Anyone know bout Shoosmiths

[Ell-enn]

No problem, if the court papers arrive let me know and we'll deal with them.

 

Ell-enn

[jb07]

Ell-enn HELP.............

Had court papers today 8 pages of in & exp and literature can apparently do it online!! was posted on 7/11/08 received today.

We have upped the DDs to an extra £20 per monthy + got £500 cash to pay in tomoz + £100 cheque + cancelled a DD for council tax that was for £101.00 per month so basically gonna be £20 + £101 per month extra in the mortgage account...no other DDs or SOs going out.

cheers x

[Bona]

Dont panic and also its not a good idea to rob peter to pay paul the court will make sure that you can afford the payments and keep them up

[jb07]

Hi, well they have accepted our offer and are going to have a suspended posession order, would rather them cancel the whole thing...do I still have to fill in the defence papers to court?

cheers x

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, have they accepted your offer in writing? Also, what date is the hearing scheduled for?

 

You will still need to fill in the defence papers, but I can help you with that, the most important part is Q.27. You don't need to return them until 14 days before the hearing - not a good idea to do it online they have been known to go missing, best to post them recorded delivery.

 

Kind Regards

 

 

Ell-enn

[jb07]

hi, yes have it in writing that they are accepting our offer, the hearing is on dec 16th

cheers x

[Ell-enn]

OK, in the meantime you could make a start on the defence forms and I will draft some text for Q.27 of the forms.

 

Ell-enn

[jb07]

Hi Ell-enn, have nearly finished filling in the defence forms have taken my time to do it properly, not looking forward to going to court, how long do these hearings take?

cheers x

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, affixed is the text for Q. 27 of the form- write in the box "see affixed sheet" you will need to enter the claim number and your names in full at the top and then print out.

 

Take a copy of the letter and budget sheet you sent them and also a copy of their acceptance letter. On all of these copies, write the claim number on the top left hand corner and Appendix 1 on the top right.

 

Also take a copy of the form before you send it, so you have one if you need to refer to it in court.

 

The hearing will take place in a private room with just yourself, the judge and a representative from the lender. The judge will understand you are nervous and will guide you through the process, as you already have an agreement with the lender it should be over in 5 minutes. You should address the judge as sir or madam if need be.

 

The other side's solicitor may approach you before the hearing and tell you that you do not need to go in, and that he will just speak to the judge and get it over with. My advice is that you should go in so you know what is said and can object if you think anything is not right.

 

Any questions, just shout.

JB07 Q.27 defence.doc

[jb07]

thank you very much Ell-enn, I really appreciate all your help so much

cheers xx

[jb07]

Update!Sent my defence in etc, then had a letter from Shoosmiths saying HSBC were having the case struck out and postponing the suspended order for a year, so we signed a letter agreeing and that was that......what do you make of it?cheers x

[Ell-enn]

Sounds like the lender is taking notice of the government guidelines where they should only instigate possession proceedings when there is no payment arrangement or negotiation.

 

Good result:)

[jb07]

I have had a letter from Shoosmiths yesterday saying ' HSBC have been monitoring your account, have reviewed the situation and now intend to proceed with litigation to seek order for posession from the court'!!!

 

phoned Shoosmiths and they say the matter was dismissed due to the christmas amnesty and that we havent cleared the arrears.?

 

We have the court papers from December saying the case has been adjourned generally with liberty to restore, and if no application is made by 15th Dec 2009 the matter stands dismissed.

 

Well, HSBC have accepted our offer Nov 08 to pay £20 per month extra to clear arrears ( have it in writing), we have kept up the mortgage payments since and made sure there is enough money in the account to cover at least one months payment in case my partner who is self emplyed cant make his weekly contribution.

 

we thought this was all over, now we have to go through it all over again, I feel like a mouse in the clutches of a very big cat

[Ell-enn]

OK, you need to send Shoosmiths a nice little letter reminding them of the pre-action protocols and that in any possession proceedings you will be reporting to the court that an arrangement to pay the arrears was made with HSBC and possession proceedings stopped, and that payments have been made in accordance with the arrangement. There is absolutely no reason why they should be taking this to court:mad:

 

Do you want me to draft a letter?

 

Ell-enn

[jb07]

Oh Ell-enn, you are a star, I have the letter from shoosmiths as well saying

5th Dec 08

The client ( HSBC) wants the case adjourned for 12 mnths and struck out if no request to restore the hearing is recieved within that period.

 

We signed a form to agree to that.

yes please ell-enn, any help gratefully recieved.

cheers

xxx

[Ell-enn]

No problem - I'll get it done for you tomorrow (I'm a bit brain dead tonight lol... been a long week)

 

Ell

[supersleuth]

Alert, Alert WARNING

 

Never ever let the mortgage company make you agree to having a suspended possession order!!!!

 

They are supposed to try to avoid litigation! and forcing you to make an arrangement that includes litigation is a non-compliance with that duty.

 

In your case the arrears are firstly ONLY a mere £1200 and whilst that may be alot of money for you to find it is insignificant in light of the entire contract PLUS more pertinently, the lender CAUSED you to be in arrears. They did not tell you they were adding extra charges. Look at your contract, they cannot retrospectively create charges and then accuse you of being in breach of contract. It is the lender that has breached the contract in this case.

 

Thus the lender has breached the contract and then claims a remedy from the court for ITS OWN BREACH OF CONTRACT. This is a legal nonsence!! but sadly they will get away with it if you don't point out to the court that the lender breached the contract.

 

But my main point is to warn you: NEVER EVER AGREE TO AN ARRANGEMENT THAT INCLUDES YOU AGREEING TO A SUSPENDED POSSESSION ORDER!!!!

[jb07]

this is the letter we had off shoosmiths in december

[supersleuth]

I'm so shocked!!

 

I can't believe (or rather don't want to believe) how these disgusting solicitors trick people into giving up their rights. I'm astonished that they've told YOU to ask for an order that benefits THEM!!! They told you to ask for an order for the case to be adjourned generally. I assume that the attached form included with the letter was your agreement to the suspended possession order??? and that you signed the agreement???

 

The whole point of the PRE-ACTION PROTCOLS is that the attempt to settle the dispute results in NO COURT ACTION. The lender is under a DUTY to TRY to settle WITHOUT litigation and are duty bound to accept reasonable offers of settlement. If the lender has forced you to agree to a settlement on the condition that the settlement that INCLUDES a court order, then the lender has not complied with the PRE-action protocol because the settlement includes a court order. I emphasise the word PRE PRE PRE - ACTION.

 

Be very very careful going forward. People can often feel a a false sense of security with the suspended order and think that they're out of harms way. Please understand that what I will share with you now is not intended to upset you, but to give you a warning about what MAY ensue. It may be the case that the lender will abide by the "settlement", but you may find that it does not pan out as you think.

 

Watch out for the lender now hitting you with continued charges and costs to that are designed force you into becoming further and further into arrears.

 

Also, if at the end of the 12 month period, everything has worked out and you are no longer in arrears, make sure that you apply for the suspended possession order being officially struck out. Do not leave the order lying there. It is far toooo easy for the lender to get a possession order once they've secured a suspended order. That's why they've duped you into agreeing to the suspended possession order.

 

Advice: keep a vigilant eye on your account at all times over the next 12 months and make sure you have the order officially dismissed once the 12 months has expired.

Edited January 17, 2009 by supersleuth
typo

[supersleuth]

Final point: notice that the first line state that they have written to the court....however, note also that they did not send you a COPY of the exact letter that they sent to the court. Why not??

 

How do you know that the content of your letter and the content of the letter Shoosmith sent to the court say exactly the same thing. OK, you may think I'm paranoid, but I have good reason not to trust these solicitors. Shoosmith confirm that they would not seek a Possession Order, but they did not state in the letter that their client wouldn't seek a suspended order that would be adjourned generally.

 

What was the outcome of the hearing on 16 December and have you had a copy of the court order that the court made at the hearing? If the order is any different from exactly what you agreed then you may need to take remedial action.

 

If necessary, you can ask the court for copies of the Shoosmith letters from the court files, or you can ask Shoosmith the send you copies.

 

Supersleuth

[jb07]

thanx for the advise, here is the court letter and HSBC letter recieved, now am worried.

[supersleuth]

No need to worry, the Order is exactly as you agreed. It was worth checking.

 

Its all looking good for you at the moment, but just be aware that once you're on their radar screen they are like a dog with a bone. Be aware that anytime during the year all they have to do to restore the claim is send a letter saying they want to restore that is what the word "liberty" means in the order.

 

Going forward, it looks like you'll be fine and well out of the woods by Dec 2009. In the meantime do keep a very sharp eye on the account.

 

Very Happy for you that this one has turned out well for you. Ellen really is a superstar.

 

All the best

Supersleuth

[supersleuth]

BTW: Note the they agreed an arrangement with you in accordance with the pre-action protocols and THEN instructed solicitors. They should not have issued the claim against you and should not have caused you to incur legal costs.

 

If the issue does come up again, (which I sincerely hope it will not) that letter dated 11 Nov is very very good evidence to form part of your defence i.e., that their claim should be dismissed because the pre-action protocol resulted in an agreed arrangement and accordingly, they should not have issue a claim and that you should not have incurred the legal costs.

[jb07]

thank you supersleuth for taking the time to read my post and advise you have given me, will see what happens.cheers xx

[jb07]

had this letter today, No idea who the company is and where did they get the date from weve not had the date through yet!! It was sent first class, hand written envelope...with my partners name on the letter,no address on the letter