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You are > Home > Mother’s heartbreak as Scrooge bankers take home
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Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Mother’s heartbreak as Scrooge bankers take home
By Deirdre Dalton
THE mother at the centre of a High Court case, where an order has been made for the possession of her home, told the Waterford News & Star she is feeling “very sad and despondent”, a week after her worst nightmare became a reality.
The former Waterford Crystal worker, whose husband also worked for the company, had taken out a €277,000 mortgage with lender Stepstone Mortgage Funding with an interest rate of nearly 11% in early 2008. The couple put an additional €70,000 in savings towards the purchase and later adapted the house for their special needs son. Mortgage arrears have mounted to nearly €40,000, the court heard last week.
“We worked hard, paid tax, tried to rear a family and now we are about to lose our home with all our investment we set aside for our special needs son,” she said.
The mother-of-three, who has two grown up children and a 17-year-old with special needs, said she is still being harassed by the banks, despite a six-month stay being put on the order.
“They phone anytime, even on Sunday evenings. Since the court case they are still phoning me and saying I will have to pay interest and other expenses for every day I stay in my home.”
The couple offered to pay €800 a month, including all of their carer’s allowance, but the lender refused in court to accept the offer.
Counsel for the lender was also granted legal costs from the defendant despite the judge suggesting he hoped this wouldn’t be requested because of the woman’s predicament.
“I am so upset at the moment I can’t even look at the options right now. We moved from the countryside into town, hoping it would help our son’s future and now I don’t know what we are going to do.”
“I am a mother and a good mother, who will fight at any cost to keep my family safe and that’s what I intend to do.
“When you are in the predicament as I am, we have nothing more to lose except for our pride and dignity. Everyone in my predicament should think like this and face those who are suffocating our soul, instead of letting the fat cats bully us and humiliate us.”
“We did not do anything wrong. We are now made to suffer by losing our jobs and being stamped upon as a nuisance to society and being treated as dirt. I am not going to let that happen to my son or to my family. I am going to do everything in my power to keep my home and so should others.”
The Waterford woman also had her heating cut off and there was a threat of losing her ESB due to bill arrears.
“If it wasn’t for the New Dawn charity and the quick prompt action from its volunteers, I don’t know what I would have done. The founder of New Dawn contacted me and I had heating back in my home by Thursday evening,” she said.
New Dawn, who are a Wexford based charity, have set up a fund for the family. For further information contact 053 9420068 or info@newdawn.ie.
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