I'm collecting information about the reasons given by lenders (especially Abbey) for the undue delay in contacting people about alleged shortfall debt. These reasons seem to vary rather too much to be, shall we say, credible. One person has been given three different versions of why the lender delayed in contacting him about the 'debt'. This is not an area that has been much researched before, and I would like to follow it up, with your help. I'd also like to hear from people who didn't receive proper notifications from lenders about the repo & sale, especially where you can demonstrate that the lender must have known your address. Thanks. Eleanor.

-- Eleanor Scott (eleanor.scott@btinternet.com), October 08, 2000

Answers

Halifax waited until less than a couple of weeks before 6 year deadline to contact us - their excuse? It's not as simple as looking you up on the electrol roll and it has taken this long to find you....interesting since we've had a bank account with Halifax for the past 4 years!

-- (_Believer14@excite.co.uk), January 30, 2001.

After 10 years they arrived, uninvited!!!!!! Why it took so long is a mystery, they will not tell me and I have had a bank account with the Halifax since 1993. I have applied for and got credit in a variety of guises. I am on the electoral role and always have been. They had a forwarding address for me and never used it. All they did is write to an address for over 9 months at which I was not resident and ignored returned letters telling them this. Wrote to another address where they were told in writing and on the phone I HAD NEVER LIVED. They then wrote to that address again!!!!! I could go on forever.

What it seems to boil down to is that I am probably well off enough to pay up by now so they sat on it, sold the debt onto an agency who are now doing their worst. Their worst being writing with threats, giving deadlines, being unable to read my letters and answer what I ask and then, when it gets a bit tough, putting me to the bottom of the pile until they feel a bit braver!!!!!!

I'll stop now cos' I'm probably boring you!!!!!!!!!!!!1

-- Matt (mattyc@ntlworld.com), January 30, 2001.

Well I not going to spoil this perfect thread. My lender was also the Halifax. My marriage broke down in Dec 1989, and I left the property. I wrote to the BS in Jan 1990 telling this a giving them my forwarding address. They wrote back to me at this address in confirmation of my letter. Approx 1 year later my ex-wife wanted to take over the house so I went to the BS Brach and signed a Transfer form. Never heard a thing until I got a letter in Aug 2000 saying that they had sold the property in Jan 1995 as my ex-wife had voluntarily surrendered the keys and I was now responsible for circa 28K. When I questioned them on the time frame (ie 4 months before their definition of the six year CML rule) they just replied that it was my responsability to stay in contact with them! Pointed out that had provided and new contact address and that they deliberately ignored it. There response was to ignore my response. (No change there then!)

-- Tim Heath (tim_n_heath@hotmail.com), January 30, 2001.

My marriage collapsed in October 1990 and my sweetheart of an ex- husband drove me bananas until I left in December 1990. I believe that the house was then repossessed about a year or so later, whilst my ex was supposed to be getting another mortgage on it, and also while the B&B had given me another mortgage to buy my own place!

Get this guys - the B&B contacted me in September 1996 at my mother's address, despite knowing exactly where I was living due to my still having a mortgage with them! If I remember rightly, their excuse was something along the lines of "Well, we like to give our customers time to become financially stable again".

Should I add ".......before we make their lives a complete misery" to that quote, do you think?

-- Catherine Adams (catherine@bradford-and-bingley-suck.co.uk), January 31, 2001.

When I asked the solicitors working for the B&B why they had taken so long to notify me the reply was "The length of time it has taken our client to contact you in relation to the outstanding debt is less than 4 years. In view of the voluntary limitation period being agreed at 6 years between the Council of Mortgage Lenders our client is within its legal period to contact you" In another letter with regard to not contacting me at two addresses that were given to the solicitors by myself in Oct 95 they deny being in receipt of my letter.They say "with regard to your request for sight of documentation to Southampton address,we have no record of this information being on our client's file" This is their reason for not notifying me that the property was even being placed on the market, let alone being sold far too cheaply. Then they insist that the I&E form should be received within 7 days else further action will be taken! Who cares!

-- Debbie (debbie.beal@ntlworld.com), February 01, 2001.

I noticed from having received my SAR information that instructions were given to trace us - and we were found the same day! Couldn't have been that difficult then could it? Regardless of the fact that we had a Halifax bank account for the last 4 years, have lived in the same house for the last 6 years etc etc.....but still they say, 'it wasn't that easy to find you.' They managed to find us pretty quickly when they realised our 6 years since the date of sale after repossession was about to end. Funny that.

-- (_Believer14@excite.co.uk), February 23, 2001.