You are indeed correct dx, we did all that showed on our credit files although only 2 had PPI (1 less than £200 as it was only on their for a few months before being cancelled) and 1 larger amount of approx £3k but they credited that off my CCJ which is good as it's not looking quite so scary now. Will send of for CCA tomorrow. Thanks for your help everyone.

Thanks Brigadier, I know I'll still have to pay everything I owe and I'm happy to pay back whatever we have borrowed as we should do. I'm just glad it drops off as it will make our credit rating look better in a few years so hopefully they will allow us to up our mortgage so we can pay off secured loan and we'll be better off eventually. It'll take a few years to start getting straight but I feel better now as I think these unsecured are going to take at least another 10 years to pay off unless we cna get rid of that darned secured loan.

I have 3 and my wife has 5 but only 2 show on my file and all 5 show on hers. I think I need to SAR them. I have sar'd everyone else as have been doing PPI claims but this was missed as not on credit files and I've only just found out she's been paying by going through loads of paperwork and coming across a recent statement. Not sure how much and for how long prior to the past 2 and a half years as that's all they go back to but I am now thinking it must be as Brigadier said and dropped off due to length of time since default. I'll investigate further and see what I come up with - perhaps check payments through bank statements. Thanks for your replies

That sounds interesting. Ideally we would like to move out of this area altogether though so im going to try and find another solution first that enables us to either sell up and move or up and leave and rent elsewhere. Thanks very much for the info though, I will definately take a look before I rule it out. Thank you.

Hi, I called them Caro and they were very off with me on the phone. They were quite threatening and told me that I had to pay or they would repossess etc I explained that my priority was with NRAM and I wanted reduced payments for the next 6 months until I can get back on my feet, I also told them that they could take the place if they wanted it and I'd go bankrupt and then they could have the rest from the proceeds of sale after NRAM had theirs which wouldn't be that much however they already had £38K out of me already so they won't exactly be at a loss. He became slightly more co-operative after that. I rang CAB who put me in touch with national debtline and we did another budget sheet so have forwarded this to Paragon. Still awaiting response but it does appear that they will accept and review in 6 months time so I feel a little better now. Thank you for your help.

Thanks for that. so will my other debts that defaulted drop off after six years and not show at all? I ask because I have a very large CCJ which was dated jan 2007, does this mean after the next update on my file in Jan it will no longer show either? I thought it still showed but not as a default so that's good news if it does. (Not that I EVER want to get credit cards or loans again!) Would be interesting though if the defaults drop off as I may have a chance of moving in a few years as the mortgage company are more likely to accept us. We currently have a mortgage for £118K and house value is approx £145K but we have a secured loan too which is the biggest mistake of our lives and there is hope I could actually pay of the secured loan with a new mortgage and start afresh. Thanks for your help, I'm going to see if I can look into the balance though and see why it's so high after all this time.

Hi, Can anyone advise please? My wife and I are in a lot of debt, unsecured totals £40K. It's made her really ill lately because she has always dealt with the debts and bills but it has taken it's toll and she sees no end I am trying everything to get organised and try and sort this once and for all. I have applied for all of our credit files from the 3 main agencies and I am stunned to see that she has been paying CL Finance every month for a debt that doesn't even show on my credit file. After delving through masses of paperwork and threatening letters I can see it's a debt from a credit card I had years ago although I can't find any evidence of a reliable balance or anything? they say that to date I owe them £3.5k but how do I know if this is right? I'm sure I didn't have a card with a debt that large and she's been paying frequently every month for at least 2 and a half years! anybody know why this isn't showing on any credit file? I'm worried I don't owe this much and they are just using their threats to make us pay and have been adding on fees to up the amount?

Hi Caro, just to keep you updaed I have filled out the budget sheet and I am -£426.79 per month. If I didn't owe them we would be just on budget and perhaps things wouldn't seem so bad. I'm going to call them in a minute as I don't have the money to pay them on moday. I feel sick but it's got to be done so best get it over with. On a plus though I have just received a credit for £3,500 for PPI which has come off a ccj with my bank so my unsecured debts look a little lighter! Thanks for your help. I'm hoping more PPI claims come of my unsecured debts becasue it really makes a difference to my mood seeing the balance come down although it's still a lot of debt I feel more in control now with my new spreadsheets and organisation. Just need to sort this paragon and hopefully my wife will smile again. Thanks for your help

Great advice, thanks Caro, I will get it filled in over the weekend and let you know. I'll ask for a redemtion statement to and see what figure I get. There may be some light at the end of this tunnel after all. Thanks again.

Hi Caro, I'm not in arrears with paragon becasue they add charges. I have recently wrote to them and demanded them back which suprisingly they did so my account now stands as it would have. I have regular statements and the balance is £43K. My original loan was for £46K I've paid for 7 years and already paid them £38K so £35K was interest the other £3K has come off our balance.. There is no PPI on mortgage or Paragon. I ideally would like to sell up and pay them both off with paragon getting around £20K in full and final settlement. They would have still made a huge profit from me but don't know if this has ever been done. I just thought it may be more appealing to them than trying to cahse us for money because with debts we have they will probably never get much out of us. Thanks for your help

Hi, and thank you. I have not asked for a redemtion figure yet, I've just been trying to work out ways to get us out of this mess. I'd love to avoid bankruptcy because it's so serious and could affect us getting things like insurance in the future. I'm not sure if Bankruptcy is a suitable option but I wouldn't rule it out, I was just wondering if Paragon may accept a pay off with the remainder rather than us go bankrupt and get repossessed. At least now we can get maximum price for our house, sell up and then only have our unsecured debts to worry about which I hope will be slightly more manageable if we could just get rid of paying this second mortgage. It may be that bankruptcy is the better option though considering the amount of debt we have (£161K secured, £39K unsecured and around £1.5k utilities or "priority" debts) but I don't want to make a huge mistake by letting them take the lot and making us bankrupt. At the moment I am hoping that in 6 years when defaults are clear from credit file we may be able to get another mortgage (even if only for a flat to keep as investment until kids leave home then we move in) but I would imagine if we are made bankrupt we will never get accepted for a mortgage again. But then another part of me wonders if that's even important now??? Lots of people rent now so does it matter if I never own my own property again? Probably not if I think about it. I just don't know which way to turn and I am worried about my wife becasue the stress and worry is making her physically ill. Thank you for coming to help, much appreciated.

My last attempt at getting some help, anyone have any advice at all please????

anyone please? any suggestions greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Hi, I have a secured loan with paragon and a mortgage with Nram totalling £161K. I owe Northern Rock £118K and I owe paragon £43K. I am struggling to pay them both every month. I am basically paying two mortgages and I can't cope anymore. I have already paid Paragon £38K over the last 7 years and still have a balance of £43K so £35K of that is interest alone. Our monthly income has dropped and we have accumulated arrears in gas, Electric, Council tax and water as well as other debts. We can't keep up repayments for much longer so I have had the house valued in the hope I could sell up, pay off Nram and Paragon and then rent somewhere to make life a little easier for us to cope financially but my house was only valued at £145K maximum. Has it ever been known for Paragon to accept a settlement? If I sold and paid back mortgage there would be about £20K left for paragon. I have already paid £38k so they would have more than recovered what we borrowed (£46K 7 years ago) I really need to find a way out before things get worse and if we get repossessed they could end up with less. Our unsecured debts total £39K so it's likely we will be made bankrupt which we want to avoid. I don't see any way out. I am at my wits end. My wife is frightenely depressesd with the strain of so much debt and I think she is close to a breakdown (seriously). can anyone offer any advice please. Thank you.