House repossession shortfall debt 18 years on

[kentboy]

Hi all, I have a bit of a worry at the moment about a house repossession that I had around 18 years ago when i was around 22 years old. There was a large shortfall when the buiding society sold the property, and both my then partner and myself split the shortfall, leaving us each with around £20k to pay. Since then, I have basically paid a very nominal monthly amount, as agreed by the buiding society. Every six months, i get an income and expenditure sheet to fill out. Suddenly, the buiding society seem to be putting a lot of pressure on me to increase my payments. Obviously, ive moved on since this reposession, I am married with a mortgage, and have children from my first marriage living at a different address. My questions are whether I have anything really to worry about? They are threatening to take me to court if i dont supply recent bank statements etc. Naturally, my family and I are really worried now in case I am taken to court. Do I HAVE to give them personal info? Ive already completed the most recent budget sheet they sent to me, and ive sent them my recent payslips, but i am reluctant to send them bank statements etc as i feel this may not help me. Any advice on what I HAVE to do, and what action i SHOULD or SHOULDNT take would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, do you know how much is outstanding?

 

Kind regards

 

Ell-enn

[kentboy]

Hi Ell-enn - i dont kow exactly because i think ive only ever received one statement, but its still around the £20k mark as ive really only every paid a very nominal amount each month, currently £10 per month !

[Ell-enn]

It might be a good idea to send them a S.A.R. -i will cost you £10, but they will have to provide a complete statement of account and also all detail they hold on the debt. It might prove very interesting reading. I will ask one of the mods who knows more about this to have a look.

 

Kind Regards

 

Ell-enn

[tomterm8]

personally, I would phone them up and ask them what the settlement figure would be. I would then do a process of negotiation, trying to get it as cheap as possible.

 

PM PriorityOne, since I believe she has gone through this process.

[kentboy]

thanks ell-enn

Any help or advice you can let me have will be very much appreciated.

[PriorityOne]

Hi Kentboy... got your PM.

 

Can you just confirm that this account is still with B&B some 18 years on ? If so, have they ever suggested that you could make a Full and Final settlement ?

[kentboy]

Hi Priorityone - as far as im aware, the debt is STILL with B&B - the letters all come from them, as do the occasional phone calls. They regularly ask for an amount i could pay as full and final settlement, but ive told them that im not able to make them any sort of "offer" - i dont think ive ever had a letter demanding the FULL amount.

[PriorityOne]

Have they actually mentioned a figure over the 'phone ?

[kentboy]

£8k negotiable i think they said around November 07.

[PriorityOne]

Ok... you have nothing to lose by going down the F&F route and, if it should go to court, the fact that you've tried your level best to reach an agreement should go in your favour.

 

I have therefore drafted up a very creepy letter for you to see what we can be achieve ... Send by recorded delivery to The Account Manager of whatever department normally writes to you, but be prepared for them to 'phone you up to discuss things... I doubt they will put a figure in writing. Do not offer a figure yourself at this point.... If asked, just say that you have absolutely no idea what to offer or what they would be willing to accept as a F&F....

 

If they mention a figure over the 'phone, whether it's possible or not, tell them that you need a bit of time to think things over and you will get back to them in a day or so. Take a name and number....

 

Dear xxxxxx

 

Ref xxxxxx

 

Thank you for your letter of xx/xx/2007.

 

Although I have managed to make regular token payments on this account for some years now, I have been aware that legal proceedings always remained an option for you. Over the years however, you have mentioned the possibility of making a Full and Final settlement to this account and I am writing to enquire if you would still be open to this suggestion now.

As you may appreciate, the ongoing situation has caused considerable stress to myself and my family and we are not coping very well with it presently. I would therefore much prefer to reach an amicable settlement with yourselves, if at all possible.

 

With this in mind, I would be grateful if you could let me know what you would be willing to accept as a Full and Final settlement after all this time ? Whilst I have very little in the way of savings as such, I am more than prepared to sell some of my personal possessions in order to try and raise something.

 

I look forward to hearing from you,

 

Yours faithfully/sincerely (depending on whether you have a contact name or not)

 

[PriorityOne]

£8k negotiable i think they said around November 07.

 

I very much doubt they'll want to go to court with this at all.... hence the offer.

 

Don't worry about the £8k... Realistically, how much could you afford right now, at a push ? Don't worry if it's a ridiculous amount.

[kentboy]

sounds great....although im not able to raise very much, hence the very small token payments.....also, are they legally able to demand copies of my bank statements etc?

[kentboy]

priorityone - to your message re how much can i raise, realistically i may be able to manage aroun £1500 by hook or crook!!

[PriorityOne]

sounds great....although im not able to raise very much, hence the very small token payments.....also, are they legally able to demand copies of my bank statements etc?

 

I made token payment of £5 a month on £26k for years, so know where you're coming from... and no, they cannot demand copies of bank statements without a court order.

[kentboy]

really appreciate you comments and help here priorityone, thank you.

[PriorityOne]

priorityone - to your message re how much can i raise, realistically i may be able to manage aroun £1500 by hook or crook!!

 

 

Cool... but don't tell them that. Don't tell them anything... just send the letter and wait. I need to know what they say they're prepared to accept before we move on to the next stage.

[kentboy]

great....i'll proceed as youve said, and let you know.....watch this space!

[PriorityOne]

Best of luck Kentboy.... hope to hear from you soon.

 

[kentboy]

Priorityone - just one more thing thats occurred to me - you say that you were paying £5 a month on £26k debt - were you offered a settlement, and can you say how much you settled at?

[PriorityOne]

Yes, I was offered a settlement.... but it probably wouldn't help you to know how much I settled for right now. It was very low though, F&F and all info. at Experian was changed to reflect it.

[kentboy]

Ell-enn, i wonder if you had any more thoughts on this? How to I go about this S.A.R & what exacty is it? Is it likely to assist me? Do you think its likely that the creditor will go to court 18 years on?

[PriorityOne]

Apologies if I'm monopolising this thread, Kentboy...

 

A SAR is a request for all information (data) that a company holds about you under The Data Protection Act, 1998. If B&B do not go for a reasonable F&F after the letter you sent, then the SAR will be your next step if they carry on prattling about litigation.

 

Although the request should speak for itself, there are specific things that you will probably need to emphasise.... including your need for full disclosure, the original Default Notice from 18 years ago, a full statement of account for the lifetime of the mortgage loan, full details regarding the MIG, a full transcript of all 'phone calls made/received and so on.

 

There is a link on here for the SAR, should that need arise.... so try not to worry. Also, the SAR costs £10.

 

I hope you drew some comfort from our 'phone conversation yesterday... I know how stressful this must be for you, but you are in good hands on this site and we will do our best for you.

 

How did you get on at the CAB, by the way ? Did they help or make things worse ?

[kentboy]

thanks again priorityone - i will of course keep u informed re any reply. CAB basically said i should have a fixed fee half hour session with a solicitor (they suggested one locally at £10 for half hour) - i may go for that if nothing else other than to (hopefully) de-stress me a little! CAB themselves didnt do anything other than state the obvious, and as it ended up, i felt like i was actually advising them on the way to proceed! I think u suggested yesterday it may be a bit like that. anyway cheers again i'll let you know. Best regards, Kentboy.

[PriorityOne]

Any updates on this yet, Kentboy ?