Single Mother Fights to Save Home from Repossession due to £237 Arrears

A 37-year-old single mother of two is fighting to save her home after being issued repossession proceedings by The Mortgage Corporation for arrears of just £237. The company, owned by Salomon Brothers, had been made aware that the Department of Social Security was paying her mortgage in full, but had still proceeded to issue legal proceedings. The mother, Marion Nicholas, had never missed a mortgage payment until she was made redundant last December.

Key Takeaways:

• The Mortgage Corporation, owned by Salomon Brothers, issued repossession proceedings against a single mother for arrears of just £237.
• The company was aware that the Department of Social Security was paying the mortgage in full, but had still proceeded to issue legal proceedings.
• The mother, Marion Nicholas, had never missed a mortgage payment until she was made redundant last December.
• The Mortgage Corporation denied targeting people with equity in their properties and said it was not bound by the CML's pledge not to repossess homes where the mortgage-interest payments are being met by the DSS.
• The company's rules allow people applying for a new mortgage to add its application fee to the loan, but it refused to make concessions to Nicholas.
• The case is set to be heard on September 21, leaving the family at risk of being made homeless.

Statistics:

• The amount of arrears: £236.74
• The current mortgage balance: £30,811.80
• The proposed 13th payment by the DSS would have covered the shortfall
• The number of days' notice given: 7
• The time limit for submitting a proposal to clear the arrears: 48 hours

Sources:

• The Sunday Times, 1994 (Copyright (C) 1994)
• Marion Nicholas, Citizen
• The Mortgage Corporation, Company
• Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), Organisation
• Department of Social Security (DSS), Government Agency
• Salomon Brothers, Investment Bank