HSBC Watch News Release Forum Index
Forum Name: - Mortgages
Topic Title: HSBC UK Mortgage Article
Fri Sep 16, 2005 8:40 am
Sep 16 2005: AN ELDERLY widow who fears she could lose her home has started a court action over a £500,000 loan.
Grace Bainbridge says she has cried herself to sleep since finding out about the interest she owes on the huge loan taken out in her name.
The 93-year-old told the Advertiser she never agreed to borrow the money and claims she was misled by her financial adviser over the transaction.
She has now filed a civil claim against him and the bank which made the loan. The claim has been brought before Croydon County Court.
Mrs Bainbridge said: "I have been suicidal over this. I have never owed a penny in my life and now the interest I owe could be up to £50,000.
"I can barely sleep because I'm so worried about what's going to happen."
Her claim against financial adviser Van Greaves, a financial firm, her former solicitors Caplans and HSBC bank was served on August 17. They now have until October to file a defence.
In her claim form Mrs Bainbridge, a retired chiropodist, is described as an elderly widow who had difficulty under-standing her financial affairs and placed complete trust in her advisers.
It states that in 2001 Mr Greaves approached a finance company about a scheme requiring her to take a £500,000 loan to buy a bond, a financial product designed to pay an annual income as part of an inheritance tax saving plan.
The loan would be secured by a mortgage on her home in Stafford Road, Croydon, but the pensioner is adamant she had no idea about what it would involve.
She claims that the first she knew about the loan was in September 2002 when HSBC began demanding interest of more than £22,000 a year.
Since then she says she has been wracked by anxiety fearing she could lose everything she and her late husband worked for.
She said: "I get so worried just thinking about all that money. My husband was always very careful with our finances. We worked our whole lives to pay off the mortgage on our house and now it's all for nothing."
It is believed all the parties involved intend to defend the action and deny any liability.
Financial adviser Mr Van Greaves told the Advertiser he would not like to comment while court preceedings were under way.
HSBC also said it was not in a position to comment on the case but the bank is understood to have suspended interest charges on the loan while any legal action is being taken.
Caplans was unavailable for comment.
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