Wirral homeowners who fall behind with mortgage payments will get help sooner

Oct 22 2008 by Matt Hurst, Birkenhead News

WIRRAL homeowners who fall behind with their mortgage payments will receive government help after 13 weeks, not nine months as before, according to Treasury Minister Angela Eagle.

As the credit crunch bites and national jobless figures face the biggest rise in 17 years, the authorities have intervened to ensure repossession is “the last resort” for banks.

Before Monday, a gap existed between the grace period allowed by mortgage lenders on defaulting payments and the availability of government support.

The issue was raised last wee, as Wirral hosted a major multi-agency conference on debt and loan sharks, called by Merseyside TUC and attended by Trading Standards, unions, banks and Angela Eagle.

The Wallasey MP told the News: “If someone loses their job, we’ll enable their mortgage interest to be paid from 13 weeks, not nine months, in recognition of the problem the gap could cause.

“We’ve also taken some stocks in banks, so we’re saying they have to treat their customers fairly, and that repossession has to be the last resort.

“There should be a process of coming to agreements, rescheduling, a range of things, before they even think about going for repossession.”

l For confidential, independent advice on loan sharks, call 0300 555 2222 or for more general debt advice, call 0808 808 4000