do i have to supply my details even though i am nothing to do with it?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Repossession : One Thread

Prior to me meeting my now partner she & her ex had had a property together which was repossessed. she now lives with me & our children, we are not married & she has got her name on nothing to do with the house we live in. she basically has no assets house car etc & doesn't work due to medical reasons. she has had all the usual threats etc but nothing has ever really come of them But now the solicitors for the building society are aware of the above circumstances but they are have stated they need to now fully the income etc coming into the property how many children we have & so on. surely if this is nothing to do with me they have no rights to ask for this information aren't i covered by data protection or something? They have stated they need this information so that they can decide what to do next advice needed urgently please!!!!!!!!!!!

-- andy parkes (andyp@aol.com), August 31, 2001

Answers

DO not give them ANY details.

They are not entitled to see anything to do with you and would not be even if you were married and held a joint mortgage. I would also advise that your partner does not complete the form either - I beleive there is more info in the do's and dont's section of repossession.

Politely decline to complete the information and continue to request the documents I am sure you have asked for so far. As far as I am aware the only people who ca force you tpo disclose this information are judges in a court of law.

If they continue to request this information, especially about yourself, you may wish to consider contacting them separately as the act of them asking for this information about you is a clear invasion of privacy. The whole matter of the shortfall, from what you have said, is nothing to do with you.

-- Matt (mattyc@ntlworld.com), August 31, 2001.


I totally agree with Matty. Something else you should be prepared for is that the solicitors may try and make things awkward for your partner. For instance, if she refuses to supply the information they want, they may threaten court action and all sorts of horrible things in order to wear her down and frighten you into giving the information.

You might also want to contact the Information Comissioner for advice.

-- pendle (pendle_666@yahoo.co.uk), September 01, 2001.


They need this information to help them establish how much they can screw out of your partner. You could write back and simply ask them why they are enquiring into YOUR financial affairs. Court action? bring it on!

-- (bluemoon@mcfc.co.uk), September 03, 2001.

Abbey National and its agents Eversheds told me that that I was 'required to' fill in its I&E form, which of course demanded personal data about my new partner and my two small children. I did two three things: (1) complained to the Information Commissioner; (2) asked my MP for help; and (3) I went to the press about this unacceptable practice.

The results? (1) A letter from the IC saying that if the lender had indeed succeeded in getting my new partner's personal details out of me by implying that I was under a duty to do so, then the lender would have been in breach of the Data Protection Act. (That's very much a summary of the letter!)(2) My MP Mike Hancock has been excellent and even tabled an Early Day Motion about lenders' failure to substantiate these claims, in particular Abbey National. (3) The Mail on Sunday published an article last year about the invasion of privacy that these I&E forms represent.

I can't advise you what to do, but that's what I did.

I should also add that you should make your own separate formal complaint to the lender, and then take it to the Ombudsman. I would.

-- E Scott (eleanor.scott@btinternet.com), September 08, 2001.


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