So I am another vulnerable victim that was stupid enough to take out an unauthorised secured loan on my house. Here are the facts: 1st Mortgage with Halifax = £170,000 (interest only) Secured loan from Swift = £40,000 (interest only) Payments made to Swift since 2007 = £35,000. Payments made to Halifax since 2004 = £72,500 approx Settlement figure from Halifax = £170,000 Settlement figure from Swift = £86,000 Halifax total cost of borrowing £242,500 borrowed 170k, as a fraction 1.42% Swift total cost of borrowing £121,000 borrowed 40k, as a fraction 3% So I'm very curious why I borrowed 4 times more with Halifax yet their profit from the loan is £72,500 yet Swifts works out at £81,000 I use the word profit lightly because of course I understand there are other factors in the cost of borrowing however it still feels like I'm being ripped off by Swift. I've been through the mill with both loans, court hearings twice, remortgaged both times and now I'm about to sell my house and was shocked to receive the Swift settlement figure, they claim it is compound interest. I have been to financial ombudsman who I don't think can help because it is an unauthorised secured loan, which meant and still doesn't really mean anything to me, from what I can gather it's pretty much like loaning from a loan shark and it would seem they can do what they want. I was offered by Swift to put a full and final offer in which I did for £60,000, it was rejected, I re-offered at £75,000 again rejected, I just want some of my original £50,000 deposit back because as it stands I am set to lose £110,000 (86,000 to Swift). The sale of my house is due to complete in 7 days and although I can only just manage to do that, I have lost my 50k and the 100k equity because of Swift. There must be some help out there what can stop these crooks from just demanding these ridiculous settlement figures, I will be very interested in any advice or pointers please. Thank you for reading. I'm hoping one day the government and FCA steps in and looks at the older loans like these that were taken and now struggling homeowners like me being forced to sell before being too deep into the ever increasing debt and interest. Thank you in advance Wayne.

On both occasions when Swift took me to court the outcome after was that I managed to get Halifax to consolidate the arrears on the first mortgage, I have spent the last 2 years keeping up to date with the first mortgage payments now and by doing this Halifax have been very helpful. Being in arrears on both loans does not bode well especially if you have no income to support either payment, however you should be questioning the advice you first received, was everything explained to you properly, did you understand the loan, charges, options etc etc. I never received any consolation, not offered any other options, didn't even provide so much as a bank statement or wage slip, in fact the loan was completely unaffordable at the time and I certainly didn't understand how the loan worked with regards. To the high interest charges etc.... I received a letter from Swift last week stating that they are not willing to reduce the settlement figure from £85 ish grand - borrowed 40k, paid 35k to settle = 85k - You do the Math! Going forward with Financial Ombudsman now as it just doesn't all stack up to me. Halifax mortgage was 147k, they consolidated two lots of 10k ish over the past 10 years, settlement figure is now 171k, if only Swift took a leaf from their book! Both loans are interest only. Drew - that thing about your age, I read that it is illegal to sell a loan if it goes beyond your retirement age, you should defiantly look into that. Are you not receiving any help or advice from anyone? Are you not receiving any help from anyone? That kind of thing should have been flagged already, sounds like you need to put all your paperwork in front of someone, perhaps citizens advice is a good starting point for free advice , myself I went to financial ombudsman just because that is their job to look into cases like ours. I checked my bank account yesterday and found a credit in there from an old loan company which I took out, they have been in trouble recently for mis-selling going back to 2009, these companies will get caught out, it's just a matter of time for sure. Hope this helps somewhat, getting advice and help is the best thing you can do, if the CAB can't help perhaps go also to financial ombudsman, they are looking at my case at the moment, make a copy of the original loan paperwork and send it to them with a letter explaining your concerns. Good luck, keep us posted

Oh, it's still on the Gov website, I'm getting help from Financial Ombudsman, but my complaint is excessive interest charges, not sure if they can help also? They are based in London, E14

I'm not sure tbh April. If you are going to be made bankrupt I'm guessing any assets will be taken, I.e secured assets (house). If there is a negative balance still then an arrangementt help in my experience swill be made to pay it off. If you have enough to sell and clear your debt, move into rented I would say you might feel happier this way, no more pressure to meet ridiculous high interest payments to swift, just your rent and food. I really hope it all works out for you, please try and get some advise from a professional or legal expert, forget CAB, they don't help in my experience. Keep fighting

If you are out of work, show them what you are doing to find work etc... Take as much into and evidence you can, it will all help to show you are doing your best.

Humm, not good. I got advice from CCS, consumer credit service, it's free, but maybe you already gone down that path. It's gonna be difficult if you can't prove you can afford the payments plus something extra towards arrears, suggest you either sell your home quick before they take it, or find extra income, sry to be blunt but that's how it will be looked at I think.

I suggest build a case with your solicitor to prove you have an income and explain any shortfalls, redundancy or whatever has caused it. Make a proposal and submit it to swift a.s.a.p, if it's the first time they won't react coz they know the judge will probably make an agreement to spread the arrears over the remainder of the course of the loan. They have to do that as an offer! But swift will want to proceed anyway because once they have the repossession order then the next time it's easy for them to just take your property if you don't maintain payments. Suggest y find a way out a.s.a.p, I'm still in a battle with them over my settlement figure,making it to financial ombudsman now, if they don't help then we open up a legal case, if that don't work I have no issue meeting the directors face to face! We wait and see...... Good luck

Common sense would say of course!

Thomson sense would say yes of course! If you no longer pay PPI then the monthly payments should reduce right??

I have just received a settlement figure of £82,000, borrowed £40k 7 years ago with £15k arrears.. They took me to court twice and luckily the judge was on our side as we could prove we were working at the time and made a payment arrangement both times. Unfortunately with these loans if you get made redundant or have financial problems, it's almost impossible to catch up, selling the house to consolidate is pretty much the only way but I don't know anyone that managed to make money from their property after taking a secured loan. It's not fair the excessive charges though, they say it's compounded interest but this is never explained when you take out any loan, we have contacted financial ombudsman for financial advice and requested Swift revise the settlement as we won't be able to sell the house at that figure. I will keep you all posted to see what number they come back with. Every lawyer I have spoken with all say that is very excessive interest and to keep fighting the case until we have a satisfactory resolution. It should be in their interest to get their money back and help their customers, I will be only too happy to post a result which shows they actually do care and not just trying to excessively charge people who need the help the most. as it stands I will be lucky to see £5k back from a £50 deposit originally invested, 15 years living in a house and lost £45 doesn't quite stack up, watch this space!