Have you a similar experience with Paragon? Have they charged you thousands of pounds in interest? Had you previously been told the interest had been frozen and then discovered they had added the interest back?
Please add your comments using the button below, you don't have to leave your name.
I intend to write to my MP complaining about Paragon. I'm also going to be writing to the money pages of National newspapers and trying to get my story out as much as possible.
Wednesday 23 April 2008
My Paragon debt story
This is my story of how Paragon finance have turned a £4200 debt into a £25,000 debt that gets bigger every month. I'm not alone, there are many similar stories on the Internet.
12 years ago in 1996, I took an unsecured loan with Universal Credit (at that time part of TSB). I wanted to borrow £3700, the condition of the loan was I paid off an existing car loan with Abbey National which stood at £2300. The total borrowed was £6000 with monthly payments of £142.
All was well for three and a half years until I lost my job and couldn't afford the payments. CAB (Citizens Advice) negotiated with them on my behalf and the interest was frozen, I was paying reduced amounts each month. At this point my balance owed was £4212.47. My reduced payments started at £1 and quickly increased to £10 and then £20.
Paragon brought Universal Credit for £25million from the Lloyds TSB group and transferred the debt into their own name. I received a letter saying if I continued to pay the agreed amount by direct debit they would update my credit file to say the account was up to date. Nothing was mentioned about interest. At this point Paragon agreed to my monthly payments of £20 after sending an income and expenditure form.
On checking my credit file I discovered they had actually removed the debt and have never entered anything about it since.
Another couple of years went by, I was now paying £145 a month. At this point I requested a statement to see how much I owed. Paragon are not keen on giving you a balance and after several calls they eventually agreed to supply this for £25.
The statement arrived and I was very shocked to discover they had added interest back to the point when CAB had negotiated for the interest to be frozen. At that point I had owed £4212 with the interest I now owed over £12,000 and the monthly interest was more than my £145 was covering. The debt was rising each month.
At this point I realised I had to do something about the debt, so increased my payments to £176 in the hope of actually reducing the debt.
Paragon phoned me in Juky 2007 asking for increased payments, They said I had to pay £205 a month. I agreed to this on the condition they reduced the interest and didn't keep asking for higher payments. They sent a letter saying they would consider reducing the interest after 3 months of payments. I increased my payments to £215 (more than they had asked for) and never received confirmation they had reduced the interest.
Six months later they called asking for more each month. They constantly refuse to say how much interest they are charging. My balance now stands at over £13,600, that's after all the payments I have made which add up to £15,227.27. If I paid off the debt today I would have paid £28,227. , that's a whopping £22,000 interest!
This debt has already been with me for 12 years, I have already paid the debt about 3 times over and still owe nearly 3 times what the debt stood at when Paragon took it over.
In 1999 I had debts with several other lenders, all of these froze the interest and accepted reduced payments for the first couple of years. All but Paragon have since been paid in full. Paragon would also have been paid off in full many years ago if they hadn't added all the interest.
12 years ago in 1996, I took an unsecured loan with Universal Credit (at that time part of TSB). I wanted to borrow £3700, the condition of the loan was I paid off an existing car loan with Abbey National which stood at £2300. The total borrowed was £6000 with monthly payments of £142.
All was well for three and a half years until I lost my job and couldn't afford the payments. CAB (Citizens Advice) negotiated with them on my behalf and the interest was frozen, I was paying reduced amounts each month. At this point my balance owed was £4212.47. My reduced payments started at £1 and quickly increased to £10 and then £20.
Paragon brought Universal Credit for £25million from the Lloyds TSB group and transferred the debt into their own name. I received a letter saying if I continued to pay the agreed amount by direct debit they would update my credit file to say the account was up to date. Nothing was mentioned about interest. At this point Paragon agreed to my monthly payments of £20 after sending an income and expenditure form.
On checking my credit file I discovered they had actually removed the debt and have never entered anything about it since.
Another couple of years went by, I was now paying £145 a month. At this point I requested a statement to see how much I owed. Paragon are not keen on giving you a balance and after several calls they eventually agreed to supply this for £25.
The statement arrived and I was very shocked to discover they had added interest back to the point when CAB had negotiated for the interest to be frozen. At that point I had owed £4212 with the interest I now owed over £12,000 and the monthly interest was more than my £145 was covering. The debt was rising each month.
At this point I realised I had to do something about the debt, so increased my payments to £176 in the hope of actually reducing the debt.
Paragon phoned me in Juky 2007 asking for increased payments, They said I had to pay £205 a month. I agreed to this on the condition they reduced the interest and didn't keep asking for higher payments. They sent a letter saying they would consider reducing the interest after 3 months of payments. I increased my payments to £215 (more than they had asked for) and never received confirmation they had reduced the interest.
Six months later they called asking for more each month. They constantly refuse to say how much interest they are charging. My balance now stands at over £13,600, that's after all the payments I have made which add up to £15,227.27. If I paid off the debt today I would have paid £28,227. , that's a whopping £22,000 interest!
This debt has already been with me for 12 years, I have already paid the debt about 3 times over and still owe nearly 3 times what the debt stood at when Paragon took it over.
In 1999 I had debts with several other lenders, all of these froze the interest and accepted reduced payments for the first couple of years. All but Paragon have since been paid in full. Paragon would also have been paid off in full many years ago if they hadn't added all the interest.
Reviews on Paragon Finance
These comments come from www.reviewcentre.com after I left a review of Paragon Personal Finance.
"We borrowed £3,000 in in 1989 after our bank - Nat West - had turned us down and suggested we use a loan firm out of the paper. We chose Universal Credit which were later taken over by paragon. Universal Credit sent you statements, paragon have never sent a statement. From 1986 to 1993 my husband, who is in the construction industry, was made redundant three times which obviously affected our ability to pay back the loan in three years. He then went to college for 4 years when I believe we had the interest frozen. I have absolutely no idea what we owe at this moment in time but we have paid £60.00 a month for the past 6 years. What I would like to do is to offer them something like a £1,000 and be finished with the whole damn thing but I don't think it will ever go away-I have a daughter the same age as this debt, 16 - how ridiculous is that? It's an albatross I'm determined to be rid of. "
"We have a similar story, a loan taken out with Universal Credit. After money problems we are paying at a reduced rate, can't find out how much is owed. They never send statements and we were actually threatened with legal or 'some other form of action' not sure what that meant."
"Totally agree. My ex-husband and I took out a loan (in my name as he was made bankrupt)for £7,500 just before we separated. On separating I was informed as it was in my name I was now liable for the loan. Like other people I have never had a statement from Paragon despite many requests. For the past 6 years I have been making reduced payments on what i believed to be reduced interest. On receiving a statement last week (after many phone calls from myself to Paragon) I was staggered to discover I now owe £24,500!. Unknown to me they have been charging me up to £300 a month in interest. HELP!"
"me and my husband have the same problem we have been paying a 15.000 loan with paragon took out 9 yars ago we made full payment for about the first 3 years and for the last six have been making reduced payments through the consumer credit council who have now contacted us to say that it has been brought to their attention about the amount of interest we have been charged and our debt now stands at 28,000 pounds. when will it end. the ccs have instructed me to request a full statement of all charges from the start of the loan, i should not pay for this even though they will try and charge me when i receive this i need to make a complaint in writing to them they have 8 weeks to respond after this i will need to take this to the fsa obundsman ccs have informed me that there are many cases being highlighted at the moment and i should not let it go. they are encouraging everybody to do the same. please please do not let this company get away with this. we all need to make compaints and take this to the fsa. you can contact your local cab for the ccs number they are very good and are a charity set up to help people in debt all their staff are very friendly and helpful you can also find info on paragon on the office of fair trading. good luck and dont let them get away with this ."
"Same Problem here borrowed £4999 in 1994 got into trouble and went with Gregory pennington a debt management company to reduce the payments and freeze the interest which i thought had been done as i have been paying Penningtons every months since 1996. Checked up last month only to find that Paragon had not stopped the interest but also added compound interest on the arrears the result being they now want £17,000 when i have already paid them £12,000 in payments. Help Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"
"We borrowed £3,000 in in 1989 after our bank - Nat West - had turned us down and suggested we use a loan firm out of the paper. We chose Universal Credit which were later taken over by paragon. Universal Credit sent you statements, paragon have never sent a statement. From 1986 to 1993 my husband, who is in the construction industry, was made redundant three times which obviously affected our ability to pay back the loan in three years. He then went to college for 4 years when I believe we had the interest frozen. I have absolutely no idea what we owe at this moment in time but we have paid £60.00 a month for the past 6 years. What I would like to do is to offer them something like a £1,000 and be finished with the whole damn thing but I don't think it will ever go away-I have a daughter the same age as this debt, 16 - how ridiculous is that? It's an albatross I'm determined to be rid of. "
"We have a similar story, a loan taken out with Universal Credit. After money problems we are paying at a reduced rate, can't find out how much is owed. They never send statements and we were actually threatened with legal or 'some other form of action' not sure what that meant."
"Totally agree. My ex-husband and I took out a loan (in my name as he was made bankrupt)for £7,500 just before we separated. On separating I was informed as it was in my name I was now liable for the loan. Like other people I have never had a statement from Paragon despite many requests. For the past 6 years I have been making reduced payments on what i believed to be reduced interest. On receiving a statement last week (after many phone calls from myself to Paragon) I was staggered to discover I now owe £24,500!. Unknown to me they have been charging me up to £300 a month in interest. HELP!"
"me and my husband have the same problem we have been paying a 15.000 loan with paragon took out 9 yars ago we made full payment for about the first 3 years and for the last six have been making reduced payments through the consumer credit council who have now contacted us to say that it has been brought to their attention about the amount of interest we have been charged and our debt now stands at 28,000 pounds. when will it end. the ccs have instructed me to request a full statement of all charges from the start of the loan, i should not pay for this even though they will try and charge me when i receive this i need to make a complaint in writing to them they have 8 weeks to respond after this i will need to take this to the fsa obundsman ccs have informed me that there are many cases being highlighted at the moment and i should not let it go. they are encouraging everybody to do the same. please please do not let this company get away with this. we all need to make compaints and take this to the fsa. you can contact your local cab for the ccs number they are very good and are a charity set up to help people in debt all their staff are very friendly and helpful you can also find info on paragon on the office of fair trading. good luck and dont let them get away with this ."
"Same Problem here borrowed £4999 in 1994 got into trouble and went with Gregory pennington a debt management company to reduce the payments and freeze the interest which i thought had been done as i have been paying Penningtons every months since 1996. Checked up last month only to find that Paragon had not stopped the interest but also added compound interest on the arrears the result being they now want £17,000 when i have already paid them £12,000 in payments. Help Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"
Paragon Website -
"Welcome to Paragon Personal Finance, one of the leading finance providers in the UK – you’re now just a few clicks away from an easier financial life. If you need financial help for home improvements, a new car, debt consolidation or those special events in life, such as weddings or big celebrations, you're in the right place. We’ll apply our specialist experience and expertise to your individual requirements, giving you the help and service you need. We’re a FISA (Finance Industry Standards Association) approved lender and we’re also a member of the FLA (Finance & Leasing Association). So we come well accredited in financial solutions.We’ve a whole host of secured loan products to suit most circumstances. Have a browse through our website and we’re sure we'll find the right loan for you." From the Paragon website - http://www.paragon-finance.co.uk/
I especially like the bit "a few clicks away from an easier financial life.".
I especially like the bit "a few clicks away from an easier financial life.".
This is Money - Link about Paragon
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/dealing-with-debt/article.html?in_article_id=424185&in_page_id=62
Another article about the huge amounts of interest claimed by Paragon Personal Finance.
Another article about the huge amounts of interest claimed by Paragon Personal Finance.
CCA request
I made a CCA request to Paragon and this is what they sent back. The form had my name and address typed in the top, but isn't dated and doesn't contain my signature or a signature for Paragon.
The terms and conditions state they must give written notice of changes to the interest. They have never done this.
My next step is to send a S.A.R. which will force them to send copies of everything they have on me.
Click on these images to see the full size document.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)