This is a request to all Mortgage Shortfall victims to email or write to their local MP to ask them to add their signature to the Mortgage Shortfall e-petition on " www.petition-them.com ". I have written to around 125 MPs already (see copy of letter below), but in order for them to act this request must come from a constituent in the MP's own constituency. I shall be speaking to my own MP (Norman Baker) next Saturday (13th) in regard to the petition, and will be asking him to raise the MS problem in Parliament,I also know Mike Hancock MP is prepared to raise the MS issue once again in Parliament,so if a constituent of his would contact him and ask him to do so this would help. I think it's very important to keep MPs focussed on this very serious problem. There are MPs who are willing to help. You can find a list of MPs email addresses on: "http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/lists.htm", or you can write to "House of Commons London SW1A 0AA". If you can't find an email for them on the official list try a Google search, the list isn't quite up to date. A short message will suffice, it will only take a few minutes. Thanks to all in advance.

Mark.

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I am writing to you in order to solicit your support by asking you to sign my e-petition regarding Mortgage Shortfall (repossession/endowment MS). The e-petition can be seen on "www.petition-them.com" and is entitled "Help Mortgage Shortfall Victims".This petition is not only aimed at helping current victims, but also possible future ones too. The e-petition has 8 proposals, one of which calls for fair compensation for Endowment mortgage shortfall victims.

Please be advised too that Building Societies/Banks such as Abbey National, Halifax, Bristol & West, Nationwide, Paragon,are still pursuing people for Mortgage Shortfalls from the early 1990s, so much for sympathetic treatment, and Lenders continue to try to force settlements on debts which they will not properly substantiate (see also Daily Express article 24/04/02 "Lenders under fire for breach of debts code"). In one case I know of, the Chaser/Debt Collector has even forged the signature of the Borrower/Mortgagor to enable them to continue chasing them! Whilst I applaud the investigation being carried out into Estate Agent corruption, there should also be one into underselling of properties by Building Societies too (as called for in the e-petition), I still hear of many such cases. Also, as regards the law on limitation, which is still in a mess, I was disappointed to see that in the draft bill on limitation law from the Law Commission they appear to be proposing a 3/10 year limitation system. This I feel falls far short of being satisfactory. When is this harassment going to stop so that we can be left in peace to rebuild our lives? How long do we have to continue paying for the gross mismanagement of the country by the Tories in the early 90s? I was also very sad to see the stories of the suicide cases on http://www.home-repo.org/reposses/suicides.htm . Perhaps, if we had all done more, earlier, these people would still be around today, a sobering thought.

I would also like to mention that I am concerned about the line the Financial Ombudsman Service has been taking. I have recently read an article (re Endowments) by Mr Richard Colbey (Barrister) entitled "Legal Avenue that may help" in the Guardian, May 25th., in which, without going into greater detail, he was worried about how the FOS works, and stated "If those who initially determine complaints reject them by sweeping the real issue under the carpet, it may save financial institutions billions but destroy the Ombudsman's credibility." We saw during the 90s that the Building Society Ombudsman were in many cases, if not all, directors of building societies, but with vested interests, how could they have been impartial? Given all this, how can one recommend now that people should take their complaints to the FOS? Finally, another question I have is, if we see inflation at high levels once more, and an increase in property prices (which we already have), how does the government propose to control the situation? Are we going to see sustained high interest rates again, and yet another crop of repossession victims providing yet more rich pickings for the debt collectors?

-- M Amos (idgroms@hotmail.com), July 05, 2002