Eight years ago my home was repossessed. The lender (Bristol and West) contacted me earlier this year (ie: 8 years later) and told me I had to pay them #52,000. I said I did not have that kind of money and they said they would settle for #35,000 but I had to accept their offer within 7 days. They then began to use "dirty tricks" to find out my work status and that of my partner's. They made calls to his office pretending that they were postal couriers who needed a specific signature and would my partner be in the office to sign for packages etc. This was to find out if my partner was working etc. They had also investigated my current home and told me that there was a sufficient amount of equity on my current property to pay off the amount they were now asking for in relation to the repossession 8 years ago. They said that if I did not accept their offer they will go ahead and put a "charge" on my current house to recover the #35,000 they now want. I have seen a lawyer who told me to offer them much less than #35,000 but Bristol and West refused, they said they want the #35,000 in full. My lawyer now feels this is simply a case of tactics and I would benefit from finding out if a prima facie or precedent had been set by someone else in this position. Please can anyone advise on the next move I should make. Any advise or examples with this lender or others would be most gratefully received. Many thanks in advance.

-- Gary Smith (repossession@bigfoot.com), May 06, 1999

Answers

I handed my keys back to the Bristol and West at the beginning of 1995. They contacted me in October 1999 and asked for £42000. I filled in all their forms stating how much I earned and what I paid out. They asked for £2000, I offered £1000 and they accepted.

I have just managed to get another mortgage without any problem at all. It's now exactly 8 years since my voluntary repossession.

On the new mortgage application form, I didn't admit anything....worked out OK for me. It was a nerve wracking time though!

-- Steve Crammond (notonyournellie@hotmail.com), January 29, 2003.

I have a new mortgge too Steve, which I got with no problem.

Like yourself I didn't tick the box about repossession, but in fairness, the bloke who organised the mortgage told me not to because, at the time, I had handed my keys in 6 years ago and the B/S had not sent me any letters for three years. He said that as I was buying with someone completely separate from the incident and because it was so old, they wouldn't worry about it, so why should I. I was completely open with him and told him the full story.

We got our new mortgage with no problems at all (with a different lender I should add). It would seem that lenders are so desperate to get you tied into their contracts, they don't care who/what you are, or even in some cases, whether you can afford the amount they offer you anyway.

-- One Angry Mother (madcow678@hotmail.com), January 30, 2003.