Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claims have a Limitation period of 12 years but lenders will pursue after that time has expired.

Legally they are allowed to do so. The borrower needs to know if the claim against them is statute barred and how best to contest the Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claim if it is not statute barred.

But, a borrower has to be very careful that they do not contact the lender and by making any type of proposal they then restart the Limitation clock. Lenders want borrowers to do that.

Telling the Lender you cannot pay is an admission that you owe them the debt.

It makes the borrower a target for a legal claim to be served and judgment obtained - a judgment can then also be used immediately to obtain a charging order over the borrowers property or an order for sale of the property by the Lender.

 

Lenders and their solicitors limit the facts in their claim - that is to entice borrowers to make proposals to pay - but they do that to elicit proposals - which once provided will tie the borrower to the debt regardless.

 

Establishing the facts around a lender's alleged claim is the most important factor for IBAS when we investigate Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claims and demands for payment. Borrowers are often unable to remember accurately what happened because Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claims are often 'sitting' many years in the Lenders Debt Recovery Unit.

If the Lender has appointed a Law of Property Receiver to manage the property after repossession - that will have added more time and IBAS will consider their actions as well.

Therefore, it is not unusual for mortgage shortfall debt claim demands to appear more than 12 years after the customer last thought they had paid a mortgage payment.

IBAS spend many hours investigating individual Lender files to check on payment dates. We also check the lender's telephone call logs to identify what has been said, when and by whom.

All correspondences are perused and events noted.

Only when we have investigated the full GDPR file can we be sure of the facts on which the Lender will rely for any legal action contemplated.

The result in Mr B's Testimonial below followed IBAS investigations and it was IBAS investigations which then led to a very good result for the borrower.

 

Mr B's Testimonial for IBAS

 

I am absolutely lost for words with this outcome. I would like to thank all the staff of IBAS who have worked on my case or in the background.

You have lifted a huge burden of debt off my shoulders and saved my home from the clutches of (redacted). I appreciate all the work you have done for me, right from the first day when you took my phone call.

Independent Banking Advisory Service have totally exceeded my expectations.

Whilst I was pinning my best hope on IBAS negotiating a reduced final settlement that I’ll be paying off for years to come, you managed to get a bigger and better outcome for me. The incredible letter written to the Regulators was beautifully crafted and presented to achieve a purpose and it did.

That letter showed the meticulous investigation and analysis IBAS did on my file and you were able to extract all the key points from the investigation and presented them in a logical order to the Regulator to achieve maximum impact.

IBAS analysis revealed aspects of my case and conduct of the lender that I wasn’t even aware of myself. As a result, the lender knew the game was up. They threw in the towel and wrote off the entire mortgage shortfall debt of £70,000 remaining.

I feel a huge sense relief after 15 years of stress and the lender hoping to recover their inflated debt from my home. In many ways, IBAS is the real winner in this case.

Their dual knowledge of the rule book and how banks sometimes operate on the fringes of legal conduct and what is morally acceptable, allows them to spot where questionable act and actual misconduct has taken place.

IBAS is quietly providing a very valuable service to the public but they’re not as widely known as they should be. It took me numerous Google searches before I found IBAS website.

I would recommend IBAS to anyone in the UK who is having problems with their bank or mortgage lender. Don’t try doing it by yourself, allow IBAS, the professionals to sort it for you. Thank you IBAS! - Mr B Testimonial

 

Testimonial From NC

'Thank you once again for all your help and hard work.

I would have lost my second property without you.' -

 

 

Banks and Lenders will pursue Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claims and Disputes into Litigation regardless of Limitation if they are allowed to get away with it - their solicitors will pursue you once instructed by the Lender for the Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claim after sale of the property - do not take their claim as being factually correct - the solicitors are instructed often with limited file information - find out if your Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claim will stand up to IBAS scrutiny contact IBAS for our help - before contacting the Lender or their solicitors.

 

Contact IBAS - quickly obtain practical and confidential assistance - it may also put your mind 'at rest'

 

 

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The Lenders Written confirmation to IBAS of a full write off of a BTL shortfall debt claim is very pleasing for us.

When we obtain an exceptional £150,000 write off we are jubilant

 

Cl said: "This is amazing news. Thank you for all your hard work.

I am relieved at long last. Couldn’t have done it without you!

I am so grateful to you for having been there for me. 

Once again thank you for your expertise and support throughout.”

 

- CL Testimonial

 

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Greg G wrote "Many thanks for what I consider a truly humane service.

It would have been impossible for me to know what my ex-wife had done regarding payments or acknowledgement of our joint mortgage shortfall.

It's a great relief to know I can finally turn the page from that difficult chapter of my life.

I'd strongly recommend IBAS membership to anyone getting chasing letters from lenders or their agents."  

- G G testimonial

 

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Let IBAS deal with the lender or their solicitor whilst working towards a solution for you

That will also remove stress, anxiety and uncertainty for you too

Maybe then you will also be able to obtain an exceptional result like CL above.

 

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IBAS involvement is sufficient for the lender to place legal proceedings 'on hold' in many cases to allow us time to investigate outstanding issues and seek an appropriate conclusion based on our findings.

 

“When there were many creditors still chasing me for debts after my home had been repossessed 5 years ago the last thing you want was another 50k mortgage short fall. When all options had ran out there was only one thing left to do which was to declare bankrupt .however, just before I commit myself I embarked upon IBAS website in my search engine. After reading some testimonies I was a bit sceptic at the beginning because I had tried Financial Ombudsman and got nowhere. But it was my last straw so I thought I’ll give it a go .

As soon as I became a member things got on pretty quickly. They gave me all the questions and I reply with all the answers. My situation was that it’s highly unlikely I can repay this kind of debt in my life time. IBAS accessed my situation and told me what would be the likely outcome of my case.

IBAS had negotiated a full and final settlement offer to the lender on my behalf successfully. It was the biggest relief I had since I got buried in this financial turmoil. I can’t thank Sara Cummings and her team in IBAS enough .Thanks guys and deeply appreciated all your helps. Mortgage Shortfall people out there please go to IBAS and find out more.”

- Mr C Testimonial

 

Contact IBAS now

Finding 'flaws' in a lender's paperwork or their legal claim for a mortgage shortfall debt claim provides immense pleasure and also results which can be spectacular

 

'Since IBAS resolved my mortgage shortfall debt recently, my partner and I have done a lot of reflecting about the misleading and out-of-date information, which is readily available on the internet and via other limited sources.

 

Prior to contacting IBAS, we had already tried other sources for help, including CAB, National Debtline and various solicitors.

 

Because the subject is so specialized and each and every case is individual, the advice we received was very limited.

Then, by pure chance we stumbled across a website on home repossessions and as it appeared to contain so much information, we became convinced it was the answer to our problems. So, we spent the next year of our lives religiously following the advice and information given on that website, we believed we were doing the right thing.

 

We were permanently 'stressed' and worried about the lender's next move. But, according to the website lenders want you stressed so you'll cave in and pay them money they might not be entitled to.

 

We were convinced we would get somewhere soon and so we 'stuck to our guns' and kept demanding the information suggested by the website. More worryingly, we were also under the false impression that if it went to court it would depend on 'the judge on the day' so there was probably a 50/50 chance we could win!

 

Now, being more aware of the legalities of mortgage shortfall debts, this was a very risky and irrational attitude to take, particularly as we owned a new home!

 

I know there are people with similar situations to ours who use these websites regularly. What really concerns me, is that these sites can sometimes be frequented by people with 'an axe to grind' and can give you the false impression that a lender's sole purpose in life is to destroy yours.

 

The sites also contain information which is often years out of date and therefore not relevant to today's laws and practices.

 

People really do need to be wary and cautious when following the advice given on websites. Where possible, they should hand the matter over to experts who can look at the matter independently, report on the facts and help to reach a quick and final resolution so they can move on with their life - IBAS springs immediately to mind!'

 

- Testimonial Letter

 

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"I was sure I had lost my home and family. Thanks is inadequate".

 

 

" I cannot believe you've managed to get such an incredible settlement".

 

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Peter and Karen wrote: “Out of the blue we received a letter from a solicitors firm regarding a mortgage shortfall of 26K. Still reeling from the shock, two weeks later we received a County Court Claim Form for 46K, that stated we must respond within 14 days. If we went to court there was risk of a CCJ, a risk of having to pay perhaps 50K or more, something that could only be funded by losing our home.

 

Having to keep up with a demanding full time lob, my partner had to search for advice. She spent most of the week in the waiting room of the local CAB receiving well meaning but ultimately useless advice before ‘seeking professional advice’.

 

With time running out we contacted three local solicitors, none of which had any experience of mortgage shortfall debt recovery. The first charged £50 for 1/2 hour session and advised nothing except to ask for the hearing to be moved to a local court.

 

The second advised that they could take on the case, but we should be prepared for a long battle and that their costs alone could run up to 25k and beyond, with little chance of winning.

 

The third although not yet fully qualified would charge £130 per hour (£300 required up front), and advised we should accept responsibility and make an offer to settle, With the deadline fast approaching we went ahead with a settlement offer while we desperately researched on the internet, and came across IBAS.

After a quick phone call IBAS agreed to take on our case for a flat membership fee and we provided them with our paperwork and the settlement offer made by the solicitor.

 

Although still desperately anxious, we at least felt some relief that at last we had found somewhere that knew what they were talking about.

 

IBAS immediately went into negotiations and kept us regularly informed. Just under a month later they had managed to agree a full and final settlement and even managed to get us 60 days in order to raise the money. Just as one hurdle was over another claim came through, this time for a small loan handled by Paragon.

IBAS took immediate action and managed by argument of limitation, to have the debt written off on ‘goodwill grounds’. Had we gone to them in the first place, a lot less anguish, and possibly even a smaller settlement, could have been achieved. We are supremely grateful to the IBAS team for all their patience and hard work”. Regards, Peter & Karen 

- IBAS Testimonial

 

"We thank you for your help with this matter. We can now get on with our lives"

"You lifted a great weight off our mind".

 

"People really do need to be wary and cautious when following the advice given on websites. They should hand the matter over to experts who can look at the matter independently, report on the facts and help to reach a quick and final resolution so they can move on with their life - IBAS springs immediately to mind!"

 

"My grateful thanks for your help and advice. You offer incredible value for money. Thank you just does not seem enough".

"I'm utterly overwhelmed that after so much pressure and absolute arrogance on the part of the building society that you have managed to get this result. We spent large sums of money on our solicitor who found nothing wrong and told us we must pay the debt or lose our house. Your fee was about the same as our solicitor charged for an hours work! We can't thank you enough."

"Can I thank you for the work you have done. I am very impressed with the way you managed to negotiate a very small payment to conclude this on my behalf without me having to divulge my current financial circumstances."

 

"You were the light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel."

 

"Many many thanks. Now we can look forward to the future without fear for our home".

 

"Our grateful thanks for your speedy and professional handling of this".

 

"I must thank you for the speed and efficiency with which you resolved this matter for me. I realize that I should have dealt with it earlier, but one always hopes these things will go away, but of course they do not and always come back to haunt you when you least expect them."

 

"Once again I cannot thank you enough for dealing with this (mortgage shortfall debt claim) matter on my behalf. The pressure and strain that you have taken from me is unbelievable.

Keep up your good work."

"Would like to thank you very much for your help in what was an awful situation for us both and an end to the dreaded post. At the height of all the chasing you were a breath of fresh air that took all our worries away and for that we are very grateful."

 

"Most grateful thanks from our entire family"."I cannot thank you enough for your support and all that you’ve done to help me. I only wish I had found you sooner".

 

"Many, many thanks for all your help. Without you I’m sure we would have had this nightmare round our necks forever. It has made so much difference to my wife's health to have this all sorted out".

 

All the comments above have been extracted from thank you notes and emails from our members who were guided by IBAS in their Mortgage Shortfall debt Claims Disputes.

 

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IBAS has featured on BBC TV, BBC Testimonial for IBAS BBC TV News, ITV News, Meridian TV and Sky TV News since 1992 and contributed banking editorials and business banking articles for Sunday Times, Times, Daily Mail, Daily Express, Telegraph and Daily Mirror.

 

Independent Banking Advisory Service (IBAS) - launched in 1992 as a specialist UK Business Banking Dispute - Resolution Experts assisting and advising UK Business Bank customers who have UK business banking account loan disputes and business banking debt disputes.