Law / Problems in Poland - Swiss mortgage, bankruptcy, jail, mental health etc [26]

Thank you for so many helpful responses. If I had of realised I would have replied last night but I guess the email subscription did not work.

jon357:
Thank you for your opinion about the swiss mortgage situation, one shared by many in Poland! I have seen one or two news stories expressing surprise at how few mortgage defaults there have been so far. It is good to hear that repossessions are rare in Poland.

Apparently there is some kind of personal bankruptcy protection available now but we need to know more about it:
millercanfield.com/resources-41.html

Unfortunately the husband did not let the gas meter reader into the house many times. Hence theft of gas.

terri:
Thanks for your clear opinion about the mortgage. I think there is some kind of potential mis-selling/duty of care/consumer protection issue here but I see no point arguing as I don't know the details.

I don't know the full history of the mortgage, but I know that they have recently asked for a payment holiday but they were unable to show that they would be able to pay it back. Apparently they get daily phone calls about missed payments. Probably exaggerated but clearly the bank know they are in trouble. I might double check to see if they have asked to renegotiate. I know they tried to remortgage, probably at least last year or even earlier, because the house is technically worth more than the mortgage, but again they were turned down due to income.

Yes, the trick is finding the legal advice and also communication between them and the wider family including myself. Know any English speaking advisors on Polish consumer law? I think the company linked to above specialises in more commercial matters.

Harry:
There's a boy under 16, so the difficulty in eviction is good news, although they cannot afford to run such a big house!

The meeting with the bank with a budget is a good idea. The wife is working flat out on low wages to put food on the table, the husband is effectively mentally incapacitated unless he snaps out of it and stays clear headed for a decent period, which is unlikely. So, convincing her to find the time to draw up a budget and take time off for the meeting could be a challenge. Managed to get a mostly complete list of debts and upcoming bills out of them a few months ago but that very soon drifted.

Other points have been answered above. The gas bill was dealt with via a short term loan so no immediate threat of court unless the mortgage, other debts and bills reach that stage.

Thanks again everyone! :-)

Law / Problems in Poland - Swiss mortgage, bankruptcy, jail, mental health etc [26]

Thanks Jon357. Another positive point for the franc mortgages is that the financial system apparently cannot handle so many people defaulting on their mortgage. So much money potentially being converted from Francs to Zloty in a short period of time would possibly cause havoc too.

The opinion on this forum does seem to be categorically going against the class action. I am not saying that this is incorrect, but I have found a few claims in news articles that deserve discussion.

Is this an entirely false statement?
"If somebody is giving loans which are so vulnerable to accidental and external factors, it is speculation which is forbidden by law"
euobserver.com/beyond-brussels/127284

And apparently:
"a consumer court has already confirmed anomalies in the bank's foreign currency loan payment calculations."
thenews.pl/1/12/Artykul/198093,Swissfranc-loan-holders-take-bank-to-court

I've tried and failed to find the result of this from the same article: "The court is to rule on the validity of the class action in its Tuesday hearing."

teargas: Oh dear: pretty large detached house with a big garden, rural location, under 10 years old. It was built rather than purchased, with family assistance, hence the mortgage being less than the theoretical value. The figures I have are vague and I lost track of which currency they were talking about, but the mortgage being 2/3 of the value could be realistic, with 20% paid off. I think it would probably clear their other debts, but maybe not much left over. They said a while ago that the house would be difficult to sell or rent out. They cannot sell the land because it is linked to the mortgage, but have begun to rent it out for grazing. I have also suggested having a lodger or two.

Law / Problems in Poland - Swiss mortgage, bankruptcy, jail, mental health etc [26]

Trying to keep this anonymous so not sure I should provide their location.

From my original post, "or pointers towards relevant advice or experts."

Will push them towards meeting the bank the next time I manage to make contact with them.

Law / Problems in Poland - Swiss mortgage, bankruptcy, jail, mental health etc [26]

Thanks again to everyone who has commented. I think we have dealt with the issues regarding this particular family's situation as well as we are going to. There have been some excellent suggestions that have been passed on.

Looks like this thread is heading into a more general discussion, which I am sure will prove interesting and I might continue to monitor.