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Ropaigealach v Barclays Bank plc [2000] QB 263

Ropaigealach v Barclays Bank plc [2000] QB 263


Citation:Ropaigealach v Barclays Bank plc [2000] QB 263

Link to case on WorldLII.

Rule of thumb: If you default on a mortgage repayment, and the exactly correct debt collection letters are not sent to you, could you dodge a repossession? As a general rule, yes – if there are faults in the debt-collection & notifications then the repossession can be avoided/delayed on a technicality.

Judgment:

the facts of this case were that a mortgagee fell behind on mortgage payments due to an administrative mix up, and due to a further administrative mix up, the mortgagee did not receive the letter threatening an eviction. The gentleman and his family were subsequently evicted and the gentleman argued that this could not be done without a Court hearing. The Court held that it could, although it has to take measures to ensure that the letter is received, but the Court held that under the Administration of Justice Act 1970 these measures had been taken, ‘It does however strike me as very curious that mortgagors should only have protection in the case where the mortgagee chooses to take legal proceedings and not in the case where he chooses simply to enter the property... 68. As the Court emphasised in McCann the loss of one's home is the most extreme form of interference with the right to respect for the home. Any person at risk of an interference of this magnitude should in principle be able to have the proportionality of the measure determined by an independent tribunal in light of the relevant principles under Article 8 of the Convention, notwithstanding that, under domestic law, his right to occupation has come to an end’, Chadwick LJ

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Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.