Blemain Finance Repossessed my House

[Debbie McD]

Hiya

 

Its my first posting on the site but I wanted to see if anybody had experienced the same situation I find myself in.

 

I have had problems with Blemain for the last couple of years. They were granted a repossession order way back in January 2008 in preston county court but fortunately we were able to make lump sum payments and kept the bailiffs at bay. At one point we had cleared the arrears in full but unfortunately I didnt realise that I needed to make an application to cancel the possession order and a couple of months ago I got into some difficulties and the account fell into arrears again albeit on a very low basis. That didnt matter to them because as soon as I defaulted,the £35 letters started to arrive together with all the admin fees they felt necessary to apply to the account. The upshot was that I received a notice of eviction which was due to take place on the 24th November at 11am.

 

On the 23rd November I contacted them to say that there was no way I could afford to repay the total arrears and that I was going to go to the Preston county Court and ask them to suspend the warrant for eviction. I then got a telephone call from them saying that they were sympathetic to my situation and that provided I did three things they would cancel the warrant. I had to agree to go on their "assisted sale scheme" which would mean I had to put my house on the market. I was happy to do that. I then had to get a letter from an Estate Agent confirming that and then having gone through my income and expenditure they agreed to accept reduced monthly payments until the property was sold at £150. I was ecstatic. It was the first time they had actually sought to help me out instead of bullying me so I immediately went to an Estate Agent, signed the forms to put my property on the market and asked for a letter confirming that which I faxed to Blemain.

 

I then tried to pay the £150.... this was shortly after 12noon on the 23rd but they couldnt accept the payment as their systems were down.

 

I kept on trying and getting told that my account manager was unavailable. Eventually just after 2pm I got hold of him and again tried to pay the £150. At this point he told me that he had got the figures wrong and they needed a lump sum of £1000. I was devastated. I told him that there was no way I could do that, and as it was after 2pm my window of opportunity to apply to Court was getting narrower. He got a bit shirty with me at this point and said that they were trying to help me yet i was threatening to go back to court...I panicked and told him I wasnt...I was just worried that they were moving the goal posts. He asked me to leave it with him..... two hours later after me trying to ring him god knows how many times he said that the figure would be £250 per month. I was okay with that...it was still much better and more affordable than the £580 I was currently paying. I made the payment immediately by bank transfer but again when I tried to speak to the account manager to confirm he had received it....he was unavailable.

 

The following morning I rang the court to speak to the bailiff and advise him that we had reached agreement and had he been told the eviction was cancelled. He hadnt. I then spent the next two hours trying to get hold of Blemain... eventually I spoke to the account manager again at 10.20am and he told me that they had received the payment but that it had been recalled by me.... this wasnt true. I was on my online bank account at the time and I printed a statement off showing the payment and scanned and emailed it to them.

 

At 11am the Bailiff arrived. I let him in and explained what had happened. He rang Blemain and they told him I hadnt made my payment...the Bailiff himself was lovely and he told them he was looking at my bank statement showing that I had.

 

The upshot was that Blemain denied receiving it and I was removed from my house with ten minutes to pack my belongings.

 

I sought advice from a solicitor who made an application to have the warrant set aside on the grounds that it was executely oppressively. I had details of every phone call.... the agreement reached.... copies of bank statements and letters from the Estate Agents... Blemain had nothing. They told the court that their bank had said the payment was re-called but were unable to provide any evidence of that at all.

 

The current position is that the Court made an order on Tuesday of this week that allowed me to re-access the property whilst further investigations are made as to whether they did act oppressively. They had to return keys by 4pm today....they gave them to me at 3.59pm. However when I got there they have disconnected all of my services and i am goingto have to pay for everything to be reconnected so I am still living in temporary accommodation with my husband, two daughters and two cats.

 

My solicitor is a demon... she has the bit between her teeth and is now talking of trying to get the credit agreement ruled as unenforceable.

 

I just wondered if anybody else had any similar experiences with Blemain?

 

Sorry for the length of the posting by the way..... believe it or not i kept it short!

 

I panicked. As you do. Unfortunately at the same time I was going yhrou

[pedross]

Hi Debbie

 

Don't worry you are not alone in what has happened. Look around the threads and you will find information. It sounds as if you have the right person helping you and it sounds to me as if they are on the right track and it should all work out in the end.

 

Stay positive whatever you do and you will be suprised how many people you have on your side and what a hard time people like blemain are having from those who fight back.

 

Regards

 

Pedross

[Debbie McD]

Hiya

 

thanks for that Pedross. I think I struck lucky with the solicitor I was referred to. She is a fantastic person and it was such a boost when we won round one in court.

 

I am absolutely determined to fight them every step of the way. The arrogance of the people who work there belies belief. They purposely stonewalled me and stopped me from making an application to the Court as they knew it would probably suceed and the eviction would be postponed.

 

Will keep the post updated on my fight with them.

[on*the*case]

Debbie McD

 

A shocking story, but not unusual.

 

A good lesson is that when arrears have been cleared then an application should be made to lift the possession order. Ell-enn gave some good advice in a previous thread; when the arrears are clear, make the next mortgage payment then request an updated statement, this will show zero arrears as evidence for your application to the court.

 

Its obvious that Blemain stalled you and lied in order to repossess the property, they will also stiff you with substantial charges. When you have everything together the route is a complaint to the FOS. You may also want to read up on the threads here about claiming unfair charges, this is still at the early days but GMAC was recently fined £2.2M and ordered to repay £7.7M.

 

Good Luck

[midge61]

Do you also have a mortgage? If so ring them and find out if they had been informed by Blemain of the repossession.

 

I believe (but may be wrong) that the first chrge has to agree when it is a second charge going for re-possession. You may find that they will not be happy with what Blemain have done.

 

There are lots of threads on here about Blemain, you are not the only one being mis-trated by these sharks.

 

Good luck

[jansus]

Sorry to hear your predicament - There was a case with blenheim where I believe the possession was cancelled because of the way the mortgage was sold as well - so yes I agree as well as the court action you must compalin to the FOS stressing the urgency of the matter.

 

If you go to the search button on the bar above and just put their name in I am sure you will find lots of threads.

 

Hope your solicitor can help you and that you get some form of compensation as well.

 

Keep fighting.

 

They are breaking all the possession protocol rules for a start.

[jansus]

I know its not the same as your case but just to show you they have a reputation:

 

Blemain Finance v Bentley

 

A debtor has secured a five-year block on repossession in a claims management case against his lender, after using consumer credit law to challenge his secured loan

agreement.

 

Peter Bentley, of Bridgend, Cardiff, used the meaning of unfair relationships under Section 140A of the Consumer Credit Act (CCA) 1974 to claim that his loan contract with Blemain Finance was an unfair one. Blemain also agreed to charge no further interest on the £40,000 loan and cut his repayments from £550 to £150 a month.

 

At the High Court in Cardiff, Judge Milwyn Jarman also prevented the lender from levying any charges or legal costs "whatsoever." The judge barred Blemain for enforcing repayment via repossession for five years, but even after this period, it can only bring repossession proceedings if there are at least 12 months? arrears on the new level of payments.

 

Bentley's lawyers, Consumer Credit Litigation Solicitors (CCLS), successfully argued that Blemain had loaned the money to Bentley irresponsibly and that the agreement took advantage of his desperate situation. CCLS argued that shortcomings in the decision making procedure on granting the loan, such as in the under writing, affordability checks and valuation processes, led to the credit agreement being unfair.

 

Andrew Settle, solicitor for CCLS, said: "The relationship between the parties was an unfair one within the meaning of Section 140A of the CCA 1974. CCLS is utilising a significant number of legal arguments, like those used on behalf of Mr Bentley, in thousands of cases on behalf of our clients." CCLS successfully demanded to have the loan account re written, which is believed to be the first time a loan account has been rewritten under settlement, as a result of the unfair relationships test.

[Debbie McD]

Sorry for the delay in getting back on. I work odd shifts so sometimes dont get online for a few days.

 

Many thanks for all the useful information. I am quite determined to fight them every step of the way and any other tools with which to fight them are always welcome.

 

When I first starting reading up on them I came across a recent case in Wandsworth County Court where the loan agreement was ruled as entirely unenforceable. Has anybody else come across this as stupidly I didnt bookmark the site...!

 

Will keep you updated on progress.

 

Many thanks to everybody.

[on*the*case]

These might be of interest; one is a .pdf of a N244 application in Wandsworth

 

http://www.cleartoday.com/pdfs/customer1.pdf

 

and here http://www.mcsforintroducers.com/pdfs/customer1.pdf

I dont know what the outcome of the application was.

 

This is a report in the legal press of another Blemain settlement

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=2649533

[nacholibre]

blemain finance - warning

 

just a warning to all of you considering blemain finance as a loan company.

 

i made the huge mistake of using this company , reccommended to me by ocean finance. the company insist i take out a joint loan with my wife. i thought nothing of this -until i missed a payment. what blemain do is their small print states that they can ring or mail you upto 4 warnings per month at £35 . what they mean is 4 times

per person

even though its the same loan. This is a max of £280 charges per month, which when disputed, they state is reasonable as they have capped it to 4 per month. i has 2 letters and 2 calls on the same day.

 

i lost my job and asked them to defer the payments or part payments until i was back at work. they issued a summons to reposess my house in response.when i questioned it with them at monarch recoveries ( their in house debt collectors), they said they going to 'take my house'

 

the small print states that if you dont provide them with a copy of your house insurance by a deadline, they will charge you an inflated insurance to cover the house and charge it to your loan. i sent it but they claim they never received it . my house insurance is £230 per year. they charged me £900 and refuse to send a copy of the cover they state they are providing me with. they do however state that the policy for 900, only covers the total of the loan, not the house insurance.

 

they give you 14 days notice to provide a copy of the schedule that has them as an interested party. in my case they sent the letter 5 days after so i only has a week to do it. its so dishonest it stinks.

 

that is worse than a loan shark.

 

i asked them for a breakdown of charges so far on the account. they sent me a statement of repayments so far without the charges being listed. six requests so far and nothing forthcoming.

 

i have since got back on track and intend speaking to the fsa about them but blemain will not send me a list of charges , as i suspect they know it will be damning.

 

if you are with blemain already - send everything by recorded post as they will deny receiving it, and insist on a list of charges. good luck

 

they will ignore calls and emails. send everything recorded mail / signed for

if you are not with blemain yet -you have been warned.THIS IS NOT THE ONLY GRIPE ABOUT THEM ON THE INTERNET.

 

[jansus]

Yes there are lots of threads regarding this company

 

Send them an SAR letter from this site - adapt to specifically ask for a list of charges and then take them to court if they do not provide the info. Then make an official complaint and write a letter to the FOS.

 

Some have had charges refunded.

[harryscupboard]

I, too have had the very unfortunate experience of having a loan with Blemain Finance. I have 2 side by side loans for £3000 each. So far, they have managed to charge me over £1000 in charges (telephone calls, late payment fees etc etc)...

HOWEVER.... I asked to change the payment date to 3 days later, as my wages went to monthly pay... they agreed... OR SO I THOUGHT. i asked them to confirm in writing, we they refused to do. So, after nearly a year, i pay £164 p/m and they charge me anything between £70 and £140 IN CHARGES!!!!!!

I have just recieved my yearly statement... even they are "confused" as to why I pay at the end of the month, then they phone me (after) at the start of every month, charge me for it, send a letter, charge me for it and call me again... all at £35 a charging fee.... AFTER THEY RECIEVED PAYMENT !!! Idiots.

I can see no other alternative than to instruct a solicitor.

Any ideas anyone?????

Thank you.

[midge61]

Hi

 

There are many threads on the dreaded Blemain as many of us have been unfortunate to get entangled with them.

 

Did you make the request to change dates in writing?

 

If you have all the paperwork and can afford to instruct a solicitor then go for it. After their recent appearance in court I'm sure they will not be too happy to get any more challenges.

 

I have noticed I have been charged for calls I know I didn't get so it seems even if you don't answer they feel they can charge!

If you haven't already done so send a SAR and specifically ask for copies of the phone calls. (didn't work when I last tried but worth a shot)

[Rightinit]

I was told by Blemain last week that all there calls are recorded. So if you didn't request the dd date change in writing you should be able to get a copy of the telephone call to back up your claim.

[midge61]

You'll be lucky! Bet they say it has been lost or no trace.

[jellykitten]

Hi

 

I am having the same problem as yourself, what is your current situation and did you sort out whether the loan a

 

was unenforceable.

[newstarter]

Hi jellykitten can you start your own thread and explain the problem,regards

 

N.S

[Kirala]

Hi there all BF victims and I really do mean victims! I too am embroiled in a war with BF on a loan of 30K taken out Mar 07 which has somehow ballooned to 42K. After many requests for full statements of charges and fees it has landed in court for a repossession order. I refused to be bullied by Blemain and interestingly the judge at a hearing in late October 10 adjourned the case to allow me time to find legal representation. Sadly I was having great difficulty finding legal advice and the matter came to a hearing again earlier this month (Jan 2011). Again, the judge ordered Blemain's behavior as a bit dubious (not precise wording but you get the idea). I am now in the process of trying to find the right legal representation to sort this mess out! Not sure current solicitor is the right one so if anyone has had success in dealing with Blemain and the courts then please let me know. Most, if not all, charges; fees and interest are so punitive they must be considered unfair and illegal!...I am hoping for the best, however, my main reason to post now on this site is to offer the experience I am having and the thought that my solicitor put into my mind of 'class action law suit'.....would love your thoughts!

Kirala

[Kirala]

Dear Debbie MCd. I too am fighting Blemain and they are indeed quite nasty. I do not yet have a solicitor as you have described but sure could use one. I am back in court to fight these nasties on 15 Feb; thus far without a solicitor to fight their 12,000 in charges and fees on an original loan of 30,000 in Mar07....I would love to find a solicitor to take them on for the several people here who have struggled with the same situation. I too am hoping to get the credit agreement ruled as unenforceable but can't find anyone. Would be grateful to have her refer me on to someone as assertive as she sounds. Kirala

[Randme226]

Dear DebbieMcD We are just about to start what i can clearly see will be a battle with blemain I live in Lytham and am at a loss to find a decent nasty solicitor to go against them. As we were trying to get rid of them by paying them off we got into even more deep financial trouble the result of which have been declared bankrupt I would be interested if anybody knows a decent solicitor in the Lytham area

[Randme226]

Hi Midge I have in the past had cause to request copies of phone calls from blemain but was advised by the Trading Standards to specificaly to ask for Un edited Copies of all calls hope this helps let us know what is the result

[phatram]

Any news?

[Figaro123]

any more complaints about blemain. I am building a case against them

[Figaro123]

How did you get on finding a solicitor to represent you

[john2014]

Hi guys, can i also ask how people found a solicitor who is willing to go against blemain finance? I am also looking for one