Mortgage question

[Riz]

Re: Mortgage question

No one deleted it cloggy. Got to have fallen victim to the forum database glitch the other day. Some posts simply did.

[lookingforward]

Re: Mortgage question

Can you post in again Cloggy ?

[PlanB]

Re: Mortgage question

they agreed to the �26.00 extra for 6 months. That's actually quite long for them it's normally 3 months

I've just remembered that your other goal is to get these arrears capitalized. Since the lender has admitted guilt and paid you compensation you are now in the driving seat. You have six months from the date of that Final Response letter to refer the complaint to the FOS.

So why not make the regular �26 per month payments for five months and then ask them to capitalize those arrears to prevent any future attempts to get a new suspended possession order. If they refuse then you are within time to refer the original complaint to the FOS or initiate a new one (since it's a new issue and you may have signed an acceptance letter for the old issues) and link it to this complaint as part of an overall pattern of bad management of your account by them.

Just a thought

[lookingforward]

Re: Mortgage question

I've just remembered that your other goal is to get these arrears capitalized. Since the lender has admitted guilt and paid you compensation you are now in the driving seat. You have six months from the date of that Final Response letter to refer the complaint to the FOS.

So why not make the regular �26 per month payments for five months and then ask them to capitalize those arrears to prevent any future attempts to get a new suspended possession order. If they refuse then you are within time to refer the original complaint to the FOS or initiate a new one (since it's a new issue and you may have signed an acceptance letter for the old issues) and link it to this complaint as part of an overall pattern of bad management of your account by them.

Just a thought

I like your thinking

[lookingforward]

Re: Mortgage question

I've just remembered that your other goal is to get these arrears capitalized. Since the lender has admitted guilt and paid you compensation you are now in the driving seat. You have six months from the date of that Final Response letter to refer the complaint to the FOS.

So why not make the regular �26 per month payments for five months and then ask them to capitalize those arrears to prevent any future attempts to get a new suspended possession order. If they refuse then you are within time to refer the original complaint to the FOS or initiate a new one (since it's a new issue and you may have signed an acceptance letter for the old issues) and link it to this complaint as part of an overall pattern of bad management of your account by them.

Just a thought

Just a thought, the Mrs said she has asked before about capitalizing the arrears again in recent times and they said that they don't do that any more.

We've no problem asking in writing after 5 months anyway but is it something that they can decide not to do again as a company policy ?

Got a letter today conforming that following a recent review they are pleased to note that our payment arrangement is still being maintained (only been 1 payment) and that by maintaining the arrangement the monitoring charges wil be refunded each month. Also when the arrangement is due to expire they will need to discuss again to re-set the arrangement etc.

Here's the classic...If you have any questions please feel free to give us a call, one of our highly trained collections advisors will be happy to help.

They really are laying a nice paper trail themselves

[PlanB]

Re: Mortgage question

she has asked before about capitalizing the arrears again in recent times and they said that they don't do that any more.

We've no problem asking in writing after 5 months anyway but is it something that they can decide not to do again as a company policy ?

There's company "policy" and there's Pre-Action Protocol. Sod company "policy". They have to abide by Pre-Action Protocol or they can't repossess you.

I was told by Mortgage Express that they wouldn't capitalize my arrears a second time (I'm up to speed so it's not needed) but if I find myself in that position again I'll remind them of Pre-Action Protocol.

[lookingforward]

Re: Mortgage question

There's company "policy" and there's Pre-Action Protocol. Sod company "policy". They have to abide by Pre-Action Protocol or they can't repossess you.

I was told by Mortgage Express that they wouldn't capitalize my arrears a second time (I'm up to speed so it's not needed) but if I find myself in that position again I'll remind them of Pre-Action Protocol.

Excellent, thank you

[lookingforward]

Re: Mortgage question

After watching the news last night I just hope that the interest rate rise don't happen for a long while yet. Would really put a strain on us just as we seem to be getting sorted

I've always hated this method of money control, the people who are spending most probably wont even notice a rate rise, whereas most of joe public most certainly would

[lookingforward]

Re: Mortgage question

Hi Plan B,

We've just received a letter stating that the 6 month arrangement is due to end early Nov so to "contact us on the number below" hmmm didn't we say we didn't we say we don't want to talk by phone anymore ?

Anyhow their letter upholding our complaint was dated 16.5.14 so still within 6 months and am wondering if you have any advice on wording to see if we can get the arrears capatalized ?

Thanks

[PlanB]

Re: Mortgage question

We've just received a letter stating that the 6 month arrangement is due to end early Nov so to "contact us on the number below" hmmm didn't we say we didn't we say we don't want to talk by phone anymore ?

Anyhow their letter upholding our complaint was dated 16.5.14 so still within 6 months and am wondering if you have any advice on wording to see if we can get the arrears capatalized ?

I've had a quick look back through your thread to refresh my memory. The current agreement is to pay £26 per month on top of your monthly contractual payment. You've been doing that for six months and now you've had a letter saying the six months is due to expire.

If I were in your position I would simply write and tell them that your financial circumstances have not changed and you will continue to pay £26 towards the arrears for a further six months. Tell them at the end of the six months you will be seeking to capitalize the arrears since you will have proved that you can afford to pay an extra amount each month for the previous year. Ask them if they will agree to this in principle now.

If they refuse that 'offer' by you then take them to the FOS for being unreasonable and not entering into the spirit of Pre-Action Protocol not to mention all their other sins.

This is my logic:

* The longer the lender agrees to that £26 payment the less likely they are to succeed in court if they dare to try to repossess you again. The DJ will say "if it has been good enough for the last year then it's good enough for the next 20 years" or whatever is left on the mortgage term.

* There is no interest charged on arrears. Once you capitalize those arrears they will form part of your loan and interest will be charged which will cost you more each month. You are already stretched financially (aren't we all) so don't set yourself up to fail.

* I can't remember if your mortgage is on a fixed or variable rate. If it's the latter then the monthly payments will rise when interest rates rise albeit we're now being told that won't be until August 2015 or beyond.

* I know you want to capitalize the arrears sooner rather than later because that will give you the peace of mind that the lender won't repossess you. I did the same with my mortgage in 2012 just so I can sleep at night. However your strategy might be to not rush into capitalization while you're vulnerable to missing a payment once it's been done (due to interest being added which increases the payment).

I can't remember (sorry) the final outcome of your complaint in May so please remind me. You have until 15th November to refer that to the FOS so it's time for a review before it's too late.

[lookingforward]

Re: Mortgage question

Hi Plan B,

That's brilliant thanks we'll go with that.

The complaint was found in our favour as follows , apologies - copy and paste to save re-typing

reply to the complaint which is 4 pages so I'll try and summarize as best I can :-)

Re the service rec'd in the telephone conversation (this was about being bullied on the phone) they listened back to the conversation and have upheld the complaint and passed on these concerns to the relevent manager to address with the individual concerned and have acknowledged the fact that she now wants written communication only because of this and have asked that she reponds to any written requests.

Re the validity of the SPO previously granted given the arrears were previously capitalised. Complaint upheld and confirm that if solicitors were instructed again they would re-start the litigation process rather than requesting enforcement of the order. Credit management have been told to update the account to make clear that this is the current position in respect of the previous order.

Re the account monitoring charges. Not upheld as it is clear that the fees applied to the account are in line with the conditions of the mortgage and they believe fair and proportionate to the work undertaken. However as a gesture of goodwill they would like to offer a refund of the monitoring charge incurred for months where they received the contractural monthly payment or more within the calender month. Some of these fees have already been refunded where an agreed arrangement was in place and the payments were maintained. The remaining fees offered total (£1000.00 plus ) are are made up of the following months (details given)

There is a form enclosed to sign to accept the offer and enable the refund to be arranged. They have added a note to state that it will be credited to the mortgage balance as this is where the fees were applied originally. Your arrears balance will therefore not be affected by the refund.

They explain why they ask for information (I & E) in line with the FCA as the arrears accrue interest it is in your best interests to reduce the arrears over as short a period as possible ( I assume this is referring to the fact we stated that £26 would clear the arrears by the end of the term of the loan). They have agreed to the amount for 6 months (assume will then need reviewing).

As a goodwill gesture and in recognition of the service experienced they would like to offer £100 by way of a further apology and again there is an accpetance form to sign.

If the response is unacceptable then there is the FOS etc etc They confirm this is their final response

So quite happy with this as the main point the SPO has been clarified but would have preferred the refund to be taken from the arrears so that reduced down.


We were all quite happy with this, it was in May this year.

[PlanB]

Re: Mortgage question

as a gesture of goodwill they would like to offer a refund of the monitoring charge incurred for months where they received the contractural monthly payment or more within the calender month. Some of these fees have already been refunded where an agreed arrangement was in place and the payments were maintained. The remaining fees offered total (£1000.00 plus ) are are made up of the following months (details given)

There is a form enclosed to sign to accept the offer and enable the refund to be arranged. They have added a note to state that it will be credited to the mortgage balance as this is where the fees were applied originally. Your arrears balance will therefore not be affected by the refund.

They explain why they ask for information (I & E) in line with the FCA as the arrears accrue interest it is in your best interests to reduce the arrears over as short a period as possible ( I assume this is referring to the fact we stated that £26 would clear the arrears by the end of the term of the loan). They have agreed to the amount for 6 months (assume will then need reviewing).

As a goodwill gesture and in recognition of the service experienced they would like to offer £100 by way of a further apology and again there is an accpetance form to sign.

So quite happy with this as the main point the SPO has been clarified but would have preferred the refund to be taken from the arrears so that reduced down.

So you won on every point

I'm not happy with them crediting the refund of charges to your main balance and not to your arrears. What are arrears if they're not the main balance which hasn't been paid FFS. You owe them money (mortgage balance + arrears), they owe you money (charges they've agreed to refund because they were unreasonable). I don't care if they think they have the right to pick and choose where the refund is directed, because I think it is reasonable to ask them to pay it towards your arrears balance since that's the part of the spreadsheet which makes you vulnerable to repossession (again).

They say that they want you to clear your arrears as quickly as possible so if they pay the refund towards the arrears then this will help to speed things up won't it

I think you should write back to that Final Response letter and say that you will accept their offer on the condition that the £1,000+ is credited against your arrears' balance (not the core balance) otherwise you will refer the complaint to the FOS. Tell them you wouldn't have these arrears if you had't been struggling to keep up with monthly payments exacerbated by their extortionate charges which far outweighed the work involved (their database spitting out a template letter each month). This is a moral argument not a financial one.

I would also ask them to credit that £100 compensation to the arrears as that will help your image as the Good Guys. They will probably offer to pay that to you direct by cheque so feel free to accept it if you prefer.

Keep the Complaint response letter completely separate from your reply letter asking them to extend the £26 arrears' payment for a further six months. Have they asked for another I & E Form to be sent? If so then send exactly the same one as last time showing no change upwards or downwards in your circumstances.

It's good that they have put their previous agreement of £26 towards the arrears in writing because you can use that at a sort of precedent if the Collections Team don't extend that agreement this time. If it was acceptable in May there's no reason why it shouldn't be acceptable again.

Keep me posted

[lookingforward]

Re: Mortgage question

Hi Plan B,

This letter was back in May and you replied back then (post #52) saying it was all OK so we wrote back and accepted so that's all done and dusted now.

I'll type up a letter today regarding the new arrangement for £26.00 but quick question if I may

You said :

* The longer the lender agrees to that £26 payment the less likely they are to succeed in court if they dare to try to repossess you again. The DJ will say "if it has been good enough for the last year then it's good enough for the next 20 years" or whatever is left on the mortgage term.

Going by that do you think it best if I don't mention about capatalizing the arrears after this period in case they realize it puts us in a strong position having paid it for 12 months ? My logic is to get them to agree to the next 6 months then when that is due for review the year would be over and we could ask then assuming that if they refuse we could go to the FOS as a new complaint ?

If you think that's completely wrong then of course you're the expert and I'll mention it in this letter now.

Thx

[PlanB]

Re: Mortgage question

My logic is to get them to agree to the next 6 months then when that is due for review the year would be over and we could ask then assuming that if they refuse we could go to the FOS as a new complaint ?

If you think that's completely wrong then of course you're the expert and I'll mention it in this letter now.

I think your logic is fine, even if it makes you seem a bit paranoid

Ask for six more months; if they don't agree (which I'm sure they will) you can make a new formal complaint and take them to the FOS after that if needs be. After a year of a £26 monthly agreement then go for capitalization. While you're on the agreement your CRA file will be marked as ATP. Once the arrears have been capitalized the CRA file will show full payments.

I'm no expert. I've just spent a lifetime making cock-ups and I've learned from my mistakes

[lookingforward]

Re: Mortgage question

Paranoid, who me ? Are you talking about me ? ..........................


I was scared to leave the house for months after I first started on the UE journey, I thought everyone knew I was skint, unbelievable now but sadly true at the time.

I'll get a letter sorted tonight and sent out tomorrow, my logic is maybe giving them more credit than is due but you never know haha

Sad it's too late to do anything about the refund going to the main account but at least it's something offf the amount. We're on interest only at the moment and must really try and get onto a repayment or sort some other way of raising the money or we're in for trouble when the term is up. Really wish I had a load of cash while these interest rates are so low could have been really eating into the o/s amount.

Sadly my only hope of any chunk of money is my inheritance that is being eaten away in care home fees as we speak...not that I want it for a long time of course