UPDATE: Amigo are proposing a Scheme of Arrangement, see Amigo’s Scheme – how to vote & how it will work. If you haven’t already put in a complaint in, it is now too late to send Amigo one in by email using the template on this page – instead you will be able to make a Claim in the Scheme.
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 Scheme – timetable & voting
Is your credit limit too high? Not affordable?
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.
Doris says
We have a loan with Amigo loans my grandson got it and my hubby was guarantor he become on the dole and there have made us pay for it but my grandson got a job now but he s gust gone back after been ferlowed and he as nt paid it for one mounth and there are demanding
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, so back at the time your grandson got the loan, at that point could your husband have afforded to make all the payments to the Amigo loan and still pay is own debts, bills and living expenses?
Does your husband have other debt problem snow he isnt working apart from this Amigo one?
And what was your grandson’s position like when he got the loan – was it realistic he could pay it or was it too much for him?
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!
Bren says
It is now 8 weeks since putting in my son’s complaint to Amigo. I am trying to get him released from being guarantor on a loan. They have written to say they are still investigating and so have made no decision yet, but I can take my case forward to the ombudsman.
I expect the delay is due to the scheme of arrangement Amigo are going for. If they get this what happens to the debt and my son’s obligations as guarantor?
If instead Amigo go into administration what happens to the debt then and my son’s obligations as guarantor?
Should I now still write to the ombudsman even though there is a chance it would just get passed back if the scheme of arrangement or administration go ahead?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
We don’t know if the Scheme will go ahead, if Amigo will go into administration or something else.
If you send the complaint to FOS, probably nothing much will happen and it will later be returned to Amigo for the Scheme or to the administrators if they have gone bust. But… it’s quick and easy to send the complaint to FOS see https://help.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/help, so it’s up to you.
If the Scheme goes ahead Amigo will have to determine the complaint. Who knows what they will decide? Amigo will benefit if they reject complaints as they will carry on getting the debts repaid. They should give some info about how they will decide but at the moment there is nothing. I am unhappy that there is no clear commitment that Amigo expects to uphold the same high % of claims that FOS does. If Amigo uphold the complaint, your son is removed as guarantor so no future liability. But if he has made any payments he would only get back a tiny proportion of them. My estimate based on some very crude figures is here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-scheme-estimated-numbers-not-good/ – I think Amigo should give better figures.
If Amigo goes into administration, the administrators have to determine the complaint. They usually try to follow the FOS approach. The administrators are at least impartial – they don’t care what the decision is provided it is reasonable. If your son’s complaint is upheld, your son is removed as guarantor so no future liability. But there is unlikely to be any redress for payments made before administration.
You should talk this through with your son. It is hard to see any gain from you making payments now on his behalf – this money is effectively being thrown away in either the Scheme or administration. It may be better to put that money to one side in case it is needed if he loses his claim.
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.
Mike says
Thanks for your help – finally got my old bank statements through today, for the 3 months prior to the loan they show I’d not have enough in the account at the end of the month for 2 months and the other only enough by £20 if I was required to make the payment suggesting to me this should have been deemed unaffordable. Amigo still haven’t got back to me other than acknowledging the complaint and there’s 8 days till I can submit to the FOS – not sure if I should upload the documents now or wait till I submit to the FOS.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would wait, nothing to do 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.
Meg says
Hi Sara,
My dad was a guarantor for a £5000 5 year loan taken out in 2012. After 2 years the borrower stopped paying and my dad had a charging order placed on his house. When the loan was taken out he was consistently about £2000 in his overdraft and about to retire so I really don’t believe he qualified to be a guarantor in the first place.
He is currently being evicted from his house because he stopped paying his mortgage 4 years ago! He has dementia so I am sorting everything out and trying to sell his house. Annoyingly because of the Charging order I cannot get enough money to sell his house, cover the mortgage and buy another flat so he will have to rent if I cannot get the charging order removed.
My question is, as I have a power of Attorney for him, do you think it is possible for me to put the claim in to get the loan and charging order removed? Would it adversely affect the claim if I make the claim on his behalf? Or would it be similar to if a solicitor raised a claim in someone else’s name?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am sorry to hear of the circumstances of this. Yes, you can make the claim on his behalf. Enclose PoA documentation with the claim.
Who is the lender?
Meg says
Thank you for your response. It’s an amigo loan so I understand I might have some trouble with them paying up but I will put the claim in anyway.
The charging order has actually been removed from his credit score as it was 6 years old on the 31st of Dec 2020. Does that mean I can get away with not paying it now? It has been sold to intrum so it’s them who are chasing me for payment.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, the charging order will have been registered at the Land Registry, the fact it isn’t on his credit record any more is irrelevant.
Tell Intrum that you have put in a complaint to Amigo – they are usually a lot nicer to deal with then Amigo is!
The fact that the debt has been sold makes it unclear what you might get from Amigo in a Scheme.
Meg says
I thought that would be the case. I will put the claim in and hope that it can be removed by them.
Intrum have been surprisingly nice for debt collectors, I will let them know I have started a claim with Amigo.
Thank you for all your help.
Jeff says
Im a guarantor for a buddy loan, someone I should not trusted, they apparently didn’t pay the second payment , and without any notice They took payment from my account ,. Following payment where missed and I would get constant called and emails I complained that I didn’t want to hear unless they had spent two weeks chasing the loan, they agreed , and spoke to loanee who promised me that she would make payments and she had asked for them to be reduced, I haven’t heard anything from Buddy Loans since may, 2020 untill yesterday, Jan 2021 when I received a default notice, I am now retired and don’t have the income to Pay , the have threatened to take my home, however I only rent , I had no Idea the the Loanee hadn’t paid since march? How could I possibly chase them to pay if I don’t know they have not paid, they also owe me money,
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am now retired and don’t have the income to Pay
Then make an afford ability complaint.
Could really afford to pay the amount at the start of the loan, before you retired? In other words make all the loan payments and still paid all your own debts, bills and everyday expenses? – If not this is a straightforward affordability complaint. Use the template in the article above to make this.
– If you could easily have done this then but can’t now, you need to add to your complaint that although they knew how old you were, they still accepted you as guarantor without asking about your pension arrangements, which would have shown that you would later be unable to pay it.
And also cancel your direct debt it to them with your bank. The worst case is that if you lose your complaint you need an arrangement to pay a lower affordable amount. But for the moment it is important you don’t get into debt or be left short of money by making these disputed payments.
the have threatened to take my home, however I only rent
another wild threat from a guarantor lender! They do try to pressure people into paying.
Jeff Macklin says
Hi Sarah.
I Have raised the complaint with them, it does not seem as they are taken it serious,
I think my main complaint besides not being able to afford it, is that until i received a default notice i had no idea that the Loanee wasn’t paying, I complained straight away , but now they have added this debt to my credit files, i have spoken to the Loanee and she tell me that she has agreed a payment plan with them,
Buddy loans tell me that the reason the didn’t contact me is because i went though an expenditure profile with them in May and the agreed i could not afford the repayments, When they contacted in the passed i had always got hold of the loanee and chased them up, i Have also recently found out that Loanee has two CCJ against her, I would never have agreed to this had i know that an further more Buddy loans should have acted more responsibly
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you suggested the borrower should also complain? If she wins her complaint interest will be removed from the loan so a big advantage for her.
Was her payment plan due to covid-19?
If Buddy Loans don’t agree to release you as guarantor, then send the case straight to the ombudsman. Include all the points you want to complain about but it is good to be realistic and recognise that the easiest complaints to win are when the loan was not affordable for you.
jeff Macklin says
Thank you Sarah,
Yes I have suggested she complain, She says she is now paying something each month.
I had written to Buddy loans about the delay in telling me she wasn’t paying, they have now said the they sent me three letters that I have never received strangle on a recorded phone call when I complained that I had not heard from the from May until the default letter, the service representative never mentioned these letters, These letters are part of the protocol they must follow I cannot believe three letters can go missing, Had I received them I would have called them straight away, I have many recordings where i have contacted them straight away, but nothing on these three occasions, i would certainly not ignored them.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I repeat my suggestion that annoying as other things may be, you should concentrate on the affordabilioty issue to the ombudsman as it is much easier to win that.
Becky says
Is the below the standard response now, when submitting a complaint to Amigo?
On the 21st of December Amigo announced a proposal called a Scheme of Arrangement (“Scheme”) for customers – both borrowers and guarantors. Amigo’s objective with the Scheme is to ensure that all of our customers are treated fairly and no customer receives a benefit that disadvantages another. We have not stopped processing complaints but have stopped paying out redress. This is so that those customers are treated consistently and fairly with all customers under the Scheme
M says
Hi Sara, Amigos just sent me an email about my breather period being over soon, but I have sent an email to FOS about my case, but they’re obviously are busy at the moment and said they’ll get to me eventually . Amigos did put in the email, if I don’t respond, it means that I still want the breather. Should I tell them about FOS or just ignore it. I’m not sure what to do because I got forced into this
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, so you can now get a further 3 month covid-19 payment break. I suggest you replay saying that you need one (so it is absolutely clear) and say that you have send your complaint to the Ombudsman.
Do you have other debts as well?
M says
Thanks for the response. Much appreciated. No it’s just this one with Amigo which I’m the guarantor for
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Right well when the Covid-19 break ends and they want you to pay again, at that point talk to a debt adviser such as national Debtline on 0808 808 4000 and ask them to go through an income & expenditure sheet with you so you can send it to Amigo shoring that you can afford £x a month.
Alba says
Hi, I am a guarantor for my friend. She borrowed the money 2 years and a half ago in order to open a business and now that the shop is closed she doesn’t have any money to pay it back. When she borrowed them she wasn’t working and she didn’t have any fixed income… and since then I went down to a part time job and I started my studies… so my circumstances changed. Moreover, I actually was 22 when I signed, when now it says that to be a guarantor you should be at least 23. Is there something that I can do to be remove as a guarantor? I am also planning to leave the country, how will that affect me?
Thank you
Alba
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Who is the lender?
Are you making payments to this?
Do you expect to return to Britain?
Alba says
Thank you for the reply.
The lender is Amigo Loans and I am being asked to pay as the borrower doesn’t pay. I would have to pay through my savings as my income as a part timer and student doesn’t allow me.
The plans are to leave for good.
Alba
Sara (Debt Camel) says
– you could talk to your friend about her putting in an affordability complaint, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/ for a template for a borower. If she wins this, you are removed as guarantor (which helps you) and also interest is removed from the loan (which helps her). You can point out as you are leaving the country Amigo may be more likely to chase her for the debt.
– you could put in an affordability complaint yourself. See the article above these comments for a guarantor template. You could complain on the grounds that the borrower could not afford the debts (that may be difficult to prove unless she is prepared to give you her bank statements from the time of the loan say?) and that it was unaffordable for you (if it was? could you really have made all the debt repayments and still paid your own bills, debts and living expenses? if not the loan was unaffordable for you) and you could also make the point that aged 22 you were not very financially aware.
– if the shop closing was partly to do with covid-19, the borrower can ask for a 6 month payment deferral – this would take the pressure of her and off you (Amigo cannot ask you to pay in this situation) while your complaints go through?
– you could suggest that the borrower talks to Business Debtline https://www.businessdebtline.org/ about her financial situation and her options. They specialise in advice to people who are self employed or who owned small limited companies.
– if neither of the above complaints works and results in you being released as guarantor, if you are planning to leave the country then you may want to think about how likely it is that Amigo would be able to trace you or be able to enforce a debt abroad. You could talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about this.
Stu says
Hi
Im a guarantor on on 3 loans … Yes my wife got in to a mess but i didn’t fully know how much of a big mess she was in. With Amigo, Bamboo and GeorgeBanco. At the start of the covid lockdown in March 2020 i needed to access and try to sort out the mess as much as could … we applied for payments breaks due to the Covid outbreak where alot of lenders gave 6 months. During this 6 months i chated to StepChange and they insisted to get onto a Joint DMP asap … to which we did … been going on this for about 6 months … now even whilst on this DMP its still been tight with arguements brewing up due to the money mess. Now if me and my wife split they would still come after me as im garuntor even tho. Would I possibly be able to put a complaint in to all 3 garunator companys as finances wern’t properly checked at all and feels like i was pushed into being it. Payments were being all paid for by wife with me occasionally helping, but if it wasn’t for the DMP then i certainly would not be able to make all payments and live as would be missing money to pay bills and rent easily.
Do wonder if my wife could also put in a complaint as she was pressured from her family to pay for operation for her mom abroad
Cheers for any advice
Stu
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your wife can complain if the loans were not affordable for her to repay. Not because she was pressured into taking them by family – how could the lenders have known that?
You can complain if the loans were too large for you to be able to repay.
Who took the Coivid-19 payments breaks, your wife as she was the borrower?
Did she get them all at the same time?
How much do these loans add up to now?
How large are your other debts? How large are her other debts?
Are you buying or renting?
Stu says
Thanks for the reply
They were way to big for her … it was a case of her getting paid and then having hardly anything left for the month.
For me … Yes i had my own loans … i was able to cover those also bills and everything else … but if i had to cover the 3 garuntor loans i be dead in the water.
No she didn’t get them at the same they were spaced out over a few months in between … amigo was one of the first before the others.
On the joint DMP roughly about 63K … broke down about 35k her and me the other half … i was managing mine all on time with payments until covid turned up. StepChange recommended a joint DMP to combine everything into the 1 payment per month.
But i know if we split they would possibly come to me if she dosn’t pay which would increase my debt alot more.
We are renting … no asset’s as such and car is on a PCP agreement.
So its a case of riding the storm to calmer waters which we are currently as the DMP is about 6-7 months in play … but its the garuntors which keep make me thinking … as we have not put in any complaints yet to any company and how the complaints would effect the DMP.
Cheers for the reply
Sara (Debt Camel) says
My suggestion is that this is a very large mountain of debt even if you are together – and impossible if the two of you live separately when your expenses will be much higher. Just getting the interest removed will not make that much difference. I think you should both talk to StepChange about bankruptcy.
It may be possible for you both to make affordability complaints and for her to go bankrupt and you to not go bankrupt if either she wins her affordability complaint or you win yours. StepChange can talk you through this.
Eloise says
Hi Sarah, today I got my email from amigos about the scheme. Do you know if this is the only outcome of my complaint? Is there still a chance the FOS can/ will deal with the complaint I sent them? I only ask as this email is the first thing that I have heard from amigo in quite a few months (which is odd for them they normally hound me all day every day) and I’ve not heard anything from the fos either.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, this is NOT the answer to your complaint. Amigo and texting/email all current and previous borrowers and guarantors to tell them about the Scheme.
FOS is working on complaints but so far as I can see Amigo is going to be ignoring what FOS do :(
Amigo still seem to hounding a lot of people, nice if you are in a quiet period…
Eloise says
What would you suggest is the best thing for me to do at this point? :(
Today they have text and emailed about the scheme and then sent me a letter about the amount of arrears accumulated by the borrower before going through his Iva. It’s a bit unsettling as this is the first time I’ve heard from them since about august/ September last year!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what does this letter say?
Eloise says
It’s mostly just showing the amount of arrears the borrower built up, the remaining balance of the loan and how to contact the fos.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well if it isn’t asking for payment, you could just ignore it? If it is, you can refer them to your complaint. If you make any payments to them now, you are likely to only get a tiny proportion of them back if the Scheme goes ahead.
Eloise says
Thank you Sarah, I haven’t made any payments to them since mid last year, just before I cancelled my direct debit to them whilst putting my complaint in. They also said in the email that if you have an outstanding loan with them that the money you may get will be decreased, I take it since the borrowers loan is still £3000 it wouldn’t be anything near what I have already paid in the past?
I don’t know if I’ve already asked this, but since the borrower went through an Iva and I became responsible for the loan, will this show up on my credit score now since I’ve cancelled the direct debit? I know guarantor loans don’t show up on your credit score but wasn’t sure if that was still the case in my situation.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If your claim is upheld in a Scheme you are removed as guarantor and you will get a very small percentage back of what you have paid. You will not owe them any money as you should never have been accepted as guarantor, so there is no debt to be decreased.
If you look at your credit record you will the loan is still not there. The only way your credit score can be harmed is if Amigo take you to court for a CCJ and that is not going to happen while you have a complaint open with them.
Izabela says
Hi Sara,
I was pressured to being a guarantor for Amigo Loans by a guy I was seeing 3 or 4 years back. He also made me take a car put on finance worth over £30,000 that he wanted to use. I am Polish and I didn’t know anything about loans, I didn’t understand, I was suffering mental health issues and was very vulnerable. Amigo Loans never check my affordability, I remember when they call I was in a car parking up and the conversation was 60 second long, just ask if I agree. I don’t remember the original loan amount but it was big, the monthly repayment was almost £500 which I would never be able to afford especially on top of the £420 monthly payment for the car. The guy has since disappeared, left me with a damaged car I’m still paying for in negative equity for new finance, and the Amigo loan repayments which I reduced when they finally did my affordability assessment. They assess I was only able to afford £136 a month. That’s only few months after he took out the loan. Amigo sold the loan to Intrum now and I want to complaint and have my money back and be released as guarantor. But amigo said I dont have account anymore and I must contact Intrum.
Can I still complain and fight my case if they sold my account to Intrum?
Any advice will be much appreciated. I’m also willing to use any no win no fee companies because by myself I struggle.
Regards,
Izabela
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you can send Amigo a complaint. But it is unclear how much you might get back.
Can I suggest you should talk to a debt adviser about the whole of your current situation? Phone NAtional Debtline on 0808 808 4000 and tell them you are thinking about a complaint to Amigo.
Izabela says
Thank you Sara. My main priority is to be released as the guarantor. Do you think is still possible if the loan was over to Intrum?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes.
Sharon says
My daughter was a guarantor for an abusive ex who coerced her into doing this. He immediately stopped the repayments as he couldn’t afford them so she had to take them on. Having to take her own loan out to keep up. They split soon after this and he hasn’t made a single repayment. This was 2yrs ago. I have made complaints to amigo myself about allowing this loan as she was on medication for her mental health at the time and it was very clear she wouldn’t be able to keep up these payments. He wasn’t able to take out his own loan because of his bad credit history of non payments. She has since made a claim through a claims court against him for some of the payments and won. He now has a ccj. Having not heard anything for well over a year we guessed he had started paying the loan but received a letter last week stating this isn’t the case and the debt is now at over £16,000. She was made redundant in December and at the time of this loan was only working 24hrs pw. What is our next step to get her removed as guarantor?
No other problem debts but she has a car loan to pay and no income.
She also has a young child with him, as she did when this loan was taken out.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How is she paying the car loan if she has no income – is this HP, PCP or a bank loan? She may have a case for saying this car fiance was unaffordable, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/unaffordable-car-finance/
Presumably she is getting some benefits such as Universal Credit and Child Benefit?
Is she behind with bills such as rent, council tax, utilities?
“I have made complaints to amigo myself”
On her behalf? What happened to this complaint, did Amigo reject it? Was the complaint sent to the Ombudsman?
Sharon says
Her car is on HP and the universal credits she gets paid for that. She lives with me so I am having to support her. I complained saying that she should never have been allowed to be a guarantor because of her mental health/medication and her income. It was a years wages. They just said it was all agreed. Also she was only 22. On their website it says guarantors must be 23.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When did you get the response to your complaint? I assume it was made on her behalf? Did you send it to the Ombudsman?
I think she should look at an affordability complaint about the car. How much does she owe on it at the moment?
Amigo has changed the minimum age for being a guarantor in the last year – it used to be 18. So that won’t help her claim.
Eloise says
Hi again Sarah, amigo have sent me another letter about the arrears for the loan, one part of the letter says that they can only send letters every six months, which would explain the silence? It’s again just a letter saying how to pay it etc and includes a page from the financial conduct authority saying “if you ignore this it could get worse” I take it that this is just them “threatening” again?
Do you think it’s worth me getting in touch with the fos again and seeing if there is any progress?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This sounds like a formal NoSIA (Notice of Sums In Arrears) letter. Lenders are legally obliged to send them every 6 months so their systems churn them out. It doesn’t mean the lender is going to do anything at all.
You can ask FOS if you like but even if FOS makes a decision, Amigo may ignore it. So unfair.
Eloise says
Yes and I think I’ve had a couple of these before. At this point I’m just worried again I’m going to get people knocking at my door asking for money or something..
if amigos are going to just ignore any decision by the fos if they agree with my complaint, is there actually any way out of this anymore? :( at this point I’m more focused on being removed as a guarantor, any money back would just be a luxury at this point.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If the Scheme goes ahead, your complaint will be returned to Amigo to go into the Scheme.
Then Amigo will have to decide whether to uphold your complaint. They have not said how they will do this. For you the worry will be if they simply reject it again.
If they uphold your complaint, then you are released as guarantor and you would get back a really small proportion of the money you have paid.
If Amigo go bust, your complaint will be returned to the administrators who have to decide whether to uphold your complaint. Administrators normally try to follow what FOS might have decided in a rough way. Again you would be released as guarantor if they uphold it. But there wouldn’t be any money to pay you a bit of the cash amount.
For you the main decision is whether you think Amigo or administrators are more likely to uphold your complaint. If Amigo give proper details that will be helpful.
Eloise says
Thank you Sarah that’s really helpful. If my complaint goes into the scheme, does that mean I’ll have to vote in that court thing that they’ve mentioned?
In the meantime I take it all I really have to do is what I’ve been doing the last few months, simply just sitting and waiting and ignoring their threatening letters? I’m only asking because obviously the arrears have been increasing since I cancelled the direct debit payments, and wasn’t sure if anything happened once that got to a certain amount?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If the Scheme gets through the first court hearing, all customers will get a vote on it.
I think Amigo are even less likely to go to court now than they were before. It’s slow and uncertain. Not a sensible thing to do when your regular is watching you are trying to decide if you should be allowed to do the Scheme.
re the increasing arrears. One thing you could do is try to put some money aside so if in the end you do lose you have somehting there? Or pay off any your other debts so that you are in better position if you lose to set about clearing the Amigo debt?
Eloise says
I will start doing that just in case that happens, until then, if they do end up rejecting my complaint etc are they likely to do anything if I just keep the direct debit cancelled and ignoring their threatening letters? Amigo is now my only debt, as bamboo removed me as the guarantor “as a gesture of good will” as it was affecting my mental health.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is getting into real crystal ball territory… but if you lose your complaint in a Scheme you will need to make some offer of repayment. Either to Amigo or I suppose they may sell the debt onto a debt collector. The only thing stopping them going to court at the moment is the complaint – when the complaint no longer existis…
Eloise says
Just a quick question that’s been trying my head for a while which I can’t seem to find the answer to anyway, if my complaint was eventually upheld, and I was removed as the guarantor, what would then happen to the loan? As the borrower went through an iva without speaking to me about it mid last year hence why I’m now responsible, what would happen then?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The loan still continues but as a “normal” loan with no guarantor. I assume it us included in the borrower’s IVA, in which case the lender will get a bit of money from that then if the IVA completes successfully the remaining debt will be written off.
louise allen says
hi
if you could give me some information i would be very grateful please, fos have agreed my amigo loan was unnaffordable after the 21/12/2020 i havent heard anything from them about this upto now, i have called amigo several times asking if i could change my payment date one last time to fit in with my income after a million questions and asking to see my bank statements i ended up putting the phone down! the account is upto date for now, my question is if i stop paying this loan and my guarantor dosent make payment (amigo have removed her banking details off the account) after she asked for this what will happen? i dont think its fair me struggling to pay £296 a month when i should have interest and guarantor removed and arrange a more affordable repayment but i understand this will probably not even be looked at
thank you for all your help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
my question is if i stop paying this loan and my guarantor dosent make payment (amigo have removed her banking details off the account) after she asked for this what will happen?
First your guarantor should also cancel her direct debit to Amigo with her bank. Sorry but it’s better safe than sorry in this situation.
Then if you stop paying she will get texts and emails saying she has to pay, possibly threatening court action but:
a) this cant affect her credit record as the Amigo loan is not on her credit record
b) Amigo are not going to go to court in this situation. There is an open complaint at FOS and the refgulator’s rules say they shouldnt go to court while the debt is being disputed. Amigo used to go to court very fast but they stopped that in 2019. So the texts and emails are just a bluff, not real.
Tim says
Hi, I’m the guarantor for an amigo loan. The borrower has lowered their monthly payments and due to this has been issued a default notice as their not meeting the contractual agreement of payment amount. The borrower I believe has no intention of paying so will fall to me. I can’t afford the full contractual payments either so my question is will i then be personally issued with a default notice? I desperately don’t want to mess up by credit score. Please advise. Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This may sound odd, but getting a Default Notice has NOTHING to do with your credit record – a Default Notice is a formal procedure under the Consumer Credit Act.
This Amigo loan is not on your credit record – have a look if you are worried about this! So no default or missed payments can hurt your credit record. Your credit record can only be harmed if Amigo take you to court for a CCJ. If you have an open complaint(see below) they won’t go to court (although unpleasantly they may threaten it).
If you cannot afford the repayments you can ask Amigo for a reduced payment amount. But do cancel your Direct Debit and/or Continuous Payment Authority with your bank – don’t let them take to much money and you be left short.
BUT three things
1) was the loan always unaffordable for you? Could you have afforded to make all the loan payments and pay all your own bills, debts and living costs? (This means afford out of your income – not through selling your house or car.) Amigo should have checked this but its checks were very poor so a lot more than 80% of these cases are being won at the Ombudsman. If you think it wasn’t affordable, send Amigo a complaint not using the template letter in the article above.
Amigo is talking about setting up a Scheme to cap payments or going bust – neither of these matter to you, all you want is to be removed as guarantor, not a refund. Amigo may not respond to your complaint, but you can then send it to the administrators or to the Scheme depending on what happens.
Once you have a complaint Amigo is not going to go to court until it is resolved so threatening emails/texts are just bluff.
2) have your household finances been affected by Covid-19? If they have, you can ask Amigo for a 6 month payment break. This is in addition to making an affordability complaint.
3) can you suggest the borrower also make an affordability complaint? There is a template for the borrower over on this page https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/
Tim says
Hi Sara. Thanks for your response. The account is already in arrears by £1000 and nothing has been paid by the borrower since March 20 they kept allowing payment breaks and then just breaks for no reason. They haven’t hounded the borrower at all just me instead. I thought I read somewhere that a default notice takes points off your credit score? I’m assuming as it’s in arrears so much (which they’ve allowed her to carry on doing) when it comes to me in a few days time it’ll be MY arrears not hers? And a default given to me as I can’t pay full amount so will always be in arrears going going forward. Just so worried about my credit score and file. Also the borrower can afford repayments just choosing not to and mess me up as they are an ex partner.
Paul Greene says
Hi,
Since friend failed to make last few repayments and had left the country, I as guarantor paid them and evantually repaid 11K Amigo loan in Jan 2020.
I am not sure if I am in position reclaim money, as I thought I understood responsibility of being a guarantor
i.e. if he died or coulnd’t pay I’d have to help and I had the money to repay the loan before Covid-19.
But, having seen various comments on affordability not sure if Amigo have
a) Done due diligence on his affordability, as I now know he missed mortgage payments on his property (which he still owns).
b) Would have thought that they would exhaust all possible means to recover money where someone refuses to pay and doesn’t speak to them. Before relying on guarantor to make repayments or repay loan. Otherwise, I might as well have just given him the money without any loan agreements.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you only paid the last few payments?
a) they probably didn’t do good checks. But unless the borrower is prepared to complain, or to provide you with his bank statements, you may find it hard to win a claim on the basis that the loan was unaffordable for him.
b) indeed. Their website says “we’ll pop you a message to keep you in the loop while we work with the borrower to get things back on track.” but that isn’t what often happens. Amigo will often not give the borrower any time to recover from their problem before going after you. And at that point they seem to stop chasing the borrower. Not what you expected…
Paul Greene says
Thanks for the reply.
He paid, the first 5 instalments and over next 5 months I paid three instalments because of the credit default notices.
Seeing how expensive it was going to be to me if I carried on paying the monthly instalments I thought I didn’t really have any other options other than just pay off the loan. So paid off 11K + some interest. So it’s probably cost me about 13K+ in total.
Your spot on with b), it kind of feels like they try phoning and emailing and if they don’t get a response go straight to guarantor.
Is it worth even trying to make a claim with them directly or FCA or maybe even join the scheme they have emailed about, as at this point even getting back a portion is better than nothing.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Oh that is a lot of money 😧
It’s definitely worth complaining, I am just saying it may be hard to win unless the borrower is prepared to cooperate with you.
Yes you can send Amigo a complaint now eg using the template in the article above. They will probably ignore it, but it’s simple to do and gets the process underway as we don’t know yet what will happen.
You can’t send a complaint to the FCA. Perhaps you meant the Financial Ombudsman. You can only send a complaint to them after the lender has had it for 8 weeks.
The Scheme is not yet running so you cant yet send it a claim yet.
Sean says
Hi Sara,
I was the guarantor of a loan of £5000. The borrower has failed to pay it back. Despite chasing her, Amigo ended up chasing me and sent me scary default notice papers. I wish I had seen this advise before but at the time (2019) everyone advised me to pay it!
I was unemployed at the time and my bank account balance was very small. However, I paid anyway which led me to having financial and health issues due to the stress.
Now I have sent them the complaint letter but I dont know if it’s going to get anywhere bearing in mind they have started the scheme.
Do you think I can still be refunded 5000 plus the interest I had to pay?
Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Scheme hasn’t yet started, that is months off.
You have two problems with the Scheme.
First would your complaint be upheld? You haven’t said anything about what your finances were like when the loan was taken out, at that point could you have managed to make all the payments to Amigo and still paid your own debts and bills?
Second even if your complaint is upheld, it seems likely (see https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-scheme-estimated-numbers-not-good/) that you would get a very small percentage of the money you have paid back.
If you have financial problems at the moment, you cannot rely on a refund from Amigo helping you. I suggest you talk to National Debtline about what your options are.
Sean says
To answer your question, my finances weren’t great when the loan was taken by the borrower. I had just bought my house. She (the borrower) pushed me into it by pressurising me on a daily basis.
She was my lodger meaning I was relying on her rent payments to pay the mortgage and the bills. Because of that, if she had missed a payment or two during her stay in the spare room of my house, that would have impacted my affordibility massively. Her financial sitution was in the worst state one could imagine.
Besides, my budget was tight; when I paid mortgage, bills, etc. , I hardly had anything to spend on anything else. Obviously they did not check any of that either.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you can complain that Amigo did not check properly you could afford it. And also that Amigo did not take into account that you were depended on getting the rent payments from the borrower. read the article at the top of this page and send in a complaint now.
But as I said the Scheme is months off and you are likely to only get a very small amount back even if your complaint is upheld.
So if you have current fiancial problems, I do suggest talking to a debt adviser now.
Sean says
Thank you Sara.
I have already sent my complaint to Amigo using your template letter. I am not sure if you agree but I doubt they will respond anytime soon given the number of complaints they have been receiving. Even if they do, it seems highly unlikely that it’ll be a positive outcome.
Now that my complaint has been sent to them, is “sit and wait” the only thing I can do? Or is there an alternative route I can pursue?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sit and wait. If the Scheme is given the go ahead at the first court hearing at the end of March, you will be asked to vote on it in May. At that point there should be some more details known about it!
Sean says
Hi Sara,
Sorry for asking another question but there’s something else that’s really puzzling me. I think it will be interesting for the others too.
Scenerio:
– I have paid out a loan of £5000
– I complained and asked to be removed as the guarantor
– The Amigo scheme is approved
– Amigo paid me a small amount of money as part of the scheme (potentially a few hundred))
then will they will reopen the account resulting the borrower to have an unpaid loan of £5000? (since they removed me as a guarantor).
If that’s case, they are the winners. Pay guarantors peanuts and end up loads of borrowers owing them much more money.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is an interesting question.
What Amigo has said so far is not entirely simple (PSL Appendix 1 (3) describes how “capital revival” will not be used). I think it is intended to ensure the problem you have described will not arise.
I am hoping they will clarify a lot of things and I have now added this to the list.
M says
Hi Sara, I keep telling Amigos I cannot afford it and I suffer with mental illness and they are threatening me with CCJ and I can’t afford it and I’m freaking out as I got pressured to this and I’m scared
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how long a covid-19 payment break have you had?
M says
Since December. It properly ends next month
Sara (Debt Camel) says
then you are entitled to ask for another 3 month payment break if your finances are still affected by covid-19 eg you are on furlough.
They will not go to court during a payment break.
They are actually VERY VERY unlikely to go to court when you have a complaint in anyway. But during a covid-19 payment break, it isn’t going happen and during a covid-19 payment break they cannot ask your guarantor to pay.
If you feel you are being bullied by them and would like to talk to a debt adviser to confirm what I have said that you should be able to get another 3 months break, phone national debtline on 0808 808 4000.
M says
They way they have made it sound as if I don’t pay by March. Then I’m going to court. I have told them that most of last year I have been in furlough and I have put in a complaint to FOS. I didn’t know whether to tell FOS about the threat or leave it? But I’m the guarantor so they’re not going to listen
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ask them why you cannot have another 3 months covid-19 payment break.
They can be really unpleasant to deal with but this sounds like just bluff to try to force you to pay. In the 18 months plus since a lot of people started winning these complaints I have not known Amigo take anyone to court while they have a complaint live with Amigo or at the ombudsman.
In the end, what can you do if they continue to threaten? If you can’t afford it, you should not pay. Don’t be left too short for your essential bills and living expenses because of these empty threats.
Deelan says
Hi Sara
I am a guarantor of a 5k loan, for a guy I used to work with 3/4 years ago. He paid few times ask for a top up of £500 and didn’t pay anymore but now with the interest it increase almost at 7.5k .
I made a few payments in the past and when I spoke with him I’ve seen that is not interested to pay it “he didn’t say that but what I felt when I spoke with him”.
I’m in a Debt management program for about 2years now and this should be my last year before go back on track with my finance and I told amigo but they keep calling asking me to pay.
I copied the “ COMPLAINT BY GUARANTOR” that you wrote on the top , now my question is should I need write that I’m on a debt management program?
Do I need to speak with the FOS before I send the email to amigo or after?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So 3/4 years ago, what were your finances like at that time? could you then have afforded to make all the payments to this loan and still paid your own debts, bills and everyday living expenses?
If you were in a DMP then or had so much debt you soon had to go into one, it sounds likely this Amigo loan was not affordable for you at the start!
Deelan says
They were fine, He took the loan November 2017 and my circumstances changed And start the DMP at June 2018
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, you need to reread the article above carefully.
A lot of people thought they were OK but really couldn’t have managed to make ALL the repayments on the Amigo loan if the borrower had never paid anything.
And if your debts were bad enough for a DMP 8 months later, my guess is you couldn’t really have afforded the Amigo loan! So send that complaint in if you realise that the loan was unaffordable,
But if you think the loan was affordable at the begininng, you can’t make an affordability complaint. Instead the best you can do is
a) encourage the borrower to make an affordability complaint – see https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/ for a different template for the borrower. point out if he wins this the interest is removed AND so is the default on his credit record. And you would be removed as guarantor,
AND
b) ask your DMP firm to add the Amigo debt into your DMP so you can repay it at an affordable rate without being hassled by Amigo.
Deelan says
Hi Sara
I thought about what you said and I yeah I couldn’t afford it.
I decided to write to amigo, they replied me about my “pending approval”
What do I need to do now?
Thanks for you help!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
they replied me about my “pending approval”
– can you copy a bit from the email, I am not sure what this refers to.
Jay says
I need your help and advice. I am a guarantor.
So basically my brother had taken an Amigo loan out back in 2017 of £1250. But he was topped it up another 3 times in 2017 the amount of 1) £1308.85 2) £4500 3) 3132.95. And then he topped up once more in 2018 £1693.66. So all together he had borrowed £11885.46. At first he was keeping up with the payments. And the. He would pay the odd payments here and there but would miss some aswell and then they would take money from my account as I’m the guarantor. So then from the start of 2019 till now February 2021 he has not made a single payment to them and they have been taking it from me. Which right now I cannot afford to do this. As this is effecting me in a numerous way. I have calculated and have checked my bank account and have seen I have made 26 payments in total coming to a total of £9762.74. But enough is enough I cannot carry on like this he seems like he is not willing to pay. So today I have decided to cancel the direct debit on my account. Can you please advise me on what to do. I won’t to make a complaint aswel.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did you have to make some payments to the previous loans?
is your brother prepared to make a complaint saying the loan was unaffordable for him?
have your finances been affected by covid-19?
Jay says
Yes I believe I did make payments to the previous loans. But I don’t think he cleared the first one he kept on getting top ups.
My brother has to be willing to complain I am willing to complain also as this can’t carry on like this.
And as for finances being affected by covid-19 I can’t say it has because I work for the railway and have been getting full pay. However my brother was demoted so he is not getting what he was when he got the loan out of that helps. Also I had a look at the account the closing balance was £8958.56 end of 2020. But because he misses the payments of £375.49. They add the interest of over £300 that is why the amount hasn’t been cleared. And is still stuck on that amount or sometimes £9500.
Chris says
I took out an Amigo loan out in 2017 as I had just had two operations on my hip from an infection. As I wasn’t getting a full wage, only sick pay, I was struggling with my rent and other bills. I was living on my own at the time. I took out a £3000 loan and asked my brother to be my guarantor. I was off work for around 4 months and paid £525pm rent as I needed the loan for other bills aswell I ended up getting a top up of £5000 to help as I slowly returned to full time work. I started paying back at £326 a month and was getting around £900 a month wages. As you can see I was getting just enough to pay the loan and my rent each month, I got another job once I only had my monthly wage to pay things with. My main job I ended up having to leave as it was putting to much stress and pain on my hips. In 2020 I was put on furlough, and had an agreement with Amigo to pay £150 a month. I returned to work in Sept but on pt furlough, I’m still on it but now when I do go back to normality I’ll be asked to pay the full £326 which I will struggle with as I now have to pay rent and finance on a car I need to get to work. I don’t think Amigo should have been allowing me to top up the loan knowing my circumstances and I don’t think my brother should have been made to be guarantor and just wanted to know where I stand regarding either getting refunded or able to go onto some debt management plan and whether my brother can get out of being my guarantor
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what were your brother’s finances like at the time of the top-up loan – could he really have managed to pay all the loan repayments to Amigo and still paid all his own bills, debts and living expenses?
Chris Shand says
He was working but then went on furlough and has only just gone back to work
Sara (Debt Camel) says
he may have been working, but that doesn’t mean he could manage to repay your debt and all his own bills and ebts and expenses. Have you talked to him about this?
Chris says
No but I’m thinking about doing it as I’m struggling and I don’t want to burden him with my debt
Sam says
Just want to recognise and thank you Sara for all the FREE advice you provide. I don’t know how you afford to do it but you do. In 2019 I had been bullied to take out 2 loans for my former partner. With Sara’s advice I managed to have them both removed from my credit file and received a refund. I did get the FOS involved. Just want to say a HUGE THANK YOU!
Sean says
When did you complain? I wish I knew about Sara last year or what I could have done when it was not too late.. I only complained a month ago which I dont think will get anywhere due to what’s been happening currently with Amigo. I’ll call myself lucky if I get a few hundred back.
Ganesh says
I was tricked by my friend’s friend to sign a paperwork as a guarantor for a loan for business equipments (loan amount £20K) in May/18. He did a runner in Sep/18. No trace of him at all. Since he defaulted in payments the loan company ‘OnePM finance’ started sending me the outstanding invoices and threatened CCJ’s/Charge order on my property. I spoke to Fraud help line and National Debt help line and they told me bec I signed as a guarantor, I am liable to pay no matter what the circumstances or else they suggested to go to small claims court about this matter. I spoke to CAB and they said I have a strong case of winning, but they said as the person is not traceable and potentially moved abroad, even if I win I will still have to pay the loan company? As I couldn’t understand any of this legal stuff, CAB did my I&E and a monthly payment of £250 was set-up to pay to OnePM finance. My family helped me to pay all my credit card balances of £8K, so that I can maintain the payments to OnePM finance from my salary. Because I was struggling, since mid 2019 I am doing a 2nd part-time job to pay this, to stop any CCJ’s/Charge order.
Do I have any chance on the ground to make a complaint that the loan company didn’t do any checks on him and the loan company didn’t check any of my finances. The 2nd person’s signature are forged – loan company is saying it doesn’t matter and they can’t chase the 2nd person as he is not a guarantor, he is an independent witness! Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am sorry but the affordability complaints covered here are about personal lending not business lending. It sounds as though you have been given the correct debt advice that you can sue the borrower, but as he has vanished and has no assets that is not going to help you.
I can’t comment on the forgery issue.
You could ask Business Debtline: https://www.businessdebtline.org/
Sunita kumari says
Hi I am a Guarantor go a loan that my husband took out. I felt pressured in agreeing to be a Guarantor because of the debts we owed at the time and fully understanding what is required from a Guarantor. Not only that my credit rating at the time showed I was in financial crisis and was on benefits which was not a good source of income as these can stop or fluctuate any time. I am now being sent copy of default notices demanding money which again I can’t afford
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Who is the lender?
What is your husband’s current debt situation? And yours?
Dan says
Hi,
I am guarantor for my ex-partner and wish to have myself removed as guarantor.
Our circumstances have changed since the loan was issued. We moved to a new more expensive house, soon after she left her job and got a much lower paying job., something that made her happy but paying not enough to cover her out goings. This has resulted in myself paying for all the bills for the new house and ultimately been a factor in the break down of our relationship. We are in the process of separating and I am looking to take on the house myself as I can afford it but not with potentially having to cover her loan and also do not want it on my file.
Does this change in circumstance give me the right to have myself removed as guarantor?
The loan is with UK credit.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No it doesn’t.
Laura says
Hi – my partner is a guarantor for a friend. He wasn’t aware of how it all worked and the high interest rate, he was suffering a massive mental breakdown which resulted in hospitalisation for a short period and it was soon after this that his friend asked him to be guarantor so his head wasn’t in the right place. He says he felt he couldn’t say no as she had looked after him when he had his breakdown so felt pressured.
It wasn’t until he got a statement in Feb that he asked me to have a look at it and I explained it all and of course he’s shocked that the interest rate is so high and his friend is hardly paying anything off due to that. Is he able to be removed as guarantor as his friend is really not happy with questions he is now raising with her and she refuses to discuss it with him. He doesn’t remember what he signed or was told as he wasn’t in the right frame of mind at the time.
It’s a £6000 loan over 60 months with an interest rate of 49.9% and he would just like to be removed and not have the extra worry and stress it is causing him.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Laura, who is the lender?
The repayments are about £240 a month on a loan like that. Could he actually afford to pay that and still be able to pay his own debts, bills and living expenses? If he can’t he can make an “affordability complaint” and ask to be removed as the guarantor.
Generally it is easier to win a complaint because of affordability, but he can also complain that he didn’t really understand what he was agreeing to – it may help to have some medical evidence to support that, eg hospital stay.
Laura says
It’s an Amigo loan and it’s £237 a month with £200 of it purely as interest. He has plenty of medical evidence.
I’m not sure if he can afford it or not – the borrower hasn’t defaulted yet – he’s just worried as he thought the loan was £5000 not £6000 and he wasn’t aware of the high interest rate and even told his friend that he would never have signed that had he known. I wasn’t with him when it was signed in August 2019 and only became aware when the statement turned up and he panicked about the amount and why it wasn’t going down.
He says he only agreed to be the guarantor because the friend did look after him during his breakdown and he felt he couldn’t say no. He doesn’t understand finances of any kind so once I’d explained it and showed him the payments and incredulous interest rate he went into a panic. Tried to contact the borrower to ask some delicate questions and obviously she did not take kindly to it and refuses to discuss it with him.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, as this is Amigo loan, he can’t complaint to Amigo at the moment because they are proposing a Scheme of Arrangement, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-scheme-timetable-approval-how-work/. Customers are being asked to vote on the Scheme at the moment – as a guarantor he can vote.
If the Scheme is approved, he will be able to submit a Claim to the Scheme in about end May. This will be a simple online form to complete. At this point he will probably be asked if he has an affordability complaint or some other type of complaint or both. His complaint that the guarantee was not properly explained to him and he wasn’t in a fit mental state to consent to it is “some other type of complaint”. But I strongly suggests he thinks whether he can also say he has an affordability complint as well.
A loan is only affordable if he could make all the £240 a month payments for 5 years and still be able to pay his own sdebts, bill and living expenses. If he could only pay Amigo by getting into more debt elsewhere it is NOT affordable. It can be much simpler to win an affordability complaint than “other” types of complaint which is why he should not ignore this even if he thinks his other reasons for being realeased as guarantor are very good.
If Amigo uphold the claim, he will be released as guarantor. He won’t get any refund because he hasn’t paid any money. If he claim is rejected in the Scheme he cannot take to case to the Ombudsman.
If the Scheme does not go ahead, Amigo has said it will go into administration – that is the equivalent of bankruptcy for a company. In administration, he will also be able to make exactly the same claim to be released as guarantor. This will then be decided not by Amigo but by the administrators.
So he will actually gain nothing from the Scheme.
Indeed as administrators normally try to roughly follow what the ombudsman would decide (and the ombudsman upholds 88% of complauints against Amigo) , the administrators may be more likely to uphold his complaint and release him as guarantor than Amigo would. Amigo has been very vague about how it will assess affordability cases.
He should think about this if he is going to vote on Amigo’s Scheme.
NB says
Hi, I’m the guarantor and my wife is the borrower with an Amigo loan. She has had 2 top up loans and definitely falls into the unaffordable bracket including many of the other factors why the loan shouldn’t have been issued nor I listed as a guarantor. We have both complained but Amigo have said they are not doing anything until after the ‘scheme’ has been dealt with. We have calculated that she has paid back the loan amount and is now only paying interest. I have requested that I be removed as guarantor but they have refused saying they’re waiting until after the ‘scheme’ has been voted on. Surely they should be able to see I should be removed without waiting on the scheme. My wife has considered ceasing payments due to the financial difficulties.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So your wife is only paying with difficulty? And you too couldn’t afford to pay?
Can I ask if you are buying or renting?
NB says
She can’t afford, she’s had to take out other loans to afford the repayment and has had to borrow money from me to afford it. However, I rely on her to help pay other bills and as she’s struggling I’m also now in a poor financial position. We rent.
Amos9 says
Hi Sara
Just want to thank you so much for this webpage as I have not been taken off as a guarantor as amigo agreed with the oms and they sent me an email letting me know that I have been removed and that any searches on my credit score will be removed and back to normal can I ask how do they let the borrower know that the Guarantor to her loan has been removed today sent her a letter. But thanks again for all your help couldn’t of done it without this page
Sara (Debt Camel) says
that’s good. I hope they do let the borrower know.
Camilla says
I’m a victim of financial abuse, my father and brother forced me to sign as a guarantor on a large mortgage (2 mil) to a commercial building without providing me the details. I am on title of the property.
I did not receive a copy of the entire loan document, just one page with a list of our signatures.
My financial situation has suffered due to my loss of savings in the family business.
I’m in consumer proposal and should not be a guarantor. I also believe that my signature has been forged as I have not received updates over the past 8 years.
They are thriving financially and I am suffering.
Can I leverage this opportunity to my advantage?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This page only covers consumer borrowing, not guarantors for large, business loans. And it is entirely UK focussed – I think you may not live in the UK? If so, you need to find advice in your home country, I can’t suggest where.
Emma says
Hi, I’m looking for some advice please.
I am a guarantor who is being chased for payments for the loan as the borrower stopped paying. I have sent an irresponsible lending and affordability complaint as the months before the borrower applied for the loan my income was erratic and my credit score was poor so I believe I should not have been accepted as a guarantor, the company have asked for proof of my bank statements for 2 months before the loan was taken out and 1 month after. One month before the loan I had income spare however I was paid extra for over time and my partner gave me extra money that month. The other two months my outgoings were more than my incoming. What I’d like to know is if I’m likely to have the complaint rejected by the company because of the one month before that I did have ‘spare’ income.. Also if my bank statements show before the loan was taken out that I’d eaten out at places, are the company or FOS (if it gets sent to them) able to say that if I didn’t eat out then technically I’d be able to afford the repayments as a guarantor. I am just worried as my situation has worsened since then which I have told them but I believe they should never have accepted me as a guarantor in the first place and I don’t think they carried out proper checks of my financial history during the application process. I just don’t want to send them my bank statements for them to use them against me and reject my complaint if that makes sense. Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
One month before the loan I had income spare however I was paid extra for over time and my partner gave me extra money that month.
Being given extra money by your partner suggest your finances may have been difficult. A lender shouldn’t assume you would always get this.
Overtime – the lender should have considers how often you get overtime, not assumed it was the same every month.
Eating out – most people do this and it is rarely a problem. you aren’t expected to live on beans on taost to repay the guarantor loan. But obviously it depends how much you used to spend.
Have you suggested the borrower should also make an affordability complaint? As they have made quite a few payments, if they won that, their balance might be reduced to little or nothing?
What is the rest of your current financial situation like? Do you yourself have problem debts?
Emma says
Hi Sara, thanks for your response. In regards to eating out this is before I was accepted as a guarantor so it’s on my bank statements in the months beforehand only for small amounts such as £10 here and there, but I guess surely if they had checked my finances beforehand they’d have already known what I was using my expenditure on and should already have evidence as to why they think it was affordable for me.
The borrower and I are no longer on speaking terms because of her failing to repay, I did try to work something out with her but she turned very nasty. However I did state in my complaint that it was unaffordable for her at the time of the application as well as I found out after that she was in a lot of debt and owed a lot to various credit cards and loans so both of us should not have been accepted.
I have managed to keep my own debts under control and kept up with payments but I wouldn’t be able to afford the £110 a month payment that they are asking. I had a baby and only work part time now. This has been going on for years now, it’s close to going to court so I just wanted to double check in the event of sending my bank statements that what I was spending my money on before being a guarantor will not affect my affordability complaint. It shows on the statements that my outgoings were around £200/300 more than my incoming with my overdraft which I was going in to every month.
Emma says
How long does a soft or hard search stay on your own credit record for you to see? I checked back to the year that the loan was taken out and there are no records of any soft or hard searches from that company, but other companies still remain. I’m just wondering if it’s likely that they even checked my credit record at all
Sara (Debt Camel) says
they normally drop off after 6-12 months.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
£10 on eating out isn’t relevant. £100 a head at Michelin-starred restaurants obviously is!
I suggest you send the lender those bank statements.
it’s close to going to court
The guarantor lender is threatening this? Who is the lender? Have they sent you a Letter Before Action?
Can I ask if you are buying or renting?
Emma says
I did not know about the affordability complaint until recently which is why I decided to check my bank statements before putting the complaint in to see if I stood a chance.
I have kept in contact with them over the years and done countless expenditure forms, they said as long as I updated them on my situation that nothing would change. But then I got a letter through the door saying the contract is being terminated due to breach of contract unless I pay the full amount and it will result in going to court if not, they also wanted to put a tracer on me for the second time to obtain my contact info and employment details even though I only last spoke to them around a month ago. The whole situation is very stressful for me as they have been threatening court for years and then say that it’s not going to court and then they do it again, I feel like I’m going round in circles and worrying about whether I’m going to get a ccj against me when my credit file is now stable.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
a letter through the door saying the contract is being terminated due to breach of contract
this sounds like a Default Notice. Does it say “IF YOU DO NOT TAKE THE ACTION REQUIRED BY THIS NOTICE BEFORE THE DATE SHOWN THEN THE FURTHER ACTION SET OUT BELOW MAY BE TAKEN AGAINST YOU” (probably not in capital letters)?
If it is a default Notice then this is a VERY long way from going to court. And if you have a complaint open with the lender, they should not start court action. And the the same applies if they have rejected your complaint and you send it to the Financial Ombudsman.
Emma says
Yes the lender is, it’s Uk credit. They have sent letter before action and at first assured me that I wasn’t the one the CCJ is going to be against. However because they have been unable to have contact with the borrower they are chasing me as I keep in contact and said that I am now fully liable with a CCJ potentially being obtained against me, the agreement is about to be terminated if the full payment isn’t made by the 29th (that was sent before my complaint though) they haven’t been very helpful with me, even one of their call handlers said during a call why couldn’t I pay less to my credit card company and give money to them. This has been going on since the borrower stopped paying in 2017 however the total payments she made is £1,300. I am being chased for the remaining £2074.
I am renting from a family member and have been for the past 7 years which is down on my bank statements every month outgoing £600 a month.
Emma says
Sorry I think my comments are getting muddled. Anyway there have been a few default notices that were headed in black and the letter before action has been headed in red.
I will get the bank statements sent across and see what happens, thank you for your help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you replied to the Letter Before Action?
This arrived after you had sent in a complaint?
Emma says
The letter before action arrived 2 days before I sent the complaint, I haven’t responded to the letter before action. I sent the complaint at the end of last week which they have acknowledged by asking for the bank statements, they also asked whether the DSAR is in relation to the complaint as they said they will not send the data until the complaint has had a response if so but if the DSAR is unrelated to the complaint they will issue it within one month. I am unsure what to respond to that
Kristina says
Hi
Today, I have emailed Amigo loans to remove me as a guarantor from a loan. I was in a coercive abuse relationship. I was pressured to be a guarantor for his loan. My ex-boyfriend is not paying the loan for about two years now.
I also have cancelled debit direct that Amigo cannot take my money anymore.
When the loan was taken out, Amigo loans have not checked my payslips; my ex-partner asked me to lie about my earnings.
Please advise me what to do next. Shall I wait a bit and then handle my complaint onto FOS?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am very sorry to hear this story.
Amigo is currently proposing a Scheme of Arrangement – see https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-scheme-timetable-approval-how-work/ for more about this.
There will be a decision about whether will this goes ahead next week by the High Court. If it does, you will be able to send Amigo a Claim in the Scheme. If this is upheld, you will be released as guarantor as you will get back a very small amount of what you have paid so far. Amigo thinks this may be 10%, I think it may be a lot less, but at least the rest of the debt will be gone. If Amigo rejects your claim there will be an internal appeal process that you should go through but you wont be able to send the claim to the Ombudsman.
If the Scheme doesn’t go ahead, Amigo is likely to go into administration. Then you can send your claim to the administrators – administrators usually try to make roughly the same sort of decision that FOS would have done, so they may uphold your claim and release you as guarantor – but there would be no small cash refund.
I suggest that you need to talk to your bank to check Amigo does not have a “continuous payment authority” over your debt or credit card, as if they do you also need to cancel that, not just the direct debit.
What is the rest of your financial situation like at the moment?
Kristina says
Hi Sara,
Thank you for your replay. What does mean administrations? Are they belong to Amigo loans or different authority?
My current financial situation is not well. I work a part time, I have my car on finance plus I need to pay the other bills. I am a single mother. I am a student. Also, I am going to to my degree from September whereby I am not going to work for the coming up 3 years until I finish Uni.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“Administration” is what happens if a company goes bust, like a person going bankrupt. Amigo says this will happen if the Scheme doesn’t go ahead.
In this situation a firm of accountants are appointed as “administrators” to close everything down. This will include trying to get people to pay theor loans but it will also include working out who has a good complaint – in your case to be realeased as guarantor.
It sounds as though this Amigo loan isn’t your only debt problem. I suggest you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about your options now and how they may change in September. Tell them about the Amigo loan and that you have stopped paying and will be making a claim in the Scheme.
John says
Either way we get nothing if the loan has already been paid by the guarantor.
The only thing they care about is returning to the business to continue hurting people like us.
It’s a shame FOS cannot be involved anymore.
DC says
Has anyone successfully been released as guarantor recently? I have just sent in a complaint and wondering how long it takes to resolve as the loan is not being paid by the person who took out the loan now they are chasing me. I have complained that i didnt know what being a guarantor meant(which i didnt) and that i had a lot of debt so what checks would they have done! my circumstances have since changed and have alot less money now i am the sole income earner as my wife is now looking after her mum, i also send to FOS and they have said they are waiting on outcome of scheme
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
this is Amigo?
have you made any payments to them so far?
Do you have other problem debts too? Are you buying or renting?
Dc says
Sorry yes this is amigo, no not made any payments yet the borrower has just defaulted and we have both recieved the notice of default. I have blocked any payments being taken by amigo despite them hounding me for payment, they have acknowledged reciept of the complaint and am awaiting a reply they did asked about completing a affordability expense sheet shall i do this? We have got into more debt from this friend of ours for a business venture they was starting with promises of being repaid! We have been fleeced big time this 1 loan was for £10k but they had to repay £23k about £7.5k is outstanding. We are a home owner but borrowed money on a remortgage for them so am paying that also on a repayment mortgage with payment of over £1400 per month thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you get the borrower to submit a complaint about affordability? It sounds as though they have repaid more than they borrowed so they would get a small amount of money back from Amigo if their complaint is upheld and you would be released as guarantor.
I don’t see any harm in completing the expense sheet – but do make sure everything is on there. You may want to talk that through with a debt adviser – you could phone National Debtline on 0808 808 4000.
Dc says
We no longer talk since they refused to repay the other money, they have paid the amigo the whole time with this being the 1st time they have defaulted. Do you think they could have complained and have a investigation going on with amigo themselves as they might have heard about the new scheme and may trying to get money back which is why they have stopped paying
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Whether you talk or not, it is in both your interests that they too complain in the Scheme. Can you not send them an email telling them this?
Karina says
Hi Sarah
I have called ND today. I have spoken to the debt charity organisation.
They have advised me to use your complain template.
I have complained last week. The debt charity have notified me to complain again including highlighting the deadline in terms of response. If not, then I must notify them that I will be passing my complaint onto FSO.
I want to be released from guarantor. I am sure I was given unfordable loan . I also was forced into the loan.
However, there was a discussion that FOC cannot be involved any longer in handling complaints from Amigo customers .
Therefore I am getting tangled up.
Please advise. Thank you in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I was suggesting you talk to ND about the rest of your finacial situation.
We will not know what will be happening with the Amigo scheme until later this week – there is nothing you can do to progress getting removed as guarantor at the moment.
But it sounds as though even without the Amigo debt you are looking at going to uni with a lot of other debts, much of it may be unaffordable.
It may be that you need to look at an insolvency option such as a debt relief order or bankruptcy that would give you a clean start – if that is the case then there is no point in delaying until the Amigo loan situation is sorted out – that could be many months. An insolvency soltion would wipe out the Amigo problem and your other debts as well.
Alexandra says
Hi Sara. I have been asked by FOS to sent them my credit report from the last 5 years. Where can I find it ? Do I need to pay for it ? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can’t get an old report, so unless you have one saved on your PC, you have to send them a current report. FOS will understand.