Debt Camel

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Board room bust-up at Amigo

March 2020

On 4 March 2020 the founder and majority shareholder of Amigo, James Benamor, resigned from the board which he had only rejoined in December and published a blog saying that the company was:

committing slow motion suicide.

Benamor said the board needed to choose between challenging recent FOS decisions on affordability complaints in court by Judicial Review or accept that “almost all their loans had been made irresponsibly”, stop lending and go into administration.

When he came back onto the board, he says he personally audited the most recently lent and refunded loans. And he found that:

Amigo had, for six months, been lending almost entirely in a way that matched their own complaints team’s definition of ‘irresponsible’.

He described the company as being a:

cash cow for consultants, lawyers and suits, all of whom had an interest in keeping the gravy train running for as long as possible, but no interest in the company being honest with shareholders or customers about the situation it was in.

and said he could no longer remain on the board.

Amigo issued a Response to statement by James Benamor disagreeing with much of what Benamor said:

Mr Benamor’s statement contains several material inaccuracies and is fundamentally incorrect in a number of respects. Amigo does not accept Mr Benamor’s account of events…
The Company monitors its loan book regularly and has concluded, as part of its Q3 review process, that it does not have a systemic problem.

April

On 28 April, James Benamor published another blog that called for the removal of the entire Amigo board. saying:

Today, I have requested a shareholder vote to be held as soon as possible on the subject of removal of the current board. This vote will obviously take place remotely.

And he also proposes his nominations for CEO and Chair, saying:

A key responsibilities of the new board of Amigo will be to investigate, provide evidence to the regulator on, and in all likelihood take litigation action against, the outgoing board members. It is therefore absolutely not acceptable for the outgoing board to be involved in selecting their replacements.

June

On 1 June, Amigo announced:

The previous week Amigo had said:

  • We have significantly increased our staffing and recently agreed a Voluntary Requirement with the FCA to work through and reach a decision, before the end of June 2020, on a backlog of complaints which have arisen principally in 2020. Each complaint will be assessed on a case by case basis to ensure fair outcomes for our customers.
  • it had a cash balance of over £115 million as at 25 May 2020.

At the General Meeting held on 17 June, the resolutions to remove the current board and substitute two new directors as proposed by James Benamor were all defeated by a large majority, about 9:1.

So the existing board members remained in office and Benamor had started selling 1% of the company’s shares every working day. He had previously stated this would continue until his holding is gone. This continued through July, August and early September.

August 

On 24 August, Benamor set out his vision for Amigo in another blog: Richmond Group has been clear that we welcome and support the return of CEO Glen Crawford, setting out the Board changes he wanted, saying he wanted to become CEO of the group holding company and:

As CEO of Amigo Holdings PLC I plan to support the board of Amigo Loans Ltd in their strategy of cost cutting, bond buy backs, debt clearance, and Judicial Review of FOS decisions, whilst simultaneously rebuilding a team at Group level that is able to use the cash immediately returned to Group to build stable profitable businesses outside of the FOS and FCA policies which have so harmed U.K. consumers.

 

September

On 4 September, Benamor published the following tweet:

This was an incentive for shareholders to vote for his resolutions by promising at a time when the share price was under 13p that if he became CEO he would buy shares up to 30% of the company at a price of up to 20p.

On 7 September Amigo announced an EGM would be held on 29th September to vote on Benamor’s resolutions and set out why the Board thought they should all be rejected.

On 11 September Benamor’s shareholding holding was down to zero.

On 22 September, with a week to go until the EGM, Benamor published another blog: Gather round kids, I’m going to tell you the story of how Glen became CEO of Amigo the first time. But first, I need to take you back further, to the 00s.

It’s a fascinating insight into how he sees the development of Amigo, from losing the entire board in a week to cocktails designed for women to drink. It concludes:

“Vote for a new Amigo that is like the old Amigo. Don’t let anyone tell you this time things are different, because no one knows better than the current board, things are very very similar to the moment they themselves arrived into this story.”

This was followed the next day by an RNS from Amigo: Update on CEO Succession which said:

Glen Crawford has notified the Company that he no longer wishes to re-join the Board… Mr Crawford’s unexpected withdrawal of his candidature follows a divergence of views with a majority of the Board.

29 September – Benamor loses the vote

Benamor lost the vote at the General Meeting to be appointed a direct by 43% to 57%.

The Board commented:

The Board notes that while all the resolutions proposed by Richmond Group Limited at the general meeting were voted down by the shareholders, a not insignificant minority of shareholders did not support the Board’s recommendation that shareholders vote against all the resolutions. The Board is committed to its current governance structure and strategy, to delivering value for all shareholders and to ensuring an effective dialogue with shareholders going forward and will continue to engage with shareholders to understand their views.

For details of the latest Amigo news, see Amigo’s new Scheme

Guarantor loans – more protection needed

Refunds from large bad credit loans?

Author: Sara Williams Tagged With:

Comments

  1. Beverley says

    I’ve just had my guarantor responsible lending rejected by amigo . My income is much lower now , it’s there anything else I can do ?

  2. Wesley says

    I lost my house and everything over amigo loans I lost my job my guarantor lost hers and had breast cancer and had to have them removed. We still got daily threatening emails even after explaining all this with no support I was on the brink of a breakdown. I borrowed 6000 and paid back 10500. Is there anything I can do?

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      No one should ever get threatening emails from any lender or debt collector.

      You and your guarantor may be able to complain about unfair treatment of a customer in arrears. If you had lost your job and your guarantor was suffering from cancer, you were both in vulnerable situations and should have been sympathetically treated, not pushed to make payments you could not afford.

      If you go to your local Citizens Advice, they can help you put in a complaint about this.

      You should also read this article https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/ and think about whether the loan was really affordable for you when you took it out. It seems that in many cases Amigo didn’t properly check that someone in difficult circumstances (and most people who ask Amigo for a loan are not in a good financial position!) could really afford to make the loan repayments without getting behind with bills or having to borrow more money.

      And the same applies to your guarantor, see this other page: https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/. Could she really have managed the monthly repayments before she lost her job and became unwell?

  3. Jacs says

    So, if they do go into administration this can’t be good for those who have complained but already paid off their loan? It could be another Wonga-style shambles! But what if you still owe money and are waiting on your complaint being dealt with? Does this still have to be paid back and to whom? Sara, what do you imagine will happen to this horrible company? Do you think all their amigos will up and leave?

  4. Cathy says

    Hi Sara
    I had a guarantor complaint rejected by Amigo in Feb 2019. I sent it straight to FOS. In September 2019 I received a pack from FOS asking me to complete a form and provide information detailing my complaint, which pretty much duplicated the information I had sent to them in Feb 2019. Since then i have heard nothing. I called the FOS on Monday 2 March 2020 to ask for an update. The agent confirmed they had received my pack and it had been allocated to a case handler, but he could not see what action had been taken on my complaint. The agent said he would sent an email asking the case handler to provide an update for me.
    What happens if Amigo goes into administration before FOS make a decision on my case? Would i still be responsible for the loan?

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      This is your son’s complaint and he is the guarantor after the borrower has just disappeared? He was sent a Letter Before Action but Amigo haven’t proceeded to court because of the outstanding complaint?

      If that is right, he would have a claim as a creditor of Amigo if they went into administration. But instead of FOS reaching a decision the administrators would have to.

      Have you told FOS about his depression?

      • Cathy says

        Wow, Sarah what a memory, yes that is right it is a complaint on behalf of my son, i am acting on his behalf. Would the administrators have the same powers as FOS to remove guarantors from their responsibilities?
        yes i did include his depression in the complaint to FOS

        • Sara (Debt Camel) says

          I haven’t seen an administration involving guarantor loans but my assumption is that they could do anything that the lender themselves could do, which would include deciding to write off / scrap the guarantor part of the loan.

          I suggest you phone FOS and ask them to give the case priority because of your son’s mental health.

          • Cathy says

            Thank you Sara, I am hoping for an update within the next week from FOS. I will then interact directly with the case handler directly. As the year has gone on his mental health has improved mainly due to the fact Amigo have suspended harassing him pending the outcome of the FOS investigation. Must admit i was worried about contacting FOS, it brought back all the stress and worry we went through when they were threatening court action. Your posts about the trouble Amigo are in (thank you for that) prompted me to contact FOS. I want his case concluded before Amigo go under.

          • Carla says

            I rang today they said it would not uphold my claim as they do a credit check and I passed which I don’t no how as my credit is really bad in just under two years I paid 5550 interest

          • Carla says

            A manager at Amigo said if I give earning etc it’s my own fault it’s only been 6weeks but they said it doesn’t look good I had one loan and five top ups in just under two years

          • Sara (Debt Camel) says

            It’s nonsense – anyone with 5 top-ups in 2 years has a very strong complaint. Don’t let them put you off.

            Have they actually rejected your complaint or have you just been told they probably will?

          • Sara (Debt Camel) says

            I suggest you ignore what the Amigo manager says. No point in worrying about it – if Amigo do turn you down then FOS will look at your complaint,

  5. Jacs says

    Cathy – you’ve seriously been waiting a whole year for your complaint to be resolved?? Is there not a time limit on how long the FOS can take? Are most people having to wait this long?

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      No! Cathy’s son’s complaint went in just before a big hold up at the start of 2019. Almost all the backlog of cases that developed then have now been resolved, his must be one of a tiny number left. Then hardly any new cases were added between August and November as Amigo were settling most of them. And the team has been expended so I think the hope is it will be able to get through new cases much more rapidly.

  6. Nick says

    Very interesting and, I thought, heart-felt blog post by Amigo’s founder. Things do seem to have taken a dramatic turn for the worse after it went public and his departure.

    In particular his comment: “Companies that require hundreds of millions of pounds of investment and lose money for years as they build a loyal customer base. Instead they have limited borrowers to short term high interest fly-by-night lenders and unregulated finance.”

    I agree with this. While it is only right that regulated firms should not make loans against the rules, the upshot will be that most or all bad credit firms will exit the market or go bust. Which is what we have been seeing in recent years. That will leave those who believe that they absolutely must have a loan at the mercy of unregulated, back-street, loan sharks.

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      That will leave those who believe that they absolutely must have a loan at the mercy of unregulated, back-street, loan sharks.
      As says every bad credit lender…
      The FCA looked in 2017 for any sign that this had happened in 2015/15 when the payday loan market halved in size. There wasn’t any. Instead people found other ways – they managed without borrowing, or took debt advice or borrowed from family.

      In many ways the bad credit industry providing unaffordable loans is a huge Ponzi scheme with one loan leading to many more. Because you can’t afford one loan, you take another, from the same or a different lender. Rinse & repeat. People get Amigo loans to repay payday loans then get payday loans and then an Amigo top up when they can’t afford the first Amigo loan. They buy mobiles or tablets on BNPL schemes to sell it to let them make the minimum repayments to their other cards and catalgues.

        • Sara (Debt Camel) says

          I said the payday loan market had halved, not the bad credit market. See graph page 62 in https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/feedback/fs17-02-technical-annex.pdf

          The nature of loan sharking means that it is difficult to gather data.
          Of course. Citizens Advice is well aware that the small number of loan shark complaints logged is not an accurate indicator of the size of the problem. But the point is there was no increase in the small number during that time the payday loan market halved.

          • Anon says

            I would add that there is a strong argument that much of the demand for easy-access, instant credit was created by the lenders themselves.

            I work in ethical finance and there’s been a real cultural shift in behaviour:
            People are borrowing who previously would’ve just accepted that they would have to go without (e.g. towards the end of the month). We see this as they then coming to us for consolidation, i.e. trying to clear it with more credit – occasionally this is appropriate, but often they could make some changes to how they manage money and it would resolve itself;
            Many people’s first reaction now to any problem to apply for credit. I’ve lost count of the people who enquire about loans for things that could be resolved by early communication – e.g. utility arrears, a short delay to their rent payment, etc.
            The reduction in funding for advice services and proactive money management does not help.

  7. Mb050785 says

    Hi Sara,

    Thanks for the link to this. My understanding is that Amigo have been swamped so badly in the last year with claims from customers that they have gone with trying to deal with them appropriately to just saying no to everybody now to delay things and hope the FOS don’t uphold as many claims.

    How long does the FOS take to reply usually? I feel like I may have missed the boat….I’m on week 6 of amigo having my complaint. I expect them to reject at week 14 or beyond, then it will take ages with the FOS. All the while I’m still paying for something unaffordable, and looking less likely to recover. I wish I could suspend payment while it was being investigated! What is your advice??

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      They aren’t saying No to everyone – here is a comment from a couple of days ago from someone why had the last couple of loans refunded: https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/comment-page-24/#comment-353590 (actually that is the best place for questions by a borrower about these complaints.) But they are now rejecting some complaints which sound very strong.

      You don’t have to wait for them to reject your complaint, you can send it to the Ombudsman at 8 weeks if they haven’t replied to you.

      Could your guarantor afford the repayments? If they couldn’t, then perhaps they too could complain? If they complain it makes it easier for you to suspend payments while the complaint goes through as Amigo can’t take the guarantor to court while the guarantor has an open complaint.

      • Claire says

        I’m so happy to see people getting results.
        I took out two loans in 2016 total of 7250 I’ve been paying 290 every month. Did a debt relief order in 2017 but couldnt put amigos loans on it as I didnt want to lumber my guarantor with it!
        I started my complaint August last year
        Financial ombusman has been great…abit slow but 2 weeks ago after sending bank statements and lots of phone calls and emails I got some great news
        FOS has said they have to pay me back all interest plus 8% and no negative impact on my credit score. Whoooo:) 39 months I’ve been paying back this loan at 290 per month I’ve played back over 11.000 and they say I still owe them another 4000! No missed payments.
        It’s been a long old slog and really difficult keeping up with payments VERY STRESSFUL!
        FOS have sent their finding to amigos so I’m on the home stretch.
        I’m sure itll take afew more weeks to get any kind of refund but I’m done with them!
        No more 290 per month no more worrying
        Worse financial dicision of my life!!
        I started with the template from here which seems like so long ago now but even if your insure do it.
        I’m just worried now they may go bust before I get my refund x

  8. Mb050785 says

    I plan on going to the ombudsman at week 8, but my worry is if amigo go to week 14 and say no (which could be likely going by recent news, even if I think my case is strong), how long would the ombudsman take to make a decision? If they take months and months too then that’ll make things tough, as finding £320 per month is a real kick each payday.

    My guarantor is on the verge of bankruptcy and has no bank account. He could never afford a missed payment. I’m just wary of trying to suspend my account if the worst happens and both amigo and FOS reject, then they stick tons more interest on and leave me with even more to pay, or go to court. The stress of it all is a nightmare.

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      My guarantor is on the verge of bankruptcy Is that just a figure of speech saying he is very broke or is he seriously thinking of going bankrupt?

      and has no bank account. oh! Why?

      Would it worry your guarantor a lot to have Amigo contact him?

      • mb050785 says

        He has debt up to his eyeballs, with numerous creditors as well as friends and family he owes money to. He entered into a DMP with StepChange but couldn’t keep to that either, so they have recently cancelled it. Bankruptcy is about the only thing he has feels he has left on the table, as things have gotten that bad. He has a young son so his partner only works part time – thus leaving less disposable income to pay rent/bills etc and making things worse.

        He had a bank account, but ran up a big overdraft that he stopped making payments on – so Halifax closed his account down and are chasing him for their money.

        I’m just worried that he has now has no means whatsoever of covering any payment. I feel that i have to make sure I pay this every month to prevent any trouble, even though it’s also putting huge strain on myself. He probably wouldn’t be too bothered if Amigo contacted him (he’s used to it by now), but i’m not sure what we could achieve. They will still want paying after all.

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      Can you suggest he talks to a debt adviser about bankruptcy . He could go back to StepChange but if he can’t face doing that, talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000.

      If he goes bankrupt then his liability to pay this Amigo debt is wiped out. That by itself isn’t a reason to go bankrupt – after all if you win your complaint he will be released as the guarantor anyway. But if his other debts are unmanageable (a failed DMP obviously suggests serious problems, whether he has any other better options I have no idea) then bankruptcy may be a good option for him and it takes away his Amigo worries.

      If he is removed as guarantor, your loan just continues as a normal loan. Winning your own Amigo complaint will get the interest removed.

      So your options. You said before you owe money to Peachy, MyJar, Capital One, Studio, LookAgain… I suggest you talk to StepChange about a a DMP for all your debts, including this Amigo one. Amigo can’t chase your guarantor effectively if he has no bank account and you say he won’t be worried by getting depands he can’t pay. And cancel your DD to Amigo and tell them you are talking to StepChange.

      Then you can just wait while the complaint goes through, knowing you are in a more manageable financial situation. If you win the complaint your Amigo balance drops dramatically and the DMp gets finished earlier. If you lose, you just carry on in the DMP.

  9. L says

    Might be difficult to tell, but do you think amigo are going down the route of wonga Sara?

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      I think Amigo are on a route all of their own… where it will end up it’s impossible to say. At the moment they are arguing about who is driving the car, when that is sorted if Benamor takes over then he has said he is going to go for a judicial review of the Ombudsman’s decision… that is a road other high-cost lenders looked at and decided against.

  10. Cathy says

    Hi Sara

    If James Benamor is reinstated and goes for a judicial review, what happens to the historic FOS decision are they still valid?

    The FOS has recently ruled in my sons favour and Amigo had until today to review the decision. I understand they have been a little late in responding to FOS but to date they have not challenged any of the decisions. I just hope my sons case if not the one they use in the judicial review.

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      FOS must have over 500 Amigo cases at the moment. It’s pretty unlikely your son’s would be picked. if it was, he wouldn’t be involved in the actual court case, it would be between Amigo and FOS.
      A firm can only go to judicial review on a final decision, not an adjudicator decision.
      We will have to wait and see what sort of case Amigo would want to JR.

  11. Daryl says

    Like most I’m in the queue here just past 13weeks, went to FOS at 8 weeks but still waiting in their queue for a pickup too. My question is if Amigo go into Administration in the mean time will any payout likely be pence in the pound (like Wonga, WDA) or would a full redress be payable?

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      I’m sorry, I can’t guess.

      Some people are being told all cases will be resolved by the end of June. And a couple of people this week have had Amigo make full offers when they were at the ombudsman. That doesn’t sound like a company that is about to go into administration. We will have to wait and see.

  12. vicki says

    So amigo are basically tellingme they have still not looked at my loan .. FOS have still not replied after a month ?

    Is there a way to again send amigo another loan .. like copy someone into the email so they pick it up ?

    Seems like this one is going same way as brighthouse.

    Thats now gone down the swannie !!

    Thanks in advance

    Vicki

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      In https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/AMGO/formal-sale-process-and-market-update/14554886 Amigo said they had over £115 million in the bank on 25 May 2020. They are doing almost no lending at the moment. That will pay for a few refunds…

      And in the same statement they said:

      We have significantly increased our staffing and recently agreed a Voluntary Requirement with the FCA to work through and reach a decision, before the end of June 2020, on a backlog of complaints which have arisen principally in 2020. Each complaint will be assessed on a case by case basis to ensure fair outcomes for our customers.

      I hope that will include your complaint!

  13. Jason says

    hi everyone, Amigo have just paid me £13,500 redress for mis-selling. keep going with it all

    • Y P says

      Well done that is amazing. I only put my complaint in 3days ago and still paying back £395 per month for a 10k loan i took out in 2017 so I hope I get something but i know it will be a while

        • vicki says

          Hi Jason ,

          Can I just ask how much you borrowed in the first place. Im trying to work out what to expect back from Amigo .

          Thanks

          Vicki

  15. vicki says

    So … finally I have heard back from Amigo ,

    They are uphelding my complaint .. below is a snipet of what they said …

    Our Decision

    Having looked at your observations and carefully considered the information available on our systems, we have concluded that Amigo cannot be completely confident that the loan agreements were affordable for you.

    Accordingly, Amigo is prepared to offer you redress in respect of the loan agreements shown in the appendix. The redress provided will consist of:

    The removal of all interest charges under the loan agreements;
    A refund of any payments you may have made in excess of the capital amount of the loan agreements, along with 8% simple interest; and
    The removal of any adverse information from your credit file in respect of the loan agreements.

    So not sure how much to expect .. but over the moon !!

  16. Kim says

    Dear Sara

    Amigo have upheld my complaint this month, and are paying me back interest

    The letter I received from them is the same as Vicki

    Kind regards

  17. vicki says

    Hi Sara,

    Was wondering if you come work out for me what I possibly might except back from Amigo .

    Below is the loans I had and what they said they will refund me ?

    The removal of all interest charges under the loan agreements;
    A refund of any payments you may have made in excess of the capital amount of the loan agreements, along with 8% simple interest; and
    The removal of any adverse information from your credit file in respect of the loan agreements.

    27 Jul 2011 £825.00 24x payments of £51

    12 Apr 2012 £3,300.00 48 x payments of £141.16

    01 Jul 2014 £5,000.00 60x payments of £197.62

    Hope you can help.

    Thanks Vicki

  18. Josh says

    Hello Sara and readers..

    I have just had an offer made from amigo loans with the FOS ,they are going too follow the FOS guidelines and guessing they will refund all interest . The FOS have asked me if I would like too accept amigos offer . Will they give me a bogus calculation or should I reject and continue as is . I have payed £12.800 with a remaining 10000 left too repay . Would that be a redress of 2800 plus interest?
    If anyone gets put off by the final response from amigo ,just ignore it,, they are trained too too make you want too give up . Even tho I was on carers allowance and never once made a payment on time they kept sending Messages for top ups . And before I knew it’s £23000 in debt . Sara thank you for your blog it has been a life saver . As from this I have been able too get my whole credit file sorted and I am officially out of debt . Thank you so so much

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      I have seen some very odd calculations from Amigo but most of them are fine. If they have offered you a full refund on all loans you would not get more from FOS and FOS never work out the calculations… so you should accept and then go back to FOS if the calculations look wrong.

      I have payed £12.800 with a remaining 10000 left too repay . Would that be a redress of 2800 plus interest?
      Did you only have 1 loan? For 10k?

      • Josh says

        I had 3 loans with them.
        2016jun – £5000
        2016 sep-£7500
        2027dec-£10000
        10000 left too pay currently
        I’ve gone through what’s gone out through my bank , and I’ve payed out a total of £12800 and a few payments through my guarantor account .should my guarantor start a complaint for us too recoup the money they payed ?

  19. Cathy says

    Hi Josh
    Great to hear your good news story. It gives the rest of us hope. Can i just ask how long did Amigo take to accept the FOS decision. Was the FOS decision an adjudicator decision or Ombudsman?
    Despite the adjudicator at FOS ruling in our favour at the end of April 2020, Amigo have not responded and our complaint is now in the queue for the Ombudsman.
    Kind Regards
    Cathy

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      I don’t think FOS had reached a decision, this is just Amigo asking to take back a case and settle it inline with the FOS approach.

    • Josh says

      Hello Cathy ,
      I started my complaints back in august last year . Had a very negative final response from amigo in February and I went straight too the FOS ,, I haven’t had an adjudicator in all these months until I get my first email from them a few days ago . Amigo want too settle up . I literally was about too send them my bank statements but guess no need now . I believe amigo have no choice but too speed things up now too clear the back log of complaints .

  20. Josh says

    It’s the FOS I was sending the bank statements too .. I have sent them all information like correspondents and credit file ,, I was going to scan them up and send them too FOS but thought what is the point if amigo wish too settle the case ? I was worried as I had lots of payments from friends and my family I had lots of small payments going in my account and me taking it out from atms, I told FOS and amigo that I had borrowed from friends and family too maintain my bills and my alcohol problem which is now over:) would these payments be questioned and my friends contacted ect.. I will go through my statements and write your my figures for my loans tomorrow

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      FOS is normally pretty good at seeing the reality behind complicated bank statements.

      • Josh says

        Ok just too clarify , would you suggest for me too send my statements in ? Even tho I have been made an offer where the adjudicator is saying amigo will contact me very soon about the offer .
        Good afternoon,
        I’m writing to let you know about some news on your complaint.

        We’ve been speaking to Amigo about the cases we’ve been seeing with issues similar to those you told us about in your complaint. In particular, how Amigo looked into your financial position and whether you could afford the repayments before it agreed to lend.

        Amigo has now told us it would like to make an offer in full and final settlement of your complaint. And we wanted to let you know about this offer so that you can decide whether or not you want to accept it.

        Amigo’s offer
        Amigo will write to confirm the full detail of its offer including any amounts due – however, they have told us that they will follow our general approach. This includes:
        ….

  21. Claire seeley says

    Hi Sara I know I keep harping on that I started my complaint last july(ish) …so long can’t even remember, I ring once a week, send emails and always just get fobbed off!
    I really am losing patience now..
    Is there much point me making another complaint and is that even a thing?
    I struggled to keep paying for 10 months but haven’t paid for the last 2 months so I’m now in arrears with interest being added daily!
    Amigos didn’t reply to adjuacator months ago so I’m on ombudsmans waiting list ….priority apparently!

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      Starting a new complaint would be a big mistake. It just complicates things.

  22. vicki says

    Hi all ,

    Just thought id let you all know amigo upheld my complaint . Called to accept today ! shoul dhave cash refund by end of July .. Figure was just over 8K. Im delighted !! :) Good luck every one. The wait is worth it.

  23. Nicola says

    Congratulations Vicki!
    How long was your process ? What was your loan amount for?

    • vicki says

      Hi Nicola ,

      My first complaint was in March 2020. They kept fobbing me off. So I managed to find email address for there directors and investors and i copied them all into an email .. and BAM a week later they upheld my complaint. Always worth a try !

      My overall loans with tops ups where around 9k. This was 3 loans but these were all going back over 8 years.

      xx

  24. Nicola says

    Hi Vicki
    Thanks so much for your reply! Wow!
    I sent my email just two weeks. My final loan was a year ago for £10K 🙈. I first applied two years ago and had two tips up.. did you send bank statements!
    Nicola xx

    • vicki criddle says

      Hi Nicola,
      No no bank statements were sent as that particular account was closed and no longer have access to it.

      If you dont hear back within 8 weeks send to fos and keep on at them.

      Thanks

      Vicki

  25. Nicola says

    Hi Vicki

    Ok great I have not either just used the template from here for my email.
    It’s encouraging to hear your good news. Thanks again xx

  26. Ryan says

    Hi,

    Thanks to debt Camel, I submitted a complaint in April 2020. I just received Amigo’s final response yesterday. They are refunding me all interest plus 8% Simple interest. They did say that as my guarantor has made some payments. They will contact them and offer a full refund for any payments made towards the loan. They have 14 days to respond and if they accept Amigo’s offer I will then become liable for any payments due on the account. However my guarantor will not respond as she died 3 years ago.

    I have no idea how much I am due to receive.

    I had two loans;

    2012 – £5000 + £500 broker fee.
    2015 – £5000 both loans fully repaid.

  27. Leann says

    I complained in feb 2020. Was awarded an upheld decision on 8th June. Accepted refund figure on 9th June. I still have no refund. So much conflicting information I just want what I’ve been offered.

    Is anyone actually receiving?

  28. Charlene says

    Hi Sara,

    I made a complaint using your template to Amigos about a £7000 loan I took up in 2017 and had a top up Of £3000 in 2018. They wrote back to me reminding me that I had a loan from them in Sept 2010 For £3300, which I cleared 2 years later.

    They have offered redress for the most recent loan, which will clear the balance so I won’t get any money back but say they will not offer a refund for the loan in 2010 as they believe I could afford it but cannot say if I could afford the 2017/18 loan. They have also removed my guarantor already.

    Does this sound fair to you? If I reject and go to the FOA do I have to continue paying in the mean time? Should I cut my losses and accept?

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      Have they offered a refund for both the 2017 loan and top-up?
      Do you remember the 2010 loan being ok or unaffordable?

      • Charlene says

        Yea they have combined the redress for both 2017 and 2018 loans but the balance clears the loan less £58.

        The loan in 2010 was unaffordable as I had left my job the week before with the intention to go to University two weeks later, then my passed away Unexpectedly two weeks Later, which knocked me for 6 and I couldn’t work for the next few years. I struggled a lot as my only income was Income support until I went back to work in 2012 or 2013.

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      So the first loan turned out to be unaffordable. But if your relatived hadn’t died, do you think you would have been able to make the loan repayments easily?

      You will only win an affordability case if the loan was unaffordable at the time you took it it, not because things went wrong afterwards – that isn’t the lenders fault.

      • Charlene says

        It would have been unaffordable as I had left my job before I took it out. I was supposed to start uni two weeks later. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have taken out a loan but thought I would find a way to manage.

  29. Louise says

    Hi Sara,
    I’ve currently got an £7500 loan with Amigo I’ve paid off 41 months of £296.44. My mum is guarantor and hasn’t had to pay as I’ve always paid sometimes a couple days late but always paid. I’ve raised a complaint of affordability a couple of weeks ago just wondering how to work out what I would be owed? And if I actually have a case?
    Thank you
    Louise

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