Thousands are struggling with mortgages claims charity
February 2, 2008 by admin
Filed under News, News-Mortgages
Homeless charity Shelter has called for the government to do more to assist homeowners struggling to meet mortgage repayments after it revealed the number of calls it received had risen by 700 per cent. 
The charity said that calls from concerned homeowners had leapt from 10,000 to 80,000 over the past 12 months.
Adam Sampson, the charity’s chief executive, said: “Shelter has seen a massive increase in people coming to us with mortgage problems, and with repossessions set to rise throughout this year we simply haven’t got the resources to help everyone.”
He added that the government needs to work with the Financial Services Authority to repair the “broken state safety net” to ensure that if people do face difficulty there is somewhere to turn for advice.
In its ‘Mortgage and Repossessions’ report Shelter also calls for new guidance to be supplied to judges in county courts so that a tougher line is taken against mortgage lenders who treat customers unfairly.
The recommendations from Shelter come after the FSA warned that as many as one million homeowners could face repossession as the economy slows down.
Yorkshire Bank faces tough decision
July 13, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Banking
The Yorkshire Bank is facing a tough decision over its overdraft charges following an order made by a judge in Hull.
Over 40 cases were due to be heard last month by the judge, and these related to unfair charges that were applied to customers’ accounts as a result of exceeding their overdraft limit and for bounced cheques or returned direct debits. According to campaigners the cost of administration for this type of oversight is between £2 and £5 for the bank, but often customers were being charged up to £40 per fee.
Of the 44 cases that were due to be heard the majority were settled by the bank before being heard in court. However, seven of the cases were heard at Hull County Court with judge Iain Besford residing.
When hearing the cases the judge made a decision that means the bank will either have to settle all of the pending claims in full or will have to attend an open court and explain its charging structure in detail, explaining why customers are charged so much if it is not for profit.
The disclosure order that the judge agreed to means that the bank now has until the end of September to make its decision with regards to whether to settle the claims or whether to justify its charges in court.
Banks do not generally turn up to these court hearings, as most tend to settle the claims just prior to the case being heard in court. Lloyds TSB, however, has won two cases filed against it for repayment of bank charges.
Originally the judge had considered striking out the bank charge cases altogether following a decision by a Birmingham judge to rule in favour of Lloyds TSB earlier this year. However, having heard the cases he has now informed the bank that it must pay up or explain and justify its charges.
Tom Smith
13th July 2007
