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
Mikey says
Hi thanks for taking time to read this I became a gaurantor for someone who I trusted at the time for amigo loans he hasn’t been making any payments for a number of months now and I can’t seem to find the money to pay for it as I’ve a change in circumstances as I’ve became a dad to twins and Im currently in debt with my credit card and other bills which I’ve been struggling to make the guy that took the loan out is currently in a army detention center so he can’t make any other payments even though before he was sentenced he wasn’t making any payments before that is there any advice and help of getting removed as a gaurontor, my stress has been high and I feel like I’m digging a hole and it just keeps getting deeper until I end up a breaking point
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Mikey,
how long ago was the loan started? Are you buying or renting? if it wasn’t for this Amigo debt, could you manage the other debts or are you in trouble anyway?
Mikey says
Hi thanks for the reply The loan started in January 2019 and I’m renting I’ve managed to come to agreement with my other debts but as for amigo I can’t afford to pay it
Theo Van Heygen says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for the great info. I just wondered whether any of this is applicable to business loans. I run a limited company which is looking at liquidation. The problem being that I, alongside my business partner signed as a guarantor on a fairly large loan. If I were actually credit checked it would have been obvious I would never have been in a position to repay the loan personally. Furthermore, I’m querying whether the business was in a position to pay in the first place. My business partner handled all our finances so in hindsight I was very naive to agree to these loans, but wanted to know if there was anyway of avoiding the guarantor part of the loan.
Thank you in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you talk to Business Debtline about this, see https://www.businessdebtline.org/
Adam says
Hi Sara. It’s now been just over 8 weeks since I sent my affordability complaints to Amigoloans & TrustTwo. Amigo got back to me a couple of days ago to say they will have a decision within the next 4 weeks, nothing from TrustTwo yet. Just wondering if I should wait any longer or just take my complaints to the Ombudsman now?
Also the borrower finally agreed to make a complaint himself about 3-4 weeks ago. He still hasn’t made any payments since the problem started but i’ve made several repayments myself (mainly to keep the loans off my credit file). I’ve spoken to TrustTwo about making lower repayments in the mean time. Would this have any affect on my complaints?
Thanks for all your advice so far.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you still haven’t had a reply from a lender, I think you should send the case to the Ombudsman now.
sue f says
Hi My daughter is a guarantor for an Amigo loan for an ex boyfriend who is now not paring. It has just today gone to the Ombudsman after the complaint was rejected by Amigo. Would it be possible for her to settle the debt (I would lend her the money) so the interest stops and she can then pay me back. Would she then be able to take her ex to court for the amount she has paid out and how likely is it she would win. She has all her bank statements to prove he has had all the money into his account and also proof of all payments she has made to Amigo. Many thanks, Sue
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can your daughter actually afford the repayments and still be able to pay all her other bills, expenses and debts?
sue f says
Hi Sara,
Yes just about but I just wanted to know if she pays it all off can she then take him to court for a CCJ to get him to pay it back to her and what is the chance of the judge upholding the claim if she proves he has had all the money. Thank you,
AG says
Hi Sue, small claims court you can take someone for up to £10k, I looked at this as a last resort if the FOS can’t resolve things for me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry, I missed your reply.
“Yes just about” that doesn’t sound very definite to me. If there is any possibility of her winning a claim saying that the loan was unaffordable for her, that may be a less risky option that going to court.
She can still carry on with this claim after you have settled this debt for her.
I am not a solicitor and I don’t like giving what sounds like legal advice thet you may assume is correct. So I think you will need to go to your local Citizens Advice for help with this or to a local Law Centre (see https://www.lawcentres.org.uk/i-am-looking-for-advice). And possible consider emplying a solicitor. But for what its worth, I think she may have a claim for “unjust enrichment”.
Does she know what he did with the money? if he no longer has it and has a lot of other debts,. does she think he can afford the repayments?
Graham says
Hi Sara.
I’ve been hasseled by George Banco for payments as garentour but despite constant reply to numerous staff about the situation they are still messaging, phoning, emailing and sending out letters to me. I’m seriously getting fed up with being hasseled but despite my complaint to them and keeping them up to date with my stepdaughter situation who I’ve asked to call them…. I’m the one getting all the shit…. I’ve gotta wait 8 weeks for them to deal with my complaint b4 I go to the ombudsman but am I in the wrong here to be upset with the constant harassment for payment from at least 4 different staff at George Banco every poxy day… This as I’ve message you previously has got seriously out of hand…. Plz advise… X
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you email them and say you are tired of the constant harassment and will be asking the Ombudsman for additional compensation for this if it continues. Say you only want to receive further communications by email.
Then get a little notebook and record every single contact from them. date – time – email/text/letter/phone call.
Graham says
Hi Sara
Thank you for your reply. I have blocked thier main and mobile numbers before but they now have new ones to contact me on so I’m having block those as well. I have all letters and emails saved and I’ll do the same with textes . All I get told is that it’s automated??? I’ve also asked that they communicate with the staff I’ve already had contact with and update themselves with the current situation, but all I seem to get is more calls etc about the same issue from another staff member. Is this constant communication really allowed?
Amy says
I’m the guarantor for my ex-friends loan, at £146 a month (she topped it up 3 times). Since the last top up (in 2018) she has paid maybe twice and I’ve paid the rest. I was accepted due to my good credit score and ability to pay back bills on time. But I only made enough money to cover my bills and expenses, without much left over. Checking my statements before and during the loan, my out payments were always higher than what I had coming in. I’m left short every time I pay this, I had to change from full time to agency due to my mums ill health, and I stay with my partner so I help towards the house bills. My ‘friend’ has moved cities, stopped contact and in and out of jobs with no intentions on contacting me or amigo. I’ve complained using this template, but amigo basically said no in a long email. I am awaiting a response from FOC, should I forward amigos response with my thoughts? This has greatly impacted my mental health as well. I haven’t been able to pay 2 payments, 3rd one is due and it’s close to getting sent to court. Any advice please? :(
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Amy,
have you already sent the case to the Finacial Ombudsman (FOS) ? If you have, you should definitely forward them the rejection from Amigo with your comments on it.
If you haven’t sent the case to FOS yet, this is the time to do it! See https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/contact-us/complain-online. It’s an easy process. FOS will want to see a copy of your current credit record and the bank statements for the monthe around the time of the last top-up.
(Unless you made any payments to the earlier loans, it is only the last loan that matters fro you.)
While you have an open complaint at FOS, Amigo should not start court action. Come back here if you get a Letter before Action/Claim from them – but in practice people haven’t normally had this problem.
Do you have other debts as well as this one?
Amy says
Hi thank you for the quick response!
I am currently writing up the email to FOS! I am paying two car finances, 2 phones (1 is my other ex friend who’s refusing to pay aswell but that’s another story) and a couple other small finances. Do I get statements from the time of the top up, my recent statements and before the loan started?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes if the top up was in Jun 18, sending statements for March – September 2018 should be sufficient.
Amy Robinson says
Do you have advice on how to word the email?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
first, don’t email! Use the FOS online form. there is a link in the article above. It’s better than email as FOS needs the answers to several odd and unimportant questions to enter you onto their system. Things like what is your date of birth and is this a joint complaint. So if you email them you may not given some of this info, their online systems walks you through it.
Then the interesting things are what you are complaining about – you think you should not have been accepted as guarantor as Amigo didn’t properly check you could afford the loan repayments which are unaffordable because …. And what you want done – to be removed as guarantor and to have the payments you have made refunded.
Have you looked at the SAR info that Amigo sent you? That should have an income and expenditure estimate for you. Was stuff missing from there? or were some estimates just too low? You may have been asked on the phone how much you spent on food/toiletries or clothes or transport or bills and not been very sure so you just said something which you now think was too low. If you have a car, there should have been enough allowed for insurencae, road tax, petrol, servicing, breakdown cover etc. It doesn’t matter why you are paying two lots of car finance or two mobile biles, if you had those debts at the time of the application, they should have been taken into account by Amigo.
What you are concentrating on is your situation at the time the loan was given. The question is did Amigo properly assess your ability to repay then at that point.
If you are struggling a lot at the moment, you may want to look at a debt management plan for all your debts, see my reply to someone else today here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/comment-page-3/#comment-352553
Tom says
HI, I am a guarantor for an old friend of mine. To start off with the loan was small and she made all the payments on time. After several top ups, to the maximum she is now refusing to pay the loan back. She has changed her job a couple of times during this period, I am assuming that Amigo didn’t ask for any proof of change of income and expenditure, I am also aware that she has moved out from home and into her own place, which again she probably hasn’t told them of the change. As I said she is refusing to pay the loan, she is not even responding to any of Amigo’s, emails, phone calls or letters, and she has even removed me as a friend on all social media. Now amigo is threatening to take us to court because of this, which is causing me a tremendous amount of stress.
Do you think I have a right to complain?
Many thanks in advanced
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What about your situation? Can you actually afford to make these repayments yourself and still pay all your other bills, expenses and debts?
Tom says
I mean it depends on how much they want, but probably not, or if I can then it will leave me really short.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds as though the repayments are unaffordable for you.
I suggest you read the article above and think about what you would put in a complaint. Yes, you can complain that Amigo did not properly check that the borrower could afford the loan. That is a potentially valid reason to ask to be removed as the guarantor. But it can be hard for you to prove unless the borrower co-operates with you, which sounds unlikely.
But you can also complain if you don’t think Amigo properly assessed your ability to repay the last large top-up. This one you can produce evidence for – your own bank statements and credit record.
In general, I suggest that people should complain about every point they think applies in their case, not just go for the one you feel strongest about. as this maximises your chance of winning.
If you have other debts as well, one thing you could do is put them all, including the Amigo loan, into a debt management plan while your complaint goes through. I suggest you talk to StepChange about this.
Amigo should not start court action while you have an open complaint, but with the debt in a DMP a lot of the pressure would be taken off you as you would only be paying what you could afford.
If you win the case, then you should be refunded all the payments you have made to Amigo. That debt would then disappear from your DMP and the refunds might mean you could settle some of your other debts as well.
Worse case, you lose the complaint at the Financial Ombudsman and have to carry on repaying them through the DMP. Court action when you are in a DMP is less likely even at that point.
Amy Robinson says
Sorry for all the questions, how do I obtain my credit record?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
get a Transunion Statutory Credit Record from here: https://www.transunionstatreport.co.uk/
Thomas says
Hello,
I have a complaint as a borrower and my guarantor also has a complaint to be removed. He has now received a questionnaire as the guarentor with the below questions, is there a best way to answer these and not incriminiate yourself further?
– were you aware at the time you applied for teh loan that you wouldnt be able to afford to repay it (yes/no)
– why do you believe your loan was unaffordable (enter text)
-the income stated at the time we paid out this loan you recieved £2500 was this correct (yes no)
– the expenditure stated at the time of the loan was £1286, was this correct? (yes no)
below was the email to them for the complaint
thomas says
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.
I did not properly understand the obligations of a guarantor after a top up. 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.
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.
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. The borrower had several top-ups. This should have suggested to you that their finances were becoming more difficult.
You did not ask me for proof of my income or expenses, 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. I had a recent change in circumstance, You did not ask me about my expenses in enough detail.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you and the guarantor both send your bank statements from the time the loan was applied for?
thomas says
Yes i submitted my complaint back in november, had the final reply to say the complaint was rejected, i had already forwarded to FOS who said it should have an answer by end of this month with regards to my side of the story.
Bank statements sent from me which had shown i was not paying what i said i was towards other expenses because it all went on gambling.
my guarantor hasnt sent bank statements he has just been send 3 links (for the first loan and two top ups) and asked the above questions. Not sure whether to leave it or accept it
Thomas says
Hey sara, shall we answer the questions or will it come back on us?
Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think the best thing is to send bank statements – which you have done but your guarantor hasn’t – and then just say “I have sent you my bank statements so you can see my full position. I look forward to receiving your response to my complaint.”
jay says
Hello,
I’m wondering if there is a service that can help write the letter to amigo loans? My mum was persuaded to co sign a loan for her nephew. He took out the loan due to financial problems. The loan has since been increased as he ran into yet more trouble. Mum unfortunately didn’t think it would get to the point where he would just stop paying them and for 6 months she has been paying. I generally deal with all of mums money and house bills, car insurance and renewals as she just gets so lost into what she is being sold and doesn’t fully grasp what she is getting into. Unfortunately, I didn’t know about this loan until it was too late. It is slowly but surely eating up the money I had been giving her to clear her overdraft and other debts and now it is causing a lot of arguments. She is often crying about all this as she is 72 and cannot begin to think about retirement as we were still trying to clear her original debts and now she has a further 3 or 4 years of payments left on these. I would like to get her removed from the loan as it is basically me who is having to pay the loans for her as I don’t want it to reduce her quality of life but I’m worried about getting the letter wrong and putting in the wrong info or leaving out something important!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, her local Citizens Advice will help.
But have you read the template? It’s pretty easy. If you deal with some of her money stuff, you probably realise just how unaffordable it is for her.
72 is pretty old to still be working. How large are her other debts? Is she buying or renting?
j says
Sorry, for the late reply.
I was just anxious about which angle to argue as personally i think she was pressured into it simply because I am fully aware that she is too scared to say no to anyone. However, she will have agreed that she can afford it because she will have genuinely believed that he would pay it and didn’t fully understand that they would come after her if he missed one payment. Her understanding was more that they wouldn’t come after her until they had absolutely exhausted getting the funds from him. E.g they had taken him to court etc etc
She has credit card debts of over 10k and now has an overdraft debt of 1500. She doesn’t own her home but will live there rent free indefinitely.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
She can argue both those angles – that she was pressured into agreeing and that she cannot afford it.
She has paid 6 months so far? How much is that? If she wins this case, then she would get that money refunded. But is it big enough to make much of an impact on her other debts…
How large is the remaining balance on the Amigo loan?
Sebastian says
Hi,
I agreed to be the guarantor on an Amigo loan for someone who was a friend at the time back in 2018. They have also had a top up to this loan a few months after it was taken out. What I didn’t realise was that they couldn’t afford to pay back the loan at the time. They paid the first 2 months and I’ve been paying it ever since as the guarantor as we fell out not long after and they’ve refused to pa it since to get back at me.
I’ve emailed amigo with your template above stating that the loan was unaffordable for the borrower and that they have also topped up the loan showing that they are having money issues.
Amigo have got back to me with a questionare but the questionare is asking about my income and the loan being affordable for me when that’s not what was written in my complaint. I’m worried by answering the questions they’ll say I can afford to pay and should carry on paying it off for the next 5 years when it wasnt my loan to begin with.
Do I just answer the questions anyway or should I contact them separately to the questionaire?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Sebastian,
How affordable are the repayments for you? As a guarantor you can complain the loan was unaffordable for the borrower but this can be hard for you to prove unless the borrower is co-operating. If you can also say that Amigo did not check properly that you could afford it, that can be a simpler reason to win your complaint.
Sebastian says
Hi Sara,
My complaint stated as follows –
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. The borrower also had several top-ups. This should have suggested to you that their finances were becoming more difficult.
The loan isn’t easily affordable to me but I manage to scrape together to pay it each month as I’m worried about the consequences of what will happen if I leave it unpaid, however paying it every month for the past 2 years almost is really affected me, especially as the loan was never for me in the first place yet I’m paying it all back because the borrower can’t afford to and won’t pay it even if they could due to us not being on good terms.
Do you think I’d have more chance of being removed as guarantor if I state that it’s unaffordable to me? As I don’t speak with the borrower anymore so it would be hard to get them to cooperate with my complaint as they’d rather just let me pay off their debt.
Sebastian
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you think I’d have more chance of being removed as guarantor if I state that it’s unaffordable to me?
Well yes, but only if it is true!
Did you ask for a copy of all your personal information? When you get that CD, read https://debtcamel.co.uk/sar-affordability-complaint/ for what to look for and settle down and go through the SAR carefully. You are looking for points where the I&E they constructed for you wasn’t reasonable for some reason. Perhaps lines were missed off or were too low. eg if you always pay some overdraft cost, were they included as an expense?
Robbie says
Hi,
I was just after some advice, i was guarantor on a loan for a friend and he defaulted and ran off leaving me with the loan. I got to the point where i agreed to pay half the outstanding balance so the loan company would stop chasing me for the remainder and they agreed. This was more than 7 years ago, i tried to check my bank statement but it only goes back 7 years. Then i received a call today from a number with no caller id and a man saying i owed money on this outstanding loan. I tried to explain that i already settled with the loan company but he just kept saying they could take me to court. Can you offer any advice please?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Who was the lender? And did this man who called say he was from the lender or a debt collector?
Dude says
Hi there I was looking for some advice, I was a guarantor for a friend whom I no longer speak to. She had a top up applied to the loan. I was going through personal problems at the time I agreed to be a guarantor which I don’t want to get into right now but feel I was pressured into agreeing when I was vulnerable. Amigo have arrested my wages and they have done for the past 2 years and I think it is still going on for the next year. Can I complain? My wages are barely enough for me to live on each month as it is.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, then you can complain about the loan. If you had been in England I have an article covering what to say in the complaint to get the CCJ removed. But as you are in Scotland, i will ask a Scottish adviser to comment as the terminology is different.
If you could say which town you live in, he may be able to suggest where you can get help with this.
Alan McIntosh says
Hi Dude
Wage or Earning Arrestments are forms of Diligence in Scotland, which mean legal debt recovery action..
As Sara explained you can complain, but that may not provide an immediate solution.
Wage Arrestments can be lifted and there are a number of ways to do so. My page below explains these.
You can get advice and help from your local Citizen Advice Bureau of Local Authority Money Advice Service, or if your are looking at the Debt Arrangement Scheme you can even use a private firm, as since last year, they are not allowed to charge you private management fees.
What I would say is if you are looking at complaining, do not use Protected Trust Deed or Bankruptcy as a solution, as these are irreversible if your complaint is successful.
https://www.advicescotland.com/how-do-you-stop-a-wage-arrestment/
Dude says
I live in Dundee. This isn’t even my debt it’s someone whom should never have been approved for said loan and I feel I was pressured into acting as a guarantor. She now works (gets paid more than I do) therefore surely her wages should be arrested to pay it back I don’t have any money to live on after bills etc is paid if I didn’t have that arrestment on my wages I’d have at least an extra £200 per month.
Agnieszka says
Hello
I am a guarantor for 2 loans and because this helpful website I don’t need to pay one loan off anymore – Thank you again!
I have one more loan to pay for a “friend” which I’ve been paying since March 2018 – it’s finally finishing in October this year. I have told my” friend” about this website and even wrote complain letters for her to two providers ( I have looked at templates etc and comments in here to ensure it’s put correctly) but she isn’t confident to send it because she has gone to Step Change and waiting for the answer from them. Should she wait with sending the complaint? She says that both of the loans are on there but because she isn’t paying them since 2018 it won’#t affect her and I’m worried that I might never get my money back. Should I put another complain for the other loan? What changes I have of getting money back?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
a) if the loan was unaffordable for you, you should put in a complaint about it now. why wouldn’t you?
b) you can’t make the borrower complain. All you can do is point out that you are complaining, and if you win your case, the lender will go back to chasing her. And if she wins a complaint the interest will be removed so she only has to repay what she borrowed.
I hope StepChange will explain all that to her, but it depends on what she asks them. So if she doesn’t tell them you are going to complain, they may not answer the questions about that.
You can’t rely on her making a complaint, so you need to yourself.
tracy ellis says
Hi i was a guarantor for my son for buddy loans, at the time he was working and giving me housekeeping and paying his loan, then his job went bust and so i was down on income coming in so he has had to stop paying buddy, but now they are chasing me. He has gone with stepchange and they are helping him to make small payments to all who he owes money to, buddy havent said if they are accepting of this or not and have come after me and i have told them i cannot afford to pay them, im only just scaring by and have had to go to some of the people i owe to and ask them to reduce my payments and they have. Buddy have sent me a text saying they need to discuss the impending action on my account and unless we can come to some kind of suitable arrangement the account will be defaulted and passed to an external collections agency. does this mean court action and why havent they accepted stepchanges offer. what should i do
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Tracy,
It sounds as though you can complain that the loan was not affordable for you and Buddy loans should have realised that you were dependent on your son giving you housekeeping money which has not stopped.
See the “b) you had other financial links with the borrower” section in the article above.
So send Buddy a complaint and say you want to released as guarantor. While you have a complaint in with them, or with the Financial Ombudsman if Buddy reject your complaint, they can’t take you to court.
Can I ask what the rest of your finances are like at the moment? Are you buying or renting? How large are your other debts apart from this one?
tracy ellis says
Hi I have a debt with the power company and 3 credit cards which I have spoken to and they are accepting small amounts ever month and reducing the interest for me, apart from that I am just about making ends meet, I own my own house from a split with my ex we sold the old house and I brought this one out right so am scared they will try to take some of it from me
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It might be a good idea for you too to talk to StepChange about a DMP (debt management plan) for your credit card debts and this Buddy Loan.
Then if you win your complaint, your DMP will be reduced a lot! And if you lose (which i hope you won’t, it sounds a good case to me and definitely worth taking to the Ombudsman of Buddy reject it!) then you just carry on paying an amount you can afford.
As I said before, while you have a complaint with them or with FOS they should NOT go to court. No-one has had this problem with a guarantor lender yet.
frogwoman says
Hi Sara, I’m wondering if I stand any chance with Amigo. I put in a complaint with them about 6 weeks ago to be removed as a guarantor so I am still waiting for them to get back. I got an email after four weeks saying that they have another four weeks to provide me with a response. Guaranteed gambling husbands first loan in Sept 2015 for £4000 over 24 months at repayment of £247/m. He topped up to £8000 in May 2017 @ £316/m for 5years. He’s been on DMP for over a year and can’t make repayment anymore (He’s somehow manage to keep the account up to date till now). I have complained that I should never have been accepted as a guarantor. I was earning less than 1/3 of his and the loan repayment of £316 was almost half of what I was earning at the time. I was also relying on him with my essential bills at the time which meant if he ran into trouble, I am likely to have problems stepping in to pay which I have now. I am not ready to go through income and expenditure with them, I just want to detach myself from the loan
Any info/advice will be much appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“I have complained that I should never have been accepted as a guarantor. I was earning less than 1/3 of his and the loan repayment of £316 was almost half of what I was earning at the time. I was also relying on him with my essential bills at the time which meant if he ran into trouble, I am likely to have problems stepping in to pay which I have now.”
that sounds a good reason to be released as the guarantor.
If you can’t afford to make payments, cancel your DD to Amigo.
Has your husband also put ion a complaint as the borrower? he must have repaid quite a lot of the the last loan, so if that was refunded he may have the balance nearly cleared, and may get a refund if the first loan is also refunded. If he was gambling, then he needs to send Amigo bank statements around the time of each loan and he may well win these cases.
frogwoman says
Thanks Sara,
Yes, he has paid around £9500 in total since the £8000 was taken out. He hasn’t complained yet. I will have to check my bank to see if there is a DD set up for amigo. I have not had to pay them before as a guarantor.
I don’t think he’ll have statements showing gambling transactions around the time the loan was taken. His gambling hadn’t gone out of hand then…It all went mad in the last two years.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, well it’s still worth complaining if the loan caused him problems so he had to take out more credit (more loans, bigger overdraft, higher balances on cards).
Often gambling can move from being a rather expensive hobby to being a real problem when someone is under a lot of financial pressure as getting a big win can seem like a good way out of their debt problems. Which of course never works :(
Kirsty says
Hello after putting my complaint in with amigo I have received a massive email from them and saw this part, does this mean I’m no longer the guarantor? If so when does it take affect?
Having reviewed the payout process we completed, it has come to light that our agent incorrectly entered the figure for your fuel costs. Had this been correctly detailed within your budget during your conversation with our agent, this would have evidenced the loan was unaffordable for you and we wouldn’t have proceeded with your application. Given this, we’ve removed your liability towards the loan and would like to offer you a refund of the payments that you have made towards the loan, plus 8% simple interest. We’ll also ensure that no trace of this loan appears on your credit file.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes! You are no longer the guarantor, if you are making any payments to them cancel that DD today!
You will get a refund of all the money you have paid plus 8% interest.
Kirsty says
Hello when will it take affect of me not being the guarantor or would that happen straight away?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you can assume that you are no longer effectively the guarantor immediately. Whether Amigo need to send any extra paperwork to confirm this I don’t know, but they should no longer pester you for payments.
AG says
Finally good news! My adjudicator responded today saying that I shouldn’t have been guarantor for the first loan nevermind the top ups my ex got and that all money should be refunded plus 8% interest and that I should be removed as guarantor. Amigo have until the 24th of March to respond to her but I’ve been waiting for this day for what seems like forever. Thank you so much for everything – that’s over £2,000 back to me!!!!
SN says
Hi AG,
How long has your complain been with the fos?
Thanks!
AG says
It was with them for 11 weeks even though they agreed to prioritise for me! My adjudicator only works 3 days a week and was off sick last week so I’ve had a bit of a wait/stress. They are really good though.
L says
Hi Ag
Has amigo go back regarding the complaint that the adjudicator upheld? My adjudicator upheld my complaint and sent it too amigo on 9th April 2020, still haven’t heard anything! In line for an ombudsman final decision now but just wondering if there’s any hope of getting a response off amigo sooner rather than later!
Thanks
Kirsty says
Hello
I have received the money back from amigo but I can still log into the account and that? I’m not sure what’s going and confused as they said to me on the phone that it would take immediate effect?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think this is a worry. You have the letter/email from amigo saying you have been released as guarantor. They have refunded you your money. I hope you have cancelled the DD to them at your bank.
I hope you will never hear from them again or think about them. It’s all over.
Graham says
Hi Sara.
As per my previous issues against George Banco I have asked they only contact me via email. I haven’t heard a dicky bird from them since my last harassment complaint and everything else. I was wondering about your thoughts on thier sudden silence? Is this normal? And why am I getting a reprieve??
Thznks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
My thoughts are that that’s good and they must have realised they had gone over the top.
Graham says
I’ve blocked thier ability to take anymore money from my account. I’ve done everything to get my stepdaughter to deal with it and contact them. It just worries me…. The silence that is..
Thanks for getting back to me..
Frogwoman says
Hi Sara, following on from my previous message… So Amigo have been chasing him because repayment was due on the 24th of Feb and he hasn’t paid them. He’s now told them he has no money at all and that all he can pay is what they get from his dmp. They turned to me last week and I told them I will pay today 13th. Yesterday, I emailed them that I am happy to step in formally as the guarantor and service the loan until they reach a decision with my complaint (logged late jan) but before I do, I need the SAR ( I requested for this back in jan but no response yet) as well as a full breakdown of the account, how much has been paid, interest, balance etc. Surprisingly, almost 24hrs now, I haven’t heard from them. Should be interesting what they come back with. I genuinely believe I shouldn’t have been accepted as the guarantor. My hubby was keen on protecting his credit rating and somehow always managed to pay up but that’s not the case any more.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
But you can’t afford this you said? You have probalem paying other bills as well?
Why not simply cancel the DD to them and wait for the full answer to your complaint? Just the SAR isn’t really going to progress things a lot.
This is not going to harm your credit record – if you look at it, the Amigo loan is not on your credit record.
While you have a complaint in, they can’t take you to court.
Frogwoman says
Hi Sara,
Yea, I really can’t afford it. My mum is going to help me out. I was of the belief that this would affect my credit file that’s why I am doing all I can to protect it. That’s what I thought all along.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So check your credit record – so far no guarantor has reported finding the Amigo loan on there.
If that is right, then your credit record can only be harmed if Amigo get a CCJ – that is a LONG way off. So far they haven’t even started court proceedings while there is an open complaint – and the regulator’s rules say they shouldn’t.
Frogwoman says
By the way, what happens to the borrower of a guarantor loan if the guarantor manages to come out of the agreement ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The loan turns into a normal non-guarantor loan. The borrower can then offer a lower affordable payment, put the loan into a debt management plan, go bankrupt or have a debt relief order.
Beate says
Hi,
Yesterday was 8 weeks since my complaint was raised and no answer from Amigos.
I am planning to send my complaint to FOS.
Do I also attach bank statements and payslips or only bank statements?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is no need to send payslips – your bank statements will show your income.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As a guarantor, if you haven’t so far made any payments, you are only complaining about the current loan, so only send the bank statements for that one. I think your husband also complained as a borrower? When he sends his complaint to FOS, he needs to send bank staments for all the loans and top-ups.
Kirsty says
Hello
I am no longer the guarantor and amigos have confirmed this with me via email as I put the complaint in and won, they have also confirmed this with me over the phone twice and are sending me documents though the post to confirm this as well. The loaner is now telling me that they haven’t been informed and that he is going to take it further as no one can back out of a contractor. As I’m no longer the guarantor would anything happen to me if he did take it further? Or am I ok and nothing will happen to me?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The borrower cannot take this any further – your contract was with Amigo, not with him, and Amigo have released you from the contract.
If you want to do him a favour, send him a link to this page https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/ and suggest he considers if he can make an affordability complaint as if he wins, the interest would be removed from what he owes. But I can understand why you may not feel like doing him a favour!
Kirsty says
Hello
Thank you for your help I just want this to be the end of it and I feel like he is now scared cause I’m no longer the guarantor and his plan hasn’t worked. I won’t be doing him a favour. I just thought that this could come back on me somehow
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, it can’t.
Amy says
Hi Kirsty What did you write to amigo loans to get out of being a guarantor I’ve only been a guarantor for last December and my Borrower isnt paying what do I write in the letter need help with this many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Amy,
Kirsty may not see your question as she was removed as guarantor over a month ago so may not be reading these comments any more.
But I think she used the template letter that is in the article above.
Amy says
Ok thank u I’m a guarantor for ex friend and she only paid three payments and how decided she not paying it and I can’t afford the payment I live in my overdraft and I’m a single Parent and I don’t think I should been accepted to be a guarantor and they didn’t want bank statements I’m self Employed Only just manage to pay my mortgage think I’m can get removed as a guarantor thanks
M says
Hi i recently used you template letter to complain as gaurantor of an amigo loan. In short i was in an abusive relationship and pressured into agreeing to the phone call from amigo regarding being a guarantor. I didn’t fill out anything online as this was done without my knowledge and i was then supervised whilst taking the call and forced to go along with it. We have split and there is currently a police case regarding harassment and his behaviour since we split including messages stating he will not pay the loan as part of a payback game so the abuse continues. Amigo have said they will get back to me with regards to the complaint but i did not include the messages recieved from the borrower regarding refusal of payment as mentioned above, should i sent these too? Amigo has asked for my bank statements which i will send but i was wondering if i should also send over the police report which includes being bitten in the face, rape and other agressive incidents but none of these are being charged for due to me wanting to cut free and be left alone. Would these be relevant?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
urghhh, good job you have got away from him :(
i did not include the messages recieved from the borrower regarding refusal of payment as mentioned above, should i sent these too?
Yes – I suggest sending everything that seem relevant in this sort of case.
i was wondering if i should also send over the police report which includes being bitten in the face, rape and other agressive incidents but none of these are being charged for due to me wanting to cut free and be left alone. Would these be relevant?
Yes. those too.
Have you also complained that the loan was unaffordable for you? Are you making payments?
Can I ask what the rest of your finances are like apart from this Amigo loan?
m says
Hi ok thankyou i will send them over the messages and see if i can have a copy of the police report. I have been asked to send over bank statements which i have done today but should i cancel the direct debit now my complaint has been placed? i currently have just £12 in my account so it would bounce anyway but i’m still receiving texts and emails telling me to ensure funds are available!
m says
Financially i am single parent working part time with half term childcare approx 14 weeks of the year ranging from £30 – £300 depending on the length of the half term. I also have a £1030 credit card debt and an £8000 loan in my mums name which i pay £160 minimum to her in cash as i couldn’t get the credit to cover the surgery when i needed it. On top of this i have bills and food and car to run plus an average of £70 per school term charge for after school clubs and £35 a month for my daughters swim lessons. I live each month scraping through basically but always keep £500 roughly when i can in my account to ensure rent is there so my account to me on paper looks mostly healthy even if i’m counting my pennies! My income is mainly made up of benefits as i get no help from my daughters Dad (not the borrower). I’m really struggling to make ends meet and emotionally i’m not coping with this added strain and worry but they don’t see any of this.
I have complained that this isn’t affordable to me and that i knew nothing about the loan until the phone so i didn’t even fill out anything showing my circumstances beforehand. I havn’t made any payments yet as this is his first default because of his recent arrest he is no longer paying as ‘payback’ to me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Amigo loan sounds unaffordable to me!
Yes cancel the DD at your bank. You have no money!
m says
Ok will do this today, i was concerned that if i cancelled there would be further charges and interest added which if they don’t take me off as guarantor will only financially hit me harder 😣
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Thereare no guarantees here, But you are having to choose between definite financial problems now if you try to carry on paying, and potentially some problems in the future if you lose your complaint.
Kerry says
Hi, I agreed to be guarantor for my boyfriend, initially June 2019 and then he topped it up in January 2020. He was living with me at the time and so we had 2 incomes coming in so I wasn’t worried about making the payments. Plus I thought we were together for life. He earns significantly more than I do (I take home a quarter of what he does) We have since broken up and he is making threats not to pay the monthly payments. Since breaking up I have discovered he has alot of debt. I have found several letters threatening legal action, some looked like court letters. I had no idea about any of this. We were planning our future and talking about having a family and buying a house. I was completely deceived by him, he painted this picture of what we were going to have and it was all a lie. I’m really stressed because I cannot afford the monthly repayments (£395.00) on top of my own bills, which he is fully aware of. I agreed to be guarantor for him to help him because we were a couple. I had no idea how much debt he was in and that he clearly has a history of not paying what he owes. Is there anything I can do please?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds as though you have two reasons to ask to be removed as guarantor. See the template letter in the article above.
First that he could not afford the loan and Amigo should have looked into his situation more carefully. You were lied to and you have those letters as evidence that his situation was very bad. If you have any of the recent threats in writing, you should also show them to Amigo.
Second that you could not afford the loan repayments. Amigo should have considered if you would be able to make them if he stopped – either because he had lost his job or you two had split up.
I always suggest people make as many arguments as are relevant to their case. Don’t just make one, by making two you have more chance of winning.
If you obviously can’t make the payments, I suggest you cancel the DD to Amigo with your bank. You will still get hassled by Amigo if he doesn’t make a payment but at least they won’t be able to take your money and leave you in a mess.
Kerry says
Thanks Sara.
I’m kicking myself because I gave back all the letters when I took his stuff to his parents, to show I had found out about it all. I should have at least taken pictures of them but I was so upset & angry I Didn’t think about it.
I have a mortgage & he had nothing, it’s made me so angry he was willing to risk what I have by being deceitful.
He’s trying to argue why should he pay “our” loan. It was all his, not mine! I can show my bank statements to prove this. All of our conversations are by text as he has refused to face me.
Thank you for help, I’ll use the template as suggested.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Make the points any way, Describe the letters you saw.
You can win your case on non affordability for you alone. But I think it’s still worth describing how you were deceived and how poor Amigo’s checks were on him, as well as you.
You may not feel like helping him out, but you could point out by text that he too coukd make an affordability complaint (Page for a borrowers complaint https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/) and that if he does, the interest is removed from his loan.
Mark says
Hi,
I currently have an ongoing complaint with amigo. I have cancelled the direct debit. However they have taken money out of my account without my permission. What should I do in this situation?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did you cancel the DD just before the money came out?
Mark says
Hi,
I have cancelled the direct debit when I put a complaint on. I have called amigo now and the have apologised for taking money out and they will look into refunding it today.
However when I spoke to accounts manager she has mentioned about calling me tomorrow morning to talk about my “spendings list” according to the complaint for the loan I’m a guarantor for.
Is there any advise you could give on this ?
Thank you,
Mark
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you do not let yourself be pushed into agreeing to pay Amigo more than you can afford to a debt which you are disputing you owe. When you have a complaint in, they are not going to take you to court – they may send texts and letters that sound as though they might, but no-one has yet had this problem from them.
louise says
Hi as anyone had any success with lendfair?sara you have helped me get a refund from mobile money and amigo of partially upheld my loans the others they didnt i have sent to fos thank you
AG says
So Amigo had until Tues 24th to respond to the adjudicator. They haven’t bothered. They have another week or it goes into a 6+ month wait for an ombudsman. Why do they keep doing this? Why not just accept that they’re wrong and get it over with?
Amy says
Hi I received an email saying my account is now with recovery team, I emailed back saying they can’t do anything g whilst I have a complaint in place and they replied ‘ I understand that you may be escalating your complaint, however your account is 121 days behind and we can still assess the account for court. Please respond to the legal notice as soon as possible in the post so that we can assist you.’ I don’t think I have received any letters as of yet
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your case is now with FOS I assume.
They may “assess” your case but that doesn’t mean they are going to start a court case – they may just be saying this to try to get you to pay them.
IF you get a Letter Before Claim/Action (see https://debtcamel.co.uk/letter-before-claim-ccj/ for what one looks like, it has several attached document includinga Reply Form) then come back here. There is no hurry to reply to it – you have 30 days to do this. And then you can ask for more time to take debt advice.
AND no one with an affordabilty complaint has yet been sent a Letter before Action. Let alone had a court case started.
Amy Robinson says
Hi I have received the letter
m says
Hi Sara i have not cancelled the direct debit but instead borrowed money from family to cover this simply because of the further charges if they don’t take me off of gaurantor. Amigo sent me a questionnaire to do and have filled that out but i have just looked at the statement of loan and the interest is still mounting. This is beginning to effect me mentally and emotionally now as i cannot cope with this huge debt financially or mentally. Is there no way of getting interest stopped whilst the complaint is being looked at? I kind of assumed this would automatically happen but no 😔
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What further charges? I said before not to worry about these, you have no money so you can’t pay them, just cancel your DD. You can’t carry on borrowing from family!
You have what sounds like a good affordabilty complaint, if you win that, you will be removed as guarantor. At the moment you are making your life very difficult because you are worrying about something that may well turn out not to be a problem at all.
They can’t take you to court while you have a complaint with them or with the Financial Ombudsman. You need to get yourself into a safe financial position by cancelling your DD. Then you can wait while your complaint goes through.
m says
Further charges being default and payment bouncing plus interest charges which will hit me if they decide not to take me off as gaurantor 😔 If i cancel then financially it will be a larger loan in the long term. If i end up remaining as guarantor then court fees etc will be added to the loan and i am not sure i can cope with that strain mentally. i have however informed them i am having to borrow more money to cover the dd. I cannot cancel Dd and end up with an even bigger loan to pay back if they do not remove me as guarantor. It has been two weeks since my complaint was filed and i really am not holding much hope as the borrower is not contactable they have had no luck so if i am not guarantor they will not be getting money from him hence i cannot see them ‘ok’ing’ my complaint. i worked out that after all definately incoming and outgoing i am left with approx £100 but this is needed to pay off my £1100 credit card bill and any clothes, school trips and essentials other than food, but i assume £100 ‘spare’ will mean amigo see enough to pay the £50 required to them
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have two choices.
By trying to keep paying them now you are having a huge amount of stress and worry. If you win your case later – and your case sounds a good one! – then this stress and worry will all have been completely pointless. If you lose your case, you will still be facing a mountain of debt.
Your other choice is to cancel the DD and get in a safe financial position now. If you lose your case – and I hope you don’t! – then your debt mountain will be a tiny bit bigger.
So I think you have a lot to gain from cancelling the DD now and very little to lose. Can I suggest you talk to a debt adviser about this to try to put your mind at rest? Phone National Debtline on 0808 808 4000.
m says
Hi Amigo have 2 weeks left to get back to me regarding the decision before i can take to the ombudsman. I received a call from amigo a week ago to assess me income and we went through it and i am overdrawn each month. They even asked if there’s anything i can delay paying in order to pay them! they have decided it is not ethical to take money from me at this point whilst they investigate. I am still receiving letters, emails and texts stating about legal action if they do not manage to receive a payment by mid may. On the call they said that when my ex requested the loan they had my job role (assumed full time work) and my rent, minimal bills and they accepted because my credit score was good?! They have not spoken to the police officer dealing with harassment that this loan is part of via game playing. They said they will hope to come to an agreement with me to pay less each month rather than remove me as garuntor. What are my rights here? i feel i need to hit them with legal facts etc as they know i lack understanding with this and it feels like they are going to bully me into making me feel they are right to keep me on and i have no way out.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So I don’t know exactly what was discussed but it sounds as though you were talking about your complaint, not just about your income and expenditure and what you can afford? That is unusual.
Are they expecting you to go back to them?
If you can’t afford to make any payments without getting behind with other debts and bills, I don’t think you should let yourself be pushed into making smaller payments that you can’t afford. It sounds as though Amigo never properly took into account the fact that you were living with the borrower and that he earned a lot more than you did – so if he stopped paying the amigo loan, then probably your own finances would be in a mess as he wouldn’t be contributing to the household bills any more.
As soon as this gets to 8 weeks, if they haven’t agreed to remove you as guarantor I think you should go to the Ombudsman and explain that you are being harassed by your ex and him not paying this loan is part of that.
Toby says
Hi Sara,
I am the guarantor of a loan to amigo loans (1st one 6k then topped up to 10k). I am certain that the correct affordability checks were not carried out, however the problem I have is i do not have any contact anymore with the friend who took out the loan. The loan fell into arrears shortly after the top up and the debtor evaded all contact from them, and due to pressure and threats of action to me I reluctantly set up a payment plan and have been paying that for about 14 months. Since the loan was taken out I myself have been diagnosed with a mental health condition which I am certain impacted my own decision making when agreeing to be the guarantor. To confuse matters further it appears this account has now been passed on to another company (presumably a debt collector). Do I have a case to complain? Thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Toby
You can complain if you feel that proper checks about the last 10k loan would have shown that you could not afford the repayments. If you win your complaint, you will be removed as guarantor and all the money you have paid so far will be refunded to you.
Having had a mental health problem at the time you agreed to be the guarantor – that may well have been the case but it will only help if you can show that Amigo should have realised this… When you put in the complaint, ask for the phone recordings of your calls to them before both loans. Try to listen to those with an impartial ear – were you no concentrating on the responses, or being vague, or just saying yes to everything…
It is often much easier to win thee cases because of affordabilty – i encourage people to complain for all the reasons that they know are valid for them, but it is easy for you to think the mental health is the key one when actually the affordabity may work better,
Has your loan been passed to a debt collector to recover on behalf on Amigo? Or has it been sold to a debt collector – Intrum often buy Amigo loans?
Toby says
The company is Intrum. They have not made any contact as yet, I phoned up Amigo to make payment and was told to phone Intrum, I have not done so yet and will be waiting until they make the first move. I assume it has been sold on then, as the account does yet appear on my credit file.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, Intrum will have bought it. I expect you will find them much nicer to deal with than Amigo!
I suggest you put in a complaint to Amigo and also inform Intrum that you have made a complaint to Amigo.
Toby says
Thank you very much for this. I will get the complaint started. I would never have known about this it is only by chance I came across this website as I could not log into my Amigo account online, ironically. I would be over the moon at being taken off as a guarantor, any money back would be a huge bonus!
Gordon says
Hello
Back in 2010 i think i agreed to be a guarantor for my partners cousin she borrowed 5000 off amigo loans she made the first payment of 289 then the rest i had to pay for 5 years what i didnt know till a year later was each month when she wasnt paying they would contact me to pay they were adding more intrest on for late payments i was struggling with the debt and even had to take credit cards out to help and borrow money off family finaly i was made redundant from my job and used my redundancy to pay the loan off would i be to claim any ov it back thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can put in a complaint in you think the loan was unaffordable for you to pay back in 2010.
This is an old case and Amigo may well reject it saying you should have complained sooner. If they say this, send the case straight to the Finacial Ombudsman who will look at older cases.
If you have any evidence about your financial situation back in 2010 that would be a big help. This could be bank statements, or any letters or emails that you have,
Tito says
I had 2 guarantor loans with a guy, that now is disappeared and is a clear fraud. I was able with your template to be cancel from one, but the other one is still standing, and they are now telling me, that they want take me to court, I wrote to Fos in November, but I haven’t got a reply from them yet, even if I keep asking from one, and the loan company told me, that Fos hasn’t open a file with them yet. What can I do now ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
which lender removed you as guarantor? which lender is till pursuing you?
have you had any confirmation from FOS that they have received your case? if not, how did you send it to FOS, by email, letter or using FOS’s online form?
they are now telling me, that they want to take me to court
have you received a letter which says “letter before Claim” of “letter before action” at the top?
tito says
Dear Sara, thanks for your reply . Bamboo, first refused my complaint,then I insisted on the complaint,and they ask me to contact Fos again to tell them, that they would remove me directly , but only refunded me, half of what I paid on it. The other one is Trust Two, and I did the on-line form, and I have their reference number as well. The letter received from Trust Two, is a default loan letter, explaining if I pay now is one amount if I do not pay, the amount is higher and they say they might take me to court. I have read it again maybe.
what should I do as not getting any reply from Fos ? I sent the complaint on the 18-11-19.
Regards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have you had any confirmation from FOS that they have received your case?
if not, how did you send it to FOS, by email, letter or using FOS’s online form?
tito says
yes , on-line form, they sent me their reference number as well, but I have send e.mails and so on, but nothing till November
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, so TrustTwo are saying they MIGHT take you to court, not that they WILL. They may well be just bluffing you into trying to pay them. They should not start a court case while you have a case at FOS.
What reasons did you put in your complaint – you say it was “clear fraud” but any other reasons? Would the loan also be unaffordable for you?
tito says
Yes , also all the suggestions, that are on your template.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ALL of them? Hardly anyone would find they were all relevant for you.
Do you have other problem debts?
tito says
Monday, November 18, 2019 3:42 PM
To: complaints@everyday-loans.co.uk
Subject: Complaint about Trust Two loan- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dear Trust Two Loans, I am a Guarantor for a loan xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I am complaining, that you should not have accepted me as a Guarantor for this loan.
I was pressured into agreeing to this loan by the borrower, xxxx. I didn’t feel I could refuse, because he was begging me all the time , and I thought was a friend, but now is disappear and he is a FRAUDASTER, as he has done the same thing to other 2 people , that I know.
I did not properly understand the obbligations of a guarantor, I did not realise , I would have to make the payments if the borrower would not. A responsible lender , would not have given the loan without making sure I understood, what I was signing for.
I cannot afford , to make the loan repayments. This should have been obvious to you before you gave the loan. If you had look at my financial situation, you would have realised , that I was in large debts myself. You did not check my credit record , that would have shown you , that I have oither debts already and you did not check my espenses either and all the outgoing from my bank account. This would have shown you, that I was not in the position , to be a Guarantor for somebody.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
thanks – I have xxxx out identifying details.
Nigel says
I am grauntoor for amigo loan
I sent in complainet and so has the person who borrowed it now there asking me to fill questionnaire to confirm my salary was accrute at the time which it wasn’t.
And confirm I can’t afford to pay instalments and why I can’t
I can but don’t think they should have gave out
What should I say?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The borrower must have complained the loan was unaffordable for them. Have they stopped paying?
What reasons have you complained?
Nigel says
Yes they did complain,
Reason I complained is I was pressured into it as they had mental health problems, so didn’t feel like I could refuse
One compliment obdsuman already held for harrsment, for them
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so your complaint just says that the borrower can’t afford the loan so should not have been given it? It doesn’t say you can’t afford the repayments?
They have already won a FOS case for harassment? How long ago and did they not complain then about affordability?
Nigel says
The borrower was a compulsive gambler at the time
Peter was the borrower he said I can put his name on here
He posted on below today which you replied too
https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/
Nigel says
I also put I could not afford the loan repayments in complainet
My finances were not good at that time erratitc because I was not working much
The original complaint was because his mum was able to discuss account over the phone
Not to do with a affordability at that time
Sara (Debt Camel) says
then send the bank statements for that period to Amigo – that is a good reason why you should not have been accepted as guarantor.
Nigel says
What about the questionnaire what shall I reply to that
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you are sending your bank statements, I suggest you just ignore the questions and reply your bank statements show your full position.
Sharron says
hi, could you give me some advice, please? I stupidly got myself into debt for my daughter. she wanted to consolidate loans she fell behind with, and stupidly I agreed, so I got her a Tesco loan for £15,000. with interest £25,000. then she came back at me to be a guarantor for an Amigo loan,
she promised me faithfully she would pay every month, I trusted her. then it was coming to Christmas so she asked if she could get gifts for the kids from Currys. so I did. ( that’s where stupid me comes in) because I am! I guess you know what I’m going to say next. she didn’t pay any of tham.
now they are at me. yes I know because they are in my name. before I got these debts I had no debt at all. I am a single mum who lived within my means. I work too. and still, work. so now I owe £25,000 to tesco.. £4,000 to Currys, £15,000 to Amigo. needless to say, we had a huge argument she stormed off. and we have never spoken since. I’m receiving letters from them all, and debt agencies. but just ignoring them because I can’t cope/deal with them. I have suffered from anxiety, and depression for 15 years now. I’m not using that as an excuse . I just really know don’t what to do.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can I ask if you are Buying or renting? If renting, private or social housing?
sharron says
I rent my home, from a housing association. and pay a weekly rent. and council tax sorry for the delay.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I think you need advice on bankruptcy.
Some of those debts you have been were very probably unaffordable… you could complain about that and ask for the interest to be removed. And to be released from the Amigo loan. But if you win these complaints you still have to repay what you borrowed and that may well be too much for you to manage.
Bankruptcy could be a much simpler and less stressful way forward for you. You may have to make some monthly payments for three years, but these would be affordable and can be changed eg if your income dropped.
(With no assets to protect you should NOT be considering an IVA – you have to make payments for 5 years and more than 30% of IVAs are failing at the moment, bankruptcy doesn’t go wrong. )
You may also get a bankruptcy restriction order because you have borrowed such a lot without being able to repay it – but unless you want to be a company director that will probably make no difference to you.
I suggest you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about bankruptcy and any other options.
Bankruptcy is a lot easier than it used to be – the application is just online, you don’t have to go to court.
Terri says
My brother who has always been awful with money duped my vulnerable mother to be a guarantor for yet another stupid loan. My mum is almost 80years old & is bombarded with messages from amigo loans stating my brother has missed payments or not paid the full amount. She is being told she needs to pay these & is beside herself with worry as her only income is her inadequate state pension! How my brother or indeed his equally conning wife managed to get a loan is beyond me as they have never been out of debt!! Not relevant, I know but, on occasions my brother has cried to me when they didn’t have food to feed their 4 kids! I’d feed them all & give him money to buy food to fill their cupboards & freezer. Often, I’d go visit them the next day to discover empty pizza takeaway boxes, beer cans & fag packets!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you know how old this loan is? Amigo’s rules say it only accepts guarantors who are under 75. Does she own a house?
It sounds as though your mum can’t afford to make these payments now and that she probably couldn’t when the loan was applied for either if her only income is a state pension.
Is that right? If it is, she could make a complaint saying that she shouldn’t have been accepted as guarantor as she couldn’t afford the repayments. There is a template letter in the article above she could use. She could add that she was over 75 at the time of the application if that is correct. will you be able to help her with this?
If she wins this complaint she will be removed as guarantor. The loan will just carry on – this won’t harm the borrower.
But this can take a long while. Amigo are very slow and reject many good complaints which have to go to the Ombudsman. She should send the ombudsman her complaint if she hasn’t had a reply from Amigo within 8 weeks.
If making these payments will leave her too short of money, she should cancel her DD to Amigo so they can’t help themselves. If in the end she loses her complaint (and most people win them at the ombudsman! 90% of guarantor loan complaints) at that point she can agree a lower, affordable payment arrangement.
If she isn’t sure, I normally suggest people talk to their local Citizens Advice, but that may be hard at the moment. If she would be happy to talk on the phone, she could try National Debtline on 0808 808 4000.
John says
I made a complaint to Amigo and sent documentation they requested to them on 31st January, i’ve heard nothing back since.
I’ve also since e-mailed them due to being furloughed and again, have recieved no e-mail back from them.
Is it worth going to the ombudsman now do you think with the current coronavirus situation? Or is it worth waiting until all this is over to see if they e-mail when things go back to normal?
Stay safe.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You are currently making payments as your ex has stopped?
And you are affected by coronavirus?
John says
Yes, i’m losing £100 a week due to being furloughed and Amigo are still taking £100 a week from me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So two things
First about the lack of response from Amigo about being furloughed.
The FCA has said (in https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/finalised-guidance/personal-loans-coronavirus-temporary-guidance-firms) that
a) lenders, including guarantor lenders, have to offer a 3 month payment break to people affected by coronavirus “unless the firm determines (acting reasonably) that it is obviously not in the customer’s interests to do so.” That exception is likely to be rare and if a firm thinks it applies, other help has to be offered instead.
b) that if someone has asked for break but it hasn’t yet been agreed “because of firms’ operational difficulties” and the customer misses a payment, the firm should make sure the credit record is not affected.
Your credit rating being affected isn’t relevant as the Amigo loan presumably doesn’t appear on your credit record. But if you have not had a response to your request for a payment break, it is probably a good idea to cancel your DD to Amigo with your bank. If you do, I suggest you also send Amigo another message saying that you are doing this because you are worried they will not have agreed to your request for a payment break before the payment is due.
Second, I suggest you send your case to FOS immediately. Too often Amigo reject good complaints so they have to go to FOS anyway. There is no reason to allow them any more time.
tito says
I have a similar situation, with Trust two, but Fos has not reply till November, now I sent another complaint to Fos, but still nothing
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have a similar situation
do you mean you have a coronavirus problem and that you have asked Trust Two for a payment break?
Matt H says
Hi.
I posted on her a while a go and I’ve managed to succesfully over turn my liabilty for a guarantor and got a refund.
I was in an abusive relatioship and coerced into being a guarantor. My ex began defulted on the loans to punish me. I contacted Amigo Loans who rejected my complaint on numerous occasions. I raised a complaint with FOM and tol Amigo I could not afford the repayments and they agreed to freeze interest and the payments, this bided me some time.
I eventually put a request into the Police for all the police logs, I provided this information to Amigo loans who as good will removed my liability as guarantor. They did however still have money they collected me. I provided the same logs to the FOM who agreed with me and suggested Amigo Loans should remove my liailty as guarantor and refund me the money owed. Amigo loans agreed to this as “good will” before going to the final stage where it would have been published.
It is possible, I didn’t think it was and it has taken me nearly 8 months of pursuing. You need to prepare your evidence and use the police records if needed.
Good luck
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well done. Persevering is often the key to success.
Amigo don’t seem keen to go to the ombudsman level where decisions are published :)
Cathy says
Hi Sara
I just wanted to give you an update on the complaint I lodged with Amigo Loans on behalf of my son. Sorry I could not find the thread that I had initially started, mainly due to the volume of questions people have posted. This sadly is a reflection of the misery people are experiencing due to guarantor loans. Your website give valuable information and encouragement that people should challenge Amigo’s willingness to issue loans to people/guarantors who are clearly unsuitable and a simple check making people prove income via bank statements or pay slips would eliminate years of misery.
The adjudicator at FOS has ruled in my sons favour and ordered Amigo to remove him as a guarantor and refund all payments he made. They have until 2 weeks to consider the ruling and respond. Finger crossed the don’t dispute it.
Thank you Sara for this fab website and to everybody who is going through the process, don’t give up. During my complaint Amigo acted like bullies constant letters and text messages threatening legal action. I followed Sara’s advice and cancelled the DD when the complaint was acknowledged quoting legislation that they have to suspend all legal action pending the outcome of the investigation. They backed off at that point.
Keep going everybody the FOS is certainly on their case and hopefully will put pressure on them to change their business model which rakes in millions for them and destroys families.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is real progress.
So far Amigo seem to be accepting adjudicator decisions, though sometimes they miss the deadline and people are told the case has to go into the queue for an Ombudsman. Fingers crossed your case is accepted soon.
tito says
Fos, seems much slower with Trust Two, as is from November I keep logging complaints
Joanna says
Hi,
I’m on the DMP (stepChange) plan for past 2 years. Just find out that Amigo growing arrears, but showing 0 interest witch confused me. I asked them to stop growing arrears and remove them but they say no. How I should complain. I fink its unfair because that way I will never pay off my debts.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Joanna,
is your guarantor being chased for payment?
do you have a lot of other debt in your DMP as well as this Amigo loan?
was this you first loan from Amigo? what was your financial situation like when you took this loan out?
joanna says
Sara,
He was trying to do IVA (and I was told by Amigos that now I have to pay). Just he failed on INV coz he is not responsible.
I have personal loan 14k left to pay
Managed to pay off credit cardt and overdraft (7k)
And Amigo 10k was taken by my ex I’m the guarantor, Amigo saying that I have to pay 25k back…
I was forced to take that loan, he is bad gambling addicted
When I took the loan my credit rate was good but I already had other debits.
I complained to Amigos april 30, still waiting for the answer. This situation is extremely stressful for my, I just can’t stop worried.
Is it anything I can do to speed them up? I send complaint to fos, but they need amigo final decision.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So at the moment you have the Amigo loan – about 25k – and a personal loan of 14k?
No other debt?
The personal loan, who was the lender, how long ago?
How much have you paid to Amigo so far, anything?
Can you say how much you earn?
And do you have a house with equity?
joanna says
Personal TSB loan 14k left to pay (Since 2017 05)
Amigos (I’m the guarantor) 10k taken 2018 01. I pay in 5k already, but is 7k in areas. Areas will grow till 24k (thats what amigo told me). No other debt
Every month I paying £405 to stepchange for 1yeare and 10 months
After tax I earn £1600. I’m renting the room.
After I spit up with my ex boyfriend 2018 07, and move out I couldn’t afford to pay debt, there was £0 left for my living if I pay all monthly debt and bills. I went to the stepchang there helping me alot, but I’m so angry on amigos because they growing areas. As I said I was forced to take that loan, so I complaint to them in April, but no answer.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so if you win this complaint, then you will get your 5k back plus 8% interest on it. That will then let you clear a lot of the TSB loan and your position will look MUCH better.
If you don’t win, then it might be a good idea to look at bankruptcy as an option – but that is a long way away and a lot of these complaints are being won!
Jo says
Hi there.
In late 2017 I was forced into being a guarantor for my (ex) partner’s loan with Amigo, him having signed the agreement in my name without my knowledge or consent. It was an abusive relationship and even after I’d discovered it I was manipulated into paying the vast majority of it and still am. The last payment will technically be December this year.
I have made a complaint utilising the template above, elaborating upon the circumstances, how I was forced into the agreement, and how the loan was affordable for neither myself nor the borrower.
It’s quite late into the agreement but it angers me and I want to do anything I can to be rid of it as I am really quite poor. I no longer have contact with the borrower since they were removed by police so there’d be no way of arranging anything with them.
I was wondering if there’d would be any requirement for evidence in relation to my ex partner having fraudulently signed me as guarantor, as in reality there isn’t any. It took me over a week to find out about it in the first place.
My main goal is termination as guarantor and reimbursement of payments I have made and nothing more, but I’m anxious that this will be difficult, any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you have a phone call with Amigo before the loan was set up?
Jo says
I did not, I didn’t have any contact with them right up until I began making the payments.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is going to be interesting because Amigo will have had a phone conversation with someone pretending to be you… as part of your complaint you will have asked for a copy of all your personal information and on the CD will be a recording of that phone call…
Can you afford the current repayments?
Jo says
Exactly, I’m not sure how far that would get me as we’re both male with remarkably similar voices, but it’s definitely worth a try.
No I cannot, especially currently furloughed with only 80% income.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if you are furloughed, ask for a three month payment break, follow the link in the header here; https://www.amigoloans.co.uk/.
Amy says
Hi Sara
I want to put a complaint in I am a guarantor for amigo loans for an ex friend she has done three payments and decided to tell me that she won’t pay anymore, And I’m worried if I put a complaint in she will find out and make it more harder for me. So if I do put a complaint in to amigo loans so they tell her that I have done, And I do not know what to do because I can’t afford the repayments at all and live in my overdraft as it is I shouldn’t of been excepted for a guarantor in the first place they did not do the right checks. I suffer from depression I’m a single Parent thank u
Oh and can I still put a complaint in to amigo loans because she only told me at the moment that she’s not going to pay alone anymore so can I still get this complaint in to try and get removed before they start asking me to pay it Because I want to get the ball rolling because I worry a lot and Being I suffer with mental health I don’t want to go downhill with worry
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you complain, Amigo should not tell the borrower. People have not had this problem so you shouldn’t worry about this.
If you win your complaint, Amigo will tell the borrower. but this is good news for the borrower as their loan will have turned into a “normal loan” without a guarantor and they can then just make an affordable payment arrangement with Amigo.
A single parent living in their overdraft is not a secure financial position and probably not the sort of person that could afford the repayments to an Amigo loan. So you may well have a good affordablity complaint! Use the template latter in the article above and change/delete bits so it describes what happened to you.
You can complain now before you are being asked to pay – in fact this is a good idea as complaints can take months and it is less stressful when Amigo isn’t pestering you for payment.
If you are worried Amigo will take a payment from you that you can’t afford and leave your family in a mess, you should cancel the direct debit to Amigo when you complain. While you have a complaint in with them or the ombudsman (and Amigo are very slow at the moment so many cases have to go to the Ombudsman) Amigo may write threatening letters but they should not start a court case.
PS Your friend may also be able to make a separate complaint that she could not afford the loan. If she wins this interest would be removed from the debt and she could make lower affordable payments. There is a template letter on this other page for a borrower https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/. You could send her a link to that?
Amos says
Thank you for your reply it’s made me feel a little bit better as it is stressful I don’t really want to tell my friend because she’s the one who’s put me in this position and not talking to me anymore for no reason so when I send my complaint do I send it to amigo email because I’m not sure where to send it to thank u
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you complain to Amigo
Kamran says
Hi Sara,
In late 2018, I became a guarantor for a friend who took out a loan with AmigoLoans. He recently lost his job and they have started to chase me for payments and threatening me with court action. I am in no position to pay any sort of payments towards this loan as I already have outstanding debt of my own. I was in no position to be accepted for the loan when it was taken out as I could not afford it & neither could the borrower (My friend)
What is my best plan of action here that would get me or us both out of this mess?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can use the template letter in the article above to complain to Amigo that you should not have been accepted as guarantor because you could not afford the payments. If you win this you will be released as guarantor and your friends loan becomes a normal loan that he can make a payment arrangement for when he gets another job.
Your friend can also complain that he could not afford the loan. There is a slightly different template for a borrower over on this other page https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/. Can you send him the link to that? If he wins his complaint interest will be removed from the balance so he only has to repay what he borrowed, he can then pay at a lower affordable rate and also you should be released as guarantor.
It’s best to make two separate complaints. You don’t know which us the stronger case or which may be won first.
While you have complaints in at Amigo or at the Ombudsman (you can send your complaint to the Ombudsman at 8 weeks if Amigo have not yet responded) Amigo should NOT start court action. But you and your friend will continue to get demands for payment and may threaten court.
Kellz says
Hi
I’m wondering if you can help.
I had an amigo loan until March of this year as I declared myself bankrupt. My partner is my guarantor.
He has complained to amigo loans using your template and they are now on week 10, he was sent an email about delays due to everything that is going on.
He has made two payments and had to set up a direct debit.
Should he send it to the ombudsman and continue to pay? now he’s paying this loan instead of me I’m finding that I’m covering other things that he would have paid for (shopping) etc. I’m not complaining by the way just feel guilty, my finances were so bad we couldn’t wait til his affordability complaint was sorted before I made myself bankrupt. If he misses payments will this be on his credit file?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think he should send it to the Ombudsman, there is no reason to delay, some people haven’t heard back from Amigo after 15 weeks :(
An Amigo loan doesn’t normally show on the guarantor’s credit record unless Amigo gets a CCJ – and they should not start court action while he has a complaint with them or with the Financial Ombudsman.
What are his own finances like? does he have debts? Does he own a property? Would you normally have split the shopping 50/50 and now he is paying this you are having to buy it all? he might find it helpful to talk to National Debtline about his finances on 0808 808 4000.
Kellz says
He has a loan and two credit cards (all to help me in the past, he paid for me to go bankrupt).
We rent our home, before the bankruptcy he would have to do the shopping and bail me out but now I’m getting to grips with actually having the money to do the shopping etc we are still stuck with having to pay for the guarantor loan out of the same pot of money coming in. So even though I’m not paying it it’s still having an affect on the household.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That makes it sound as though he has a good complaint, saying the loan was unaffordable for him.
As I said, it is unlikely that the Amigo loan shows on his credit record. He may want to check that? If it doesn’t, then him stopping paying while the complaint goes through will not affect his credit rating.
Kellz says
Thanks for the advice, we will get it sent to the ombudsman and check his credit file.
tito says
I think Guarantor loans , should be banned
Sally says
Hi, I used your complaint template above to make an affordability complaint to Amigo, as guarantor, on 13/01/20. 15 weeks later I hadn’t received a response (they also hadn’t sent me my data access request so I also highlighted this and they posted it next-day). So I sent it to FOS.
Since November I have had to pay monthly for the borrower, but as a student on a zero-hour contract, obviously this has been difficult. My income hasn’t changed in the last 4 years, but I am no longer reliant on the borrower for bills/rent (an ex).
I wonder if you could tell me how long people have been waiting on average for a response from FOS as a guarantor? Obviously this will be much longer due to COVID, but have people had to wait months before?
Thank you for this page, it’s been a great help!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you had a low income/erratic income when you were accepted as guarantor?
If you can’t afford the payments at the moment is this because of coronavirus?
Sally says
Yep, income consisted entirely of student maintenance loan and pretty much working every other weekend away from uni – that’s all. My bank statement says higher outgoings than incomings.
I was struggling before Coronavirus and they checked my means to pay at the beginning of March (just before everything changed) and said I didn’t have the ability to pay (work being done in the shop and a week of illness cut my hours considerably). Since then I have been furloughed. I do have a payment gap until 14th May to be reassessed, but my complaints are still in process at the company and with FOS.
Thanks for the reply x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well that sounds like a good complaint to me – very unlikely the loan would have been affordable for you!
On 14 May ask for the payment break to be looked at again but Amigo won’t agree, cancel your direct debit to them so that they can’t take money and leave you short. While you have a complaint in they should not start court action against you, although you may get threatening letters.
Sally says
Thank you for the advice. I have already cancelled my direct debit, it was the first thing I did when I made my complaint. They have sent arrears letters in the last week, but I have had a phone call with them where they stated that after the complaint outcome is received (if it is not upheld), they allow a period of time to set up payment plans etc. before court action is taken. It’s just a frustrating a long process. I am still waiting of acknowledgement from FOS (delayed by Covid) but I have a pre-acknowledgement automated reply, so at least it’s in the system. Thanks!
m says
They were just calling regarding my budget for payments and i pushed for if they had contacted the officer and that’s when i got the answer of no. From my understanding they had it that my ex was actually a ‘friend’ who was not down at the same address as me. I also just realised that i asked for all personal information they hold on me (the part in the template letter) and they never sent me anything? I assume i should ask for this again and state that i am now taking this to the FO? but won’t they just send me the new information they have on me i’m who i provided to support my complaint? As before the call i did not know of this loan so any information they held on me then was not given by me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can’t go to FOS until after 8 weeks.
You can go back to Amigo and say you have not been sent your SAR data that you asked for and you need that, as you want to see what they hold because you never sent them any application to become guarantor so it must have been completed by your ex (if that is what you are saying? Have I understood it correctly?). Add that the police are involved because of domestic abuse, you would like Amigo to treat you as vulnerable because of this and give your case priority, and you will be asking the ombudsman for this to if Amigo do not remove you as guarantor.
m says
yes that’s correct he did it all and i was only aware when i received the phone call and had to go along with it. ok i will email them tommorow then as they have 6 days left to get back to me before i can contact the FO. I think it’s highly unlikely they are going to take me off as they are prolonging and would have done so by now so i will email them and then start prepping the FO letter ready for 6 days time
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Make sure you say that you are vulnerable because of the domestic abuse so you want to be given priority.
m says
Amigo have replied saying they cannot send me my data due to the current situation with covid and asked me to be patient. Their 8 weeks is up on monday so i will have to send the FO my complaint without these. They also reminded me they have 8 weeks from the email acknowledgment i received as if my calculations are incorrect but it is definately this monday so i will be putting it forward to the FO. Fingers crossed
Amy Robinson says
Hi sorry to intrude on your thread, but I emailed them requesting my documents last week and they said they will send it within 30 days. (I havent received them yet) but just thought I would comment this since amigo are now saying to you that they can’t send documents
Kerry says
Hi Sara, I have sent my complaint to Amigo asking to be removed as guarantor and laid out my reasons using your template.. They have replied asking for copies of my bank statements for 1 month before the loan was paid out and for 2 months after. I just wanted to check with you what Amigo can and cannot ask for? Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you have complained that the loan was unaffordable for you (the most common complaint by a guarantor) then definitely send them the bank statements – they support your complaint that you couldn’t afford the repayments. If your income was variable, you may want to send a few more statements before the loan started, so show this.
Amos says
I complained to amigo loans about being a guarantor I did what you advised me and use the template that you provided, amigo sent me a email back asking for 1 Bank statement before the loan and two after I have sent these off and I got a email saying that they received them and will help with the investigation and also said they have eight weeks to get back to me so do I now wait then if they haven’t got back to me do I take it further
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you just have to wait now for their response. You can send it to the Ombudsman at 8 weeks.
Amos says
So I can’t send it to the ombudsman as well or is it just best to wait for amigo first
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can’t send it to the Ombudsman until Amigo have rejected it OR it has got to 8 weeks and they haven’t responded.
Grace says
Dear Sara
My husband and I were guarantors for our son ( pub trade ) and he is no longer able to pay – we have been in contact regularly with the lender making them aware we are waiting on universal credit next month and waiting to sell our house ( sale fell through due to corona ) we were able to make partial month payment but this took several calls from us for them to accept this – we have also emailed as well as asking on the phone to put in writing that they would not accept our payment – they have not – today we called to make another £100 and were informed it has been moved to the litigation department and again would not accept payment – I’m a wreck – what can we do ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Grace,
who is the lender?
Grace says
Hi Sara
The lender is bluerock finance / nationwide finance
Many thanks
Grace
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is business lending not consumer credit. I suggest you talk to Business Debtline about your options https://www.businessdebtline.org/EW/pages/default.aspx As they are specialists in this area.
Grace says
Thank you 😊
Marie I says
I have complaints in against amigo and george Banco, both have gone over the 8 weeks and as such I have complained to FOS. Amigo are now on week number 16, I complained to FOS at 8 weeks. Question is, FOS have now sent me an email apologising for the delay and explaining this but I have been given a reference number for them, does this mean it has now been picked up by an adjudicator? When I called amigo last week they told me that my complaint still hasn’t even been picked up by them so I dont this a final response from them will come anytime soon.
George banco responded to the email I sent chasing up my complaint saying they need another 4 weeks but I can complain to FOS if I’m not happy with their progress (i sent it to FOS this morning) but george banco have said I only have 6 months from the date of today email or they will not consent to share info…I thought it was 6 months from the date of their final response and does this mean if FOS dont pick up in time they wont consent? I have done a SAR for both so will be able to share this with FOS if needed when I receive them anyway but was just curious.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A reference number means you are in the system and Amigo will be asked for your case file. Not that your case has been allocated to an adjudicator.
The 6 months is the time for you to send your case to FOS, it doesn’t matter how long it takes FOS to pick it up or deal with it.
Do you still owe money to either lender?
Marie I says
I’m still paying amigo, a reduced rate of £250 a month as the person I was guarantor for decided he didn’t want to pay after we split up and as they threatened me with court action I didn’t feel like I had a choice. I’ve paid over £8000 since april 2018 and there is still more than £8000 to pay (including interest which keeps rising). I paid a small lump sum (£2000) and cleared george banco (as well as my own debts, which i am also challenging) with the inheritance money I had after my parents died.
Marie I says
What will happen if I stop paying amigo while the complaint is being investigated? Can they start court action when the complaint is with the FOS? And what will happen afterwards of my complaint is not upheld?
Cathy says
Hi Marie
Sara has posted lots of really useful advice regarding the process of challenging affordability lending including what happens whilst the complaint is being looked at. The reality is Amigo cannot proceed with court action whilst your complaint is still outstanding including the time it is with the FOS. They may not be happy with your decision to cancel payment and you may have to remind them of the legislation which protects you. During the complaint i lodged on behalf of my son Amigo acted like bullies sending constant letters and text messages threatening legal action. I followed Sara’s advice and my son cancelled the DD when the complaint was acknowledged quoting legislation that they have to suspend all legal action pending the outcome of the investigation. They backed off at that point.
Fortunately my complaint was upheld by the FOS, however Amigo have not acknowledged the decision and it is now in the queue for the Ombudsman to review. Looking at other posts i don’t expect Amigo to let it go that far and am hopeful of an email in the next few weeks notifying me Amigo have accepted the decision. I can only imagine if the FOS had not upheld the decision Amigo would have to negotiate a repayment plan.
Hope that helps Marie. Don’t let Amigo bully you follow Sara’s advice and you will be fine.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo should not go to court while a complaint is outstanding, with them or with FOS.
So far people have received texts, emails and letters talking about court action, but I don’t think Amigo have actully gone to court when someone has an affordability complaint in.
If Amigo did start court action, I would expect FOS to give your case priority!
If your complaint is not upheld, then at that point you need to look at your financial situation and what you can afford to pay.
Sebastian says
Hi Sara,
I used your template a while ago (21/02/2020) to complain to amigo as the guarantor of a loan for an ex friend. Amigo sent me all the information and at 8 weeks said they need more time and aim to respond within the next 4 weeks. The 4 weeks was up on Friday just gone (15/05/2020). What do I do now? Do I email them again? Should I go to the FOS? Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you should send the case to FOS, 12 weeks seems long enough to give them. Some people are reporting not getting a response for 16 weeks or more :(
Have you had the SAR information you asked for?
Sebastian says
Yes they sent me all the SAR. Thanks for the advice, ill contact the FOS
Brian says
I am a guarantor for my ex partners amigo loan.
I changed jobs last year and a large part of my wage is overtime. She missed a couple of payments at Christmas and on my birthday month as well which makes me think I shes using this as a way to get back at me for kicking her out last year.
As she helped with the household Bill’s I now pay all myself and if she misses another payment I will not be able to make the payment.
My ex has also blocked me on every method of contact and will not give her new address to amigo also.
What can I do and where do I stand?Can I apply to be removed as guarantor?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you were living together at the time the loan was applied for?
Brian Yates says
Yes we were….
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then you can argue that Amigo failed to assess whether you could afford to pay the loan as guarantor if she had stopped paying, because that would suggest that she also wasn’t paying her share of the household expenses wo you have to pay them all.
Brian Yates says
Towards the end she asked if I could pay ALL the Bill’s because she couldn’t afford the small contribution she WAS making towards the household.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
These are horrible loans.
Thie thing to concentrate on in your complaint is that Amigo didn’t properly consider your situation if she couldnt pay the loan. This could have happened if she had lost her job or been too ill to work or if you split up. End result you get asked to pay this amigo loan at the point when you are already picking up all the household bills.