I've just recently had those nice letters asking for full and final settlement. There asking £3500 (originally £5k) for a £9k debt? I have been on the electoral roll since my repo in 96, but the have only just sent me this! IS this RIGHT and legal? They never contacted me over the whole affair.

They have added a load of "costs" and interest on a £2k shortfall making £9k? Is this right? What do I do? How do I challenge this?

I feel they sold under the market value too. I have now got a written statement from the new owner who said they would have paid more but was not asked too?

Any Help out there? What can I legally ask for from the Banks?

-- Biggles aka Perfect world (thisisnot@supaworld.com), September 03, 2002

Answers

Hi,

If they have not contacted you since 1995 and they are a member of the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), then under those rules they are now time-barred. You can double check if they are a member on line, under CML rules lenders who are a member of that body have agreed to only chase for shortfall amounts for 6 years, which for you ended last year. If this is the case, write back and tell them so and that you do not want to hear from them again otherwise you will consider this as a harrassment. Good luck. Chris

-- Chris (chris@anon.co.uk), September 03, 2002.

The repo was Aug 96 and they contacted me back in Jul 2001 so not quite under that 6 year ruling as it starts from the aknowledgement of the debt (when I wrote in July last year).

-- Biggles aka Perfect world (thisisnot@supaworld.com), September 03, 2002.

Ah right, well then follow the advice on the website under Repossession. Make sure you get them to justify all their costs by providing receipts, copies of valuations etc., it's all listed on this site. Make sure you don't acknowledge the debt and you do not have to fill in the Income and Expenditure form either. Good luck. My fiance started out getting phone calls, letters, almost weekly, now we're 'lucky' if we here from them in a 6 months time span.

-- (chris@anon.co.uk), September 03, 2002.

I agree with the advice above, but I'd also like to add that you should avoid ultimately settling for more than 5% of the shortfall, under no circumstances should you acknowledge the 'debt', but merely ask them to give you fully documented proof how they arrived at their claim figure. Insist on copies of all invoices for solicitors fees, repairs, estate agents fees etc.. If they can't provide you with these then you should simply remove the unsubstantiated amounts from their claim.

If all else fails try diving out of the sun on them....they probably won't see you coming until it's too late and you can spray them with a long burst from your twin Vickers machine guns! (well, it worked alright in 'Biggles Flies West'

-- Gordon Bennet (arsenewhinger@hotmail.com), September 03, 2002.

£1K over £9k is not 2.5% They are asking £3k? What if I pay then complain how would that work?

-- Biggles aka Perfect world (thisisnot@supaworld.com), September 03, 2002.

No, whatever you do make no payment to them without them first proving to you how they arrived at the figures they are claiming as they will take this as an acknowledgement of the debt and can then go after you for the rest. Write them a straightforward letter, as listed on the Repo section of this site asking them for documents which prove you owe what they say they do. Chris

-- (chris@anon.co.uk), September 04, 2002.