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Independent Banking Advisory Service |
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Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claim dispute Struggling with mortgage shortfall debt and you’ve searched everywhere online for advice you can trust? We know it’s difficult, so much information available online but also so much of it is very ‘out of date’, which makes it even more confusing. How can you pick out good from bad? We know it’s difficult to tell somebody else your problem. Even harder to tell it ‘warts and all’ - but from our experience we also know that once you can do that you get past the problem and onto the solution. It’s only then that you can get on with ‘the rest of your life’. We’ve been around since 1992 and our advisors are very experienced. We are highly regarded by the press and are regularly asked for our comments and thoughts on banking and finance issues - we've got a lot to say as you will see at Recent press comments. We are completely independent and unique in that we have no financial support from lenders or government and are a non profit making organisation launched in 1992. A team of dedicated and experienced volunteers provide a unique, totally independent low priced, professional and confidential service.
If you haven't heard of IBAS before today then it's natural you will want to know our 'pedigree' - you will find our national newspaper comments for 2008 here plus many more in the News and archives sections of our site - see our site map. IBAS has featured in BBC TV and ITV News items and programmes on banking and the banking issues many times since we were established in 1992. Mortgage Shortfall Debt Frequently asked questions (FAQ's)- Q. Why do lenders chase shortfall debt? A. Lenders say they owe shareholders (or their members) a duty to regain any loss, which they have suffered from a repossession. Lenders will also say that any mortgage shortfall claim is a legal debt owed to them and that the total shortfall is due to them immediately they request payment. Case law has 'hardened' in the lender's favour in the last few years and some lenders see shortfalls as a rewarding and very profitable pursuit. Indeed, lenders see mortgage shortfall debts almost as a 'money box' for their benefit. The longer they leave you alone the more likely that you will have purchased another property. With prices rising, the higher the value goes the more there is to plunder when they collect the aged or distant mortgage debt. Q. My partner has just received a debt claim for an old mortgage debt from a firm called Drydens and they seek payment of £32,000 - what should we do? A. The worst thing you can do is attempt to speak or communicate with Drydens until you have been properly advised and we do not mean using or adopting Forum type information as a basis for your "facts" - as much of the information provided on Forums is inaccurate and can be dangerous for an individual to follow. Our shortfall membership is low cost and we look at all the information to find out firstly, whether the debt being claimed can be avoided - some can be. However, others are legally claimable and on those we assess the individual position and individual lender, because all lenders are not the same in attitude or expectation.Q. I've been following the 'free help' and 'advice' posted on a website debt forum - why shouldn't I continue to defend and make bigger problems for the lender? A. Each individual situation needs to be considered properly with all the facts. That's what we do under membership. Just adopting 'free help' and advice may mean your situation is not properly assessed and therefore you may then make the wrong decision and it is you who then end up losing even more. Often, those who defend a mortgage shortfall debt claim do not realise that the debt can double in value when they get to a court claim. We specialize in mortgage shortfall debt claims and assess how the individual lender views your position and know how best to obtain settlement.
A. Some lenders act outside voluntary codes of practice even if they are signatories to those codes of practice. They act outside the codes to obtain maximum profit from their 'debt portfolio'. Substantial equity in a new property can 'trigger' such an action if (in the lender's opinion) it is necessary to obtain maximum payment. It is therefore a real possibility that a second repossession may be forced in pursuit of a mortgage shortfall debt claim by some lenders. Q. Why is my lender so difficult? A. Lenders vary in the amount of pressure they use to obtain payments. Lender's agents also vary in their attitude and motivation. Lenders change their tactics regularly and a 'new broom' in the debt recovery department may well try 'dubious' tactics to obtain higher levels of repayment to help the lender's profits or improve their own status. Lenders may also adopt a much higher pressure on the individual because the individual is unaware of what may be regarded as reasonable or what can be disputed. Our own case portfolios and a decade of research enables us to pinpoint changes in tactics by lenders or their agents. Q. It's more than 12 years since my Home Repossession, they can't chase me now, can they? A. Many of the cases brought to us show that the lender obtained an 'acceptance' of the debt. It depends on what happened, when and how - only by examining the case file can a definitive answer be provided. We investigate all the issues when a case is placed with us. If there is any cause to question the lender's activities we will do so to protect the borrower's position. Q. What should I do when the lender contacts me? A. Lenders and their agents write very persuasive letters - but don't be tempted to pick up the phone or write to them just because they ask you to "call this number within the next 48 hours". Many people damage their chance of reaching a reasonable settlement because of a few 'innocent' words. Frequently, those words, which in the case of a telephone call may well be recorded, come back later (in a legal claim) as an admission of the debt. If we can get the case early enough we can then protect your best interests. Seek immediate expert specialist help. We believe we offer professional assistance and value for money. Our Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claim membership has helped a great many with mortgage shortfall debt problems 'get on with their life', - some have been able to deny the claim altogether, whilst others have been negotiated to a settlement and also protected from paying more than they should. Q. I've been on a forum discussion with others who have settled their case, why can't I just offer what they settled for? A. There is no 'blanket' solution available. That's because individual circumstances are different. Each lender will want to obtain the best result possible against their own targets. We individually assess each case against a background of previous settlements with the lender. We deal with the facts. Unfortunately, information from chat rooms or forums cannot be considered as factual and should not be relied upon. Q. We've tried to settle but the lender will not agree to our proposals A. As can be seen from the last question all
lenders see each individual case as an opportunity for profit. Some are worse
than others and we assesses all information we receive to enable worthwhile
solutions and settlements. Sometimes, our recommendation is necessary for a
proposals to be successful. Often our research and information is used to put
pressure on regulators
Q. Why can't we negotiate our own case? A. Even solicitors, barristers, police officers and other professionals who have been trained to negotiate and deal with sensitive issues, have difficulty with their own debt problems. They have found that emotion 'gets in the way' when trying to resolve their debt problem and have found benefit from our assistance. Having IBAS act for you in negotiations with the lender provides you with specialist experience gained from a great many similar cases with the same lenders. It is also important for our members that we keep abreast of the current movement in 'case law' in this specialist area and that we can identify positive issues with which to negotiate. From our knowledge and experience we are also able to recognize whether the lender's stated position is accurate or correct which is essential for a successful resolution to be achieved. See the JC case involving Bradford & Bingley for an insight into how important that might be. Q. I've just received a Mortgage Debt shortfall claim, they have asked me to ring them - should I? A. No - It is essential that any mortgage shortfall debt claim is properly examined by specialists in mortgage shortfall debt claims cases to see whether the claim you have received can be denied, refuted or argued to your advantage before responding in any way to the Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claim - we would suggest you speak with us as soon as possible to prevent your position becoming worse. Some national debt advisory organizations are more interested in obtaining a payment plan for the lender. This may be because they are themselves financially assisted by lenders and receive percentage payments from debt payments or are receiving donations. Where Mortgage shortfall debt claims (or any other specialist cases) arise this could result in a debt being wrongly accepted or indeed accepted for full payment. We have no such conflict. We have gained specialist knowledge on Mortgage Debt problems and Mortgage Shortfall Debt claims from case work in this specialist area since 1992. We would recommend that you speak with our specialist advisors immediately - before you do anything else.
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