Two borrowers, who unsuccessfully argued at the County Court that their mortgage broker had been “bribed“, have been presented with bankruptcy petitions by the failed peer-to-peer lending firm FundingSecure.
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Reporting by Daniel Cloake.
In July 2016 an amount totalling some £68k, crowdfunded by members of the public using the FundingSecure platform, was advanced to Ms Fahmida Anwar of London E1 and Ms Ruxana Begum, of London E2.
This loan was secured by a second charge registered against a buy-to-let flat in Redclyf House, Bethnal Green.
The loan had been ‘rolled over’ to account for accruing interest and the total amount borrowed ultimately increased to £78,000. No repayments were made.
In November 2022 the mouseinthecourt exclusively reported on a court case involving the borrowers and the platform.
The court was told that the total amount due, as of day one of the trial, was around £203,000 including interest. Legal costs of some £130k had also accumulated.
Ms Begum and Ms Anwar had tried to argue that their mortgage broker had taken a so-called secret commission and that this would affect their obligations to repay the entire debt.
See Mortgage broker was in “cahoots” with borrower as secret commission defence fails, court rules.
Ultimately the claim was unsuccessful and FundingSecure were granted possession of the underlying asset – an East London flat, and a money judgment of some £200k
According to HM Land Registry office the flat sold in March 2023 for £250k — it had been bought in 2015 for £340k.
It is not known how much money was secured by the first charge holder, understood to be the Lancashire Mortgage Corporation Limited. This would have priority against any monies owed to FundingSecure.
This site can exclusively reveal that earlier today two bankruptcy petitions were presented against the borrowers by FundingSecure.
FundingSecure are understood to have instructed Borehamwood based law firm Brightstone Law.
Further details about the claim, including the amounts owed, is not yet available. The merits of the claim have yet to be tested in court.
Case Details
Case Numbers:
BR-2023-000998 Anwar, Fahmida
BR-2023-000999 Begum, Ruxana
Filed 11/12/2023
Mouse in the Court 