Blue Chip victims told to put up or shut house up

The owners of at least 30 Tauranga homes caught up in the Blue Chip collapse have reportedly been served with property law act notices ordering them to make payments on their mortgages or risk losing their houses.
Among them are elderly couple Victor Hickman, 87, and Vivienne Ensor, 83, who seven years ago re-mortgaged their waterfront Ngatai Rd property through Tasman Mortgages to allow them to invest in a Blue Chip apartment development scheme in Auckland.
Earlier this month they were served with a property law act (PLA) notice instructing them to pay $6246.94 in interest on their mortgage. If payment is not made by September 16, the couple's entire $317,976.18 mortgage falls due and a mortgagee sale becomes a possibility.
Mr Hickman said the person serving the PLA notice told him he had recently handed out about 30 similar notices to people in the Tauranga area affected by the Blue Chip collapse.
However, Mr Hickman had been advised by Auckland-based Ellis Law, which is acting for several hundred Blue Chip investors, to not make the interest payments.
Ellis Law principal Brian Ellis said it was important the pair did not hand over any more money, pending further investigations and negotiations with primary finance lender GE Money.
Mr Ellis said the Government also had to take some responsibility for the problems Blue Chip investors were experiencing.
"I believe the Government has been woefully inadequate in its response in a number of areas here.
"If they had stopped playing around with social legislation ... and put some controls in place years ago for advisers and financial advisers in particular, I don't believe a lot of these problems would have happened. It's the wild west."
Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel has asked lenders to stop making demands for loan repayments until investigations by the Serious Fraud Office were complete.
Mr Hickman said he and his partner were desperate to keep their home, which was part-way through being renovated.
"Life was sweet, we were going on cruises and doing all sorts of things and then all of a sudden everything went into receivership.
The stress was such that on July 18, Mrs Ensor had a heart attack. Mr Hickman said he was concerned about further health problems if the couple's house had to be sold.
"If it came to a mortgagee sale, it would probably be the end of Viv."
Mr Hickman said the couple had a lot of support.
"The thing is, Viv and I are very close - it's only through uniting that we're able to overcome problems like this.
"I'm astounded at the amount of friends that are behind us, and that gives me strength."
Investor watchdog group EUFA (Exposing Unacceptable Financial Activities) has organised a meeting at the Tauranga RSA next Thursday for all interested parties concerned about the fallout from the collapse of Blue Chip and other finance and investment groups.
The meeting starts at 10am.
EUFA co-ordinator Suzanne Edmonds said the serving of PLA notices was bad news for those already reeling at the prospect of losing their home.
"Anyone that's received a PLA should start packing really, unless they can come up with the money."
Mrs Edmonds said the Bay had been hit particularly hard by the collapse of companies like Blue Chip. "I believe it's the worst thing that has happened in New Zealand since the depression."