ABBEY NATIONAL

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Repossession : One Thread

Just received a letter from the Abbey telling me..

"Unfortunately we are unable to provide you with a copy of the terms and conditions of the indemnity policy as, like the policy itself, this is privileged information"

This refers to my request for info re the MIG policy.

Have they shot themselves in the foot by denying me this info and should I write back to them insisting for the info? Any advice anyone?

Also the abbey wrote to me telling me there was only one offer made on my house and on 4 viewings. I've found there was actually 3 offers and 10 viewings. They're arguing the market was slow etc which is why they've lied about the number of viewings. These ten viewings took place within the 14 weeks of reposession so I wouldn't think that was a bad response. All the offers were well below the market price but I think this is because the viewers must have been told it was a reposession. One person put in an offer of only £54,000 yet on their surveyors report it says the cost of re building would be £75,000. Am I right to think the difference in purchase price and rebuild pice for insurance purposes shouln't be as great as this?? Any advice anyone???

Do I tell the Abbey that I know they've lied about the number of viewings and offers???

-- hanging in there! (Anderston828@aol.com), October 21, 2002

Answers

I found out that MIG policies are usually block policies covering the lender for a number of borrowers rather than a specific borrower, so in those circumstances the details would be confidential as they involve details of other users. HOWEVER, you are being asked to pay a debt which you believe is covered by the MIG, and even if the insurance company pays out to the lender, the insurer can still chase you, so you need to have confirmation that you are liable for the debt. I fail to see how insurers think borrowers will just pay up because they say so without providing evidence! I assume that you have not admitted liability, so for the time being I'd leave it until the lender has justified their claim and if you find that you're stuck, then ask for the MIG details again.

As for the discrepancy of the number of viewings your home had, you say that you found out there were 3 offers and 10 viewings - are you absolutely sure of this and do you have documentary evidence - a letter confirming the numbers etc? If so, then I wouldn't suggest that you actually accuse Abbey of lying, but say something like... "..you state that there was 1 offer on the property after 3 viewings, however I have confirmation that there were in fact 3 offers after 10 viewings. I would be grateful for your comments on this."

I don't know where you got the information about the offers from, but it may be that the lender said to the estate agent that only offers over X amount would be considered and the other two offers were below the X amount - perhaps that is where Abbey get their figures from. I don't know I'm just guessing here, but I think that approaching the subject in the way described above would be better than going in all guns blazing just in case its not as clear cut as you think.

As for the rebuilding costs - the rebuild cost tends to be lower than the actual purchase price because the land already belongs to the borrower, so that brings the cost down. So to build a terrace house where a terrace house once was would be cheaper than buying a plot and building.

If your house had sold for the full market value, then this would have been more than the rebuilding cost, if someone has bought at a very low price, then the rebuild cost would be greater. I think this just gives you more ammunition that Abbey sold your house below market rate.

Hope this helps

-- pendle (pendle_666@yahoo.co.uk), October 21, 2002.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ