UPDATE:
Do not use the templates on this page for the following lenders, instead see the specific page:
- George Banco & Trust Two a Scheme of Arrangement is being proposed, see Everyday Loan Scheme for details
- Amigo has set up a Scheme of Arrangement. the deadline for making a claim has now passed, see Amigo’s Scheme for details.
- Buddy Loans went into administration in September 2021, see Buddy Loans goes into administration.
- TFS Loans went into administration in February 2022, see TFS Loans goes into administration.
If you are a guarantor for a loan you can ask to be removed as the guarantor:
- if you couldn’t afford to repay the loan without difficulty; or
- you were pressured into becoming the guarantor; or
- you didn’t understand the implications of being a guarantor.
This article has a template letter you can use to complain to the lender:
- you can complain if the borrower is still paying the loan or if they have stopped and you are being asked to pay it;
- you can still complain if you have been taken to court for a CCJ or a charging order, see Is it too late to complain after a CCJ?
This page does not apply if you have given a personal guarantee for a business loan or a property rental.
If you are the borrower – this is the wrong page – see How to complain if you have got a guarantor loan which has a different template.
Contents
Reasons to complain
There are a lot of different reasons some people have why they should not be the guarantor. Some won’t apply to you.
You can win your complaint with only one of these reasons. But mention all the ones that apply to you to give yourself the best chance of winning. You may be most upset about the way you were talked into being the guarantor, but often it is the “affordability complaint” which is easiest to win.
There may be other reasons as well. You know your own case best – if something didn’t feel right to you, mention it.
a) The loan was unaffordable for you
A lender should have checked that a loan will be affordable for you before the loan started. And new checks should have been done if the loans was topped-up.
The regulator’s definition of affordable is that you have to be able to repay it on time without it leaving you so short of money that you have to borrow more, get behind with bills or sell your house.
The lender should have asked about your income and your expenses, including rent/mortgage and utilities as well as food, transport, clothes, children’s expenses, your other debts and everything else you spend money on.
Guarantor loans are major, serious, long-term financial commitments. I would expect a lender to ask for evidence of your income and to have checked your credit record to see what other debts you had. If your income may change over the term of the loan, the lender should have thought about this, for example if you may not always be able to get overtime.
Amigo says a guarantor
must be able to afford the monthly payments and still have enough money to live their normal life.
So the expenses taken into account should have been what you were actually spending. They can’t say the loan would be affordable if only you stopped smoking or didn’t give your children pocket money or stopped paying your credit cards.
Owning a house doesn’t mean you can manage the loan repayments every month! You have to be able to make the monthly repayments out of your income and/or available savings, without having to sell or remortgage your house.
Was your credit record good? A guarantor is supposed to be a person who doesn’t have money problems who can easily step in if the borrower gets into difficulty. If your credit record shows you have money problems, then you probably weren’t suitable to be a guarantor.
b) you had other financial links with the borrower
If you lived with the borrower or have other financial links with the person borrowing the money, the lender should have looked at how your financial situation would be impacted if the borrower couldn’t pay the loan.
Perhaps the borrower can’t or won’t pay the guarantor loan, because they are sick or have lost their job or because you have split up. In that case, your finances may have already suffered – you have to pay all the household bills, or they may have stopped paying your car finance or giving you child maintenance. So the lender should have taken these other problems into account.
c) a top-up to a previous loan wasn’t properly explained to you
Just because you agreed to the first loan, doesn’t mean the lender can assume you will be the guarantor of a top-up. The lender should have checked you were happy with this and that you could afford it – your circumstances may have got worse since the affordability check on the original loan was made.
The lender should also have explained clearly what the new loan was. It may be that you thought you were only now being asked to guarantee the “extra money” because the old loan was being cleared.
d) You were pressured into becoming a guarantor
I’m not talking here of your sister or a friend asking you to be their guarantor and you finding it a bit difficult to say “No”. But too often people can be put under pressure or bullied into agreeing to be a guarantor. Here are some examples:
- being asked by your manager or a colleague at work and thinking your job could be affected if you said No;
- being asked by someone you rely on for help if you are elderly or disabled;
- being asked by someone that helps with your finances – your partner that pays half the bills, your ex pays child maintenance;
- you were in an abusive relationship with your partner. The abuse doesn’t have to be physical, it can be financial, see Financial Abuse: How to tell if your partner is a money bully.
If any of these apply to you, mention it in your complaint. Don’t worry about how you can “prove” this, just say what happened and what you were worried about.
Sometimes people were literally told what to say on their expenses form and on the phone by the borrower – say if this happened to you.
e) You didn’t properly understand what being a guarantor meant
Everyone knows what taking a loan means. But being a guarantor is unusual and the lender should have explained it in detail and in words you could understand.
Lenders have to make sure you understand what you doing when agree to be a guarantor. So here are some good reasons to complain if they happened to you:
- your English is poor (perhaps a friend is helping you with the complaint, perhaps the borrower translated things for you when the application was made);
- your mental health or medication you are on makes it difficult to understand complicated money decisions;
- you thought you were just providing a character reference for the borrower;
- you thought when you gave the money to the borrower and they started paying the loan it became their loan and you were no longer responsible;
- you thought you would only have to pay if the borrower died or went bankrupt.
- you didn’t realise that Amigo would ask you to pay if the borrower offered a payment arrangement because the Amigo website said wherever possible, we will always work with the borrower first and come to an arrangement before looking to the guarantor to pay;
- the paperwork was too hard to understand.
f) the loan was unaffordable for the borrower
If the loan was unaffordable for the borrower, then the loan should never have been given at all by the lender! You may have thought quite reasonably that the lender was going to do proper checks on the borrower – but perhaps they didn’t.
This can be hard for you to prove unless the borrower helps you with your complaint. But it is worth mentioning if you think it’s important even if you don’t have evidence about it.
What would a “fair solution” be?
If you should never have been a guarantor for one of the above reasons, you should be removed as the guarantor. This will remove the problem for you and the loan turns into a “normal” loan for the borrower.
If you have made any payments, these should be refunded to you and any problems on your credit record should be deleted. This includes CCJs and any restriction on your house.
It will also make the borrower’s life easier! They will be able to sort out their financial problems without worrying that it will affect you, for example by including the loan in a debt management plan or bankruptcy.
How to complain
You should complain to the lender. Email is best, see Email addresses for guarantor lenders for the right email to use.
I suggest putting COMPLAINT BY GUARANTOR as the email title. Here is a template with blanks for you to fill in.
These cases are very individual – no one will include everything in this template. Delete what isn’t right for you, change it and add anything else you think matters!
I am complaining that you should not have accepted me as a guarantor for this loan.
Please send me a copy of all the personal information that you have about me, including but not limited to all credit record checks, a copy of all the paperwork I have agreed to and recordings of all phone calls from me.
My complaint is as follows.
Only put this in if it applies: I was pressured into agreeing to this loan by the borrower. I didn’t feel I could refuse because [explain why.]
Only put this in if it applies: I agreed to the top up to this loan, but you did not check properly that I could afford it. I could not afford the larger repayments.
Only put this in if it applies: For the top-ups, I thought I was only the guarantor for the extra money that went into my account to give to the borrower. It was not properly explained to me that the new loan was much bigger as some was settling the previous loan. I am not very familiar with complicated loans and you should have explained this to me more clearly.
Only put this in if it applies: I did not properly understand the obligations of a guarantor. If you listen to the call recording I think it will be clear that [my English isn’t good/the loan was not properly explained to me]. I didn’t realise I would have to make payments if the borrower wanted a payment arrangement. A responsible lender would not have given me the loan without making sure that I understood what I was signing up to.
Only put this in if it applies: I can not afford to make the loan repayments. This should have been obvious to you before you gave the loan. If you had looked at my payslips and bank statements in detail, this would have been clear. My income was erratic and you did not ask about this.
Only put this in if it applies: I was reliant on the borrower for other aspects of my finances. The borrower paid [all or the rent/half of the rent, council tax and bills/whatever applied to you] OR The borrower gave me c £x each month [to help pay bills/as child maintenance/to cover repayments on a loan from xxxx that I took out on his behalf]. You should have taken into account that if the borrower was unable to pay the debt to you then it is likely that the help the borrower gives me each month would have stopped or been reduced so my finances would probably have got significantly worse.
Only put this in if it applies: The loan was unaffordable for the borrower so you should never have given the loan at all. You did not check properly that the borrower could afford the loan.
Only put this in if it applies: The borrower had several top-ups. This should have suggested to you that their finances were becoming more difficult.
Delete or change any of the following so they are accurate for you:
[You did not ask me for proof of my income or expenses.]
[I was on a low income/My income was variable and you did not ask about this/My only income was my pension./My only income was from benefits.]
[If you had checked my credit record properly, you would have seen that I had other debts already.]
[My credit record would have shown that I already had financial problems. This should have suggested that I was not in a position to take on another large loan.]
[You did not ask me about my expenses in enough detail.]
[You have already upheld a complaint by the borrower that the loan was unaffordable for them.]
I am asking you to remove me as guarantor for this loan and for it to be deleted from my credit record.
If you have already made some payments to the loan add: I am also asking for a refund of the payments that I have made.
If you want to pay less: I cannot afford the payments you are asking me to make. I would like an affordable payment arrangement or I have no spare income to pay anything.
I would like you to suspend any enforcement action against me whilst this complaint is underway, including while it is at the Financial Ombudsman if I have to send my complaint to FOS.
Think about cancelling the payment authority at your bank
If you aren’t being asked to pay the loan at the moment, this doesn’t matter.
But if you are making payments or you have been told the borrower has stopped paying so you will have to pay, you need to think about whether you can afford these payments.
If you can’t, it is probably best to cancel the Direct Debit with your bank so the money can’t be taken. If you borrow to try to make these payments, you are just creating more problems for yourself.
If you have other debts you can’t afford, talk to StepChange about a debt management plan for all your debts including this guarantor loan. This gets you into a safe position while your complaint goes through. It won’t harm your complaint. If you win your complaint, the debt will be removed from your DMP and any DMP payments made to it will be refunded.
Don’t worry about your credit rating. This loan may not even appear on your credit report – have you looked? If it does, then any negative marks will be deleted if you win your case.
If you aren’t sure what to do, talk to StepChange or go to your local Citizens Advice.
Lenders often say No to good cases – go to the Ombudsman
Lenders frequently reject a complaint even if you have a strong case. So don’t be disheartened if this happens.
If they send you a long reply which makes it sound as though your complaint has no chance, ignore it! They are hoping you will give up.
When the lender says No (or if you haven’t had a reply within 8 weeks) you send your case to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS). If you aren’t sure whether to send your case to the Ombudsman, ask in the comments below this article.
FOS is very friendly. You just have to say what happened and why you feel it is unfair. You don’t need a solicitor to help you do this. You don’t have to argue a legal case or say what rules your lender has broken.
From mid 2019 there have been a string of good results from FOS against guarantor lenders for borrowers and guarantors.
Getting help with this
If you would like some help go to your local Citizens Advice. Citizens Advice can also help you to draw up an Income & Expenditure statement to be included with your complaint.
I strongly suggest you do this if any of the following situations apply:
- your case involves Financial Abuse or if you find it difficult to make money decisions – although a complaint from you should be taken seriously, these are situations where Citizens Advice could be a real help;
- a court case is underway or being threatened. Citizens Advice can help you get a court case “stayed” – that is the legal term for put on hold – whilst a complaint goes to the Ombudsman.
Amigo – time to make a claim
Is your credit limit too high? Not affordable?
Guarantor loans – more protection needed
Happy person says
I applied to be removed as a guarantor and has been removed thanks God but also hard work of Citizen advice and Financial Ombudsman Service. Everyone should at least TRY it don’t cost you anything just a patience.
Talula says
Hi I’ve signed guarantor for a friend and we are now ex friends and I believe they may not make the payments to be vindictive – do I have the right to ask for proof that they can’t make the payment due to Job loss/bankruptcy as I feel that being a guarantor you get shafted if the borrower decides they just can’t be bothered to pay and to me that is not fair at all. I went is a guarantor to help them as they had no credit and they can clearly pay back the money – do I have any legal right to refuse to pay if they are not paying to try and ruin me financially?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No. Although you have a possible reason to sue your friend for the money, but you would need to take legal advice about that.
Can you afford to pay this debt and still be able to pay your own debts, bills and living expenses?
Talula says
Thanks Sara – no I can’t afford the repayments and looking back there was a top up made on the loan from £7k to £10k in a matter of days so the repayment changed by over £100 per month – am I able to make a complaint to amego loans at present to be removed as guarantor?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ah Amigo. Amigo at the moment is trying to set up a second Scheme of Arrangement (its first attempt was rejected by the High Court as unfair to customers). If this goes ahead, you will be able to make a complaint to the Scheme. As you haven’t paid any money, the amount of compansation people could get isnt relevant for you – if your complaint is upheld you will be released as guarantor. If the Scheme doesn’t go ahead, Amigo will go bust and you can make the same complaint to the administrators.
If you send Amigo a complaint at the moment they will simply ignore it. They want all complaints to go into the Scheme.
What should your complaint say? If the top up loan repayments were not affordable for you when the loan was given, you should make an affordability complaint.
If you are very worried you may be asked to pay very soon, it would be sensible for you to cancel the Direct debit to Amigo and also phone your bank and cancel the continuous Payment Authority they have over your debit card. You need to tell the bank to cancel the CPA even if youhave had a new card and Amigo you think has the old card number, as this can be changed to your new card.
Or you could wait and do this when Amigo tells you the borrower has missed a payment.
If you do stop Amigo taking money from you, you should send them a complaint, so they understand WHY you have doen this. Even if they don’t respond to it.
Talula says
Thank you Sara
simon says
My friend agreed to be guarantor for her friend, she took out two loans, bamboo and George Banco, a total of 4k, at the the time neither of them could afford the repayments.
2-3 later she went bankrupt and left my friend the guarantor to make the payments, at the time of borrowing the money she did not understand the obligations of being guarantor nor was it explained to her by the lenders and there were no credit checks done!
She has been making minimum payments but can no longer afford them and the loan has crept up to 11k through interest! Where does she stand with this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The article above explains how you can complain as guarantor.
If she could not afford the repayments, this is normally a simpler claim to win than saying the oblogations were not explained to her. But she doesn’t have to choose which complaint to make – she can make both arguments.
If they are still on speaking terms, she could also ask her friend to make a complaint that the loan was unaffordable for the borrower. This won’t help the borrower as they have gone bankrupt. But if the borrower wins this complaint, the guarantor should also be released.
What is the rest of her financial situation like? Does she have her own debt problems?
simon says
She is a single mother of three and does not have any real debt just a credit card which is paid off every month, she had a good credit rating until this happened as there was a default on a payment, she only works 16 hours and is no better off than not working money wise, they are not really on speaking terms now and she just finds it really unfair, her mental health has suffered and is on medication for depression so this extra pressure does not help.
All monies earned and received are spent on the kids, rent (private rent) bills etc.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A single parent working part time and renting doesn’t sound like a good guarantor to me. Tell her to make a claim for unaffordability and add the “not properly explained” bit on as well, but it is the affordability that is easier to win. Supply a copy of her bank statements fir three months before the application with the claim.
Also it’s worth trying to get the borrower to make a claim – why not? It’s one awkward conversation but she just needs to say “you can really help me by doing this, it won’t be a problem for you at all” not say “it’s all you fault you conned me into thus”.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Also she needs to reduce the payments to what is genuinely affordable, which may be a token £5 a month. She mustn’t run up larger credit card debt if get behind with other bills. Nor borrow from family. Tell her to talk to a debt adviser about thus if she is uncertain, for her these are just unsecured debts she cannot afford, they are not a priority debt. Although it sounds from what you have said she has a good affordability complaint these can take a very long while if they have to go to the Ombudsman so she needs to get herself into a safe financial place to wait out the long process.
simon says
OK thanks for your help.
simon says
Hi Sara
Just a couple of quick questions-
can a bank refuse to cancel a continuous payment authority because you are a guarantor? The loan company is seeking to take a payment at the end of the month and the bank are refusing to cancel this.
Also when agreeing to be guarantor when applying for the loans they were happy to lend on the basis of the guarantor receiving CSA, in other words she was allowed to become guarantor because she gets CSA but didn’t have to prove this, does this sound right? she only works 16 hours on min wage and was allowed to be guarantor for two loans?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No they can’t, see https://www.fca.org.uk/news/news-stories/continuous-payment-authorities-it-your-right-cancel and quote that to your bank.
CSA is income, however someone getting it usually has child expenses, so they may not have taken all those into account.
simon says
Hi again Sara,
so we got this today-
In summary, Bamboo believes it made a fair lending decision in approving you as a Guarantor after carefully considering your circumstances and affordability and we are therefore unable to uphold your complaint.
At the time of the application, we could only rely on the income, expense, and credit information available to us from third party resources.
We are however sorry to hear you are unhappy with Bamboo’s decision to accept you as the Guarantor and whilst we believe that you were correctly accepted as a suitable Guarantor, we are prepared to help by offering to release you from your obligations with immediate effect.
If you are happy to accept this offer which is in full and final settlement of the complaint or have any queries, please advise us by replying to this email. We will then make the relevant adjustments to the account.
What do you think? should we take it to the ombudsman to try and reclaim payments made or just settle for this?
Also what happens to the debt now, will it be written off?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how much have you paid so far?
simon says
3 installments so about £300
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ah, if it was just one payment you would probably be more happy to write that off to experience. But £900 is £900 that you could get back…
what is your relationship with the borrower? and what is their financial situation?
When a guarantor is removed, the debt is not written off, it just becomes a normal non-guarantor unsecured loan.
If you get a refund, then amount is typically added back onto the remaining debt, just as though you had never made those payments. So you may want to take that into account in deciding what to do. Sometimes you may care, sometimes you may not. Sometimes the borrowers situation is so bad they really need to go bankrupt or for a a debt releief order, in which case it matters not what the level of their debt is.
Also Bamboo MAY be prepared to negotiate a bit to achieve a compromise…
simon says
The borrower is a “friend” she is bankrupt, works in a full time job, she thought the loans would be part of the bankruptcy but clearly not, so it’s probably best to accept the offer as to not cause any further damage?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if she has gone bankrupt (not an IVA or a DRO) then ALL her debts are included even if she did not list them.
In that case you are not making her position any worse if you get a refund.
You could say to Bamboo that if you go to FOS you should get a full refund of what you have paid – £900 – but you are prepared to compromise and accept £x of that to settle this now? What do you think woul;d be an acceptable compronmise – half? If you want the lot you probably have to go to FOS.
simon says
Yeah that sounds good, I think she would be happy with half and just wait and see and then wait on George Banco getting back in touch with the same complaint, thanks again for your help.
Suzy says
I have befriended a lady aged 74, she lives on the state pension and a very small private pension. 3 years ago she was in a relationship with a man, they lived together for a year or so. His son, who she didn’t know wanted a loan of £7000 for a car but was refused, he asked his father to be guarantor but he was unable to do this as he said he had a bad credit record. He asked my friend to be a guarantor for his son and promised that if his son didn’t pay the loan then he would. She felt very pressured into signing the contract by her partner. Unfortunately, a few weeks later her partner left and since the beginning of the loan she has had to make payments. The loan company has been very hard on her and basically threatened her with court if she doesn’t carry on paying. She has paid £50 a month for the past 3 years and they have now told her they are increasing it to £80 as the loan isn’t going down due to interest. Today she was in tears, she has had to stop many things that she used to enjoy because she is having to pay back on this loan. She can no longer join her friends for a meal or have her hair done once a month. It is really affecting her health, she has just completed a course of radiotherapy for breast cancer and this loan is just bringing her down. What could she to I do to help her?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A sad story 😢
How much is she having to pay each month?
Does she own a house?
Does she have any other problem debts?
Suzy says
She has been paying £50 pm for the past 3 years. Last week the loan company phoned her and told her she must increase it to £80 pm because the money owing is not going down. She lives in social housing with no other debts.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you know who the lender is? How large the debt is?
She does have options here, I just want to rule out the impossible ones.
Suzy says
Hi Sara, She doesn’t know how much the loan is now, she has never received a statement. She just gets a phone call telling her to pay, she knows the loan is now more than the original £7000 because they have told her she has to pay more as it’s not covering the interest. The Loan company is called “Buddy loans” and she believes they are based in Manchester
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Buddy Loans has very recently gone into administration. This changes her options a bit.
She has two options.
1) she can make a complaint to Buddy Loans saying she could not afford the loan repayments when the she was accepted as guarantor and that she felt pressured into becoming guarantor for someone she did not really know. If she wants to go this complaint route, she should make both of these points, not just the one about being pressured as it is much easier to win an affordability complaint.
This will probably take 6-9 months to go through. As Buddy is now in administration she is very unlikely to get any refund for the money she has paid so far, but if her complains upheld she will be removed as guarantor and not have to make any more payments.
While this is going through, there is a very good case for saying that she should stop paying them. Cancel the direct debit and the continuous payment authority over her debit card so they can’t take any more money.
The administrators are not going to take a pensioner with cancer to court while she has an outstanding complaint! Actually they aren’t likely to take anyone to court, it is a long slow process and it makes no sense to to do this rather than just resolve the complaint.
The best case here is she stops paying now, wins the complaint is removed as guarantor.
The worst case is she loses the complaint and they again ask her to start paying, in which case she can go for option two….
2) her other option is to get a Debt Relief Order. This is a very simple form of insolvency that wipes out her debts. If she is in social housing and on a low pension this is probably a very good option for her.
She could wait her see this as a fallback if she losses her complaint. Or she could decide she does want the stress of the complaint and the possible threats of court action and she would like to just get rid of this debt right away.
These may both sound worrying to her, but then so is being pestered to pay an unaffordloan when you are well.
Can I suggest that she phone National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 to talk about this? It might help if you were with her? They are very nice and she should start by explainer health problems.
Suzy says
Thank you so much Sara x
Talula says
Hi Sara
I’m guarantor on an amigo loan for an ex friend – I’ve msgd before whereby I’m afraid they will default to be vindictive. I’ve logged a complaint with amigo to be removed as guarantor. If they default do i have the right to ask for proof they can’t pay and if the loan is in one name and i know there is a business registered for the married partner can I bring them in to cover the debt?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do i have the right to ask for proof they can’t pay
No. You could take the borrower to court for the money but you would have to be VERY sure that they can pay it to consider that. Even if you win a court case, they may still not pay you :(
If the loan is in one name and i know there is a business registered for the married partner can I bring them in to cover the debt?
No – just because a couple are married doesn’t mean they have any legal liability for each other’s debts.
Talula says
Thanks Sara. As guarantor do i have a right to ask for proof of what the money was used for as I believe that what I was told and what it was used for are different and therefore feel it was obtained under false pretences?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, you don’t – sorry but the idea is that you trusted the borrower… I think these loans should be banned unless there is much more disclosure to the guarantor about the borrower’s finances, and unless the guarantor takes professional advice beforehand… but at the moment there is none of this protection for guarantors.
Lewis says
My brother took out a loan with buddy loans which I agreed to be guarantor as I was living with him at the time and felt I would’ve been told to leave if I hadn’t helped. He has not made any repayments on the loan, the loan company did not ask for any actual proof of earnings from him or me, and he told them he was self employed rather than un employed again which they asked for no proof of. They clearly didn’t check my credit score very well, as I already had a bank loan and a maxed out credit card of £2000. I was also signed off work twice within the last 18 months due to stress, anxiety, depression so I feel I was not in a position to make financial decisions for myself, let alone guarantor somebody else.
Do I have a good case to be removed as guarantor?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you still owe a balance?
Lewis says
Hi Sara, yes like I say he hadn’t repaid anything and I’ve told him to sort it but he just fobs it off
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well Buddy are now in administration, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/buddy-loans-administration/
You have a case to complain that Buddy failed to check the borrower can afford the loan. Also possibly that you could not afford the loan, I don’t know if the loan was unaffordable for you at the time it was given – your credit record doesn’t sound great but what were your finances like?
Lewis says
This is what I mean, they never actually asked for proof of any of it, never asked to see any pay slips or bank statements etc etc, for me or my brother. It certainly wasn’t affordable for him… he didn’t have a job and he is the burrower. I just said okay, thinking he’ll get declined when they check stuff cause like I say he wasn’t even self employed like he said he was…. I made them aware I was signed off from work and later had to leave for stress and depression just over a month after the loan was taken out which changed nothing
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I made them aware I was signed off from work and later had to leave for stress and depression just over a month after the loan was taken out which changed nothing
Sorry was all that after the loan was given? Or were tey aware you were signed off from work at the time of the loan?
Lewis says
So that was after, but again I’m not the person burrowing the money. They didn’t check what my brother, the burrower, was earning properly and he quite simply wasn’t able to afford it. I was surprised I got approved as a guarantor at all, cause giving my own debts and cost of living etc, I don’t think I was able to afford it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, I asked because if they knew you were off work sick when they gave the loan, then that is a VERY strong case to be released as guarantor.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t win a claim saying the loan was affordable for you, it sounds as though you are sure it wasn’t. And you can also claim it was unaffordable for the borrower, but it can sometimes be hard for you to prove that – which is why it is simpler if the borrower also complains.
Yvette Armstrong says
Excellent article content, which will be used in helping a friend.
I would welcome comments on the following scenario.
Friends ex violent partner forced her to become his guarantor on two loans whilst he was out of work, during Oct 2020 and June 2021. The ex-partner has now left the relationship and has stopped paying the loans, forcing my friend to make the payments.
Her ex is now in employment with a good salary, which I have evidence taken from public domain professional websites.
My friend is waiting on relevant paperwork from the loan companies which is taking ages.
What actions can she take in the meantime as she is on a significantly low income ie now claiming benefits.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can I ask who the lenders were?
How much is she paying a month?
Also what is the rest of her financial situation apart from these loans, does she have debts of her own?
Jonathan heard says
Hi my son took out a loan with trust two back in 2017 and I was the guarantor for this. The amount he borrowed was 6k. At the time I was not aware of the full implications were and received no information as to what would happen if he didn’t make the payments. Also I don’t think proper credit checks were carried out as my credit history isn’t brilliant and live on a month by month basis. Anyway he didn’t pay a lot of payments and ended up with a bankruptcy petition against me for £12,184.00 but if settled before the hearing date then this would be reduced to £10,985.00. I managed to raise this money with the help of family members to pay this. Would you think I have a case for complaint? Thanks jon
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Trust Two petitoned to make you bankrupt? Did they also get a CCJ against you?
Jonathan heard says
No they didn’t even go for a ccj the first I knew was when a letter came from the land registry on
Sara (Debt Camel) says
a letter from the land registry?
Jonathan heard says
Yes I’ll try to find it
Chris Bone says
Could be a charging order but they would need a CCJ to obtain that. Was a Statutory Demand served, usually in person or by hand to address. Has public Insolvency Register been checked for bankruptcy entry?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
all good questions! I have never heard of even a guarantor lender going straight for a Statutory Demand but nothing is impossible with them :(
Jonathan says
I can’t find the letter I’m afraid but will keep looking. As I said no mention was ever made about a ccj to my son (who took out the loan) or to me. Literally straight for the jugular!!! Do any of you guys think that this is worth pursuing? I tried to copy and paste a letter from the solicitor but it won’t let me
Sara (Debt Camel) says
this is definitely worth pursuing! Send Trust Two an affordability complaint saying you could not have affordadexd to make all the payments to the loan and this would have been clear if they had made proper checks before accepting you as guarantor. Ask for a refund of the full amount you paid (NOT just the interest part). Adapt the template letter in the article above.
Jonathan heard says
Well emailed tt with complaint and received an automated reply so will be interesting to see how long they take to reply. Have also emailed the solicitor involved asking for an SAR . This has also been sent to tt. Will update as soon as I hear anything at all j
Jonathan heard says
Well received an email this morning from tt saying they are going to investigate my complaint and asking for bank statements for a 30 day period in the month the loan was taken out. It says you don’t have to but may have a different outcome in their decision. Surely they should of asked this on the outset?!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, but that isn’t the point. To win an affordability complaint the lender has to have made inadequate checks AND those checks would have shown that the loan was not affordable. Supplying your bank statements is proof that the loan was not affordable.
Jonathan heard says
That’s great will send them a pdf of the 30 days as it shows the money going into my account snd then onwards to my son. Will keep you updated
Also on the statement it shows a payment going out to quick quid!!
Jonathan heard says
Well I got the SAR today from trust two what should I be looking for?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Just put it on one side and wait until they respond to your complaint.
Jonathan heard says
Well basically they saying they refuse it. However in the letter they say I was single when I’m married!!!! What do you think I should do now?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so four things
1) will your son also be prepared to make an affordability complaint? If he wins that, you should be refunded, whether of not the loan was affordable for you. Ask him to start this complaint right away.
2) if you know the loan repayments were unaffordable for you from your income, then send the complaint straight to the Ombudsman as the article above says. these complaints take a long while to go through so kick this off NOW, don’t wait for more progress on (the other items.
3) the SAR you have been sent included a call recording of your phone call? You need to listen to that and compare that to what they said in their reply to you. Make notes of discrepancies (married? that would be a strange one for you to choose to lie about!!!) Also, look at the stuff from Call Credit – did it show the payday loan? Most guarantors in a good financial position don’t have payday loans on their credit record!
4) in the SAR stuff, have you got a copy of the letter to you threatening bankruptcy?
Jonathan says
Well yesterday I called tt to ask for the call recordings as they didn’t come with the other SAR bits. They were helpful and said they would provide them. This morning I received an email from them with 3 recordings attached. The first one is of me yesterday asking for the recordings and the other two are complete strangers with nothing to do with me at all. Should I go straight to the FOS now?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you phone them up again and point this out. Say that this is also a serious breach of GDPr which they should self report to the ICO, and you would like compensation for this. other people have received £100 in similar situations but these are too uncommon for me to say this normal.
If they say they cannot find your recordings, suggest they should uphold your complaint – you can point out you would never have said that you were single.
MJ says
Am I right in thinking that FLM (from whom my ex-boyfriend had a loan in around 2009) have become Amigo? Is it too late for me to make an affordability complaint as guarantor? If I do so will they contact my ex-boyfriend as the original loan holder? I do not have any contact with him and do not want them passing any of my financial information to him.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did you make some of the repayments to this loan?
MJ says
Yes, when we split up my ex failed to make the payments and I was stuck with it!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then you will be able to make a claim to the Scheme Amigo is trying to set up in May OR to the administrators if Amigo goes under.
I can’t see why Amigo would pass any of your information to your ex but you may want to make that clear to Amigo at the time.
MJ says
Thank you for your advice, I will make it clear in my complaint that my information is not to be passed on to my ex.
Marta says
My husband is the guarantor of his ex-friend’s loan. The friend fled to Poland, leaving my husband with a loan. At the moment, we cannot afford to repay the loan (we will have a baby soon) and we will only stay with my husband’s passion for which we will have to live. What argument can my husband use to complain and try to cancel the guarantor?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“we will only stay with my husband’s passion for which we will have to live”
I am sorry but I think there may have been some auto-correct or something here? Can you explain it?
Do you own a house?
Ar you living in the UK?
Does your husband have any other debts apart from this?
Marta says
This is how we live in Great Britain. We have no other debts, only a car in loan. We do not have our own house, we have a counsil flat.
The point is, I’ll be on maternity soon. So I won’t be on my full salary. So we only have my husband’s salary left.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When the loan was taken out, at that point could you husband have afforded to make all the loan repayments?
Who was the lender?
Marta says
The loan is from Amigos. I believe that my husband has not been properly checked for loan repayment. We had no problem paying off the outstanding installment earlier when his friend didn’t pay. All this will soon change and we will not be able to afford to pay off the arrears. Our finances are changing. We are currently repaying this loan ourselves. Is there any hope that the contract will be terminated in such a situation?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so as this is Amigo, you need to know about the Scheme that they are proposing.
Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-new-scheme-2/ for more about this and bookmark that mage – it will be update when there is any news.
If you make a complaint now, it will not be looked at BUT you should do this ASAP. This can be a very short, just a couple of sentences saying Amigo did not check properly at the start that the loan was affordable for the borrower OR for you husband . Do this asap. And it would also help if your friend can put in a complaint, even though he is abroad and you are bveing asked to pay.
This complaint will only be looked at in a few months – when he Scheme is underway or in administration if Amigo fails with the Scheme. In either the Scheme or administration you main interest rpesumably is to get the balance cleared? You would only get back a small percentage of what you have paid so far, but the balance could be cleared. So you want to pay as little as possible to this.
And anyway it sounds as though if it is a problem at the moment, it will be impossible when you are on maternity leave. You do NOT want to get behind with bills or other debts in order to pay Amigo.
As you are a guarantor, you credit record will not be affected if you don’t pay – that could only happen if Amigo take you to court. They may threaten that but it isn’t going to happen at the moment with a Scheme being proposed, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/stop-paying-amigo-pros-and-cons/
You are unlikely to get a decision of your complaint for 6 months and it could be longer. If it is rejected by Amigo in the Scheme you should appeal.
Worst case is that you lose your complaint and have to start paying again. At that point I think you need full debt advice – phone National Debtline on 0808 808 4000.
If you are unsuare or have other debts that you will find difficult when you are on maternity leave, talk to National Debtline now! With energy bills going up, it’s important for you and the little one that you can afford to keep the home properly warm.
Jonathan says
Well spoke to Amelia at tt who sounded pretty shocked when I said about the recordings. She asked twice during the conversation if I could delete them. I said I would once a satisfactory outcome was arrived at. She also said re my complaint that I would have to go to the FOS even though I told her I was not single and that they took my wages into account from the bank statements (joint account). She said they would get the recordings so I suppose it’s the waiting game now!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do point out to FOS that they knew you were not single because of your joint bank account!
Jonathan says
Well tt replied today re the phone call recordings that were sent by mistake and upheld my complaint re gdpr. They have offered £100 compensation! Also they have sent another 3 recordings of me snd these are just the calls that I have made over the last 3-4 days snd they say they don’t have any others. Should I go back to them asking them to revisit their first final letter not upholding the complaint?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes i think you should ask them to look again.
Originally you said “At the time I was not aware of the full implications were and received no information as to what would happen if he didn’t make the payments. Also I don’t think proper credit checks were carried out as my credit history isn’t brilliant and live on a month by month basis. ”
So read the refusal they sent you. Did they say everything was explained in the phone call?
You can say that you do not think the implications of being a guarantor were explained properly, you remember the phone call as being very quick, they didn’t ask for deatils about your situation, didn’t explain what would happen if the borrower could not pay and they certainly never asked if you were single or married. This was why you asked for a copy of the phone call, to confirm this, and they are now unable to produce this. If they had looked at your bank statements (which were a joint account, showing you were not single) and credit record they would have seen you lived paycheck to paycheck and had no spare money to pay if the borrower could not.
NB do not exaggerate here – you sound to have a strong case, so keep it simple and factual., keep yourself in the right.
Say it goes to FOS at the end of the week if they do not reconsider and refund you the money.
Jonathan says
Hi have just read through their final response letter again snd again and the way I am reading it it seems as though they have got their facts wrong! It’s almost they are using the affordability part to my son and then the final part of the letter is me! It’s a bit of a mind blower but will read it again a few times before I reply. However they did say the implications were told verbally as well
“As a responsible lender, we are obliged to carry out a number of suitability and affordability checks on all loan applications. These include credit, employment, affordability and identity checks. I have found evidence that all the necessary checks were carried out when this loan was given to you. This loan was taken with us on 24th November 2017. The loan amount was £6,000 with a monthly repayment of £277.91 and a total amount payable of €10,004.76 over a term of 36 months. At the time of taking this loan, you advised us you were single with no dependents and your credit report suggest you had a mortgage repayment of €519. The advisor calculated your average monthly
income as £3400 based on the income details provided on your application. This was verified using Call Credit, meaning no bank statement or payslips were required.
With regard to not understanding your responsibilities as a guarantor, during the verbal Terms and Conditions it is within our policy to ask if you were entering into the loan by your own free will, which would require a positive response to continue the application, and if you were uncertain, you had a 14-day period after the loan was taken that you could have changed your mind. You also answered all the questions at the end of the call and confirmed your understanding verbally as well as by signing the electronic terms and conditions that were sent to you. As such, I cannot agree that you did not understand the responsibilities of being a guarantor.”
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ah the mortgage repayment… was that your son’s, not yours?
Jonathan says
No the mortgage is mine!
My son is single!
When they replied about the data breach they also said of the voice recordings that there was a low number of retrievable of calls, so I take that as they do not have any.
Should I accept the £100 compensation?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s not clear to me then that they have mixed you and your son up.
It doesn’t matter that the stuff about a guarantor was buried deep in the T&Cs – it should have been explained to you on the phone.
I think you are overthinking this – the fact they cannot produce the recordingn supports your complaint.
I suggest you say you will accept the £100 for a GDPR breach but you are sening the affordability complaint to the Ombudsman.
Jonathan says
Well late last night I emailed the complaints dept stating the various points I.e no phone calls relationship issue etc asking them to revisit my complaint and pointing out that I shall take this to FOS should the outcome not be satisfactory. Also I agreed to accept the £100 compensation that they offered. By 12-15 I had a reply saying that the person who originally looked at my complaint is re looking at it and will be in contact in due course. They have asked me to reply re the compensation with a paragraph saying in full and final settlement of my complaint , which I will do but will add ‘in full and final settlement of my GDPR data breach complaint’. So fingers crossed and see what the outcome is!!
Jonathan says
Well I had emailed the FOS with my complaint against tt and last Thursday I had a reply from them saying they had received my complaint and that someone would be assigned to my case but that could take up to 4 months due to how busy they are. On Friday I received an email from an investigator there saying that they would be handling my case and asking for more bank statements which I sent late Friday afternoon. This morning they had replied saying that they had received the info. Hopefully at this rate a decision shouldn’t take too long fingers crossed
Jonathan says
Just an update I received a reply from the investigator on Friday afternoon saying he had now all the information he required so it seems to be progressing quite quickly. Will post when I hear
Jonathan says
Just an update today I spoke with the person dealing with my complaint as they wanted details of my outgoings as the statements I provided were from a joint account. They said that they should reach their outcome this Friday and will email me their decision so fingers crossed
Beth says
Hi,
Upon graduating from university in 2019, pending start date at my full time job, my (now ex) partner took out two guarantor loans, one with UK credit and one with Buddy Loans. We have since separated and he is been convicted of sexual crimes last summer so we no longer have contact and he has moved to another county. He has not made payments for 3 months and I am now being asked to make payments which I cannot afford. At the time of taking the loans out, I don’t recall them asking for proof of income or completing a credit check, and I was reliant on my ex partners wage to pay all our bills in our rented property. What would you recommend be the next step for me to be considered to be removed as guarantor? I am now expecting a baby as a single parent and the extra pressure of these loans on my financial situation are unnerving.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can you say what the rest of your financial situation is like at the moment? Do you have other problems debts or arrears with important bills? presumably your income will drop a lot when you go on maternity leave?
Beth says
I am a homeowner with mortgage of £470/month and I have one credit card debt approx £6000 (interest free) and a car in PCP agreement. I make ends meet each month currently due to no overtime access due to being pregnant and yes my income drops approx £700/month from May for 10-12 months. I will be utilising benefits during this period accordingly.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK so an affordability complaint by you is a test about thether the loan was affordable at the time it was given – at that point could you have afforded to repay all the payments and still be able to pay your own debts, bills and everyday expenses? If you can’t, you can make a complaint to UKC and Buddy and ask to be removed as guarantor.
In theory you can complain that the borrower was also unable to repay the loan but without co=operation from the borrower this can be hard to win unless you have copies of his bank statements etc.
But apart from making these complaints, there is alos to problem of what to do know, as these complaints can take a very long time to go through. To you these are just loans, the fact they are giarantor loans doesn’t really matter. One good option could be for you to talk to StepChange and put both guarantor loans and credit card into a debt management plan to let you make a single affordable payment each month to the DMP. Car PCP and your mortgage are priority debts – you have to be able to pay those in full.
If you later win an affordability complaint, that debt will be removed from the DMP and it will end a lot sooner.
Jonathan says
Well I have heard this morning back from the FOS with their outcome and they have upheld my complaint against trust two! They have given them until 9th April to respond to the upheld complaint so good news!!!
Jonathan says
Well yesterday the FOS came back with trust two reply that they will uphold my complaint! They have agreed to rectify all points made by the FOS BUT they have said that I didn’t make any payments so no refund! I have gone back to the FOS with copies of statements showing that 2k was paid in dec and then nearly 9k in March but these were made to the solicitors that were going to make me bankrupt if I didn’t pay. Should I be worried that this won’t be refunded as paid to the solicitor and not to trust two?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, your refund should take into account all the payments that you have made.
Jonathan says
So this would include payments made to the solicitor?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes – they were payments made to the debt
Jonathan says
Well the 22nd has come and there has been no response from trust two. They were asked by the FOS to re send the settlement letter asap but by the 22nd. Should I be worried about this ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The parent company is still in business and lending. Talk to your adjuidcator.
Jonathan says
Well trust two came back after I sent the screenshot showing the payments to the solicitor and said they can’t find what I paid. Obviously the solicitors will take their cut so would be a different amount. I contacted the solicitors who’s response was:
That they are investigating the position with their client(trust two) and that they would revert to me in due course.
It’s now been over a week and no contact what do you think I should do? Any idea?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what does your adjudicator say?
Jonathan says
The adjudicator upheld my complaint but when I spoke to her re the second time they came back saying they couldn’t find it , it seemed like she didn’t quite know what to do. I said to her that I would contact the solicitors and she said she would put a reminder for another 2 weeks
Jonathan says
Well trust two have now found the payments that I made and received an email last Thursday saying that I would be refunded with the 8% interest. I emailed acceptance on Friday and their letter says that the refund details would be sent the next working day. It’s now Wednesday and not heard anything further. I have emailed twice and received no response should I be worried?
Jonathan heard says
Also! Think I may have made a mistake as I have accepted the offer which was for the original loan plus interest but there was about 3.5k of solicitors and debt collectors charges which are not on there. Should these been included in the offer or not?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Why did you accept it???
Go back and say they have made an error and the solicitor and debt collector charges should be refunded as well.
Tackle this first, nit the payment date.
Jonathan heard says
I didn’t realise! Have emailed tt to say this. As no payment has been made but me saying I accept would that have an adverse effect?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is pretty quick, I think they should let you change Your mind. And indeed explain why they didn’t include the other charges.
Jonathan heard says
Thank you for your email. I apologise for the delay
in response and the delay to your refund, we have
had difficulty with our payment system.
As previously advised, we are only able to refund
what we have received, which is £6,273.24. The
screenshot you provided details a payment of
£8,885.00 and £2,000.00. Due to the payments in
your screenshot not correlating with what George
Banco has received, we are unable to refund
anything over £6,273.24. We are unable to refund
the solicitor fees, as we did not receive this money.
This is a reply I have just received from tt so are the legal fees a no?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is unreasonable. You could tell them you will be sending the complaint to the Ombudsman if you don’t want to accept the lower amount.
Eli says
Hi Sara,
I have just been sent an email from Lantern stating they have taken over the loan from Amigo to which I have stupidly agreed to be a guarantor to an ex- partner who forced me into it between 2018-2019.
There’s no way this should have been approved as the borrower had another loan with Quick quid at the time as well. He has also asked for a top up of the loan during which time I was a student on a part time job and with a credit card payments due.
I would like to know if I can pursue a claim and if yes, who against – Lantern or Amigo?
Also, the forms at the time were manipulated by my ex partner without my knowing and I was never asked about any payslips or other info. Thr last email i have from amigo states the borrower has told them they are unable to afford the amount and agreed and have set up a proposed Payment Plan of £381.75 per 4 weeks.
Originally, he made it sound as borrowing an amount to cover his previous loan and then kept increasing it. The loan is £4900 as per Lanterns email, I am not in contact with the borrower and from what I know he has left the UK.
I would like to remove myself as a guarantor to this loan due to being forced into it and due to the original application should not have been approved never , as well as when doing the top ups I was on a part time job and university student.
Can you advise what steps I need to take please?
Thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you make a claim to the amigo scheme?
What are the rest of your finances like at the moment – do you have other debts?
Eli says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for prompt response. Unfortunately I didn’t do a claim to Amigo scheme at the time, and only found out about this. Finances are ok at the moment, no other debts, but I am looking to get a mortgage and really really worried about all this now affecting my future, and would like to get it sorted as soon as possible.
Hence looking to understand my best options.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have no options to now make a complaint to either Amigo or Lantern, it is too late.
You can try offering Lantern a lower amount in final settlement, or pay it all, or set up a payment arrangement. (If you had other debts then other options would be relevant such as debt management or insolvency)
Eli says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for this.
Oh it is so bizarre to be put in a worse situation because I have managed to pull through (somehow) from such a negative experience and abusive partner and only because I don’t have other debt right now.
What amount do you recon is reasonable to be offered considering i am the guarantor and not the borrower? Would anything be recorded on my credit check, and when; and what would impact this?
Is it not worthed even trying? Could I still not argue this loan was mis-sold and me forced to agree to it? Is there a timeline of when I could be asked to make payments in the case of the borrower not communicating with Lantern, I am not even sure what attempts they willl make to get in touch with him(can i ask for evidence of this)? Would interest still continue to accure?
Apologies for all the questions but I was really hoping I could discuss this and present my case, and I definitely do not have the money to pay in full.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well you aren’t in a worse situation – you could still opt for debt management or insolvency, but a DMP would make it much harder to get a mortgage and insolvency impossible for about 6 years.
You are equally liable with the borrower – there is no particular reason why Lantern should accept less from you then from the borrower.
In practice Lantern may be happy to accept a settlement offer – it’s hard to guess what they would accept.
Is it not worth even trying? Could I still not argue this loan was mis-sold and me forced to agree to it?
Well you can try – but you should have made a claim to the scheme and any complaint to Amigo will be dismissed and probably to Lantern to. And it is highly unlikely that the ombudsman will agree to look at the case.
Would anything be recorded on my credit check, and when; and what would impact this?
you can argue that the debt to Lantern should not be added to your credit record as Amigo always said that a loan would not show on a guarantor’s credit record. But if Lantern go to court for a CCJ, that would show on your credit record.