Paragon query/ advice if poss !

Pinky85

sourcrates said:

Yes, conform by email, but if you sent a letter previously, surely that should be sufficient for them, strange.

As predicted I knew they would. They have emailed back to say the email address is unverified like they said before . So they’ve asked for date of birth and any other previous addresses lived at. I have replied with these . Have I done the right thing ? 

sourcrates

Pinky85 said:

sourcrates said:

Yes, conform by email, but if you sent a letter previously, surely that should be sufficient for them, strange.

As predicted I knew they would. They have emailed back to say the email address is unverified like they said before . So they’ve asked for date of birth and any other previous addresses lived at. I have replied with these . Have I done the right thing ? 

Which is why you sent a letter, as a letter is deemed to be from the debtor.

Yes, you have to pass data protection in order to be identified.

Pinky85

sourcrates said:

Pinky85 said:

sourcrates said:

Yes, conform by email, but if you sent a letter previously, surely that should be sufficient for them, strange.

As predicted I knew they would. They have emailed back to say the email address is unverified like they said before . So they’ve asked for date of birth and any other previous addresses lived at. I have replied with these . Have I done the right thing ? 

Which is why you sent a letter, as a letter is deemed to be from the debtor.

Yes, you have to pass data protection in order to be identified.

Ok thanks. They’ve said they will write back with there findings of my complaint within 8 weeks of the date which I sent the original letter. 

It wasn’t really a complaint though was it, it was a prove it letter. 

sourcrates

Let them treat it as a complaint, see what conclusion they come to and post back when they respond.

Pinky85

sourcrates said:

Let them treat it as a complaint, see what conclusion they come to and post back when they respond.

I’ve had a reply. Here it is - 

Dear 

Account Number:

Further to my email of 10 October 2024, I have now investigated your complaint fully and in line with

our Complaints Procedure, I am in a position to provide you with a final response. My investigation

has concluded that I am unable to uphold your complaint.

To enable you to understand the reasons for my decision, I would like to take you through the facts of

the investigation and share my conclusions with you.

Your Complaint

I am sorry you feel dissatisfied with the service you have received from Paragon Personal Finance

(Paragon). As a member of the Customer Relations Team, my role is to act independently to the rest

of the functioning business, to bring a fair and reasonable resolution to both parties.

As I understand it, in your letter dated 4 September 2024, you mentioned that you have no knowledge

of the above account and the outstanding balance due to Paragon Personal Finance.

My Investigation

I have undertaken a review of the above account and noted it relates to a secured loan taken out with

Paragon Personal Finance in January 2007.

The loan was secured against the property, **** This was a

joint secured loan between yourself and your wife.

To assist me with understanding the history of the account, I have undertaken my review from the

inception of the loan.

The contractual monthly repayments were met until August 2012 when arrears started to accrue on

the account.

In April 2014, Supreme Law Solicitors contacted Paragon as they were acting on behalf of yourself

and your wife . The stated they were acting on your behalf in relation to the sale of ****

under the Mortgage Rescue Scheme.

Further communication was received on 15 July 2014 confirming the property had been sold and a

cheque totalling £11,572.76 was enclosed.

I noted terms were agreed with the solicitors in order for Paragon to accept the shortfall, it was agreed

following the sale of the property, payments of £170.00 would be made each calendar month until the

shortfall was paid in full, and this would be reviewed every 3 months.

In October 2014, a Debt Management Company called PayPlan contacted Paragon and it was noted

you had entered into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA).

Paragon were notified in June 2017 the Individual Voluntary Arrangement had failed.

Your letter of 5 June 2017 was updated to the account on 22 June 2017, within this letter you

explained your current circumstances and provided your income and expenditure information. You

also requested Paragon write off the outstanding balance.

As this letter was passed onto Paragon from the Debt Management Company and the home address

for you on this letter was not verified, a detailed response could not be sent.

Paragon did however send contact letters to this address requesting you contact the office.

I can see an email was received from you in November 2017 stating your wife  dis not reside at this

address, as the email address was also unverified, contact letters to ***** continued.

Attempts were also made to trace your current address and contact information; however, these

attempts were unsuccessful.

My Findings

Although we were unable to contact you, I believe you are aware of this debt and the outstanding

balance, as well as what it relates to.

Paragon endeavoured to speak with you following your letter of 5 June 2017, however, they were

unable to reach you.

Considering the available information, I have been unable to uphold your complaint.

Next Steps

Thank you for confirming your current address, I have arranged for our file to be updated. I am sorry

to hear you are going through a difficult time. Due to the comments in your recent email, I have

referred your account to our Specialist Support Team.

The team are there to provide you a more focussed service out of our normal collection’s strategy.

They are focused on understanding the sensitivity of your circumstances and provide extra support in

your time of difficulty.

The Specialist Support Team will be in touch with you to advise of next steps. If you have any further

queries relating to your account, please do not hesitate to contact them by your preferred method of

contact and they will be happy to assist you. I have provided their contact details below:

Telephone: 

Email: 

What to do if you disagree with my decision…

You have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman

Service, free of charge - but you must do so within six months of the date of this letter.

If you do not refer your complaint in time, the Ombudsman will not have our permission to consider

your complaint and so will only be able to do so in very limited circumstances. 

Can you advise what to do next. We can’t afford these payments and why should his ex wife get away with this ? 

sourcrates

See what their "specialist team" have  to say.

Pinky85

sourcrates said:

See what their "specialist team" have  to say.

Ok. Really can’t afford to start paying them each month . 

Pinky85

sourcrates said:

See what their "specialist team" have  to say.

Hi, we have had a letter off the specialist support team. 

They basically want my partner to send any copies of up to date supporting medical documentation that we need ish for them to hold. A completed income and expenditure form which they attached . 

 

They’ve said they’ve placed the account on hold for 28 days whilst we get this info together .  They’ve said maybe he should consider asking a friend or family to help deal with the account and have put a letter of authority form in too. numbers for independent advice aswell. 

What shall I do ? I know they said in previous findings of the complaint that they feel he is aware of the debt but he hasn’t admitted that ? 

Somebody told me about a debt relief order … is this the way to go ? Or could I get this debt written off some other way? 

I don’t see why my bf is baring the brunt of this when it’s a joint mortgage shortfall debt with his ex wife . 

Any help appreciated . Thanks 🙏 

ManyWays

As this was a secured loan, it wont become statute barred until 12 years after the sale, which was in 2014. So hoping the debt is or will become statute barred is not an option that is likely to work. 

Sending the medical evidence they want is the simplest option at this point. This needs to show that there is no prospect of him recovering and being able to work within the next few years, the longer the better. Apart from some hassle, there is no downside to doing this at all. With this evidence ask them to write off the debt as he cannot make any payments at the moment, he has no assets, and this is not likely to change.

If they wont write it off, he could offer them £1 a month. Or complain that they are being unreasonable and send the complaint to the ombudsman if they dont change their mind.

His other options are a DRO or bankruptcy. Either would clear not just this debt but the other debt he is paying £1 a month to. There is a fee for bankruptcy but it has the advantage that it would clear all the debts including any not listed and any that may crawl out of the woodwork from the failed IVA. 

I don’t see why my bf is baring the brunt of this when it’s a joint mortgage shortfall debt with his ex wife . 
The lender is entitled to chase them both or either one. Not possible to dispute this. 

Pinky85

ManyWays said:

As this was a secured loan, it wont become statute barred until 12 years after the sale, which was in 2014. So hoping the debt is or will become statute barred is not an option that is likely to work. 

Sending the medical evidence they want is the simplest option at this point. This needs to show that there is no prospect of him recovering and being able to work within the next few years, the longer the better. Apart from some hassle, there is no downside to doing this at all. With this evidence ask them to write off the debt as he cannot make any payments at the moment, he has no assets, and this is not likely to change.

If they wont write it off, he could offer them £1 a month. Or complain that they are being unreasonable and send the complaint to the ombudsman if they dont change their mind.

His other options are a DRO or bankruptcy. Either would clear not just this debt but the other debt he is paying £1 a month to. There is a fee for bankruptcy but it has the advantage that it would clear all the debts including any not listed and any that may crawl out of the woodwork from the failed IVA. 

I don’t see why my bf is baring the brunt of this when it’s a joint mortgage shortfall debt with his ex wife . 
The lender is entitled to chase them both or either one. Not possible to dispute this. 

We got a thing off his GP a month or so ago which states all the medication he is on and what for from 2008 until today , it’s one of those free copies you’re entitled too off your GP , we used that to get his other two dents he was paying written off and it worked . Would it be sufficient for this ? Only thing is in the last week or so he has had a change of anti depressants due to his new body dysmorphia and potential OCD is now mentioned on his medical record on the NHS app his mental health nurse wrote. So these new things won’t be on the evidence we already have. I am unsure if we are able to get this extra update for free as we were told you can only have one free copy but It was a summary we opted for not the full lot. 

I also have a letter off his drug worker stating he is under them for addiction but it’s from a few years ago. I could ask for another one if needed I think. 

Please advise if these things are sufficient enough or do we need a full written letter off his GP or mental health nurse ? 

He is currently paying £10 a month to HMRC for a tax credits over payment they received when married in 2014 I think it was. He currently has about £1600 of that left to pay I’ve been told recently. Been paying that for about 8 years at least. 

Thanks