house sale fees following volunary reposession

[confusedlass]

I am being asked to repay the fees following a repo in 1998. I have heard nothing until now, and they want 4,000 to cover costs of selling. Do I have to pay this? It is 8 years ago and this is the first I have heard of it. Is it classed as 12 years or 6 years statute?

[themas]

1. If the mortgage lender is a member of the Council of Mortgage Lenders there is a voluntary period of 6 years for them to contact you about the debt. You might be able to find info about this on the CML website.
2. Otherwise they have 12 years to contact you in relation to the capital and 6 years for the interest. If they are only asking for the costs (in other words, the house sale proceeds cleared the mortgage capital and arrears of interest) then I guess it should be 6 years but am not certain.
3. If you are liable to pay anything they should provide you with a detailed breakdown of the transaction - sale price, mortgage debt, interest, and each cost item (agent fees, solicitor costs etc.) You should look at this closely and query anything which seems unreasonable.
4. Mortgage lenders used to frequently accept a fairly low % of the debt in full settlement, but they may be more difficult about this now, and it depends on your financial circumstances.

[Oneeyedvic]

The main question is have they tried to contact you in the last 6 years. If they have been sending correspondance to your previous address, then they can still pursue the debt. If they have known where you are living and have not asked for any money in the last 8 years, you *should* be okay.

Best ask for a copy of all correspondance in the last 8 years from them

[themas]

Vic - I think that to acknowledge a debt the debtor has to make contact with the creditor. The fact that the creditor has written to the debtor does not itself create an acknowledgement of the debt if the debtor ignores the letter (or does not receive it).

[Oneeyedvic]

themas - am not convinced that is true - but do not know for certain.

I do rememebr having to do an arrears call on someone we traced who claimed that he didn't have to pay, but since we had written to him, we had a case. I left the company before anything was resolved so do not know the outcome.

[confusedlass]

Hello and thanks to all of you...I have had a breakdown, as I denied even owing a penny, having been told, allbe it on the phone, that the motgage was covered in the sale and it was 'highly unlikely' that they would want the costs of selling the house. The debt is for things like changing locks and estate agents, solicitors etc...seems awful high for a house that sold within 5 weeks and for only 29,500. I offered over the phone, a one off final payment of 1,000, but still insisted that I felt this was generous as I disagree that I owe anything. They refused unless I send a breakdown of my incomings and outgoings. So I withdrew that, and said I would contact CAB...they dont seem to know and want me to get a solicitor involved. I am pretty sure that if I do an official offer in writing then the clock starts to tick again. Is there a way I can make the offer without admitting liability? Could I get away with this if I just keep denying?

[themas]

If they are still within time, then by making the offer you have started the clock ticking again. However, if they are out of time then your offer does not start the clock again. So (assuming you had no contact at all for 8 years) it seems to come down to whether they are allowed 6 years or 12 years to pursue you for the costs. Generally, the 12 years applies to land related debts and they might try to argue that these costs are such debts because they relate to the need to sell the house. I'm not sure about this.

I suggest you first check whether the mortgage lender is a CML member. You can do this with CML & get info from them about the voluntary 6 year limit. If this does apply, you should be OK and can point out the facts to the people now chasing you.

If, when you've done this, you are still not sure about the position you may need more specialist advice. You could try posting on the "Ask the expert" feature of www.debtquestions.co.uk

One other possibility is that the lender obtained a money judgement (CCJ) at the same time as they got the Court order for the repossession. If so, it (the CCJ) can be enforced more or less indefinitely so you would need to know what the precise wording of the CCJ was to determine whether it covered the costs as well as the mortgage debt itself. www.registry-trust.org.uk should tell you whether there is a CCJ.

[confusedlass]

Thanks Themas...I have checked and they are members, its the Halifax. I dont think the phone offer will count as he [solicitor acting for Halifax] refused to accept it unless I wrote in with payslips etc...which I refuse to do as why do they want to know? either they will take a 25% payment or they want to up it if they think I could afford it. I had a letter way back in 1998, just demanding 4,000 and I phoned and objected, and asked why they thought I owed it. No further contact till now. I have moved once, in 1992, so I have not been hiding from them, and as my Son was still in the last house for another 18 months I would have received any letters. I am not aware of any ccjs, and this was totally voluntary, no court order involved. I am going to quote the agrrement that you have pointed out to me, and see what happens. Many thanks for your advice everyone, and if anyone thinks of something that may help me please do let me know. I want to get out of the hands of the Halifax, I thought I had but I quess not!!!