and as i say anything in the cabin is not ours although i don't suppose this would make any difference to an enforcement officer trying to get in. I need to contact Andrew Wilson and Co today and ask why they have sent someone to a residential address regarding a business debt but i would prefer to do this by email if possible so at least i have a record of any contact made. I just need confirmation that i am correct that they can't take anything from a personal address and also some advice on what to put. All help and advice will be gratefully received! Andrew Wilson & Co Writ Number: #### HIGH COURT FORM NO 55 notice of seizure In The High Court Of Justice Queens Bench Division SALFORD DISTRICT REGISTRY High Court Claim Number: ##### county court claim Number:##### Sent from the ####### county court Defendant: ########### LTD Address of Premises: ########## This Notice has been left at this address by ########## an enforcement officer from Andrew Wilson & Co The Sherilfs Office High Court Enforcement Officers of 26 Missouri Avenue Salford Manchester M50 2NP who are authorised to enforce writs of execution from the High Court. TAKE NOTICE THAT: 1. A formal seizure of the goods at this address has been made under a Writ of Execution directed to an Enforcement Officer by the High Court. The Enforcement Officer accordingly has conduct of the execution. 2. The goods seized are now in the custody of the Enforcement Officer, as an Officer of the Court, and must not be removed, sold or otherwise disposed of. This will remain the position until the sLIm due under the execution has been paid in full. The only exceptions are goods of the type referred to in Paragraph 9 of schedule 7 of Section 99 of the Courts Act 2003. (This Section is set out below). Enclosed with this NOTICE is a WALKING POSSESSION AGREEMENT in thn form prescribed by law You must read this agreement and sign it to acknowledge the seizure and hand it to the Enforcement Officer attending your premises or return it to this Office. Failure to sign the Walking Possession Agreement may result in the removal of the goods seized without further notice pending disposal by public auction. 3. The judgment debt and costs of execution due under the Writ are:- Judgment Debt: £*** Judgment Costs: £**** Costs of Execution: £**** Assessed Solicitor Costs *interest to date: £***** HCEO fees: £**** Total outstanding: £**** *Interest is payable from the appropriate date (which varies according to the size of the judgment debt and where it originated). Officer's fees and interest will continue to accrue daily until the judgment debt is paid in full. 4. Payment must be made to this office in CASH or by BANK DRAFT. Payment by cheque may be accepted if the Enforcement Officer agrees but may be subject to such charges (if any) as are made by his bankers for special clearance. Please note that it is essential that Writ number ###### is written on the back of all cheques or bank drafts and quoted in any bank transfers so that these payments can be identified. All cheques and drafts must be made payable to Andrew Wilson & Co and sent to the contact address below. 5. If payment is not made and the execution proceeds, the Enforcement Officers or their agents will attend and remove the goods seized for sale by public auction or as the Court may direct. 6. If any of the goods seized are not your property, you must tell the owner about the seizure and he must write to the High Court Enforcement Officers claiming the goods at the contact address below. 7. If any of the goods seized are the subject of a hire purchase or any similar agreement, you must send full details in writing to the High Court Enforcement Officers at the contact address below. 8. If any of the goods seized are not liable to seizure by virtue of Paragraph 9 of schedule 7 of Section 99 of the Courts Act 2003 (set out below) this Office must be sent full details in writing within 5 days of the seizure or within such greater period as the Court may, on your application, allow. 9. You must inform this office if another Bailiff seizes, levies on or distrains the goods to pay another debt and you must inform that Bailiff of this seizure. 10. You must also inform this Office of any Petition in Bankruptcy or application to liquidate a limited company that may be, have been or is subsequently served on you. 11. The goods seized are all those referred to at 2 above but in case there is any doubt, the following items have been levied on today and ARE INCLUDED IN THE SEIZURE: 1 x trailer 1 x garden swing 2 x wheel barrow 1 x bbq 1 x summer house Dated: _____________________ Signed: _____ Contact details: Andrew Wilson & Co The Sheriffs Office 26 Missouri Avenue Salford Manchester M50 2NP Tel: 01619251800 Fax: 01619251801 Website: Paragraph 9 of Schedule 7 of Section 99 of the Courts Act 2003 provides as follows: 9 (1) This paragraph applies where an enforcement officer or other person who is under a duty to execute the writ is executing it. (2) The officer may, by virtue of the writ, seize- . (a) Any goods of the eX6cutrc\n debtor that are not exempt goods, and (b) Any money, bank notes, bills of exchange, promissory notes, bonds, specialties or securities for money belonging to the execution debtor. (3) "Exempt goods" means- (a) such tools, books, vehicles and other items of equipment as are necessary to the execution debtor for use personally by him in his employment, business or vocation; (b) such clothing, bedding, furniture, household equipment and provisions as are necessary for satisfying the basic domestic needs of the execution debtor and his family.

Thank you Pat2010 your advice looks very sound to me. I think Whitsend has a good case and shouldn't have any problems in court. Whitsend - where did you get the court date from? From what i remember with our case we received a notification from our lender's solicitor, a letter from the lender themselves AND paperwork from the court which contained the defence form that needed to be filed. Ideally you need to send your defence form in before the court date but it will be accepted right up to the day itself. Obviously if they have the details in advance it helps your case. Do make sure all communication is in writing and you keep copies of everything along with receipts for recorded delivery on your postage. Good luck.

If the solicitors are still insisting on saying the court hearing is going ahead then you need to make sure you attend and put across your side of the argument. I have no idea what notification you would receive if the case has been cancelled but i wouldn't trust anyone unless you have it in black and white. I'm pretty sure there is no case to answer but if the court haven't been informed then the case will still be planned to go ahead and you should attend to make sure it is thrown out. If you can prove you have cleared the arrears and that your payment date has been changed then this should be enough to prevent the possession being granted. There will be a duty solicitor on the day of the hearing but when we had our hearing there were about ten people waiting to see the lady and by the time we saw her (last on her list) she was harassed and didn't listen to anything we said! Your case does seem more simple though so it should be straightforward. Please do get further advice on this as it is all quite new to me and i don't want to give you wrong information.

This sounds like nonsense to me! If you have no arrears then surely there is no case to answer? Please someone correct me if i am wrong. I imagine you would be best off submitting a defence form and stating the facts and that you now have no arrears. I'm pretty sure there is no case to answer so the judge will not grant a possession order to your lender. Best of luck!

Just a quick update We have paid the £2500 we agreed with lender + the remaining payment for May. Standing order is now set up for June onwards. We have also still been in talks with the council and CAB with regards to the Repossession Prevention Fund Loan. We went to the CAB a couple of weeks ago and spoke to a lady who was useless and left us feeling very dispondant. I went back to the council and the lady we had been speaking to there referred us to the CAB debt advisor (who we did ask to see when we first went in to the CAB but were told it wasn't possible ). We had an appointment with the debt advisor yesterday and although initially she seemed fairly unapproachable once we'd got the hostility out of the way (have to admit i went in expecting nothing so was probably on my guard from the outset) she was fantastic . I think it helped that she saw i was actually organised and had put all our papers in a folder and everything was in order so easy for her to find all the info she needed! We went through income and expenditure and talked about how we shouldn't have concentrated on paying our non priority debts while struggling with the mortgage. Now we have stopped being scared of unsecured creditors and their threats it is much easier to just ignore their phone calls and letters. The lady admitted the council and CAB had not done one of these Repossession Prevention Fund Loans before so none of them really knew much about it. That said, she took all the information and said she thought we had a good chance of getting it . Now we're not in such a panic about everything it is much easier to see things more rationally and even if we don't get it we know that the lender has agreed to a payment towards the arrears so it is a win win situation. We are still making the application for the repossession prevention fund loan because it is interest free and would mean our arrears would be cleared completely giving us enormous peace of mind. No arrears, no possession order! I also feel it is something more people should be able to apply for so IF we do get it i certainly will post as much information as i can. I will update as soon as i have any further information!

Hi Red11, Obviously i cannot guarantee what will happen to you in court but i do know the advice and help you get from Ell-enn is priceless and provided you follow what she suggests you should be fine. I know how you feel as we have been there and until the arrears are cleared will still have the threat of repossession hanging over us. BUT, we do now have agreement with our lender to pay off the arrears over time and fingers crossed we will be able to do this. I came across this forum after our day in court and wish i had found it before! Having said that i have still had loads of help and advice and now know my house is not about to be taken away from me. The people we spoke to before attending court were all very blasé about the whole thing and told us don't worry, it will be fine etc etc. We thought we were well prepared when in fact we weren’t. If you have followed the advice in here then i really do think you will be fine. Just make sure your income and expenditure adds up and you are able to show that you are in a position to make the full payment going forward + something towards the arrears. We were also told our court only hear 4 repossession cases in a day! When we went there were more than 10 and with the exception of 2 all turned up and all wanted to speak to the duty solicitor who is there on the day to offer you advice and will come into the court with you. It is worth talking to them as they know the court system pretty well and can present your offer for you. The one we saw wasn't able to prevent a possession order being granted (due to our information being presented wrongly which wasn't her fault) but she did get the judge to extend the time from a standard 4 weeks to 6 weeks. This has given us a bit more breathing space and allowed us the time to sort out a lump sum towards the arrears and work out an offer that has been acceptable to our lender. One other thing we weren't aware of is that the judge will still grant a repossession order to the lender but in your case it will most likely be suspended which means provided you stick to the terms agreed your lender won't act on it and can't kick you out. I'm sure someone will correct me on this if i am wrong. Apologies for a long and rambling post - i just wanted to let you know what happened to us and hopefully show you that it will work out in the end. The support on here is fantastic and has really helped me to see the wood from the trees and given me the confidence to fight our corner and do everything we can to keep our house. Best of luck

Hi Ell-enn, Have just read your letter re reclaiming arrears fees and this i think will be my next battle with Bank of Scotland ;-) Not sure if their fees would be classed as 'excessive' but i do feel that adding anything on when a customer is in arrears and therefore financial difficulty is unfair. Is there a letter we can send to find out exactly what we have been charged? I think i have seen it mentioned in other posts but am not sure what it is called. I think we have been charged hundreds rather than thousands but every penny counts so it's got to be worth at least trying to get something back.

Hi Red11! Myself and my husband have been through a very similar situation to the one you describe. The advice given by ettubrute seems spot on to me. While i sympathise with the treatment you have received from your lender the judge will only be interested in whether you can afford to pay your mortgage in full going forwards and something towards the arrears. We don't think the pre-action protocols were followed properly by our lender (Bank of Scotland) and put all this in the information we provided to the judge on the day of our hearing. He glanced at it, looked at our income and expenditure and granted a possession order to the lender. We have since revised our income and expenditure and also been given £2.5k towards our arrears by a family member. This of course gave us a huge help towards the arrears and probably made a difference in the decision our lender made. Today they have agreed for us to pay the £2.5k, return to our full payments and pay £30 a month extra towards arrears. We will hopefully have the option to capitalise our remaining arrears (add them to the end of the mortgage) in 6 months when we have made full payments for this time. I don't know too much about the government schemes but even earning £40k you might be able to get some help. This website is really useful for answering basic questions: Government Mortgage Help on House Repossession | Mortgage Help There are also several people on here who have much more knowledge than me who will hopefully be along to advise at some point tonight

AMAZING!! There are some GREAT people on here who have offered me some fantastic constructive advice and today i too managed to sort out our mortgage arrears in such a way that we can keep our house (provided we stick to the terms we agreed). Ell-enn continues to amaze me with the help and support she offers people and Martin3030 sounds like a hero for coming with you to court today. Now go out and enjoy a few beers to celebrate!

AMAZING!! There are some GREAT people on here who have offered me some fantastic constructive advice and today i too managed to sort out our mortgage arrears in such a way that we can keep our house (provided we stick to the terms we agreed). Ell-enn continues to amaze me with the help and support she offers people and Martin3030 sounds like a hero for coming with you to court today. Now go out and enjoy a few beers to celebrate!

Thank you! We certainly will keep the letter and email. Fingers crossed we will never need them but from now on i am going to be organised with everything like this!

Finally some good news!!! Today my husband has got through to someone helpful at Bank of Scotland and they have accepted our offer of full payments from June, £2.5k towards the arrears and an extra £30 a month! They have also emailed confirmation of the conversation and are putting a letter in the post tonight. Provided we have the letter tomrrow or Friday we will call and make the payment agreed with them. Our standing order has already been changed by them so now we just have to make sure the funds are in our account to pay the full amount next month! We are still going to try and apply for the repossession prevention fund loan as this would be interest free but if we don't get it at least we know the court action is going to be suspended. Such a relief!! Still got to complain about their general behaviour but for now i think i will just breathe a sigh of relief Thanks everyone for your support and advice so far.

Ooops forgot to add, yes BOS are working through a solicitor - Shoosmiths. This has been another problem for us - when we called BOS before the court case they said we needed to speak to Shoosmiths and when we called Shoosmiths they said we had to call BOS! Nothing like going round and round in circles!! At least now BOS seem prepared to talk to us even though it is impossible to get through!!

Thanks! The bit about the capital repayment/interest option makes sense now! No-one has bothered to explain this before and i'm sure i'm not the only person who mis-understood. We are going to call again this morning and fingers crossed will actually speak to someone today. My husband has now got a direct number that he thinks isn't going through a call centre. Obviously we will follow up the call with a letter (one mistake we have made up until now). I agree i think BOS are a reputable lender and they haven't been as bad as some of the lenders i have read about on here. Having said that they have not behaved as they should and we certainly feel they haven't followed every part of the pre-action protocol. Unfortunately the court was very busy the day we went (we were told by our council they see a maximum of 4 cases and there were 12!) and apart from 2 everyone wanted to see the duty solicitor who was there to help the defendants. We also had taken some wrong advice and presented our income and expenditure poorly so the duty solicitor just said she felt we couldn't afford to resume payments and make an offer towards the arrears. We have looked at the figures again and reduced some of our outgoings (without leaving ourselves short) so the I&E looks much better now. We do indeed epxect our situation to improve in the next two years and are actually much better off than we were even a couple of months ago. I will let you know how we get on with calling them later!

Thanks for the advice. If it comes to it we will certianly apply for a variation. From what i can make out the 'pre-action protocols' look quite strict but when it comes down to it they will somehow be able to prove that they have done what they're meant to do. Hadn't thought about the interest only bit like that. Still not fully sure i understand but i think it makes sense I know the difference between the HMS and MRS but BOS seem to have got them mixed up. For us the MRS is not something we had looked into seriously but it certainly might be an option. We did ask about the HMS but BOS just kept dismissing it as too much like hard work. The scheme i cannot find anything about it the local authority repossession prevention fund which is an interest free loan of up to £5k which can be used towards mortgage arrears. Apparently the money comes from the same fund as MRS but is a different way of helping. I haven't managed to find anyone who has made a successful application to their local authority and ours certainly expects you to jump through a million hoops (well it feels that way!). My husband is working and i'm now on maternity leave so we wouldn't be entitled to anything from DWP towards the mortgage interest. Think i've answered all your questions! We've been trying to get through to BOS to put a proposal to them verbally since last Wed and just get passed from pillar to post. Going to try one more time tomorrow and if we get no joy will just put the letter in the post!

While we wait for our cheque to clear so we can make a payment towards our arrears i have put together a letter to send to BOS. I would appreciate it if someone could spend a few minutes and look over it to see 1) if it is too long/too much info and/or 2) if i have missed anything out. If i can work out how to remove personal details i will post the letter we had from BOS in response to the one sent by our 'advisor'. I only have a scanned copy and last time i tried to cover over personal details it looked fine on my computer but as soon as i checked it from another one (on the forum i had posted it to) i realised the 'cover up' hadn't worked and all my details were still visible The history is on the attachment i will send with the letter so it should be self explanatory but then it is my info so of course i understand it all anyway!! All advice/criticism will be gratefully received. BOS extra info lmm.pdf BOS letter lmm.pdf

Thanks for the extra info Pubman1. I have mentioned this idea to my husband and at the moment he wants to try and see if we can manage by keeping the mortgage and offering £1 payments to everyone else. It is good to know that it is always an option. Just want to stop having to worry about this all the time Things are at least looking a bit clearer though and it is great to know there is loads of info, advice and support on here

Thanks Newstarter. You are so right about one thing at a time We had a talk from Christians Against Poverty at our church last week. They were there to get people on board to help with what they do and also to give donations towards the charity. It is a new group to our town and already they have 14 clients which is apparently the quickest take up ever known for them. The talk upset me a lot as it brought it all home to me. However, it also made me think and i did come to the conclusion that we have to look after our house first and not try to fight too many battles. Being 29 weeks pregnant does not help with confused thinking and hormones that make you snap or cry at the drop of a hat . We have an appointment with them but it isn't until the middle of July. We had asked to bring it forward but i am now thinking i will leave it as it is and see what happens over the next 6 weeks or so. We have made payments towards unsecured debts - up until recently via DMPs with CCCS. So the statute barred idea is not relevant right now but i guess if people don't chase then we don't pay We are 'lucky' in that we only have a very small amount of joint debt so if we really did feel everything was impossible one of us (probably my husband as he is the one who has the business debts that have become personal due to his guarantees) could go bankrupt and the other take on the beneficial interest in the house. We still hope to avoid this but the level of debts we have is such that we'd need a huge increase in income to go back to making full payments. I guess an IVA is another idea but right now i am just going to worry about the mortgage... I really do appreciate your comments and as you've been through it - and come out the other side by the looks of things - you (and the others who have helped) know what you're talking about. In due course i hope to be able to do the same!

Hi Pubman1! We really like where we live and my husband is quite keen to keep the house as 'ours'. Our debt problems have been going on for a while but we are finally climbing out of the black hole and although it will still be a few years before we can really say we are comfortable at this stage the Mortgage Rescue scheme isn't for us. The government has also provided what they call the Repossession Prevention Fund loan which is administered by local councils/authorities. It is to a maximum of £5000 and is interest free. This however is the most i can find out about it. The council are prepared to look into this for us but they want us to jump through soooo many hoops i don't think it is worth the effort. I have gone through as many of our debts as i can find information on this morning - most of them are with debt collection agencies now and trying to work out who is who is driving me crazy. Without this information in full and being accurate the council won't even consider our application. Our debts are quite large as well (about £100k unsecured between myself and husband) due to a failing business and personal guarantees (never again!!) and other bits where we were using credit to live as we weren't being paid. As the debt is all unsecured i have decided that for now i am not going to pay anything and then as i get letters in from the people we owe money to reply back with an income and expenditure form and a nominal offer. I think i can probably work out about half of the people who are chasing and am going to start writing to them now. But, we get letters from so many different companies and when you look more closely you find it is actually two people chasing the same debt. It is hard work to keep on top of! Our biggest priority is keeping the house and if we have to go down the Mortgage Rescue Scheme then we certainly will look into it. We know it is an option if we need it. The money for this and the repossession fund loan is in the same pot apparently. So for us it would be cheaper for our council to offer us the loan i think! Do you know if you will have the option to buy back your house at a later date if your circumstances change? Is it looking like your rent payment will be a lot cheaper than your mortgage? And finally, do you have a lot of other personal debt? Lots of questions but answers worth having if it is something we need to look into more closely! One other thing - our house is in negative equity so if the council were to buy at market rate there would be a shortfall on the mortgage payment of about £20k. Do the council and mortgage lender negotiate to ensure this doesn't come back as a debt to you? Enough questions i think!!