Christine,(posted 7866 days ago)First of all, I assume your husband didn't sign the house over to his ex-wife when they divorced? Are they chasing her too?
Secondly, I have an ongoing dispute with the Halifax since 1995 when I handed in my keys. I have been receiving letters since 1997 saying I owe them £30 grand - I say I don't. It would appear that the Halifax have fabricated some numbers in their estimation of how much I owe them, and I although I keep asking for proof, they seem reluctant to provide it, so maybe they have something to hide?
What year did your husband take out this mortgage with is ex wife? I don't know when they tightened the rules, but one of my disputes is a thing called a MIG - Mortgage Indemnity Guarantee. It's an insurance that myself and my ex husband WERE MADE to pay for, which insured the building society against shortfall loss. I have asked the Halifax to prove they never claimed on this insurance, and therefore remitted their loss, again, they will not send the information. One has to ask why?
The Halifax has to prove that your husband owes this money. You must also bear in mind that you have 4 children, I have one and she is expensive enough to keep fed and clothed! They are your priority, and I am sure that *IF* it came to it, a court would agree that in relation to the Halifax, your children's needs for money are greater than theirs.
You also need to ask for Estate Agents information regarding the sale of the house. Building Societies don't seem to care if they sell repossessed houses for less than their market value because they know they can send the likes of us threatening letters from solicitors which frighten us witless and we hand over the cash they say they have lost. It has also been known for Building Societies to 'pay' estate agent fees of 7% as opposed to the 1-2% of the property value normally charged!
I would recommend that you print off and carefully read the information on this site and then file it under seperate references so it easy to relate to later, (I assume this is legal Mr Site Owner?). Make some notes about the bits you feel are relevant to your case and then send a SARN to the Halifax - read the section about SARNs very carefully.
It is daunting fighting a big organisation like the Halifax, but if you make enough of a pain of yourself, they appear to lose heart and back down. If they are going to get this money out of you, let them have a bloody good fight for it first. Stand you ground and keep asking for proof of this debt. And whatever you do, don't back down, even if things seem to get really steamy, which I am sure they will.
Good luck
Tracey