SARNS - another question

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Can a SARN or something similar be served to find out all information on an address?

The reason I ask is that I am convinced that our property was rented out during the 3 years it took between repossession and being sold on. We are still being chased for payments for during those 3 years.

Thanks

-- Lisa (lisajh29@hotmail.com), March 14, 2002

Answers

Will a SARN help you? Yes and no.

It's worth serving a SARN on the lender to see if they had a letting agent for the address at any time. Ask for details of any attempt to let the property. But, a DPA SARN request only concerns data in your name, and if the letting was made in the name of the lender, or even just the address, then your name will not be part of the data. Strictly speaking you would not even be entitled to see such data records.

It would a good idea to ask Experian and Equifax for a credit report against you, including the old address for the period that you were the owner. Ensure that you state that you want to see who was living at the address at that time and that you owned the property. Call Experian up and offer to pay a fee for all data concerning who was at the address for the three years. Make sure that you charge the fee back to the lender if it confirms that somebody was living there.

And you should consult the previous electoral records for the address at your local council. Keep in mind that somebody must have paid council tax on the property if they were living in it, and the council tax records should show this. You were the owner; you are entitled to see these records.

Once you have any name of somebody resident, start making a big fuss at your lender, who was this person, why were they in the house? Did they pay rent? Point out that they are committing fraud once you have any proof. Report it as such to the Police and make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman, as soon as you obtain any proof of wrongdoing. Attack is always the best form of defence and you need to bite back.

Good Luck.

-- Harry (pearson_harry@hotmail.com), March 14, 2002.


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