Help Help Help -mortgage Shortfall -repossession

[dhoom]

.................

[dhoom]

Anyone willing to offer any advice, or is this in the wrong place

[kaysamoly]

Not sure this is any help but my husband had his house repossessed in 1999 after they traced him to our new house which is in my name curtsy of his ex-wife. We pay £1 a month for the shortfall of £13,000 but have recently been told that every time we pay this £1 we are communicating with the mortgage company and it is not the standard 6 years like most debts but 12 years regarding a mortgage so the 12 years starts again every time we pay the £1. They recently offered to settle the debt with a one off payment of £1,000 but obviously if we had that sort of money we would not be paying a total of £12 a year.

[gizmo111]

I think the problem maybe that you have acknowledged it each time before the 12 years is up - it is a bit complex - someone like zootscoot or zooman will be your best bet on this.

[dhoom]

I had only written them 2/3 letter, in 2002/3, and I know I have not acknowledged the debt or implied such. My last payment to them was in 1993 and with its now 2006. Therefore, is this time barred. I am sure if they were in the a posoition they would have sued me for the difference they had sold the house in 2001.

[gizmo111]

I had only written them 2/3 letter, in 2002/3, and I know I have not acknowledged the debt or implied such. My last payment to them was in 1993 and with its now 2006. Therefore, is this time barred. I am sure if they were in the a posoition they would have sued me for the difference they had sold the house in 2001.

 

What did that letter say in 02/03

[dhoom]

they wrote to me saying there was a shortfall

[dhoom]

Bump

[mrsfoot]

Dhoom the best thing to do in this case is make an appt with Ccitizens advice. They have the legal experts to help in this case, have all the legal jargon available and will help with the letters etc.

 

It is normally 6 years for interest and 12 for mortgage, however because there has been some correspondance that does mean normally that the 12 and 6 yrs process starts over again.

Some good news though if you speak to the CAB and explain about them underselling the property then im sure there is a legal foot you can stand on with regards to that.

 

Good luck

[alanfromderby]

they wrote to me saying there was a shortfall after the sale of the property and I replied "Shocked at the contents of your letter, how did you get to the stage where you claim I owe you the monies you are claiming. I look forward to a detailed account from you" The second letter I sent them basically said they they have undersold my property since similar properties in 2001 sold for some 55/60k more.

 

 

Unfortunately that would probably be enough of an acknowledgement. However, I would suggest a good read through the information on the National debtline page regarding mortgage shortfalls:

 

National Debtline England & Wales | Debt Advice | Factsheet 11 Mortgage Shortfalls

[dhoom]

than ks for the replies so far

 

In one of the legal updates this is what I found

 

Acknowledgements must be in writing and signed by the customer. As with payments, lenders will need to produce evidence of the acknowledgement. However, this may not be as straightforward as with payments. What may appear to be an acknowledgement may not always be admissible in Court proceedings.

 

I just sent the correspondence by fax unsigned.

[dhoom]

Would appreciate if someone can also throw some light on the following:

 

Whne i applied for SAR they sent me my file after 80 days this August(2006) is this significant at all.

 

I also found the following three entries on my record as per their printout, any idea what this might mean.

 

DCA require SOA urgent, 7k F&F offered.

 

Passed to salvage

 

File closed

[gizmo111]

Would appreciate if someone can also throw some light on the following:

 

Whne i applied for S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) they sent me my file after 80 days this August(2006) is this significant at all.

 

I also found the following three entries on my record as per their printout, any idea what this might mean.

 

DCA require SOA urgent, 7k F&F offered.

 

Passed to salvage

 

File closed

 

There is no redress on the late send of the SAR other than making a complaint to the IFO - issuing a claim would be pointless as you have the docs.

 

DCA require SOA urgent, 7k F&F offered - this means that the Debt collector requires your statement of affairs (ie income and expenditure) as they are prepared to settle for a full and final of £7k.

 

Passed to salvage & File closed - would in my eyes mean that it was written off and closed to the bank - but in bank speak that could be something completly different.

[dhoom]

Thanks for that gizmo

 

I have never made any offers to them at all.

 

BTW tis appeared on my file before the date that DCA started chasing me

 

DCA require SOA urgent, 7k F&F offered.

 

Passed to salvage

 

File closed

[dhoom]

bump

[dhoom]

Anyone !!!!

[angry cat]

dhoom,

JMHO, It does appear as though the debt was refreshed:( Therefore, it would appear that the debt is not statute barred - the time limit is 12 years on a mortgage.

 

Incidentally, was the mortgage just in your name, or was it in joint names?

 

Mortgage shortfalls are extremely complex!

 

You have to be absolutely sure (Crystal Clear) of what you said, exactly word for word.

 

I sincerely, will be very happy for you if the debt is in fact statute barred:)

 

Love AC

[dhoom]

angry cat

 

Thanks for the input, if you look at my post (no.11) that clarifies what constitutes acknowledgement.

 

I have not acknowledged the debt in any form, since i seriously believed that this was dusted some years back.

 

I was really shocked at their correspondence in 2002, which i replied to by fax without mentioning the bedt or amount, and I never sign faxes

[angry cat]

I do not know, what the Law is in relation to faxes.

However, I do know that generally solicitors will not take instructions via fax!

 

You must obtain correct specialist advice, as the mortgage shortfall + Rules of Limitation ar extremely complex.

 

Give National debtline a ring on Monday National Debtline, for FREE CONFIDENTIAL and INDEPENDENT ADVICE call 0808 808 4000

they have a fact sheet specifically for Mortgage Shortfalls and or, Citizens Advice Bureau.

 

Be careful..!!! DO NOT HAVE ANY MORE CONTACT WITH THE MORTGAGEE OR THEIR APPOINTED DCA, until you have obtained advice.

 

you might also wish to do a google search on wilson v love

 

Love AC

[alanfromderby]

The second letter I sent them basically said they they have undersold my property since similar properties in 2001 sold for some 55/60k more.

 

I would say that this could well form an acknowledgement. You have said that you didn't acknowledge the amount of the debt, but you have acknowledged that a debt does exist - but you have a dispute over the amount that the property was sold for.

 

I have recently seen a House of Lords judgement where they said that the mere fact that negotiations were taking place restarted the limitation clock. I will have a look for the judgement this afternoon.

 

My feeling on this (and that is all it is), would be that you have a justifiable claim against them for underselling. During the period between 1993 and 2002, the interest and charges originally added (which have a six years limitation) would have become unenforceable.

 

All this would make any claim against you extremely difficult. If you have a look at the NDL letters, and ask the right questions, I am sure that you will find them willing to come to a silly settlement. They may even drop the issue as they see it getting more complex.

[dhoom]

AC + Alan

 

Thanks for the input.

 

The situation at the moment that they sold the house in 2001, if they had any chance of success would they not have started some kind of action action against me.

 

Secondly looking at the my file they sent me, it looks like various people were dealing with my case and some of them didn't even know that there was a tenant involved. My opinion they should have really repossessed this as soon as it was seriously in arrears and sold the property.

 

last screenshot show that they marked on my file SENT TO SALVAGE & FILE CLOSED.

 

I feel that they know where they have gone wrong, but I need to pinpoint this myself.

[alanfromderby]

I think there are clearly questions over the length of time they took to sell the property, and you would have definite grounds for suggesting that they failed to maintain the property during that period - thus forcing down the market value.

 

In the end, if this went to court, they would have a very difficult ride, and you would have many things with which to challenge their claim.