« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
MORTGAGE ARREARS AND REPOSSESSIONS IN SCOTLAND
Annex Two: Information contained in Court Registers
A2.1 Case Reference Number - listed by date and numeric code. This reference number allows each case to be linked to information in the court processes.
A2.2 Primary Crave - defined as the primary order being pursued in an action. It is the first crave listed in the manual registers, and it forms a separate field in the Edinburgh computerised database. In a repossession case, the crave is usually recovery of possession of heritable property or recovery of property with expenses. Cases purely to do with debt are dealt with under a second act, and so are not confused with repossession. Craves are not listed in Falkirk, Aberdeen or Glasgow in the registers but only in the processes. The crave in the Falkirk records in 2000 is usually recorded as Conveyancing and Feudal Reform Scotland Act (1970).
A2.3 Secondary Craves - these are the other orders in addition to the primary crave. They are not consistently recorded at all courts, and out of the four, the Edinburgh computerised database is the only one which allows for a secondary crave to be recorded. Since repossession cases are being identified as under the Conveyancing and Feudal Reform Scotland Act (1970), and not by the crave, the craves are less important in this research project. They are not being collected from the registers but were collected from the processes.
A2.4 Notice of Intention to Defend (NID) - the NID date is recorded as an indication of whether cases actually proceeded as defended or undefended. It is not 100% reliable as a note of intention to defend may have been lodged, and then later no defence may have been made. This was double-checked in the processes. It should be highlighted that there are very few cases of defence made in a case of repossession. It was discovered in the double-checking that even where a NID data existed in the registers, examination of the processes showed that very few of the defenders actually made an appearance.
A2.5 Date Action Lodged/date of initial writ - this can be used to identify cases of relevance over a specified time period, and also to determine the length of the court cases.
A2.6 Date of Final Decree - if this field is blank, it means the case is still active or has been settled out of court/dismissed and no decree was granted. If a date is given, it means the case is concluded. It can be used to establish the length of an action.
A2.7 Names for pursuer(s), defender(s) and their agents. Pursuers are nearly all banks or building societies. Mostly just the solicitor for the pursuer is given, however occasionally, where a defence has been made, a defence solicitor is given. Sometimes though the person had defended themselves and a note of 'party defender' was made.
A2.8 All this information is also in the court processes.
A2.9 The register was used to sample court processes relating to repossession, as repossession cases have been identified. A 15% random sample of case IDs was drawn from the registers data after the data had been ordered by date, with an additional booster of cases which had been registered as defended.
COURT PROCESSES
A2.10 Complete list of craves (including interim orders). The court processes list the primary crave, all secondary craves, and all interim orders craved by the pursuer.
A2.11 Outcome of craves. These data can be related to the craves to show the incidence of court orders granted/not granted by the sheriff. It should be noted though that although it is possible to show whether or not the decree was granted, it is not possible to find out if the order was acted on and if a repossession actually occurred.
A2.12 Name and Address Details for pursuer(s), defender(s) and their agents. This information has been used to contact parties for potential interview.
A2.13 Defences Processes identify whether cases have been defended and they outline the defenders' craves and the outcomes of these. However, nearly all repossessions are undefended.
A2.14 Amount The amount of the money being pursued, as well as the interest (can be given in many separate amounts for different periods with different interest rates). Also the amount of expenses being pursued may be given.
A2.15 Date of original standard security In most cases this shows have long the person owned the house before the repossession proceedings began. In some cases though the borrower may have switched lenders at some point during their ownership of the property.
« Previous | Contents | Next »