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
karen says
I was guarantor my for nephew for an Amigo loan in 2014 and the loan had a zero balance in 2015 (12 month repayments), then 18 months later charge back were apparently made restarting the loan. When I agreed to be guarantor I was told by them once the loan was repayed my guarantorship would end, not the case, hassle phone calls, a ccj and now another company chasing me as my nephew will not speak to anyone. Stressed is an understatement as no one seems to be able to offer any help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you put in a complaint to Amigo using the standard letter in the article above but adding that you were misled about the implications of being a guarantor as it was never explained that you could be asked to pay any money once the loan had been repaid.
If you think the repayments would also have been unaffordable for you when the loan was set up, complain about that too – always complain about as many things as possible as you only need to win on one of them to be removed as the guarantor!
You want to ask them to
a) set aside the CCJ
b) refund you any money you have paid
c) remove all traces of the loan from your credit record.
This will mean they have to sort things out with the debt collector. but in the meanwhile, I suggest you tell the debt collector that you are disputing the debt with Amigo.
Kit says
I already have a ccj for an amigo loan I was foolish to agree to but my friend lied to me that he can pay it. is it too late to complain now? Amigo were horrible a total nightmare wanted me to stop paying all my other debts but then the would have gone for ccjs surely. Now in in a dmp with StepChange I was ok and managing until this loan.
S says
This sounds silimar to my situation bar where you already have a CCJ. You can probably put a complaint in if you already have a CCJ but Sara will be able to advise best.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Kit,
sorry to hear that one mistake, helping a friend, has got you into such a big financial mess.
The simple answer is it is not too late to complain! I have now written an article covering this as it’s too long for a comment: https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-ccj-can-still-complain/.
karen says
is there a time limit on this, I did complain to Amigo loans and they said they were being fair but this was more that they refused to speak to my nephew and provide me with evidence. I at the time was on tax credit as a single mum, so affordability would have been an issue, and they did tell me once the loan was paid off that was it, nothing about 18 months later and they can chase direct debit indemnity chargeback, I wasn’t even aware tbh this existed. I certainly can’t afford to repay as I sold my house and downsized for financial reasons, and am left with little or no money each month. Is it still worth raising the complaint and see what happens?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
two points about time limits:
1) you can always make a new complaint if it is about a different problem. It sounds from what you have said that you previously didn’t make an affordability complaint, saying Amigo did not properly check you could afford the loan repayments. As a single mum on tax credits it is very hard to see how this loan would have been affordable for you – you have to be able to pay all your normal expenses and bills, including things like after school clubs and school uniform and pocket money, and pay any other caredit cards or loans you had and have enough money left each mobnth to pay the Amigo loan.
So you can put in an affordability complaint AND also complaint that Amigo never explained that you could have any liability after you had been told the loan had ended.
2) Normally you have to take a case to FOS within 6 months of the lender rejecting your complaint. But Amigo is unusual in that it normally says in its response to your complaint that you can take it to the Financial Ombudsman if you are not happy with their response with no time limit. If you can find your previous response from them, you can check if that is on there?
But in your case, I would probably just start a new complaint about affordability AND Amigo not properly explaining about when the guarantor loan ends.
Claire says
Hi,
I am guarantor for an amigo loan that I am now paying and I was going to try an irresponsible lending complaint but after reading cases both accepted and rejected by the ombudsman I am not sure if it will be worth it. Amigo did not check any form or income or expenses, I could not afford the loan and put slightly higher income figures in but a lot of the complaints based on this have been rejected as it’s the borrower/guarantors fault and they felt amigo did reasonable checks. Do you have any advice please?
Thank you
Claire
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It used to be the case that not many complaints about guarantor loans were upheld. But the ombudsman is now applying the same sort of criteria when looking at affordability for guarantor loans – both the borrower and the guarantor – that they are using for other sorts of credit such as payday loans, doorstep lending, large unsecured loans etc.
So far there have only been a couple of guarantor decisions published since the start of May as most FOS decisions are taken “at adjudicator level” and are not published. Here they are: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/files/239434/DRN3847539.pdf (about a guarantor) and https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/files/238841/DRN2108651.pdf (about a borrower).
If you look at those, you will see that in both cases, the ombudsman thinks Amigo should have verified the income and expenses information that the guarantor or borrower gave. In your case they obviously didn’t!
There have also been a lot of adjudicator decisions along similar lines. These aren’t published but i have seen more than a dozen of them and I have summarised them here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-more-refunds-2019/.
And last week the Finacial Ombudsman published its statistics for April-June 2019 (https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/data-insight/product-complaints-data), showing that it agreed with the customer in 83% of guarantor loan cases, up from 32% in the last year.
So I suggest you don’t worry about some of the earlier decisions you have read but get your complaint in.
Kit says
I’m going to try. I can’t see I have anything to lose! It seems worth a go and I hope the ombudsman will see what is right.
Hubert says
Hey, I have been a guranort now for about 4 months I think, and I think I’m have been pressured to be so, because he was keep asking for help and jusy blured fine it should be okay, and they said to me that yeah if he doesnt pay then it will be you as to pay the rest and first they will try to sort it out with him but here is the problem now, I think I misunderstood what they meant because now from the beginning he was late with payments and he doeant even reply to me anymore either trying to sort something out with them but the issue is I thought they will actually take action you know to push him to pay as he is the borrower but the only thing they do is sent letters, text messages no phone calls not sending it anyone so I dont know? Also my circumstances have changed and told them that I wont be earning as much to cover this change jobs, and I also asked about the thing that is said on this website if u state u know the reason that u wont be able your circumstances have changed and that he will be taken of as gurantor the guy on the phone said that such thing dont exist for amigo?? So know I’m in deepshit because of this guy even tho I considered him as friend(not anymore) I dont know what to do have made some arragments that I will call them on wed to check my finance, and this guy doesnt even bother to pay now
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Hubert, I suggest you send off the complaint email using the template in the article above.
In this complaint, list 3 reasons:
1) they didn’t check your “friend’s” situation proper to make sure he could afford the repayments.
2) you thought that if he didn’t pay, Amigo would push him to make the payments but instead they have given up and only chase you. You think they didn’t explain this properly and that you were just there as a backstop incase he died or went bankrupt.
3) that the loan was unaffordable for you and they didn’t check that properly either.
Don’t try to guess which reason is the most important, list them all.
Your finances may have got worse, but the chances are that you couldn’t afford this loan 4 months ago! For the loan to be affordable for you, you have to be able to make all the loan repayments every months without hardship, still paying all your other bills and everyday living expenses and all your other debts.
Hubert says
Hi Sara well apparently I was able to but of course some months are diffrent then other and u spend more then usual, and the thing I dont understand is why they said that such thing dont exist that they cant take me off from the loan, but where do u do this complaint? I dont think they checked properly him because he cant afford to
Jade says
I was pressured by my family to be a guarantor for my sisters amigo loan and top up, she defaulted in payments in march and now I’m left paying off her loan when I was reassured by amigo that they wouldn’t need to take any money from me at all as she would be able to pay. Do I have a case at all?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Jade, how much are the monthly payments and could you afford to pay that much every month and still pay all your other bills, every day living costs and your other debts?
Jade says
Hi, the monthly payments are £326.08, however I couldn’t afford that at the time so they agreed to take £200 which my sister gave to me as it is her debt, she has stopped paying me that and as I’m currently on maternity leave I have had to get them to lower the amount they’ll accept again to £50 every four weeks. I’m only getting £430 maternity pay every four weeks and it’s not enough to cover my bills, living costs and pay amigo
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This must be a very worrying time for you. How long ago did the loan start? Are you a home-owner? Do you have other debts as well as this one?
Jade says
he original loan was taken out in October 2017 and the top up loan was December 2017, when the original loan was taken out I was living with my mum so had no bills other than my phone. In November 2017 I started renting a property with my partner so my outgoing massively increased. Amigo didn’t ask for any updated circumstances before the top up either
Jay says
Is there a way of complaining about person guarantees similar for business over drafts, accounts and finance as they definitely didn’t do affordability checks as it is well over 100k and as I will be also losing my income with my business.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, this doesn’t apply to personal guarantees over business loans or overdrafts. I suggest you talk to Business Debtline https://www.businessdebtline.org/ about your situation and your options.
Jack says
today I just got back my letter from Buddy Loans saying they won’t be releasing me from being a guarantor. The loan was for £5k and started about 12 months ago. Since then, my “friend” has only made a handful of monthly payments and I had to suddenly foot a 2 months arrears bill of over £400 just to stop it defaulting 2 months ago. I followed your email template. My first reason was that I felt pressured to enter the agreement because he was being pushy and kept asking so I just decided to it. Their response was that I didn’t seemed pressured on the phone. Secondly, I said that they should have made a better affordability assessment on my friend as he has quite a bad credit history (I don’t know his financial past) Surely these companies make a decent effort assessing the borrowers ability to pay? He’s lost his job since and doesn’t have a stable home life and doesn’t have a stable income at the moment, he just doesn’t seem to care (considering he doesn’t pay me back money he owes me irrelevant of this loan) The thing is that I can technically afford it even though it is nearly 20% of my income, I just can’t have a £10k loan just dumped on me and worry about it for 5 years… it just doesn’t feel right. So I am going to go to the FOS and hope for the best. Buddy had sent me a lot of emails these last 6 months asking me to pay and giving me a default sums notice for a late payment fee. It just sucks and I can’t believe I would agree to this knowing what he’s like…
Kerri says
Just to let you know that I had my guarantor complaint upheld by the Ombudsman yesterday. It took a year to come through but it said that there were many similar cases to mine where affordability and proper checks on income were not carried out. It’s worth doing as you may find that you are listened to.
Unfortunately it looks as though the significant amount that I paid off will now be reattributed to my sister but as this is now a normal secured loan, I don’t think they will have any choice but to add it to her debt management plan.
Keep the faith people x
S says
That’s brilliant news Kerri!, gives me hope for mine 🤞🏻 Mine is still with amigo ye5 so I will have w while yet.
Thank you for letting us know.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good news for you! Is this Amigo? And is it an adjudicator decision or a final Ombudsman decision.
Has your sister also made an affordability complaint? That would remove the interest so she only has to repay what she borrowed.
Kerri says
This is with Amigo and it’s an adjudicator decision – don’t want to hedge my bets, just want it all out of the way because we’re trying to move house and this will help towards that.
At the time I made my complaint, I thought that my sister had but she was under a lot of stress at the time (be evicted etc.) that I don’t think she did. However, the liability is now hers so she will need to sort it out. Sounds harsh but at the time of the third top-up she didn’t actually tell me she didn’t have a job!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK – has Amigo accepted the decision? They normally do, but it’s not final unless they have.
That’s fair enough – but be a good Samaritan and tell your sister it was easy to complain although slow.
Kerri says
Its their offer so I assume so? I will let my sister know and encourage her to complain now though.
Kerri says
Will they refund the total of the payments that I made? I took out a normal unsecured loan to pay this off when I became liable because I couldn’t afford the whole amount and it worked out cheaper so I paid off a huge lump sum plus one other monthly payment when my sister couldn’t pay.
Amigo have already been in touch for my bank details but I’ve refused to hand them over until I know how much I’m getting as I don’t trust them one inch!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes they should refund the total of payments you made – any monthly payments plus the large amount to settle the loan -plus 8% statutory interest.
Catherine says
I stood as guarantor for my ex partner whilst we were in a relationship in April 2017. He then arranged a ‘top up’ in Nov 2018 making the total loan £10000 with repayments at £398.00. He failed to make repayments when the relationship ended in Feb 2018. I contacted Amigo with his new contact details so they could contact him for payments but was refused to give them being told they could only take them from him.
Amigo did not go through thorough income/expenditure with me at anytime as if they had they would of seen that paying £398.00 per month is unaffordable for me. They also could not of done any hard credit checks on me as my credit score is so bad that I couldn’t source a loan in my own right as I was attempting to both remortgage my house & also gain a loan to buy a new car both were refused to me by various lenders just weeks before he final amigo top up. A year ago in august 2018 my parents sourced a lower interest rate loan in their name which I pay monthly at £183.00. I was forced to approach them to do this for me as by paying £398.00 I had no other option but to live on my credit card to feed & cloth my 3 children thus getting me further into debt. Even though the payment now is £183.00 I am still massively struggling financially & still struggling to remortgage my house.
Do I have a strong case even though the amigo loan has been paid in full with another loan?.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, I think that sounds like a strong case. One of the things Amigo should have done is consider carefully your situation if your partner was unable/unwilling to make the loan payments… because that would also be likely to mean you were having to cover additional costs that previously your partner had made eg if you were each paying half the bills, you could now be left with paying them all.
Emma says
Hi Jack, a friend of mine is in a similar position with Buddy Loans, please let us know what the FOS decides. Good luck
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Emma, has your friend complained? If not, he should do so now. These complaints can take a while to go through at FOS, so it’s best not to wait and see how well Jack’s does. these cases are quite “individual” – Buddy Loans are not going to be harder or easier to win a complaint against than any other guarantor lender.
Emma says
Hi Sara, I have helped him complain today, before I found your template letter, but I think we covered most bases anyway.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good! Have a read through the article above and if there are any extra points to make, this would be a good time to email in and add them.
Stevie says
Hi all,
Sara I just wanted to say a massive thank you to you for all your help and advice. Today Amigo upheld my complaint so I don’t need to send it to the FOS. They said partially upheld, they said they can confirm they will remove my liability on the loans and refund all payments Iv made so far plus 8 percent interest wich equates to £817.51. I’m not sure that is correct though as I have paid £1236.12 so if Iv worked it out correct it should be £1335? 4 if the payments are down as bank payment as Iv made them through a DMP so they don’t have my name next to them. How do I go about getting the amount changed? Do I just phone them an explain, also with them saying partially does that mean anything. Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good news!
I don’t know what the “partially” means either if they are refunding all the money you have paid… It may be that they don’t agree with some of the points in your complaint, but if you are getting a full refund, who cares?
If you have paid £1236.12 then you should be getting at least that amount back.
The 8% is 8% per annum worked out on each payment you made. How long have you been making these payments?
I assume Amigo hasn’t gone to court for a CCJ?
S says
Ahh ok, I started paying 5em in January so I might not be entitled to the 8% then. And I definatly won’t be complaining, I’m just so relieved to be out of it! No it didn’t, I entered in to a DMP step change about May so I need phone them and stop it but it helped it not go that far I think for a CCJ
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you have paid £1236.12 and they have offered a refund of £817.51, that can’t possibly be right.
The 8% is worked out “pro rata”, so if you have paid them for 8 months, that will work out at 2-3% extra interest, another £30-£50 – every little helps!
S says
Ok thank you so do I just phone them and say Iv paid this and see what they say? Sorry, I thought I could say Yeayy complaint is done thank you for your help but I’m still here mithering 🙈
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well I think it’s worth objecting for a few hundred quid! If you would rather not phone, then send them an email.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Just ring them and say you are happy they are upholding your complaint, but you think they have added up the amounts wrong as you have paid them £1236.12 since January.
It must be a huge relief to have won this – I know you were feeling very anxious about your complaint. It will be great to be able to tell your DMP firm to delete the Amigo loan from the list of your debts!
S says
I will do, I’m going to ask step change to cancel them all and il take them all back one, one of which I’m planning on paying off with this money! Honestly I can’t thank you enough, you and your site has been amazing! It doesn’t seem real.
Paula says
Just wondering if I have a chance if I file a compliant, any advice would be appreciated. I agreed to be a guarantor for my now ex, initially it was 3K but a couple months before we split he topped up to 10K. Since then he has had to travel for work to Germany and Malaysia and now he is currently stuck in Malaysia due to the fact that his wallet and passport were stolen, though I don’t really know how much of that I believe. I’ve now had to pay off his loan a couple months but I can’t really afford it as I’m from Canada and I still have student loans and a loan that I took out to pay for a visa to work in the UK and I send money home regularly to pay them off. I’m basically eating into my savings and considering taking out my own loan to pay it off which is not ideal. I don’t really know how much of a chance I have at getting out of this as I’ve just taken out financing on a new car but that’s with the help of my parents back in Canada so it might not look like I can’t afford it. Any advice?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I can’t say whether your complaint will be upheld, but it may be that Amigo didn’t check properly that you could afford the much larger top-up loan. If your parents are paying for the car finance, that probably isn’t relevant. There isn’t much to lose by making the complaint except an hour or so of your time.
Erica says
I’m a guarantor for my son and he was making the payments ok then last year he was made bankrupt and I was told by Amigo they couldn’t take the payments from him and it would have to be from my account-I was told that it was still his loan just that the payment needed to come directly from my account. My son and his girlfriend then got into serious money problems and couldn’t make the payments- It was only then that I found out that if I didn’t make the payments I would end up with a CCJ against me – this was not explained when I asked whether it was now my loan when he went bankrupt-at that time I could have taken a loan out at a much lower interest rate reducing the amount payable. 1 year on I am now struggling to keep up the payments both myself and my husband have now got credit cards maxed out and I am struggling to afford diesel to get me to work. Have I got any chance of making a claim?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can definitely complain. You have three reasons to do this – Amigo did not check properly that your son could afford the loan by looking at his bank statements AND they did not check properly that you could afford the loan by looking at your bank statements AND they did not explain the loans properly to you.
Don’t guess which one of these is the strongest reason to complain, put all three reasons in your complaint.
Are you paying this loan at the moment?
Erica says
Yes I have been paying it since January when I was told that I could end up with a CCJ – this was by the default team who checked my finances and that as I had a credit card (I was reserving for emergencies) with nothing on it I could make the payment with my credit card. I was not happy with this and felt I had no option.
can I claim all the money back? and do I still make the payments whilst I put in the complaint?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, you should ask for a refund of all the money you have paid.
If you don’t have the spare money to make the payments, you should NOT borrow more to make them. I suggest you tell Amigo you can’t afford them. they cannot take you to court while you have a complaint outstanding.
I want to be clear about something. Are you saying that you said you couldn’t afford the make the payments and Amigo suggested you used your credit card?
erica says
Yes when I told them I didn’t have the funds to pay the months arrears thats when they checked my finances and said I could pay by credit card. I then set the direct debit to come out on payday.
Jade says
Hi Sara
My ex partner has recently gone bankrupt and unable to pay his amigo loan. As I am a guarantor the payment has fallen to me. I have launched a complaint using the template on this site to get myself removed as guarantor. The affordable checks were done on the basis my ex partner was making payments towards my debt eg car finance and loans. Now he is unable to give me these payments there is no way i can afford them.
I spoke to amigo and they have done an income and expenditure form with me. As that shows I cant afford the payments they wont set up a direct debit for me to make payment and have said the account will just fall into arrears and will eventually lead to court action. I have asked them to suspend the account while the complaint is being dealt with but they are refusing.
I have a good credit rating and I am scared this will damage my credit. Is there anything else I can do to get them to suspend the account or is it totally down to there discretion?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They cannot start court action while a complaint is underway. This includes while a complaint is at the Ombudsman, so if Amigo reject your complaint, send it to the Ombudsman the same day.
I don’t think this debt will be on your credit record. If Amigo got a CCJ that would be, but until then your credit rating should be safe even if you aren’t making any payments.
I think you have a strong case. A guarantor lender should have considered what the finance links were between you and the borrower and thought about whether you are really likely to be able to afford the payments if the borrower is in a situation where he stops paying the guarantor loan.
How are you managing your other debts? If you have problems paying those, please talk to a debt adviser such as StepChange, don’t let worries about your credit rating stop you from doing this.
Erica says
I am getting all the facts together can I cancel the dd set up to make the payments once I put my complaint in?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, you can. They can’t take you to court while the complaint goes through.
I missed your previous comment. Amigo should NOT have told you to pay them using a credit card – that breaks the regulator’s rules. I suggest you add to the standard letter above something like the following – amend so it reflects exactly what happened to you.
“I also want to complain that when I told Customer Services in January that i could not afford to make these payments, I was told that i should put the payments on a credit card i was not using. I understand that this is in breach of CONC 7.3.10R which says that “A firm must not pressurise a customer … to raise funds to repay the debt by selling their property, borrowing money or increasing existing borrowing.”
Since then I have been paying credit card interest at [23%] on these amounts. Because of this, I would like you to refund my payments but this credit card interest, rather than plus the standard 8% simple interest. I attach a credit card statement showing this interest rate.”
Erica says
Hi Sara
I have had an acknowledgement email from Amigo of my complaints however in the email they have stated:-
“Following this, a complaint has been raised so that we can investigate the matters that have been brought to our attention. Whilst your complaint is ongoing, the loan will continue as planned.”
I remember reading a similar comment from someone else and I think you said they didn’t have to make any further payments. If this is the case can you suggest some wording for me.
Thanks in advance.
Matthew says
Hi Sara,
Following on from the above issue, I have agreed a lower repayment amount should the borrower fail to pay, having completed a new Income and Expenditure Sheet Amigo agreed that the repayment amounts were no longer affordable. Amigo are also not upholding my complaint to be removed as guarantor, claiming that since the loan was agreed my Credit Rating has improved. Is this relevant, as it was my credit rating at the time of the loan being taken out that should have been considered, not how it appears now or what I have or have not done since?
I have since found out that Amigo have also agreed a lower payment with the borrower, however they have also failed to make this payment. But because they have agreed a lower payment with the borrower and thus extending the loan term from 3 to 5 years, without discussing this with me, does this affect my right as guarantor? I would like to think this shows two things:
A) The borrower either wasn’t in a position to be accepted for a loan in the first place or circumstances have changed meaning they are no longer able to make the repayments anymore.
B) Because they have agreed this directly with the borrower they have bypassed the guarantee agreement with myself and have thus entered into a separate agreement with borrower.
Many thanks
Matt
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“Amigo are also not upholding my complaint to be removed as guarantor, claiming that since the loan was agreed my Credit Rating has improved. Is this relevant?”
No it’s not! And if they have agreed you can only afford a lower amount now, even with your “improved credit rating” then surely they shouldn’t have accepted you at all in the first place! I suggest you send your complaint to the ombudsman.
Can you suggest to the borrower that they shopuld make an affordability complaint? If they can win that you will be removed as the guarantor.
Do you know if Amigo have agreed to take the same total loan repayment from the borrower, just spread over a longer period? or if they are going to be charging more interest because this is over a longer period?
Matthew says
Thank you, I’ll raise the complaint with the Ombudsman.
Unfortunately I’m not in touch with the borrower any longer. Since they stopped making payments, they haven’t returned my calls or messages.
I’m not sure if Amigo have agreed to spreading the payments over a longer period or if they are applying more interest. Will this make a difference?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If they are just spreading the payments over longer, then it doesn’t directly affect you. but if they are charging interest for longer then the total cost of the credit that you have guaranteed has risen…
I suggest you mention this in your complaint to FOS briefly – it isn’t the heart of your complaint. Something like “I also think it’s unfair that I have been told the borrower has made an arrangement to pay over a longer period. I feel I should have been consulted about this.”
Jess says
Hi Sara, I took your advice and received a copy of all the data amigo holds on my partner. i am trying to get my partner out of being a guarantor for the loan based on affordability. I have been listening to the telephone calls and on the most recent phone call about the top up loan, my partner told them that he was unsure about his finances as I deal with them all, the woman from amigo kept telling him to just give a rough estimate based on what he thinks. even though he kept telling them he weren’t sure eventually he gave them a rough figure of what he thought. Surely they can’t do this and he should not have been told to give them a figure even though he didn’t know it. Also when he become a guarantor he was living at home and not paying rent but shortly after this he was asked to leave and has began paying rent. this now leaves him unable to pay the loan if need be. I have now had to pay the loan when the borrower has been unable to, surely amigo should have checked if my partner would have been staying in the same place for the duration of the loan?? Also when asked about his income my partner told them he earn’t £320 a week, which was true if he worked a Saturday, he did work majority of Saturday’s but they were overtime so surely this should have been took in to consideration.
Jess says
The woman on the phone never asked if any of this was overtime. Also, I am unsure how he was accepted as a guarantor as he has a really bad credit rating, he can’t even source a loan in his own name and also if they had asked for proof of income and bank statements, they would have seen that his bank is often in the minus and struggles to afford most things. He has also been in numerous amounts of debt before, surely this should have flagged up to Amigo? Another thing when they topped up the loan the lady said that the top up was for £2629.81 my partner believed that he was only responsible for this amount of money and it has since come to light he is responsible for £10,000. Do you feel that we have a case for an affordability complaint?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“Surely they can’t do this and he should not have been told to give them a figure even though he didn’t know it. ”
I completely agree. This is a strong point for his complaint. Someone who says they will be a guarantor but then says they don’t know much about their finances isn’t exactly reliable! If he seemed that uncertain. Amigo should have tried to verify his expenses and income by asking for bank statements.
“surely amigo should have checked if my partner would have been staying in the same place for the duration of the loan”
I think they should have asked if anything was likely to change in his sitution over the next few years – did they?
“but they were overtime so surely this should have been took in to consideration”
If he worked every Saturday it would have been reasonable to have included this money. But if he didn’t, they should have picked this up if they had verified his income, eg by looking at his bank statements. Which they didn’t do…
“I am unsure how he was accepted as a guarantor as he has a really bad credit rating, he can’t even source a loan in his own name”
then he should not have been accepted! This is another strong point for his complaint. Amigo’s website used to say: “Your guarantor doesn’t need to be a homeowner, we can still accept those who rent, but they will need to have a strong credit history. ”
They have now deleted that but from their webpage (convenient!) but here is a copy of the old web page with it on. https://web.archive.org/web/20190601093318/https://www.amigoloans.co.uk/guarantor-loans
I suggest you add to the complaint template:
“I had a poor credit record when I was accepted as guarantor. Add a bit about any specific problems eg missed payments or defaults. Your website used to say that a guarantor doesn’t have to be a homeowner, but they will need to have a strong credit history (https://web.archive.org/web/20190601093318/https://www.amigoloans.co.uk/guarantor-loans) and I clearly didn’t meet that test.”
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“I have now had to pay the loan when the borrower has been unable to”
You are under no obligation at all to do this. If it is causing you hardship, I suggest you should stop…
“Another thing when they topped up the loan the lady said that the top up was for £2629.81”
You have listened to the whole phone call for the top-up? And it only mentions that amount, not the total amount of the new loan or the total amount of credit?
If that happened, then he can definitely say he thought that was his liability and he didn’t understand he was becoming responsible for such a huge amount of money.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I assume you have already sent in a complaint but have just had the SAR info back, not yet a final response.
As the SAR has turned up such a lot of useful infomration, I think it’s worth setting this out in another email to Amigo now. something like;
“I have looked at the SAR information you have sent and would like the following points added to my complaint to be removed as the guarantor:
1) the phone call shows that I had little idea of my expenses but I was pushed to guess amounts. I think you should have been worried by the idea of a guarantor who seemed to know so little and you should have made sure you verified all the numbers i gave against my bank statements.
2) the phone call for the top up loan only referred to £2629.81. It didn’t say I was agreeing to a huge £10,000 loan.
3) my credit record was poor. I don’t know why you accepted me as your website used to say that a guarantor doesn’t have to be a homeowner, but they will need to have a strong credit history (https://web.archive.org/web/20190601093318/https://www.amigoloans.co.uk/guarantor-loans) and I clearly didn’t meet that test.
4) the income I gave included overtime which I didn’t always work, but you never asked me about this or tried to verify it.
5) I wasn’t asked if my situation was likely to change in the next few years. I knew I was unlikely to stay living with my parents for much longer, so you should then have thought about my situation when I had to pay rent.”
Jess says
Hi Sara,
Thankyou for your quick reply. I have drafted the complaint email but haven’t yet sent it. I was awaiting your response first.
I will include everything you have said.
Thanks
Jess says
Hi Sara,
I have had a response from Amigo saying they are going to investigate. I will keep you updated.
Thanks
Chaz says
Hi Sara,
I commented at the beginning of the year about a case with Amigo Loans. After taking your advice I raised a complaint with FOB in February and after serveral months as of today, I have received an email stating amigo will make me offer, removing me as guarantor, refunding any money I paid towards the loan and taking any negative feedback away from my credit score.
I would just like to thank you for all your help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am so pleased, it will be great to be rid of this burden from your abusive ex.
Bill says
Hi Sarah,
Our complaint is nearing conclusion against Amigo. Just waiting on further correspondence from adjudicator via Amigo: as the borrower received the money from Amigo via the gaurantor than ran off without paying a penny to my wife, do we receive the total amount we paid Amigo £4500? Or just the intrest applied on the loan? £750 intrest?
Thanks,
Bill
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Just to check I am clear – your wife was the guarantor and you later settled the whole loan on her behalf after the borrower disappeared without paying anything?
If that is right, she should get back every penny she paid plus 8% statutory interest.
Bill says
Hi Sarah, yes that’s correct, initially if you remember last year Amigo told us they would not consider the complaint as they do not store details after 4 years but as your aware the floodgates have opened and Amigo have been exchanging details with the adjudicator,
Thanks,
Bill
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Right, fingers crossed this one is sorted soon!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You may be interested to read this FOS decision about a UK Credit case where the guarantor made a full settlement: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/files/252462/DRN2990032.pdf
Here the guarantor was only refunded the interest – this is (I think) because the complaint was that the borrower could not afford the loan. It was not a complaint by the guarantor. there was no suggestion that the guarantor should not have been accepted, which is what you are arguing.
Louise says
UK credit have rejected my guarantor complaint.
I sent them my bank statements and they’ve said:
The additional outgoings were not divulged by you at the time the loan was granted and you were accepted as Guarantor. Had you disclosed the items to us, in particular the outgoings on gambling, it is unlikely we would have agreed to allow you to be Guarantor.
Well, to me, this proves they didn’t do enough checks then?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Agreed! Send it to the Ombudsman. Are you making any payments towards this loan?
Louise says
Fortunately not. The loan is for my sister who was on maternity leave at the time of applying.
She’s trying to add it into her DMP which would be easier if there’s no guarantor.
I don’t think it was ever affordable for her either so I’m trying to get her to complain too
Chris Bone says
I work in the free advice sector, when we sent a guarantor complaint and referred to verification of income (benefits) as part of the complaint Amigo’s reply made reference to use of Transunion UK (formerly CallCredit) to ensure the information “was reliable”, as part of their reasoning for rejecting the complaint.
This is new one on me, have you any comments on that particular matter?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Chris,
This may have been CallCredit’s “OI” service. One of the adjudicator decisions quoted in this article https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-more-refunds-2019/ mentions it.
It’s worth reading the two big FOS Amigo decision, one about a borrower https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/files/238841/DRN2108651.pdf and one about a guarantor https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/files/239434/DRN3847539.pdf to see how unimpressed FOS tends to be with the approach of using a CRA to verify either income or expenses. Basically taking the line that these are large, long term commitments, where the borrower usually has a poor credit record and the guarantor may not have thought clearly about whether they could really afford the repayments over the full term of the loan.
DD says
Hi,
Firstly apologies if I’ve posted in the wrong section!
I today had some good news from the investigator looking at my Amigo loans. Submitted my complaint to Amigo in August 2018 for 1 loan and a couple of “top ups”. All rejected by Amigo and following on from some unsavoury communication with them I sent to FoS. Little over a year later (hang in there people), the below extract from my investigator;
Amigo will write to confirm the full detail of its offer including any amounts due – however, it has told us that it will follow our general approach. This includes:
– Amigo refunding all of the interest and charges (if any) that you’ve paid on all the loans you’ve had with them;
– If you’re still repaying your loan, Amigo will be reducing the amount you owe on your loan by the refund amount and no future interest will be applied to it. If the total you’ve paid in interest and charges is more than the amount you still owe, you’ll get the amount leftover once your loan is cleared; or
– If your loan has been repaid, your refund will include interest at the simple rate of 8% per year (less any tax properly due), from the date you repaid the loan until the date of settlement;*
– Amigo removing any negative information that has been recorded on your credit file concerning the loan
Hope the above highlights that positive results are still out there.
Thanks to you Sara for literally helping change people’s lives for the better!!
Craig collier says
Hi just received an email I wonder if you could please clarify it for me please I was a guarantor and complained I shouldn’t have been as I couldn’t really afford it I complained months ago and today received this email and was wondering if you could clarify it please I would be truly grateful thanks,
Amigo’s offer
Amigo will write to confirm the full detail of its offer including any amounts due – however, it has told us that it will follow our general approach. This includes:
Amigo releasing you from the guarantee, which means you’ll no longer be responsible for paying the current loan going forward, if the borrower can’t pay.
Amigo refunding any payments he has made as the guarantor (on current and earlier loans), adding interest at the simple rate of 8% per year (less any tax properly due), from the date you paid them until the date of settlement
Amigo removing any negative information about the loans from his credit file.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That email was from the Ombudsman? Is this about your dad’s complaint?
Did he make any payments to this loan?
Craig says
Yes I complained that they shouldn’t have used my dad for various reasons he is on disability and couldn’t afford to pay if the borrower didn’t pay, I received the email from the ombudsmen 2 days ago as shown above does this mean he no longer is the gaurntor and doesn’t have to pay anything thanks for your help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, he will no longer be the guarantor. Whatever happens to the loan, he won’t have to pay anything and won’t be contacted about it any more.
If he has already made any payments to Amigo, these will be refunded in full to him, plus 8% interest.
Craig says
Omg I can’t believe it thank you for all of your help it is like a huge weight has been lifted thank you.
Kieran says
I am guarantor for 2 loans one with amigo for 5k and the other with Trust 2 for 7k both for the same person, the loan started about 12 months ago. Since then, my “friend” has only made a handful of monthly payments and I had to suddenly foot a 2 months arrears bill of over £800 just to stop it defaulting. Which my mum had to pay on her credit card as I could not afford it.
My first reason for complaint was that I felt pressured to enter the agreement because she was being pushy and kept asking so I just decided to it, secondly they told me to lie on the phone saying I earned a lot more then I do (1500 a month )
Secondly, they should have made a better affordability assessment on my friend as she has quite a bad credit history (I don’t know her financial past) and tbh nor do I,
thirdly they did not ask for example of monthly earnings and the fact I had been a guarantor for the same person for about 6 month before with a smaller loan with amigo for 5k.
Since then she’s lost her job since and doesn’t have a stable home life and doesn’t have an income. also has made no effort to help and just doesn’t seem to care.
The thing is that I can technically afford one of the loans even though it is nearly 20% of my income, I just can’t have a £12 loan just dumped on me and worry about it for 5 years. I’ve even had to get a personal loan with satsuma to help pay for arrears on both them garantor loans plus rent and travel for work I can’t afford it I don’t know if I any grounds for a complaint
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you put in complaints to both Amigo and Trust 2 as soon as possible. use the template letter in the artcile above deleting the bits that aren’t right for you.
You may think you can “technically” afford the first loan. but it sounds as though Amigo didn’t check properly that you could. The repayments on even a 5k loan are a lot each month to manage.
I don’t think the fact that the borrower was very pushy is going to help your case much. But the other points you have made are good,
I think you also need to tell Amigo trust Two and Satsuma that you need an affordable payment plan for the next few months. You can’t carry on taking out expensive credit to pay these loans.
Kieran says
Thank for your response it helps a lot that I may have a case to get self out of this situation as it’s having a massive effort on my daily. I will let you how the complaints go but I have a feeling they will be, I’ve tired to explain my situation to both trust 2 and amigo but they are not having non of it and feeling if the complaints fail I may have to take it further
Tom s says
I was a guarantor for my ex dad was gf at the time and I was paying for my ex’s phone and her bit of
The rent and I feel I was pressured into it cos out of the 5 adults in the house I was the only one who was working cos her dad was between jobs and my gf and her mum and sister was on benefits and there nan has just passed away and her dad stopped work to stay at home to be there for my gf her mum and her sister so he did not bring no money into the house for a few months so he got a loan out and he asked me to be the guarantor but I feel I was pressured into it cos they keeped on saying how they had no money to pay bill and pay for there nans funeral and everyone was upset cos there nan just gone and I feel if I did not agree to it then everyone would be angry at me and they could of kicked me out of the house cos I was just living there with my gf and I had no we’re else to go they told me that they would pay the loan off with the money they got from there nans life insurance but they never did and her dad has said he has been paying it but I hav spoke to the loan company and they hav said that it’s not been. Payed for over a year now and now they want me to pay for the loan or take me to court do I hav a case
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is the sort of emotional blackmail that can happen with this sort of loan.
Would you have had enough money to pay for renting elsewhere if you had had to leave the house? Did you have a well-paid job? Was your income regular or variable? What was your credit record like? Did you have debts of your own already?
You may also have other reasons why you could win a complaint and ask to be removed as the guarantor.
If you were guaranteeing someone with no income, then this is a good reason why the loan should never have been given at all. The borrower has to be able to afford the repayments and if he wasn’t working, how could he?
Tom s says
Thanks u for getting back to me my gf at the time nan has just passed away and her dad took time off to be at the house for the girls and had no money coming in and they was living off the money I was putting into the house and there benefits at the time I was paying my gf rent and paying off her bills and her delt that she had from years ago and I maybe could of afforded a room somewhere but not a full place of my own cos I was still paying off my own delts when I got divorced and my credit rating was not good cos when I moved in from when I spit up with my ex wife I could not even get a contact phone on my name I had to get one in my gfs mums name at the time cos my credit rating was so bad but I did hav a good job bringing in about 500 a week
Tom s says
They hav rang me up asking me why now I am asking to be taken off cos it’s been 2 years from when it was taken out and they said I was told about all the stuff I needed to know and the guy said it’s very unlikely I will be taking off and they want to sort out some sort of payment
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So if you had your own debts and a poor credit rating, those are good reasons why you should never have been accepted as a guarantor.
The article above has a letter you can use to complain. There are a lot of possible reasons listed there, some of which dont sound relevant to you (although they could be if there is something you haven’t mentioned) but the ones that are sound like:
“I was pressured into agreeing to this loan by the borrower and his family. He was my girlfriend’s dad and we were living in their house. I couldn’t afford to rent a place of my own for me and my girlfriend who was on benefits. I was worried they would say we had to leave if I said No.
At the time he wasn’t working. If you had checked his circumstances properly by looking at his payslips and bank statements you would have seen he couldn’t afford the loan repayments. So this loan should never have been made at all.
I can not afford to make the loan repayments as i am not living with them any more and now have to pay rent. I think you should have realised that I was dependent on the borrower to be able to live rent free. So if the borrower stopped paying the debt to you then it is was possible that the I wouldn’t be able to repay the loan either. If you had looked thoroughly at my situation, you would have seen I had other debts and a poor credit record so should not have been accepted as a guarantor at all.”
Obviously change that so it really does show what happened to you!
What are the rest of your finances like at the moment?
Who is the lender?
Mark says
After abit of advice. I’m a guarantor for a friend with buddy loans. He’s only made 4 payments now it looks like i have to make them i was only made aware recently by my friend that he can’t afford to pay them because he had another loan for 300 a month. I was not aware of this but he did tell buddy about this. Had I been aware of his other debts i wouldn’t have been a guarantor. The loan is 215 a month with buddy however if I known about his other 300 a month loan i would have known in time he wouldn’t of been able to afford 500 a month. Buddy never told me about his other loans, if they told me I wouldn’t have been his guarantor. Do i have a case here If i make a complaint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can complain that your friend could never have afforded the loan and that if Buddy had checked properly, they should have declined him for the loan.
What is your own financial position like? Can you actually afford to make the repayments to this loan from your spare income each month? And still be able to pay all your usual expenses and any other debts you have?
It is always worth complaining about as many things as possible, so if you can argue the friend couldn’t afford the loan and neither could you, that is a much stronger complaint.
Can you suggest to your friend that he could make an affordability complaint? Send him a link to this other page: https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/. Say if he wins the complaint, the interest is removed from his debt and so are any negative marks on his credit record.
Mark says
Hi Sara, thanks for replying, the annoying thng is my so called friend didn’t tell me about his other £300 loan, He pressured me into being a guarantor for him, he was calling me almost everyday, saying he couldn’t afford his rent, he was about to get kicked out of his house, he had numerous debt people calling him at his place of work and his only option was to get this loan to clear all his debts, I honestly believed he would have cleared his debts however this other £300 loan he never mentioned to me. Financially id struggled to pay his loan for him, ive had to pay his missed payment today £215. Im worried about next month now as I cant afford to keep doing this, ive got 3 young boys, a mortgage, a lot more bills, my partner has just heard she could be getting made redundant at the end of the this month, im almost £3000 overdrawn with my bank and Xmas is around the corner. They only asked for my wages slips, if they had seen my overdraft they have seen id struggle to pay his loan. I’ll make a complaint to them and hope for the best.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So definitely complain that you could not afford to repay the loan sustainably and they Amigo did not check carefully that you could. A large overdraft is a sign that your finances are not good!
With young children, your expenses should included your share of all the family expenses, eg school uniforms, school trips, pocket money.
Also make the point that you were lied to by the borrower and you feel it is unfair that Amigo would have seen the details of the borrower’s borrowing from his credit record but they did not share that with you.
You can ask Amigo for repayment arrangements if you can’t afford the whole amount. Amigo cannot take you to court while a complaint is going through, including if a complaint is at the ombudsman, so don’t get worried if they issue threats about CCJs.
Anon says
Sara
I hope you see this.
I just want to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
Had I never come across this page I wouldn’t have ever dreamed that I would be released from the clutches of Amigo as guarantor.
After seeing your page I decided to follow through and WON my case!! I’m no longer a guarantor and have received just short of £6000 in refund!
There isn’t enough thank you to give you!
May God bless you and all the work that you continue to carry out!
I’m still waiting on my quick quid case to be picked up from the FOS. Funnily enough I thought it would be Amigo that would be then difficult ones.
Anyone trying to win a battle with Amigo please push on! They’ve been sooo receptive.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good news!
Cheryl says
Hi iv just tried to do this but been told as the checks were done over 6 years ago by 3 months I can’t do it is this true or is it 6 years after the last payment
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Just send your complaint to the Ombudsman – FOS can look at cases over 6 years old.
And get your bank statements now from the 3 months before the loan if you don’t already have them. Don’t wait to be asked.
Sarah C says
Hi Sara, I notice that you are advising that we should also complain about the main borrower not being able to afford the loan if we believe that’s the case. How much information should we have to back this up, given that most borrowers are astranged by this stage and won’t help?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you have any information that proves the borrower could not have afforded the loan it is worth putting that forward. You may have found out later about a CCJ or that their business had failed before the loan started or that they had a gambling problem.
I’m not saying this is easy if the borrower is estranged. If they aren’t then the borrower can help by sending the lender a Subject Access request asking for a copy of all the borrower infomration.
For many guarantors, it will be simpler to argue that the lender did not check the guarantor properly. But make both cases if you can!
Alina says
Hi looking some advice please.
I felt pressured into being a guarantor for my neices now ex bf they had only been together for 6 months at the time he asked me to take on being a guarantor even telling me what to say on the phone etc.
He was persistant on the matter.
I agreed due to fears over my safety.
I have since found out this man may have been commited of fraud about 15 years ago and cannot get credit anywhere hence why he went to these people for a loan! I am appauled at them even accepting him for a £6k loan.
I only work part time my husband pays the bills and mortgage. He doesnt even know i am guarantor for this man.
He paid one payment in april when loan started and nothing since. Neither me nor UK credit can get in touch with him.
I made agreement with UK credit to pay £200 a month instead of 380. Iv an 18 year old daughter who still lives at home and need money from me. She is my priority.
Do you think i should complain
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I definitely think you should complain to UK Credit, ask to be removed as the guarantor and to have all the payments you have made refunded to you.
You have three reasons to complain. It may be hard to “prove” some, but make all the points in your complaint. You only have to succeed with one of them to win the complaint.
1) the borrower could not afford the loan. I don’t know what you found out later about him, but he certainly sounds like a con man. Say what you have been told about him and say that if UKC had properly looked at his credit record and his bank statements they would have been able to tell the loan was unaffordable.
2) explain that he put you under a lot of pressure to the point where you were physically scared about him and that he told you what to say on the phone.
3) you can’t afford the loan repayments. The fact that UKC has agreed to reduce your payments to £200 a month shows that the £380 in the loan agreement was unaffordable for you. You may have not really explained your situation on the phone to UKC because you were scared of the borrower – that is whay UKC should have tried to verify everything you told them.
JJ says
I recently had a win against Amigo for loaning unaffordably. I fought with them for nearly 2 years going back and forth, especially when new financial info about the borrower was being presented to them. I got to a stage where I now knew the historic payments would show the unaffordibility of the borrower as I had paid nearly the whole loan to date.
I then raised a formal complaint with the FOS in May this year and they accepted my complaint. I got confirmation in October that Amigo had followed their standard practice and has now offered to: remove me as guarantor, refund all payments + 8% and remove any negative impacts on my credit score. I was deciding whether or not to go for compensation due to the stress, anxiety and time I had spent dealing with it but decided against it as I wanted to cut ties as soon as possible with this company.
My message to guarantors in this situation is to keep fighting with Amigo, let the evidence build up against them and the borrower, and let the case build itself. Amigo will never give up the case themselves as an individual does not have the power/leverage of a regulatory body to get them to admit they are wrong. The only way to combat this is through the FOS and will get the case resolved.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well done!
So your main ground for complaint was that the loan was unaffordable for the borrower, not that you couldn’t afford it? That’s good. The Ombudsman has previously said that is a reason why a guarantor’s complaint can be upheld, but I haven’t yet seen this happen in practice unless the borrower has also complained.
JJ says
That’s correct. I could afford the payments as my finances are in good order.
A short time line is:
3 months after the loan was taken out the borrower took out a payment plan which halved the payments – despite this extending the plan and causing arrears, I the guarantor, was not consulted.
During the time of this payment plan the borrower defaulted and paid nothing.
From January 2018 until present day I have made the full payments every month.
The borrower avoided all contact with Amigo, where as I was on the phone to them every month, hassling, complaining and pushing them to take action against the borrower. Again reinforcing the theory that they were not able to make payments as their update income and expenditure reflected zero money to pay (although I am sure those figures aren’t entirely accurate). I even asked them to compare what they had at the beginning to what they were provided when it was updated and see what had changed.
I believe the combination of the above proved my thesis that the loan was unaffordable for the borrower, and that I was a responsible guarantor upholding my agreement and pushing for the right action/outcome.
Leanne says
Hi, some advice please…
I have recently done a guarantor complaint with Amigo, due to them not doing correct checks at the start when my friend took out the loan, I have sent them my p60s for 2014/15/16 (the loan was taken out Sept 2014) which clearly show that I didn’t earn enough to pay the loan should my friend not pay. Recently this friend has declared herself bankrupt meaning the loan has now come to myself to be paid. I have asked to be taken off the loan. No recent checks have been taken out either when i was advised that it was now my responsibility, I am now a single parent, working part time and there is no way I can afford these payments.
I had a response same day stating
“Thank you for your email, I’m sorry you’re unhappy with our acceptance of you as * guarantor.
Due to what you have advised, I have raised a complaint on your behalf. Our customer relations team will be in touch within 3-5 working days.
I’ve also raised your subject access request and passed this to the relevant team. Please be aware that we have up to 30 days to send this information.”
What will happen from here? Will I have much chance to be taken off as guarantor? I have made several payments on this loan over the last 5 years and there is still a balance of just under 2k. If I do succeed will I get any refunds? Will the person who took out the loan get any refund? Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“Will I have much chance to be taken off as guarantor?” From what you have said, yes! It may also help if you can send your bank statements for the three months before the loan application.
“If I do succeed will I get any refunds? “ Yes, if you succeed, you will get a full refund of everything you have paid, plus 8% simple interest.
“Will the person who took out the loan get any refund? “ No, your complaint is that you should not have been accepted as a guarantor. If the borrower wanted a refund, she would have to complain. If she did, she would only get a refund if she has paid the full amount she borrowed and just defaulted on the interest – that sounds unlikely from what you have said. And any refund would be sent to the Official Receiver, not to her, as she went bankrupt. So this would be a pointless complaint by her.
Do you think she could afford the loan? If she couldn’t that is another reason why you could complain and ask to be removed as the guarantor… This is harder for you to prove, but I am a great believer in putting forward all the reasons to Amigo rather than just trying guess which one is most likely to work.
Hayley says
hi, I’m looking for some advice if possible.
March this year I became a guarantor for my mother-in law which she took a loan out for £6000 with amigo loans. When she sent me the link I filled the details in and actually got declined as a guarantor (which I have proof off) I then told her I couldn’t do it for her but she then said she phoned them and that if she reduced the loan by £500 I would be accepted which I was (don’t understand why £500 would change it, but it did) she was still making repayments but then asked me if she could top the loan up for her making it £10,000, and £483 a month for 3 years. amigo phoned me and asked some questions but I was under pressure at work which I made very clear on the phone and didn’t know what costs and totals to answer with as I didn’t have time to think about it. Regardless of this when agreeing to the loan I was unable to make repayments as I do not have enough income to repay and I feel they did not do a correct credit check or Ask for proof of earnings or statements which would clearly show I would never be able to make these repayments.
I would like to know Why was I declined as a guarantor for a £6000 loan but if reduced by £500 I would be accepted but 6 months later I was accepted for a top up making it £10,000? Aftering going through my own fiancé’s i was definitely at that time unable to repay payments and still unable too.
Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.
Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds as though you have 2 very strong reasons why you should be removed as the guarantor.
1) you couldn’t afford the repayments (£483 a month is a fortune! I am not surprised!) and Amigo failed to check carefully that you could. The fact that you had this year been declined as guarantor for a smaller sum means Amigo must have known you were not well off and should have looked in detail eg at your bank statements.
2) the phone call to check you agreed to the top up was when you were at work and couldn’t consider your expenses and whether you could really afford this in detail. So you never gave properly informed consent to being the guarantor.
Either of those reasons is good enough to be removed as the guarantor but make them both in your complaint.
As to what had changed since the first loan – the obvious thing is that your MiL had made 5 or 6 loan repayments so they decided she was a good customer… a very poor reason!
So send your complain ASAP. The sooner you are off this loan the better for your stress level. And it will also turn the loan into a normal unsecured loan. If your MiL is struggling (£483 a month!) she could also make an affordability complaint and ask for the interest to be removed from the loan and to be able to repay what she borrowed at a much lower rate. Once you are removed as guarantor she could even go bankrupt if she has a lot of other unaffordable debt.
Jane says
Hi
Does this advice apply if I’ve signed as a guarantor for car finance, when the original borrower is a business? My ex husband made me a director of this business without my knowledge then pressured me to sign as guarantor ( I was in an abusive marriage) He has since stolen the cars, leaving the finance companies chasing me. I never had any contact with the finance companies or spoke to them at the time the finance agreements were done. They sent the agreements to my ex who then made me sign them. They never had any contact and I have no idea what documents my ex showed as proof of my income because I was earning anything, I was a stay at home mother, but because my ex made it look like I owned and ran a business, I’m assuming this is what he showed as proof of income.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No it doesn’t.
Talk to Business Debtline on 0800 197 6026 for advice about your options. They can cover both business and personal debt and they are very good.
Ali kate says
Was in an physically/emotionally abusive relationship over a year ago and had to leave , and when I took them out I didnt understand what I was signing up for plus what was going to happen in the relationship.. police involed ect. I am guarantor for x2 lones one amigo £2000 and buddy lones £4000..I complained to amigo lones about it as my ex stopped making the re-payments and currently have no contact with him at all. They pretty much didnt say much saying they couldnt take me off it unless I had more evidence such as a police report. I’ve then recently found out he wasnt paying the other one off so I’m now complaining about that one too. Currently gone through with the FOS with both lones who are been really good so fingers crossed. It’s just really draining and been such a stressful year with constantly getting emails /texts ect. Hopefully they will review this again once I have my incident number and I will be taken off for good.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry to hear this – these guarantor loans can often be used in an abusive relationship – I hope you are getting into a better position now and being removed as the guarantor would be a help!
Getting your incident number should help.
You can also complain that the loans were not affordable for you. When you were living with someone you are asked to be the guarantor for, the lender should have considered what your whole financial position would be if your partner was unable to pay the loan – either because they had lost their job or had left you. This would mean you paying for all of the rent, bills etc.
You can win your complaint to be removed a guarantor for just one of these reasons.
Good luck, I hope this is all sorted quickly.
R says
Hi I’m the guarantor of a loan with my ex partner and we have been broken up now for a year and a half. In the time she has had a loan now with ameigo loans for roughly 2 years and I’m the guarantor very recently she has contacted them and has stated she is in a financial difficult and is unable to pay the loan and now it has fallen onto me. I was blackmailed into getting this loan and to make several top ups threatening me with access to my son and to post personal things about me on social media. I’ve have recently got into a new relationship and she has stopped all access to my son and has now posted all the stuff threatened with on social media anyway. She has been warned by the police twice and has been cautioned for harassment and domestic abuse i have had the police triage team out on several occasions because I am feeling the lowest I have ever felt in my life and wanted to take my life because of this situation she has made the payment on a regular occasion and has never missed one until now and amigo loans have contacted me saying the payments are now down to me and will not go to her for payments and amigo loans did not fully inform me of this and was unaware of this. Is there anything I can do about this.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi R,
That is dreadful.
I’m going to tell you what to do now to kick off a Complaint as soon as possible. But I want to encourage you to also go to your local Citizens Advice and ask for their help with the complaint too – they may be able to suggest something you can then add to your complaint which you have already sent. If one of their debt specialists there hasn’t dealt with a guarantor loan case involving coercion, they will be able to get help from the National Specialist Debt Advice Service who have experts who can help.
From what you have said, you have two strong points in favour of your case.
First that you have already had contact with the police because of this abusive relationship. In the template letter where it says “I was pressured into agreeing to this loan by the borrower. I didn’t feel I could refuse because” go into detail about the pressure she put you under.
For a guarantor who hasn’t made any payments, you only have to show that there is something wrong with the last top-up loan, not the original loan and the first top-ups. If you want to mention them you can, but that is just as background to your case. It sounds from what you have written that the last top-up was after you were no longer living together? So she was using access to your son as a threat. Giver the details of what else she has done and the contacts with the police and the police reference numbers.
The second point that helps your case is that there were several top-ups over a short period. They should have caused Amigo to wonder what was going on and to have looked more closely into whether the borrower could afford to repay the loan and also whether you could.
You haven’t mentioned your finances at the moment. If you think she couldn’t repay that amount OR you can’t repay that amount, these are both points that are well worth making in your complaint.
While you have a complaint underway, Amigo cannot take you to court and your credit rating cannot be harmed. So don’t feel pressured by Amigo into paying this. You may feel reluctant to do this, but it may help Amigo behave in a better way if you say how badly this has been affecting your mental health.
Katarina says
Hi,
My brother took out £4000 loan in April 2017 then topped this up to £6000 with me as guarantor. At the time, I was the lead tenant in our house, paying the bulk rent from my personal account. My brother was unable to pay the rent without the loan and I felt like I had no choice, coz I wasn’t able to cover his share of the rent. The loan was paid into my account and all the repayments taken from there, always on time. My brother paid maybe once or twice. I also had to take out payday loans regularly, to be able to make the payments. My brother left the UK shortly after and I found out that during the time he took out the Amigo loan, he had a gambling problem as well as track record of payday loans. There was also a defaulted mobile phone bill. I wonder if his credit score at the time would’ve been good enough to get the loan.My question is, whether it’s better to send a complaint as a guarantor, arguing that my brother wasn’t fit for the loan in the first place plus considering my financial dependence on him (rent), I shouldn’t have been made a guarantor? Can I ask for all the money I paid to be returned to me, even though that’s essentially all of the repayments? Or should my brother send a complaint, as a borrower?
Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“send a complaint as a guarantor, arguing that my brother wasn’t fit for the loan in the first place plus considering my financial dependence on him (rent), I shouldn’t have been made a guarantor”
Yes, this is what I think you should do. 3 reasons to include in your complaint:
1)The fact that your brother was unable to pay the rent – a priority debt – without borrowing money the loan, shows that the loan was unaffordable for him. And the fact that you have found out he had a gambling problem and a lot of payday loans suggests that if Amigo had properly looked into his situation, they would never have given the loan.
2)You were pressured into agreeing to be the guarantor, as if you didn’t you would have had to pay his share of the rent which you could not afford. This was not a freely given consent to the loan.
3) our own financial circumstances were intertwined with his because of the rent. Amigo should have considered if you would be able to make all your commitments if your brother was unable to pay this loan. So they did not properly check that you would really be able to pay the loan yourself in a sustainable way until it finished.
Can I ask for all the money I paid to be returned to me, even though that’s essentially all of the repayments?
Yes! If the loan should never have been made or you should not have been accepted a guarantor, you should never have made these payments.
Or should my brother send a complaint, as a borrower?
Well he could do. but if he is out of the country and has a lot of other debt problems and you are currently paying the loan, you are the one in the best place to complain and it matters more to you.
If your brother is prepared to help with your complaint, he could send you a copy of his credit record. And he could ask Amigo to send him a copy of all of his personal information – that would show what checks Amigo made on him and very probably how inadequate they were. he can also complain himself – if he wins the complaint, interest will be removed from his Amigo debts. This may be a great help to him, but it may not, depending how bad his other debts are.
But in your position you should definitely be making your own complaint. otherwise he may just not follow through with his complaint in a timely fashion or he may give up.
Katarina says
Excellent! Thank you for your advice. My brother is trying to resolve his situation, so with my help, he’ll be able to send the complaint. I’ll fill one in myself with the points above and I’ll keep you posted on the outcomes.
Many thanks again.
Roberto says
Thank you Sara without seeing this website I don’t think I would have bothered to complain about being a guarantor on the loan .Just today the ombudsman said that Amigo want to settle the loan with me.I have been offered a refund on all payments made on the loan.8% interest refunded on each payments,removed as Guarator and any bad marks to be taken on my file.I never thought this was possible.However I want to still keep a friendship with the borrower as he did intent to pay even when he stopped making the payments as he lost his job and was unemployed for ages after.Also at the time of the loan he was in employment but not getting that much money.Reckon he has any chance of Amigo releasing him from the loan as theirs no way he can afford the £146 a month in his salary.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Roberto,
Good result for you!
You know from your complaint that Amigo didn’t check you properly – it may well be that they didn’t check him properly as well… if he complains and wins, all the interest would be removed from the debt. That could be a big help – but big enogh? If that would still leave him in a complete mess, then he should talk to a debt adviser about looking at a Debt Relief Order or bankruptcy.
Tony says
Please keep on to George Banco. My wife has been released as guarantor for her son. They initially refused to remove her however after giung to FOS they accepted the recommendation to remove as guarantor. Huge weight off her shoulders. Now in the process of getting her removed as guarantor with Amigo as she has had a stroke and last top up was after this. She was really in no state of mine to agree to it but amigo still allowed without checking any income expenditure other than what she told them on the phone. 5 weeks in to this complaint and she has had a reply to say they are still looking into it. Fingers crossed it’s the last one for her after good results with Bamboo and George Banco.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good news about the GB loan & fingers crossed for Amigo!
Dave says
Hello! Someone i only met once 14 years asked me persistantly last year if i would be a guarantor to a 10k loan-to save face i said yes not expecting to be accepted-im very ill and on means tested benefit-my own bank wont even let me bowwow anything! However i got accepted; He told me everything will be fine i just need you as a name! Within a month hed got the sack from his job-account now in arrears.
i have no money and am getting calls and letters etc all the time!; CAB have contacted Amigo and said it was miss sold as im on means tested benefits and could never make payments!!
They wont listen and still persist!
What if i just dont pay??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is HUGE loan for any guarantor to pay, let alone one on means tested benefits. It sounds like a very strong complaint. Its good you are getting help from CAB.
Have Amigo rejected the complaint asking to be removed as guarantor?
While you have an open complaint with Amigo directly or with the Financial Ombudsman, Amigo can’t take you to court, so if they are saying they will pass your case to a solicitor or to their litigations team, this is just bluffing. Also not paying won’t hurt your credit record unless they manage to win a court case.
So nothing much is going to happen if you don’t pay while your complaint is going through. You will get more texts and emails. Keep a list of them but try to be detached as though they are going to someone else. If you are suffering from depression or anxiety, you (or CAB on your behalf) can ask for these to be halted until the result of your complaint is known.
What is the rest of your financial situation like… do you have a lot of other debts? Are you buying or renting, if renting private or social? Were you managing until this Amigo loan or struggling?
Jill says
Many thanks for helping me with a resolution from Amigo. I used your template letter on 2 September to complain about a loan I had blundered into guaranteeing. I followed your instructions exactly.
A good result for me. Amigo have discharged my responsibility from a £10k loan. My home is not now at risk so I can stop worrying.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Excellent.
If you are on good terms with the borrower, do tell them about this. Their loan has now turned into a normal unsecured loan, they can put it into a debt management to reduce their payment or even go bankrupt if they want.
Joao Morais Sarmento says
Hi!
i will need some help here, my old manager ask me to be a guarantor of a loan of £9000 in April 2019 from AmigosLoans and I accepted to assigned the paper work because I haven’t the work’s contract at the time plus I thought if i didn’t assign it, I could loose my job plus i needed the money to pay my bills,
He told me that he could pay the full amount in this Summer but he vanished, and i found 2 weeks ago that he leave me a debt of £12500 with the Amigos to be pay in the next 3 years. Now i have the loan company chasing me to pay it and since the loan was made, my income become lower
I went already to Action Fraud, Citizens Advise, ACAS and Legal Advice (it was where i got your website) and they said I don’t have to much choice than pay it… is someone can give me some orientations? Im trying to not loose my mind…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
read the article above – that has a template letter you can send to Amigo.
You want to say that
1) you were forced to agree to be guarantor because you thought you would lose your job
AND
2) Amigo did not check properly that you could afford the loan repayments.
That letter asks for you to be removed as the guarantor so you wouldn’t have to pay anything.
Joao Morais Sarmento says
Good morning Sara.
I followed your advice, and i use the letter template to make a complain against Amigos, as i was expecting they refused my complain because they don’t found any evidence that i have been “forced” to be the guarantor, i have explain to them that was my job in risk. After, I received Amigos answer, i rise the complain to FOS, where i still waiting for a contact. Amigos Loan contact me, for a payment plan of £250 per month because i cant afford £355 as planned by my old manager.
At the moment, and because of Codvid-19, my salary was reduce for £200 and i dont have money enough in end of the month, even to pay a lawyer to help me out with this situation. Yesterday, i contact StepChange and National Debt Advice and seems in need to get a Debit Relived Order because of this situation. So my situation become worst and worst.
Is any advice that you could recommend me?
thank you in Advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Joao, how large is the balance on this Amigo loan? how large are all your other debts?
Joao Morais Sarmento says
Hi Sara
I hope how are well and safe
Thank you for your reply
The initial was £9000, but because i cant pay what my manager agreed with Amigos, im already £10000 because of the Arrears, and the interest still growing even the Government declare 3 months holidays for loans. I spoke today with Lambeth’s lawyers because of DRO, and they said that they need one week to see my case including my situation with Amigos, coz at the moment my outgoing is higher than my income.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“I spoke today with Lambeth’s lawyers”
who were you talking to?
Apart from this Amigo loan, what other debts do you have? If you have a lot of other debt a DRO (or bankruptcy) could be a good option for you. But if the Amigo loan is your only problem debt and the others are small, then it would probably be better to not get a DRO but to wait for the Ombudsman to look at your case.
Todd says
Thanks Sara. I have sent the statements. The FOS are now asking me to send statements for April-June 2018 (June was when the guarantor loan was signed) as well to build an accurate picture of my circumstances. As I was on a fixed term job at the time family gave me some money end of June, just to clarify they won’t take this into account as it wasn’t from work and only as my job wasn’t secure? Also they asked me to confirm my relationship with the borrower. The borrower is no longer a friend due to the deception and the fact I refused to top up the loan/borrow them money. Should I just mention they were a friend at the time? however not anymore. I need to send the statements by November 1st. If I need more time they said just to let them know. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
those were the three months statements I suggested you should send.
FOS shouldn’t take odd payments from your family into account as income. You could send a note with the statements explaining that the payment on dd/mm/yy was from family as you were finding it hard to manage.
Give FOS an accurate description of your relationship – that you were friends but are no longer because of his deception etc.
Todd says
I Will get them sent today. I only sent statements for the 3 months prior to this. Some months won’t show my rent payments as I had to pay a few months prior as I lost my job a month after moving into my flat. Will they take this into account? Many Thanks Ssra
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS will be thinking about your situation, not just taking figures, putting them into a program which then says yes/no. If something is odd in your bank statements, help the adjudicator by explaining this. So as well as saying that you were getting payments from family, also say why there weren’t any rent payments. This makes it quicker for the adjudicator to get the full picture.
Catherine says
Hi Sara,
I’ve now heard back from Amigo who are upholding my complaint based on them not checking my affordability as a guarantor when the loan was topped up to £10000.
I am now expecting a full refund for all monies I’ve paid along with 8% interest. I am also being removed from the loan & it also will be removed from my credit file.
I can’t begin to thank you for your help. This is such a relief for me & I can now feel like I am working to benefit me & my children rather than working for nothing as I was paying this loan.
Thanks again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Great news!
Becca says
October 2019 I was initially denied to be a loan guarantor of a larger amount of money instead I was told I could be a guarantor for 5750 over 5 years. The loan repayments are 227.27 a month however the borrower has failed to pay the first installment so of course this had to come out of my account where she is claiming fraudulent activities on her bank account has made her unable to pay. Assures me she will pay me back the month and I have asked about the position of paying the next installment in 7 days upon asking I have been removed and blocked from any way of contacting the borrower.
I am seeking to take out a loan of my own to cover the loan before I have rediculous interest hanging over me of 6k to 16k by the end of the 5 years. I am now being expected to pay is there anything I can do? Obviously a niave student that never thought they would be lumbered with the entire loan.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Who is the lender?
Don’t take out another loan, as a student you would only be able to borrow that much money at a high rate of interest yourself, and you have a good chance of challenging this one! Use the template letter in the article above.
If the borrower has not made even one payment, you should be complaining that the lender didn’t properly check the borrower out properly. And also that you cannot afford the repayments out of your “spare income” – very few students have that amount of spare money every month reliably.
While your complains going through, the lender can’t take you to court, so if you can’t manage the current repayments you could offer less.
Becca says
The lender is Amigo.
The borrower failed to contact amigo until the first payment was late and was given an additional 2 weeks to make the first payment due to bank being fraudulent (apparently). Following this the borrower was ‘unable to get through to the lender’ although every time I contacted them I was straight through. Borrower told me that they had reached an agreement for allowing the repayment to happen at a later date to which amigo told me this was a lie.
Upon checking up on the likelihood of the borrower being able to make the next installment and/or repay for the installment I already had to make on their behalf communications were blocked so there is now zero contact between myself and the borrower.
I will look at the template letter to begin complaint procedures.
Raul says
At the end of 2017, I got a £2000 loan from Bamboo. At the time I was just starting a new job that was commission based and Bamboo told me to put a rough estimate based on what my OTE was and an average for my monthly income and expenditures. They accepted my loan with my guarantor. However with my job, I struggled to make any money (due to a lot of different reasons) and fell behind on my payments.
Now my guarantor had a decent salary but didn’t have enough after her outgoing bills and such to pay off the monthly loan repayments in the event that i couldn’t pay, so she shouldn’t have been accepted and we don’t know why she was (she only offered to help as she’s a close friend).
Also to that, my guarantor lost her brother in law to suicide around that time which led to her getting depression and having to go to therapy and take anti-depressants. This influenced her decision to take on the loan and since the loan situation has got worse, it’s cause her mental health to get worse.
Is there anything we can do? Does she have a chance to be removed as a guarantor?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes your guarantor can ask to be removed as the guarantor. She has two good reasons and should put them both on her complaint using the template letter in the article above:
1) you should never have been given a loan based on what your OTE earning might be in future in a new job
2) the loan was unaffordable for her, and Bamboo should have known that if they had verified her expenses.
Has she made any payments so far? Are Bamboo threatening court action?
You also can make a complaint, saying that you should not have been given the loan and your future earnings were too uncertain to be sure the loan would be affordable. If you win this, the interest will be removed from the debt which should make it much less. There is a different complaint letter for the borrower over here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/
James says
I had a friend that said he needed a loan for £5,000 because apparently “people were after him” and that he couldn’t do it himself because of bad credit history, and because I thought we were close and he promised he would pay it all. He started paying originally and it dwindled to him giving me nothing. He was then expecting a child and said he needed it topped up because of this and he would start giving me money. I had to say yes because I had no choice and thought it was my only option for some money back. Again he’s stopped paying and I’m now paying £489 a month to his bills and can’t afford to pay mine. I’m a broken mess half of the time and don’t know how to get To being financially stable.
Do I have a case at all?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi James, who is the lender? Did he borrow the money and you are the guarantor? Or did you get the laon as he promised to pay you?
James says
I am the guarantor, though I was very uncomfortable with going through with it, and I don’t believe I was even able to afford it at the time with my current bills and he said for to increase my monthly wage because it wouldn’t matter, but now I’m having to pay the full £10,000 myself though I didn’t see any of it. He borrowed it with me as the guarantor 2 years ago so we have less than a year left but I am now expecting a child and now my bills are catching up.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds as though you have had to make quite a few payments. Use the template letter in the article above to complain.
There was originally a smaller loan – did he miss any payments so you had to make payments to that loan as well?
James says
It was originally £5,000 which has been topped up to £10,000 which I have paid the majority for both. It’s tough to see that someone you used to call a close friend would leave you with (due to APR) around £17,000 to pay while they walk off scot-free
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Tough is one word, a con is another one.
If the lender had to call on you to make payments to the first loan that is a clear reason why they should not have allowed the loan to be toped up…. make this point in your complaint.
Philippa says
Hello, I have had a difficult relationship with my son due to past financial problems (he wouldnt pay rent on time to me so i finally had to ask him to leave our home). He has previously asked his grandma, my mother, to be a Guarantor when he needed to move into rented accommodation and didnt have any problems. A few months ago he persuaded me to become guarantor for a £10,000 loan, over 10 years to clear off all his debts….including some rent he owed to his workplace otherwise he would have lost his job, and thus his flat etc. I couldnt believe i was approved as I am on Employment Support Allowance (Support Group). I do not handle stress very well and being anxious can make my condition worse. I was asked over the phone what my income is and i did not know all the amounts off the top of my head. I was desperate to ‘get into my son’s good books’ by helping him clear his debt. Now my son has got into 2 months arrears and i am being bombarded with phone calls and messages. I also helped him get a £1500 loan from Bamboo to help set up his own business. And they are calling and messaging too. I have heard my son has started a new job, which may be the reason he cannot pay the arrears. But he will not answer my calls or texts. I am at my wits end…none of my family know I have this problem….in fact due to the past, they have warned me to never go into anything financial with my son again. Would i be able to complain do you think?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
” I couldn’t believe I was approved as I am on Employment Support Allowance (Support Group). I do not handle stress very well and being anxious can make my condition worse. I was asked over the phone what my income is and I did not know all the amounts off the top of my head.”
I think that is an excellent reason to complain to Amigo. And also to Bamboo.
While you have an open complaint with Amigo/Bamboo they cannot take you to court. This includes if the lender rejects your complaint and you have to go to the Finacial Ombudsman. Don’t let yourself be bullied into paying something that you can’t afford.
You are actually doing your son a big favour by doing this. If you can get released as guarantor, these become normal unsecured loans and he can make a payment arrangement, put them into a debt management plan or even go for a debt relief order or bankruptcy to give himself a clean start.
Philippa says
Many thanks Sara, I have used your templates and emailed both Amigo & Bamboo today. I feel so much better! Thank you.
Jess says
Hi Sara.
About 7 weeks ago I messaged you on here asking for your advice about my partner being a guarantor. I put my complaint in 6 weeks and 4 days ago. All I have heard back from amigo is to say they are looking in to it. Do they usually take this long? Don’t know if them taking so long will play in my favour of what. Ha.
Thankyou for all your help.
Jess
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They normally respond to complaints in the last of their 8 weeks, but you should have be sent a copy of your personal information before now.
Philippa says
Hello Sarah, I emailed both Amigo and Bamboo and I heard back from Amigo who said they were passing my complaint to the right person and asking for the records they have etc etc. I havent had a reply from Bamboo. Today, Amigo took £395 out of my account, leaving me £144 overdrawn with several ‘pending’ items still to go through, which i presume will now ‘bounce’. I have no money to pay my rent or for food or my Gas direct debit or put electricity in my meter.
Bamboo has messaged to say they will be taking £197 tomorrow. I have more benefits going into my account tomorrow but not enough to cover the debit amount and what Bamboo will take.
I have messaged my son but have heard nothing from him. If cleared funds arent paid into my account in about an hour and a half i will start being charged by my bank.
I have cancelled the Amigo direct debit, but i am not sure if its too late. Is there anything else i can do? Thank you.
Cathy says
Hi Philippa
Contact your bank and explain that you have an ongoing complaint with both Amigo and Bamboo and they should not have drawn on the direct debit. Tell you bank that you want to make an indemnity claim under the the direct debit guarantee and that you want an immediate refund. They should be able to refund your payments.
Lucy says
Hello,
I used the template on the 19th of October and received an e mail on the 21st saying that someone from customer relations would contact me within 3-5 working days and that within 30 days they would send me the requested info… I received a CD yesterday but aside from that haven’t seen or heard anything more…. What should I do now?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Put the CD somewhere safe and sit back and wait for the end of the 8 weeks.
Did you send Amigo bank statements with your complaint?
Lucy says
Ok will do. No I didn’t send them any bank statements…They did have bank statements from me at the time they provided the loan (April) though so it will just be sending them back to them… There’s only the one loan, no top up… Thankfully…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ah ok, there is no need to resend them if they alredy had them.
Erica says
Hi Sara
I have now had my complaint rejected by Amigo and so I am now getting my case together for the fos
Just one thing I need to check – at the point my son went bankrupt and so the loan fell to me to pay – should they have checked that I could afford it at that time?
They have stated that they checked affordability at the start of the loan and confirmed that I understood that I had to make the payments if he went bankrupt or died but didn’t check whether I could afford it when it fell for me to make the payment.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m sorry Amigo have rejected your complaint. In working out what to say to FOS, you can’t assume that everything Amigo said was OK. So can we talk through some of the points?
I know your son’s situation got worse after he took the loan. And yours did as well. I do think you were badly treated when Amigo came to you and asked you to pay, but I’ll come onto that later.
But can I start with some questions about what your situations were like originally?
Your son’s situation. This matters to your complaint! If the loan was not affordable for your son when he took the loan, it should never have been given and you should be removed as guarantor.
What was his situation at that point? Why did he need to borrow money at such a high interest rate, he must already have been in difficulty? do you know what the cause of his difficulties was?
Then did the repayments to the Amigo loan make his finances worse? How long after did he go bankrupt? Was he made bankrupt bu a creditor, if so who? Or what happened?
Your situation when he applied for the loan – what are the monthly loan repayments and for how many years? Was it reasonable to think you could have afforded to make all those payments from your own income, and not have been left so short that you had to borrow yourself?
Have you listened to the recording of the conversation between you and Amigo before the loan was approved which should have been on the CD you were sent? Do you think that conversation adequately checked your circumstances – were some of the expenses too low? were some missed off? was the call just very quick and not in depth?
What has got worse in your own situation since then? And could this have been predicted at the start if someone had thought about it?
Jenny says
Hi Sara,
I found your page and it gave me a bit of hope. I agreed to be the guarantor of my ex-partner back in 2017 for the amount of 3000. After four months he did a top up to 10,000. I don’t know how they agreed to the first one because I had a personal loan myself and I missed a couple of payments. I don’t remember having a good credit score because the bank didn’t lend me. Three months ago he moved out and stopped paying, I don’t think he has a job anymore. I am struggling and I had to lend some money from my mother. Do you think I have any change to get out of this nightmare?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes I think that sounds like a good case to be removed as guarantor for the second loan.
Did you make any payments to the loan before the top-up?
Jenny says
Hi,
I don’t remember doing so, but I know I transfered some money to him to make the full amount. I submitted a claim and ask to suspend any enforcement but they still called me and said I have to make the payments in the meantime. Is this possible?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you have a complaint in, Amigo can’t take you to court. That includes if Amigo reject your complaint and you send it to the ombudsman.
It sounds as though you have other problem debts as well? Are you buying or renting?
Jenny says
At the moment I live in a rented flat. They told me if I don’t pay the account will go into default and it will affect my credit score as well. My other loan went into default and I am paying to a collection company a manageable amount. Thank you very much for responding.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
does this Amigo debt appear on your credit record? I will be surprised if it does… See https://debtcamel.co.uk/best-way-to-check-credit-score/ for how to check your credit record – for Amigo you probably just need to get a Credit Karma report.
With one loan in default, your credit score is already not good. I don’t think offering a lower payment to amigo will hurt your score BUT even if it does, you simply can’t afford to keep on borrowing money to make these payments. I suggest you offer them an amount which you can genuinely afford every month. If they refuse, then stop paying until the complaint has gone through.
Ewa says
Hi I been guarantor for loan abiut 3 months, I took it with my ex boyfriend for him , the thing is that we been living together and all bills been on half so it was easy for him to pay it , we split up he moved out and he stopped paying , I dont know what happened with him ,probable he left the country, I put complain to remove me from the guarantor cause I dont have enough money to pay it monthly , I just got CD with the conversation witch one was when we been taking that loan , what I can expect now? What I should do now ? They saying to wait for reply and that they have 8 weeks but I still have to pay for it and it’s a lot of money
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The lender (is it Amigo?) should have considered if you would be able to pay if your ex couldn’t – because if he couldn’t pay this loan he may well also not be paying half of your other bills. So you have a good case to be removed as guarantor. If the lender says No to your complaint, send it straight to the Financial Ombudsman.
I assume you are renting.
Are you getting deeper into other debt trying to pay this guarantor loan?
Do you have other debts as well that are difficult to pay?
Splitting up with someone who was paying half the bills can wreck your finances…
Ewa says
Hello yes it’s amigo , yes I’m getting deeper.
Yes I have also his 2nd loan to pay from buddy loans witch one ending next year. Do I still have to pay for amigo loan while I’m waiting for answer from them?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You were a guarantor for a buddy loan as well? Put in a complaint to them too! Same argument – the lender didn’t check that you would be able to afford it if your ex was no longer paying half the bills.
You can put both of these loans into a debt management plan – and any other debts you have as well. You can’t keep borrowing to repay other loans. And if the complaints ahve to go to the ombudsman they could take a long while to go through so you need to get yourself into a safe financvial place. I suggest you phone StepChange up and talk to them about this – see https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx.
If you win your complaints then your DMP is going to finish a lot sooner!
Ewa says
They finally reply and this is the short way of what they saying.
Based on the information you provided us and what we could see on your credit file, I’m satisfied that reasonable and proportionate checks were completed to confirm your affordability.
I contact StepChange I even spoke with them (amigo) about my budget and they can see that I can’t afford it , what I can do now , what will happend if I will put that case to ombudsman how it will look like . Thank you
g says
hi there,
i am the guarantor on a friends loan, which she is no longer able to pay. she is likely looking to declare bankruptcy or file a DRO. does the advice here still apply / will i be damaging her declaration if I file a complaint in this way?
im worried i dont really have much of a leg to stand on — the lender (george banco / everyday lending) called me and explained everything although they didnt do any checks beyond just taking my word for it. im looking at my budget now and i dont know where i got the idea i could afford the extra £200 a month from but I really dont think I can especially as i am soon to reduce my hours at work for health reasons
when my friend files the DRO is it worth me taking to an ombudsman? or should i just see if they’re amenable to reduced payments?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If your friend goes for a DRO or goes bankrupt, George Banco will expect you to make all the payments.
If you complain to GB, this won’t hurt your friends DRO/bankruptcy at all. Her GB debt will be wiped out out what ever you do.
It’s really common for people to not have a clear idea of their expenses that’s why the lender should verify them for such a serious commitment as becoming a guarantor on a high cost loan.
It sounds as though £200 a month isn’t affordable for you and GB should have realised this if they had checked properly eg by asking for your bank statements.
I suggest you put in a complaint asking to be removed as the guarantor because the loan was unaffordable for you when it was given.
g says
Thank you so much for the quick reply! I feel a lot less anxious having read this :)
A followup question; if I go the complaints / ombundsman route, will payment be ‘frozen’ while the dispute is ongoing? Im worried about having to pay until its resolved or something like that.
Thank you again for your advice already
Arthur says
Hey, I’m hoping you can help.
I stupidly agreed to be the guarantor for my now ex’s loan. This was taken out last May and I have made every payment (£160) since then.
The borrower had no source of income at the time (and still hasn’t), surely Amigo should have made sure the borrower will be okay to make the payments as I myself have encountered some money troubles when getting this repaid.
I’ve now come to a point where I need to move on in my life and put the whole thing behind me and be removed as the guarantor. Do you think I have a case? I am nearly £3000 down on a loan where I seen none of the money.
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you have two reasons to complain – first that Amigo didn’t check the borrower could afford it and second that they didn’t check you could. Complain about both points! It can be hard to win the first one but if she never made a payment to the loan it is worth trying. Presumably you expected she would make the payments when you agreed to be the guarantor so you too were deceived.
Todd says
Thanks very much for your ongoing advice! I received positive news. The adjudicator based on the new evidence feels my complaint should be upheld and for me to be removed as guarantor! I am not sure if this will be the final answer as Amigo may disagree but at least it has made my chances stronger!
Natalia says
Hi, I have stupidly agree to be a guarantor for my ” friend” loan. First loan was for about 3000 and it was when my credit possibility was checked and then later on he top it up for 8000. During the time a had to take my own loan, I also have mortgage to pay and I am a student which means a can not work full time any more. Amigo is trying to get the money from me, which i dont have. He stop paying in august and is laying that is not in possition to pay. I have just spoke with someone from amigo and he said he will pass the case to investigation team and later if resolution wont be found probably to the court. I am terrified, because i have a mortgage and i wont be able to do remortage in the next couple year because of that.
I have already sent them email with complain using your form but i am still waiting for them to replay. Do you think I already can ask Ombudsman for help? I need to speed up the process before they will take it any further.
Thank you for your help.
Natalia
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you have a complaint with Amigo or they reject it and you have to send it to the Ombudsman, Amigo cannot go to court. Sorry you have to wait for Amigo’s reply which usually takes the full 8 weeks before going to the Ombudsman.
Natalia says
I have spoke with a guy from amigo today and he said as the borrower had a chance to sort his situation and he did not and I am also not in position to pay, he will now pass the case to investigation team and then after few weeks I will received letter and they might take the case to the court. That is what he said. I said to him that I am willing to pay some amount but once they have checked my expenses they counted that my account is on a big debit anyway and they can’t take any money from me. I said I am willing to pay something because I don’t want to be taken to the court but what I will try to do is it remove me from guarantor position. They have sent my cd with records of our conversations which I will
Check tonight. Would you suggest me to just wait until they decide if they will accept complaint or not and then go ask for help to Ombusdman? What do you mean by saying that cannot go to the court?
Thank you,
Natalia
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can’t go to the Ombudsman yet
Amigo should not start a court case while a complaint is in progress. No one has had a problem with this recently.