IBAS - Independent Banking Advisory Service 

Surviving UK Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claims

Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claims and Disputes

 Mortgage Shortfall Testimonials

Mortgage Shortfall claims case studies and testimonials

UK Mortgage Shortfall debt claim resolutions

Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claims Advice & Shortfall FAQ's

Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claims

UK Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claim Liability

UK Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claim - Frequent Questions

UK Buy To Let Mortgage Shortfall Dangers of LPA Receivership

Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claims Demand|Disputes

Updated 18th November 2024

IBAS has 30 years continuous specialist experience investigating, resolving mortgage shortfall debt liability disputes and claim cases after home repossession/s.

Shortfall Demand or Claim? You need all of our 30 years experience to help you get the best result - email & interest us

Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claims have a Limitation period of 12 years but lenders will pursue after that time has expired. Legally they are still allowed to do so and borrowers need to know if the Lender's Claim is statute barred and how to contest the Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claim.

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

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

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!

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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 once instructed by the Lender for the Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claim after sale of the property - lenders claims are not always factually correct - solicitors are instructed with very limited file information to gain the borrower acceptance of the debt or a proposal to pay quickly.

If you can only defend as a Litigant in Person even more reason to obtain IBAS assistance because we have seen 30 years of Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claims and all the lender and solicitors dirty 'tricks' once a legal claim is issued.

IBAS is completely independent - IBAS does not act for any lender

Contacting IBAS may prevent your future being blighted by many thousands of pounds of debt and save huge solicitors costs.

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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 of July 2021

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IBAS provides exceptional opportunity for success with Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claims

Whether it is a Personal Residential Domestic property mortgage shortfall debt claim or a Buy To Let Commercial Portfolio with mortgage shortfall debt claims on properties

- Make your best decision now and contact IBAS for help

See The hidden danger of joint mortgages by Jenny Knight - Telegraph article 14th May 2003

This provides Independent Banking Advisory Service content within the article which is still relevant today

IBAS is the only completely independent banking specialist acting for customers and not funded by Lenders.

Following a repossession the sale of the mortgaged property can then mean a mortgage shortfall liability is immediately created. It is then that the lender will issue a claim for the mortgage debt after repossession which is the 'shortfall debt' and on which lenders will request payment - sometimes many years later.

IBAS has unique specialist experience, knowledge and ability.

Our analysts log patterns and strategies because IBAS has seen those same patterns and strategies used many many times over and we have gathered that information for our ongoing use to assist those who we advise.

Bank/ Lender Debt Recovery Units take control and push hard for proposals regardless of customer complaints.

Although valid defences to bank/Lender claim/s may exist - Bank Debt Recovery Units pressure individuals into making proposals to pay.

Itʼs extremely unusual for IBAS not to find something with which allow for negotiations, gain extra time, drive the debt down or eliminate it whilst also protecting our members from being bullied by the bank.

Lenders know that IBAS analysts will scrutinize the details of their Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claim - but we also investigate all issues which may affect the debt claim for the customers benefit.

IBAS is the only completely independent banking specialist organization acting for customers and run without any Lenders funding.

If IBAS is involved first - we can properly investigate a mortgage shortfall debt claim dispute.

Basic checks which most advisors, solicitors and the FOS carry out - cannot and will not identify customer defences, allow debt reduction or eliminate the debt being claimed.

IBAS early involvement can prevent Bank or Lender Litigation

IBAS provides knowledge and information direct to banking customers under membership and we know which information the banks will hide and our investigations focus on what can help the banking customer not the bank.

Many of our most successful cases had already been rejected by solicitors as being un-defendable.

IBAS support and involvement is essential immediately the Bank or Lender Demand is received by the customer

Lenders target individuals with existing UK mortgage shortfall debts continually. Does your Lender have new information about your circumstances?

i.e. have you moved in with a partner who has a mortgaged property with equity?

Personal information from voting lists, Land Registry charge sheets and applications for new borrowings (i.e. Mobile phones) from your post code are always being 'trawled' by lenders seeking payment of shortfall debts. Any information found by the Lender which indicates that property or assets can be targeted for payment then puts new partners or even family members at risk from beneficial interest legal claims against their assets.

If you are living in a mortgaged property with a new partner, family member or a friend - do you or they have a Deed of Trust or tenancy agreement to rely on - Check out your position now

We can help you quickly obtain practical and confidential assistance - which may also put your mind 'at rest'

Finding 'flaws' in a lender's paperwork or their legal claim for a mortgage shortfall debt claim provides us with ammunition to provide results which can then be spectacular for our member (as with the CL testimonial above).

IBAS knowledge has been collated from thousands of IBAS banking cases over many years which provides unique backup information only available to IBAS for our use in assessing where to investigate and what will produce the best results.

IBAS has a very experienced team providing a unique, totally independent, low priced professional, experienced and confidential service.

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Bradford & Bingley and Northern Rock Interest Only BTL Mortgage holders are now being pursued by solicitors acting for UKAR (Drydens, DWF and others) and the tactics used now remind us of our research for IBAS Mortgage Shortfall Debt Claim Survey carried out many years ago.

Providing a completed income & expenditures with proposals to pay may be the beginning of the end for many, as their proposals (no matter how small) may well then be used by the lender to issue a legal claim and immediately after judgment then obtain charging orders and/or orders for sale.

As with all such cases the facts and specialist advice are crucial for a good result to be obtained for the borrower - DIY defences or forum 'defences' are usually inadequate and may be financially dangerous as real defences which did exist may be compromised.

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Anyone receiving a mortgage shortfall debt claim from their bank or lender due to a past home repossession should read the Daily Telegraph article 'Why none of us is safe' published on 3rd May 2008 (includes IBAS editorial content) very carefully:

Daily Telegraph Article 03.05.08 - You can't make your mortgage payments, so the bank takes your home. William Little talks to those who've suffered the trauma.

Sara Cummins, head of the Mortgage Shortfall Unit at the Independent Banking Advisory Service (IBAS), says she has been advising an increasing number of well-heeled clients facing the loss of their homes: "They are often embarrassed about the situation they find themselves in because of how much they earn. But I've had to help barristers, solicitors and hospital consultants in the last year," she says.

Yet, even when property owners know the law, the banks can still force through a repossession.

Simon Cox, a 30-year-old solicitor, bought out a jointly owned property from his brother three years ago. He admits now that he took on too much and buried his head in the sand when things became too much. It was a three-bedroom property worth more than £400,000 in south-west London. "I took on the mortgage because I was a professional and I could afford it, and I felt obliged because it was my brother. But two years on from buying out the property, I started experiencing real financial problems. Arrears mounted and the bank repossessed the property," he says.

Yet this was not the end of the story. The following year, the bank started to pursue Mr Cox for a mortgage shortfall of £145,290 - the difference between how much they got for the property and how much was left on the mortgage.

"When the bank chased me for the shortfall, I was in sheer panic. I thought the repossession was the end of the story. I didn't know what to do. Being a solicitor, I tried to negotiate with them myself, but in retrospect this was not a good idea," he says.

"The bank saw this as a weakness and used the information that he was a solicitor to threaten bankruptcy as this would mean Simon's solicitor's licence would be suspended," says Sara Cummins of IBAS, to whom Simon eventually turned for help.

"I was forced to advise my senior partner of the pending bankruptcy and I was immediately suspended, making the situation even worse. I then had no income at all," says Mr Cox. The bank then turned the screws tighter still. Under pressure, Mr Cox gave away vital information.

"Cox had fallen into the trap of telling the bank's solicitors that his parents were willing to make a 'reasonable' settlement on his behalf for £20,000 and even provided a letter from them to this effect," says Ms Cummins. "This was his greatest mistake as it provided the bank with sufficient information to search his parents' asset position. It was then reluctant to negotiate a settlement as they found out that Simon's family were wealthy and should settle his debt in full."

IBAS then stepped in and negotiated a full and final settlement of the debt of £50,000, which his parents paid. Luckily, Mr Cox has since had his licence restored and returned to work in the City.

Yet his experience demonstrates how far banks will go to get their money back. Ms Cummins says that banks will keep a check for many years on whether a person with a repossessed property buys another in the future. They will then try to claw back any shortfall.

This happened to 54-year-old chartered surveyor Mr P last year, after a repossession in the early 1990s.

"The bank in question is now threatening legal proceedings with a view to gaining a charge over the family home, which has been owned by Mrs P for 20 years whereas Mr P, her new husband, only recently went on to the deeds," says Ms Cummins.

Now his wife's house is in danger of being repossessed as well.

"It was when my name went on the deeds that they discovered that I had another asset they could get their hands on, and they came calling," says Mr P.

"It has been more than 12 years now since my house was repossessed, and surely they can't chase after that. But they're extremely intimidating, threatening that unless we pay £50,000 they will repossess the house. It is very stressful. My wife is on the edge and is very unwell because of it."

Ms Cummins is clear about banks' tactics. "Sometimes they will sit on the information for a few years, waiting for the property to gain value. They are very calculating and ruthless and push until they get what they want by whatever means possible."

Please Note: Names/content details have been edited to protect those involved in the IBAS input to the article published in The Daily Telegraph

The side bar pages show how others in fear from a mortgage shortfall debt have obtained resolution & the information in those pages show why customer's telephone calls to lenders are always dangerous.

They also evidence why lenders pursue mortgage shortfall debts (once repossession and sale of the property has taken place) and that they do pursue 12 year old mortgage debts or even older debts.

Much of the bank's recovery knowledge is gained from the Bank Internal Notes. Bank internal notes record the bank employee personal observations and details of the customer, their family and relatives, including assets and property and possible inheritance claims.

Once a bank demand is issued the bank Debt Recovery Unit is then actively searching all sources of information (including the internal bank notes and customer records) for how best to obtain payment from the customer.

Initial information will also be obtained from the customers existing mortgage including charges, how much is outstanding, what the property is worth and all that is before the customer completes the Bank personal financial statement. The customer financial statement once fully completed and signed then allows the bank to double check their full financial position. Banks assess customer personal financial statements very carefully. They seek evidence of connections to other property/assets which the Bank were not aware of previously.

IBAS investigates Mortgage shortfall debt claims or shortfall debt claim disputes

We provide professional, confidential guidance and direct assistance

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IBAS has featured on BBC TV, 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.