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
Jenny says
Hi,
They want to set up a paymant plan with me, and the borrower won’t know about it for a sum I can afford monthly. Are they trying to make me responsible for the rest of the loan, like trick me into a new contract or I am just a bit paranoid about them and it is normal?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry, I missed your reply.
They aren’t trying to trick you into a new contract, they just want to get some money from you. If they can get you to agree to make a lower payment, they may hope you will give up on your complaint… which you shouldn’t! You should ask to be removed as guarantor completely and have a refund of anything they have paid you so far!
When you have a complaint it, Amigo cannot take you to court. And that also applies if Amigo reject your complaint and you have to send it to the Finacial Ombudsman.
As I said, I don’t think the loan will currently be showing on your credit record at all – it usually doesn’t for a guarantor unless Amigo go to court.
if you can only afford the repayments by borrowing from your Mum, I think you should just tell Amigo No and cancel the direct debit to them at your bank so they can’t take money and leave you in a mess.
Todd says
Hey Sara,
I may have posted on another page on here, but I have great news! A new investigator has looked at my case on Amigo and they say it should be upheld!! Thanks A lot for your help and advice! it was based on affordability as you advised and the fact that my expenditure eg. on food, clothing was unusually low. You have given great support! However since it won’t be a final decision.. is Amigo likely not to accept this. Also when the decision was sent to me last week, there was also a settlement form which I have signed and sent back. Now the borrower has stopped paying, if Amigo keep texting me should I just contact them and let them know about the FOS outcome?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Todd, that is such great news for you. Well persevered!
Amigo should not contact you any more. Have you ever made a payment to them?
Todd says
No. I haven’t. It was an investigator who recommended it be upheld. Are Amigo unlikely to not accept it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo normally accept these decisions, I hope they do in your case.
Todd says
Okay. other than that I have signed a settlement form as given to me by the investigator. I think Amigo should just accept it based on the evidence, as the FOS had to get more info from them and some from myself hence, why the case too longer.
Tracey says
Hi.
I’m a guarantor for a close friend I helped her get a loan from amigo she said she would be able to pay back the loan which she did for the first six month but then she stopped amigo then started to email,call and text me telling me I have to pay they said they tried to get a hold of my friend but she wasnt getting back to them she even stopped talking to me so I paid the first missed payment as I starts to what it felt like threats that they would send someone out to my house they also took the next payment out of my bank account without my say so when I ask them about it they said you are guarantor if the borrower doesn’t pay then you pay so we cant refund you as the account is still on going then as the months go by and she still hasn’t paid I’m getting into debt I get a text to say the borrower is 10days behind in 5day we will attempt payment from you so I guess that means in 5days if I dont pay they taking it out of my bank account with out my say,
Can anyone help me with my complaint
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So the loan was given about a year ago? What were your finances like at that point? How much are the monthly loan repayments? the lender – is it Amigo? – should have checked that you could afford to make the reply each month from your income, without getting into debt or behind with bills. If you don’t think this loan was affordable, read the article above and send in a complaint as it says.
If you win your complaint you will be removed as guarantor and all the paymenyoh have made will be refunded. If the lender says No, send the case to the Ombudsman to look at, this may take some time but if you have stopped paying (see below) this doesn’t really matter.
While you have a complaint in, including at the Ombudsman, the lender can’t take you to court. If you can’t afford to make the payments without getting into debt, I suggest you also cancel the DD at your bank so the lender can’t take any money out of your account. You could offer to make a lower, more affordable payment if you want, of just plan to pay nothing now and make a payment arrangement in future if ultimately you lose your complaint at the Ombudsman level.
If you check your credit record, this debt is unlikely to be on there, so in that case stopping paying won’t harm your credit record.
What are the rest of your finances like at the moment?
Lucy says
Do the eight weeks commence from when i first made the complaint, when they said they would contact me or when I received the CD? Also I no longer live at the address I was at (the borrowers, my ex boyfriends) that they have. My bank account has a £1000 overdraft which at present is at -£932 but I do have some credit cards two that are for £200 each at present with a balance of about £100 each and two that are for £1250 each but are pretty much at their limit although one of these have just offered to increase my limit. I want to so as to try and get my overdraft back so only to get my account back to zero actually and have my cards at only 50% used but I am frightened Amigo will take the money if I do… If he doesn’t pay which he has threatened to do along with a lot of other things…. My credit score on clear score is 297/700 and on credit wise it is 397/700 and I would like to work on improving it… The Amigo loan doesn’t appear on either of those sites and I don’t have a Dd to amigo showing in my account either. I only just recently really fell out with my ex so am trying to safeguard myself the best I can…
Lucy says
Can Amigo take money from my credit cards or from my overdraft? The repayments are £297/month. I was getting £66/week in benefits and a separate £100/month that is all (about £364/month) and I don’t even know if I will be getting that now as it was to do with my ex that I got it but for the time being it is still coming in…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo can only take money from your bank account if you have either a Direct Debit or a Continuous Payment Authority in place for your account. You should be a able to see a DD listed on your account – if there is one, cancel it. CPAs aren’t listed but you can phone up your bank and ask if there is one and if there is cancel that.
Amigo can only take money from a credit card if you have given them a CPA. This would be unusual for a lender and I haven’t heard of Amigo asking for this.
PS I am deleting your surname from your posts!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The 8 weeks start on the day you sent in your complaint.
If you don’t want Amigo sending a letter to you at your ex’s, you need to tell them your new address. most correspondence is by email, but you may want to make sure by telling them
As you are the guarantor, the loan should not appear on your credit record at the moment.
From your bad credit score AND the fact that you were previously living with the borrower, so Amigo probably did not take into account the fact that if he stopped paying you may be liable for a lot more bills ( either because you had spilt up or because he had lost his job and you were having to cover all the household bills) my guess is that you have a good case to be removed as the guarantor.
I know this all feels very stressful and you want it sorted but you are in an OK position at the moment as you aren’t being asked to pay. getting your overdraft and credit cards down sounds like a good plan!
If Amigo reject the complaint or say they want another few weeks to look at it, send it straight to the Ombudsman.
If your ex stops paying, then tell Amigo you won’t be paying until your complaint is resolved. they can’t take you to court while you have a complaint with them or at the Ombudsman.
Tracey says
Since getting the loan for a friend I’ve getting my own place within two months of getting the loan also lost the job I was in I’ve explained all of this to amigo but all I keep getting back is you knew what the repayment where when you took the loan out,the repayment are 197.97 might not seem much but I now get paid 280 a week but when you think about it I’ve got to pay rent,gas electric,water,fill car up and basically live off that where when u got loan i was getting paid 420 a week
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did you expect to move out to your own place when you became the guarantor? If you did, you can argue that Amigo never asked you if any big changes were likely soon in your finances – if they had you would have said and they would have not accepted you as guarantor.
But for now the important thing is that you do pay them more than you can afford. Don’t get into more debt to pay Amigo. Instead cancel any DD on your bank account and offer them a lower, affordable payment each month, if that is £10 then that is all they can have,
They can’t take you to court while a complaint is in progress. If you ultimately lose the complaint, you can then look again at your situation as your are stuck with the loan, perhaps a debt management plan would be a good idea.
Todd says
Hi Sara, I have received more great news the investigator has got back to me about her decision and has now confirmed that Amigo Loans have accepted her findings! I am so relieved. Thanks a million for your advice once again!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Very good news!
Adam says
Hi Sara, I could use some advice before I do anything. I am guarantor on 2 loans for a friend. A £500 Amigoloan from May which was topped up to £1000 in July, & a £5500 loan from Trusttwo since late August. He seemed to have no problems repaying his initial loan, but since getting his loan from Trusttwo, he has only made 2 further payments and now missed the last 2 months on both loans, despite saying he’s getting everything sorted. He is now looking in to a debt management plan, which would still leave me paying for the shortfalls on his loans.
With his Trusttwo loan falling into arrears so quickly, it seems likely this loan was not affordable for him. He told me he needed this loan to clear his debts & bring his outgoings down but now he’s not paying up. I was very hesitant to guarantee this loan but didn’t think I would be accepted as guarantor anyway. I had to make guesses at a few of my expenses and it now turns out that having to pay this loan (£217 a month), is leaving me with very little to no disposable income after my own bills & debts have been paid for the month.
Do I have much of a case to make for being removed as guarantor from the Trusttwo loan at least, if not both of them?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you do, I would complain for both. Obviously the case for the TrustTwo loan is stronger as the monthly payments are higher, so in general it is easier to show that they are unaffordable for either your friend or for you. But getting a top up so early in the Amigo loan also suggests that perhaps your friend was already struggling with the first small loan.
You could do your friend a favour and tell him that he may be able to make an affordability complaint too – suggests he reads this other page: https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/. Say that you cannot afford the repayments and you are making a complaint – if you win this you will be released from being a guarantor and he will be left having to repay the full loan. But if he can also win a complaint then the interest is removed from his loans and the balance in his debt management plan will be a lot lower.
You should also be released as guarantor if he wins his complaint – that is automatic with Amigo but sometimes you have to push a bit to get other lenders to do this. So it’s win-win. But do also complain yourself, you don’t want to assume he will win and then find he lets his complaint drop if the lender rejects it.
Adam says
Thank you! Reading this has given me hope I stand a (hopefully good) chance of being removed, even better if my friend can have the interest removed too.
So I should base my complaints mainly on affordability for both myself and him? Is it true I am also entitled to any money back I had to send to the lenders? I’ve only made one payment on each so far but it’s looking like I’ll have to do it again this month.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you win your complaint, any money you have paid should be refunded.
Can you afford to make the repayments without borrowing more or getting behind with other debts and bills?
If it wasn’t for these loans would you be in an OK situation or would things still be difficult? If they would be difficult anyway, you could talk to Stepchange about getting a DMP set up including the two guarantor loans. While you have a complaint outstanding the guarantor lenders can’t start court action against you.
Adam says
I can’t sustainably afford to make the repayments on these loans without starting to fall behind on some of my own bills and becoming a massive burden, my total costs will be exceeding what I earn in a month.
Without the loans I am generally in an OK position financially, but it seems affordability in my end is still worth mentioning?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is the definition of unaffordable – you were Ok before but can’t afford the extra loan repayments. That should be at the heart of your complaint.
You can offer to make lower, affordable payments to the guarantor loans – the lenders can’t start court action against you while you have a complaint with them or with the financial ombudsman.
I was just suggesting a DMP to include all your debts if your other debts were too high anyway.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Also read the article above through in detail and the template complaint letter. From what you said in your comment, it sounds as thoigh you complaining the laons were unaffordable for him AND for you are two good reasons. But have a look at all the detailed points and see if there are other points to make too.
John says
I’m a guarantor for an ex.
The ex always promised to keep paying Amigo until just before we split.
She kept saying that she had paid the loan off before asking if she could get another loan (which I agreed, thinking the last one was paid as I never checked, she dealt with everything and i trusted her.) Amigo never told me the full amounts when agreeing to a top up.
I’ve had to sell my stuff to pay bills, i’ve lost the house i rented with her due to not being able to afford it and pay bills and I’m overdrawn every week due to erratic spending and other bills.
I work full time for an agency but we sometimes get stood down meaning that I don’t always have a steady income.
When I told Amigo that my ex had done a runner, I asked if they’d ever chase her for payment which they said no to and they’d wait for her to contact them, even though I said that I know she won’t do.
I also suffer with anxiety and depression due to money worries and a mentally exhausting relationship with my ex, something which Amigo didn’t know about until much later on in the loan period, they weren’t any help, just saying that they needed payment.
Do I have any case against them? I’m living with my parents now at 29 because I can’t afford a place of my own but i’m scared of giving Amigo my parents address incase anything comes back on this house, i’m petrified of putting a complaint in, the thought sets my anxiety off and constantly seeing a minus in my bank just gets me feeling incredibly low.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You definitely have a case against them. From what you have written, you have four reasons to complain:
1) Amigo did not look properly into your ex’s finances, the fact that she topped-up her loan so often shows it was probably unaffordable for her and Amigo should have investigated this closely.
2) you were living with your ex at the time of the last top-up (correct?) so you were reliant on her paying her share of the bills. Amigo should have considered if you would be able to afford the loan repayments if your ex was no longer contributing, because she had lost her job/was sick/you had split up. If they had looked at this they would have decided that you were not a suitable guarantor.
3) your income is erratic and Amigo did not ask about this in detail or take it into account when deciding if you could afford the loan repayments.
4) you thought the top up was only for the extra money she was getting. She had told you the loan was settled. It wasn’t made clear to you in the phone call with Amigo that you were a guarantor for a lot more, also the money settling the previous loan.
If they sound right to you, I suggest you should complain listing all 4 reasons. Any one of these could win the complaint for you, but don’t guess which is the “best” reason, list them all to gove yourself the maximum chance!
The template letter above has a lot of reasons listed, delete the ones that aren’t right for you. You can change the template to give more details eg the fact that you have lost your house as you couldn’t afford the bills after your ex left.
I understand this seems scary and this is made more difficult by mental health issues. Two facts:
– your parents and their house cannot be affected in any way by you making a complaint.
– when you have a complaint in with Amigo – or later with the Ombudsman if Amigo say No – Amigo cannot take you to court.
Also you are depressed and anxious already. This complaint is a potential way out of your situation. Everyone here is very friendly, it’s a safe place for you talk about your case, no criticism here.
Are you currently making payments to Amigo?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You might be interested to know that other guarantors have also had the problem that Amigo only told them on the phone how much extra cash the borrower was getting in a top up, not the full amount of the loan. See this comment above https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/comment-page-2/#comment-319407. And here https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-ombudsman-released-guarantor/ is a case decided by the Ombudsman where this was a factor.
Kirsty says
I have put a complaint forward and this is what I have received back:
Hi Kirsty
Thank you for your email.
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.
We have a maximum of 8 weeks in which to investigate your complaint,
and issue a written response to you. However, we will endeavour to
reply to you as soon as possible. I’ve acknowledged your DSAR request,
please note we have up to 30 days to provide you with the information
you’ve requested.
To enable us to have all the information we need to investigate your
concerns, please provide us with bank statements for the 3 months
prior to the loan being paid out.
Should you wish to discuss your complaint further during this period,
please don’t hesitate to get in touch on 01202 835170.
I have included a copy of our complaints procedure, for your information.
What would I need to do next? Do I have to provide them the the last 3 months bank statements from when the loan started?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo (I assume that is the lender) is asking for the three months before the loan. So if you became the guarantor on July 2018, they would like to see your bank statements for April, May, June 2018.
Kirsty says
Hello
This is with amigo and the loan started in October 2019 which the borrower has made two payments but they are in arrears, I haven’t paid anything back yet but my friend is staying: “If I fail to pay it for any reason you will have to pay it end of. Garuntor pays anything I can’t so don’t start that crap you signed it knowing what would happen if I couldn’t pay it but I’m struggling like hell just to pay it”.
I did not know that would happen as after the loan came out he then blocked me on social media and my number so now it feels like the payments are going to fall onto me when I was not aware of this, I have sent a complaint and like I said that’s what I have received back the above email from amigo so now I don’t know how to reply or what to reply or if I should?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you send the bank statements Amigo have asked for. They are more likely to uphold your complaint if they can see from your ststements that you can’t afford the repayments.
If you can still send a message to the borrower, you could say:
“I can’t afford the repayments. I have put in a complaint to Amigo. If I win this complaint, Amigo will go after you for the full value and possibly take you to court for a CCJ if you dont pay every month. But you too can complain. Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/ whic explains how a borrower can complaint the loan was not affordable for you. If you win, all the interest is removed from the loan and Amigo will not be able to take you to court, so worth a try?”
Kirsty says
So I need to get a bank statement for Oct nov and this month? Can I also explain to them that they are in arrears and that they think it’s my job to pay for them as they have now blocked me on all social media and blocked my number?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No you need to send them your bank statements for the three months BEFORE the loan. If it started in Oct, that is July, August, September.
Amigo won’t be interested in the fact you and your guarantor have fallen out.
What is your current financial situation like? Do you have other debts? other problems even without this loan? Or are you ok if it wasn’t for this loan?
Kirsty says
I do have other direct payments that I have to pay each month and I’m always going into my overdraft as well
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would suggest that you shouldn’t get behind with your other debts and bills in order to stretch to pay Amigo. Offer Amigo an amount you can actually afford, even if that is low.
While you have a complaint with Amigo OR with the Ombudsman if Amigo say No, Amigo cannot take you to court.
Catherine Litton says
I wonder if anyone has an answer for me …
I am a guarantor for my son who has mental health problems (bi-polar and Aspergers) and a history of bad debts.
He moved out of his first student house (of which I am the guarantor) in August. In Dec the agency contacted him via email and copied me in stating that he has outstanding arrears. That is the first time that I have been made aware that my son had defaulted.
I would appreciate it if someone could clarify whether the rental agency should have been in contact with me the moment my son was not paying.
It seems common sense that guarantor should be notified as soon as possible – rather than months down the line.
My son has gone to ground, and even if I asked him how much is outstanding, he would probably either not know, or be evasive
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Catherine, that sounds a difficult situation but this page is only about guarantor loans, it doesn’t cover your case. Good people for you to talk to are Shelter https://england.shelter.org.uk/get_help and National Debtline https://www.nationaldebtline.org/.
Catherine Litton says
Hi Sara
Thank you so much for your prompt reply and for the links.
A very Merry Christmas to you!
Lucy says
Hello,
It’s me again. I sent my complaint in to Amigo on the 19th of October and they acknowledged receipt of it on the 21st and have sent me the CD but I have heard nothing more. I accessed the account info online and changed my address on there as my ex chucked me out but it appears he is paying the loan and is up to date (at present) although I have been told that he is using class A drugs again now so I doubt that will last very long so I don’t want to be guarantor as I would most definitely not be able to pay. I did have my credit limits increased on two of my credit cards recently though but am at -£500 in my bank account… I get £66/week at the moment (as my exes carer though so that is sure to end soon) and £100 universal credit… i still pay the broadband and my exes phone bill as they are contracts in my name that have a set term contract period… My daughter sometimes lends me money too but I always pay her back.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You should have had a reply by 8 weeks, even if it was just asking for a few more weeks. I don’t think they will be open today, but when they reopen, phone them up and ask why you haven’t had a reply.
You could also cancel the Direct Debit to amigo at your bank. They should tell you before they take any money, but perhaps better safe than sorry?
Lucy says
Hello,
Thank you so much I received a reply today!
The have upheld my complaint and removed me as guarantor and informed both myself and my ex! (Much to his bemusement)
Yay!!!….
Xxxxx
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You must be relieved.!
You may not feel like doing your ex a favour, but yiu could suggest that he too could complain – if he won the interest would be removed from the loan and he could make an arrangement to pay at a lower rate. Template for him here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/
Jo says
My son agreed to be a guarantor for a friends amigo loan. This friend has since stopped paying the loan and will not answer any calls from my son. At the time of him agreeing to be guarantor he was heavily smoking cannabis with this same friend (he is now off the stuff) but I do feel that this clouded his judgement and that he didn’t know exactly what he was signing up for. Amigo loans are taking the payments directly from his bank account which sometimes makes him overdrawn so gets bank charges on top. He is on a zero hour contract at work and he has recently had his usual hours cut so is finding these loan payments unaffordable. Do you think we would have a case for getting him removed as guarantor?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The template letter above asks for a copy of all his personal infomration from Amigo, this will include a recording of the phone call with them.
I think he is unlikely to get anywhere with arguing that his judgement was impaired by drugs unless it’s very obvious from the phone call that he was stoned at the time…
But he may well have a good argument that the loan was unaffordable for him at the time the loan was given – even before his hours were cut. He may well not have given a very clear explanation of his expenses, he may have underestimated some and forgotten others. Amigo should have verified these and usually didn’t.
So I suggest it is worth putting an affordability complaint in now. And when he gets the CD, listen to all the info on there in detail. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/sar-affordability-complaint/ for what you are listening out for and how it can help.
Does he have other debts as well as his overdraft?
Joanne Devine says
He doesn’t have any other debts but he said amigo didn’t ask him about any expenses just how much he earned, which he told them £250 weekly, but they didn’t ask for any proof of earnings. They didn’t explain anything about what being a guarantor meant either. After looking through his bank statements at his income vs outgoings for the 3 months prior to the loan he had broke even 1 month, overspent by around £200 another month but was in credit by around £200 in the 3rd month. He doesn’t really have many Bill’s as such as he still lives at home but does the fact that he already spends what he earns show that he can’t really afford the repayments? His bills are only really board & lodgings to myself, phone bill and taxi to work and back plus other usual spending expenses. Also his weekly wages in the 3 month prior to loan range between £170 & £245.
Many thanks
Jo
Sara (Debt Camel) says
One reason Amigo should have looked at his bank statements is because his income was erratic. From what you say, it doesn’t suggest that he had a lot of spare income most months, so paying this loan would have been hard.
It also sounds as though he doesn’t really meet Amigo’s criteria for a guarantor, see https://www.amigoloans.co.uk/help/finding-a-guarantor where it says: “Be a home owner or someone with a strong credit score and a history of paying their bills on time”.
It sounds to be as though your son was young, unlikely to have a strong credit score, he was not in stable employment, he did not have a history of paying bills as he wasn’t responsible for any…
I think it is well worth him making a complaint. I can’t guarantee he will win, but what does he have to lose?
He also needs to cancel the DD with his bank so Amigo cannot help themselves to his money and ask to make reduced payments – possibly much lower – because his income has dropped.
PS he needs to be making the complaint, not you on his behalf. It’s great of you to help, but he is an adult who got himself into a mess, he needs to take responsibility for doing his best to get out of it. He may learn a lot in the process.
Joanne Devine says
Thanks Sara, I totally agree he needs to take this up himself I will pass on all the info you have provided.
Many thanks
Jo
Jane T says
Amigo has agreed to the ombudman’s recommendations and will:
– release [me] from any obligations … under the Guaranty and indemnity agreement [on my son’s loan], and then terminate it;
– refund any repayments [I’ve] made towards these loans, with 8% simple interest from the date of payment to the date of settlement.
All great news but it’s the “8% simple interest” that’s confusing me. How do they calculate that? I’ve always been taught that simple interest is a single, ‘flat’ figure on X amount. Surely if that’s the case, the dates of payment and settlement wouldn’t make a difference?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good result!
The simple interest is 8% per year, so there has to be a start date – when you made the payment – and an end date to do the calculations.
You mentioned before that you thought your son should have a debt relief order or bankruptcy. This would be a good time to bring the subject up with him again. If he really doesn’t have a complete list of his debts, bankruptcy is safer as it wipes out all debts even if you forget to list them on the bankruptcy application. With a DRO only the ones listed are included.
Jane T says
Thank you for the info. Son has managed to work out arrangements with his other creditors and I’ve copied him in fully on all the Amigo developments. The ball is now in his court and there’s precious little more I can do (although he seems unable to speak to anyone at Amigo nor access his account online). He’s off to live abroad shortly so how he deals with them is up to him. Can’t nurse them forever.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I completely agree (even if we never stop caring).
Sab says
Hi Sara,
I am a guarantor for my sister. She has had a loan since August 2017, and then topped up in September 2017 for the maximum £10,000.
My sister has put forward an affordability complaint and is awaiting response from Amigo. She has never missed payments and I have never made any payment for her as a guarantor, but she has always paid late.
Her payment is due for this month and she is struggling to pay this. I have had a few texts from Amigo to let me know my sister is late with her monthly payment.
I am wanting to put a complaint in myself as I was only working part time when my sister took out the loan and I have two children depending on me. I had a very low income and I was not explained the top up loan would have such a high monthly which I cant afford at all.
I want to ask you, if I send my complaint in tomorrow, and my sister isn’t paying this months payment, can they still ask me for it? Even if I have complained myself as a guarantor to say I want to be removed? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Complaining yourself is a good idea – then you have two chances to be removed as guarantor, if she wins her complaint or you win yours. It sounds as though you have a strong case.
If you complain, Amigo can still ask you to make payments, but if you don’t, they can’t take you to court. That is still the case if Amigo say No and you send your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. And this loan shouldn’t show on your credit record so that can’t be harmed.
Dawn says
My daughter had a small loan with Amigo, and I am the Guarantor on that loan. She wanted to apply for a top up to 10,000, so she put it through and instead of logging into my side of the account she put it through like I was a new applicant to be Guarantor and I was rejected, she then tried her dad and he was also rejected therefore you would think no top up loan, right? This wasnt the case. We managed to log into my side of the Amigo account and it gave me the information that she wanted to top up the loan and if I accept etc which then put me through to the Income and Expenses form which brings up what’s on my credit file etc and straight away without even putting what I spend on car, food, general living it said it was unaffordable. Obviously I doctored some of it as me and my Husband have a joint bank account so I dont actually pay every single thing that was showing on there and obviously food etc was split. Anyway, Amigo rang me and I explained this to them that obviously I have a husband so I do have access to other income he then went onto to say we could do a Household Budget form, so he took my Husbands annual income into account. He never asked to speak to my Husband, he didnt credit check or verify him at all and considering he had just been automatically rejected from when my daughter put him forward I did find this a little strange.
Dawn says
Anyway, all they asked was whether or not my Husband was aware I was adding his income to the application to which he did, but didnt ask whether or not my Husband fully understood it and I thought he did but turns out he didnt so now it’s a strain on our relationship. Also they added in his pension and I believe they asked his date of birth (unsure on the DOB bit) but surely when they asked the question if things were gonna change in next five years they’d of clicked that my Husband was near retirement age? But I answered no for me as things are unlikely to change for me. The point being here, I am meant to be the sole Guarantor, if they were adding his income to the application there should of been a process to where he was added as a joint guarantee as if, for any reason he didnt want his income to be on there, he has every right as he isn’t bound by anything to do with Amigo, therefore it then goes back to my sole income to which Amigo could see first hand was not affordable for me. I really am worried now as I feel that Amigo really took advantage of the situation to push through the top up loan and I have made a complaint to them regarding this. Do you think that this has a good chance of holding up?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So if Amigo wanted to include your husband’s income they should have also asked questions about his situation. Did he have other debts he was paying? and his age should have suggested that he was near retirement.
So yes, this sounds like a good reason to complain.
Can I ask what your daughter’s situation is like? Is she finding it difficult to pay what must be a large monthly amount?
Dawn says
They didnt ask to speak to him, they didnt credit check him, or ask much information about him at all. They did ask what credit commitments he has but it’s still something they should of confirmed and checked if adding his income to the application. They didnt ask us for proof of the expenses, or any proof of anything for that matter and surely it would of flagged up on my daughters top up application that both me and my husband were initially rejected to become a Guarantor for the top up, so although I went through with it I am very much confused.
Yes my daughter is going to struggle with the repayments although assuring me she could afford them, unfortunately you do what you can for your kids and she needed the funds to sort a car to continue to be able to work. The funny thing is mine and my husbands credit is so low that we can only get Guarantor loans ourselves. I think the acceptance comes from being a Homeowner.
Geoff says
Looking to complain for my mum regarding loan my brother’s gf took out in 2017 for £10,000 with Amigo. Amigo had no conversation with mum regarding the affordability of this and didn’t take any documentation regarding her financial suitability. My mum is 67, disabled and hasn’t worked for 32 years so has lived on a low level disability living allowance.
My brother and his gf claim Amigo hasn’t taken money for months and they’ve tried to get in touch to no avail. Mum gets messages about arrears and will be looking to take this from her account. Mum advised this was not explained to her in a way she understood and has been giving her more stress than she can cope with. I have paid the arrears in the past to stop her getting in to financial problems. Mum never saw any forms to sign so these were all done by my brother’s gf signing mum’s acceptance. It was paid in to mum’s account and she gave it to his gf but she didn’t understand the situation. We’ve tried to contact Amigo for days but they never answer.
So, since the loan was taken mum’s circumstances have changed, due to the disability changing to PIP mum had to re-apply and they denied her. There have just been two flats built next to us. This has caused her council tax band to change to band E when the rest of the street is band D. The payments alone would be un-affordable but now she’s had a text saying there’s arrears of £1581 which she had no prior indication was happening.
Is it worth putting in a complaint about the way this guarantor agreement was set up? Some advice would be very much appreciated.
Many thanks,
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think that sounds like a stong complaint. A 10k loan is VERY large to expect someone living on disability benefits to pay.
Is she saying she never had a phone conversation with Amigo before the loan was taken out?
Does your mum have any other income apart from State Pension and DLA (which may be PIP?)? Do you live in the house with her? Any one else?
Geoff says
Hi Sara,
Thank you for your reply. I am mums other son and yes I live with her and pay my share of bills.
Before the loan was taken out mum spoke with amigo over the phone and they asked her to confirm her name address and relationship to my brothers girlfriend etc. They asked about her income but never requested any documents confirming this to be sent to them.
Apart from mums state pension the only other income she has is £50 a month from my dads pension after he passed away in 2001.
My brothers girlfriend is now telling mum to go through a debt management company but I don’t think that is the right thing to do…
Thanks again for replying
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It may be worth a trip to your local Citizens Advice to see if your mum should be able to get any other benefits eg Pension Credit.
As your mum has a disability, she probably has higher costs than normal – this may be for extra taxis or heating etc. Amigo should have allowed for these and not assume she could use all her disability money to pay their loan!
Is this social housing or does she/you own the house?
Does she have other debts?
Geoff says
Hi,
She owns the house with a mortgage and had mortgage recovery a few years ago which is payable out of her estate upon her death.
No other debts. Her disability is circulation based Raynaud’s disease so our heating bills are very high.
Geoff says
Hi Sara,
I’ve submitted a complaint to Amigo on the back of this and they have acknowledged and advised to allow up to 8 weeks. What I didn’t think to mention on the complaint before sending it is that the person who took out the loan doesn’t have a job and has never had a job just living on benefits. Would you send another complaint mentioning this or just add it when Amigo responds? It’s irresponsible lending. Also they have asked for 3 months bank statements prior to the loan being taken out but we can’t get them. Will this be an issue if it has to go to the ombudsman?
Also when I emailed amigo they didn’t have mums email address. I asked them to update it and confirm what email address they did have and it was the borrowers email. So they’ve been getting all of mums emails since 2017 relating to any non payments. How should I approach this?
Thanks
James says
Hi Sara, thank you for your advice.
I had made a complaint [on Nov 10]
Amigo have come back to me saying that they will need another 4 weeks to investigate on top of the 8 weeks they have already used.
Are they allowed to do this?
Either way I am still paying for this loan and struggling to do at that.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, they are doing this to a lot of people. :(
You can send your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman now as it has been more than 8 weeks. So far as I know, Amigo continue to look at complaints if you do this and you should get a response in the next few weeks.
Or you can decide to wait a few weeks.
Whatever you choose, you can ask Amigo for lower, more affordable payments. Don’t be pushed into paying more than you can afford! Amigo cannot take you to court while there is an open complaint and that includes if they have said no and you have a complaint at the Ombudsman.
If you are cross about the delay, you could also leave them a bad 1 star review on Trust Pilot eg saying that they are quick to sign you up but are very slow to investigate complaints, taking more than the 8 weeks the regualtor says they should take.
Mariana says
Hey, I’m looking for advice on my garantor situation. My ex took out a loan and a top up, at the time he took out the loan he pressured me and emotionally blackmailed me into getting the loan he was also a financial bully where almost every month I was lending him money which he would never give back. Fortunately I am no Longer with him but in the last 3 months he has threatened me to not pay the loan as I either haven’t gone to see him or haven’t picked up his calls. Over the duration I was with him I was often paying for the loan as he didn’t. He is financially able to pay for the loan but is refusing to pay to get back at me. Do I have the grounds to complain, I just want my name off the loan as a garantor. This is the only tie I have to the abusive relationship I was in.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you afford to pay the loan? Often the easiest complaint to win for someone who is the guarantor for their ex is that they should never have been accepted as a guarantor for someone they were living with becaus ethe lender should have considered what your situation was if you split up with your partner or he had lost his job – not only would you have the guarantor bill but suddenly your other household costs would have shot up as he wouldn’t have been helping with the rent and bills.
“in the last 3 months he has threatened me to not pay the loan as I either haven’t gone to see him or haven’t picked up his calls” is this in writing? Text/email? I suggest you take a copy of these and include them with your complaint. As they support your suggestion that he is a financial bully.
Mariana says
Thank you for the advice!
I wasn’t living with him at the time, would this affect the situation. I was still lending him money at the time. I cant afford the loan. When he applied for the loan he also forced me to write a budget plan that was not correct of my financial situation at the time.
I have the threats via text and I can get a bank statement of money I have lent him.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you weren’t living with him, you don’t have that particular reason to complain.
But as you were forced to write a budget plan that was not accurate, Amigo would have realised this if they had properly verified your circumstances by looking at your bank statements. Supplying copies of the threats you have received, then or now, can help support this.
Also see my answer to Mark below – I suggested there that someone should say in their complaint how important it is that the borrower is not told about the complaint – you may want to include that too.
Mariana says
Thank you Sara!
Do you think it would be worth getting a lawyer to create the letter for amigo?
Mark Jones says
Hi,
I am messaging on behalf of a friend. She became a guarantor (Amigo Loans) to a man she started dating very intensely for 3 months. She was venerable (from a long-term marriage break-up) and he overwhelmed her (love-bombed) with the intensity of the relationship. As it now transpired he is a text book sociopath with a record for doing this with women. He is a coke addict and it transpired that this money was for his drug dealer. The day of her signing the agreement he left her for another woman.
Each month the account that he has connected to the loan has no money in and so bounces. He keeps changing his telephone number so that only she gets all the Amigo Loans threatening messages until he eventually pays at the end of the two week period. He has even resorted to emotional torture by sending ‘Tick tock’ messages to her to increase her extreme anxiety. In the relationship he started showing physical abuse (we have now learnt that he has a history of this). My friend’s health is now being severely affected with this torture that has another 3 years to go (the original loan was £5000 over 4 years). Is there anything that she can do to remove herself from this financial/ controlling abuse? When she challenged him before he turned up to her house and threatened her.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Has he actually paid every month or has she had to sometimes?
It’s always best to list all the possible reasons for a complaint in this sort of situation, not just the one you think is most important. Also don’t worry about being able to “prove” something. If you know it is what happened, then say it.
Could she afford the £213 a month repayments? By that I mean could she afford to pay them out of her income each month and still pay all her other debts and bills and normal living expenses? A complaint by her that she could not afford the loan can sometimes be the simplest one to win.
She can and should complain she was pressured into agreeing to the loan. Explain what happened. Come up with any evidence that this was a deliberate con. Him leaving when he got the loan is a clue! And indications that he has done this to other women.
His drug habit – any evidence of this would help as she can also complain that Amigo did not check that HE could afford the loan.
When she puts in a complaint, he should NOT be told. But it is worth saying this in the complaint: “He has previously come to my house and threatened me. It is very important for my safety that you do not inform him that I have complained, or say anything to him that may make him realise that I have. I assume that you have a team that deals with vulnerable people and I would like to ask for them to handle my complaint.”
Aga P says
Hi
I am a guarantor for a friend who took a loan in his ex name. They have split so she has stopped paying for it and he also struggles to pay it. I have been making payments for them for last year or so. I have emailed Buddy loans in November to check how much is left on a loan and when the final payment was due. I had written confirmation that it was on the 26.11.19. I have made that payment and was pleased that one loan for their name is over. Comes start of Jan they emailed me saying that loan is in arrears. I have emailed them that it was confirmed that it has been paid off. Some woman calls me and say it was their mistake and I have 2 more years of paying it and I should know as I signed it for 5 years. So i said I can’t afford it as I took car finance and I didn’t know that why I have emailed them to check as I was under the impression they were paying off that loan in larger lumps of money. Now I’m stuck and I have wrote formal complaint asking to remove me as a guarantor as it’s their mistake and I have made other financial commitment that I wouldn’t do if I knew I have another 2 years of paying this.
Also any advice how I can get already paid money back?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I hope your complaint is upheld – you asked about something, they told you in writing, and you have since then based your financial affairs around this loan having been settled. If Buddy say No, send your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.
If you want to try to get back the money you have already paid, you need to argue that the loan was unaffordable for you. Read the article above and see if you think it was.
Aga P says
Hello
They have upheld my complaint so I have been removed as guarantor. No refund issues so I might complaint again saying that it was unaffordable – which I have already complained about in the first letter to them.
Aga P says
I’ve just checked my bank statement from period when my friend applied for the loan – 3 months prior to that time and my out was more than my in by approx £200. In both cases in the loans. Do you think I should complain again to Buddy loans that I should be entitled to a refund and send complain to Bamboo with the same statement?
Thanks,
Aga
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you were guarantor for two loans. one from GB and one from Bamboo?
Aga P says
Yes one from Buddy loan one from bamboo. Buddy loan they have taken me off as guarantor – this was a main reason I complained. and other from Bamboo that I’ve not complaint yet.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“3 months prior to that time and my out was more than my in by approx £200. In both cases in the loans. “
That sounds as though neither loan was affordable for you so complain about both of them! You want a refund of everything you have paid. And to be released from the Bamboo one.
Aga P says
Hi Sarah
Wrote both complaint letters and asking for a refund. Am i asking for 100% of what I have paid or am I entitled to a certain % of it – like 75% or 50%.
Please let me know as at the moment I have asked for 100% what I paid. Also do I need to tell them exactly how much i paid to the penny or just approx?
Thanks,
Aga
John says
Sorry it’s taken me a while to reply, thank you for all the advice, i’m currently in the process of typing the complaint up properly and sending it to them.
Is it ok for me to still complain even though i’ve been paying the loan for the last 8 months? I have been struggling with it and am constantly overdrawn because of it however i’m worried that I may have left it to late to complain?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You could complain even if you had repaid the loan years ago!
Just making the payments doesn’t prove they were affordable.
Good luck!
John says
Thanks Sara, fingers crossed I can get this massive burden off my mind and I can put the past behind me.
I’ll update with (hopefully good) news when I hear anything.
Gabor says
Hi,
I am a guarantor for my friend with Amigo Loan. My friend reported bankrupcy and i get a letter from Amigo Loan that 26 january the agreement will be terminated and i have to pay the full debt. My friend said now when he took this loan in may 2019 he had already more loans and arrears and his salary wasn’t enough to pay those loans. I think he was not affordable to pay a new loan, so Amigo Loan shouldn’t give him loan. I didn’t know about my friend bad financial status, he said need the money for his mother treatment. Amigo Loan didn’t tell me that my friend is not affordable to pay the loan and i signed for guarantor. What can i do in this situtation? I think not only my friend misled me, Amigo Loan misled me as well as dindt mentioned my friend is not affordable for loan.
Thanks,
Gabor
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The article above has a template letter to complain to Amigo and ask to be removed as the guarantor. It has got a lot of reasons listed and you need to work out which are important for you.
One of the reasons it gives is because Amigo did not check the borrower could afford the loan. That sounds as though it is the case with your friend.
Would he be prepared to help you with this? Could you ask him to download a his credit report from credit karma and send it to you? It sounds as though that will show that he was in a real mess when he applied for the loan. That would be very helpful evidence for you. You don’t need this now, you can send in your complaint straight away, but it may help a lot later.
How much are the monthly payments? Are they affordable for you? or would paying them mean that you can afford your normal expenses and bills and your own debts?
If you would struggle to pay them, then you can also include as a reason in your complaint that the loan is unaffordable for you. It is always good to list all the possible reasons that apply to you, not just the one you think is the best.
If you would struggle to pay, you can also ask Amigo to take a lower, affordable payment at the moment. When you have complained, they may say you have to keep paying but they aren’t allowed to take you to court or send bailiffs round. That includes if Amigo reject your complaint and you have to send it to the Ombudsman.
Gabor says
My friend is ready to provide me all of the evidence what am i asking for.
Monthly payment is £395 and i paid it already frpm the beginning. Bit the default notice letter says, my friend was breaching the contract and tje agreement terminate 26 january. And demand immediate payment of £9874.
It cause difficulties, because i am in a middle of mortgage process and i don’t know how would it impact.
It is not clear that i have to pay off the full debt or carry on pay the £395 monthly payment? If i would take personal loan from my pank to pay off, as my bank offer very low interest, would be better effect on my mortgage process. In this case i still could complain Amigo Loan and get back my money?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo can’t insist you repay the full amount, just carry on with the monthly payments.
This is very bad timing for you. Have you actually made a mortgage application, or are you about to?
Gabor says
We still didn’t apply as our deposit for mortgage will be ready end of january.
If i send a complain i have to carry on pay the monthly payment only till my case not finished? My credit history will not affected negativly with this default notice?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
At the moment the Amigo loan will not show on your credit record. If you aren’t sure, you should check your ceredit record to see that this is correct. This default notice will not affect your credit record.
BUT the problem is making these payments to Amigo will affect the affordabilty calculations for a mortgage. Applying for a large loan – even one at reasonable rates from your bank – is not a good idea just before a mortgage application and the repayments to that loan may also affect your affordability calculations.
A mortgage lender will see any new bank loan from your credit record. And they will also see any payments you are making to Amigo or to your bank on your bank statements.
Unless you have a large deposit and VERY good affordability, you may have a big problem getting your mortgage. Have you talked to a mortgage broker yet?
Gabor says
Hi,
I got final decision from Amigo Loan, but still not from FOS.
I obtained the bank statements from borrower 3 months prior to take the loan and I noticed the follows:
Was taken 6 loans, pay back 4 of them, 2 of them still ongoing (he was able to pay back one loan to take another)
– He was using 30 occasiosn more than £100 (Nearly £7000 altogether)in th Aspers casino (I wasn`t aware about it).
His balance was permanently in overdraft, after he took £3000 loan, was temporary for 2 weeks not in overdraft.
He spent more than £700 pounds during this 3 months for Pizza, £200 for e-cigarettes, Can be consider as regular expenses?( This is £300 per month average on the top of everything else)
His average monthly income was roughly £1500
After calculating the expenses and incomes, there is nowhere that significant `buffer` that Amigo Loan mentioned in the final decision.
My questions:
Can be considered, that he was a gambler? (As far as I know, lenders are not allowed to borrow money for gambling)
Can I mention to the FOS these new circumstances what I wasn`t aware about as I didn`t calculated before? ( I belived Amigo Loan calculate it, but they didn`t)
Amigo Loan sent Final decision on 10th August and My complaint was sent on 16th January and they failed to make decision in 8 weeks (12th March) which is 5 month after deadline. Lockdown started on 24th March, so my case wasn`t affected by the pandemic.
This isn`t breaching the laws?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I assume Amigo has rejected your complaint.
It isn’t illegal to lend money to a gambler, but if Amigo had seen that on his bank statements they probably would have declined the loan application.
Have you told FOS that Amigo has rejected your complaint? Have you sent the bank statements from the borrower to FOS? If you haven’t yet sent your caomplaint to FOS, do it now.
If you could ask the borrower to get a copy of his TruansUnion statutory credit record (see https://www.transunionstatreport.co.uk/CreditReport/AboutYou) and send that to FOS, that will also help. But don’t delay sending your complaint to FOS to wait for this.
Unfortunately Amigo do not have to reply in 8 weeks.
Are you also arguing that the loan was unaffordable for you?
Chris Smith says
Hello, I agreed to be a guarantor for a friend for the purposes of him purchasing new equipment for his Photo Booth business. However, he did not tell me he was actually in debt to other people and used the loan to pay them off. He made 2 payments and now has no money, his photo booth business premises has been repossessed and he is unable to make the payments.
Do you think I have the grounds to be removed as the guarantor in this case?
The loan is with George Banco.
Chris
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This sounds like a normal guarantor loan, not a guarantee you provided on a business loan. So yes, you can complain, the question is which reasons to argue.
Would the borrower be prepared to help you with a complaint or are you no longer in contact?
What are the loan repayments and can you afford them without getting behind on other bills, expenses and debts?
Chris Smith says
Hi, yes it was a personal loan not a business one and I do not wish to include the borrower in this complaint as I feel I was lied to when he requested the loan and I have reason to believe he will continue to be deceitful with any further processes. The amount of the monthly repayments are £515.04 per month and although my finances would probably show I can technically make the payments without falling into arrears on my personal bills, it is a huge amount of money to pay for something that I never intended to take on. He has made only 2 payments of the scheduled 12.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, so looking at what you can say in your complaint. How much did GB ask you about your finances? Did they ask for bank statements etc?
Chris Smith says
I don’t recall providing them with bank statements etc. The whole process from being asked by the borrower to getting a conditional approval from GB took 40 minutes. Surely this is not enough time to run sufficient checks on me / him?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you can complain on two grounds.
First that they did no run enough checks on him and the loan was unaffordable for him. The fact his business collapsed so soon after (do you have any proof of that? or of the debts to other people?) suggests that if they had looked properly they would have seen the loan was unaffordable.
It can be hard to prove this unless the borrower co-operates with you. It is a win-win if he does, as if he complains and wins, the interest is removed from his debt so he will owe a lot less and you will be removed as guarantor. but it’s up to you.
The second reason is that you can’t afford the repayments on a sustainable basis for the whole loan. But you won’t win on this reason if you actually can afford the repayments plaus paying all your own debts and bills and expenses – them not doing enough checking on its own isn’t enough, you only win here if detailed checks would have shown it was unaffordable.
Natasha says
Hi
I have just raised a complaint with the template above.
I should have asked here first really if you think I stand a chance?
Im a guarantor for an ex partner. We were living together at the time of the loan. He lied and said he wasnt and put his grandmothers address. The relationship was abusive, physically, mentally and financially. I felt pressured into becoming a guarantor for him and was scared to say no. I had to leave in April 2019 – the police were involved and the council helped me move away from him. Since then i have had to seek counselling due to the abuse and take medication for depression and anxiety. I was off work for a long long time, which also affected my finances. I am now living away from everyone and have full bills to pay and cannot afford the repayments if he does not pay. He is erratic with repayments and some months i get messages from amigo to say he hasnt paid. this is not good for my mental health and stress because then i have to contact my abuser and make him aware he needs to pay. as you can understand i really do not want to have to contact my abuser.
this is a long story short – do you think i stand a chance?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you can complain you were pressured into becoming the guarantor. Send Amigo any evidence you have about this abusive relationship. it doesn’t have to directly related to this loan, anything from the police of council which talks about your abuse.
Also send evidence of any medication you are currently getting and say how the messages from amigo and having to talk to youer abusive ex are meaking your mental health worse.
Also say Amigo failed to verify where he was living – would his bank statements have shown that he was paying some bills etc with you?
The loan is unaffordable for you know, but it was probably also unaffordable at the time it was taken out. If Amigo had looked closely at your situation they would have seen you weren’t paying full bills and taken into account that if the borrower couldn’t pay them, he may also be failing to pay his share of the bills so your costs would mount.
What is the rest of your financial situation like at the moment?
Natasha says
Thanks for the reply.
They got back to me within an hour and said they have raised the complaint for me and I should hear from someone in 3-5 days. They have asked me to supply bank statements. I can get my documents from my doctors such as sick notes and medication notes.
His bank statements wouldn’t show that he was paying anything as id pay the bills and he would give me the money.
At the moment I struggle but I manage. He does pay it, he’s never not. But it’s just putting a strain on me each month when he doesn’t pay on time. I just want out of it and I can’t continue like this for the next 4 years.
Thanks again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So your bank statements should show a lot of payments going out. And payments coming in from him? That may well make it look as though you were dependent on him and not able to afford the loan. This is all complicated but not bad news for your complaint.
Sarah says
Hi wondering if anyone would give me advice I went guarantor for a friends daughter in may with amigo loans, she stopped replaying the loan after 2 payments, I am struggling to make the repayments, I can’t remember what details I put on the form I was on holiday when doing the application so the information was an estimate, if they would have checked my bank statement they would have seen in no way I could pay the repayments I am worried if the information I put on the application form and my actual income a different won’t be a lot, that it could be classed as fraud, Amigo knew I was on holiday at the time so they should have known I didn’t have access to some of my information, I don’t recall sending my documents in thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds like a good complaint. Amigo should have checked you could afford the repayments and if they knew you were on holiday, they should have been extra careful with this… I suggest you add a sentence to the template in the article above to say this. This isn’t fraud on your part, it’s incompetence on theirs.
If you are having problems making the repayments, I suggest you also ask for them to be reduced now to an affordable amount. Thos loan won’t be on your credit record and so this won’t harm your credit score. Don’t get behind with bills or deeper into debt on your overdraft or cards trying to pay Amigo. When you have a complaint in, they can’t take you to court, and that includes if the complaint has to go to the Financial Ombudsman.
Sarah says
Thanks Sara had a reply asking for my bank statement 3 months prior to the loan thank you for your advise it has really helped I will keep you updated thanks again x
Sarah says
Hi Sara I haven’t received anymore news from the complaints team but I am being hounded by the debt collection, I haven’t been able to pay January’s bill I’m am -£400 in my bank I only got paid today, he is adamant I have £500 available to pay, he has basically admitted they have no bank statement that I was accepted in a different way is there another application process, I have asked can I pay reduced payment he said that I wouldn’t be able to pay them so it’s not worth it surely it’s better to pay something it’s really stressing me out I don’t know if I should use credit to pay the debt thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is a very bad idea to take out more credit to repay Amigo. because then you start having to pay interest on that, and it won’t be cheap as you obviously aren’t in a good financial place.
As I said, they can’t take you to court and this doesn’t show on your credit record.
If you have just been paid and you are already in your overdraft, I am worried that you have other debt problems as well as this Amigo loan?
This sort of thing will make anyone stressed, but can I ask if you suffer from anxiety or depression, which would make this worse?
Sarah says
Hiya Sara I do suffer with anxiety I am so worried about this ive spoken to two different people they have both said completely different things, I’ve looked through my statement myself 3 months prior to the loan being paid out feb 19 I was left with £69. 84 after all my bills came out, The next month £74.65 the next month was left with £208.60, but that month was April and I didn’t have to pay council tax how have they even accepted me x
Kirsty says
Hello
Me again i put a compliant in on the 22nd dec and it’s been 3 weeks and I still haven’t heard anything. The loaner is now saying that they are going to speak to
Amigo and say that they can’t pay for the loan anymore and leave it to me. What am I meant to do as I haven’t heard anything back yet regarding the complaint I put in and I’m getting stressed and worried about this whole loan thing and really don’t want to be the guarantor anymore!! Please help me
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can phone Amigo up and ask for confirmation that they have your complaint.
If you can’t afford to make these payments, I suggest you cancel the direct debit to Amigo at your bank, so they can’t take money and leave you short.
While you have a complaint in they cannot start court action – and that includes if the complaint has to go to the finacial Ombudsman.
I know this must be very stressful but you have to wait for a response to your complaint at the moment.
Kirsty says
I can cancel my direct debit with my bank? Even if the loaner can’t pay the payment on the date it’s due? Won’t it affect my credit score and would anything happen to me if I did cancel my direct debit with the bank if they are looking for me to pay it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think if you check your credit record you will find the loan isn’t showing on there…. so not paying it can’t harm you. You will get cross messages and emails from Amigo.
If you can’t afford to make the payments, you don’t want them to take the money. The bank doesn’t care if you cancel a DD. amigo will care, but they just have to respond to your complaint.
If Amigo reject the complaint, you send it to the Financial Ombudsman. If you lose it there – which will take a few months – then you can ask Amigo for a lower more affordable payment arrangement.
Johnny says
Hi there
It’s now been 8 weeks since I put my complaint in and I haven’t heard anything. I know that they will be an extension of 4 weeks but do I just sit and sit or contact them?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you contact them and then if they say it will be 4 more weeks, send your complaint to the Finacial Ombudsman if you are currently paying the loan or are feeling very worried that you might have to. because some people aren’t getting a response by the end of 12 weeks :(
John says
Hi Sara,
Me again!
Had an e-mail back from Amigo and they’re asking for bank statements from 3 months prior to November 2017, right up until December 2018.
I didn’t take over payments until May 2019 so should I also send them 2019 statements as well?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When was the loan taken out?
John says
Would have been 2017 I think, the original loan, with top ups taken out in 2018.
I’ve checked on my online banking and they only provide statements for the last 24 months though so I may not be able to get the 2017 ones.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you make any payments to the loans before the last top up? If the answer is no, then you are only really complaing about the last one – the older loans have already ended and you have no liability for them. so you could just send the 3 months before the application for the top up.
You need to send statements now if you want them to agree to lower payments, but these won’t help you win your complaint and get released from the loan – that has to be based on what happened at the application time.
John says
I may have made the odd payment if my ex couldn’t pay it at the time but would have been a one off for the older loans.
Jemma says
Hi,
i have just put in my complaint with Amigo ( i am the borrower) however my mum is the guarentor and im looking at putting in a complaint for her as her financial situation is worse than my own at the moment.
If she puts her complaint in this week and I cant make January’s repayment will they make her pay? Its my debt and im trying to sort it but its becoming impossible and I really dont want them to take money off my mum, can i stop making repayments until the complaints are sorted or is this putting my mum in the worst situation?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good questions! This can be confusing and people are in different situations so its best to be clear.
If you, the borrower, have a complaint in and stop paying, Amigo will go after the guarantor.
But if the guarantor has also put a complaint in, she can cancel her direct debit to Amigo and if they then say you aren’t paying, she can shrug and say she isn’t going to pay until they respond to her complaint.
She will get some texts and emails but they can’t do anything else! They cannot start court action (whatever the emails say) while she has a complaint in, with Amigo or with the Financial Ombudsman.
So once she has complained, you stopping paying doesn’t put her ina worse position immediately apart from getting the texts. It doesn’t harm her complaint at all.
The only way she can be worse off is if you lose your complaint AND she loses hers. If either of you win (or both!) then she will never have to pay anything.
If you say something about your complaints, I can make a guess at how strong they might be?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
One other thing. It’s fine for you to help her put a complaint in, but it’s good to make sure she really understands what is happening and definitely wants it. If she is worried, she can go to her local Citizens Advice who will explain how these complaints work.
Jemma says
She understands the general idea of it all but I have to sit down and go through it all with her properly, I just wanted to make sure I understand everything before speaking to my mum.
My repayments to amigo are currently £267.67 and these are the reduced payments however it means I’m now in arrears by £1428,48
Im on a low income and thankfully a friend showed me your website
Sara (Debt Camel) says
great, best of luck!
Nicola says
I got an email from amigo yesterday saying they are partially upholding my complaint. I’m being removed as guarantor and getting all money back plus 8% interest. I’m not sure what partially upholding my complaint means but I’m so relieved that I’m being removed I’ve been struggling to pay the loan for the last 4 months and I know my friends has no intention of making any more payments so I would of had to of struggled for the next 2 years paying it. Thank you so much for your help and advice I feel like a weight has been lifted. Anyone who is still waiting a decision or thinking about putting in a complaint don’t give up hope. This is the best news for me thank you again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Great news!
“I’m not sure what partially upholding my complaint means”
So far as I can tell, it means nothing! Perhaps they are using this label to tell themselves (or their directors? or the shareholders? or the regulators?) that people aren’t getting a full refund… but as you are, I don’t think you should care.
Kirsty says
I’ve received this email today from amigo:
Further to our letter acknowledging your complaint, I’m writing to confirm that we are still investigating the complaint you have raised. This is due to your complaint requiring a more detailed investigation or because we haven’t been able to pick it up as quickly as we had hoped. However, your complaint is important to us and I’d like to assure you that we will be responding to your concerns as soon as possible.
Thank you for your patience. We will write again as soon as possible, and at the latest, within 8 weeks of the date we received your complaint.
Why does it take so long I just really hope they take me off as a guarantor but my gut instinct is telling me different 😔
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think this is a standard letter. no one has yet looked at your case. not much you can do except wait!
Charlie says
So after submitting my complaint at the end of October 2019 I have still had nothing from Amigo. Luckily the FOS have been super helpful and agreed to prioritise my case because it’s having such an awful impact on me. Amigo were asked to send the FOS information last week and the FOS have also agreed to proceed with the investigation without the final response from Amigo! Do you know if the borrower will be informed if I’m removed as guarantor? I’ve been getting in more and more debt to pay this but was in an abusive relationship and dread to think what his reaction will be. It’s been a really tough 12 weeks already on my finances (borrowing to pay Amigo), mental health (on additional medication and in therapy now) as well as generally making myself sick with stress. At least there is some hope thanks to your wonderful website!
Kirsty says
Hello
I just got off the phone to amigo, and they said most people don’t get taken off as a guarantor do I just send my compliant further?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Kirsty, sorry I missed your comment.
Have you had a rejection from Amigo? I think you only complained in december, getting a response now would be very quick. If you haven’t had a rejection, then just let your complaint continue.
I don’t think you should pay any attention to a statement such as “most people don’t get taken off as guarantor”, we know that the the ombudsman is upholding well over 50% of these complaints recently. So don’t get depressed, they are just trying to put you off!
AJ says
Hi Sara,
I became the guarantor for my sister’s Amigo loan last May. She had just started maternity leave (with no set date to return to work) and had other debts. The loan amount was £4k over 4 years (total £7k with the interest).
None of the payments were made on time. My sister’s partner made a few of the earlier payments and after six months she needed a revised payment plan because of affordability issues. All of these things suggest to me that the loan was unaffordable for her from the off and should never have been given.
She has now stopped making payments entirely. She has moved to another part of the country and cut off contact with all family members. I am worried she will now leave me with all remaining payments.
Unfortunately my own circumstances have also now changed considerably – I am expecting my first child. My income will soon be dropping to statutory maternity pay, £650 per month – nowhere near enough to continue to service this debt and pay my own household bills.
I have already sent in a borrower affordability complaint to Amigo (29th Dec) and asked to be removed as guarantor. My questions are: do you think I have a case to be removed as guarantor from this loan based on the affordability complaint? And do you think the fact that the borrower is now ignoring me will have a negative impact (ie, if she refuses to cooperate with their investigation, whatever that might entail)?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have already sent in a borrower affordability complaint to Amigo (29th Dec)
To be clear, you sent in a complaint as guarantor saying the loan should never have been given as the borrower could not afford it?
This can be hard to win if the borrower will not co-operate. Do you have any evidence (emails? texts?) about her finances at that time?
But what were your finances like at that time? Could you really afford the repayments and still keep up with your other bills and debts? Are you buying or renting? What other debts of your own do you have?
AJ says
Yes, I sent in the complaint as the guarantor saying the borrower could not afford it. I don’t have any written evidence myself, I only know about her precarious finances from physically speaking to her and family members at the time. I do have other small bits of evidence that she was still borrowing money from me after she’d taken out the loan (£20 here, £20 there). The Amigo account also shows payments being made by her partner, and I imagine their own checks would have shown she was on maternity leave when it was taken out?
My own finances were fine, there’s not a reason why they would have rejected me really. I earn £1800 per month after tax, me and my partner own our own home. I don’t have any other debts. After bills and food split between us I have around £800 disposable income each month. But obviously that is about to decrease enormously with my going on maternity leave. I won’t have any disposable income at all until I return to work.
Pav says
Hi my dad has been a gurantor for his friend for a loan. Long story short he never paid. My dads been paying this loan for over 15 years with ridiculously high interest. It is around 25 grand at moment. It is with a company called spring finance. My dad was guible he didnt realise what he was signing into and he wasnt assessed financially i dont think as his finances have always been low. Also this loan is against our house and about 10 years ago my dad was struggling with repayments and ballifs came and started forcing entry saying we have to leave and started changing locks but my dad borrowed money from family and paid them outstanding arrears. But this has caused so much stress my dad refuses to speak about it. If I complain do I have a case. Im new to this site so I apologise if i have posted this in wrong section
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m sorry but your dad is a guarantor for some other sort of loan. The ones being discussed here are all quite recent, after April 2007. I suggest your dad should talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about his situation and if he has any options – or he can give you permission to speak on his behalf.
Pav says
Hi Sara
Thanks for your prompt reply. I have just asked my dad after telling him he may be able to complain. I got some dates mixed up he has been a gurantor for his friend for 7/8 years.
Thanks pav
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok, who was the lender?
Andrew says
Hi I agreed to be guarantor for a friend in March 2019 from Trust Two. Up until October she paid the loan, then quit her job and cut off contact with myself and Trust Two. When Trust Two started asking me for money I said I couldn’t afford it as I had my own debts/commitments to pay off, and I would have to go into further debt to pay them. They asked me to do an affordability assessment, after admitting that they don’t do them before the loan is given, they only do a soft credit check, which they provided me with a copy after I complained, and the check said that I only pay a ridiculously low amount a month which supposedly covered everything from my bills to food shopping etc. If they had done an affordability check at the start they would have seen I couldn’t have afforded the payments (£286 a month) in the first place. They then asked me to an affordability assessment in December which showed I was actually in minus figures each month, and I provided bank statements to support this. However they asked me to significantly reduce payments to other creditors so they could have their money. I have sent a complaint in which is being processed but in the mean time the team dealing with payments are threatening me with court action to either go to my employer and take money from my wages, or put the loan against my house. Do you think I have a chance of being removed from being the guarantor?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“They asked me to do an affordability assessment, after admitting that they don’t do them before the loan is given, they only do a soft credit check,” did they say this on the phone?
If you have used my template email, that asks for a recording of all phone calls, so it should have that one!
I think this sounds like a good case.
While you have a complaint in, they should not start a court case. I suggest you tell the team dealing with payments that CONC 7.14.1 says that “A firm must suspend any steps it takes or its agent takes in the recovery of a debt from a customer where the customer disputes the debt on valid grounds or what may be valid grounds.” so they should not start court action. they can’t go to your employer or put the loan against the house without going to court for a CCJ first.
I really don’t think they will try this – no other guarantor lenders have when a complaint has been started. But come back here if they send you a Letter before Action/Claim – see https://debtcamel.co.uk/letter-before-claim-ccj/ for what one of these looks like.
Andrew says
They did say about not doing an affordability assessment during a phone call. I used your complaint template but so far I have only received the credit checks back, no phone recordings. But I did start recording the calls myself as every time I rang them, they kept telling me something different to what was said in a previous call, so I do have my own recording of the call about not doing cmthe checks.
Also, we haven’t paid anything to them yet, is this a good idea to keep doing or should we pay something, even if its a small amount?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you also go back to them and ask for copies of the phone recordings as they don’t appear to have sent them…
Not paying can be a difficult decision to make.
You said “They then asked me to an affordability assessment in December which showed I was actually in minus figures each month”. Can you say some more about your general financial situation? Do you already have problem debts, how are you managing the repayments to them?
Andrew says
The money I earn only just manages to cover the debts I already have (loan, credit cards etc) but leaves me with very little by the end of the month. I provided bank statements to Trust Two to show them this. There’s no money left to pay them without having to take another loan out, or use my credit card to pay them each month the lender doesn’t pay them.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So your two options then are to tell them they know you can’t afford to pay them and you want your complaint resolved OR to talk to StepChange about getting a debt management plan set up for all your debts, including this TT one. Then if you win the case, that loan just drops out of your DMP.
If you are really struggling at the moment without this TT debts, a DMP may be a very sensible option for you, see https://www.stepchange.org/debt-info/debt-management-plan.aspx and I think you giving them a call would clarify things for you. They wont try to talk you into a DMP if they don’t think you need one!
Andrew says
Trust Two rang me today to do another affordability assessment, and they said their litigation department with be getting involved at the end of the month, even though the 8 week period for the complaints department doesn’t end until 11th February. What should I do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As I said, your options are
EITHER to tell them you are disputing this debt and will not make an arrangement while you have an outstanding complaint – point out the FCA’s CONC rules say a firm should not seek to enforce a debt while a customer is disputing it
OR tell them you are talking to StepChange about setting up a DMP to include all your debts.
Andrew says
I mentioned CONC 7.14.1 to Trust Two and they said it doesn’t apply to unaffordability complaints. Is this correct?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no!
This may well all just be unpleasant pressure but essentially a bluff. I will be very surprised if you get a Letter Before Claim/Action, but if you do, come back here.
Have you talked to StepChange? As I said, if a DMP for your existing debts would be a good idea, you can just include the TT loan in that. It will really reduce all this hassle you are getting. And if you win your complaint you should get all the payments made to them by your DMP refunded.
Angela says
When do you take the date from ? I sent mine on October 29th, yet they didn’t formally acknowledge until 11th November. Have had the 8 week letter saying need further 4 weeks at Christmas.
I am the guarantor for my son, he racked up a load of gambling debts which was news to me. Only 3 weeks before being approved for this he took out a £5K loan with another company and gambled it within 48 hours. All clear on statement that I have sent.
Also at every top up his debts have increased or remained static despite telling Amigo at each loan he was paying the debts off with his loan.
I have paid nearly 90% of his payments as they threatened with a charge on my property.
Pleased to say my son attended rehab for 4 months and his on the road to recovery. And whilst in rehab Amigo obviously chased and harassed, even calling him in his rehab unit.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The date should start from when you send the complaint. But that is all academic as 8 weeks has passed in either case! You can send your complaint to the Ombudsman now and I suggest you should.
Has the last loan been repaid? Can you say how many top ups he had and over what period?
It sounds as though you have complained and he has not – is that correct? For complicated reasons that may actually be the best thing for him so if he hasn’t yet complained, it might be good if he doesn’t.
Angela says
Thank you for such a speedy response.
There have been 4 top ups over a 3 year period, current loan only has around £500 left to pay which I have stopped paying as cannot afford it.
Darren complained 2 years ago following rehab, however, no evidence was provided to Amigo and FOS didnt uphold complaint.
Now I have complained I have obtained all the information from Darren, gambling transactions, loan info, rent arrears, and he has also given me access to his SAR.
Our relationship has been destroyed because of his illness, I am on meds and out of work and life has been so tough.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
These are horrible loans. And gambling is a very destructive habit, not just for the victim themselves but corrosive for family relationships. I hope you can find a way back to a better relationship in the future.
Getting a refund from Amigo may, I hope, help with your finances. Do you have other problem debts as well as this one? Are you up to date with the mortgage?
Do send your complaint to FOS straight away. And I suggest you phone them after a week and ask for your complaint to be treated as a priority given your financial and mental health situation.
angela says
Fortunately my mortgage is paid, but I owe thousands on credit cards as have used cards to make his payments.
I’m hoping any refund can settle my card balances and help Darren with his rent arrears.
He is now free of gambling but dealing with the aftermath is now the challenge.
I should have known myself he was gambling heavily but gambling addicts are such good liars. However, one look at his bank statements would have shown the reality of his problem, around £10K was gambled in the month prior to most recent top up !!! Loans and other ‘borrowed/stolen’ money.
At his first loan application it shows a bank debt of £2.5K, alongside the notes it says to be paid with Amigo Loan. This same debt is on every application so obvious he wasnt paying his debts.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did Amigo at any point suggest that you should use a credit card to pay them? They did with someone else…
Angela says
When he was in rehab they knew I was having to use credit card. I had no income as had retired from work due to health.
I offered to pay his contracted amount yet they insisted they needed more to bring his arrears up to date. I was paying over £400 a month. His contracted payments were just over £300.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you been sent recordings of phone calls from this period?
The reason I am asking this is because the regulator has some good rules about the fair treatment of customers, and one of them (CONC 7.3.10) says:
“A firm must not pressurise a customer:
(1) to pay a debt in one single or very few repayments or in unreasonably large amounts, when to do so would have an adverse impact on the customer’s financial circumstances;
(2) to pay a debt within an unreasonably short period of time; or
(3) to raise funds to repay the debt by selling their property, borrowing money or increasing existing borrowing.”
If Amigo were aware you were not working because of ill health and were saying you could not afford the repayments and were having to use a credit card as a result, they should have treated you as a vulnerable customer and looked into what you could afford to repay.
I suggest that in your complaint to FOS you should add an extra bit.
Say Amigo were aware you had money problems as you weren’t working due to ill-health and that paying them meant you were borrowing more on your credit cards but they still kept pressuring you and threatening to go to court and get a charge on your house so you were desperate. Say as a result you were paying a high rate of interest [can you check how much? if it’s on two cards, give both] and you think the amounts you have paid should be refunded and interest paid not at the statutory rate of 8% but at the high interest rate you have been paying.
Of course if Amigo caome back and offer a full refund plus 8% you may be happy to settle for that. But if this gets dragged out, you can see if you can get more from FOS.
NB it would be very unusual to get more than 8%. But you may have a good case for it.
Beate says
Hi, as guarantor do I have to send them my bank statements with 3 months prior to the last top up loan or for the all top up loans prior to the last one?
My partner already made an affordability complaint.
I just want to make complaint as well to make it easier with the loan if they don’t uphold his complaint.
Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
had you made any payments to any of the previous loans?
Beate says
No I haven’t made any payments.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, then for you the previous loans don’t matter all, you just want to be removed as guarantor for this last one. So you only need to send bank statements before that was was given.
Sab says
Hi Sara,
I am a guarantor for my sister who borrowed from Amigo loans. She has an ongoing affordability complaint with them and I have my own complaint saying I should not have been accepted as a guarantor.
She is behind with her payment and they have taken it from my account. Can they take money from my account when I have an ongoing complaint with them? They did not notify me or ask me to pay. I only noticed because I logged onto my online banking. The money they have taken is what I use to fund my family (two young children under 8).
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes they can :(
If you win your complaint, this will be refunded.
I suggest you cancel the DD to Amigo to stop them taking more.
While there is a complaint ongoing from you, they cannot take you to court, but you will get cross letters and texts saying you have to pay,
kat says
Hi.
So, pretty much, in July time my mum wanted a 2000£ Loan from amigo, and told me our water/gas/whatever would be cut off if I didn’t do it. She wouldn’t talk to me for several days until I gave in. I’m a student, and I downplayed a lot of my expenditure to pass the check, but I feel like I was in the affordability anyway. Mum has bpd, and is employed now, but keeps telling me she’s going to lose her job or quit. Naturally, the threat of no money is making me panic, because I can’t afford the loan by myself. I want to move out in June but with this loan hanging over me, I don’t know if I can. It’s not so bad at about £100 a month repayment for 3 years.
I have an anxiety disorder so naturally it’s killing me on the inside. I’m not sure if I even have a case to complain as guarantor. I sent them an email a while back but didn’t get a response. But I also don’t want to go behind her back and say she manipulated me because I feel bad
Sara (Debt Camel) says
some questions – sorry there are so many.
How long ago did you send them an email – do you think it sounded like a complaint?
If you are a student, then I think Amigo should have checked your situation very carefully eg looking at bank statements as most students can’t afford an Amigo loan and they certainly don’t have a good credit record which is what a gurantor lender usually looks for.
Could you talk to you mum about whether she could complain? You could say you have just found this other page https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/ and if she wins her complaint all the interest would be removed.
Graham says
Hi Sara. In 2018 I agreed to be a garentour for my wifes daughter with George Banco to the sum of £2000. She then upped the loan to £3500 two months later. Since I have had to make 5 payments of £220 per month and expect more to make before the end of the year when the loan finishes. I no longer can afford these and it will soon affect my ability to keep my car on the road to get to work which is a 30mile round journey. She has tried to get help and abviously now can’t afford the loan payment? But neither can I. And under being a garentour I’m duty bound to pay the dept, but without a car to get to a job I will no longer have their will be no payments made by either of us. Before this happens can you advise on how I can be withdrawn from being a garentour on this loan that in thuth they shouldn’t have given until payments from the original loan had been shown to be affordable to my wifes daughter. This dept on me has become a stress and I’m don’t even spend any money untill I know she has made the monthly payment or I’ll lose the money saved which is depleted already and with my insrence, tax and MOT due to keep my car on the road I’m fighting a loosing battle.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Graham,
it doesn’t sound as though this loan is affordable for you to pay. £220 a month is a lot. Sorry quite a few questions:
Was it really affordable at the start or has it always been a struggle?
Do you have other debts problems as well or were you alreight before this?
Are you buying or renting?
PS I have deleted your surname
Graham says
Hi Sara. I’m a homeowner with an exceptionally credit record. I did this to support my wifes daughter but now feel she’s not taken the responsibility a loan has been credited to her. I’ve this evening talked with her mum about this and I’ve no intention to continue to pay her dept. Can’t pay for someone’s money issues that they clearly didn’t intend to pay for themselves. I will message the loan company with my thoughts and concerns and wait for their response. How do you try to be a good stepdad when your taken the pxss out of?
I’ve no other depts just a mortgage nothing I can’t handle. This was just being supportive as you do for your wife’s kids but it’s not affordable when they don’t make an effort to pay what’s owed. A few payments over the term of the loan is one thing but regular payments isn’t acceptable? I can only do much before my own financial situation becomes at risk.. It’s no longer a helpful gesture but a bind to my own financial situation..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, so it sounds as though you think someone looking at your bank statements in detail when the loan was applied for would have realised that you couldn’t afford to make all the repayments on this loan. consistently every month.
That is a good reason for you to complain and say GB didn’t check properly and ask to be released as the guarantor and have the payments you have made refunded.
Graham says
Hi Sara.
Thank you for your reply, I’m guessing doing this via email would be best? Just for recording purposes at least. They also constantly harased me once the payment was late which included phone calls, texted, emails and letters. I’ve blocked their number so its greatly reduced but with a payment plan from my account already in place I don’t see why they needed to constantly harass me? I did moan about it but they said its automated???. Reason I put this is shall I include this in my response? Will it add any weight to my case to be removed?
Again thank you for you support.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think email is the best way to complain. You have a copy of what you sent, with proof of the date, it’s free and things can get lost in the post.
I think you should mention that you feel you have been harassed by payment demands even after you have agreed a repayment amount – it won’t get you removed as guarantor, but it is poor behaviour by a lender and you may get a bot of compensation awarded if your complaint has to go to the ombudsman.
Andrew says
I’ve just received an email from Trust Two saying they are going to update Credit Reference Agencies tomorrow becuase the account is in arrears. What does this mean and what should I do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If the debt shows on your credit report (the guarantor side of a loan often doesn’t, have you looked at your credit records??) then they are saying they will mark it as having missed payments.
There isn’t anything you can do about this. You don’t have the money to pay them, do you!
When you win a complaint, any negative marks are removed from your credit record, so I hope this is just going to be a temporary thing.
Alison says
Hi sara
I wrote to you some time ago. I got a response from Bamboo saying they are unable to uphold my complaint and have agreed to remove me as guarantor and this will come off my credit records within 8 weeks. Does this mean I will not get any money back obviously but no more chasing me for payments I think I know the answer but want to be clear I understand correctly
Thank you Alison
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds a confused reply! Could you copy it out in more detail please?
Sean says
Hi
I’m just after a bit of advice, I took out a loan with Amigo loans back in 2017, it was for an amount of £4000 repayable at £171.10 per month over 48 months, it was a guarantor loan and I have never missed a payment. However my circumstances have since changed and I have had to move out of my parents house and into my own place, which made my repayments so hard to keep on top of, I have been struggling so much with the repayments that I have had to take out a further loan to settle the loan I had with Amigo meaning I am still in debt with another company but my loan is now closed with Amigo. Do you think I would have an affordability case against Amigo?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Were the payments really affordable when you took the loan out? Why was your credit so bad you had to get an Amigo loan?
Sean says
Hi
At the time of me taking the loan out back in 2017 yes they were affordable but due to my circumstances changing I was struggling so much to repay which is why I needed to take out a further loan to pay them off. My credit was bad from previous borrowing and missing payments etc when I was younger.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The fact that your situation changed later doesn’t mean Amigo did anything wrong in giving you a loan if it was genuinely affordable at that time. It doesn’t sound as though you have grounds to make an affordabilty complaint.
It may be that the loan you took out to repay Amigo was unaffordable though as at that point you had moved out and your position had got a lot worse? See https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-large-high-cost-loans/ for complaints about large bad credit loans that are not guarantor loans.
If you are currently in finacial difficulty, I suggest you talk to StepChange about your options: https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx
Graham says
Hi Sara.
No checks were done by GB to insure that my wifes daughter could afford the loan payments, and neither was I. I understand this would be the first thing they would do as professionals. This is in my email of complaint.
Thank you again.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is a good point to make. GB knew they are dealing with people who are desperate for money so they should verify the borowers income & expenses and the guarantor’s income & expenses.
Graham says
Hi Sara.
Small update GB have responded to my complaint but this can take up to 8 weeks? My wifes daughter doesn’t have the funds for the payment and neither Do I anymore so they won’t be getting anything.. Thier also trying to take payment earlier than agreed so this another do as we please attitude. The CAB only gave me umpteen links to try and the only one worth using was yours which I have and I’m greatful for your help..
Gra
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you have complained to Gb, you have been paying but you can longer afford this – correct?
Has the borrower, your stepdaughter, also complained?
Graham says
That I don’t know but sounds like you suggesting she should? I’ll ask her to email a complaint today and inform them of her current situation with CAB. Once done I’m guessing this will add more weight to the whole situation…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know much about her situation so I can’t say what she should do.
If you win your complaint, she may well be chased a lot harder for the debt by GB who probably aren’t bothering her now as they are going after you instead. And because you are getting a refund she may owe MORE. But if she can win a complaint then interest would be removed so that would make it a lot LESS. It’s complicated…
Graham says
I’m going to advise her to complain on the bases that thay never checked her affordability. No bank or wages check and because she isn’t working they obviously never checked her income because if they had they would have never gave her the loan in the first place. I believed they had Or I would have never been asked to be a garentour in the first place.
Hope this makes sense.
Gra
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It would be good to suggest she can get advice on this from the local Citizens Advice.
Graham says
Hi Sara.
George Banco have informed my wifes daughter that they can only help if I don’t pay? She has already been in contact with the citizens advice regarding consolidation of all her depts… Including this one. Can’t pay what I don’t have but at least she’s trying to sort it out..
AG says
13 weeks + 2 days with Amigo and still no response (30th October complaint) and 5 weeks + 1 day with FOS. I am still not free from my abuser because of this and have lost all hope. I’m running out of ideas because I can’t carry on like this.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think FOS have agreed to prioritise your case? Can you phone them up and ask what is happening?
AG says
Hi Sara, they did and I have tried chasing. They are waiting on information from Amigo still because they need my file even if they do not wait for a final response. I wouldn’t be at this point without all of your help but it feels like they want to drag things out as long as possible! :(
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, would you like to email the FCA, Amigo’s regulator about this?
Sending this report won’t get the FCA to look at your case – that’s what FOS is for – but the FCA should really make Amigo improve their complaints handling. And I don’t think Amigo will like the FCA being informed…
If you want to do this, email consumer.queries@fca.org.uk and copy this to nick.beal@amigoloans.net and complaints@amigoloans.co.uk
—————————————————————-
Subject: Amigo (708284) very slow complaint handling for a domestic abuse sufferer
Give your Amigo reference number, your name and address.
Summarise your situation – you are the guarantor for your ex which was an abusive relationship and now you are getting into more and more debt to pay the loan as he has stopped. As a result of the abuse and your finances you have mental health problems and are on medication and in therapy. But you are too scared of your ex to stop paying until you are released as guarantor.
Say you complained to Amigo more than 13 weeks ago saying they didn’t properly check you could afford the loan repayments and that you were pressuered inot becomeing the guarantor [I assume that is what you said?] and asked to be released as guarantor. But they have still not givern you a decision even though they are aware of your situation.
Say you have sent your case to FOS who have agred to handle it as a priority but they cannot do anything until Amigo send their case file which they haven’t.
End by saying you know the FCA will not look at your case but you thought as Amigo’s regulator they should be told about this poor and very slow response to a complaint and how it is badly affecting a vulnerable customer.
—————————————————-
Add anything more you want, but there is no need to write loads, you are just alerting them to the bad complaint handling.
AG says
Thank you so much. I have now done this in additiona to chasing FOS and Amigo directly. I also left a review on Trust Pilot last week. Obviously I understand that this is a process and I need to be patient but being able to do something else gives me that feeling of some control back. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
AG says
Just to let you know I got a lovely email back from the FCA. Regarding Amigo they said: I’ve spoken to my colleagues in the team that supervises the conduct of Amigo, who we authorise to lend money to consumers, and they have confirmed that they’re aware of the situation with the firm. I do want to let you know that I’ve shared the information with my colleagues, as this is helpful to us, but that due to legal and policy restrictions I’m unable to provide you with feedback about what’s happening.
AG says
Just to update everyone – 8 weeks with FOS and my adjudicator has told me this afternoon she hopes to have a response for me early next week – I have everything crossed that I’m through the worst of this because I’m currently signed off sick again with my mental health and therefore earning nothing!
Lynne B says
My Amigo loan has since been passed to debt collectors to whom I am making token payments.Can I still complain about the loan and who do I complain to..Amigo or the debt collector?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You complain to Amigo. Tell Intrum (they are the debt collector?) that you are putting in an affordability complaint but it’s usually simplest to carry on with the payments if they are affordable.
What has happened to the borrower?
What are the rest of your finances like?
lynne B says
The borrower is my partner who I should not have been guarantor for with hindsight.I managed to get the payments reduced eventually and after a fight with them in which they initially threatened to place a charge on my house.
The rest of my finances are also in a poor state since my work situation deteriorated.I could not afford the loan at the time but they didn’t do proper checks.Also I felt pressured by my partner who was trying to get a new business going which didn’t come off.
I am wondering if it is worth making a complaint.What would I gain?I presume I would still have to pay off the rest of the loan?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you are removed as guarantor, you have no further connection with the loan. The borrower would still owe the money though.
Is your partner still living with you? If you are removed as guarantor a good option for them may be to go for some form of insolvency (DRO or bankruptcy probably assuming they don’t own the house jointly with you?) that will get rid of the Amigo loan and all their other debts and have a clean start.
Or if they don’t want to go insolvent, then they too could complaint as the borrower. In this case if they win the interest is removed from the loan so they only have to repay what was borrowed.
Both of you complaining may be a good choice to give you the best chance of a good result.
lynne B says
Thanks for that.
I am still with my partner but he is in a poor state of mental health and so I am unsure whether he would want to complain.It does sound as though it may be worthwhile for me to complain though and at least have this debt removed.
I have several other debts which I am also going to look into complaining about.I am going to access my Experian credit file first to see when the six year period comes to an end as the debts will no longer show then.(this may not be too far away)However I understand that even though I am making token payments to all of them (and would have to continue after the six year period),the lenders could go for a ccj if they think I could afford to pay more.It is therefore likely the best option if I complain and have as many as possible removed.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Don’t delay in making complaints, there is no reason to wait until they are gone from your credit record. The reason to complain is to get the interest removed and remove any chance of a CCJ, not to get them deleted from your credit record.
Also you complain to the original lender, not any debt collector who now has them.
Ewa says
Hello it’s about case from 26 November
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
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Ewa, I can see English isn’t your first language so I am keeping this simple. If this loan has caused you problems, then you know it wasn’t affordable and the Ombudsman is agreeing with the borrower a lot of the time. so I think you should send the case to the Ombudsman.
It’s pretty easy to send a case to the Ombudsman – often called FOS on here as it’s shorter. The FOS online complaint form https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/contact-us/complain-online asks you for all the info they need – much of this is easy like your date of birth.
They ask what is your complaint – you can just copy out a lot of what you said in the email to Amigo.
And what you want to happen – you want the interest to be removed and refunded to you, you want your guarantor released and to be able to make a lower affordable monthly payments if there is a balance to pay off.
The FOS will set up your complaint and ask Amigo for their case notes. Then after a while someone called an adjudicator will look at your complaint.
OK?
Ewa says
Okey thank you
AG says
Had a response finally after 14 weeks saying Amigo will not uphold my complaint. Seems they’re doing this to everyone at the moment. Called the FOS in tears as they were telling me I had to pay when the next installment is due and because of arrears I needed to pay £800!!! Hoping this progresses with the FOS quickly now that I have a final response. They also said they won’t take my domestic abuse into consideration without police reference numbers but I outlined in my complaint that due to the fear I still feel and ongoing threats I’ve been too scared to do so. They sure are making this difficult…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I hope FOS will sort this very soon.
AG says
Hi Sara,
Do you know of any complaints by guarantors recently that have been upheld by the adjudicator? Have Amigo been accepting this decision or forcing people to go to an ombudsman? I called for an update and apparently they were asked to send information by Monday 3rd of Feb and just haven’t bothered so the adjudicator can’t do anything for now. I’m not sure how they get away with being so horrendous to so many customers…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So far as I know, so far only 1 person is in the queue for an Ombudsman – in that case because Amigo did not reply accepting the adjudicator decision, they didn’t actually reject it.
Have you offered to provide the information on your SAR CD to FOS? I am wondering if that would be enough for them to start work on your case.
AG says
Thank you for the info. I actually got a call from the FOS this morning stating that this has been escalated to senior management. She said Amigo agreed to send info at some point this week but they’re actually pushing them to do it sooner now. I did mention that I have a CD but the impression I got was that in order to be fair and impartial they wanted the whole credit file to come from Amigo. I’ve also reiterated to Amigo that they’re not getting a penny from me until this is resolved because expecting me to pay £800 at the end of the month is beyond a joke! Hopefully I’ll have some more positive updates soon :)
Chris Smith says
Hi Sara
I am the guarantor for someone who does not have the funds to service the debt so I have made formal complaint to George Banco to be removed but this will take some time. In the meantime they emailed me saying they will deduct this months payment from me on the 10th but it has come out of my account today (7th) Is there anything I can do based on this? Does it not break the contract if they take money out earlier then they said they would?
Thanks
Chris
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did your complaint say you are unable to pay them, if so did it go into details about why?
You can certainly complaint about the money being taken earlier. Bu itself that would not probably be enough to end the contract though if that is what you are hoping.
I suggest you cancel the DD to to them at your bank so they cannot do this again.
Your complaint should be sent to FOS immediately at 8 weeks, don’t allow them more time.
Has the borrower also put in a complaint?
Paul says
Hello Debt Camel,
I
May I please ask for some clarification for my guarantor.
I am currently contesting my guarantor loan with Amigo and am after some legislation to quote that a guarantor does not need to pay the instalments once an agreement is under contention. Only once the contest has been fully satisfied, through court action or otherwise, will an alternative dispute resolution be sought.
I have assured my guarantor that it the agreement number which is under contest, not an individual named party in that agreement, and since I have initiated the contest, the guarantor is protected by extension. They are very worried that they will be on the line for the full amount, even after dispute resolution, and they think they will still have to pay as a default, even if I am in a position to?
Am I correct in thinking this? Also, Is there any legislation, or mix of legislation, regulations and protocols, that states an agreement is suspended until the contest is satisfied?
Please advise?
Many Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have assured my guarantor that it the agreement number which is under contest, not an individual named party in that agreement, and since I have initiated the contest, the guarantor is protected by extension.
Did someone tell you this is the case?
They are very worried that they will be on the line for the full amount, even after dispute resolution, and they think they will still have to pay as a default, even if I am in a position to?
This seems confused. If you win your case – I am assuming you have made an affordability complaint – then they will be released as guarantor.
If you lose, you and your guarantor are in the same position as if the complaint had not ben made. If you carry on paying, your guarantor will be unaffected. If you stop paying, them Amigo will go after them. I can’t think why Amigo would go after the guarantor if you were in a position to pay and the guarantor could certainly make a complaint if Amigo tried this.
Is there any legislation, or mix of legislation, regulations and protocols, that states an agreement is suspended until the contest is satisfied?
CONC 7.14.1 1) says:
A firm must suspend any steps it takes or its agent takes in the recovery of a debt from a customer where the customer disputes the debt on valid grounds or what may be valid grounds.
So you might hope that covers it. But the potential difficulty is that you are trying to argue that it applies as follows:
A firm must suspend any steps it takes or its agent takes in the recovery of a debt from a guarantor where the borrower disputes the debt on valid grounds or what may be valid grounds.
ie when the “customer” referred to in 7.14.1 is actually two different people in the first and second half of the sentence.
It is an interesting line of argument but not one I have suggested making…
I have always said that if a borrower does not want Amigo to go after the guarantor they need to carry on making the payments. UNLESS the guarantor also make a complaint at the same time. In which case Amigo will still ask the guarantor to pay but the guarantor can point to their own complaint as showing the debt is in dispute.
Can you say something about your case? And what is your guarantor’s financial position? Is your guarantor mainly concerned about pushy demands for payment or the effect on their credit record?
Paul says
Thank you for researching that and getting back to me so quickly. Yes, you are correct, I was trying to infer the latter. I had hoped that it would be simply laid out in the legislation, but it seems the ‘customer’ is only as clear as it specifies. Where the customer is two parties it becomes more complicated. So, in order to cover my guarantor so they don’t make any payments, would you suggest getting them to make an individual complaint coordinated with mine? My guarantor is mainly worried about pushy demands for payment and the effect of a default notice on their credit file as they think that they will be liable for the full amount, even if I am able to pay. I am unsure of their exact financial position, but I believe it is at least comfortable as they are a family member and are a self-employed homeowner. I would greatly appreciate any insights you may have on these issues. I am not scared by Amigo as, at this point I have nothing left to loose, so I am challenging the validity of the agreement based on s.77 or s.78 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 for Amigo to prove the existence, value, entitlement and enforceability of the claim. If they can satisfy this then I will contest the affordability, somewhat in line with the pre-action protocol for debt claims 2017 via the FOS as I have realised, with hindsight, that I was in a far more financially vulnerable position. Certain events which were out of my control have come to light recently which have highlighted this.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am challenging the validity of the agreement based on s.77 or s.78 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 for Amigo to prove the existence, value, entitlement and enforceability of the claim
I suggest you go straight to an affordabilty complaint if you think the loan was unaffordable when it was given to you. I have no reason to think Amigo will have any problems in producing a valid and enforceable CCA agreement. Unless you have good reason to think this will work, it seems better to get on immediately with something that is more likely to.
I will contest the affordability, somewhat in line with the pre-action protocol for debt claims 2017 via the FOS
I have no idea what the debt PAP has to do with any of this. Have you been sent a debt PAP letter? If so has your guarantor been sent one as well? Is there a court case already in progress?
in order to cover my guarantor so they don’t make any payments, would you suggest getting them to make an individual complaint coordinated with mine?
What grounds do they have to complain?
My guarantor is mainly worried about pushy demands for payment and the effect of a default notice on their credit file as they think that they will be liable for the full amount, even if I am able to pay.
If they check their credit record I think they will find the Amigo loan doesn’t show there. For a guarantor Amigo loans usually only appear if they lose a court case and get a CCJ.
Pushy demands – they will get these even if they make a complaint. But then they can be more sure that Amigo would not start court action (but has this already begun?).
I think you and your guarantor could do with some help with this. If a court case has been started or you have debt PAP letters this is URGENT. Go to your local Citizens Advice or Law Centre.
Most people have pretty straightforward cases and following a simple template is getting good results, either from Amigo directly or by going to FOS. I am – obviously – not saying this is the only way anyone can win a case against Amigo. But making up nice-sounding arguments and then hoping there is a legal foundation for them is not a good way to proceed. Neither is trying to use approaches that work in very different sorts of cases.
Yasmin says
Hi,
I live with my dad who asked me to be a guarantor for an amigo loan, I said no then he took out several pay day loans and told me he needed £10,000 with amigo to clear this or we’d have bailiffs at our door so felt like I had no option but to agree.
Is there anything I can do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It would have been kinder to have said No and helped him get debt advice about the payday loans, but it is so easy to be emotionally blackmailed into this sort of thing.
Is he making all the Amigo repayments ok? Or has he been getting more payday loans and is again struggling?
And could you afford to make the repayments yourself, and still pay all your other expenses and bills.
Janice Bates says
Hi
I agreed to be a guarantor for a friend originally back in September 2018 with Trust Two. This Loan was then topped up with monthly payments in excess of £250. He then asked me to take be guarantor on a smaller loan from Bamboo in addition to the Trust Two. I agreed. I know, idiot, right? Things were going fine and I heard nothing from either company. However, my friend would borrow money from me here and there, but would always pay it back. You would think alarm bells would be ringing her, but, no.
In the past few months alarm bells have definitely been ringing. I’ve had to pay one instalment of the smaller Bamboo loan. He has paid some of this back to me, but only half. Then a few days ago, I got a text to say that the larger loan is in arrears. Aarrgghh.
Since I agreed to be guarantor, my circumstances have changed somewhat. Including a loan of my own to consolidate credit cards and some of a littlewoods account. Both of which I had when the credit checks were done.
I wouldn’t be able to pay the amount they are looking for, and quite clearly, neither is my “friend” the fact he took out a loan to pay another loan and is borrowing money from me and members of his family would suggest that. Do you think I have any chance here of being removed.
Oh, he’s also ignoring my messages.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Think back to when you agreed to be the guarantor for these loans. At that ppoint could you really have afforded to make all the monthly payments for the loans, not just for a couple of months but for the years to repay the loans? That means paying them from your income or savings, not by selling anything. And still paid all your bills, normal expenses and your own debts?
If the answer is “no” then you should put in an affordability complaint to TT and to Bamboo.
You could also try to contact him and suggest he too looks at making a complaint because if he wins, the interest would be removed from his loans which would be a huge difference for him.
Janice says
Thanks Sara. When you put it like that…
It’s a definite no. I have used the template on this page, ( thank you for that btw) to make an affordability complaint and have managed to get in touch with my friend and encouraged him to do the same.
I was spurred on to do this by getting a call at 4.58 pm from TT at work and then being asked to get back to them before 5pm that day. Slightly unrealistic and mostly unprofessional, which did not fill me with confidence.
Hopefully we’ll get somewhere and my blood pressure will return to normal.
Janice says
Another VM from TT. They called at 7.10pm and asked me to call back before 5pm that day. I don’t know about you, but I see a slight flaw in that message (unless you’re a time Lord)
I sent an email the day before, asking to communicate specifically by email. Which they seem to have ignored. I tend not to answer my phone as tbh, the whole thing is stressing me out and I’d rather deal over email. I am unsure whether to add to my complaint about this, asI feel they are constantly hounding me.
Janice says
Hi. I’ve had a reply from Bamboo, who say they are not upholding my complaint, they say they have been responsible lenders, but don’t seem to be taking into account my current circumstances and the circumstances facing the borrower due to lockdown.
I have had no response from Trust Two loans at all and the 8 week period finished on Monday. Am I now able to forward my complaint to the ombudsman, and do I need to inform them if I do? TIA
Sara (Debt Camel) says
send your Bamboo & Trust Two affordability complaints to FOS.
If you still owe a balance on either loan & your finances have been affected bu Coronavirus, as for a 3 month payment break because of that:
Bamboo – complete their form here: https://www.bambooloans.com/s/covid-19/
TrustTwo – email them at collections@trusttwo.co.uk and be clear how you have been affected by coronavirus & that you need a 3 month payment break.
Sophie says
Hi,
I was wondering if you are able to help.
Back In 2018 I ended up getting an amigo loan due to needing to pay other debts. My friend agreed to be my guarantor at the time.
I ended up needing to top the loan up on two occasions due to struggling with finances.
Since taking the loan out, my guarantor has had a little girl who has severe disabilities and I have also had a little boy who has been registered as partially sighted.
This is also effecting me being able to return back to work full time when originally planned.
Neither of the children were planned and we are both single parents.
I have tried speaking to amigo and so he’s citizens advice and my guarantor to which we have got nowhere.
They have been very unhelpful and shown almost bullying behaviour towards both myself and my guarantor.
I would like to be able to remove my guarantor to take the pressure of herself and her current situation so I can then deal with my debts.
Do I have a case?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you would like to remove your guarantor, there are two ways – you can put in a complaint saying you could not afford the loan – see https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/ for a letter for a borrower to complain. If you win interest is removed from the loan, your gaurantor is released and you can then make a lower monthly payments – all good for you and also good news for your guarantor. The fact you had to top up the loan suggests that the first loan was not affordable!
Your guarantor can also make a complaint that the last loan – presumably a big one – was not affordable for her. The letter for that is on this page. When was the last loan taken out? When was her child born?
If you both complain she would be released if either of you win your complaint. So this would maximise the chance.
John says
Hi
Please see below email I have sent out regarding your great template by the way. I have included the main points as this website does not allow large posts.
I am complaining that you should not have accepted me as a guarantor for this loan.
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. This has been proven by the amount of late payments from the start of this loan and through to present time of writing.
The borrower had several top-ups and previous debt with yourselves as well as a previous bankruptcy. This should have suggested to you that their finances were becoming more difficult. I was also unaware of the previous bankruptcy until recently, if I had known this myself I would NEVER have agreed to the contract.
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 during the time of this complaint, until I can finally be removed as guaruntor.
Do you think I have grounds for a case to be removed as guaruntor? It seems totally unfair that they had even considered him for a loan on top of everything else that had been going on financial wise previously.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are Amigo now asking you to make payments?
Can you really afford the payments if you have to, as well as your other bills, expenses and debts?
Obviously you don’t want to pay this when you think you have been conned. But if you can’t really afford the repayments as you don’t have that much spare income each month, you should also make that point in your complaint.
John says
Yes I have had to make a few payments for the borrower.
I can afford the payments however would rather have nothing to do with the whole thing.
It feels as if the borrower could never afford these payments from the start and I feel amigo should have highlighted this or looked into it. Every payment has been late or missed
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, so your complaint is that the loan should never have been given and you have said why.
If you are in touch with the borrower, you could say you have complained about this. You could also suggest that the borrower could complain as well – say they could go and talk to their local Citizens Advice about this so the borrower knows they will get good advice.
John says
Thanks Sara
Do you think I stand a good chance of being removed as guaruntor?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This isn’t going to be easy unless the borrower co-operates by making a complaint himself or by giving you information about him. But the Ombudsman has been clear that the loan being unaffordable for the borrower is a potential reason for a guarantor to be removed. The problem is finding evidence to support this.
Stuart H says
HI Sara.
I have taken advise and currently have a irresponsible lending/unaffordable complaint lodged with Amigo they are requesting statements the problem is it’s a joint account and I don’t want my income confused with my ex partners income what’s the best way to deal with this in your opinion.
many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You could send the statements and attach a note pointing out which income is your and which isn’t.
PS who did you get advice from? just curious…
Marek says
Hi!
I have a problem basically, my friend, has took a loan for £4000 from Amigo, on the first repayment which happened last month he already couldn’t make the payment and the payment was in the arrears by 15 days. As a guarantor I caught up on a payment however because this was an unexpected payment it has put my on a overdraft on one of my cards, and it put my in an uncomfortable position right now. To add to the above I also have a personal loan in my name which I’m repaying monthly.
The problem is my “friend” has lied to myself and lender about having troubles with law to do with fraud. Thus his bank account got shut down. Following the loan happening. When the lender and my self has also tried contacting him it’s On the verge of impossibility to get in touch with him due to him simply not answering to phone calls.
It’s kind of hard to be a guarantor in my situation right now because I’m pretty much left on my own with his loan. In long term I simply won’t be able to upkeep the repayments without getting further in depth.
I was wondering if thats one of the cases which I can send a complaint to amigo loans?
Thank you in advance!
Marek
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Marek,
the article above looks at the various reasons guarantors may have to complain.
It sounds as though you may have two…
1) the loan was not affordable for the borrower. To not make the first payments suggests that Amigo did not properly check the loan was affordable for him. If Amigo had looked at his bank account, they might have realised this.
2) the loan isn’t affordable for you. OK this first payment was unexpected – but you have your own debts and bills and expenses, so can you really afford this extra one every month?
Marek says
Morning!
Thank you for fast reply!!
Okay number one is clear, however I do have a little question about it. Because once the payment has been in the arrears of 15 days, when amigo got in touch with me they have confirmed that “friend” hadn’t got in touch with them and vice versa. — Can lack communication (between friend and borrower) cause problems later on in the complaint ? Or shall that have no effect on me ?
And 2) it’s just has put me in a bad situation at the moment until my wages come in, saying that though, even once they do come in I would have to change my lifestyle in order to keep up with everything. The repayments are £200 per month. Which is a hefty sum once everything adds up.
P.S — Do you think I stand a good chance of being removed as guarantor?
Thank you in advance!
Marek
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“Can lack communication (between friend and borrower) cause problems later on in the complaint ? ”
not sure what you mean?
It is hard to win a complaint with (1) as your only argument. I am not saying don’t try, because the Ombudsman is clear that Amigo not having done proper checks on the borrower is a potential reason to release a guarantor. And the fact he never made a simgle payments suggest big problems! But it can be difficult to get any evidence about this.
Can you send him a text or email saying you know he must have big financial problems and has he looked at complaining to Amigo and saying they didn’t check hime properly and send him a link to the page about a complaint by the borrower? https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/. This would be doing him a big favour (he would get the interest removed from the loan) and help you if he wins his complaint.
I can’t tell from what you write if you do have an argument the the loan was unaffordable. You have to be able to make all your own bills and expenses and debt payments. Not make a lifestyle change to live on beans on toast.
Tony says
Hi Sara If I am removed as aguarantor on a loan does the loan then become interest free for the borrower as the agreement would only have been at that percentage rate with a guarantor?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I thought you were the borrower on a loan? Or this your wife’s?
What happened to that Amigo partial uphold and the big payout?
Tony says
yes this is my wifes. yes amigo refunded the large amount £6k plus a few pounds off what was owing on mine. 2 more payments and I’m done with them. Thank you so much.