August 2023 – the first “UPHOLD” decisions are being received.
Comments on this article are now closed.
Please see the comments below the main Amigo Claims page to see what is happening.
On 23 March 2023 Amigo announced that it has been unable to raise the equity it needed to continue in business. This means that the Scheme of Arrangement currently underway will change into the “Fallback option” and there will be less money to pay cash refunds.
Amigo Loans Ltd, the trading subsidiary, will immediately stop lending and go into an orderly wind down. At the end of this, it will be liquidated.
This article looks at the implications for Amigo customers – those who have claims into the Scheme and those with a current loan.
Contents
The Amigo Scheme so far
Amigo’s affordability checks were so poor that in 2020 the Financial Ombudsman was upholding over 80% of complaints about the affordability of its loans. Amigo had to set up a Scheme of Arrangement to limit the amount paid in refunds to customers given unaffordable loans.
Amigo’s first scheme was rejected by the High Court after the FCA said it benefited shareholders too much and wasn’t fair to customers.
Then Amigo proposed a second Scheme. This included raising equity from shareholders and contributing £15m from this into the Scheme. This would increase the cash refunds to customers. This second Scheme was approved in May 2022.
The six months for customers to submit claims ended in November. These claims are currently being decided and few people have yet been told if theirs has been upheld or rejected.
Scheme changes to the Fallback option
The Scheme says that if Amigo is unable to raise the £15m money by 26 May 2023, the Scheme changes into the Fallback option which involves a wind-down of the business.
The Scheme itself continues in this Fallback option.
What is changing – lower cash refunds
Without the £15m, in the Fallback option now there will be less money available for cash refunds.
When the Scheme was proposed in early 2021, Amigo said it expected people would get paid 41p in the £. So if the refund on your Amigo loans was calculated at £1000, that means you would get £410.
That never looked likely to me. Amigo always refused to say how it calculated the number and crucially how many complaints it expected to receive.
So I wasn’t surprised when the last Scheme Supervisor’s Report said in November that 210,000 claims had been received. The reports said that was a lot more than Amigo had expected. With more claims and the same amount of money to divide, the estimate of refunds had halved to 20p in the £.
That November report also contained a new estimate of what may be paid in the Fallback option – 17p in the £. This is the best indication we have of what may now be paid out andnit is what Amigo is curently saying in the FAQs on the Scheme website.
Timescale for payouts
It was expected that a first, larger payment may be made in September followed by a smaller payment in November 2023 to pay out the remaining money.
UPDATE The Scheme website has now been changed to say:
The initial payment will be unaffected but (under the fallback solution) the final payment will be delayed until approximately May 2024 as opposed to November 2023 (after the business has been liquidated).
What isn’t changing – everything else
Apart from the amount of the cash refund, the rest of the Scheme remains the same:
- customers with a current loan will still be able to get their balance reduced or cleared;
- credit records should still be cleaned if there are any negative marks for loans that are upheld as unaffordable.
Loans continue to exist
Today’s announcement doesn’t change anything about the current loans. The loan still exists, it is still a guarantor loan.
If you are making the normal monthly payments and can afford this, then that is probably your best option.
For people struggling to make normal repayments:
- if you have made a claim to the Scheme, you should consider asking Amigo for “equitable set off”. See Amigo now lets some people pause paying which looks at the pros and cons of this;
- if you haven’t made a claim to the Scheme it is now too late to do this. Talk to a debt adviser about this – see this list.
At some point in the wind-down of the company, it is likely that most or all of the remaining loan book will be sold to a debt collector:
- for loans where there has been a claim to the scheme this is very unlikely to happen before the claim has been decided;
- loans that are sold continue to be guarantor loans
- most debt collectors are a lot nicer to deal with than Amigo, so people shouldn’t worry about this.
If your loan has already been sold, then the announcement today makes no difference to you.
Ask for interest refunds on all sorts of debt
Graham says
Hi Sara,
I have an account open with Amigo in 2016 for 7k, its now at 15k. I only made 4 or 5 payments and then I could not afford it. I then went into a trust deed for a few years that subsequently failed due to going into hospital for 4 months with poor mental health as a result of the spiraling debt I was in.
I have not heard from Amigo since the trust deed started and all I can see from my credit report is they are reporting a failed payment every month for last 6 years (not default) My wife was also my gurantor and she successfully completed her trust deed but according to Amigo she is still responsible which does not seem right. Do you if this is correct?
I have raised a claim last year against unresponsible lending so just need to see if anything happens with this but Amigo is the only thing that shows bad on my report and no idea how to handle the situation with them. An ideas best way forward with this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You need advice from a Scottish adviser about your situation and your wife’s. I suggest you ask your question in the comments below this article: https://www.advicescotland.com/home/protected-trust-deed/
Penny steel says
I ended up paying £24,000 back in interest to amigo, i made a final payment to clear the debt of £10.000 2 years earlier that my original end date. paying it off in one lump sum just to clear the interest of missed payments changed my whole families life, but the interest was eating my monthly wages without even touching the loan repayment , I put my claim through a legal team I’m now worried with amigo going into liquidation & paying the legal team fees I will end up back at square one with no compensation to atleast put back some of the high interest payments I made 😫
I put my claim in September 2021. This whole issue with amigo has been ridiculous I have heard no updates from my legal team & nothing from amigo.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know what rip off fees your claims firm is charging but it would be unusual to owe them anything unless you get a refund.
Amigo going into liquidation has only reduced the projected payout from 20p in the £ to 17p in the pound.
K says
Is the 17p refund based on what you borrowed or just the interest or the whole amount you’ve laid back
Sara (Debt Camel) says
On the interest that you have paid.
Lee says
cant log in… is anyone having issues logging into their amigo portal?
T says
It’s working just logged in
Rob McMullen says
Hi. Yes, we sold our flat on 11th Jan ’23 and settled our Amigo account – after submitting a claim – yet can still log in even today.
L says
Morning. Have quite a few people started getting their decisions yet, or just a few? Wondering by what date they’ll all be out?
L says
I think you will receive comms from Amigo from the latter side of the year I think from September onwards unless things have changed ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is no indication that most people will have to wait unto after September
LL says
Thanks, Sara. I know when I called they said decisions coming from May onwards, but hoping it’s not way out to September. Seems like not many have heard yet.
Matt says
Hi Sara
My guarantor received a call and email today from an Amigo Account Manager. We settled the loan years ago (2017 I think) and they were informing us that we had overpaid by making too many installments.
Should we now insist that they pay interest on the refund, it’s £350 ish? I find it strange that they would only let us know this now when they would’ve known for years that we had overpaid.
I currently have an open complaint that I’m waiting to hear from via the scheme. I personally am yet to hear anything from them regarding that, but again thought it was interesting that they have contacted my guarantor almost like they think I wouldn’t find out.
Amigo are without doubt the most shambolic company I have ever heard of, nothing they ever say makes sense. And is usually barely legal!
Thanks in advance, not sure of you’ve had anyone else have similar happen…?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They would normally contact the person that made the overpayments – was that your guarantor? Not all borrowers and guarantors are on close terms and it would probably be breaching data protection to tell you they were refunding money to your guarantor.
Why now? Possibly because they have looked at the loan because of your claim. But that’s a guess.
Matt says
Thanks Sara, understood. It was my Mum who made the last couple of payments as I was working abroad at that stage and transferring to her in Australian dollars.
Just on the interest side of things, they would’ve known the balance was cleared as it was marked as settled/closed. They have then deliberately waited 6 plus years to inform her. Is that simply more Amigo shenanigans or should we look into them adding 8% across the 6 years they have held that overpayment?
The problem is they know that they can simply try and wear people down to the point you’ll accept any amount just to be done with it. But in this instance I’m pretty sure we have them bang to rights.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“they would’ve known the balance was cleared as it was marked as settled/closed. They have then deliberately waited 6 plus years to inform her”
Well possibly. But although they COULD have known that earlier, as you said they are a shambolic company. Other strange things have happened – people owing money have not been chased, credit records have not been updated… it may well be that this overpayment simply was not noticed.
You can ask for 8% interest. On £350 that would be about £160-170. I have no idea what they will reply.
Chelsea says
I borrowed 5k in January 2018 I’ve paid back over 10 k back in interested but my loan is over 5k now because I had to cut my payments down ..amaigo loans are the worse company
PN says
Hi,
Have Amigo just… stopped taking payments from other people?
My latest payment for the loan was meant to go out on the 5th, but it’s been a week and they still haven’t taken it, even though it is supposed to automatically go out every 4 weeks when I am paid by my job.
Originally I assumed it was because of the Coronation and Bank Holidays, but I wanted to wait until Friday to see but still nothing…
I will attempt to contact them on Monday.
I have the money, I just don’t want to pay it manually only for it to be automatically taken soon after.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no-one else has reported this.
I agree you should contact them before deciding to pay them manually. If they say it is an error, you want an assurance that this will not hurt your credit record.
peter farrelly says
has anyone had an offer? of settlement?
alexandrina says
Hi I have been paying amigo and my loan doesn’t seem to be going down I have made a claim for ppi. Not heard nothing do I have to keep my payment going my husband went guarantor but I don’t want to mess his credit score
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have made a claim for unaffordable lending, not PPI.
You can pause paying until the claim is decided if you ask Amigo for equitable set off. this will not affect your guarantor’s credit rating but will affect yours. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/stop-paying-amigo-set-off/ which explains the pros and cons of this.
Kelly says
I have had a reply from Amigo and they have rejected my complaint on both loans. I plan to appeal the decision. Firstly due to the first loan I took out I was on benefits and not employed the 2nd one I couldn’t really afford due to having another big loan. Both times I have a terrible credit rating.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, provide whatever evidence you can to support this.
Jim says
How did you receive the response? Did you get an email or letter about it?
Thanks
Kelly says
I got an email
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you say what email address it came from?
People need to start checking their spam/junk folders to make sure they don’t miss the email.
Margaret says
I pay £150 a month on my loan when will we hear how much we’re getting back it’s trailed on and one it’s terrible can you tell me when?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no, sorry. There is no more information on this
sam says
Hey Sara,
i put a strange request in with my complaint (never in a billion years should i of had the loans) and wanted your opinion.
so i’ve paid back the total amount i borrowed so now just paying interest (about 3k left-ish)
i put in the complaint that i didn’t even care about the redress if i win, just wanted it to be over and done with plus wiped from my credit score.
what do you think the chances of this happening is? as i feel with so many claims, there is barely enough money to pay everyone by the look of it which is why i’ve only seen rejections and no uphelds so far.
thanks :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Not so strange – lots of people have said they would be happy to do this.
If anyone has had a positive response from Amigo on this, they haven’t said…
Their problem is not that they are short of money – the money is what it is and it will be divided between people who have claims upheld, Amigo is closing down and no longer cares if people get 10% of 30%. It is that they have 200,000 claims to decide – about twice as many as they expected. The simplest way to work through this mountain is to habdle every case using a standard decision method, not looking for unusual ways to save a bit of money.
Dean says
I have heard nothing .I was a guarantor I paid the loan off £12000.due to the person not being able to afford it and has since died.should never have been given the loan
Matt says
I took out a loan with Amigo and having paid of half they keep contacting and offering me a top up loan which I couldn’t afford.But to STOP Daily/Hourly texts I took out a top up £2000 then maiming I now owed £4000 a was paying around £200 Direct debit so then got it under £3000 then I started to struggle. Then the hated phone calls starts 3,4 , 5 times a day. Any deeply they stop by DIRECT debit which I was not awhere off due to breakdown caused by their staff & I suffer mental health. Any I made complaint after complaint & They were useless and PROVE thugs they way they stoped to me .I put the claim in when this case come up. Now seems we are getting NOTHING and they are going to sell my loan to a Debt collection company and you can be sure if that happens they will add more charges on top.Is that even legal. Plus can we find out how much if and when they try and do that. Can we find out how much a £4000 debt would they sell it for? Surely they should offer that to the courts then to us. I hate what they done to me. It’s now over 5 years since I paid anything. DOES THE 6 YEAR RULE APPLY.I still get a letter of them every 6 months saying I owe them £4000 Plus. I have not check my credit file are they still adding black makes to it.ill check this week .Any advice help as it seems they not giving any compo to anyone & then they going to allowed to sell debts to debt collector companies for full loan/debt for VERY low money making people even worst off
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have they rejected your claim to the Scheme?
Barry says
Hi all, I have an upcoming change in my Equifax. Is says my Amigo Loan will be removed. Is that for the existing account I have with them or is it for a settled old account which will be 6 years old the 2nd June. Would really be happy it’s the existing account as it’s destroyed my credit file and have an affordability claim.
Laura says
I would think it was your settled account? Not existing as I’m sure old accounts get removed. I too have an existing loan. Would love nothing more for it to be removed from my file completely. It’s ruined my credit report and score. Not bothered about compo if it’s just gone.
Keep us updated
Tim says
Likewise! Need to completely gone.
Natalie Stacey says
Hi I have received a letter this morning of a default notice. I’ve not had any decision on my scheme claim. I havnt been making payments for a while now due to never been able to afford the loan It was a stupid decision taking a loan out but I pregnant and on maternity leave with 3 other children at home so life was a struggle.
Any suggestions on what I do with the letter?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you asked Amigo for equitable set off?
Natalie says
Hi no I havnt, I’ve had no contact apart from to apply for the scheme and this letter.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then read https://debtcamel.co.uk/stop-paying-amigo-set-off/ and think about applying for that.
Gaz says
Hi. I all so received a letter saying I have untill the 19th of June to pay full amount. I am on equitable set off an haven’t heard anything about the claim. They are still affecting my credit file each month
Ruth says
A bit of refreshing honesty from Amigo call line today. ..
Amigo have had a pushback a few weeks ago.
It was supposed to always be end of June we’d hear but because of the pushback it will be absolutely no later than end of July (this year I hope ha!) that we will hear.
Rejections have been going out first.
Keeping fingers crossed for everyone getting updates on their credit file of Amigo being removed. My claim has been in since August 2020 and nothing yet!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you think they meant set back? Pushback seems an odd term.
Ruth says
Yes I think so too, probably meant set back, but she used the word pushback.
Jonathan says
Hi.
I had an email off amigo yesterday saying that they are investigating my claim but they want bank statements dating back as far as 2007. I haven’t got them and can’t retrieve them from my bank. Do you think not providing them will have much of an effect on their outcome.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
With no evidence it will be harder to win. It may even be impossible to win if they have no records of the loan or how much you paid.
Jon says
My original claim was upheld by the financial ombudsman, well the two later loans were but three earlier wasn’t because of lack of information. Maybe they will still pay out on the two the ombudsman upheld and not the earlier ones
Gaz says
Hi. What evidence are you referring to? Bank statements. I could provide bank statements of all my gambling activity when amigo have me the loans
Sara (Debt Camel) says
bank statements are very helpful – has Amigo rejected your claim?
simon says
I haven’t had any reply from Amigo yet but I saw that they carried out an anti money laundering check on my credit file yesterday. What would this be for?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well at a guess they wanted to look at your credit record and someone ticked the wrong box for the reason
Shaun says
Did you hear anything more after this search? I had the same thing today and wondering if it means my claim outcome may have finally be close as I’ve still not heard anything.
Erica says
I am a guarentor and had a complaint with Ombudsman – the borrower has been bankrupt a d had the loans wiped. Amigo have previously admitted that they should not of insisted I paid on my credit card- I haven’t paid anything since November 2019 when I put my complaint in – I also have had a soft search on my credit score (Kredit Karma and Experian) both say Amigo Loans anti-money laundering. I have not heard anything from them.
I’m not worried about payment just want to be dropped as Guarentor.
Emma says
I am currently awaiting their decision on my affordability complaint and am in equitable set off having already paid back more than the original loan amount. Today I have received two letters containing notices of sums of arrears. It is so frustrating waiting for them to go through their decision making process whilst still getting these letters, which will also have gone to my guarantor. It doesn’t really matter that they say they won’t demand payment during equitable set off if they still send out these kind of letters.
I am sure I am not alone in feeling hugely frustrated with this whole process. There seems to be no end in sight and no signs from Amigo that anything is actually happening!
Just need to vent!
Les says
That’s interesting. I just went to Credit Karma and Amigo have done a soft search which says Amigo Loans anti-money laundering on the 6th of June. I wonder what they’re up to since I put in a miss-selling complaint back in January 2022.
Emma Coone says
I have had the same. They did a similar search for me on 2 June.
ed says
I had a soft search on my credit file as well, are they allowed to do this without permission? My loans were paid off over a year ago
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, they don’t need permission for this and it doesn’t harm your credit record.
Dave says
What’s the reasoning behind these soft searches? Does it mean that they’re reviewing our claims and a decision is imminent?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Probably. That is a reasonable explanation.
Richard Swain says
Same here – search undertaken by Amigo on 01 June.
Jack says
How do I check if amigo has done a soft search on me. Cheers 👍
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Look at a credit report. But really this is not very interesting information.
ed says
Hi Sara
But if they are looking at my credit file as it stands now, it shows much better, this is only because I had funds and paid off the loan well over a year ago and all debts. I did send them proof of my credit file and bank statements last year after someone I spoke to told me to send them in to support my claim.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I can’t tell you what Amigo ARE looking for.
But they OUGHT to be looking at everyone’s credit record to see the position not now but when the loan(s) were taken out.
Jack says
Ok thank you. I won’t bother looking if it means nothing. As anyone got any idea when we will start hearing from Amigo because it’s mind blowing how long this has dragged on now. Thank you
jayne says
When will I get any notification to my claims I had 6 loans over the course of about 20 years I’ve heard nothing from amigo and my guarantor who was my father has now passed away and my other guarantor who was my mother is now in a care home
Lisa says
I think Amigo are saying everyone should hear by the end of July 🤷♀️
Sean says
Amigo Holdings PLC
Market Update
Amigo Holdings PLC (“Amigo” or “the Company”), a provider of mid-cost credit in the UK, announced that it had started an orderly solvent wind-down of the business in March 2023, following an extensive but unsuccessful capital raise process. The Company has been approached by Michael Fleming. a financier and shareholder, to request an exclusivity agreement in relation to the business (the “Agreement”) which Amigo has agreed to. This is to allow Mr. Fleming, to explore finding and completing a debt investment in the Company or its subsidiaries. The period of exclusivity expires on 6 September 2023. Parties interested in providing debt investment should contact investors@amigo.me in the first instance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The RNS goes on The Board recognises the very low likelihood of a successful conclusion to any discussions arising because of this Agreement but is pursuing the Agreement in line with its duties under the Companies Act to consider the interests of all stakeholders, including creditors, shareholders and employees.
Abe Perlman says
Just wondering if the claim is accepted is the remaining loaned cleared after this or will the loan continue until fully satisfied?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if a claim about a current loan is upheld, interest is removed from the balance so that overall you will only have to repay the amount you borrowed.
So if the loan was 4k and you had made 20 payments of 180, the balance will be changed to 4000 – (20×180) = £600.
If you had made 30 payments of 180, that is more than you borrowed so the balance would be cleared and you should have had a cash refund of £1400… but in the Scheme you will get much less than that, perhaps £220.
It gets more complicated if you had previous loans.
Ashleigh says
I had 1st loan 5000 in 2017….£250 monthly payments
I had top up 2018 to £6500
I made 25 monthly payments of £258 a month untill 2020 when I reduced my payments to £130. .. this was still not sustainable as I was given the loan as my ex (guarantor) was paying all my other bills so once we split up I was unable to pay loan and My own finances… my credit was always bad and on the budget form when applying for the loan I advised my partner at the time payed all my bills (so I was able to pay)…….I have missed numerous payments so now my balance is over £6000 (added interest) ……I am currently in an equitable set off with amigo while awaiting my decision…….what are the chances of me winning my claim …I claimed back in 2018 and this was declined and I sent to ombudsman but heard nothing back untill I applied for claim in the sceme November …..if I was to win the claim would I get a refund or my balance reduced
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You sent this to the Ombudsman in 2018? I am surprised the case wasn’t settled, was it ever picked up by an adjudicator?
It looks like a case that would have been won at the ombudsman, but there is no point in me guessing what the chance of you winning in the Amigo Scheme is.
Ashleigh says
No I got a reply off amigo and they declined even though I was working 20 hrs in work and I was dependent on my ex who was paying my finances so! After this was sent to the ombudsman I heard nothing back un till I heard about the sceme so I put my claim in through the website
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok, well fingers crossed your claim is upheld
Ashleigh says
Do u know what I would be entitled to if this was upheld x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I can work out what the calculated redress would be if both loans are decided to be unaffordable if you can tell me how much in total you paid to loan 1, the amount of cash you received when you topped up loan 1, and the total amount you have paid to the top up loan. In this case it sounds as though you would get the balance cleared but I would need all those numbers to estimate what the refund my be.
But if only the second loan is decided to be unaffordable, I cannot work anything out as Amigo makes an unfair “deduction for unpaid interest” in this situation. Sometimes it’s just a few hundred but it can be several thousand pounds. If this happens to you, make an appeal for the first loan to be looked at again.
L says
July deadline? Given not many have heard, and there’s 200,000 to get through, might it mean this could be missed? Is there any repercussions if they miss it?
E says
I think pretty much every deadline has been missed, with no repercussions at all. They’re just not bothered. I’m getting increasingly frustrated with it. At this point I’m not even arsed about getting money back, I just want my account closed and my balance written off.
L says
It does seem that way – that they’re not held to account. I was wondering if there was anything legally that could be done, but I guess if they’re saying they’ve “got no money” there can be no punishment? I put that in brackets because even the guy I spoke to at amigo said it was questionable that the directors are still getting paid a boatload, whilst everyone else suffers and the company winds up.
Andy says
Hi Sara,
I just want to know if there Is anyway I can get out of being the guarantor on this loan that isn’t mine, with all that’s going on with amigo.
Many thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you made a claim to the scheme?
Has the borrower made a claim to the Scheme?
Andy manning says
Yes we both have made a claim, waiting for a reply.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok so if either of your claims is upheld, you should be released as guarantor. Unfortunately there is nothing that will speed this up.
Jayne says
Hi I have been asked for information re my accounts from 2014. I am no longer with the bank back from then. They have asked for a bank statement or a credit report. What should I do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you have any other information from that time about your finances?
Jmc says
So if a claim was made several years ago and they ask for new bank statements after they was given them 3 yrs ago and you cant provide them what happens
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You provided bank statements to Amigo several years ago but didn’t keep a copy?
Melvyn says
When are we likely to start being payed out and how much please
Emma says
Hi Sara, I haven’t paid my amigo loan / top ups for about 2 years since I lost my job during Covid. I made a claim pre the scheme as the loans were always unaffordable and I needed the top ups mainly to keep paying amigo loan.
They have only now decided to default the debt which I find strange. I assume in preparation to sell on any debts they can. Do you know if my guarantor also receives a default on credit file? I didn’t think loan showed on guarantors credit file so I don’t believe the default would either? – but amigo have named the guarantor on the notice. It expired on Monday I haven’t contacted them have no intention of paying while the claim is outstanding.
They’re asking for £5.5k of arrears to be paid which is mainly interest – very unfair considering the claim has been ongoing for years! I borrowed about £5k and have paid back £4k so £1k capital still owed. Would the whole balance be written off if my claim is upheld?
Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you have received a default notice? That has technically nothing to do with your credit record… it is a formal notice under the Consumer Credit Act. But of course it often occurs at the same time as updating credit records.
Amigo has never in the past added a default to a guarantor’s credit record.
I think they probably are tidying up the book to sell.
If they reject your claim you should appeal. Top ups are usually a sign that the loan is unaffordable. But if they do add a default to your credit record, in the appeal you should also ask for it to be backdated two years, so it will drop off sooner. Of course if you win the claim for the last loan, the deafult and missed payments will be removed anyway.
Emma says
Yes, I received a default notice with 14 days given to clear the arrears, I believed if I did nothing then that would lead to a default on the amigo loan on my credit file instead of just missed payment markers. I received another letter now stating how the default notice had now expired and how then they may now take me to court etc etc. I can’t imagine they are actually going to do anything with the claim ongoing and them being wound down.
Ok so only I need to win claim for the last top up to have the default and missed payments removed. Thats a relief to know as I have been worried that the original loan might be the one they don’t write off and worried about the impact on my credit file.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The original loan was repaid – were there any missed / late payments on it?
Emma says
Oh I see yes it would’ve been repaid. No I never missed any payments until I stopped paying which is also when I did the claim.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then if you didn’t miss my payments, it can’t be defaulted
Emma says
Thanks so much Sara.
I really hope they uphold my claim. The original loan was £1k – l I was on a DMP and my credit file at the time would’ve showed late/reduced payments to multiple creditors. It was clearly unaffordable, stupidest decision I made and it was so easy to get the top ups after that via the app, it seemed the best option but was the absolute worst. Ended up with 3 more top ups totalling over £4k.
What do you think my chances are? And as the original loan capital was paid back, even if I only won the claims for top ups will I have to pay the remaining capital or am I right in thinking it’s written off as it came from the top ups?
It’s the last bad thing on my credit file, my DMP is all paid off and gone from file, so will be very pleased once this is sorted, just checked it was 2.5 years ago I originally claimed.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
With 4 top ups I would hope at least the last one will be upheld
Jmc says
I have all emails they ever sent me and emails sent to fso so yes. Just think these nasty people will do all to close down and pass debts on. Would it be an idea to petition the goverment to show how many lives this company has destroyed. This is becoming a joke Sara and only for your help lots of people would be in the dark. So I thankyou for this
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So send the statements again.
Petitions are a total waste of time.
Lolly says
I have a CCJ on my credit file from Amigo and I am guarantor (if this the default your referring too), though I have been sending them emails to have this removed and make the loan a sole loan , they also sent the letters to my old address as well.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, the Amigo debt itself doesn’t show on your credit record so there is no default. But where there is a CCJ that will show.
Amigo has said it will not start CCJ court proceedings while someone has a claim into the scheme.
ed says
Hi Sara
when are people going to start to be paid out as the longer they wait and leave money in the bank, surely this is going to generate more money for them with interest and people still paying for loans? It just seems that they are allowed to just have people waiting such a long time whilst raking in money.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I know this is so frustrating.
But they aren’t making any more money this way – it’s all going to be paid out to people who have the complaints upheld.
Jean says
I have a question
I had just over £500 left on my 2nd loan with amigo and stopped paying 3 years ago due to all this going on I refused to pay them anymore. I’m getting emails now and my guarantor is now contacting me about it and to be honest I just want shot of all this, so if I emailed them, saying if they write off the £500 I owe them, and update my credit report and take the missed payments off and all that, that I will no longer be part of the scheme and come out of it as long as they write the default off – I’m not even gonna get back £500 when my claim is upheld, so I’m just wanting to get rid of it sort out my credit report as that’s the only thing that’s bad on it, and then wash my hands with it all – do you think amigo would go for that
Thanks for reading
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Very very unlikely. Amigo are dealing with probably tens of thousands of people with current loans, most of who would be very happy to just get the balance written off. But Amigo have a process drawn up for the Scheme and it is almost certain that they will just stick to it. They need to save customer service time and it doesn’t make any difference to them if they settle your claim cheaply.
Laurence says
If Amigo loans goes into liquidation next year, will my existing loan which has been marked on my credit file since 2012 continue to show late payments and continue to damage my credit rating?
I repaid the loan to my Latvian guarantor in 2014, but he absconded overseas with the money! My bad and constant poor credit file…even though I now have heart failure sadly.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you haven’t paid since 2012, then the loan should have been marked as defaulted and should have dropped off of your credit record.
Have you made a claim to the Scheme about this loan?
Andrew EDE says
Amigo have a habit of not issuing default notices so they can continuously punish you by just recording it as missed payments for infinity or until you pay them back. This is what they have been doing to me and refuse to issue a default notice despite not paying them for 3 year’s. Only hope is claim is upheld and gets wiped
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If the claim is not upheld, you should appeal AND say that if the appeal is rejected a default should be added back in 2020.
(Legally adding a default to your credit record has nothing to do with issuing a Default Notice. But they often happen at the same time.)
Chris says
Hi Sara,
Wasn´t there a case in 2019 where a court decided in favour of MBNA for not issuing a default notice? Amigo has been issuing missed payments for me since 2011 believe it or not. I haven´t appealed but judging by what others wrote here and the court case, it does´t seem to matter at all.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m not sure what court case you mean, do you have a link? Or what the relevance is to your current situation.
If your Amigo current loan is found to be unaffordable, your credit record will be cleaned and all this is irrelevant.
If your loan is found to be affordable then you should appeal AND say that if the appeal is rejected you want a default added to your credit record back in 2019.
E says
The latest revelation is that everyone will have had their final response letters by THE END OF AUGUST.
Another moved goalpost. When will this nightmare end.
Lola says
Really, how did you come about this information
Ed says
Will this final response be a letter in the post or an email?
IainHL says
They have always said that the response will be an email notifying you that there is a letter/response in the scheme portal.
Richard Swain says
How have you found this out?
My question is, will we likely find out in batches between now and the end of August, or will there just be a big distribution on say 27 August of all final responses?
IainHL says
I reckon that all the successful claims will be notified in a very short time period (maybe a single overnight upload?). I say this because I feel for fairness they would have to calculate the statutory interest on successful claims all to the same date.
Can you imagine if some people had received a positive response in April, with calculations done up to that point, and others received their responses in August? Some of those people who had received early responses might be upset that others had received a longer period of statutory interest than them.
Alternatively they might want to know the total amount of redress for successful claims so they can more accurately specify in their response letter how many pence in the pound people will be receiving.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I reckon that all the successful claims will be notified in a very short time period (maybe a single overnight upload?). I say this because I feel for fairness they would have to calculate the statutory interest on successful claims all to the same date.
No other lender in administration or in a Scheme has done it this way.
Alternatively they might want to know the total amount of redress for successful claims so they can more accurately specify in their response letter how many pence in the pound people will be receiving.
And they cannot do that before all appeals have been considered – which is a reason to get the responses as out as fast a possible and not keep them all until the end.
Lauren says
Hi. I took a 9k loan out with amigo in Jan 2018 for 5 years. I got into so much credit card debt etc paying it back as I couldn’t afford the payments. In Dec 2021 (after paying 46 monthly payments of £355.72) I phoned and asked for ESO. So I haven’t paid since. I had 13 x £355.72 payments left to pay. Still waiting on a response of my claim. I am wondering about my guarantor. Is it possible to get him released from the loan now. He’s really anxious about it as we get letters every now and them from Amigo.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If your claim is upheld he will be released. There is no way to speed this up.
John says
How do these companies such as AMIGO get away with this?.. if we as joe public dont pay we are dragged thru courts & credit ref agencies etc etc.. this country is rotten to the core & one rule for them & one rule for us… !!!!! I had numerous amigo loans & top ups for years @ extortionate rates…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The FCA let them get away with it, the FCA failed to provide a back up through the FSCS system for lenders who go into administration, and enough customers swallowed the Amigo promise of 41p in the £ to vote for this.
Laura says
Hi Sara,
Talking about getting away with it, I know before you said they technically hadn’t missed any deadlines, but if responses are put back to August as E says above, is that not missing them? Will anything be done about it?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
My guess is that nothing will be done about it.
Laura says
Wow. You kind of wonder what was the point of the court ruling, when they seem to get away with everything.
Ed says
I have emailed the FCA to complain about how they have allowed Amigo Loans to get away with what they are doing. I wish more people on here would do the same, maybe they will learn a lesson in future with similar companies.
Grant Armstrong says
Hi Sara,
I have an account with Amigo from 2017 that as of now is still showing on my credit file as delinquent not default as it should be, the account ultimately became unaffordable and still remains. I was the borrower and my relative was the guarantor and it’s very recently been removed from their credit file. This years later is still causing me issues and I’m hoping to have it resolved or removed but I’m concerned if I now make contact they will issue a default and I’m back to square one. Could you offer any advice on this please. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you made a claim to the Scheme? Did your guarantor claim too?
It’s very unusual for an Amigo loan loan to show on a guarantor credit record unless they got a CCJ?
Craig says
One thing I’m questioning that amigo can’t seem to answer is currently we in fall back mode a current share holder is looking to secure something for amigo to survive if this happens will we see the 38p in the pound? Or what ever it was As end of day they did not liquidate and only seems fair as if they survive this I have the opinion that they have gone in to fall back mode to drop what they pay out which is completely unfair on the creditors and ur see everyone in the sector pulling this stunt
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Amigo announcement on this (https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/AMGO/market-update/15992059) said:
“The Board recognises the very low likelihood of a successful conclusion to any discussions arising because of this Agreement but is pursuing the Agreement in line with its duties under the Companies Act to consider the interests of all stakeholders, including creditors, shareholders and employees. Under the Fallback Solution of Amigo’s Scheme of Arrangement (the orderly wind down of the Amigo Loans Ltd business), there is no expected residual value for shareholders.”
Amigo originally estimated a return of 41p in the £.
This dropped to 20p in the £ not because of the Fallback but because Amigo were sent a lot more claims than they had expeceted. Which I had predicted was likely but Amigo refused to publish their estimates so no one focussed on this as being very important.
That then dropped to 17p in the latest scheme report because of the fallback. There are rumours that it will be lower but it isn’t clear what these are based on – they may turn out to be right or they may not.
I have no idea what the shareholder may come up with. Given the state of the UK economy and the difficulty other lenders are having it isn’t clear why anyone would want to invest in this as a business. It doesn’t sound as though the Board expects anything to come of this.
Laura says
Hi Sara,
Me again! Just a thought; if they’ve put decisions back, and thinking most rejected will appeal, and they can’t pay out until all decisions made, is it likely no payments will be made until well into next year?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Previous experience suggests many will not appeal. But that may not be right with guarantor loans were there is still a balance owed
Johnnie Jay says
Hi Sara,
I have had quite a few loans and top ups from Amigo over the years.
My last top up was for £15k, however I submitted a claim 7 months before they announced that they’re not lending anymore.
I have now paid back all the £15k plus interest and my account has been closed, the loan was paid back in full 19 months after my top up, a total of £15,543.
This was paid by my father in law, How do you think this would work out for me in the claim front, I understand all claims are different, would I be right in saying that I would be entitled to the interest back plus 8% or the 17p in the pound.
Regards.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
17p in the £ on the total of the interest plus 8%
but how much you actually get will depend on how many of the loans are upheld – each of the top ups is seen as a separate loan.
If not all of them are upheld Amigo will also make an unfair deduction for “unpaid interest” from the total. If this happen, appeal to try to get more of the loans upheld.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Obviously the 17p figure at the moment is not known – that is an estimate. But that is the calculation that the actual p int £ amount is applied to.
Tim says
Hi Sara,
I hope you’re well!
I have an existing loan for about £5k remaining. I haven’t made a payment since 2019 as it became unaffordable. My understanding was that the loan had defaulted turns out it hadnt i was on what they call a “rolling 6 year credit reporting” which effectively means that it didnt default but was appearing as 6 missed payments.
I have made my claim to the scheme but just wanted to find out if this is normal and if anyone else is experiencing this ?
Thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have defaulted, Amigo have just not reported it properly.
If your claim is upheld, this all becomes academic as your credit record will be cleaned. But if the claim is rejected, then I suggest you appeal that decision AND say that if the appeal is rejected you want a default added to your credit record back in 2019.
Tim says
Thanks so much for this!
I’ll keep this in mind!
Martyn says
I have had a few loans from amigo (should never of qualified) I tried to put in a a claim but it was way before they told everyone to put a claim in I was refused within days never put a new 1 in with them when they went bust. But my main question is that I have been clearing my credit records up & paid everything I’m just left with the amigo 6k plus full interest so just short of 13k
I want to deal with it so should I
A: contact amigo set up a payment amount
B: wait till it sold on to a debt company as may get an offer of a lower amount to pay?
As if I contact amigo I will have to pay the full amount plus full interest
I know it’s best to just start paying monthly straight away just wanted to check before I start the struggles
Thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long ago did you stop paying?
What is recorded on your credit record?
Has your guarantor even been contacted?
How much can you afford to pay a month?
It is a massive shame you did not make a complaint to the Scheme.
Martyn says
There not been 1 payment on this loan 2 other amigo loans was paid off not been contacted about loan since 2017 apart from to deny my claim through resolver that I had made. On credit report it shows as in arrears & not as defaulted.
200/250 max I could pay as just after I got the loan I became disabled so only got sickness benefits coming in.
I know unfortunately I was on serious medication & bedbound so was not up with what was going on till I finally came off the hard medicine and got my mind clear.
The denial to my claim email just said I was able to pay the 2 previous loans okay so due to that they class it as it was affordable to me at the time which was rubbish as I was in hospital had no job knew I’d never work again and needed loan to get through till disability money came through.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have they ever asked your guarantor to pay?
Martyn says
No my Guarantor is my wife & they have not asked her either they emailed her on the first 2 loans if there was any changes late payment etc but nothing on the loan I’m talking about all they seemed to have done is added the interest to they maximum amount and reported it as arrears
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Odd. Could your wife afford the repayments? Are you buying or renting?
Martyn says
Renting we could scrape £250 a month together but due to the loan doubling with interest I’m sure they would want more than that a month it’s just a weird situation as if they had classed it as defaulted it would be 6 years next month
I’ve checked on 3 credit reports & all of them say arrears
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well I think at the moment your best option is probably to save up that money and wait and see what happens when the loan is sold. The debt collector may be prepared to make a settlement offer – if you start paying a lot now, that is less likely.
Making payments is not going to improve your credit score.
The amount they are prepared to accept should be related to what you can afford to pay, not how large the balance is.
Tim says
Thanks so much for this!
I’ll keep this in mind!
Tim says
Anyone else unable to get onto the claims portal ?
Greg says
Hello Sara
I initially had a 5k loan and have paid it back including all interest a good while ago. My partner and myself struggled to pay the monthly payments but because it was a family member who was the guarantor we felt obliged. My claim was on the affordability of my loan but I didn’t provide any evidence for this, will this effect the chances of my claim being upheld? And secondly why has the FCA not been held accountable by this government for what seems a complete stitch up between the overseer looking after(apparently) our best interests and an alleged solvent well run lender?
Look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards Greg
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If your claim is not upheld, appeal and supply evidence then. Bank statements are best but any evidence of financial difficulty at the time the loan was given will help?
Why hasn’t the FCA been held accountable… what makes you think this government cares about people reduced to borrowing from bad credit lenders?
Sarah says
Phoned for an update today, communications delayed (no surprise there) however they did say outcomes are now being sent out and all emails should be communicated before the end of August……… I won’t hold by breath.
Greg says
I wouldn’t be surprised if Amigo get away with paying next to nothing and paying very very few people and then those who ran Amigo can go and set up a new company with exactly the same ideas and morals? What’s your opinion?
Laura says
Absolutely bloody agree. Wonder if anyone has thought of personally suing the owner who set it up for personal injury? Certainly know when I couldn’t pay one time I was encouraged to top up. Literally telling them “I’m going to pay the delayed payment with the top up.” I actually feel sad at how unwell and vulnerable I was. It’s really sad.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is really sad.
But that doesn’t change the fact that at the moment I can’t see a practical way to either speed this up or to take alternative action eg in court. If there was, I would tell you.
If you want to do something, you can write to your MP.
Or tell the FCA by emailing consumer.queries@fca.org.uk. The FCA will not respond, but at least you will have told the regulator about what is happening and the distress it is causing.
Maureen Walton says
Hi Sara I emailed the FCA I received a reply saying as far as they are concerned the first payments are due in September. They have noted my concerns. Maybe more people should email them to voice their concerns just so they are aware of the situation.
Ruth says
Unfortunately when I emailed I got a very generic response
Laura says
Thanks, Sara. I emailed them a while back and got a ‘thanks for letting us know but nothing we can do,’ to that affect.
graham says
Hi Sarah. I was on a dmp when applying for a loan which was successful. 2 months later I had to apply for a top up as I was struggling at the time with the payments and this was successful. I have put in a claim do you think I will be successful
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would hope so. But until we start to see lots of decisions coming through, who knows?
Abby says
Hi.
I was wondering if anyone has noticed that amigo loan is being removed from their credit report. I got notification yesterday that it will be removed from my credit report. I do t know what that means. I put a claim in last year so it has being in arrears since. I never missed a payment.
Has anyone noticed this for them too? Thanks
Laurence says
I have been requesting this from amigo for some time. Did you get this notification from the credit reference agency or from amigo?
Abby says
Hi, it’s from the agency
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am afraid lots of people have had these reports, usually from ClearScore. But usually the loans don’t actually seem to be removed and it doesn’t mean you will soon be getting a decision.
Abby says
Really?? I guess I’ll find out when my next report comes out!
Thank you!!
I was paying £495 per month for a 10 k loan for so long that I just kinda blocked it out. Now it seems I really overpaid. I just want it to go away at this point.
Greg says
Has anyone heard of any extension allowed by the court for amigo to answer our claims. Wasn’t the time for this the end of this July? Or was this just in my head any hoo I still believe that unfortunately the vast majority of us are not going to get a penny of compensation but we move on. Look forward to any feed back.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Scheme gives Amigo a broad power to change or extend any time limits in the Scheme (except for the deadline for claims) if it thinks this is the interest of creditors or the efficient operation of the Scheme.
unfortunately the vast majority of us are not going to get a penny of compensation
I understand why you are sceptical, but there is simply nothing to suggest that that is likely,
Martyn says
Do you think that the ones who are still waiting to hear are likely to have there claims upheld? I was told yesterday that the ones who have already been notified have been denied a claim.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is a consoling thought. But we don’t know if all rejections have already been notified. Nor how many people who had several loans will onlt have 1 or 2 of them upheld.
Ruth says
Ok, I’ve just rang and I’ve been told latest end of October!!!!
I mean the guy was actually laughing on the phone saying they heard this last week.
This is criminal
Laura says
Protest outside their building? I kid. I live nowhere near. But it is insane there’s no media coverage on this.
Lisa says
On the Amigo scheme website they’ve pushed back the initial redress payment date from November to the “end of 2023”… they state that it’s now not November as previously stated but they still expect it to be by the end of the year. So that definitely suggests that we won’t be told about our claims in the “first half of 2023” like they originally said. So for them to now say October for us to receive an outcome, it doesn’t surprise me. And I think a payment this year will probably be pushed back to the middle of 2024… as they seem to be running 3 months behind schedule at the moment and that could easily slip to 6 months 🤷♀️🤷♀️
Greg says
I wonder if the beloved authorities who are supposed to police these cowboy lenders (I jest of course) would be happy if the media were parked on their doorstep day after day wanting answers because all we get as the customer is laughed at. Does anyone know of a decent journalist who would like to ask these sticky questions? Also unfortunately we are not vacuous air head celebrities with no brains who seem to get what they want at a drop of a hat. Any way hey ho we move on. Good luck everyone.
Joanne says
The CEO of Amigo loans should hang his head in shame!! A despicable human being with no morales.