I left my husband 6 and a half years ago. He kept the house. During divorce, he kept the house and had to use his 'best endeavours' to get me out obviously he didn't. My solicitor at the time wasn't too worried. My ex has since disappeared and the house was repo'd, can't even remember when it was sold, but I was't ntified or anything. Anyway DMS have sent me letters every so often asking me to pay up. I've sent them copies of the divorce papers but they're not worth the paper they're written on. Got a solicitor to write to them about a year ago stating I could not ad would not pay. I've received another letter, cheekily asking for my new husbands income!!!!!! Any advice, or do I just send them a quick note to say nothing has changed?

Any advice would be really appreciated.

-- (skidders99@hotmail.com), October 11, 2002

Answers

Hi Skidders,

Further information is needed to clarify your situayion : -

Did you continue to live in the house

If your ex kept the house did the solicitor transfer the mortgage to his name only? (if they did this then the lender should not be chasing you)

Do not send any letter to DMS or A&L until Seeking legal advice or try CAB or NAMV (both parties details are on this site)

Regards,

Paul

-- Paul Adamson (paul.adamson@btclick.com), October 11, 2002.

Thanks for replying Paul. No I left the house permanently in June 1996, arounf a year before the repossession. No the solicitors did not take my name off the mortgage as I found out months later. I thought I was safe, no one considered the possibility that he would let it become repossessed.

-- (skidders99@hotmail.com), October 13, 2002.

Unless your husband took over the mortgage in his own name, then unfortunately you were still a joint-borrower in the eyes of the mortgage lender. Unfortunately this is something that solicitors seem to ignore during divorce proceedings.

You are under no obligation to provide any details about your new husbands income or assets. This is just a cheap ploy on the part of the lender and their solicitors to try and frighten you into paying up.

Your solicitor has written to them saying you can't pay. Leave it at that, don't answer any more of their letters, it will just drag you into a long running battle.

-- pendle (pendle_666@yahoo.co.uk), October 13, 2002.

Thanks for the advice, that's pretty much how I see it. They have had a formal letter advising that I have no assets/income, etc and basically to leave me alone. Should I not reply at all, or just send them a copy of the previous letter saying my situation hasn't changed, which it hasn't.

-- (skidders99@hotmail.com), October 14, 2002.

It won't matter to them if you have no assets or income - they will continue to hound you and solicitor's letters telling them that you are broke are also not worth the paper they're written on. I have four kids and no assets, only debts. Eleven + years on my Lender is still trying to make my life a misery.I wish I had a good suggestion for you - nothing has ever worked in my case. I appreciate the sentiment behind the responses so far, but they won't go away. If you have any real or perceived financial interest in your new husband's assets, I would respectfully suggest you get rid of it on paper at least rather pronto (particularly if your name is on the house deeds of your home together.)

-- Too scared to say (iwasduped@yahoo.com), October 14, 2002.