Bank says repossession is "last resort"

24 October 2008

Abbey has said that in instances when its customers enter into arrears with their mortgages, it views repossession of their homes as a "last resort".

According to the bank, even prior to recommendations recently issued by the government concerning the issue, its policy was always to attempt to contact homeowners to agree alternative repayment options.

It added: "However, in line with the government`s recommendations, we are now taking this a step further. We have already invested in extra resources in this area to allow greater levels of proactive contact with every customer who goes into arrears."

Abbey added that it is more lenient with customers who have low levels of arrears, saying they will not be passed immediately into litigation.

Earlier this week, the Council of Mortgage Lenders issued new guidance concerning the treatment of mortgage holders who fall behind on their home loan repayments due to personal finance problems.

Tags: bank, banks, repossession, repossessed, repossession last resort

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