The story in a nutshell. Ex boots me out of the house in Nov 2002 - I notify RBS with new mailing address - which they write to me at on several occasions. I keep paying 1/2 mortgage for a while till ex is supposed to pick up fuill payments (during which time house is on market, then off market as he tries to buy me out and then back on again after he fails). Oct 2003 I get letter from RBS about arrears - I get onto ex directly and via solicitor and confirm a payment is made in Nov '03. I hear nothing else from RBS and assume all is well. House finally sells in Aug '04 at which point I find out (from final settlement statement) that RBS had conducted legal proceedings, had a court hearing and obtained a repo order on the house in July '04. At no point during this had they contacted me at all (if they had - I would have paid!). I had zero contact with my ex so there was no warnings from him either. Case currently with Financial Ombudsman but I have 2 questions:

1. What are my chances of having the ruling overturned? 2. How long is this on my credit history for? When can I get another mortgage?

-- Beth Pipe (b_pipe@alliedbakeries.co.uk), February 07, 2005

Answers

Beth

Regarding your questions.

1. Your chances of setting the warrant for possession aside will depend on what evidence you have that you were not joint and severally liable for the debt. Alternatively,you need to prove that the warrant was in anyway executed oppressively or was an abuse of process or fraudulently obtained.

2. I do not know but would suggest (if you cannot afford a solicitor) that you visit your local Citizens Advice Bureau.

-- Anon (Badger@bt.com), February 07, 2005.

But .. given that Beth had moved, notified the change of address, and received letters from RBS at that new address - how can they proceed against her and get a judgement without even contacting her? I don't know the legal position, but it certainly seems very unjust to me. Does anyone have any experience / knowledge of this aspect that may help her?

Brian.

-- Brian Mitchell (mitchell.brian@ntlworld.com), February 07, 2005.

Beth

I can;t advise you on your legal position but first thing I would do is to SARN RBS and anyone else involved in order to disclose all the relevant data....it might throw up evidence to support any action you might want to take.

Also get a copy of your credit file from Experion etc, if you haven't done so already

Hope this helps.

Moira

-- Moira (Anderston828@aol.com), February 07, 2005.

Brian

Under current legislation,as a High Street Bank that is owed money from a "mortgage victim", the lender with a charge registered against a property owned by the borrower can do what it likes. I have suggested that Beth requires evidence to set aside the warrant that was long since executed and a solicitor/barrister to argue her case.

Moira has suggested that Beth should SARN RBS. I would go further and also SARN the solicitors and estate agents etc. (£10.00 to each individual data controller; money well spent in my opinion). This said she still requires help in understanding the "Land Law", which as I know to my detriment is very much weighted in the lenders' favour and then she will find that all the best barristers are already "in the lenders' pockets". I wish Beth well but fear that she will never receive justice. If these money grabbers are to be made more accountantable for their actions then it is time for the Law to change. However, the Government and the courts see us all as "spongers" trying to renege on commitments willingly entered into.Even if we organised ourselves and lobbied Parliament I still think there is more chance of hell freezing over than the thousands of genuine mortgage victims getting justice.

-- Anon (Badger@bt.com), February 08, 2005.

Thanks for your help guys, I really aprpeciate it - I just have a couple of questions/ comments:

1. What is a SARN and how do I do it/ use it....?

2. It strikes me now that my problem is not necessarily a clear cut repo question. I don't dispute that they were owed the money, or that I was jointly and severaly liable - my argument is that they never told me at any stage about the legal action. I took action after the last letter I received from RBS and then heard nothing more from anyone. Maybe I should consult with the Law Society regarding legal guidelines - surely there's something in there about telling someone you're taking them to court so they have a chance to defend themselves....?

3. The delay between their repo action and now is because I had no idea at all it was happening. The first I knew was when the house actually sold (Aug '04) and my dodgy conveyancing solicitor took over a month to send me copies of the final statement from RBS (early Oct '04). At that stage the only thing I knew was that £890 had been added to their account for solicitors fees. That's when I started asking questions - and I only found out it had actually gone all the way to court from a comment RBS made after I complained to them initially.

I have never, ever, had a bad payment record for anything before and I wouldn't have had for this if they'd kept me informed of what was happening.

-- Beth (b_pipe@alliedbakeries.co.uk), February 08, 2005.

Beth

Your questions:

1 Subject Access Rights Notice. Under the Data Protection Act 1998 you (the Subject) has a right to a copy of all information held by a data controller(solicitor, estate agent, bank etc). Your request for this information must be in writing and accompanied by a fee (£10.00). There is plenty of information in relation to SARN's on this site including details about the Information Commissioner.

2 You can apply under Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) 39.3 to set aside the possession order. If you are to succeed you will need supporting evidence with your application. A word of warning do not admit to the debt. You really will need a barrister to help you succeed and avoid the many procedural pitfalls of the CPR.

3 As part of your application you are required to explain, amongst other things, that you had a good reason for not attending the trial that you acted promptly when you found out about the court making an order against you and that you can afford to pay off the arrears should you be liable for the same.

-- Anon (Badger@bt.com), February 09, 2005.

Beth,

See my example Sarn letter on this site, click on "Repossession", it is about the 8th item down.

If you can't afford the services of a barrister, try getting legal aid, you might be able to get one this way. I have the website address somewhere if you wish.

Mark

-- M Amos (idgroms1@yahoo.co.uk), February 10, 2005.