http://m.independent.ie/irish-news/taxi-man-in-arrears-could-lose-his-home-36104666.htmlA Dublin taxi driver has said that he is facing repossession of his home due to crippling interest rates after taking out a loan from a sub-prime lender more than a decade ago.
Sean Duffy (60), from Walkinstown, said he had re-mortgaged his home in 2005 in order to consolidate outstanding debts of around €80,000.
He used his home - which was then valued at around €250,000 - as collateral.
But due to his poor credit rating, he could not get a loan from a bank or credit union.
Mr Duffy said that he had no choice but to turn to a now-defunct sub-prime lender, which loaned him €80,000 at a annual interest rate of 6.35pc.
But 12 years later, after the company was taken over by another financial company, due to penalties and compound interest, he still owes €77,000 on the principal.
Complain
He is now faced with having his home - now worth about €325,000 - being repossessed by the company that took over the original lender's debts.
"I was able to pay off the mortgage, but not the arrears," he said.
"It's just the interest building up and up."
Mr Duffy called up RTÉ's Liveline programme yesterday to complain that the company which later took over the sub-prime lender was now ringing him some six times a month looking for payment.
"They won't budge on the interest rate," he said.
"But I'm no further ahead after 12 years."