Grandparents house repossessed - any legal minds around please?

[onemorecakeplease]

I'm not even sure that's the right title really

Mid 90s my aunt persuaded my gps to remortgage their house and used the money to pay off an outstanding business loan. Her business was struggling and before the first mortgage payment was due, the business was made bankrupt.

Gps bank knew what the funds were being used for and that neither of them had an income beyond pension.
They were lent £130k in 1993.

The bank allowed my gps to stay in the house until they died and froze the interest I believe.

No payments were ever made to the mortgage by my aunt or gps as nobody could afford to.

I've recently found out about this and am just so surprised the bank would lend money to pay the debts of a clearly failing business (was hundreds of thousands in debt)
And that they would lend the money to my gps who would have not been able to pay it back.

Have I cause to complain and ask the bank to explain where it's duty of care to its customers went that day? And if so, how do I go about it after all this time

I have statements and account numbers etc so that's a good start I suppose.

Thanks for reading - I'll try to answer any qs I can.

GPS were never involved in the business other than this loan.

I should say, other than the yearly statement their bank have never been in touch since the interest was frozen and they agreed to let them stay.

So I am also worried about stirring up trouble if I complain and the bank suddenly decides oh whoops you owe us 400k in interest!

Was it effectively an equity release where there's no expectation of the loan being repaid until the house is sold? There used to be ads for that around TV that had lots of old people viewing it, like countdown.

20 odd years ago and you're not one of the original people involved?

You have no chance.

I'm also wondering if it was equity release and the bank basically own the house and repossess on death.

Did they take advice ?

It was definitely a mortgage that was due to be repaid with funds from the business

So not one of the old people equity release things

Yes their own solicitor told them not to do it

But my aunt convinced them anyway and was the witness to the signatures

I would be writing it with my grandma and she will sign it etc

She is still alive, my grandad is not

The house wasn't repossessed , if this had been a straight forward unpaid mortgage and repossession by the bank then your grandparents would have been evicted . It sounds like an equity release arrangement , and it may have been unwise for your GPs to do it but that's true of lots of elderly people who do it . I really can't see what you have to complain about .

Then you really have no chance

No I agree, not repossessed but I couldn't think what to say instead that would take up twelve lines in the title!!

You said until they died , where does your grandmother live now.

My child - are you a lawyer, why do you say that?

If I've no chance I will leave it alone but would like to know why? Because grandad has passed?

No point spending a fortune on solicitors if not worth it

She still lives in the house

Sure it wasn't equity release as have seen the schedule which lays out monthly repayments to be made over 25 years

They took advice from an independent solicitor retained by themselves and proceeded anyway.

They had capacity at the time I presume?

Ah I see my child. Thanks.

You have no legal interest.

Your gran has and could possibly complain BUT she took legal advice at the time and decided to go ahead anyway.

Plus the law is not retrospective except very rarely - so you'd need to find what laws applied in 1993

Yes my grandma says she never knew what it was all about she just signed to help her daughter

But she wasn't incapable etc

Perhaps it was transferred into being equity release then when they couldn't pay , I still don't think you will get anywhere . We've had a similar situation , albeit with less money , with my inlaws and because they'd spoken to a solicitor at the time BIL couldn't get anywhere with saying they'd been missold and he tried quite hard . I really don't think you will get anywhere .

They borrowed £130,000 24 years ago and haven't paid back a penny since, yet the bank have allowed them to live there the whole time? That sounds extremely generous of them, I don't know what you've got to complain about?

No payments were ever made to the mortgage by my aunt or gps as nobody could afford to
So they have stayed in the house for 25 years without paying any mortgage?
Sounds like a bargain

Thank you. I won't waste my time then.

You'd have some brass neck considering they haven't paid a penny back to be fair.

I don't think this is a simple remortgage that they took. If you didn't pay your mortgage at all there is no way the bank would sit back and do nothing. A repossession would have happened years ago - think 20+