It's been a while since I last posted about this matter but as today was the 2nd and final hearing in the courts, I think some closure for those who have helped me is in order. And its great news. The purpose of today's hearing was to assess the arrears repayments in the long term (C&G vs N). Prior to the hearing, I contacted Kensington who, at that time, seemed to be unaware that a second hearing was talking place even though they wanted the 3 month review to happen to get more money out of my family. Regardless, I attended the hearing with my parents to get the repayment amount reduced and the Judge agreed that, going forward, my parents now only have to pay the CMI plus £100 towards the arrears effective immediately (the old arrangement was £300 towards the arrears). Kensington did not attend the hearing (they didn't turn up at the first one either...pfft!) but the judge informed me that if Kensington were not aware of the hearing, they had legal grounds to ask for a 3rd hearing to put their case across. However, the Judge then looked through the documentation the court had sent to Kensington and it turned out they were informed that today's hearing would take place. After the hearing, I contacted Kensington again to update them on what ruling had occurred at which point Kensington let slip that they did indeed know about the review hearing today but were happy to keep the "current" arrangement (CMI+£300). As such, they did not send their solicitor's to represent them. This acknowledgement of the second hearing will now prevent them from initiating a third hearing - they chose not to attend. I told them the arrears repayment had been reduced at the hearing, effective immediately, to CMI+£100. They have acknowledged this and will put it in place once the court informs them directly. I suppose all that's left to do is address the matter of unlawful charges at some point in the near future but for now, I need a break. I'd like to extend a big, big thank you to all that have helped me and my family get through this. A special mention goes out to Ell-enn who pulled my family back from the brink of collapse and gave me the strength to sort this situation out with her swift advice and amazing support. I hope to repay the staggering generosity extended to me by everyone here, of which there are too many people to mention, by helping others in need at CAG. And for those reading this who are currently going through what I and my family have just been through, you are in good hands. Dealing with an unexpected eviction is not an easy road to walk but there is light at the end of the tunnel no matter how worried you might feel. Stay strong.

It's been a while since I last posted about this matter but as today was the 2nd and final hearing in the courts, I think some closure for those who have helped me is in order. And its great news. The purpose of today's hearing was to assess the arrears repayments in the long term (C&G vs N). Prior to the hearing, I contacted Kensington who, at that time, seemed to be unaware that a second hearing was talking place even though they wanted the 3 month review to happen to get more money out of my family. Regardless, I attended the hearing with my parents to get the repayment amount reduced and the Judge agreed that, going forward, my parents now only have to pay the CMI plus £100 towards the arrears effective immediately (the old arrangement was £300 towards the arrears). Kensington did not attend the hearing (they didn't turn up at the first one either...pfft!) but the judge informed me that if Kensington were not aware of the hearing, they had legal grounds to ask for a 3rd hearing to put their case across. However, the Judge then looked through the documentation the court had sent to Kensington and it turned out they were informed that today's hearing would take place. After the hearing, I contacted Kensington again to update them on what ruling had occurred at which point Kensington let slip that they did indeed know about the review hearing today but were happy to keep the "current" arrangement (CMI+£300). As such, they did not send their solicitor's to represent them. This acknowledgement of the second hearing will now prevent them from initiating a third hearing - they chose not to attend. I told them the arrears repayment had been reduced at the hearing, effective immediately, to CMI+£100. They have acknowledged this and will put it in place once the court informs them directly. I suppose all that's left to do is address the matter of unlawful charges at some point in the near future but for now, I need a break. I'd like to extend a big, big thank you to all that have helped me and my family get through this. A special mention goes out to Ell-enn who pulled my family back from the brink of collapse and gave me the strength to sort this situation out with her swift advice and amazing support. I hope to repay the staggering generosity extended to me by everyone here, of which there are too many people to mention, by helping others in need at CAG. And for those reading this who are currently going through what I and my family have just been through, you are in good hands. Dealing with an unexpected eviction is not an easy road to walk but there is light at the end of the tunnel no matter how worried you might feel. Stay strong.

I finally got the Subject Access Request through from Kensington earlier this week (late I might add). I've yet to give it a thorough going over but my brief skim read is revealing some interesting stuff. There are several forms pertaining to actions made on the account (relating to a re-mortgage I believe) that do NOT have authorisation from both account holders. Only my father's signature appears on them with the space for the second account holder being left blank. Does anyone here know what the possible legal ramifications of that are with regards to Kensington? Is this grounds to take Kensington to task for placing debt into my mother's name without her written permission or acknowledgement? Also (I may have mentioned this earlier), I have been told by a friend in the banking industry that the terms of the mortgage my parents have indicates they could be victims of irresponsible lending. The mortgage goes well into retirement age and I'm left puzzled as to why Kensington would give them such a mortgage. Finally, could someone give me a run down of what unlawful fees I am able to claim back for my parents on their mortgage? A significant portion of the arrears owed is in the form of failed direct debit payments, early repayment charges and arrears charges and even some solicitor's fees (I can imagine just how well Kensington would take it if I got a solicitor and charged it to them - this is not on!) Thanks in advance.

I finally got the Subject Access Request through from Kensington earlier this week (late I might add). I've yet to give it a thorough going over but my brief skim read is revealing some interesting stuff. There are several forms pertaining to actions made on the account (relating to a re-mortgage I believe) that do NOT have authorisation from both account holders. Only my father's signature appears on them with the space for the second account holder being left blank. Does anyone here know what the possible legal ramifications of that are with regards to Kensington? Is this grounds to take Kensington to task for placing debt into my mother's name without her written permission or acknowledgement? Also (I may have mentioned this earlier), I have been told by a friend in the banking industry that the terms of the mortgage my parents have indicates they could be victims of irresponsible lending. The mortgage goes well into retirement age and I'm left puzzled as to why Kensington would give them such a mortgage. Finally, could someone give me a run down of what unlawful fees I am able to claim back for my parents on their mortgage? A significant portion of the arrears owed is in the form of failed direct debit payments, early repayment charges and arrears charges and even some solicitor's fees (I can imagine just how well Kensington would take it if I got a solicitor and charged it to them - this is not on!) Thanks in advance.

Kensington like to be tricky when it comes to acknowledging receipt of letters pertaining to legal matters. They won't play fair and it buys them time. They demand their victims follow the law to the letter whilst they themselves dance merrily around it. They pulled the tactic on me but it didn't quite work as they'd already acknowledged receipt of another letter that was received by them at the same time. They decided to claim they'd simply misplaced the letter in question, "finding it" when I pointed all of this out to them (it was a Subject Access Request they managed to delay by two weeks because of this). Your best bet would be to have your proof of delivery on hand when you ring them and then tell them you want an acknowledgement of receipt placed on your account and a response to the letter after that.

Hi all. Been a bit busy lately so not had much time for an update but here goes. Well disappointingly, at least according to the solicitor that helped in the first court hearing, I'm not entitled to legal aid despite CAB insisting that I am. This refusal according to the solicitor is on the basis that I'm not a named defendant in the case despite the fact I've orchestrated the entire defence and been recognised by the court as an affected and interested party. I also hold third party authority on the mortgage account. Going to have to look into that one. Secondly, even though I'm still waiting on the results of the Subject Access Request, I mentioned unlawful fees on the account to Kensington and they claim those fees have already been reimbursed to the account. I've seen no evidence of this and have been told we pretty much have to pay money to be able to see it. Naturally, I'm just going to wait for the SAR to arrive as it should be in there but I also suspect if Kensington have paid back some that, it isn't anywhere close to what we should be getting back. For example, I refuse to believe that charging £25 for a failed direct debit is a true cost to them. They also gave me some rubbish about not having to reimburse early repayment charges on the account despite a court telling them they had to back in April. Finally, the last phone call I had with Kensington, they decided to let slip that they had applied their solicitors fees to the mortgage account because "we had to take action on the account". Are we able to claim these fees back? I absolutely loathe this company with every fibre of my being.

Hi all. Been a bit busy lately so not had much time for an update but here goes. Well disappointingly, at least according to the solicitor that helped in the first court hearing, I'm not entitled to legal aid despite CAB insisting that I am. This refusal according to the solicitor is on the basis that I'm not a named defendant in the case despite the fact I've orchestrated the entire defence and been recognised by the court as an affected and interested party. I also hold third party authority on the mortgage account. Going to have to look into that one. Secondly, even though I'm still waiting on the results of the Subject Access Request, I mentioned unlawful fees on the account to Kensington and they claim those fees have already been reimbursed to the account. I've seen no evidence of this and have been told we pretty much have to pay money to be able to see it. Naturally, I'm just going to wait for the SAR to arrive as it should be in there but I also suspect if Kensington have paid back some that, it isn't anywhere close to what we should be getting back. For example, I refuse to believe that charging £25 for a failed direct debit is a true cost to them. They also gave me some rubbish about not having to reimburse early repayment charges on the account despite a court telling them they had to back in April. Finally, the last phone call I had with Kensington, they decided to let slip that they had applied their solicitors fees to the mortgage account because "we had to take action on the account". Are we able to claim these fees back? I absolutely loathe this company with every fibre of my being.

Fantastic to hear Tigger72. I knew you'd be ok

The judge will just ask you questions relating to your defence. It will be handy to know general information such as how long your mortgage term is, what your repayment proposal is (actual figures) and how you are going to maintain this going forward without having to dig through paperwork. The judge may discuss specifics relating to the budget sheet you have provided too. Oh and if you can, prepare copies of your defence paperwork for everyone on "your side" in the court room (Yourself, your spouse, your representation should you have any). This is just so that you can all refer to the same information at the same time without passing papers around. In my own hearing, Kensington did not attend but that was a special case for me (Kensington cancelled but the Judge saw me and my family and made a ruling in our favour anyway). You should assume Kensington will be sending a representative of their own. It's important you don't try to cut them off in protest whilst they are giving their side of events - don't worry as the judge will hear you both. If their representative approaches you outside of the court, try not to be aggressive or hostile too - it might be an emotional time but just stay cool and clear.

I'm really not worried as such. In fact I'm feeling quite empowered now. I intended to make a case to the courts to reduce the monthly arrears payments to better reflect a reasonable long term repayment schedule. This will be to relieve financial stress, to reduce the reliance on 3rd party contributions in the budget and to prevent changes in the housing market rendering the agreement unsustainable. I'll also be enlisting the solicitors help regarding unlawful and unfair fees charged by Kensington (just in case at least) and to provide assistance with Family Law should a conflict of interest arise between my family and my father in relation to this matter.

I'm really not worried as such. In fact I'm feeling quite empowered now. I intended to make a case to the courts to reduce the monthly arrears payments to better reflect a reasonable long term repayment schedule. This will be to relieve financial stress, to reduce the reliance on 3rd party contributions in the budget and to prevent changes in the housing market rendering the agreement unsustainable. I'll also be enlisting the solicitors help regarding unlawful and unfair fees charged by Kensington (just in case at least) and to provide assistance with Family Law should a conflict of interest arise between my family and my father in relation to this matter.

So the ball is finally rolling on the Subject Access Request. I returned the necessary fees and authorisation to Kensington last week and today confirmed that they had received them. Although this wasn't quite that straight forward - once again, I think they had plans to sit on it but I didn't let them. I demanded they have an answer for me by the end of the day. I got that answer about 30 minutes ago and they have told me everything is in order and I should receive the requested information on or before the 1st October. In other news, in preparation for the review hearing in 2-3 months, I'm currently in the process of enlisting the long term services of the solicitors the court provided back on our hearing day. CAB advised me to do this in case Kensington try to pull a fast one and also because I'm entitled to free legal aid anyway. The next 3 months is going to be very interesting. I'll keep you posted.

So the ball is finally rolling on the Subject Access Request. I returned the necessary fees and authorisation to Kensington last week and today confirmed that they had received them. Although this wasn't quite that straight forward - once again, I think they had plans to sit on it but I didn't let them. I demanded they have an answer for me by the end of the day. I got that answer about 30 minutes ago and they have told me everything is in order and I should receive the requested information on or before the 1st October. In other news, in preparation for the review hearing in 2-3 months, I'm currently in the process of enlisting the long term services of the solicitors the court provided back on our hearing day. CAB advised me to do this in case Kensington try to pull a fast one and also because I'm entitled to free legal aid anyway. The next 3 months is going to be very interesting. I'll keep you posted.

You'll be absolutely fine in court Tigger72. Speaking from my own personal experiences, the judge will understand any nervousness and anxiety you might be feeling and will make you feel very at ease. Just make sure you are prepared with regards to your paperwork and responses. Stay strong, stay positive and good luck!

Kensington have finally responded regarding the Subject Access Request but only two weeks after they received it. Turns out they've found it after I proved they had it but they've returned it plus the fee on the basis that only my father had signed the request - the request was only for him in the first place though. They have stated that they need my mother's authorisation too. I immediately rang them to get them to clarify that I would only need to send £10 to cover both my parents and they said that is correct. As such, I have returned the SAR with the £10 fee to Kensington, including a Subject Access Request for my mother too. I had my suspicions they wouldn't want to play nicely and I'm rather annoyed that unless I'd prompted them, I doubt they'd have done anything about it. They'd made no attempt to log it onto my parent's account. Also, waiting 2 weeks to ask for my mother's authorisation seems like a cheap tactic to get the 40 day period extended. That said, I found it most interesting to read that Kensington were in fact fined over £1.2 million by the FSA back in April for charging excessive fees to customers in arrears from 2004 onwards. They were ordered to contact customers to pay back these fees - my parents have never been contacted. It's going to be very interesting to find out why that is. Hey Letsdothis, how are you getting on with your own claim for unlawful fees?