Response to Nationwide BS, Hammond Suddards Edge

I'm a little concerned at the advice that "the clock starts ticking when you miss your first payment" - the 'clock' actually starts when the full amount borrowed under the mortgage "accrues" (see section 20 of the Limitation Act 1980 if you like that kind of thing). As I understand it this means you need to look closely at the terms and conditions of your own particular mortgage contract; it's unlikely to accrue after one payment is missed. My own contract (citibank) had two conditions about this - (1) after three payments were missed and (2) if the lender demanded payment. This seems like a sensible contract, as it means the lender has some discretion about the process; I can imagine circumstances where three payments might be missed but the lender definitely does not want automatic immediate repayment (for example if the borrower informs them that she's just got a new highly paid job). I would expect (though I don't know) that a similar wording is pretty standard. You also need to check some other reason for the debt to accrue didn't occur earlier - for example in my own case, with an endowment mortgage, I discovered a clause saying the full mortgage amount automatically accrued if the associated insurance policy lapsed. The good thing about the recent court of appeal case (see earlier postings) is that now it's pretty clear that all the limits relevant to mortgage related debts are contained in section 20 of the LA, so if you get a copy of that, and a copy of your mortgage terms and conditions, you can at least find out where you stand.

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