A duo, Liam Philpott and his wife Anne Pounds, has accused a debt-buying firm of attempting to auction off a segment of their farmland following an Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) assertion that their IR£61,000 loans were settled in full 12 years back. According to Ms Justice Siobhán Stack, presiding judge in the High Court, the case will be “truly astonishing” if the 2012 correspondence confirming the debt clearance and the lack of IBRC’s interest in the folio turns out true. However, she admitted that she has not heard the defendants’ side, Pepper Finance Corporation (Ireland) DAC and receiver Colin Gaynor.
She was, however, convinced that she could issue temporary restraining orders preventing the proposed sale of 9.2 acres of land until the next court hearing set for the following Wednesday. Here, the defendants will have a chance to answer the allegations.
The farming pair allege that the debt of €27,694 that Pepper claims is due, is “imaginary” and the supposed arrears and interest applied is a “hoax”. They argue that the firm and Mr.Gaynor listed their 9.2 acres land for €110,000, a price that dwarfs the alleged arrears they refute.
Mr. Philpott, who resides in Kanturk, stated that he received an inheritance of 113 acres in 1987 from his father. The land runs along the side of a road in Boherascrub, west of county Cork. In 1990, he sourced funds amounting to £55,000 from Irish Nationwide Building Society (INBS) later adding £6,000 in 1994, both supposed to close in 2010. Before its dissolution and acquisition by the IBRC, he claimed he took issue with INBS’s ‘mismanagement’ of his mortgage accounts and made official grievances to the Financial Services and Pension Ombudsman’s predecessor.
Mr Philpott had quarrels with the ombudsman, which were documented. In 2012, he claimed, the IRBC sent him a letter noting that the loan duration was over, and all outstanding dues to the society had been remitted. Furthermore, the IBRC had given up any claim to the Boherascrub location. Based on this communication, Mr Philpott stopped his direct debit payments. However, eventually, the “loans” were bought by Shoreline Residential and later resold to Pepper. He protested that the farmlands were inaccurately classified as residential properties.
In March, Pepper demanded an unclear payment of €15,840 in “arrears” and €11,854 in “interest”, according to Mr Philpott. In April, he found out Mr Gaynor, residing on Marine Road, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, was assigned as a receiver for certain properties.
Mr Philpott mentioned Mr Gaynor demanded ownership of 113 acres of farm worth roughly €2 million to settle the supposed arrears and accrued interest. He found a “for sale” poster on a section of his land on the 4th of July, and later realised around 9.2 acres were advertised for sale on the internet. Based on the IBRC letter, his legal counsellors believe that since August 15, 2012, Pepper has been barred from filing any claims.
Michael O’Doherty, the couple’s lawyer, succeeded in achieving temporary court orders on Tuesday, halting the sale of the land until further notice. Ms Justice Stack observed the one-sided evidence offered, and conveyed that the 2012 letter seems a strong indication that the loan was nullified. Yet, her perspective could alter considering the defendants’ retort.