[#1]

Hi there

I'm just after some advice. I feel very alone at the moment

I have been through a Divorce, came through last year. Ex-husband has left me with a big mortgage and lots of debts. The reason for our eventual split in the end was his erratic spending and mis-management of our finances.

I have been trying to keep things going since the Divorce and since he left. He moved out around Sep 2010. He has not contributed to the mortgage or the maintenance of the house since then.

I tried to get him to sign the house over to me when I filed for a Divorce, however his argument was that because I wanted the split and he had to move out then his contribution to the mortgage was having to go on servicing rent elsewhere. An argument my solicitor agreed with at the time. However I now that he has not been working and been staying with a friend and probably not having to pay any rent and living on job seekers allowance.

Since he moved out I have re-negotiated the mortgage onto interest only and I have been to the CAB for advice about debts and they were very helpful in assisting me write to the creditors and agree smaller payments. I have also had to deal with bailiffs and lots of post arriving for my ex-husband. He managed to rake up a £10k debt on a credit card, which I have now learnt has gone to court and they have put a charge on the house & registered it with the land registry. (This is my ex's debt). I tried to fight the company doing this by arguing their is no benefit for them doing this as there is no equity in the property but they went ahead and its gone through. I have been advised that this will cause problems if I want to sell the house??

I have tried speaking to the mortgage company and have written them letters to find out what my options are but they have not written back. I spoke to them on to the phone (as I have to phone them every year if I wish to stay on interest only) otherwise it automatically goes back to repayment, which I cannot afford).

My income is approx £1300 and the mortgage is £710 Interest only. If it was to go back to repayment then it would go up to £1000 a month. Our mortgage was initially repayment over a shorter period, approx 20 years, as my ex was older, however if I could have his name removed I have been advised that I could extend the term of the mortgage, which may lower my payments to an affordable level, however when I looked into this my ex was not willing to sign over the mortgage to me, as he would be relinquishing any rights that he had to any equity in the property, however if I fell into arrears the mortgage company would hold us both liable.

At the moment I am struggling to make ends meet, and things are going wrong in the house, like TV broken, hoover, most recently boiler. A friend had to lend me money last month so I could put petrol in the car to get to work. Its all getting too much for me and I have become very depressed and have felt so low that have had thoughts that not being here anymore would be an easy way out.

I also feel like walking away from it all, but I don't want to make things worse in terms of my financial situation. Debts follow you.

I guess I'm just after any advice from anyone that has been in my situation. Can I do a voluntary repossession with the house. i.e. just give the keys back? or can I try and get the mortgage company to re-negotiate the term? I just don't know what to do, feeling very overwhelmed by it all. Thanks for listening

V

[#2]

Hi there

I'm just after some advice. I feel very alone at the moment

I have been through a Divorce, came through last year. Ex-husband has left me with a big mortgage and lots of debts. The reason for our eventual split in the end was his erratic spending and mis-management of our finances.

I have been trying to keep things going since the Divorce and since he left. He moved out around Sep 2010. He has not contributed to the mortgage or the maintenance of the house since then.

I tried to get him to sign the house over to me when I filed for a Divorce, however his argument was that because I wanted the split and he had to move out then his contribution to the mortgage was having to go on servicing rent elsewhere. An argument my solicitor agreed with at the time. However I now that he has not been working and been staying with a friend and probably not having to pay any rent and living on job seekers allowance.

Since he moved out I have re-negotiated the mortgage onto interest only and I have been to the CAB for advice about debts and they were very helpful in assisting me write to the creditors and agree smaller payments. I have also had to deal with bailiffs and lots of post arriving for my ex-husband. He managed to rake up a £10k debt on a credit card, which I have now learnt has gone to court and they have put a charge on the house & registered it with the land registry. (This is my ex's debt). I tried to fight the company doing this by arguing their is no benefit for them doing this as there is no equity in the property but they went ahead and its gone through. I have been advised that this will cause problems if I want to sell the house??

I have tried speaking to the mortgage company and have written them letters to find out what my options are but they have not written back. I spoke to them on to the phone (as I have to phone them every year if I wish to stay on interest only) otherwise it automatically goes back to repayment, which I cannot afford).

My income is approx £1300 and the mortgage is £710 Interest only. If it was to go back to repayment then it would go up to £1000 a month. Our mortgage was initially repayment over a shorter period, approx 20 years, as my ex was older, however if I could have his name removed I have been advised that I could extend the term of the mortgage, which may lower my payments to an affordable level, however when I looked into this my ex was not willing to sign over the mortgage to me, as he would be relinquishing any rights that he had to any equity in the property, however if I fell into arrears the mortgage company would hold us both liable.

At the moment I am struggling to make ends meet, and things are going wrong in the house, like TV broken, hoover, most recently boiler. A friend had to lend me money last month so I could put petrol in the car to get to work. Its all getting too much for me and I have become very depressed and have felt so low that have had thoughts that not being here anymore would be an easy way out.

I also feel like walking away from it all, but I don't want to make things worse in terms of my financial situation. Debts follow you.

I guess I'm just after any advice from anyone that has been in my situation. Can I do a voluntary repossession with the house. i.e. just give the keys back? or can I try and get the mortgage company to re-negotiate the term? I just don't know what to do, feeling very overwhelmed by it all. Thanks for listening

V

[#3]

Hi V,

I've been through some of the same stuff. I was in the process of getting divorced from a husband who ran up large debts and was under a lot of pressure and threats. We'd used up our savings to pay the mortgage which we were later told we should never have done but you live and learn.

We ended up separating and me being left in the house to sell it. Because he wasn't paying anything and had all these debts at the house I also had bailiffs call round. My solicitor was useless and I got it sorted myself directly by contacting the council over the council tax and other businesses.

Luckily I didn't open the door to the bailiffs and they eventually went away although it traumatised me for a long time and still does to a certain extent.

I had threatening letters arriving every day which almost drove me over the edge to be honest. I was dealing with so much and none of it was my fault. He just swanned off when things got too bad and I had to sort everything out, get rid of the car, sell the house etc. He had previously while married been taking the money I'd given him for specific bills and spending it on himself or in the pub where he worked.

I took two jobs, one as a cleaner which meant I was up at 5am trying to ease the load. I remember walking by my ex's side while we were married but in difficulties and the back of my hand smacked against his pocket and it was full of change. I was stunned. I asked if he could give me something so I could feed our dog and he told me I was a scrounger for asking.

How I came out of all that I don't know. I think once the house was sold and I was able to get away made a difference.

I came so close to ending it all. I had it all planned in my head. If I had one more threatening letter I was going to do it but I didn't get a single one from that point on.

I know how hard this will be for you and completely understand your thoughts and feelings. At one point I only had a tomato in the cupboard. I had a neighbour knock to wake me because there were no lights on in the morning but I had nothing to put in the meter so I had to get ready in the dark to go to work.

I'd go back to the mortgage company and see what more they can do to help ease things for you. I'll see what links I can find that might help somehow and post them in a separate message.

My experience was several long years ago now so things will have changed and my recollection of what I did and how it unfolded for the better may be a bit foggy.

Owly x

[#4]

If your debts total more than £12,000 and you can afford at least £150 towards them each month, you may qualify for an IVA.

An IVA is a legally binding arrangement between you and your creditors, where they agree to an affordable monthly payment over a period of usually 5 years.

If you keep to the arrangement, your creditors will not chase you for payment. They will also not add any more interest to your balance unless your situation changes and you are able to pay the debts in full during the term of the IVA.

It is a form of insolvency, so your unsecured debts need to outweigh the value of your assets, such as property.

You cannot arrange an IVA without an Insolvency Practitioner (IP). Your IP will act on your behalf to draw up the proposal, hold a creditors’ meeting to get the proposal accepted, and support you throughout the arrangement. An IP will normally take the charge for their services out of your monthly repayment.http://www.cccs.co.uk/InfoCentre/EnglandandWales/Debtsolutions/Individualvoluntaryarrangement.aspx

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http://www.turn2us.org.uk/

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http://www.family-action.org.uk/section.aspx?id=9811

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http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/

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http://www.cccs.co.uk/

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http://www.debt-line.net/British-Gas-Arrears

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Various ways to get out of debt.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/AdvancedSearch/Searchresults/index.htm?fullText=debt

Owly x

[#5]

Hi missvm

Some great advice there from owly to which I can add mothing but some ((((hugs))))! 

Keep being as strong as you have been so far and remember there's always someone around on here for a chat if you need one.

Luv Maidx

[#6]

Hi Maidup,

I wasn't sure if anything I said would be useful to anyone going through something similar today. I just hope the links prove useful as I've heard of them before, passed them on to others and used some of them myself for gathering relevant up to date info.

It was so moving to read of someone going through that nightmare themselves.Wish I could do more.

Owly x

[#7]

Thank you Owly and Maidup

Thanks for the all the links that you sent through. I will have a look through them. It is much appreciated and its good to feel that I'm not all alone. Thanks for taking the time out to respond with your messages of support.

Thanks again xxx

[#8]

I wish I had a simple solution. I think in the end I could probably put mine down to just finding the right people to help who were in position to take the pressure off me a bit.

I hope you find someone who is able to throw you a lifeline and you come out from under very soon.

Owly x

[#9]

Dear V,

Firstly , are there any children involved?

Secondly is the house in your name, only his or was the mortgage in joint several names, if it was, the fact that you wanted to file the divorce, that does not make him exempt from making payments to the Mortgagors (lenders), as you are jointly and severally liable of the debt.  The important thing about this is that the new mortgage was negotiated and made in your name, and if the instalments were always made out of your bank account, and the mortgage and deeds in your name only, the Creditor of your husband had no right to secure a Charging Order over the property.

Was this split actually subject of a Court Order in the County Court, or the man just walk out?

If so, did they make an Order as to the maintenance of the property in terms of the payment of the mortgage.  The  Mortgagors  should be aware of the Charging Order, as they would have been informed by both The County Court and The Land Registry Office of the charge being registered.

The Court should have also made an order stating the arrangements of the house and who should be paying what.  When you re-mortgaged the house, was it with the same lender, before the marriage broke up?

If it is with a new lender and  is in your name only,  before the Court Order for the husbands debt was made after to the re-mortgage , then the Court had no right to allow the Creditor of your husband to  secure the Charging Order, since the man’s name was not on the deeds. I would suggest that you make an application for the Order to be set aside on the grounds that he had no interest in the property. This sounds like a combined error between the Creditor, the County Court, and the Land Registry, and I would apply for a Judicial review via The Lord Justice’s department, as well as notify The Court Service and your MP  

A formal complaint should also be made to Lord Chancellors Department in London since there is an error in the Charging Order being made absolute if you are the only holder title in the property, other than the mortgagor prior to the Court allowing the debtor to secure Judgement and the Security of a property that he has no legal interest. If the debt was in his name only, it has nothing to do with you, and your goods and chattels cannot be levied on if you can show they are yours absolutely.   Also, ensure that all your money is in banks with accounts in your name only, since a Creditor cannot Garnishee (a Court Order), to seize the money from an account which does not belong to the debtor; even if he paid in to it, that money would be deemed to be yours as it was an

“unsolicited gift” (sorry, legal jargon).

Since you are unemployed, when you first signed on, were you given a form “HB1” which is to do with Housing Benefit, this would be sent to the Mortgagors by the DWP and the amount your mortgagors would be paid out of your overall award for benefit.  That will at least keep the “wolves from the door” as far as the mortgagors are concerned. If you have any spare money in savings, pass as much of that as you can afford to the mortgagors as that money cannot be touched if it is in the name of the mortgagors.   That Mortgage may be in advance of its terms, then a repossession order cannot be made and bear in mind any other secured Creditor can pursue the debt, but would only be paid after the First Charge, i.e. the mortgage is cleared; that could be expensive for them.

With reference to the other Creditors, have they pursued you through Court?

If not why are they instructing Bailiffs if it is your house, if the debts belong to you husband; if they are collecting debts relating to him, then they cannot do so without a County Court Judgement in place.  If they cannot show that they have a judgement to enforce, then you can force them to leave the premises, and this can be effected by calling the Police, on the grounds of demanding money with menaces. 

Even if you are dealing with a private debt collector, he/she cannot forcible enter your property unless it is a Magistrates Order, sealed under a Criminal Conviction; again that would your name would have to be on the warrant.  The average debt collector like Moorcroft, are usually pretty sensible, but it sounds as though you have the less professional variety.  Again if that happens, shut the door, dial 999 and get the Police, particularly if the collector refuses to leave, or becomes aggressive.

The only people who can forcibly enter your property are the Police, Firebrigade and those who hold a warrant of forced entry, issued usually by Crown Court.

The CAB are quite correct that you should write to all  your creditors, outlining the circumstances and request that the freeze any interest accruing and make an offer of payment in the interim.  To make things simple, draft a list of Creditors the amounts you owe them and an offer to each one  so that they can see you are acting in good faith. Usually this stops the Creditors from going to Court as they are at receiving something; however beware of the likes of more vexatious Creditors such as HFC Bank who tend to be very aggressive in the way they deal with things.  They are very quick to go to Court before accepting an offer of payment, and will apply for a Charging Order over the house as well.  In the case of your husband, they have no right in the first place.

With reference to your own debts, you can go to County Court for what is known as a “Debt Relief Order”, where the Creditors will be told by the Court what they must accept. The only problem with a Debt Relief Order, is that Credit state they do not want to be included in the order.  However given the nature of your case, then you may be allowed protection of the Court, and Order an “Insolvent Voluntary Arrangement”, being granted by the Court.   This would stop certain Creditors from harassing you.

Remember that there is a Criminal Law, and also incorporated in the Consumer Credit Act 1974 called the Harassment of Debtors;  where if you are an individual, a debt collector, even a Court Bailiff cannot call on you between 21:00 and 07:00 the following morning.

With reference to your closing paragraph, you can give your keys back, but I would warn you of two implications of this:

1. Do not hand them back until the other ( aparrently incorrect) Charging Order  has been revoked.
2. If you hand the keys in, and there were no arrears on the loan the mortgage, then you will deemed to be making yourself homeless and not get assistance from the DWP.

I wish you every luck in the case, and if you need further advice, put a post on the site; more to the point I would take legal advice on this from a Solicitor specialising in Family/Matrimonial Law.

Regards

Patsy

(incidentally I have a friend who is a debt collector)

[#10]

You're a star Patsy, what a feast of information.

[#11]

Wow Patsy,

What a fantastic reply. I hope V is still looking in and checking the messages. I was so hoping that someone who knew more than I did would post a response.

Just brilliant.

Owly x