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Question about Paragon

Tabby_Kitten_2
Posts: 159 Forumite
My mum and dad have a loan with Paragon, I'm not to sure of the details, but at the beggining of this year someone who had phoned from the company let slip that every time they call then my parents are being charged £30 a time for it, even if they just get an answer machine.
Since then they keep asking for a breakdown of what they owe them and what for, e.g. what's left of the loan, interest, charges for phone calls, letters, etc. nothing has ever arrived.
Would they be covered by the same rules as banks so if I/my parents wrote to them asking for a break down they would have to send it within 40 days?
Also are any of these charges re-claimable like bank charges? I know they're different to a bank but thought it was worth asking just in case.
Since then they keep asking for a breakdown of what they owe them and what for, e.g. what's left of the loan, interest, charges for phone calls, letters, etc. nothing has ever arrived.
Would they be covered by the same rules as banks so if I/my parents wrote to them asking for a break down they would have to send it within 40 days?
Also are any of these charges re-claimable like bank charges? I know they're different to a bank but thought it was worth asking just in case.
A Life Less Simple - one day I'll get there
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Comments
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hi tabby,
that sounds awful!! why are they calling your parents! that sounds ridiculous as they could call 10 times a day and charge each time!
if they are calling for a purpose, ie your parents are behind on the payments then a small charge when they actually speak to them would be reasonable but £30!!!!
i'd say you'd have excellent grounds to fight this with paragon as being excessive.
I guess that if you've also asked for a breakdown then they should provide you with on ebut hopefully someone else will come on with the legal side of that soon!!
Best wishes!debt @05/11/11 £12210.63!! slowly chipping away!!:heart2:impossible is nothing.:heart2:0 -
Thanks Pania,
They when they've miss or are late with a payment, and some times if they think they should be getting more money and want a SOA.
Over the last couple of years my dads been un-well and in and out of hospital for different thing and fair enough if they can't talk to me about details but to charge £30 for that seems a little silly.A Life Less Simple - one day I'll get there0 -
Tabby_Kitten wrote: »Over the last couple of years my dads been un-well and in and out of hospital for different thing and fair enough if they can't talk to me about details but to charge £30 for that seems a little silly.
Silly?!!! It's downright outrageous!!! :eek: :mad:
Surely you should be able to challenge this and get the charges refunded?0 -
My O/H had a defaulted loan with them, he had a lot of debt and couldn't make payment on any of it. Anyway I did all his paperwork, sorting out etc. We got a statement from them ( they produce them easily ) and it was absolutely chock-a-block full of racked up charges - charges for them attempting to call him, charges for visits that never took place, charges for 'miscellaneous' ,charges for returned direct debits. Now when he got into difficulty I wrote to them, outlining his situation, enclosing I & E and telling them his bank account had been CLOSED ( special delivery ). But they charged for 12 months worth of returned direct debits to a closed account they knew was closed ( the cust services confirmed this ).
Don't be too shocked when you do get the statement - it'll be mind-boggling.0 -
Thanks for that, it's really useful. Do you mind me asking what you're doing/done with this? Other than getting a statment I'm not sure what else I can do, even when I have what it is my parents owe and what for.My O/H had a defaulted loan with them, he had a lot of debt and couldn't make payment on any of it. Anyway I did all his paperwork, sorting out etc. We got a statement from them ( they produce them easily ) and it was absolutely chock-a-block full of racked up charges - charges for them attempting to call him, charges for visits that never took place, charges for 'miscellaneous' ,charges for returned direct debits. Now when he got into difficulty I wrote to them, outlining his situation, enclosing I & E and telling them his bank account had been CLOSED ( special delivery ). But they charged for 12 months worth of returned direct debits to a closed account they knew was closed ( the cust services confirmed this ).
Don't be too shocked when you do get the statement - it'll be mind-boggling.A Life Less Simple - one day I'll get there0 -
Tabby kitten
This loan was one of 4 big debts. He hadn't paid anything significant for 18 months. He appeared ( to them ) a lost cause.
The loan balance including charges was about 5.5K. It was a joint loan with his ex-wife ( who had disappeared ). We did a f&f settlement with them. It was for £ 1250. But this f&f was in respect of his liability for the debt only, they reserved the right to chase his ex for any balance. I did a fair bit of research and the feedback was Paragon were shysters who were hard nuts to negotiate with. So it was an ok settlement for him. But like I said, his history was as a 'lost cause ', minimal payments over a long period, unlikely employment prospects, no property or assets so they agreed a reasonable settlement.
One other thing - following advice, I asked for a signed copy of the loan agreement ( hoping they wouldn't have it ). They did.0 -
What would have been the case if they didn't have a signed copy of the loan agreement? What about the charges, is there any way you can get these taken off the account? or at least some of them. At one point they were phoning everyday for a week, only to be told that samething "no, you can't to speak to either of them, my dad's in hospital and won't be out for at least a week, someone will phone you then" I hate to think how much that cost.
I would have thought that my mum and dad would be a 'lost cause' as well, my dad's been signed off sick for two years this month (and has just broken his leg) and my mum hasn't work for at least four years now, probably more, as she home educats my two younger sisters.
They've missed loads of payments in the last couple of years.A Life Less Simple - one day I'll get there0 -
What would have been the case if they didn't have a signed copy of the loan agreement?
I understood they would then have difficulty going to Court. No signed agreement = disputable debt.
What about the charges, is there any way you can get these taken off the account? or at least some of them.
If it were my debt and I was repaying in full, I'd argue like hell. Don't know if they're 'unlawful' like bank charges but possibly. In case of O/H because it was a f&f settlement, we said all there is is £1250, take it or leave it. Didn't matter whether the debt was 5.5K or 9K, that's all there was, so it was a waste of effort arguing about the charges.
I would have thought that my mum and dad would be a 'lost cause' as well.
Well they could try a f&f but I don't know if they've got any money. Otherwise a small monthly that they can afford. Hope they don't own their house cos every unsecured seems to be looking for charging orders. Bottom line, if they acknowledge the debt then all they can afford, is what they can afford. Is it the only debt or are there more ? Have they considered bankrupcy ?0
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