UPDATE: Amigo is asking the regulator for a Scheme of Arrangement, see Amigo seeks refuge from complaints. This is very early days – nothing may happen – if it goes forward all customers will be asked to vote to approve it.
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 such as Amigo 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? Amigo says:
Your guarantor doesn’t need to be a homeowner, we can still accept those who rent, but they will need to have a strong credit history.
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 Amigo and other guarantor lenders.
Many of these have been borrower complaints but here are two guarantor examples:
- an Ombudsman’s decision in a case where the guarantor, Miss W, had used the template letter on this page. The ombudsman decided that the loan was unaffordable for her AND had not been properly explained to her. She was removed as guarantor for the loan.
- a reader saying that Amigo has removed him as the guarantor when he complained.
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.
How to ask for a payday loan refund
Panorama program covers guarantor loans
Guarantor loans – more protection needed
Amos says
Hi Sara
So the fos rang me to say they are releasing me as a guarantor on amigo loans Cos it was unaffordable to me but said they have to give 2 week to amigo to get back to them to see if they Agree or disagree but it now been 3 weeks and they not heard from amigo yet when I rang fos, do u know what will happen next thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo usually agree in the end, but they are a but buried under complaint stuff at the moment.
Amos says
Hi thank u, Cos when they rang saying it’s good new that the fos investigated my case and was unaffordable to me they said by law they had to give amigo loans two weeks to apply to there email and all this waiting is still stressing me out the not knowing what happening Just want to confirmation that I’ve been released on paper Cos amigo loans are still sending me letters saying the borrower not paying
Amos says
Hi what happens if amigo loans don’t get back to the fos Cos the fos Who is dealing with my case said that it’s good news he’s looked into it and I can’t afford payments and he sent this back to amigo loans to release me as a guarantor but they haven’t got back to him so he give Amigos another week and he has told me if they don’t get back to me he takes it higher and then his boss from fos Makes the final decision so I am a bit worried that if it goes higher will his boss still take me off with the first man telling me it was a unaffordable
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have had the case upheld at the moment by an adjudicator. If Amigo comes back with more arguments, he will look again and may change his mind but this doesn’t happen that often. If Amigo rejects his decision or just ignore it, it goes to be looked at by a more senior person at FOS called an Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman agrees with the adjudicator in 90% of cases.
Sophie says
Hi, if I send the complaint saying I was pressured will the borrower find out and be able to argue it because I don’t think I have it in me to deal with the abuse
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The borrower should not be told about your complaint unless you win it, in which case the borrower should be told that you have been released as guarantor.
Are you being asked to pay this debt at the moment?
Can you afford to make the payments and still pay all your own debts, bills and living expenses?
julie says
Hi Sara my ex partner was a guarantor for his then so called girlfriend who lived miles away, he was at a low ebb at the time and it was later established he had a brain tumor. I don’t know when the loan was taken out or how much it was for. A CCJ was issued against him and then a charge of just over 5000.00 was added to the property I tried to object to this as initially paid 26000.00 deposit on the house and it was our agreement when the house sold I would get my 26k before splitting 50/50 and that he hadn’t contributed since 2009.
We bought the property in 2002 split up in 2008. The house would not sell and as a result he stopped paying anything toward it. I could not remortgage as don’t earn enough and had to go interest only and on a debt management plan myself. He died in 2016 due to the brain tumor and this charge is still on the property. Any advice would be appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was his half of the house left to you in his Will? Were you the executor?
Tina says
I am the Guarantor to an Amigo loan with my now ex partner being the borrower. She is refusing to pay to be spiteful due to relationship breakdown. She is more then able to pay. However amigo have told me the definition of a guarantor is that they step in should the borrower be “unable or unwilling” to pay. I can’t find this anywhere in their terms. Is this true? The borrower can just get away with it like that and debt fall on to myself? I also can not genuinely afford it now as my circumstances have changed.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Three points. Read them all, don’t just stop at the first one if it says what you want to hear… you need to maximise your chance of winning this by going for as many angles as possible.
1) I can’t find this anywhere in their terms. Is this true?
it is true, however it is possible you were given a misleading impression on the phone by them… in which case you may win a complaint saying the consequences of being a guarantor were not adequately explained to you.
If you send in a complaint – there is a template letter in the article above, make sure you change it so it really does say what happened to you – then this asks for a copy of all your personal information. this will include a recording of the phone call Amigo had with you. this can very useful evidence for the sort of complaint.
2) you say you can’t afford it now. That suggests you could afford it when the loan was taken out. To win an affordability complaint you have to be able to show the loan was unaffordable for you then. BUT it might have been… when you guarantee a loan for your partner, it should be obvious that if your partner stops paying then your finances could predicatably be in a mess. Either youbhave split up, so you now aren’t having half the bills paid by them. Or they have lost your job and you are again having to pay all the bills.
So just because the loan looked affordable when you were living together and your partner was contributing to the household, that wasn’t really a proper test of whether you could afford it or not.
3) if you can’t afford the repayments now, ask Amigo for a reduced payment arrangement. Don’t be bullied into paying more than you can afford. It can be a long while before these complaints are resolved so you need to be in a safe financial place while they go through. This loan does NOT appear on your credit report at the moment. And Amigo should not take you to court with a complaint live with them or at the ombudsman. they bluster about this but it’s been a long while since I saw them actually start a court case. And if they do, the Ombudsman will give your case priority.
Rebecca says
How do I prove financially abusive manipulation in a relationship. For grounds of my complaint to loan company?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is this the only debt that resulted from financial Abuse, or are there others as well?
Rebecca says
This is the only debt in their name. Other debts are in my name but they were things taken out for them which they paid and have now stopped since separating and left me with also.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
My thoughts are:
1) you should complain to the lender and not worry about how you prove financial abuse at the moment. Just kick off a complaint and ask for a copy of all your personal information.
2) read my reply to Tina just above. Her situation isn’t the same as yours, but the points I made there about asking for a copy of your financial infomration and also complaining that the loans was unaffordable also apply to you.
3) I think you need debt advice on your whole situation. I suggest you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 and tell them about the Fiancial Abuse. Allso say you have made an affordability complaint about the guarantor loan.
Kevin says
I want to lodge a complaint against loan company for wrongly accepting me as a guarantor. Citizens advice have told me to default and not pay the loan while my complaint goes through otherwise I’m accepting liability and my complaint won’t get any where. Is this true? I really don’t want to affect my credit score. Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is this Amigo?
Kevin says
Yes it is amigo
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, so the Amigo debt does not appear on your credit record – have a look, you won’t find it. So not paying will not hurt your credit score.
The only time this could appear on your credit record is if Amigo took you to court and got a CCJ. But Amigo are not going to start a court case while you have a live complaint with them or with the finacial ombudsman. They may threaten to do this but they are not going to court in this situation.
Having said that, I don’t agree that paying Amigo will make your complaint harder to win – it isn’t a question of accepting liability. Lots of guarantors have had refunds after complaining and those refunds are of the money they have paid.
So the question is, can you afford the payments? You don’t want to gte further into debt elsewhere trying to pay Amigo when you are disputing the debt.
Kevin says
No I can not afford the full monthly repayment. Only a small percentage if I have too..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so that is your choice, either refuse to pay them anything while the complaint goes through or agree to pay a small affordable amount.
louise says
hi sara
could you please give me some advice george banco have accepted that my loan was unnaffordable through the fos, they are now pestering my guarantor even though the email states that i can set up an affordable payment
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Tell your guarantor to submit a complaint asking to be released from the guarantee because the loan was unaffordable for you and should not have been given.
Also tell your adjudicator what is happening.
Mrs H says
My mum is a guarantor for someone who is purposely not paying her debt to the point where the borrower has claimed all payments back through indemnity, has lied about a bank investigation and payment agreements. My mum is 69 and has complained to UK Credit who on their own website say that they won’t lend to anyone who is over 70 before the end of the term of the loan. It was taken out last year for 5years so mum will definitely be over 70 when it ends. The borrower has made no payments and I am starting to believe that she has purposely targeted my mum, is this fraud/theft. UK credit have refused the complaint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the borrower has claimed all payments back through indemnity,
what indemnity is this? do you just mean that the borrower never paid anything so your mum was asked to pay?
I suggest your mum should send her complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.
Is she able to afford these payments?
Mrs H says
UK credit said that the borrowers bank request 6 months of payments back and UK Credit confirmed they gave it back and are not investigating why. The borrower has in essence stopped paying and it doesn’t seem like they are taking action against her. I have put in a complaint to the ombudsman, should I tell them the direct debit claim back as it wasn’t on the original complaint, but we only found out after we submitted the complaint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes tell FOS about that.
Clare says
I wondered if anyone has gone to the FO and complained about hefty unpaid interest charges and had any response?
FO advise they have prioritised my case, but that was a number of weeks ago.
Anyone been successful with this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS must have quite a pile of these cases.
So far the only ones settled have been the ones where Amigo changed their mind and decided to refund all the interest.
My guess is what will be happening is:
– Amigo and FOS will have agreed on several example cases that are typical.
– FOS will produce a draft decision on these, Amigo has the chance to respond, then FOS will produce a final decision
– at they point Amigo has to either agree – and settle all the outstanding cases on the same basis – or take FOS to court.
– so far no payday lender or any other lender has decided to challenge FOS over an affordability complaint.
So a lot of casse will be waiting but then they may well all settle very quickly.
Clare says
Thanks for this sara, great input as always.
Sorry can I ask for more guidance. Initially loan 3 upheld. 1&2 defended. On the upgeald loan I obviously paid lots in unpaid interest. Am I correct in thinking (if) FO rules in my favour…..
I’ll either receive a refund on the unpaid interest alone…… or potentially have loans 1&2 upheld and receive the interest back on them as well as the unpaid interest deduction, or does it cancel each other out
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS could decide that
1) loans 1 & 2 should be upheld – in which case you get a refund for noth of them and no interest deduction.
2) loans 1 & 2 should not be upheld but there should not be an unpaid interest deduction, so you just get that refunded
3) that loans 1 & 2 should not be upheld and that Amigo were correct to deduct unpaid interest, so no change from the present.
4) loan 1 was affordable but not loan 2 and that the unpaid interest deduction is wrong
5) that loan 1 was affordable but not loan 2 and that the unpaid interest deduction was correct.
Emma Stewart says
After 18 months, I am extremely happy to say that I have finally had my complaint with UK Credit upheld by the FOS. UK Credit have also now written to me to advise they are now also upholding the complaint, originally they rejected the complaint. They will refund the payments I have made and include 8% simple interest. However, they have asked me to return a form which has two options, please can you advise which option I should select. I spoke to UK Credit and I am still unsure. The original loan was £3000 I made payments of £4493.60 (I am the guarantor) the borrower did not make any payments.
The two options they have given me are;
1) I am happy for you to take into account the payments I have made on Lee’s behalf when calculating how much has been paid to the loan account.
2) I am not happy for you to take into account the payments I have made on Lee’s behalf when calculating how much has been paid to the loan account and would like the payments to be refunded to me.
Thanks Emma
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This was a very old loan, you were worried you didn’t have the bank statements that FOS asked for.
I ma very glad you won this!
I think UKC is saying if you get the full refund then the borrower will again owe the money – but they haven’t been at all clear. Presumably that is ok by you?
The CCJ has gone from your credit record by now? Is the charging order still on your house?
Emma Stewart says
Yes it is an old loan, I provided statements to prove I was in debt in 2011 which is the reason it was upheld by the FOS.
The CCJ has now gone and the charging order was removed when I settled the loan back in April this year.
From reading the letter again I would say it is option 2 I should select, as I would like to receive back all the money I have paid with the 8% simple interest added. See below an extract from the letter.
If you are happy for us to include the payments you have made on Lee’s behalf, we will take these payments into account when calculating the amount of Lee’s original loan balance which has been repaid so far and the remaining amount if any, which they will need to pay us. If the amount which has been repaid is in excess of the original amount borrowed, we will refund the difference to you.
If you are not happy for us to include the payments you have made on Lee’s behalf, we will refund all of the payments you have made, plus interest at 8% simple per annum, to you. Please see the important information below.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
then option 2 is the one to go for. option 1 is really only right if the borrower has paid you back.
Emma Stewart says
thank you Sara – without this site and your help I would never have got this complaint upheld
Garry says
I filed a complaint to George Banco in April 2020 requesting that I be removed as a guarantor from a loan, due to me believing that they didn’t carry out full affordability checks on the borrower. My complaint was upheld and George banco admitted that they didn’t carry out full affordability checks on the borrower. I was also credited back all payments I had made after the borrower defaulted. However, six months on and I am getting emails and texts from George Banco asking me to pay arrears. I have spoken to them twice and they could see on their system that I am no longer on the loan as a guarantor. They said to me that it’s an automated message sent to me so I asked them why have they still got my contact details on their system.? They assured me this afternoon that my details will be removed from their system and I will receive no more correspondence and they will forward my complaints to the complaint department. Who do I complain to if I continue to receive emails, etc?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Deep sigh.
I suggest you reply saying you will be sending a complaint to FOS if you receive any more automated emails and will be asking for compensation.
Bren says
My son has submitted a complaint to Amigo loans – guarantor for a ‘friend’.
Amigo have acknowledged receipt of the complaint and agreed to an answer within 8 weeks.
However the borrower is now in arrears and they are requesting payment from my son as guarantor.
I am helping him with his finances and do not want him to get a CCJ – do I advise him to contact Amigo to advise there is an ongoing complaint or should he try to make the payment to avoid further action.
He is not in a financial position to make the payments at present so it would be me trying to help out.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Has he cancelled the direct debit to Amigo?
What was his financial position when the loan was taken out?
Amigo should NOT go to court while there is a complaint in progress. They used to go to court very quickly, but not now, – they may make threatening noises but in the last year I haven’t known them go to court at all while there is a court case.
If you are worried about his credit record, the Amigo loan won’t show on it so not paying won’t harm it.
Can he also suggest that his friend puts ina complaint?
Bren says
Yes he has cancelled his direct debit and debit card.
At the time of the loan being paid out he was working and paying his bills – car finance and phone but he had just split from a long term relationship and so was at a low ebb and running up a large credit card bill.
I have been helping with his finances since 2 months after the loan was taken out when everything came to light.
I didn’t want to suggest to his friend about putting in a claim in case he stopped paying all together and this jeopardised my son’s record – he only now seems to be contactable by Facebook messenger!
M says
Hi, i have an ongoing complaint with Amigo..i am guarantor to an abusive ex partners loan which i was forced to agree to.. he filled out all details and only told me when i had the call. It’s been long winded, i blocked them from taking money which they tried to do despite going through my finances (all of which they were unaware of when agreeing to loan) and deeming it unethical to take payment from me even if i offered. They know about the circumstances of this loan and the relationship and my no option but to go along with the call. They are aware there was a police investigation into stalking, assault and harassment (which he was charged) after we split 1 or 2 months prior to the loan being taken out, they are aware the non payments on his part are a part of his emotional abuse and games and they are aware i have a restraining order on him. They know i cannot pay any money and my finances will never change as i am a single parent working part time with childcare costs. Yet they call and text and email warning of ccj despite the complaint now under the financial ombudsman. The last call i had was before xmas stating they need to come to a payment plan with me.
Do I ask them politely to take me to court as there is no way i can pay? I also do not understand with all the above why they have not removed me yet as guarantor and the loan is £360 left to pay from £500, i know it’s small but it’s unaffordable for me and they should never have allowed me as guarantor in the first place.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Going to court is a stressful, complicated and very slow procedure. Instead Amigo should just behave like a responsible lender and write this off. Have you asked the Ombudsman what is happening? Have they prioritised your case?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have sent you an email about this.
Viv says
Hi
I agreed to be a guarantor for my best friend last year, however, since August 2020 we are no longer friends. I’m concerned that she might stop paying her loan repayments and due to COVID lockdowns my pay has been lower and sometimes I don’t have work and rely on UC. Can I get myself removed from being her guarantor?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When the loan was given, could you really have afforded to make all the loan repayments and also pay all your own debts, bills and lining expenses? Or would you have ended up running up credit card debts, your overdraft or getting behind with bills?
If the answer is No, then you can make an affordability complaint and ask to be removed as guarantor. See the article above for a template. This is best done now, don’t wait until the borrower stops paying.
If the answer is yes, it was really affordable at that point, then you can’t ask to be removed just because your circumstances have changed. But if you are asked to make payments, then you can offer a lower more affordable monthly amount.
What are the rest of your finances like at the moment? Do you have a lot of other debts?
Mike says
Hi
I have a couple of questions on how affordability is exactly defined for a guarantor?
I understand it says you must be able to afford without falling behind on other debts etc – for example I have significant credit card debts I’m trying to clear, if I paid less on these debts / minimum payments I would have more money to potentially pay the amigo loan if required but it would take me further into debt with larger credit card fees due to minimum payments / longer time paying back.
I also have a large loan from a family member which I’m paying back – so this is not my my credit file and was never asked about by amigo, had they asked for bank statements etc they would have seen it, I assume I can detail this in my complaint if required?
Thank you !
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You would have to be able to make at least the minimum payments to the credit cards.
And if you are paying off a family member regularly I think that that too should be taken into account.
Basically a guarantor who has very large debts of their own is probably going to struggle to afford to pay an Amigo loan.
When you send in your complaint, enclose a copy of your bank statements.
Mike says
Thanks Sara – I actually submitted my claim before finding your helpful page – they have not processed the complaint yet is it worth me submitting them now or waiting till they get back to me?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you may as well send them. But I don’t think Amigo is actually doing any work on complaints at all at the moment.
Eloise says
Hi Sarah, I am now receiving calls and texts from Moorcroft? They rang me first but I didn’t answer as i didn’t recognise the number, so I googled the number and it said that this could be a scam, however I googled the actual company and it says that “your debt may have been passed onto moorcroft” is this true or do you think it is just a scam caller/ texter? I only worry as amigos have still not made any contact with me, neither have the Fos for quite some months now!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I googled the actual company
which company?
I haven’t heard that Amigo use Moorcroft for debt collecting.
Eloise says
“Moorcroft” I just wanted to make sure that wasn’t a thing that they did due to the fact I’ve not heard from amigos or the Fos still, and wanted to make sure it was scam!
Ams says
Hi Sara,
I am a guarantor for a loan taken out in 2019. I believe the loan was £5000 to start with. In March 2020 the borrower made an agreement with amigo loans for a reduced payment which I was unaware of. Also the balance is currently £4k+ So I believe a top up must have been approved without my consent.
They use to send me statements regularly with payments and balance but haven’t done so for atleast 6 months for me to keep on track of the borrower paying ontime as agreed. I would like to be removed as a guarantor but anaware if I fall in any of the above categories although my credit score was very poor at the time of being accepted as a guarantor. So this could possibly fall under irresponsible lending or not checking my financial to be a gurantor beforehand.
Also I am now on a debt management plan myself with stepchange as of december 2019. I havent been asked to make payments towards the amigo loan but I would like to be removed before anything like this happens.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you are now on a DMP, then you must have had a fair amount of debt when the loan was taken out? And if your credit score was very poor, why on earth did they accept you as guarantor?
I suggest you send in a complaint saying the loan was unaffordable and ask to be removed as guarantor.
Ams says
Thank you for your advice. I don’t believe they asked me if I had any other loans or debts before agreeing to be his guarantor. I will take your advice and do that asap.
Kindest Regards,
Amos says
Hi Sara
I had the Oms call me today and said because amigo loans haven’t got back to Reviewing his complaint he has sent it higher for them to make the final decision he has already told me his review of my case with amigo loans is unaffordable so asked them to take me off as a guarantor because amigo loans haven’t responded back this it why he ask me what I would like to do Because the Ombudsman Will look over it again and he has told me that his decision is final and he will look over it again what are the possibilities of him changing the decision from the other Ombudsman review
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Over all FOS’s cases, an Ombudsman makes the same decision as the adjudicator in 90% of cases.