Another case won from repossession

Home saved from repossession

I had a case in court yesterday of a woman with a severely autistic son whose hubby had left them in the shit with mortgage arrears. We maximised her income so she could afford to pay the mortgage plus the necessary figure off her arrears.

The lenders barrister thought it was fine and phoned the bank while we were in court. the bank said they wanted total Possession unless she could clear the arrears within 6 months. Even before 1996 you only had to show you could clear the arrears in 2 years.

He looked really embarrassed telling me this nonsense.

We went before the judge who accepted the offer and he wasn’t best pleased with the bank’s stance.

Why do banks take these positions when it is against the MCOB rules?

Related articles

• UK Data: Mortgage Repossessions Rise In Q1 – CML (forexlive.com)
• Number of repossessions rise amid cutbacks (telegraph.co.uk)

Bullying tactics of some mortgage lenders

Subprime bullies

I have been working since 1990 saving peoples homes from repossession and I have  found that some lenders, especially the subprime lenders, use bully tactics and treat people harshly.

When a client is in financial difficulty these lenders demand unaffordable monthly amounts or a large lump sum towards arrears which just means that they spiral into debt again a few months later.

They tell the borrow that unless they pay off their arrears in full then they will lose their home which according to the MCOB rules that are not allowed to do and a borrow can put a complaint in to the FSO if they receive communication along these lines.

They show little consideration of how much the borrower can afford and what effect these tactics have on their health and well-being. Many people I meet are depressed and want to just throw the towel in and give up.

In their situation they feel they have no where to turn and end up going to loan sharks or selling their home for under its true value, renting it back only to find themselves evicted a few months down the line.

The collection tactics and arrears management procedure of many sub-prime lenders flout mortgage repossession law and choose Repossession as their first choice when it should only be used as a last resort.

Related articles

• Another case won from repossession (homesavingexpert.wordpress.com)
• Let’s Hear it for GMAC (homesavingexpert.wordpress.com)
• Banks expect increase in repossessions (telegraph.co.uk)
• Lenders can turn new arrears rules to their advantage (payplan.com)
• Number of repossessions rises amid cutbacks (telegraph.co.uk)