NatWest Will Not Release Secured Charge On House

[dkcjm]

Hi All,

 

As a newbie I would just like to thank all the posters who have helped provide re-assurance and advice since my Ltd Company went into administration in 2009 and all the resulting issues I have had to deal with since then!

 

My latest problem is that when the company was trading I (stupidly) agreed to a charge on our family home to support a business loan. I had also signed a personal guarantee for the business overdraft.

 

In the ensuing 3 years I have had to deal with personal bankruptcy, however we have managed to hang on to the family home, aware though that NatWest still had a secured charge on it.

 

A family member has fortunately loaned us the funds to clear the secured charge and I have a number of letters from NatWest confirming the full and final and final settlement amount which has now been paid to NatWest. Last week I received a letter saying that an error had been made at their end and that the personal guarantee also needed to be cleared before they would release the charge! I had no knowledge of this and I have asked them to send me signed copies of the PG. I accept that negotiation will need take place to reach a settlement on the PG, however I originally offered NatWest the chance to settle both at the same time however they refused and said they wanted to deal with them separately.

 

My main concern however is that surely NatWest have a contractual obligation to release the charge, given that they agreed to and further more I paid the full sum including accrued interest to them on that basis.It seems unfair to be moving the goalposts at this stage, although my experience of the Corporate Recovery people in Telford should indicate they will try anything!

 

If anyone has any advice I would be very grateful.

 

Thanks,

 

D.

[Ganymede]

Hi,

 

What were the terms of the secured charge? Did it mention being linked with the PG?

[the_shadow]

If you have letters that agree to the full and final including the removal of the charge then mistake on their part or not you could demand they refund the monies you have paid to clear the charge paid back to you as they have reneged on their "deal" and renegotiate the whole thing over imho.

 

S.

[brokebutnotbeatn]

As Ganymede says, you need to loko at the terms of the charge; that will determine whether they are right or not.

[baileyboy]

If you read the paperwork for the security charge on your home, somewhere within it will state that they can use the charge for all debts owing the bank, not just the one for the reason the charge was set up for. They don't give it up easily as I found out recently.

[Gaston Grimsdyke]

It will be an all monies charge for sure. I suspect their redemption quotes would carry the rider "errors and omissions excepted" (E&OE) which they will rely on.

[dkcjm]

Hi All and thank you to all that have responded!

 

As I said in my original post the main thing to my way of thinking is that they have made an offer to settle and it is on this basis I have paid the full sum. Their offer should constitute a contract which they are now attempting to renegue on. Yes, we all make mistakes, however one should expect to stand by them. Surely including things like "E&OE" cannot let them off the hook irrespective?

 

The letter in question states " Your remaining liability under the above Legal Charge is £xxxxx.xx and a breakdown of how we came at this figure is attached" I am not sure how more clear it needs to be?

 

In any case I have asked them to send me copies of both the Legal charge and the Personal Guarantee as I believe they were mislaid in the process of the company going into administration.

 

Thanks, D.

[Gaston Grimsdyke]

You paying off the amount they asked for is not a contract because you have not provided any consideration - all you have done is pay them what you were obliged to anyway, you haven't contributed anything extra. You would probably have a good estoppel argument to any proceedings they might bring to enforce the charge, but you can only use that argument as a Defendant and not a Claimant.