A reader asked:
I agreed to be the guarantor for a loan for a friend, but he lied to me and couldn’t pay it. Amigo were very difficult, wanting me to stop paying other debts so I could pay them, and got a CCJ. Is it too late for me to complain and ask to be removed as the guarantor?
Guarantor lenders have a reputation for being very fast to go to court when a guarantor doesn’t pay them. People who have never had serious debt problems can end up with a County Court Judgment (CCJ) which makes it very hard to get any other credit, to remortgage or to get a new tenancy.
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How to complain after a CCJ when you are the guarantor
You can still complain if you think you should never have been accepted as a guarantor, even after you have had a CCJ.
There are several reasons to complain. The lender didn’t check that the borrower could afford the loan, the lender never explained the loan properly to you, you were pressured into agreeing to the loans or the lender didn’t check that you could afford the loan repayments and still pay all your other expenses, bills and debts.
Read How to complain when you are the guarantor for a loan which looks at these reasons and has a template letter you can use. In a complaint, always make all points that are relevant to your case as they may all help!
The template says:
I am asking you to remove me as guarantor for this loan and for it to be deleted from my credit record.
When you already have a CCJ, change that to say:
I am asking you to remove me as guarantor for this loan, to refund all the payments I have made, to set aside the CCJ that you have and to delete the loan from my credit record.
Here “set aside” is the legal phrase for cancelling a CCJ. The lender can apply to the court for this and then the CCJ will go from your credit record.
Will this work?
The lender may agree to do all this without it having to go to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS). A debt adviser told me a few days ago that one of his clients complained and Amigo said it would remove him as the guarantor, refund what he had paid and get rid of the CCJ.
But if the lender says No, send your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.
FOS will not always look at a complaint if there is a CCJ. But they usually will if they think you have reasons to complain that were not considered by the court.
Many CCJ’s are given as default judgments – you never put in a defence, so the lender was just awarded the decision without the court considering the case at all. Or you may have tried to defend the case but not focussed properly on the affordability aspect.
In either of these situations, I would expect that FOS would look at your complaint. And FOS is agreeing with the customer in a very large proportion of guarantor loan complaints!
Three variations
(1) there is a current court case
When you are getting threatening letters about court, the lender should not go to court when there is a complaint underway, including one at the Financial Ombudsman. So send them a complaint immediately, copying it to any solicitors involved as well as the lender’s normal complaint email.
If it has already gone to the next stage and the lender has started legal action, put in a complaint to the lender, copied to their solicitors, immediately and include the sentence:
I would like you to stay the current court case and for this matter to be decided by reference to the Finacial Ombudsman.
Here “stay” is the legal term for putting a case on hold.
It is going to be much simpler for you to make your case to the Financial Ombudsman than in court, so this is a better idea than just trying to defend the court case.
But importantly you also need to put in a defence to the case if you have received a Claim Form, even if you are asking for the case to be stayed. In this situation, you probably need some advice and support, so two places for help:
- your local Citizens Advice – they will be able to get assistance from the national specialist debt experts. It may take a few days to get to see someone at your local CAB, so send in the complaint immediately with that extra sentence.
- National Debtline on 0808 808 4000.
(2) there is a charging order
If you have a house with equity, some lenders will go to court for a Charging Order over your house after they have got a CCJ.
If the CCJ is removed, the Charging Order should also be removed. You can make it clear you want this to happen by changing the line in your complaint to say:
I am asking you to remove me as guarantor for this loan, to refund all the payments I have made, to set aside the CCJ that you have, to delete the Charging Order and to delete the loan from my credit record.
(3) you are the borrower
Some guarantor lenders go to court for a CCJ against the borrower at the same time they sue the guarantor, so you both get CCJs.
The borrower can also make an affordability complaint and ask for the CCJ to be deleted. The complaint template for borrowers is here: How borrowers can complain about a guarantor loan. Change the sentence which says:
I am asking you to remove the interest from the balance so I only have to repay what I borrowed and to allow me to reduce my monthly payments to an affordable amount.
to read:
I am asking you to remove the interest from the balance so I only have to repay what I borrowed, to set aside the CCJ, and to allow me to reduce my monthly payments to an affordable amount.
Here winning your complaint doesn’t get rid of the loan, just the CCJ and the interest, so you may still owe some money.
Ombudsman refunding most guarantor loans
FOS releases a guarantor from the loan
More refunds for Amigo loans!
Jan says
Contact the FOS, you are eligible to complain to them under FCA DISP Rules 2.7.6. As what happened in my case KMC had tried to argue that I was previously not an eligible consumer. However, FOS powers changed on 1 April 2014. They now say, under DISP 2.7.6:
“To be an eligible complainant a person must also have a complaint which arises from matters relevant to one or more of the following relationships with the respondent:
1. (12) the complainant is a person:
(a) from whom the respondent has sought to recover payment under a credit agreement or consumer hire agreement (whether or not the respondent is a party to the agreement); or
(b) in relation to whom the respondent has sought to perform duties, or exercise or enforce rights, on behalf of the creditor or owner, under a credit agreement or consumer hire agreement in carrying on debt administration.”
I don’t think there’s any debate that you was not a customer of Amigo – the loan was not in your name. But the rules don’t require the person complaining to be party to that credit agreement. The FOS shut Kensington up by stating what I’ve seen, Kensington Mortgage Company has sought to recover payment from me by repossessing a property for which I owned the title deeds. And that repossession was in relation to a mortgage, or in other words, a credit agreement. My case has been to Court and Kensington and their legal team lied, the FOS saw through it. So go for it to the FOS. First make a complaint to Amigo.
Karen says
Hi I was guarantor for my daughter ,at the time I had numerous payday loans loans and credit cards , my daughter couldn’t pay and I couldn’t so amigo gave us both a ccj ghis has now finished am I able to try for refund and removal of ccj if so how would I set out writing a complaint
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo should never have accepted a guarantor who had payday loans!
how long ago was the loan? the ccj?
Karen says
Over 6 years
ccj around 4years
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, you can still complain. If Amigo dismiss your complaint as the loan is over 6 years old, send your complaint to the ombudsman. This is worth a try!
Karen says
Thankyou I will try
Karen says
Sorry how would I word it would I be able to try for redress and to remove ccj
A Anonymous says
Hi, I thought I’d see if you have any thoughts on this. So, my wife owned a small company where she took on equipment through finance in the limited company’s name, also with her name as a director guarantee. We sold the company for barely anything and the new owners quickly defaulted on the company’s liability. Now, we had the new owners sign to promise to remove liability from us and take on the director’s guarantees from the company, which they did not do. As such, the finance company is now chasing her for the guarantee through a debt collector. I’m curious, though – the company was young, had no assets, and she was a massively unqualified director of the company – a student with no income and the business wasn’t making profit. Surely, a director’s guarantee applies the same as a traditional guarantor – surely they shouldn’t have accepted her originally as a director guarantor since she had no income, was only a student, and the company wasn’t paying profits? Any thoughts would be awesome!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry this has nothing to do with consumer credit act guarantor loans. I suggest she talks to Business Debtline about her situation and what her options are. See https://www.businessdebtline.org/
Nana Safo says
In 2017my wife agreed to be a guarantor for her friend’s loan with amigo (£4,000) as she was had a 1 years old baby and in financial difficulties. Her friend defaulted payments and amigo started demanding payments from my wife. After going through the repayments figures with Amigo my wife found out that her friend had increased the loan by £3000 (£7000 in total) without her (my wife’s) consent. Mr wife was completely unaware of the increase. Neither Amigo nor her friend communicated that to her. Her friend has been very difficult and explained she lost her job but she will resume payment as soon as she secured a job. This has been very frustrating as my wife has been paying £250/month. Even though her friend has secured a job for almost a year now, she has not resumed payment. She has been posting photos of her on lavish holidays on social media etc.
I have currently lost my job and it’s very very frustrating to see a chunk of our household income paying for someone else’s lifestyle. My wife has a hear t of gold and her friend used her son to emotionally manipulate her into a guarantor loan.
I really need some advice on how to;
1. Remove my wife from the agreement with amigo
2. Get her friend to pay every penny back to my wife and to resume the repayment of the loan
3. Did Amigo act illegally by increasing the loan without my wife’s consent? if Yes, how do we make a complaint or file a case?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo should not have increased the loan without your wife’s consent. This “top up” was a new loan and she should ask to be removed as the guarantor as she never agreed to it and for Amigo to refund her the money.
If she wins her complaint, Amigo will have to refund this money – it’s then their problem how to get it back from the “friend”.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Has Amigo taken your wife to court for a CCJ?
Nana says
No they haven’t.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, that’s good, I asked because you had put the comment on page fpr people who had Amigo ccjs.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
She should use the template letter in this article https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/ to complain to Amigo saying she was never contacted about the second loan and she would not have agreed to it as it was too much to be affordable.
She should ask Amigo to delete her as the guarantor and refund her the money she had paid Amigo plus 8% statutory interest.
Jenny says
I am guarantor for a loan my husband took out. He defaulted due to illness and I had to take over payments. After trying to negotiate with Amigo on several occasions, they were still demanding payments of £700 per month to catch up on missed payments. I couldn’t pay it so they took me to court and both my husband and I have a CCJ. I’ve been paying the agreed amount for the past year, however the officers decided to show up with a charge for my husband, because apparently he’s defaulted. They’ve added on extra costs as well. They’re now saying that my payment may not be enough to clear the loan in a reasonable amount of time. I have a house with equity and I’m terrified of what they’ll do next. Any advice on hwhat I should I do here ? Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“however the officers decided to show up with a charge for my husband, because apparently he’s defaulted.”
Can you say a bit more about this? Is there a charge over your house? Or was this a bailiff warrant?
Can you give some more details for background:
– was this his first loan from Amigo?
– did he have a lot of other debt at the time he took the loan out?
– when you became guarantor, what was your income like? did you have debts as well?
What you should probably do is both put in complaints to Amigo, him saying the loan was unaffordable for him (use this template: https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/) and you saying the loan was unaffordable for him AND unaffordable for you because Amigo didn’t properly consider what your finances would be like if your husband was unable to work (use this other template: https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/). And both of you should change ythose templants to say you want the CCJ removed as the article above ^^^ explains.
But come back with the answers to my questions first.
You may want to get some professional help with this by going to your local Citizens Advice. It may take a couple of weeks to get an appointment with a money specialist, so you could decide to just get the complaints in straight away and then go and get advice.
Jenny says
There is no charge on the house. The letter was from the court, demanding payment in full.
1. Yes it was first loan, however it had been topped up.
2. He didn’t have other debt, but I had quite alot.
3. When I became guarantor, I was self employed, like him with no income guarantees, and yes I had lots of other debt.
He’s also now seriously ill in hospital, hasn’t had an income for a long time. I’ve been making all of the agreed payments on the CCJ, so I don’t understand why the sheriff officers have served another charge, and added on more costs.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you in Scotland?
Jenny says
Yes I’m in Scotland
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, the principle is the same but Scottish court terminology is a bit different. I will ask a Scottish adviser to have a look and say if my suggested wording about your CCJ needs to be changed at all.
Jenny says
Thanks so much. What do you think the chances are of them applying for a charging order when my payments are up to date ?
Should I put these complaints in to Amigo direct or the solicitors that are acting on their behalf ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s possible (or at least it is in England…) but if you have a complaint underway, with Amigo or later with the Ombudsman if Amigo reject your complaint, I think it is VERY VERY unlikely Amigo would do that.
Complaints to Amigo and cc them to the solicitors.
Jenny says
I hope to get my complaints in today, I’m assuming it can’t do any more damage/harm to make a complaint ?
Would you mind if emailed you the letters to check over would that be possible ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you continue to make the payments, the complaint itself won’t change anything.
No, sorry. Many thousands of people have used my template letters, I couldn’t possibly look at even 1% of them.
Read the letters through out loud. Does what you have written seem fair to you, does it describe your case briefly but accurately and say what you want to happen? You can see there is no legal arguments in there to get wrong. If you spent weeks trying to improve the letter it is unlikely to make any difference to Amigo’s decision, I doubt they even read them closely, they will just put it on the pile of affordability complaints to be looked at.
I know this feels scary as it’s so important you win this case. You can go to your local Citizens Advice if you would like some individual advice. Local Citizens Advice can get help from the national Specialist Debt Advice Service if the local adviser hasn’t dealt with this sort of case before.
If there is any further court action you need individual advice – that was why I asked you right at the start if you were getting visits from bailiffs or if Amigo were applying for a charging order. But Amigo shouldn’t start court action while a complaint is underway and this isn’t a problem other people have had.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I also think you are going to need formal debt advice eg from citizens Advice if you two win these complaints. You would be removed as guarantor, the interest will be removed from the debt but there may still be a balance owed. But tackle that when you get there.
Jenny says
I understand, thank you. I’ll start by sending the complaints today and take it from there. Many thanks for your advice..
Alan McIntosh says
Hi Jenny
Sorry for the delay in coming on, but Sara did email me yesterday.
The Charge they have sent you is a Charge for Payment in Scotland and is a precursor to further action being taken.
This can lead to earning arrestments or even Bankrutpcy, so it is serious.
My advice is make the complaint to Amigo that Sara has suggested using the letter templates she has given you links to. They do work.
However, in terms of the legal aspect of things, you need to go to your local Citizen Advice office or local authority money advice service.
If you can tell me what local authority area you are in I can point you in the direction of your local service that can help you.
There are things that can be done and your local advice service can help you with the complaint.
If you want to visit my site http://www.advicescotland.com it explains a lot of the Scottish terminology and legal procedures.
But if you can tell me what Council you pay Council Tax to, I will point you in the correct direction.
Jenny says
Hi Alan thanks for your reply. Now I’m really worried. I’ve put the complaints into Amigo today and copied in their solicitors.
I’m making my agreed payments and always have done and this latest charge was unexpected as my payment was agreed. So the latest charge is for the borrower does that mean it’s only him that would be affected or both of us ? Furthermore I checked back my credit history and at the time the loan was accepted my credit score was poor with defaults. Does that help my case ? I’m with Fife Council. Many thanks
Alan McIntosh says
Hi Jenny
Can I suggest you contact Citizen Advice Rights Fife.
They are a very good organisation and I am more than certain will help you with the complaint letter and also advise you on how to deal with the debt in the meantime.
Their website is here https://www.cabfife.org.uk/
Alan McIntosh says
Hi Jenny
Yes. If your credit history has a history of defaults this can help your case when challenging them on whether they carried out the proper Creditworthiness Checks.
The Charge only applies to the person that is named on it. So if it’s just your husband named on it, only he is affected, but needless to say if you both own your house it can have a consequence on both of you.
I don’t want to overly worry you, as I am just telling your what can happen, not what will happen.
However, if your go to Citizen Advice Rights Fife they will help you.
Jenny says
Thanks Alan. I’ve submitted my complaints already to Amigo so should I just sit and wait now ? The charge for payment that came, was addressed to my husband on the envelope, but the actual paperwork has me named as second defender, so is this aimed at him or both of us ? They won’t discuss with me as apparently it was for him. I own our house myself, many thanks
Ceri Thomas says
Amigo have agreed to repay me but are dragging their heals, saying that has the debt was sold on they have ro buy it back.
I have contacted Intrum who owned the loan and they have told me that its down to Amigo and nothing to do with them.
The loan was paid off to Intrum and the CCj removed.
Yet Amigo are saying they will be doing the removal of the CCj via the courts ?
I have been really patient and obliging but feel now I am being messed around by Amigo.
Should I contact the ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is the CCJ still on your credit record?
Ceri says
Yes it remains in my Guarantors credit file. When I contact Amigo the answer I get is that the case is with the Transaction Team for calculation of payment.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can I be clear?
You said “The loan was paid off to Intrum and the CCj removed.” but also “it remains in my Guarantors credit file”
Do you mean you just paid the CCJ? Was this within 30 days so the CCJ was removed from your credit record?
Or was it after 30 days so the CCJ is marked as Satisfied but it is still showing?
When did you get the decision on your complaint from Amigo?
Ceri Thomas says
After sending all copies of bank statements they agree to pay in October 2019. Then they said they needed to buy the loan back from Intrum.
I contacted Intrum over the next few weeks they had made no contact, and that in fact it was nothing to do with them that it was down to Amigo.
I just keep getting told that its with the Transaction Team.
My guarantor has emailed them also she has had no reply as yet, that nearly a week no reply.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, October is way too long. At the lest they should have sorted the moeny out by now even if sorting the CCJs out takes longer.
So:
– does the CCJ show on your credit record? If no, when was it removed?
– the CCJ still shows on your guarantor’s credit record?
– Amigo haven’t refunded your guarantor?
– Amigo haven’t told you what your new balance will be, if anything?
Who repaid the CCJ – your guarantor? Did they have to borrow money to do this?
Ceri Thomas says
My guarantor paid the balance in full from sale of a house. The CCJ says satisfied and is still on their credit file.
No refunds made to either of us
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Right, I suggest you email them and say you will be sending your complaint to the Ombudsman in two weeks if they have not responded to you and to your guarantor with the settlement amounts and with a timescale for when the CCJ will be removed.
Ceri Thomas says
My Guarantor has just received an email with an offer of £8494.04. The email says that should she accept that offer £6600.30 will be posted back onto my account and added to any balance owing. There is no balance. Therefore paying her interest of £1893.
Surely they cannot expect me to pay that £6600.30 ? There is nothing owing to Amigo .
They have asked her to contact them by 5th Feb with bank details. If she does not contact them they will assume she is happy for her payments to remain on the account.
I have received no email from Amigo about my refund.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This refund puts your guarantor back in the position she should have been in EXCEPT the CCJ still needs to be removed. She needs to point this out to Amigo.
So Amigo now need to rework your account. Yes the payments made by the guarantor disappear. But they also have to remove all the interest from the last loan. And were there any previous loans to be refunded ?
Ceri Thomas says
I had two loans, a £3000 then topped up with £2500. Both paid off.
I repaid the first loan at £154 a month the second loan which was a top up . The loan was £2500 £188 a month I had paid more than half before getting to trouble. Ended up more than I borrowed.
There loans were all paid off. The guarantor paid £4724 to finish the settle the loan .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am having trouble making sense of these numbers.
If you guarantor paid £4724 to settle the CCJ, and didn’t make any payments to either the first loan or the second until the settlement (correct?) then i don’t know why Amigo have refunded her £6,600 plus interest.
Can you did out the details for each of the loans?
loan 1, you borrowed £3000 over how many years? You paid how many payments of £154 a month?
loan 2, how big was the loan and how much did you get in cash? How many years was the loan? You paid how many payments of £188 a month before getting into trouble?
Ceri Thomas says
Hi, sorry for the confusion.
1st loan was £3000 over 36 months at £154 a month top up loan was for £2500 over 36 months !! at £180 a month.
The Guarantor paid the £4724 to finish the loan because of the CCJ. Leaving me paying her back.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you mean you got £2500 in cash for the 2nd loan? In which case the loan was bigger than that because some of it was used to settle the first loan. And a loan of only £2500 over 36 month is repayments of only £121 a month.
Do you have the account statements for each of the loans?
Ceri Thomas says
I have found paperwork dated 2016, the loan was for £5k balance £4812.97 @ £188 a month.
This loan was a top up loan that paid off £3k loan at £132 a month.
The CCJ was for £4772.93, !
Hope this helps
Ceri Thomas says
Yes I believe I have all paperwork will go through it.
Major concern over the statement in their email.
“Please bare in mind, that if you choose to accept the refund, the payments would be posted back onto Ceri’s account and her balance will increase accordingly
Whilst we have agreed to refund the Interest Ceri, me, has paid on the loan, we would still be expecting her to repay the outstanding loan balance if there was one outstanding.
Hoping you can make headway of it
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Please bare in mind, that if you choose to accept the refund, the payments would be posted back onto Ceri’s account and her balance will increase accordingly
Well let’s see what happens to your account shall we? If you can get the numbers, it will help.
But I think it’s worth you double-checking now with the guarantor that she only paid £4724 – the money to settle the account at the end. No other payments. She should then query why she is being refunded so much! And will she then repay you the money that you have refunded her?
If that is right she should tell Amigo the refund amount look wrong as she only paid £4724.
Ceri Thomas says
Am I being dull, but does it mean should my guarantor accept the full amount Amigo expect me to repay the £6k?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes and no. (sorry! And you aren’t being dull, this stuff isn’t at all obvious!)
1) any 8% interest paid to the guarantor is ignored, you can never be asked to pay that. Also I think the settlement amount will have included additional costs for the CCJ. the guarantor gets those back but you can never be asked to repay that.
2) What Amigo are doing is saying “OK, so the guarantor should never have been asked to pay anything so we have to give that all back. But that means Ceri’s loan was never settled. So how much does she owe?”
But in practice they aren’t just giving the money back to the guarantor which makes it look as though you owe a lot more. they also have to refund you for the first loan. And take the interest off the second loan. If you had paid off more than half the second loan before the settlement, the balance may well be cleared.
3) but the 6k amount sound wrong! your guarantor never paid that. She shouldnt get that back. So your account should never get worse by this amount.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am assuming you are on good terms with your gaurantor so they will repay you the money you have already paid them for this? If not, say this and you can argue that what Amigo are doing is unfair. But honestly it will be simpler if your guarantor just refunds you than you try to have this argument.
Ceri Thomas says
Thanks that makes it clearer, I think !
I have heard nothing from Amigo yet with my offer.
Does seem an obscure way of doing things. Its been admitted by Amigo that I have a claim, yet they could be ‘billing me’ £6k.
Ceri Thomas says
All loans over 60 months
Ceri Thomas says
Amigo wrote to me offering me £176.10. Abrupt emailing really asking why have I not been in touch with my bank details?
As you said the money transferred to my Guarantor is my loan too.
Luckily I am on good terms with her!
I asked for my bank paperwork back but they have destroyed it! Lucky I have copies !!
Myself and my guarantor were treated really badly by Eamon Russell many threats were received such as removing things from our homes and even having the house repossessed.
vanessa gale says
I guaranteed a loan for my son with Amigo and this was topped up so that it finally ended at £10,000. My son stopped paying and Amigo took out a CCJ on me. I have a DMP in place and although the CCJ was agreed by the court, the amount to be paid back was exactly the same as I had been paying in installments through the DMP. Amigo then took out a charging order on my property, but my husband did not agree to this as he was not part of the loan guarantee. Since then I have made a complaint to Amigo that I was not in a position to afford to be the guarantor and I asked for all of my paperwork and transcripts of telephone calls to be sent to me under GDPR. I have carried on making the monthly payments as set by the court. Recently, the debt has been sold on to Intrum and they are now being paid. As the debt is no longer with Amigo, does the charging order still stand and how can I get rid of this worrying debt? Is it possible to offer a final settlement to Intrum?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you win the complaint, all your payments to the loan should be refunded, plus 8% statutory interest. And the charging order should be removed and the CCJ set aside so it disappears from your credit record.
I assume the court-ordered payments are affordable if its what you would pay in your DMP. If they aren’t, then you can go back to court to get them reduced, but with the complaint underway I probably wouldn’t bother unless you are desperate.
You could offer a settlement to Intrum, but with a complaint underway it is probably better to let that run through to the end first.
The sale to Intrum should make no difference to you. The complaint should proceed. If you win the complaint, Amigo have to sort it all out with Intrum. If you don’t win, then Intrum are probably nicer to deal with than Amigo were!
Gi says
Took loan from amigo on 2013 for £ 4000 for 36 months of £ 195 per month until Feb. 2016 and had defaults then and March 2017 i started paying Charge for payment of money in the amount of 173.50 per month and I added £ 90 per month in the name of my guarantor but it was my money and through my bank account.on January 2018 I paid £269.94 and £ 90 ( my own money) in the name of my guarantor to settle the account and extract decree. I already submitted my complain but didn’t include the word CCJ and been deleted in my credit files. Can I send another letter indicating the details of CCJ and ask for refund of interest. I’m confuse. Thank for the jelp
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can go back to Amigo and say that you have asked for a refund of interest but you also want the CCJ to be removed from your credit record.
Peace says
Hi I’m stuck as a guarantor for a former friend, the loan is for 36 months was 2k in total but the borrower doesn’t pay it regularly. This former friend also owes me £1.5k. The borrower has basically no credit and has history of payday loans. I was only trying to help her out and she assured me I didn’t have to pay anything towards it. Now, I am being threatened by amigo to be taken to court the second time now as the borrower does not maintain the loan. Do I have any options of getting out of this? Honestly I’ve never been in debt in my life and don’t even know what happens with a CCJ. The girl is doing it out of spite even though I have a lot of messages her saying she will pay it etc. I’m just wondering if I let it go to a CCJ would they ask us both for the full amount and not just the guarantor to pay the amount owed?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you afford the payments? Obviously you would rather not make them, but can you afford them?
If Amigo go to court, they usually sue the borrower and the guarantor at the same time.
Peace says
Yes I could probably afford them. Exactly I don’t want to make them. Ah ok so they could ask for each of us 1k each? And if the borrower couldn’t afford it would she still be liable for half the amount? Or would they put it all on me because I work?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no, if there is a CCJ you would both be liable for the full amount.
You could encourage the borrower to make a complaint that the loan was unaffordable for her, send her this link https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/ – if she wins:
– the interest would be removed and she would only have to repay what she borrowed
– she could do that in lower affordable payments
– and you would be released as guarantor.
You could also read https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/ and see if you could complaint, but if you think the loan is affordable for you that iisn’t likely to work.
Sam says
Hi,
Few years me me and an ex partner took out a loan with amigo I have bad credit and hers was mediocre however she was the guarantor, due to her being off work it was mainly used to fund the deficit as she wasn’t producing an income, slowly and gradually the repayments got too much for me as I was making them, we aren’t together anymore and we both ended up with a CCJ I was making the payments up until December when I ended Up in hospital with a life threatening Illness. I haven’t or don’t know what to do now I’m regards to this but am keen to sort it but don’t think it’s right I should pay it back solely myself any advice?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
was she not working when she was accepted as guarantor?
do either of you own a house?
Sam says
Hi, she went onto part time by this moment and we do not own a house no. I’m just worried as if/when the time comes I don’t want a random knock on the door from bailiffs
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what re the rest of your finances like at the moment?
Sam says
At the moment they aren’t great but not bad either I’m managing but obviously the longer I leave it the worse I guess it will get, and I don’t think it’s fair I should have to repay the full amount solely
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What is fair is up to you and your ex. Legally Amigo can go after either of you for the whole amount.
I suggest you read https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/ and think if you have a good reason to say the loan was unaffordable for you. If you can win this case, interest is removed, the CCJ will be removed and you can make a lower payment arrangement for any remaining balance.
Angi says
Hello ,
In 2018 I started with a 1000 pounds from Amigo . In time I had 4 top up to them , the last one being 5500 pounds with 220 pounds monthly. From 2018 till march 2020 I never been late with payments.In March 2020 I speak woth stepchange charity about our situation ,At the moment I have a DMP from July but Amigo replied to me only , not to stepchange , that they don’t accept the offer and they will send me and my guarantor to court.
I mention that my guarantor is on benefits, she has aprox 440 pounds monthly and her situation changed from the moment she was agree to be my guarantor.
Even Amigo said at the beginning that they understand that I could not afford anymore the payments , also to my guarantor said the same , that we are not the position to pay anymore, they are very agressive, stressful and causes me an anxiety that I can control only with pills.
I hoped that going thru a DMP will take all the worries from my head , but looks like Amigo is so stressful and I don’t know what to do more with them . I am currently having mental illness , I took one month prescription from my GP for depression.
I am so affraid of CCJ and court in general.
Please can you give me some advice how should I do in this case ? And also what my guarantor could do in her situation ?
Best regards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is a lot of top-ups in a short time. If the rest of your debts were also getting worse, it suggests the original Amigo loan was unaffordable and so were the top-ups.
If that sounds right to you, I suggest you put in an affordability complaint using the template in this article https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/. These complaints can take a while to sort out but at the moment the Financial Ombudsman agrees with the borrower in almost all (90%!) of guarantor loan complaints. So if Amigo say No, you send your complaint to the Ombudsman.
While you have a complaint with Amigo or the Ombudsman, Amigo should not take you to court. You may get threatening letters but in practice they don’t go to court. It is stressful but what option do you have? If you can’t afford the payments, you just don’t have the money to pay them.
What was your guarantor’s financial position at the time of the last top-up?
angi says
My guarantor was and is on benefits , 460 pounds monthly .. And my monthly payment to Amigo is 218 pounds per month. The fact that I am in a Debt Management Plan and every month Amigo will receive 80 pounds monthly , they still can send me to court ? Even I pay via DMP ? Thank you very much
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As I said, with a complaint outstanding Amigog should NOT go to court and people have not had this problem.
If it was not for the complaint, then legally Amigo could go to court. Whether they would bother in practice is questionable if they knew neither you nor the guarantor could pay more.
But the problem is they may well send lots of threatening letters, emails and texts to try to bluff you into paying them some more. Just because you are being threatened with court doesn’t mean that Amigo will go ahead with this.
angi says
Thank you very much for all the information . It really helped me understand and move on with a complain. My family would like to help me paying them the full balance outstanding. What do you recommend ? To make the complain to them before payment maybe they will reduce the interest ? Or to pay them the outstanding balance and make the complain after ? I am very confused , I really would like to finish with them and because my menthal health is good at the moment my family will like to help me so my guarantor to not be involved, to take a stress from me. Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
With 4 top ups in 2 years you have a VERY good chance of winning a complaint against Amigo. Yiur guarantor would be released, interest would be removed and you would have dramatically less to pay Amigo and could simply include that amount in your DMP.
If you complain now, it’s likely Amigo will have to resolve your complaint under the terms of its agreement with the FCA. And at the moment it is upholding the large majority of them.
If your guarantor was on benefits at the time of the last top up it us VERY likely she would be released from the loan if she complains.
If your family want to clear your balance now and can easily afford it, then ask Amigo for the settlement amount. They aren’t likely to reduce that if you threaten to complain.
Or your family could help you much more cheaply by simply paying your monthly payments while your complaint goes through…
Amigo are NOT going to go to court if you complain.
Erica says
I made a complaint as a guarantor to 1 plus 1 September last year they said they would respond in November – they didnt. For one reason and another I didn’t follow this up. They have subsequently gone to court and as a result I now have a ccj they have also applied for a charge on my house.
Can I still follow this up given they didn’t respond to my initial complaint – now more than 6 months ago or can I complain about CCj and charge?
The borrower is my daughter in laws mother who has had her property repossessed, she doesn’t work and is on benefits – her property hasn’t been sold yet due to other charges on her house and is shared ownership so no equity. 1 plus 1 have also applied for a charge on her property and given her a CCJ.
I spoke to national debt line who have basically said that as a guarantor I am equally responsible for the debt and there is little I can do.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is a shame you let this drop as there is now the extra hassle of the CCJ andf charging order.
But it is still possible to go to FOS if you never received a response from 1+1. They should have sent you a letter or email including something like wording: “If you do decide to refer your complaint to the Ombudsman you must do so within six months of the date of this letter.” If you were never sent this then the 6 month time has not started running…
I suggest you send FOS your complaint asap, do not delay, explaining you never had a reply from 1+1 and you would like FOS to look at your complaint.
I also suggest that the borrower should send 1+1 a complaint saying the loan was unaffordable for them (assuming it was of course!) see template letter here for a borrower: https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/
Mark says
Im a guarantor for my sons loan from amigo and I have been paying it now for over a year. I had a Ccj at the time of my son applying for the loan do I have a claim against amigo, as someone with a Ccj cannot be a guarantor for a loan meaning they didn’t check my credit rating at the time.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am not sure there is a total bar on some with a CCJ on their credit record being a guarantor. For example if the CCJ was small eg from a parking ticket several years ago and its paid off, that might be OK. But if your credit record had other problems then Amigo should have looked VERY carefully at whether you could afford the repayments and still pay your other bills, debts and living expenses. So if paying this debt is causing you problems, read the article above and think about sending in an affordability complaint.
You could also suggest to your son he looks at making an affordability complaint, as if you win yours, he will be left back with the whole loan. If he can win an affordability complaint, interest is removed from the loan. See this other page which looks at how a borrower can complain.
If you win your case it helps him because with no guarantor he can make a lower payment arrangement. If he wins his case it helps you as you are released as guarantor.
dihas says
Hello,
I had a CCJ registerd against me by my University accommodation team in the year 2017, for an unpaid installment of my rent charges in 2013. I am trying to find a way for them to agree to me applying to have the ccj removed, on the grounds that I was clinically depressed at the time and they did not pursue my guarantor for the money at the time.
Could you advise on the likelyness of this?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Legally it seems unlikely that they have to do this – they could have chased your guarantor but then can also choose to chase you.
Whether they will agree to do it as a goodwill gesture, I have no idea. Do you have evidence to show about your mental health?
Have you repaid the debt?
martin says
How do I claim this please
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have a CCJ for a Amigo loan? Were you the borrower or the guarantor?
Chris says
Hi,
I served as guarantor for a friend loan back in 2015/16. I felt he could afford it at the time but a while after, he was out of a job so he had trouble repaying the loan so I got chased for loan.
Though the borrower’s circumstance has changed now, he’s been working for the past 3 years or so with a good job and he’s been telling me he had a payment plan with them so I thought nothing of it till I saw my credit report and found out that I’ve had a CCJ I knew nothing about for the past 3 and a half years. The issue now is the borrower himself does not seem to have a CCJ even when he can afford to pay the loan back now. He earns almost twice as much as I do and I don’t know where to go from here.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is the lender? Are they asking you to pay?
do you think the loan was affordable for you to make all the payments when you took it out? That is you could have repaid the guarantor loan and still paid all your own bills n debts and living expenses?
Chris says
The lender was Amigo loans but it has since gone to intrum who took has had a ccj against me now I pay a small weekly amount to Lester aldridge. No I couldn’t.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if Amigo had looked properly at your situation when the loan was given, would it have been clear you could yoruself make all the loan repayments and pay your own bills, debts and living expenses?
If so, the loan was “unaffordable” and you should never have been accepted as guarantor.
You can send Amigo (not Intrum) a complaint asking to release you as guarantor. Use the standard guarantor template here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/ and add a sentence as the article above suggest asking them to ensuure that the CCJ you have is removed.
Chris says
I contacted the original borrower and he sent me a screenshot of an email he received from amigo. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how to attach anything here. Is there an email I can sent it to for you to have a look?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, can you type some of it in here?
Chris says
Just realised you already had an article about it. It’s about the amigo scheme.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok!
Energy says
Hi Sara,
I think I have a ccj against me going by my credit report, but I believe the letters have been sent to my old address as I have not received anything by post, just the credit report stating ccj.
It is for an amigo loan for the amount of £1440, but this was a loan which I soon after complained about which was for £1500, this complaint was accepted and the little interest that accumulated was refunded and the guarantor was removed. As I said the documents obviously have been sent to my old address which was a hospital address where I lived and worked. The issue date on the credit file says 26th feb.
so I guess my question is will anything happen regarding this as my loan was successfully agreed that is was unaffordable and should I act now and phone Northampton office regarding this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you should go back to Amigo and ask them to remove the CCJ from your credit record – they have to apply to the court to have this set aside.
Energy says
Hi Sara,
The is for your reply, i!l do that and email Amigo.
One thing to add though which I thought was odd was that I just signed in to amigo and realized the the amount that is still outstanding is not 1440 but 1200 instead, so I’m not sure where the 1400 amount comes From exactly as it does t say who it is From on the credit report as I assumed it was amigo be wise it wouldn’t be anyone else. Is this some kind application charge on top?
I’d also like to mention Sara that Amigo has not been asking for any payments for the better part of a year as I emailed them that I can’t make any payments due to being unemployed and wasn’t happy about the harassing emails and not understand that I physically couldn’t make any payments.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have you had any reply about this?
(Also can I check that you have used the correct email addrress here as i wanted to send you something.)
Rebecca says
Hi Sara,
Does the Financial Ombudsman Service have the power to ask the lender to remove a CCJ and charging order? I haven’t been able to find anything about this online.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes. Do you have a CCJ for a guarantor loan? Who is the lender?
Chelle says
I have a guarantor loan. Which I cannot afford to pay, I believe it has defaulted, my dad is the guarantor but they haven’t sent anything to me saying it was going into default only to him.
Before this I made a complaint about unaffordable lending, which they didn’t uphold so I have escalated to the Ombudsman but I know that may take months.
They’ve now sent another letter to my dad (still no communication to me) that the account is closed and the balance is due and they may take legal action. I have a few questions:
1. Can they default without telling me?
2. Can they do this while there is an active complaint?
3. Should I call them and offer as much as I can? I really don’t want my dad to have to pay or to affect his credit.
I’m also not sure if I can do anything as they’ve closed the account. Would they be likely to accept a payment plan?
Appreciate any advice you can give.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is the lender?
When did you last make a payment to this?
when did the complaint go to the Ombudsman?
Chelle says
The lender is asset link capital.
I made 2 reduced payments in September and October leaving me £200 in arrears. No payments since then.
The complaint went to the Ombudsman at the end of December.
Do reduced payments through a DMP count as missed payments? As I’ve just thought is there not a minimum of 3 months they have to give you before defaulting?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you have other debts as well, are you making Normal, reduced or no payments to those? Who are you in a DMP with?
Chelle says
I have a barclaycard which defaulted but I’m making payments to the collection company.
Aqua and Fluid closed the accounts and passed on to a collection company which I’m also making payments to.
PayPal credit and capital one I’m making normal payments to.
I’m no longer in a DMP.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The credit reporting rules say a default can be added when you are 3-6 months in arrears. As you have missed Nov, Dec and Jan payments, plus the £200 in arrears from the DMP, then you must be over the 3 month point now.
BUT this has nothing to do with the terms of a guarantor loan as to when the lender can ask the guarantor to pay. If you don’t want your guarantor to be asked to pay, you have to kee paying yourself even while a complaint is going through.
One option is for you to stop paying your other non priority debts such as Aqua and Fluid PayPal and capital one. I suggest you talk to a debt advuser such as national Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about your options here.
Dominic King says
I was a guarantor for when my girlfriend got an amigo loan out. Back in 2018, but in June 2020 I was looking at my credit score and I had a ccj for this account. Obviously that was 4 years ago is there anyway I can get the ccj taken of my record. I did not know anything about it until I so happened look at the credit score. I have had no letters nothing. What can I do about this
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did you or the borrower make a claim to the Amigo scheme?