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Original poster

Anyone know what to do if previous owner of house had secured loans on it and is now defaulting on payments ?

109 replies

scatterbrain · 16/06/2008 09:50

We bought this house last summer and still get loads of post for the previous owners - my solicitor friend suggested we opened the post to see what was going on and anyway - it appears that he has several loans secured on this house, hasn't changed his address with them and is now defaulting on the payments !

I have written to one of the loan companies and just phoned another one now and gave them his new address - but I am really worried now that our house is going to get credit blacklisted or something because of his secured loans .

Anyone know what we should do to make sure his debts stay with him ??

OP posts:
Original poster
scatterbrain · 09/07/2008 12:49

That's what I thought whoops ! Not sure what to do - as we are away next week - have asked that the solicitor calls me on my mobile urgently on Monday when he is back - and was thinking that if he doesn't seem to be progressing it we could take it to another solicitor the week after.

Am I being too patient ?

OP posts:
whoops · 09/07/2008 13:01

I think you have been very patient and this is a very important matter which should have never arisen.
I would contact the law society to find out who you can deal with to take action against another solcitor as I believe there are only certain firms that will do this.
Maybe get some preliminary advise from them as your house needs to be registered in your name ASAP

GorgonsGin · 09/07/2008 13:10

yes, you are being too patient. I am a property solicitor too and I would go absolutely mental about this. It is not "easily done" as someone said below 11 months later.

Write your old solicitor a letter saying you are taking legal advice about negligence and you are reporting him to the Law Society if he doesn't have this sorted out by the end of the month.

I'd see a new solicitor urgently who deals with professional negligence claims (your mortgage company might want to jointly instruct him as they are prejudiced here too as they relied on the same firm) and launch an action. Do you believe what your solicitor is telling you about it only being prcedural to get a couple of DS1's?!

I'd also report the previous owner for fraud. You'll probably have more luck alerting his mortgage company(ies) than the police!!!

Original poster
scatterbrain · 09/07/2008 13:31

Thanks for the advice - I will phone the Law Society now.

Who can I report the previous owner to ? As fra as I can tell he is renting his current house and so probably doesn't have a mortgage - is it a police matter to use someone else's address - or is it technically still his address as he is on the Land Register still ?

I have no idea about any of this ! Any advice very gratefully received.

Thanks

OP posts:
Original poster
scatterbrain · 09/07/2008 14:08

Argh - can't invoke Law Society complaints procedure yet as have not formaly complained through solicitors own complaints process !! Right then - I feel a letter coming on !!

OP posts:
Twelvelegs · 09/07/2008 14:09

Search equifax or experian websites and they can advise.

Original poster
scatterbrain · 09/07/2008 18:05

Feeling thick - have managed to do my own credit report on experian website - which is OK - but can't find anything amiss. But it wouldn't come up under our name would it ? only under previous owner's name - and I can't do it as him as it's illegal and I don't know his DOB anyway !

Not sure how else I can check !

DH is looking for another solicitor to see now !

OP posts:
Twelvelegs · 09/07/2008 18:58

But did the website give advice on how he affects you?
I would send everything for the last occupant 'return to sender' 'not known at this address' this will indicate to all that the debts are not his.

ivykaty44 · 09/07/2008 19:06

I spoke to this firm who were very helpful and gave me advice over the telephone.

www.boltburdonkemp.co.uk/

Original poster
scatterbrain · 09/07/2008 19:24

Thanks for that link ivykaty - they look good - will call them tomorrow if I can't find a more local one in the meantime.

Twelvelegs - I've been returning post for 11 months marked return to sender but they take little notice and continue to send demands etc - I have opened demands and rung the firms and they are just not that interetsed - not sure they believe me really that he is not here anymore !

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ivykaty44 · 09/07/2008 21:11

scatterbrain - do you have proof that this person now lives somewhere else - telephone directory that is up to date with name and number. Or electorale register for 2007 with this persons name and address? Although you cant photocopy er due to case 6 years ago it may be worth getting something to prove where this person lives in case it is needed for baliffs.

If baliffs turn up for this person and you have proof of where they have moved to and proof of who you are then they can move on swifty and get the court order address changed as you have given them the information they needed - worth thinking on.

Original poster
scatterbrain · 09/07/2008 21:32

All I have is the documentation confirming completion of our purchase - that's got his current (rented) address on. And it confirms that we bought the house - so hopefully that will be sufficient - do you think ?

OP posts:
Original poster
scatterbrain · 30/07/2008 21:16

Sorry to rake this one up again - but 3 weeks later and still no news.

Was just wondering if any of you solicitors are out there still ?

Had an email from solicitor today saying that their insurers had asked for the file and that this was going off tonight to them. He was unable or unwilling to say what might happen next or what timescale we could be working to !

We spoke to another solicitor who specialises in professional negligence cases and he said that although we could take a case out against the original solicitor it wouldn't help sort the situation out and would cost a lot (which we don't have !) So he advised us to carry on with what we were doing and come back if they weren't doing anything !

Just wondered what you thought really ??

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youknownothingofthecrunch · 31/07/2008 13:05

Sorry not a solicitor, but thought I'd bump it for you. I have been wondering what happened in the end. Sounds like a long process. It really could be anyone of us, couldn't it? You trust your solicitors to do their job, believe them when they say they've done it (after all you are in the bloody house!), and then it all comes back to bite you.

Original poster
scatterbrain · 31/07/2008 13:28

Yes absolutley - you trust these so called professionals, pay them a packet and then look where we are !!

I am trying not to think too much about it - dh reckons it will take a year to sort out ! At least we know about it now - as opposed to being in blissful ignorance for the first 11 months - and the loan companies are all on to the previous owner at his new address - so I don't worry about bailiffs etc anymore.

What a palaver though !

OP posts:
citronella · 31/07/2008 14:03

Hi,

Hope you manage to get this sorted as quickly as possible. What a terrible situation to be in but I would agree with others on here and say be hardnosed with your solicitor. I would really want to know why they hadn't done their job properly in the first place. I mean we are not just talking a pair of shoes it's your bloody home! Seriously negligent to me and I would be furious with them. I wouldn't be happy with them fobbing me off. A year to sort out? why? Breath fire down the back of their necks.
Anyway I'm not being helpful and I don't mean to go on. You already know. Am very angry for you.

Best of luck

Original poster
scatterbrain · 31/07/2008 14:13

Thanks, yes I am actually fuming but not sure what I can do to put a rocket under them. Think I will do formal complaint letter - so far has all been 'phone or email - and also kick off the Law Society complaint process.

To be honest I think he is bricking it - he has developed a terrible stammer everythime I rimng him !

Does anyone know the implications of them having to involve their insurers ? is it a black mark against them or anything ?

OP posts:
Cammelia · 31/07/2008 14:28

Who cares. They are totally responsible for this situation.

The whole point about using solicitors is that they are supposed to be the professionals who do all the checking etc.

Otherwise we'd all save a fortune and do the work ourselves.

I've recently had to correct a factual error made by solicitors, who could have found out the information they needed to verify the fact by simply looking up the correct information on our local council website.

As I did

jelliebelly · 31/07/2008 14:35

Of course he is "bricking it" he could potentially have landed you in a lot of financial bother (and still might if this doesn't get sorted out). If I read this correctly you actually don't own the house you paid for and are living in - it his pure luck that the previous owner has such a rubbish credit record that he hasn't been able to raise more finance against the house.

ScaryHairy · 31/07/2008 14:40

Scatterbrain - one thing that struck me as I read this thread is that the firm that did your conveyancing don't seem to be doing much to rectify the problem. Fine, they've notified their insurers, but what are they doing to ensure that you get absolute title to your house? They seem to be rather silent on that part...

You do need to make a formal complaint and if I were you I would send it to the chap you've been speaking to, whoever is listed as the complaints person on the policy and the managing partner of the firm.

Re the Law Society, this does need to be reported, but as others have said LS are very slow at following up complaints as they have a mahoosive backlog (hardly surprising when you read things like this).

Involving the insurers isn't a black mark against a law firm per se (after all, mistakes happen sometimes, and that is what the insurance is for...) but their premium will go up should they have to claim. And the stammerer may well find that he needs to go home and polish his CV.

jelliebelly · 31/07/2008 14:46

Just another thought - the conveyancing firm don't seem to be trying to fix this matter. the fact that they have reported it to their insurers is neither here nor there. The insurers won't fix the problem but they are the ones that will have to pay out if it turns out that you have lost money over this (or potentially lost the house ). If the conveyancing firm get off their backside and actually try to fix this then their insurers may never have to actually pay anything out - seems to me that the conveyancing firm may know more about this than they are letting on to you. Maybe they need their insurer to pay off the outstanding debt against the property so that they can get it registered in your name - you really should be pressing them for more info on where this is going - it shouldn't take this long to sort out.

Original poster
scatterbrain · 31/07/2008 14:46

That's my worry ScrayHairy - they just don't seem to be DOING much !! Weeks and weeks have passed and nothing has moved on !

Stammerer says that he has never encountered a problem like this and needs his insurers advice. I asked him how he thought the situation might be resolved and he said he didn't know until the insurers advised him.

I would have thought that someone - insurers or solicitors should be paying off that outstanding loan and getting it off my house - then they can complete my trasfer so house is in our name. To me that is the priority - but it seems there are so many other things - liability, potential fraud etc that are all muddying the water and so no progress is being made towards my goal !

OP posts:
jelliebelly · 31/07/2008 14:48

I think you need to make a real pest of yourself with your conveyancer, your mortgage lender and even the insurers - by telephone and in writing more or less daily until this is sorted. If I was in your shoes I don't think I would be sleeping at night until it was sorted

jelliebelly · 31/07/2008 14:50

It's also rather worrying that they have no clue how to go about sorting this out. You should definitely go down the official complaints route if only to prevent them making the same cock up for somebody else.

ihatebikerides · 31/07/2008 14:51

Sounds to me as if they're fobbing you off. Don't be fobbed! Make as much of a nuisance of yourself as you can. This is quite simply outrageous. Can you sue them for malpractice?

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