Paragon Loans Review

Overall Rating

None

High interest, very difficult to deal with if you fall into arrears

I took out a loan with Universal Credit (now Paragon personal finance) in 1994. I wanted to borrow £3500, but they insisted I pay off an exisisting loan, so the total borrowed was £6000.
4 years into the 6 year loan I lost my job and could not afford the repayments. My local CAB money centre negotiated reduced payments to Paragon and all seemed fine. The problem was Paragon forgot to mention they would continue charging interest at a very high rate. I was paying £10 a month and they where charging £250 a month in interest without telling me.

Now Paragon are not very good at telling you how much you owe, in fact they refuse to tell you. So for the next 4 years I continued paying reduced payments, with an increase every year.

In 2000 Paragon sent a new contract which stated if I signed it my loan would be up to date and they would accept reduced payments.

At the end of 2003 I contacted Paragon to find how much I owed, they could not tell me unless I paid £25. So I pay my £25 and waited for the paperwork to arrive, only it did not. After 3 more phone calls I eventually got my paperwork and discovered they have charged me £12,500 in interest on top of the £5500 I have already paid. Making the total owed £18,000 on a £6000 loan. They are also charging £10 a day in interest.

Paragon where featured on Watchdog recently for exactly the same thing. They are best avoided.

Members' Comments onrover75driver's Review

• atkinson on 4th Jan 2006

  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.

• jeanne b on 31st May 2006

  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.

• shonaspencer on 25th Jul 2006

  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!

• pmitchell on 1st Aug 2006

  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 .

• rover75driver on 9th Aug 2007

  Update August 2007. I have now been paying £176 a month to Paragon for the last three years. To date I have paid £14,600 on a £6000 loan. I am still being charged high interest and still owe over £11,000.
  
  Paragon recently phoned me asking for increased payments, they have also sent me a letter with a form requesting I accept my liabilty to them which seems very odd. I have now been paying this loan for 12 years and it looks like I will never be able to pay it off.

• Shaun98867 on 30th Jan 2008

  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

• pmitchell on 12th Feb 2008

  since my last comment about paragon i have received a statement and they have credit back all the interest on this account about 18000 pounds please contact the consumer credit counsel for advice on this matter i did nothing but they certainly did we are now paying of just the debt without any interest dont let them get away with this get some advice and sort it out you have nothing to lose good luck

• Shaun98867 on 19th Feb 2008

  Well done your the first one i have come across that got something back off Paragon. I have been on to CCS and they did not seem hopeful of getting the interest back at all if you have any more information on how to fight this company it would be greatly appreciated.

• leajanerose on 14th Feb 2009

  i warn people to not get a loan from paragon finance , we took a 15000 loan from them in1999 to consolidate some debts , about 18 month into the 5 year agreement i lost my job and we got onto trouble financially the CAB managed to freeze all other debts intrest except paragon, we were charged lots of intrest and court charges etc and to this day from 2000 some 9 years ago we have been paying £96.00 per month without fail and we still must owe about 20000 to paragon, the company are really bad to get involved with