UPDATES
Mid August 2024
And the deadlines have slipped yet again. There are just under 4,000 people still waiting for a decision, or a revised decision after winning an appeal, or a recalculation.
There are also now (21 August), about 8,000 people where Amigo has wrong or missing bank details:
- this includes £1.7m of redress to be paid “in full”, and
- £2.4m of Initial Scheme Payments.
Most of these are people with loans taken out longer ago, so their contact details may be out of date too. And some people are worried the emails or texts they are getting about updating their bank details are a scam.
If you haven’t already been paid, check and double check the bank account details on your Portal Account. If you can’t login to the portal, call Amigo on 01202 629798 and Amigo will reset your portal login.
If these amounts are not paid by the time the second payment is made later in the year, you can’t get paid afterwards as all the money will have been distributed.
24 June 2024 – my summary of the situation:
- People who have not yet had a first decision email (FRL) If you haven’t had a recent communications from Amigo apologising for the delay you should contact Amigo urgently.
- People who have escalated a decision No-one has yet had a revised decision after winning an appeal.
- People whose defaulted loans have been sold to Intrum before 2022 It still isn’t clear whether cash refunds will be paid by Intrum or Amigo.
- People who are waiting for a “full refund” to be paid Some dates seem to have not been paid. Some people are still waiting for recalculations of the 8% interest and any recent payments.
- People who are waiting for the first percentage payment to be paid Some dates seem to have not been paid here as well. Some recalculations seem to be being done – I don’t know why unless Amigo messed up the numbers the first time!
- People who do not understand what they are going to get
If you don’t understand your decision email (FRL) post a screenshot of it in the Facebook group. - People who have been paid “the wrong amount”
If you have been paid “too much” or had 2 payments, it may well be that you have had a full refund and a first percentage payment.
If you think you have been paid too little, post a screenshot of your decision email in the Facebook group or phone Amigo up. A few people have been paid too little and got this speedily corrected. - People who have been paid the first percentage payment (and the full refund if relevant) and are now waiting for the second one
Enjoy the summer. See you in November.
29 May 2024 – first scheme payment will be 12.5p in the £
- Amigo says “substantially all” claims have been determined and adjudicated – 99.2%
- it knows enough to be sure it can pay 12.5p in the £ so that is what it has set the Initial Scheme Payment Percentage at.
- you will get 12.5% of the amount on your Amigo email decision labelled Total Cash Claim Value or Scheme Cash Claim
- you will be paid this first amount within the next 30 days, or within 30 days of receiving an accepted Scheme Outcome, whichever is later. So the large majority of people should get this in June 2024
- Amigo says it will prioritise payments based on correct bank details being provided and age of the Outcome Letter issued (oldest to newest).
- Amigo is still saying at least 17% for the total amount to be paid, so that means 4.5p in the £ will be paid late in the year
10 April 2024 – 94% of decisions issued
- nearly a month late, Amigo still hasn’t quite reached the target of 95% of decisions it is said it would achieve by mid March
- it now expects to have issued over 98% decisions by the end of April, with the rest coming in early May
14th March 2024 – Amigo gives a clearer payment timetable
Decisions:
- Amigo has now crawled up to 91% of decisions issued.
- they now say they expect to issue 95% of all decisions 22 March 2024, with the remainder being issued by mid-April 2024.
“In full” payments
- payments have started for the “In full” refunds;
- where a decision was issued on or before 1 February and you do not have a live loan, your payment should be made by the end of March
- where a decision was issued on or before 1 February and you do have a live loan with a balance outstanding, your payment should be made by the end of April
- where a decision was issued after 1 February, your payment should be made between mid April and end May
“Percentage” payments
- it still expects to be paying at least 17p in the pound to people expecting to get the “percentage” refunds
- it has rowed back from saying it expects the first instalment of the percentage payments to be made in April or May. It now says that it expects to “declare an interim dividend” in April or May – that is the percentage that it will pay as the first instalment, eg 10% or 12% say. And it expects payments of the first instalment to be within 30 days of making that statement about the amount.
- so they could be in June…
Appeals
- where there has been an appeal, the time will be confirmed in your decision letter.
27 February 2024 – another delay to decisions & payments
- Amigo has still only got up to 88% of decisions issued
- it now hopes to have issued over 95% of decisions by mid-March 2024, with the rest being issued in early April
- Amigo expects to start paying the “in full” refund amounts at the end of February, but these will be done in batches so not everyone will get theirs then
- the payment of the first installment of the “percentage payments” has been put back to April or May with the final installment about 6 months later.
A reminder of who may get some “in full” refunds:
You have to have repaid at least the amount you borrowed.
From that point, you may get a full refund, not at 17%, depending on the date of your complaint/claim:
- you will get a full refund of payments made after 1 December 2021, if you had complained before that date;
- you will get a refund from the date you complained if that was between 1 December 2021 and 26 May 2022;
- you will get a full refund of payments after 26 May 2022, if your first complaint was in the Scheme.
1) only the statutory 8% interest added is taxable. Not the interest paid that is being refunded – that is your own money that you are getting back.
2) the statutory 8% interest added is taxable as savings. BUT everyone has a Tax free savings amount of £1000 for basic rate taxpayers and £500 for higher rate tax payers in a year.
4) in previous administrations & schemes, I don’t recall anyone having tax deducted from the 8% part which is paid out as a percentage, expected to be 17%. If this happens, Amigo will have to inform you of the amount of tax deducted and you may be able to claim some of that back from HMRC.
Previous months updates
January 2024
- on 25 January Amigo admitted it has only sent out 75%
- of decisions. This is only 2% more than on 9 January.
- it says “We anticipated that all responses would be issued by the end of January 2024, however, the remaining work and complexities in assessing and calculating certain claims, especially for some claimants with outstanding loan balances, has taken longer than initially anticipated. Although responses are still being issued, and will continue to be, our intention is to issue all responses by mid-March 2024.”
December 2023
- the Amigo scheme page now says they have issued 71% of decisions
- Amigo has told some people with current loans to stop paying
- decisions for current loans are being sent out but not many so far
- if you have made recent payments, some may be refunded in full. In the decision you are sent, these are being called “set off refunds”. The “total cash claim value” on the decision is the amount that will be paid at a reduced percentage, expected to be about 17%.
- Amigo has issued 45% of decisions
- Amigo has been deleting a lot of loans from all three credit reference agencies . If your loans have been cleared, this is probably because your claim will be upheld. But this isn’t definite until you get the claim decision.
October 2023
- Amigo has issued 38% of decisions. It says almost all the rest should be issued by the end of December and they will all be issued by end January
- the process to remove CCJs will continue to March
- Amigo is confident the payout percentage will not be less than 17%
- it is now clear that Amigo not going to pay many borrowers where the loan has been upheld as unaffordable but the guarantor made some payments. This is ethically wrong and entirely unexpected – redress from mis-sold guarantor loans has never been handled like, by Amigo before the Scheme or by the ombudsman. You can appeal but it isn’t clear that this will succeed.
- the best estimate of the percentage payout is still at 17% but this can still change.
- Amigo now says: “We expect that the initial cash payment to customers will be in early 2024. We are unable to confirm the dividend and make interim payments until almost all claims have been decisioned in full, causing the delay from November, as previously expected. The final payment will be delayed until late 2024 (around the time that the business enters liquidation).”
September 2023
- the first rejections for current loans are going out. If this loan has caused you problems, appeal a rejection.
August 2023
- the first UPHOLD decisions are at long last being issued
- if only some of your loans have been upheld, look at an appeal. The first person has reported winning an appeal.
- some loans have been sold to Lantern. In most cases these are loans where neither the borrower or the guarantor made a claim.
March 2023
- Amigo has announced it cannot raise the money from shareholders so it will be liquidated
- this Scheme continues in “Fallback Mode” – see Amigo to close & Scheme goes into Fallback for details
- it is now expected that Amigo the first payments may be made in late 2023 and there may be a second, sm
aller payment in 2024.
December 2023
- The deadline for making claims to the Amigo Scheme was 26 November 2022. It is now too late to make a claim.
Contents
Amigo’s Scheme – the background
Amigo’s Scheme of Arrangement is now in operation after it was approved by the court on 23 May 2022.
The Scheme was proposed because Amigo couldn’t afford to carry on paying full refunds to its borrowers and guarantors who were winning affordability complaints.
Amigo had proposed a different Scheme in 2020 that was rejected in 2021. Amigo has now spent nearly a year getting its current Scheme proposed. For more details on the first Scheme, why it was rejected, how the second Scheme is different, and the voting on the second Scheme, see Articles on Amigo Schemes.
In the Scheme, Amigo makes the decision about whether your claim should be upheld. If it is rejected or only upheld for some of your loans, you can appeal this decision to the Independent Scheme Adjudicator. You cannot appeal to the Financial Ombudsman.
Which loans and customers are covered by the Scheme?
All loans made by Amigo before 2021, including those under its previous brand name FLM, are included in the Scheme. For loans that were settled more than seven years ago, Amigo may no longer have the loan details. You can still complain about these older loans but it may be necessary for you to produce evidence about them.
Both borrowers and guarantors could make a claim to the Scheme.
Amigo has started lending again with a pilot scheme under a new brand, Reward Rate. Any complaints about new loans will not be covered by the Scheme and customers will be able to make a complaint about them as normal – first to Amigo and then to the Financial Ombudsman.
The definition of “unaffordable”
A loan is only “affordable” if at the time the loan was given, it was likely that you could repay it on time and still be able to pay your other debts, bills and everyday living expenses.
If paying Amigo left you so short of money you had to borrow more or you got behind with bills then it was “unaffordable”. This often happened with Amigo loans as many borrowers were desperate to try to protect their guarantor.
Amigo should have checked that a loan would be affordable for both the borrower and the guarantor. For a guarantor, this would mean that they could make all the repayments out of their income and still be able to pay their own debts, bills and living costs. A guarantor who had a house may not have had enough spare income to repay the loan so it was unaffordable.
But Amigo’s affordability checks were very poor. That’s why they were losing 88% of cases at the Financial Ombudsman.
Amigo often offered top up loans and the checks on these weren’t any better, even though people were getting deeper into debt. Repaying the first Amigo loan may have left you in financial difficulty, so a top up loan may have appeared to be a good option, even though it made your debt situation worse.
What will you get if you win the claim?
When Amigo upholds a claim, it will tell you what the “redress” calculated is. You will only get paid a percentage of this, not the full amount (unless some of your payments are very recent).
Redress for a borrower who has a claim upheld
For a borrower with a repaid loan, redress will be:
- a refund of the interest they paid on the loan;
- plus 8% statutory interest;
- Amigo is making a deduction if your guarantor made any payments. If your guarantor has also made a claim, they should be refunded. If they haven’t then no one is being refunded for these amounts. You can appeal this decision, which is ethically very wrong, but it is not clear it you will win.
For a borrower with a current loan, redress will be:
- a refund of any interest if they have repaid more than the amount borrowed plus 8% statutory interest, otherwise, their balance will be reduced;
- their guarantor will be released;
- if there is still a balance after the reduction, you can make a lower affordable payment arrangement to clear it.
In addition, any problems on your credit record will be removed for loans that are upheld. This will include having any CCJ removed (the legal term is set aside) and removing the default showing on the debt with Intrum if your debt was sold.
Redress for a guarantor who has a claim upheld
A guarantor’s redress is the full amount they have paid to a loan, not just the interest, plus 8% statutory interest. And if there is a current loan, they will be released as guarantor.
Previously it had been expected that guarantors would be refunded if a borrower won a claim that the loan was unaffordable even if the guarantor had not made a claim. It has now become clear that Amigo is reducing the payments to the borrower and refusing to pay the guarantor where the guarantor has not claimed.
8% statutory interest
This number is NOT 8% of the interest you should get refunded.
It is 8% per year from the time of the repayments until 28 February 2022. So if your loan was settled several years before 2022, you may get 20% or more added.
BUT you will only get a % of this redress
That redress figure may look great. But you are not going to be paid that amount, just a percentage of it.
Amigo originally estimated that at 41p in the £. If your full redress is say £3,000 that would have meant you will be paid 41% of that – £1,230. But a lot more people made claims than Amigo expected – 210,000. That has reduced the amount you might get to 20p in the £.
And with the March 2023 announcement that Amigo has failed to raise the money from shareholders, there will be less cash to be refunded. The amount is now expected to be about 17p in the £.
So from a calculated redress of £3,000 you may get £510.
Exception – full refund for “continuing payments”
Some customers will get a “full refund” of certain payments they made to the loan provided that they have repaid at least the amount they borrowed and their claim is upheld. These customers are due a full refund of payments:
- from 1 December 2021, if they had complained on or before that date;
- from the date they complained, if that was between 1 December 2021 and 26 May 2022; or
- from 26 May 2022, if they did not complain before the Scheme started.
This is set out in full in 6.33 of the Explanatory Statement.
The purpose of this is so that if your claim results in a refund, payments you made after the relevant date will be refunded in full provided that you have repaid more than the amount you borrowed. For a guarantor getting a refund, the “repaid more than you borrowed” test does not apply.
Here are three borrower examples:
- a borrower who made a complaint in March 2021 (so before 1 December 2021) and who at 1 December 2021 had already paid back more than they had borrowed will get a full refund of payments they made after 1 December 2021
- a borrower who made a complaint in March 2022 (so after 1 December 2021) and who in March 2022 had already paid back more than they had borrowed will get a full refund of payments they made after that date
- a borrower who made a claim to the Scheme in September 2022 (so after the Scheme had started) who by 26 May 2022 had already paid back more than they had borrowed, will get a full refund of payments they made after 26 May 2022.
What happens after you make a claim
The deadline for making a claim has now passed
Keep an eye on your claim
When you have made a claim, you may not hear anything for months.
Amigo may send you an email when they have decided your claim saying you can log in to the portal and see the result.
But it is a good idea to check the portal every month or so even if you haven’t had an email. They may have sent you an email that you missed as it went into spam.
You can also look at the Facebook group – see the bottom of this article.
Working out how much people will get
When Amigo have decided all the claims and appeals they can then add up the total amount of redress. They then divide that amount by the money they have to distribute – this gives the “pence in the £” amount they will pay.
This will probably be done in two stages. There will be a first, larger payment possibly in the first quarter of 2024. And then a small payment in 2024 to pay out the remaining money.
Should you appeal a decision?
If your claim has been rejected or only partially upheld With some loans upheld and some rejected – you can appeal this decision.
You are the one who knows how much trouble the Amigo loan caused you.
The first Amigo decision will probably have been an automated “Computer says Yes/No” decision – they have had 200,000 complaints to decide. But in the appeal process, this will be looked at by a human.
You should also appeal if you don’t agree with the numbers given. If you think you had more loans than were listed. If you don’t know why the Total Cash Claim Value is less than the other numbers suggest.
Get more loans upheld
Getting more loans upheld will:
- increase the cash you are paid, or reduce the balance you owe
- if you get earlier loans upheld, the extra 8% added amount will also increase
- if your current loan is upheld, your guarantor will be released.
If you have bank statements or any other evidence about your finances at the time you took a loan, include that with your appeal. These will help your case.
Credit records
Getting more loans upheld will also clean any problems on them from your credit record.
If your credit report is wrong at the moment eg because Amigo did not add a default when you stopped paying, then it is important that in your appeal you say why the loan should be upheld. BUT ALSO say that if the loan is not upheld, you want a default date added to your credit record back in month/year “in accordance with the SCOR reporting rules”. Defaults drop off your credit record after 6 years – a non-defaulted debt will stay on your credit record for 6 years after the date it is settled.
HOW TO APPEAL
If you think the numbers are wrong, say why.
If you made all the payments but Amigo seems to think your guarantor made some, challenge this.
If you think more loans should be upheld: Get bank statement for 3 months before the loan started – these are the best evidence that a loan is unaffordable. You can get these going back at least 6 years even from closed accounts. Don’t assume you won’t be able to, ask for these immediately from your bank. If the loans are more than 6 years old and the bank account has been closed, look at what other evidence you have – payslips, P60s, tax returns, emails about missed payments or CCJs etc
Download & send a current credit report, eg TransUnions’ Statutory Report. If you have had loans deleted from your record because of winning other affordability complaints, send Amigo evidence about these.
Explain about recent problems before the loan application – only on benefits, health issues, gambling, economic abuse, recent missed payments, payments arrangements, DMP etc
And if you were topping up a previous loan, explain how that loan made your situation worse.
If all of your loans have been upheld and the numbers look right
You have no reason to appeal this decision just because you will only be paid a percentage of this. This would not get you any further money.
You should log in to the portal, accept the decision and give your bank account details.
Sale of loans to Lantern
In August and September 2023 some people have been notified that their loan has been sold to Lantern, a debt collector. The sale of loans to a debt collector is perfectly legal and you can’t challenge this.
In most cases these were loans where no one had made a claim to the scheme. If your loan has been sold and you had made a claim to the Scheme which has not been assessed, ask Amigo why.
The loans are being sold as guarantor loans – the guarantor has not been released and if the borrower doesn’t make an arrangement to pay the guarantor will probably be asked to.
We don’t yet know how “reasonable” Lantern will be in accepting low arrangements to pay. If you or your guarantor has a problem, leave a comment below here but also talk to a good debt adviser – your local Citizens Advice or if you prefer the phone National Debtline on 0808 808 4000.
Any questions or comments?
Here are Amigo’s contact details.
Or you can post queries and comments on the Amigo Loans Creditor Group in Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/4590874374272947
That allows you to post a screenshot of your decision if you don’t understand it.
You can post anonymously in that group. If you are setting up a Facebook account to do this, add a profile picture – it means your posts and comments are more likely to be approved quickly.
Do not send me a message instead – I won’t reply.
Rebecca says
Hi I escalated my defended response from Amigo on 30th Jan and today Amigo emailed saying they’ve now upheld before passing to the adjudicator, they are going to reissue my FRL, anyone else in the same position an idea on how long this has taken?
Vicki says
I’ve had the same but no idea how long it takes as not had another email since they said they were upholding.
Rebecca johnston says
So annoying more waiting lol, hope you find out soon 🙂
Lauren says
Mine was upheld on 7th December after being initially rejected/defended in early September, and I’ve had nothing back since. I have chased a few times for a FRL but just get brushed off and never get an accurate response.
Sandra Simpson says
Afternoon Sara
Just quick question I received my outcome last month, I full refund £2775 between April and May and I paid £30 tax
I received UCredit will this affect my paid
Many thanks
Thanks for all hard work
Sanda
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Refunds like this, or something like PPI refunds, are not treated as “income” by UC. They just increase the amount of “capital” you have – which for miost people is the same as the amount of savings they have.
A simplified of the rules is:
Capital below £6,000 is ignored and does not affect UC.
Capital between £6,000 and £16,000 is subject to a ‘tariff income’. This means that your UC will be reduced.
If you have capital over £16,000 you are not entitled to UC.
For full details see https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/benefits/universal_credit/universal_credit_capital_rules. But if this extra money doesnt take you over the 6k savings mark, there is unlikely to be any problem.
k says
i received an email back in September 2023 to say my claim had been upheld and haven’t received any further communication since. Am i right in thinking this email is the Final Response Letter?? I am a little unsure when I will be receiving my payment. Any advice please?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes that is your FRL – this is just a new term Amigo invented recently, but they mean your decision email.
As you hada decision in September it is VERY likely that you are only getting a “percentage” payout – Amigo calls these dividend payouts.
The only people that are getting payments at the moment are people who are due “in full” refunds for recent payments to Amigo.
Your percentage payments will be paid in 2 instalments, Amigo says the first is now likely in April-Jun. The second towards the end of this year
Sara says
I received my final letter in October 2023 of loans to be upheld with there timetable showing payment by end of March, has anyone actually received any redress yet?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you had a decision in August last year it is VERY likely that you are only getting a “percentage” payout – Amigo calls these dividend payouts.
The only people that are getting payments at the moment are people who are due “in full” refunds for recent payments to Amigo.
Your percentage payments will be paid in 2 instalments, Amigo says the first is now likely in April-Jun.
M says
Just received this from amigo. Live account payments are between March & May.
Following our Scheme Progress Update on the 19th March 2024 – Full refund payments (Total Refund Value) has now started. This is a manual process so this will take some time to execute all redress payments for customers so please be patient during this time. We do now have more specific dates we can estimate and looking at your account and when your Final Response letter was sent we can determine:
– Final Response Letter issued from 02/02/24 regardless of loan status – Your Refund will be released between mid-March and the end of May.
Gabi says
I had a same email.guessing we just have to wait and see
caroline says
I received the FRL in september 2023 . I settled my amigo loan in jan 2021 because I retired , I put in a claim and was told it was upheld. But have
received nothing since , don’t know what is happening . can someone advise.
thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you had a decision in September last year it is VERY likely that you are only getting a “percentage” payout – Amigo calls these dividend payouts.
The only people that are getting payments at the moment are people who are due “in full” refunds for recent payments to Amigo.
Your percentage payments will be paid in 2 instalments- Amigo says the first is now likely in April-Jun, the second one nearly at the end of the year.
Ronni says
I was in an abusive relationship in 2017-2021 during this time I was coerced into taking a loan out in my name as my partner at the time never ever had bank accounts or even a birth certificate at times so everything was done through my bank one of my female friends ended up being guarantor because of his abuse and the way he treated me she felt obliged to agree now I have now left this partner 3 years ago and had to get an interdict etc on him for stalking and harassment I haven’t been able to make any payments and lantern now have my debt but they are chasing my guarantor at the time of the loan I had mental health issues and still do and was under direction from my ex partner what can we do? I’m going bankrupt currently as I was in 9.5k debt during my time I was with him so it was my only choice but where does this leave my guarantor etc?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you make a claim to the scheme? Or did your guarantor?
How large are your total debts at the moment?
Ronni says
I’ve only just been told about this scheme yesterday when I went to my bankruptcy appointment and the guarantor is arguing with me rather than doing what I said and making the claim my total debts atm are 8.5k which is all about to be written off through bankruptcy in 7 weeks time
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your bankruptcy appointment – who with? That is very little money to go bankrupt for and bankruptcy is immediate, not delays… are you sure this is not a debt relief order? Or an IVA?
John Mackenzie says
Do you have other debts, bankruptcy is not an easy option and if your debt is only £8.5k you should seek advice from step change or CAB .
Ronni says
My bankruptcy appointment was with welfare rights in my council building there is a couple of forms of bankruptcy not just 1 btw. I’m also from Scotland so rules are slightly different here.
Can someone Try answer my original question instead of asking me about my bankruptcy and the reasons… that’s not what I came here for. I have exhausted all other options. I have professional dealing with it through my council. If nobody knows how i can help my guarantor thats okay ill seek further legal advice to help her thank u very much for all ur messages so far.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You are right that in Scotland there are a couple of forms of bankruptcy. One of them, the Minimal Asset Process, is the Scottish equivalent of a Debt Relief Order in England and Wales. It may well be a good option for you.
You said you only heard about the scheme yesterday – so I assume you did not make a claim to the scheme. I am sorry to double check this, but the situation is totally different if you did make a claim.
It also matters if your guarantor made a claim to the Scheme.
If neither of you made a claim, then after your bankruptcy you will not owe the Amigo debt any longer and it will become a debt solely for your guarantor. Your guarantor needs to take debt advice themself – or they could post here about their situation. briefly if they have other debts and can’t afford to pay the Amigo debt, they need to be looking at their own debt options.
Gary says
Does anyone know where Amigo are at percentage wise? since there hasnt been an update on their FAQs – still waiting on an outcome? But did they even get to 95 percent?
Louisa says
Who knows? I was told the last decisions would be sent out early April but someone else was told mid April and I’m sure someone else was told end of April. Wouldn’t be surprised if I’m still waiting this time next month tbh
L72 says
I phoned them Wednesday and she said they had made a decision and I should get the email mid April!! She also said if im due a refund i wont have to wait as long as everyone as they are paying out now! Give me strength..lol
John Mackenzie says
The update on the website says 95% should have been completed by 22nd March . That leaves 5% and they say mid April .
Was wondering if anyone in this position has seen any change on their credit file . Has amigo been removed? Do you have a live loan with part payments ? Just wondering
Why the 5% is at end March . I was told by PWC that the majority of outcomes were now slightly more complicated calculations due to payments and interest payments .
Louisa says
I had 3 loans, first 2 upheld back in 2021 but I declined the offer and then they entered the scheme. My 3rd loan is still live but I am in ESO so not paid anything since 2021.
1st loan was showing in the list of closed loans on my file but isn’t there now. 2nd closed loan is still there and the live loan is still there registering defaults. Still waiting for my FRL
PulledAllHairOut says
Hi ya.
I’m a little confused with their 19th March update.
They have two table and I’m unsure as to which I should be following.
I received a claim upheld email from them on 21/12/2023 for £3900
The loan I had was settled 13mths after being issued in 2012.
As I don’t have a live/open loan does this mean I should be recieving a payment quite soon or is this another carrot they are dangling and it’s not going to be a few other months?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The second table, talking about paying the first and final dividends applies to you.
The only payments being made at the moment are the “in full” payments for refunds of recent payments to Amigo. None of your payments will have qualified for that.
Daisy says
Hi Sara
When you log into Amigo to accept decision do you receive an email to say they have received this.
Thankyou Daisy
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know – perhaps someone else does?
Mark says
I’m pretty sure you don’t get an email.
Daisy says
Hi Sara
Thankyou for reply maybe someone will post here
Happy Easter
Leanne says
I didn’t get one when I accepted mine
Gabi says
No you don’t get a email
Jo says
I accepted my frl on the 21st march and I’m due a full refund on payments I made and the scheme effective date . Would anyone know when I’m likely to receive this thank u xx
Sandra Simpson says
Morning
I phone amgio last week
Full refund will be paid in April or May
😀
Louisa says
So we start another week of waiting…….hope us lot waiting for our frl start seeing some come through soon 🤞🏼🤞🏼
Louise073 says
Hi I’m still waiting on my Final Response Letter so rang up earlier to be told mine hasn’t even got a calculation done yet.So frustrating as I thought calculations were all done it was just the emails that were delayed.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So far as I can work out, it is the decisions that have been made and the calculations either need to be done manually or need a manual sign off. It’s the bonkers way that Amigo is doing this, which requires having to be check none of the payments come from a guarantor.
Louise073 says
Hi Sara he actually told me my decision hadn’t been made and still was showing as not done.And couldn’t tell me anything about my claim.
L says
I got told on last call, last week, he couldn’t see a decision had been made – after I’d been told in January mine had and I was just waiting calculations – so I’m guessing some decision are still yet to be made. Insanity.
ed says
Hi Sara
But if people are being paid out already, how can they calculate what is needed to pay everyone out at the end? They could have more funds left or a shortfall? Its confusing
L72 says
Been told mine has a decision just got to wait for the email…I asked if she could tell me she replied she couldn’t see what.was said 😒 🙄
Briony Lawson says
Hi Sara mine says I’m getting a refund of £2983.50 that’s the full refund part is it true that as I accepted mine end of march I won’t see this payment until mid April/ end of May
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The current Amigo timetable says these refunds will be paid between mid-march and the end of May.
Marti says
Hi Sara
Quick question what does your comment ‘For a guarantor the repaid more than you borrowed test does not apply’
The borrower has had a decision upheld but I’m yet to hear – I had paid over 4k toward the loan as guarantor and the total amount paid back was 13.5k for 10k borrowed, I stopped making payments due to the scheme
The borrower has a live balance which is due to be settled and a Scheme Cash Claim of £5887 so will be due around £346 compensation – The original complaint was lodged December 2020, I can’t log in to the Portal for some reason the last few days I’m just getting a welcome back to Amigo loans message? Would I be due any of the refund as I was guarantor on a couple of loans taken out
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you make a claim to the scheme?
Marti says
Hi Sara
Yes I made a claim also, But as it stands not had any updates on my claim also
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In that case your claim should be upheld. when did you last make a payment to Amigo?
Marti says
The last payment was made last April – At that point as more had been paid to them than was borrowed, And the complaint was in and the scheme was up and running – They agreed to no further payments and the loan was freezed of interest/ charges so to speak – Is it likely if it’s upheld I would get the full refund on overpayments that’s I as the guarantor made? It was your comment above that threw me you see “about the paid more than borrowed test not applying to guarantors” – Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A guarantor’s redress is the whole amount they paid. A borrowers is the interest they paid.
Whether a guarantor store is repaid in full or at 17% depends on when the payments were.
Katie says
As guarantor I had my FRL on 21st December 23, accepted there decision, on 2nd Jan 24, I’m due a full refund on payments i made, still waiting to hear anything back, I assumed I would get payment by the end of March,
Gabi says
Hi any one had a full refund yet?I have accepted mine on the 21st March
Sara (Debt Camel) says
lots of people, but that is a pretty recent acceptence and its been Easter…
Gabi says
So I am guessing I won’t get my full refund for ages now?
steve says
Emailed amigo to express my irritation at still having not had a final response… They replied today with the following: ‘Based upon current projections, we will have issued around 95% of all decisions by 22nd March 2024, with the remainder being issued by mid-April 2024. Again, we apologise for any inconvenience that the delay has caused.’
I don’t know why I was even remotely surprised that they’re sending out copy and paste responses from a deadline they missed 2 weeks ago.
Louise073 says
Hi I’m the same No FRL yet,I rang earlier to be told no decision or calculation had been done on mine yet but I thought all decisions had been made it was just a delay with the emails but not hoping for anything soon.
Louisa says
🙄 I think we’ll be waiting forever. What on earth can be so complicated about these last few claims. Mine certainly isn’t they’ve already upheld 2 of my 3 loans 🤷🏻♀️
Bobby Jones says
I had the same reply my frustration is through the roof.
A says
Received this email in the last hour:
‘Our current projections are where claims are escalated, we now estimate that most final determinations will be made by May 2024. I can assure you that we are doing all we can with the resources we have and want to apologise for and distress caused.’
To give a rough idea of timescales i escalated my rejected claim in July 2023!
Caroline Townsend says
My Amigo loan was sold to Intrum even though I had paid the amount I borrowed they were still claiming for more than I actually borrowed. I did lodge a complaint about being mis-sold I have received emails regarding the scheme. They told me to log in which I did but it says your account is with Intrum. Does this mean I am not entitled to a refund? I can only imagine that Intrum paid pennies for the loan and expect me to repay £8000+ even though they haven’t been in touch for well over 2 years regarding it. I believe I had already paid the original amount I borrowed and all this was interest and fees before being sold on.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There are probably over a athousand people in your situation. I don’t think I have seen a final decision one of these Intrum cases.
But your claim should proceed in the normal way once Amigo has got the info from Intrum about what, if anything, you paid them.
Bobby Jones says
My friends loan was also sold to Intrum he was the guarantor maybe the only people whose loans were sold on are the only ones left to hear.It makes sense as they will have to get all relevant information in regards to the payments made.Hopefully the end is in sight for us all.
Jo says
Hi Sara, just had a thought and hoping you can advise! I made my affordability complaint to Amigo some time in 2020. This was denied by Amigo 08/2020 so I passed this to FOS. I didn’t ever hear anything back. I went into ESO 01/2022, last payment made 12/21 – I had a balance of £3,156 on my account. I forwarded a further claim when the scheme of arrangement was announced and on 06/03/24 had confirmation that my claim had been upheld, due to receive £395 in full for payment made before scheme effective date and 17% of £15,191 – I accepted this but still waiting payment. My query is, would I have a case to appeal because Amigo had declined my affordability complaint back in 2020 meaning I should be refunded payments from this date until I went into ESO? Any guidance would be appreciated. Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No payments from before Dec 2021 are being refunded in full. My guess is you paid 395 in Dec 21.
All payments before that are repaid at a percentage, even if you had complained before then.
(NB it’s unfair, I’m just saying what the rules are)
Jo says
Thank you Sara, yes, it is unfair!
Gary says
I should have been paid a refund by the end of March 2024
I have not received a penny.
last week my payment was not made because there was a problem sending payment to my savings account so we changed the details to my main account. Then on Good Friday I get an email from Amigo saying that I had not been paid due to system error showing I had a live balance on a loan when the calculations were done. When the letter was issued and in the calculations there were no live loan balances to be taken into account – all loans were settled in full.
I called again April 2nd and was told there had been no progress with the issue, that I should not expect to receive my refund (that was due at the end of March) until up to the end of May. I was very annoyed at being told this, I asked to speak to a manager, it’s been requested but will take up to 5 days. I told the guy I spoke with that this is completely unacceptable – dates being pushed back at every stage – their system error is not my fault and I would like what is due to payed done so swiftly.
Understandably I have emailed them multiple times no reply. I have also reached out to PWC who are overviewing Amigo and their administration of the scheme – still awaiting a response from them. Needless to say I am becoming very, very concerned.
FB says
I was also due a refund by the end of March and haven’t received anything also . Their email response was that the payment timetable is an ‘estimate’.
R says
I received my FLR today. Hopefully they are finishing off the last complaints and hopefully percentage payments wont be to far in the future. Fingers crossed.
L says
I feel like I’m the only one waiting on my FRL….
Louisa says
Still waiting here too 🤷🏻♀️
L72 says
No me too! It’s a joke now I raised a complaint before the scheme and the ombudsman passed it back to me to claim through the scheme.
Been a long wait!!
Loleeg says
Your not alone. I am in guarantor situation with loan sold to Intrum. These situations seem to be the last to receive any FRL. The wait continues for the 1% club I’m afraid.
Kelly says
Still waiting too
Ronnie J says
I’m still waiting on FRL, all loans paid off and I fail to see how it’s “complicated “ 🙄
Nicola says
Also still waiting FRL and all payed off way back in 2018… Just spoken to amigo fat lot of help…nothing useful to say except the usual spiel
Blue says
Hi Sarah, I’m confused about my figures.
£1,250.00 12 17/11/2014 Upheld
£1,500.00 12 14/04/2015 Defended
£1,250.00 12 28/09/2015 Defended
£1,250.00 36 17/02/2017 Upheld
£1,750.00 24 29/06/2017 Upheld
£2,250.00 36 26/09/2017 Upheld
£4,750.00 60 13/11/2017 Upheld
£6,500.00 60 20/03/2018 Upheld
£8,250.00 60 16/08/2018 Upheld
Total Borrower Refund
£6,921.71
Cash Claim Value £182.19
8% Compensation £103.78
Non-affordability redress £30.00
Total Cash Claim Value £315.97
This doesn’t seem to be even close to 0.17p of the £6,921.71?
I’ve since disputed the loans not upheld and they decided to upheld them all on 19/03/23.
I calculated the total amount I should be paid at £1,176.59. Does this sound correct?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So there are two different things here – getting the extra 2 loans upheld and why the total cash claim value was so much less on that decision than the total borrower refund.
You have tackled the first one by escalating. That should increase the total borrower refund.
But the low total cash claim value is due to something else. The usual answers are
– the guarantor has made some payments
– there is a balance still open which is being cleared
– there is an amount which is being refunded in full, which will be in a separate box below
– there was some write off due to the borrowers insolvency
– you have previously had some redress paid before the scheme,
Do any of them apply to you? If not, Amigo may have made a calculation error… in which case you also need to talk to them about this now.
Blue says
My guarantor made the final payment of about £8000 on my behalf, I’ve paid them back.
They also have a claim but haven’t had any correspondence. Will they receive the rest if the fund then? I’ll call them tomorrow, thanks sarah
Sara (Debt Camel) says
they should get all the money back if they made a claim – but paid at 17%
Roxy says
Hi Sara
I had one loan of 6k followed by top up of 4k. I’ve not had my FRL yet. But had the email to stop paying last month. There was only £1400 left on the entire loan at this point
I rang em today and they said my first loan has been defended and the second has been upheld but they are just calculating the redress due before they issue the outcome
I submitted a complaint before the scheme to amigo directly and then scheme came into play so submitted into the scheme about 2 months before 22nd May 2022.
By May 2022 I had already paid them around 14k. But continued paying them the full amount anyways until I received the email not to pay last month. To date I have paid them 24 grand.
My question is with only one loan upheld, will I still be entitled to a full refund of payments from 22nd May 2022 as I had already paid more than I had borrowed by this date and I had submitted my complaint to Amigo directly and then into the scheme aswell. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What date was the first loan? How long until you topped it up? Appealing it is probably a good idea!
By what date had you paid More than you borrowed to the second loan? Ignoring the first?
Caroline Townsend says
Hi Sara, Do you know whether the loans that are with Intrum will receive an FRL?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes if you made a claim
Steve says
So this is confusing.
I’ve had my final decision as follows:
Cash Claim Value £7,804.80
8% Compensation £1,559.68
Non-affordability redress £30.00
Total Cash Claim Value £9,394.48
then I have:
Payments made after Scheme Effective Date (1) £0.00
Payments made before Scheme Effective Date (2) £873.12
8% Compensation on payments made after Scheme Effective Date (3) £0.00
8% Compensation withholding tax (on payments made after Scheme Effective Date) (4) £0.00
Total Refund Value (1+2+3 minus 4) £873.12
So that works out at 9.3% (rounded) which is far short of the 17p on the pound discussed. Am I missing something?
Any info greatly appreciated. Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You are being paid the 873 as an IN FULL payment for some recent payments you have made.
You will ALSO be paid a percentage of the total cash claim value , expected to be about 17%
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am closing comments here because there is a simpler way for you to find out whats happening and ask questions: post in the Amigo Loans Creditor Group in Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/4590874374272947. I will see it there.
That allows you to post a screenshot of your decision if you don’t understand it.
You can post anonymously in that group. If you are setting up a Facebook account to do this, add a profile picture – it means your posts and comments are more likely to be approved quickly.
Please do not message me about this – I do not give advice by email. Messages will be deleted.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There are also now (21 August), about 8,000 people where Amigo has wrong or missing bank details
This includes includes £1.7m of redress to be paid “in full”, and £2.4m of Initial Scheme Payments.
Most of these are people with loans taken out longer ago, so their contact details may be out of date too. And some people are worried the emails or texts they are getting about updating their bank details are a scam.
If you haven’t already been paid, check and double check the bank account details on your Portal Account. If you can’t login to the portal, call Amigo on 01202 629798 and Amigo will reset your portal login.
If these amounts are not paid by the time the second payment is made later in the year, you can’t get paid afterwards as all the money will have been distributed.