11 Jan 2016

A question about : Harassment after bankruptcy

My partner was declared bankrupt in April last year due to not being able to sell her flat & Nram making it unfeasible to rent out the property. She had no option other than to seek advice & was advised to go bankrupt. The keys to the property were sent back to Nram recorded delivery with a signed, witnessed letter giving up possession of the property. Nram insisted that my partner signed their document but refused after taking legal advice. Over the following months she was hounded via letters & calls to the point she received treatment for depression. Nram were referred to the OR but continued harass. My partner moved into my home & the harassment continued. I spoke to numerous morons on the phone & they finally stopped the calls after I threatened to report to the police as it was my home they were calling. The letters continued stating how much arrears she owed & they stated that until the flat was sold they can continue to contact her. A man called to our home today in regards to the flat & again I explained she was bankrupt. He shook his head in disbelief & said he would fill his report in. My partner broke down again as she fears this harassment will never stop. It is not acceptable to hear someone you love mention suicide & I need this to stop. Will this go away when she is discharged after 12 months or is there anything we can do? Thanks in advance

Best answers:

  • Hi--sorry to disappoint you, but until the property has been disposed of, the mortgagor is 'entitled' to pursue the mortgagee[s] for the arrears.
    The BAnkruptcy will only take effect [with regards to the property] once the property has been disposed of, and the mortgagor then pursues the mortgagee for the shortfall of equity.
    The shortfall having become an unsecured debt...and because the original account [the mortgage] was initiated prior to the Bankruptcy, the shortfall becomes a debt in that BAnkruptcy....so cannot then be pursued.
    At the moment any debt associated with the mortgage is a secured debt, which is outside the realm of the Bankruptcy.
    As it happens, Fermi has a template somewhere, whereby the mortgagor can be informed that they still hold the property as security, so pursuing for mortgage payments is pointless.
    They should make haste to re-possess and dispose of the property.
    Achieving Automatic Discharge from the BAnkruptcy does not affect this aspect.
    Your partner is in need of support at this time....
  • The difficulty you have I think is that until the flat is sold the NRAM debt is still 'secured' and so they can chase for it.
    Once the flat is sold, any shortfall will become unsecured and then falls into the bankruptcy, at which point they can no longer chase.
    But, even though they are entitled to chase that doesn't mean they are entitled to harrass. I believe you can request that all contact is made by post and they have to comply - if they don't then you can report them to the relevant body.
    Someone will hopefully be along with a good letter template soon :-)
  • hahahaha crossed post with alastairq :-)
  • They can go after the property to repossess it, but the liability to make mortgage payments is an obligation extinguished by the bankruptcy, so they should not be chasing you/her.
    https://www.ombudsman-decisions.org.u...x?FileID=48496
    Quote:
  • She was summoned to court several weeks ago to allow Nram to seek posession of the flat & was again advised not to attend or reply. Nram were almost certainly given 'posession' of the property even though they've had the keys nearly a year now. The calls have stopped, the letters keep coming but now we are expecting more people turning up unannounced after today. I find it difficult to understand that Nram have allowed the property to stand empty all this time whilst losing thousands in mortgage payments, rather than selling at auction, where they are guaranteed to lose thousands more. The sooner they sell it the better....thanks for your advice so far
  • Sadly that is what NRAM are usually like. They seem prefer to completely shoot themselves in the foot rather than act reasonably.
    Have seen the same on here again and again and again and again and again.....
  • It seems from the knowledgeable posters above there is not much you can do to stop the letters just yet so I suggest some novel uses for the letters in the meantime
  • Make them into paper airplanes and 'fly' them off a bridge or out of a high window (having removed the name & address of course)
  • Tear them into little strips and put them in the compost bin for the worms to chomp on
  • Use them as 'wicks' to light the gas stove (a favourite of mine)
  • Put them in the bottom of the BBQ before you light it.
  • Your partner is very lucky to have someone to support her so well.
    (possibly scan them first so you have the 'evidence' of harassment if you make a complaint)

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