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Most of these are people with loans taken out longer ago, so their contact details may be out of date too.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.
Ian says
I just logged in & got an ‘page not loading’ error (after a “welcome back” message, cheeky sods) – I presume a lot of people will be trying this at the same time so hopefully it’ll work later / tomorrow.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This will just be a teething problem.
AmigoAmigoYeeHa says
It’s not a lot of people logging on.. this has been am error since 26th April which I reported to them.
God knows why they haven’t took this onboard.
Stuart Mackay says
Yeah same here
Matthew Pople says
Please can confirm when the payout on this claim okay
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo says it is likely to payout between September and November 2023.
Al says
Can I ask for those of us who ended up with ccjs , if they come back and agree these were unaffordable and go in our favour, is there anything we can do in regards to the ccjs ie stop them or claim back what has been paid etc thanks Al
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The money you have paid to a CCJJ will be taken into account when assessing your refund.
Amigo is being difficult about CCJs and saying it won’t apply to have them removed – the legal term is set aside. But if your Amigo loan is determined to be unaffordable, you can apply to the court yourself to have the CCJ set aside – if you are on benefits or a low income this will be free otherwise you have to pay the court fee. At the moment this is all a year away, so I suggest you just make a claim and try to sort out the CCJ after that has been upheld.
Al says
Ok thank you Sara , Amigo sold the account to intrum so wasn’t sure on what to do when it come to that point , will it be the same outcome but set aside against intrum thanks Al
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo got the CCJ first? or did Intrum?
Alex says
Amigo got the ccj issued against me and then sold the account to intrum later on down the line
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, I don’t know how to get that CCJ set aside, it is an unusual situation as Amigo is one of the very few lenders that actually takes people to court for a CCJ.
I suggest you wait and see if the claim is upheld – if it is, you can then talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about getting the CCJ set aside.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good news – I have now been informed that Amigo has decided it will remove CCJs where the loan has been upheld as unaffordable. So you don’t need to worry about this.
Tina says
Yes me to just getting
Welcome to Amigo loans
Welcome back
On a blank white background no way into the portal very strange.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
try going in through the yellow button on this page – do you get the same thing?
Stuart Mackay says
Same here getting welcome back blank page
Natasha says
Hi same with me I’m getting error message once I log on!
Stephen says
I messaged you a while ago about a loan my cousin stopped paying he was insolvent when he took out the loan made a few payments and stopped. I am guarantor I was unwell and unduly pressured into being guarantor I used your templates to complain to Amigo who dismissed my complaint I then complained to the ombudsman not heard anything back from FO confirmed in 2019 they were investigating. My health has deteriorated and my finances have reduced dramatically during the pandemic I’m now in receipt of UC, will the ombudsman still investigate complaint? I read all complaints were on hold due to Amigos scheme of arrangement. My cousin has since moved away and lost all contact with family. I’m not sure what to do now, your advice would be appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, FOS cannot now look at your complaint.
But you can make a claim to the Scheme – it maybe Amigo has already set up a claim for you as you had an open FOS complaint but you need to check this. And If Amigo rejects it, you can send it through the appeal process.
Are you making any payments at the moment? Do you have other problems debts, behind with important bills etc?
Stephen says
I’m not making any payments and yes I’m struggling with my own credit card debts and just managing to pay my bills my doctor has referred me to a debt advisor for help and support waiting for an appointment at the moment. I will ask them to look into Amigo. Don’t understand why Financial ombudsman can’t complete investigation and no longer able to support? Sounds crazy after going down this route before they felt trustworthy unlike Amigo who are awful
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am afraid the Scheme Amigo has set up is a perfectly legal loophole that prevents FOS or the courts from having any say over your complaint.
This isn’t FOS’s choice – their hands are tied.
Tina says
For everyone having issues making a claim, try logging in to your Amigo account, from there, at the top, there’s a link to the claims portal and you can make a claim. It works atm!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
thanks – I’ll add that suggestion to the article
Daniel says
Hi , iv managed to get in but when it says select loans there is no loans showing ! Then a error message comes up , I guaranteed 3 loans , 2 for my wife abs one for my mother in law , my mother in laws claim portal is coming up the same , no loan appears ( she only has one ) is it a case of they haven’t sorted them all yet or ??
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have all three loans been repaid? Did you make any payments to them?
Daniel says
The 2 I guaranteed from my wife one was upheld one wasn’t back in 2020 the one I’m guarantor for my mother in law is still a active loan , no I haven’t made any repayments , I was guaranteed for my father in law with buddy and mother in law with amigo at her same time ( both still active loans )so want to complain to get myself removed from them as should never of been allowed I live with them both and have a wife and 2 young children and £40k of debt oh my own name would never of been able to pay the repayments on either of them
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you make any payments to your wife’s loans? If you didn’t, then there is no point in complaining about them as you will not get any refund.
You can complain about the current loan and say it was not affordable for you and ask to be released as guarantor.
If you can’t see that loan to complain about, you need to contact Amigo by email or phone and ask why you can’t see it.
Chris says
Hi
I have logged into the portal after having my claim outstanding for 2 years and this appears in the comment box
Direct – LD – 2 loans settled, 1 loan paid out – RESOLVER
Any idea what this means and if why I get an error massage when I try to add to this comment? And hit submit? ( Sorry, an error has occurred ).
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you made a complaint to Amigo using Resolver? What was Amigo reply to this complaint?
Chris says
This was there last reply :
Thank you for your email. Unfortunately we do not have a time scale at the moment. As soon as we have an update we will be in touch.
It is in your best interest to continue making your monthly instalments to your account, if it is affordable to do so. If you wish to stop making your instalments, please contact our Scheme team to discuss if you are eligible for the Equitable Set Off. Our Scheme team can be reached directly by email: amigoscheme@amigoloans.co.uk or over the phone on 01202 629798
I have emails then since but have had no reply and I’m unable to submit a claim with getting the error message through the portal.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You need to email or phone Amigo to ask what this means. It looks as though they say they have settled your complaint, but clearly they haven’t! I would be interested to know the answer when you find out.
You have a current loan? How large was that loan and how much have you paid to it so far? If you have paid more then you borrowed AND the payments are causing you problems now, then you should look seriously as the option of Equitable Set Off which allows you to pause paying until your claim is decided in the Scheme and they won’t ask your guarantor to pay during this time. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/stop-paying-amigo-set-off/. It will be next year before claims are decided – that is a long while to wait with prices going up every month.
The Equitable set off is an ADDITION to making sure you have a claim lodged and finding out what that stringe message means.
Chris says
This is there reply as of today:
Hi Chris,
Thanks for getting back to me.
I can see you have a complaint raised with us. It is included in this scheme and will be investigated as a part of this.
If you want to add the proofs you mentioned to your complaint, you will need to submit this as a Scheme claim. You can do this here: https://www.amigoscheme.co.uk/.
If you have any questions, please visit: https://www.amigoscheme.co.uk/faqs.
We also have a dedicated Facebook page where you can find regular updates, important information and helpful resources. Please follow ‘Amigo Loans Scheme of Arrangement’ to see any new posts: https://www.facebook.com/Amigo-Loans-Scheme-of-Arrangement-106502808548382.
Kind Regards,
So the current loan was a top up for £8000 in 2018, so far I have worked out that I have paid back £14,673.60 with an outstanding balance of still £5719.44.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Does that answer your question? Isn’t the problem that you can’t submit a Scheme claim?
It sounds as though you should be eligible for equitable set off – do you want this?
Kim says
Please I want to raise a claim I submitted a good few years ago. I have no proof but do still live at the property and took out 3 loans in total. My guarantor is still available too as proof. I’ve tried to log in and you have found my account but then a page comes up saying Welcome but nothing else
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Kim – you need to contact Amigo about this – contact details in the article above. I just run this website – I have no connection to Amigo.
Good luck with your complaint.
sean mcconkey says
just submitted my claim through the scheme and had this reply, do you know at all when the scheme closes
All Customers have until 26/11/2022 to submit a claim under the Scheme. In most cases, we will not be able to communicate a decision on a claim until after this date has passed. Please note that if your claim is upheld, we will not be able to calculate any redress payment due to you until after the Scheme closes to all customers and all the claims have been agreed.
We will continue to keep you informed of the progress of your claim. If necessary, we will contact you to discuss further details of your claim.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo expects to start agreeing claims early next year, then there has to be a time for appeals, and it expects to pay out in two stages between September and November 2023.
Sean Mcconkey says
That’s crazy amount of time considering my 1attempt at claim with amigo was 2019, can’t believe they have another 15 months or so till pay payments are made, tbh I don’t even want a pay out just want my loan wiped lol
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well if they uphold the claim, they should wipe/reduce the current loan straight away.
Are the current payments causing you problems?
sean mcconkey says
no really, as i have reduced my payment to £50 a month but the interest is going through the roof i just need this all sorted
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The interest should be capped at what you were originally quoted. And of course if you win the complaint all interest is removed.
There is nothing you can do to speed the Scheme process up.
Sam says
Hi Sara,
I’ve had numerous arguments with Amigo over the last few years, trying to get details of loans I had 2011-2014 and them telling me they no longer have my details even though my initial request was within 6 years of paying off my last loan.
I have just come across a credit report from 2017 that I sent to another lender with a complaint. It shows both of my Amigo loans, along with other payday loans etc I would have been paying at the same time making their loan unaffordable. I also still have some wage slips from that period.
Do you think this might be sufficient evidence for a complaint? I have no bank statements from this time unfortunately.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is worth trying. You could also ask your guarantor – they may have kept emails or other info.
Sam says
They haven’t unfortunately. I emailed Amigo to try again and they’ve asked for contact details while they look into my account, which is promising as I usually get a straight ‘no, it’s been 6 years and we no longer hold details’. So fingers crossed!
Neil Rimmer says
Hi, i made a claim a few years ago , but it was never sorted because of all the recent court cases , do i have to make a new claim or will my claim be assessed with the others?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know – I suggest you log into the portal (link in article above) and see if you can tell if a claim has already been submitted. If it hasn’t, I suggest you submit one.
K says
My complaint for the deduction of unpaid interest has been at the ombudsman for 2 years which is just ridiculous. Ombudsman are washing their hands of amigo complaints by the looks of things;
‘Thank you for your patience during this time. We know you have been waiting a long time to hear what will happen with your complaint.
As a result of the creditor and court-approved scheme, people can only make claims for redress under the scheme and cannot bring a claim against Amigo. In these circumstances, it would not be appropriate for us to consider individual complaints.
Under the terms of the approved scheme, it is now for Amigo to decide whether people’s complaints will be upheld. Amigo will also decide how much money any creditors will receive.
This means we cannot take your complaint any further forward ourselves. Amigo will automatically include you as part of the court-approved scheme process – and let you know whether your complaint has been upheld and whether you have become a creditor.’
Sandra says
So it’s really just submitting your complaint you put in first time with them and with fos think my complaint is two years now which is ages and your supporting back statements etc attached
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes. Amigo may have submitted a claim for you as you had a FOS complaint in, but you need to check and if you aren’t sure, submit one yourself
Sandra says
Thanks Sara how do I know if amigo have submitted one for me
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think if you login to the portal you should be able to see a claim is in there.
S says
Hi, My loan has been paid in full and my guarantor never had to make a repayment. If I submit a claim will my guarantor be told i have done this.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, your claim has no impact on your guarantor. And your guarantor has no reason to make a claim themselves.
a says
Hi Sara
I paid off my loan in full, a balance of about £1200 about 3 months ago under the impression that anything paid off at this time would be refunded in full should the complaint be upheld.
is this correct?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Had you made a complaint at that point?
a says
Yes ages before that, complaint had gone to FOS and been returned when Amigo began schemes. I entered another claim before paying balance just in case original had been lost but Amigo said they would add it on to my original claim.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then in that case you should be all right. Amigo transferred a proportion of payments into an Escrow account so if you win the complaint you should be refunded in full, not at 41% or whatever,
Helen says
Hi Sara
If you opt for Equitable Set Off does the interest keep being put on and if your complaint is not upheld will you have to pay off all that interest that Amigo has applied. If so, could you end up paying thousands in interest and then what could you do about that if you cannot afford to pay it back.
Thankyou Helen
.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes interest carries in being added. But Amigo caps interest on these loans at what you were originally quoted, if ultimately you lose the claim and need to restart paying, you won’t in the end pay any more interest because of this.
If you lose the claim and can’t afford the repayments then it is the same situation as if the claim had never been made – you still can’t afford the repayments. What is your guarantor’s financial situation like?
Ade says
Hi, I need to make a claim on my Amigo Loans but I’m unsure what to include and how it needs to be worded in the section “Why do you believe you have an affordability claim?”.
The loans were taken out in 2017/2018 and the last loan paid off the previous loans. At the time I was going through a distressing personal time, the loans did not help my situation. In hindsight, I would never of done this. I was on long term sick leave during taking the loans and long after. It fell on my guarantor, who also then went through a difficult time, which ended by Amigo removing the person from being a guarantor.
Without going into more indepth detail, I would appricate any advice I can enter in that section, is there a standard copy and paste letter I can use?
Many Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can just say the first loan did not help your financial situation as the repayments were too high. You were on sick leave and you don’t think you should have been given the loan. You took the offered top up loans because you thought the extra money would help but they made things even worse. So you feel all the loans were unaffordable for you.
[NB only say this if it is right for you!]
Jimmy says
My guarantor has just received a letter from amigo asking for her make an arrangement to get the loan back on track. None of us have paid in over 3 years and haven’t heard anything about it except yearly statements. I believe i will win my claim and my guarantor would also. The guarantor is now worried this will go on her credit record as it hasn’t already and her record is perfect. What would be best to do? She is considering getting a credit union loan to sort amigo. Would it be best to call amigo to try get interest removed and a payment plan in place or what would you recommend?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This could only affect the guarantor’s credit record if Amigo take you both to court for a CCJ – that is not going to happen while you have undecided claims into the Scheme.
Have you checked you both have claims entered in the Scheme?
I am not sure what the point is in getting a loan to pay this off now – she should get a refund of a payment she makes if she wins her claim but she could still have had to pay the interest on the CU loan, which aren’t cheap.
Amigo won’t consider removing interest – they will just say you have to wait until your claim is decided. If you win it then, all interest is removed so it doesn’t matter how much they have added. The interest on amigo’s loans is capped at the amount they originally quotes when the loan was taken out – Amigo should confirm this if you ask them. So you don’t need to worry about interest carrying on piling up forever.
how large was the loan? what is your first from Amigo? How much had you paid to it before you stopped?
Jimmy says
Okay thank you for that, I have just submitted my claim yesterday and she has done hers today. If that’s the case we will just wait and see how the claims go with the scheme before making any payments. It was more a worry of it affecting her credit score. Well with the interest it’s stayed the same amount owed for over 3 years at 5600 roughly. The first loan was 4000 and paid for about 6months then the second top up was for about 1500 and brought it to 5000. That was the only loans and the current balance is in around the 5600 I mentioned. I tried contacting them before I stopped paying to get reduced payment for a while and they wouldn’t do it so I was forced to stop paying as i couldn’t afford it
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you add up how much you have paid to the second loan please?
Jimmy says
I just went through my bank there, I had paid 213 twice from what I can see there so 426 from the top up was sent in December. Before both loans and all around them I had 1000s of gambling transactions and other loans.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
And what is the rest of your current financial situation like? How large are your other loans? Any priority bills or debts? Do you still have a gambling problem?
Jimmy says
All my loans are at debt collectors, for 1600, 1100 and 2200. I had good few more that were under 1000 I partially settled a while back. Then I owe hmrc 8000. It’s been an on off problem for about 10 years. I haven’t gambled in couple months now and have given up control of my finances so praying this is it over now
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so if your complaint is won, the interest will be removed and your guarantor will be released but you will still owe several thousand, going by those figures. Then you can make a payment arrangement or – what may be more sensible with that large HMRC debt – look at some form of insolvency – talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 at that point.
If you lose your claime but your guarantor wins their claim, they will be released and the same will apply to you but you will have a bigger debt as the interest won’t be removed.
If you both lose your claims you both need to talk to National Debtline about your options.
Jimmy says
Okay thanks, and based on the amount of gambling on my account all around the loans would you think they will be won? I’m sure my guarantor will win as I had made threats of self harm for it to be done for me and it was rejected until I got her to take out a couple outgoings then amigo accepted it. I have been on a small payment plan with hmrc already and I should have a much better paying job than I’ve ever had come next month. So I do think I will be able to afford to sort out these debts relatively fast. It’s the impact amigo is having on my credit as it hasn’t even defaulted just says in arrears since and the other debts are defaulted a couple years now so when I can pay them off they shouldn’t be too bad on my account over the next couple of years. Would I be right in thinking this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would hope it will be won, but I really can’t say what the odds are. If it is won. all negative marks will be removed from your credit record. If it isn’t won, you can ask Amigo to add a backdated default, as it is wrong for them not to have done this.
Nina de Salis Young says
Amigo have issued NOSIA to a client already, despite initial claim previously submitted, presumably because no detailed claim yet. Cheeky.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Has your client paid more to the current loan than they borrowed? If yes, they can have Equitable Set off which lets them pause payments until their claim is decided and their guarantor won’t be asked to pay. A NOSIA though is still sent out, but it can be ignored.
Nina de Salis Young says
Yes, they have paid more to the current loan than they borrowed, and they have already applied for Equitable Set Off, and have already submitted a fair bit of detail about their complaint, back in October.
Their Amigo letter of 31 May features a panel about ‘Ways to Pay’ prominently, plus a rather smaller ‘Please find enclosed a Notice of Sums in Arrears’, and ‘If you have already cleared the arrears, then please ignore this letter’
We’re submitting a detailed claim today, but I thought it was a bit cheeky of Amigo to send a letter that many clients will interpret as a request for payment.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo does say that in equitable set off you (and the guarantor) will still receive a few communications.
But you are not the first person to complain that a NOSIA letter has just arrived.
Chris says
I received an email from Amigo saying that because I have an outstanding claim (it was with FOS previously), I don’t need to resubmit. I’ve logged into the claims portal and I can’t see the claim there. Is it best I submit a new one just in case?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you have an email from Amigo saying you don’t need to, no, this should be OK.
Anyone who has just heard that Amigo are submitting some complaints should NOT assume this applies to them unless they have had an email from Amigo saying this.
Josh says
In total, we have paid just over the original loan. This doesn’t include Amigos interest, but actual funds we paid to via monthly payments has now totalled the amount we actually borrowed.
I have since stopped paying them as the amount I borrowed they have had back and everything else is pure interest and it was way above anything i could afford. I also submitted my claim some time ago.
In my position having paid the loan amount back. Where does this leave me? Would i get any compensation? (Probably not and not really fussed) will i be released from the loan?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Assuming you win your claim, then you would be refunded the amount you have paid over what you have borrowed – so not a lot, but the important thing is having the balance cleared for you.
Your guarantor, could they have afforded to make all the payments to the loan and still been able to pay their own debts, bills and living expenses? If not, they too should make a claim as this gives them two chances of being released as guarantor – if they win their claim or you win yours.
Josh says
Thanks for the reply and advice.
I think we stand a fairly good chance in that we had 4 top up loans from amigo in 2 years. They didn’t ask for any proof of income and oddly, although he is a homeowner, we earn more than the guarantor.
Hopefully we get a positive resolution. At one stage the monthly payments were £625.00 pcm
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it is still a good idea to suggest to your guarantor that he too makes a complaint. A guarantor has to be able to make the payments out of income – the fact he owns a house and has a good credit record doesn’t mean he can afford to pay hundreds a month to Amigo!
liam says
hi i contacted amigo about an affordability complaint but as it was over 6 years ago they cant find my information ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you have details of the loan? Or does your guarantor?
Vicky says
Hi sara,
I have been offered an equitable set off, I’ve paid probably twice over the loan amount that was originally borrowed and I have an affordability complaint in with them. Do you think it’s worth taking up the offer of equitable set off?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can you afford to make the current repayments and still be able to pay your other debts, bills and living expenses? Will you be able to do this from October when your energy bills are likely to go up another 60-65%?
Vicky says
I have been able to, but currently my wage has dropped and come October it will be a definite no, I’m already loosing £150 per month now so certainly won’t be able to afford it when energy prices rise again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then this sounds as though you should probably stop paying. Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/stop-paying-amigo-set-off/
You should NOT get behind with any bills or other debts in order to pay Amigo where you may eventually get the money back. It will be the second half of 2023 before any money is paid out.
K says
I won my claim couple of years ago and accepted the redress but it was minus £2k for fees/interest so I sent that part to FOS where it has sat and probably now back to amigo – is it worth pursuing or am I best to just leave it? I took the redress figure minus the £2k
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is worth making a new claim.
Amigo still intends to apply the unfair “deduction for unpaid interest” but making a new claim to the Scheme will mean they have to revisit the affordability of all your loans. If an earlier loan which they previously said was affordable is now found to be unaffordable, then the “deducation” will disappear and you will also get a refund for the previous loan so it could potentially be quite a bit.
So send your claim in and appeal the decision in the Scheme if it goes against you.
Stuart Mackay says
I won few years ago. £200 was taken of my claim by hmrc I think . Why was this
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Tax is payable not on the refund part – that is your own money you are getting back – but on the 8% simple interest that is added to refunds. That is taxable as “savings interest”.
But there is a tax free amount everyone has for this, so if you are a basic rate taxpayer you may be able to reclaim £200 of any deduction back from HMRC. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/ for how to do this.
Louise says
I’m working on my sister’s behalf and Amigo has confirmed the complaint I raised two years ago has been forwarded into this new scheme and a decision is due early next year.
My sister has stood guarantor for four loans with Amigo and for five loans elsewhere for Amigo’s clients daughter.
My initial complaint went into detail about the daughters loans and how my sister felt pressured to help them both as they work at the same company and she felt she would be looked at badly by others if she didn’t help them.
I spoke to Amigo yesterday as I can now update the complaint with details of the medications she is taking (one of which can cause reckless behaviour) and the start of those tallies with her standing guarantor for nine loans that I know about (there may be others as I found out about three more yesterday).
Apart from the fact that there was no way she could afford to pay all of this back as she was heavily in debt herself at the time I am making Amigo Loans standard of due diligence central to our argument that she should be released from the contract.
Amigo we’re pushing for me to sign my sister up for their Equitable Set-Off although they admitted it is usually borrowers that use this. Can anyone advise on if it’s best to leave the complaint as it is when I update it or is Equitable Set-Off the way to go?
TIA
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is she making any payments to the Amigo loans?
If she isn’t, I am not syre what else “Equitable set off” offers her. Could you ask Amigo to explain this? I haven’t heard of them offering it to guarantors before.
Which other guarantor lenders has she stood guarantor for?
Can I ask what other debts she has apart from these? Does she have any assets? Is she behind with any bills?
Apart from the fact that there was no way she could afford to pay all of this back as she was heavily in debt herself at the time
That is massively the simplest argument to make. Certainly make other argumants, but don’t let your ouitrage at their poor lending obscure the simplest way for your siste to be released from these loans.
Louise Marriott says
Hello Sara and thanks for responding.
Thankfully she has not got to the stage of having to pay for these loans herself yet.
She stood guarantor for five loans for the daughter across three lenders – Guarentormyloan, Buddy Loans and one other Guarentormyloan couldn’t any details for. All but the last loan was satisfied by the borrower.
I raised a complaint on her behalf with Guarentormyloan when my sis received a summons to court when the daughter defaulted. Although they said they wouldn’t uphold our complaint they released her from the contract as a goodwill gesture.
As far as I know that just leaves four loans with the Mother, all with Amigo Loans.
They were all put in place over the period 2017 – 2020 when she had a lot of personal debt she didn’t tell these lenders about. Nor did she declare to either side that she was standing guarantor for the other each time they took her through the affordability assessment – clearly unaffordable and a gross lack of due diligence.
We jointly own the property she was living in but she has abandoned that property now as she is no longer able to cope with living by herself (she has cancer and severe mental health issues). Myself and our Father are paying to maintain that house.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So her daughter had 4 loans from Amigo – unless your sister paid any money to the first three, it is only the last one that matters as the first three have already been settled and she has no liability. In any series of loans it is almost always the last one that is largest and the most likely to have been unaffordable.
I would hope that this is a simple case for Amigo to resolve and release your sister. I’m not sure why they don’t just do this now for this sort of case, where the client is very vulnerable, but common sense doesn’t seem to apply to anything that Amigo does.
It is also worth her (or rather you on her behalf) making a complaint to Amigo that they did not assess the affordability for the borrower properly either. All the loans would have shown on the borrower’s credit record, including the other guarantor loans.
As I said, I have no idea how agreeing to Equitable Set Off would help her as she isn’t paying now and has never made a payment to them.
Louise Marriott says
The Mother had four loans with Amigo and three of those were paid back. She has just defaulted on the last loan and is now on an agreed payment plan.
The woman’s daughter was left to pay back the last of her loans with Guarentormyloan after I managed to get my sister removed from tbe contract.
Yes you are right – the loans kept increasing in size and the Mother has just defaulted on the loan with Amigo of £10,000.
Thank you for you advise re them showing on my sisters credit report.
I would hope the information I’m about to add to my sisters complaint will prompt them to look at her case.
I’ll ignore Amigos advise to sign her up to the Equitable Set-Off as I suspect it is some ruse to get borrowers (and in this case a guarantor) to legally accept liability for the debt should Amigo decide to not uphold a complaint.
Hopefully my sister will soon join the ranks of people who managed to get free from Amigo Loans.
Thanks again Sara. 👍
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t see how offering Equitable Set Off is a ruse, but you should ask them to explain clearly what the advantages for her would be.
Louise Marriott says
Good morning Sara.
This is what has been sent to me with regards Equitable Set Off:
‘ By exercising your right to for Equitable Set-Off, you agree:
That you will not be making any payments to your loan, due to your ongoing complaint. You believe that you will have a redress payment that you can set off in the future, against your Amigo loan balance.
That Amigo will not be expecting payments from you, if you agree to this.
That payments on your account will continue to fall due, and the account will fall into arrears.
That contact will be minimised to you, however, you will still receive certain important communications.
That any future complaint or Scheme outcome isn’t guaranteed, and that if a complaint isn’t upheld, that any outstanding balance and arrears would be payable.’
It is the last point that concerns me.
As my sister has not made any payments as yet I would hope they would look at the strong evidence we are putting forward that the loan was always unaffordable and their due diligence should have shown a history of reckless behaviour and a vulnerable person being targeted by her clients family.
My concern is by signing up to the Equitable Set Off she leaves herself open to not being able to put a complaint to the FCA should Amigo Loans not release her from the contract.
It’s all so unclear and worrying.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It doesn’t matter if she agrees to Equitable Set Off or not. There is ZERO chance your sister will be able to complain to the Finacial Ombudsman or the FCA – or indeed go to Court -about these debts. The Scheme removed that as a possibility, not just during the Scheme but afterwards too.
If Amigo rejects her claim and she appeals in the Scheme and this is also rejected, then she could try then asking Amigo to write off the balance owed because of her mental health problems and remove her as guarantor.
Louise Marriott says
That’s not making things look good.
🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
I’m trying to stay positive after I managed to get her removed as a guarantor for the Guarentormyloan debt even though the borrower had defaulted.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds like a strong case to me.
Louise Marriott says
Thanks Sara.
I’ve just found out from my sister that she did tell Amigo Loans she wasn’t already guarantor for any loans elsewhere when they took her through the affordability assessment for this last loan for the Mother.
Of course that wasn’t true as she was guarantor for the daughter at Guarentormyloan.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If she was being pressured to agree to the loans, that is what you would expect to have happened.
If the loan was unaffordable – she could not have made all the repayments from her income and still been able to afford to pay her own debts, bills and living expenses – then it should not have been given. You say she had a lot of other personal debts at the time. Non affordability is often the simpleset way to win these cases.
Louise Marriott says
Thank you for all your support and advise Sara.
I kept the new material to add to the case to the affordability and lack of due diligence aspects.
Amigo has acknowledged receipt and added it to the existing case and say there should be a decision Feb/March next year.
We will get more info about the Equitable Set-Off if the payments revert to my sister.
Cilivian Guarantor says
Hi Sara or anyone,
Whats the maximum interest rates that loan companies can put on a loan as I guaranteed a loan (top up) from 01/2019 and believe the original one was September 2018. I was quoted for a 49.99% interest rate and lord beyond my ex-friend has made a mess of things. Now I’m really trying to get out of this situation as Ive got my own personal loan and not to mention another loan with her under Uk credit which ive been paying but the amigo loan scares me the most the loan accrued 4400 in just interest alone and stands at a total 10k. While Ukcredit stands at a total of 4.4k it’s an absolute nightmare. For example, amigo loans charged me £364.89 interest on a balance of £10,785 this was when the account was in default/arrears .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is no legal maximum interest rate.
When you guaranteed this Amigo loan, would you have been able to make all the payments to it and still pay your other debts, bills and living expenses?
Col says
Hi Sara, I’ve seen you say it will late 2023 before any money is paid out.
I’ve got an existing loan (about £6K left) that ends in October 2023. I’ve paid back considerably more than what I borrowed.
My claim’s outstanding from October 2020 (pushing two years). Do you know if they’re looking at claims now and if upheld they’d write off the loan or do you think they’ll hang on as late as they’re legally allowed so that they’d only have to give me a fraction back after I’d finished paying the loan?
I’m assuming the latter with how little integrity Amigo appear to have.
Thanks for all your help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you made a claim?
Col says
Yes originally complained in October 2020. It went to FOS, then back to Amigo and they’ve since confirmed it’s now been included as part of the scheme.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, so the payments you are currently making should be going into an “escrow” account, where you will get them back in full if you win your complaint.
I can’t see why a responsible lender would not prioritise complaints about loans still being repaid and indeed be getting on with those complaints now. They wouln’t be able to work out what % is being paid out in a reund until all claims have been dealt with, but if they wanted to they should at least be able to close current loans so you don’t have to keep paying…
However I have no evidence that amigo are doing this.
Are the repayments currently affordable?
Joel says
Hi Sara, thanks for your continued support on this. I have seen that it is estimated any payouts would be late 2023, do you know if defaults on credit report would be removed before this or would that be amended at time of payout? Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Most firms in schemes and administrators prefer to resolve credit records for everyone at the same time. There is no reason why this has to be after payouts have been made, but it will probably be much slower than you would like.
Kyle says
Hey, can the deduction for unpaid interests be perused from any other legal challenge. Surely it’s fraud on a large scale because as far as I’m aware it was not in my contract? Surely this can be passed into the government to look into as fraud in order to save millions. This unpaid interest deduction leaves me with next to nothing.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am afraid all complaints relating to these loans now have to be handled within the scheme. You have no other legal recourse.
Kyle says
Hey, thanks for the reply. I meant in terms of their breach of contract with regards to “unpaid interest”. They say it themselves in their terms and conditions with regards to interest and such that you only pay for how long you have it. They as a company have breached terms and conditions and every contract they assigned this “unpaid interest” fee to. They also state they do not charge early repayment fees, so this falls under that category. In my eyes this is fraud is it not, and considering it will be on a multi million pound scale wouldn’t that mean the government could look into possible fraud? May be a far stretch but to me that’s how it looks, because as far as I was aware I did not see anything in their terms of agreement that states this fee.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you can complain about anything you feel is unfair to the Scheme. There is no other way to make any complaints at all about these loans.
Beverley Lotz says
I’m just wondering if anyone who put a claim in against Amigo loans has had any further information since the new rules came in .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
People have until Nov 26 to make a claim. Amigo could start deciding claims now, but there is no sign that it is doing this.
Bob says
Hello when I log on to the portal it just says welcome back any advise would be appreciated many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is this the first time you have logged in? Or did it say something different before?
Ruth says
Hi I have the same just goes to a white page with that message. I’ve already submitted my claim
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Phone them on 01202 629798 and ask about this. You can also email them at amigoscheme@amigoloans.co.uk
Mark says
Hi Sara, some advice would be really appreciated.
So I’ve maid my complaint now and I’m still paying amigo until June 2023, I am paying them through step change which was set up around 5 years ago amongst other debts that I had… amigo is the last one thank god!
Now that I’ve made a complaint, should I stop paying them/ freeze payments until the complaint has been approved or declined? My credit score isn’t great at the moment anyway… it probably won’t improve until amigo is cleared. If you do suggest I stop what should I say to them over the phone?
Any advice would be hugely appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is the monthly payment affordable or do you need to reduce it because of increasing energy bills and other prices?
Mark says
We’ve just had our energy bill renewal come through and we will be struggling… so I guess I just contact step change and explain it to them and get them to alter the amount paid to amigo? Or should I contact amigo and explain to them first?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
just tell StepChange. StepChange will then tell Amigo.
Jayne says
Anybody else have this emailed to them this morning also does this email mean that they are looking into some complaints now
Further, to our previous update, we confirm that Amigo’s SchemeCo is still investigating your claim.
As previously explained, all Customers have until 26/11/2022 to submit a Claim under the Scheme. In most cases, we will not be able to communicate a decision on a claim until after this date has passed. Please note that if your claim is upheld, we will not be able to calculate any redress payment due to you until after the Scheme closes to all customers and all the claims have been agreed.
We thank you for your patience, and we will continue to keep you updated. We are unable to share any details about the decision of your claim or when you will get a response. You will receive notification when we have made a decision.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think it probably means they are tired of people asking for an update…
James says
Hello Sara,
This question is on behave of my wife, who is my son’s guarantor. My wife is guarantor for my son on a current loan. Initially on taking out the loan, my wife’s income was less than the payment for the loan. But given the other income from other household members, Amigo said that this was ok.
With my son suffering from epilepsy, this entailed time off work, but did not fall behind on payments because my wife and I supplemented the difference. With approximately one quarter of the loan paid, my wife and I decided to take out a loan from the bank and paid 40% off the capital, this however, did not reduce the payment fee. While now being guarantor and having my own payments coming out of my limited income means that in reality I could not be seen as a guarantor, and not be able to make the payments.
With the above in mind, would it be possible to make a claim?
Regards
James
Sara (Debt Camel) says
But given the other income from other household members, Amigo said that this was ok.
But did Amigo check that this would ok with the other household members?
While now being guarantor and having my own payments coming out of my limited income means that in reality I could not be seen as a guarantor, and not be able to make the payments.
Sorry this is you, James? You are a guarantor for your son with a different lender or with Amigo? Or a guarantor for someone else?
James says
Hi Sara,
Apologies for the confusion, the original comment was me asking on behalf of my wife.
No, Amigo did not check with the other household members.
No, not me, my wife is my sons guarantor.
Regards
James
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so your son may be able to make a claim if at the time he took the loan it wasn’t likely he would be able to make all the payments himself. If he had an erratic income because of his illness, this may well have been the case.
your wife can make a claim that the loan was unaffordable for her if she could not afford it on her income and proper checks hadn’t been made that it would be affordable for you two together – ie were your debts etc taken into account.
it is always best for both the borrower and the guarantor to make a claim if possible.
James says
Hello Sara,
Thank you for your reply and advice, obviously this will not be taken as gospel; but a generalised idea.
I will keep you updated as things progress(hopefully).
Regards
James
sandra says
i was a guarantor for my daughter, my daughter lost her job and it was down to me to pay it off, at the time I only received a widows pension, I asked them if they would accept a reduced payment, they refused my request, I had to take out a DRO because I couldn’t afford what they were asking for and was getting into more debt trying to pay them, is it worth trying to claim?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Has your DRO finished?
is your daughter also going to make a claim to the Amigo Scheme?
Kamil says
Hi Sara.
I had a complaint for 3 loans with amigo and just before they started this case in the court I had decision from FOS that my loans were unnafordable and they have to take off interest and let me repay only the amount that I borrowed and to remove all negative records from my credit score.
Last time when I have contacted Amigo they told me that I have to wait beetwen 6-12 months. I starting to worrying now as I decided to stop paying them about one and half year ago as I wasnt able to carry on paying £600 monthly. I have paid this for over a year and I have repaid about £8000 for a loan for £5000 in total. If I add to this my previous 2 loans from my calculation I should only have bits left to pay (about £1500).
The problem that I have they did not done anything related to my complaint within past 2 years even I have a valid decision from FOS.
My credit record shows that I owe them over £10000 now which 85% from this sum is interest added for the past 2 years. Also I have 2 years as missing payments and I am not able to even have a phone on contract now.
This is frustrating me a lot because same time when I made a complaint with Amigo I have made complaint to 2 simillar companies and they sorted out everything straight away.
My credit score should be perfect and is only amigo that is making my score on the probably lowest possible level.
Are you able to help me to resolve this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Now this Scheme is underway, your complaint will be dealt with within it. There is no way to speed this up.
Amigo should have entered a claim to the Scheme automatically for you. But unless Amigo have told you this has happened, you should try to put in a claim yourself, to be sure.
Harry says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for all of your help as always! I just received the below from Amigo after submitting when it first opened. Do you think this is just automated or possible they’re sending it out ahead of a rejection. Seems strange they didn’t acknowledge it originally via email.
Further, to our previous update, we confirm that Amigo’s SchemeCo is still investigating your claim.
As previously explained, all Customers have until 26/11/2022 to submit a Claim under the Scheme. In most cases, we will not be able to communicate a decision on a claim until after this date has passed. Please note that if your claim is upheld, we will not be able to calculate any redress payment due to you until after the Scheme closes to all customers and all the claims have been agreed.
We thank you for your patience, and we will continue to keep you updated. We are unable to share any details about the decision of your claim or when you will get a response. You will receive notification when we have made a decision.
If you require additional information regarding the Scheme please read our FAQs on the following link to our website: http://www.amigoscheme.co.uk
Once again thank you for your ongoing patience.
Yours sincerely,
SchemeCo
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Several people have reported having this. I don’t think there is any reason why they would want to send it just to people whose they intend to reject.
Michael says
Hey Sara. Had a claim since December 2020. Logged into portal today to check my claim status. Amigo done a good job on submitting my claim. They submitted 2 words.
Depression
Financial ruin
As the reason to why I think I was missold both loans. No other documents. Nothing. Even though i sent them all documents etc. would get people checking. To make sure they have not done it with others
Rachel says
Hi Sara, my husband had an amigo loan, he stopped paying this in August 2015 due to affordability and mental health and illness. I was the guarantor and I could not repay for him either, the account was defaulted and they proceeded with legal proceeding back in 2015, we had a solicitor deal with this and it seemed to just vanish and never made it to court or anywhere else and there has never been a CCJ, there has been no contact in writing from November 2016. We submitted an offer in full and final settlement which was declined and submitted letters from our doctors. His credit report on Equifax is still showing the loan and missed payments, the first missed payment was august 2015 and no payment has been made since, the account on Equifax is not showing as defaulted and showing first missed payment as august 2018, do you know how I should go about getting this removed from his account? or can we? it has been 7 years now. His Experian account does not show this and last month his score rose by 336 points and is now 916 out of 999. If you have any advice I would greatly appreciate it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What did your solicitor say had happened to the loan?
Rachel says
Amigo solicitors refused the settlement proposal and then we never had any further communication from them or Amigo, neither did our solicitor. And we didn’t write to them as time went on as we didn’t want to engage again. There has been no communication from 5th November 2016, and no payments made from August 2015.
I should say we are based in Northern Ireland.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you go back to your solicitor and ask if this is now statute barred. If you can’t get an answer from them, talk to your local Citizens Advice.
You can ask Amigo to add a default date at the end of 2015. But it’s best to be sure if the debt is statute barred before doing this.
Phil says
Hi Sara,
I initially took out a loan with Amigo back in September 2014 for £2500. After 5 top up loans my total borrowing was £6500 from August 2017.
I have submitted a claim & requested my full statement when doing so. In total to date I have paid Amigo £19939.24!!
I also agreed a reduced payment plan with them back in June 2021 of £80 per month.
My balance outstanding is still £3487.47 of which £2973.65 is arrears!
Since the reduced payment plan has been in place my payments are showing as missed on my credit file, greatly impacting my credit score!
Do you think I should ask for set off?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
are the current payments affordable?
Phil says
Hi Sara,
No not really with energy bills & fuel & food costs soaring.
The way I understand it is I’m not going to be any worse off credit score wise if I apply for the payments to be “set off”, until my case is assessed by Amigo.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes that is right. Equitable set off will harm your credit score (see https://debtcamel.co.uk/stop-paying-amigo-set-off/) but your score is already harmed.
You don’t want to get behind with important bills to stretch to paying this to Amigo.
5 top up loans should be a strong case!
Phil says
Hi Sara,
I’m going to apply for equitable set off, it’s not going to change anything for me credit score wise and hopefully my case is upheld so my credit score will be back on track then.
Your website is fantastic, wouldn’t of known about any of these options if it didn’t exist
Thanks Phil.
Paul says
Hi,
I’m not sure where to post this but long story short.. I took out a £10k loan almost 6 years ago and due to it being unaffordable have never paid as was on benefits. Husband removed as guarantor as his unaffordable claim was upheld by the ombudsman. So it’s now a normal loan – currently at full term £21,317 debt.
The status on my credit file is delinquent and doesn’t say default.. is it the same thing? My 6 years is up in 8 weeks and I don’t want to prematurely contact anyone to have it fixed until the 6 year period passes so it can be removed from my file.
However, I contacted Amigo in Jan 2021 for a statement as was going bankrupt (I didn’t go bankrupt in the end) so I believe the statute barred won’t apply to me :( so Amigo could still pursue me even tho it’s removed from my file?
Is it worthwhile putting another complaint to ombudsman for myself as my first was rejected 2018 but they upheld my husband even tho we shared income which seems silly.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can’t make a second complaint to the Ombudsman. I don’t know why the first was rejected (2018 was really early for these complaints) but there is nothing you can do about it now. Also NO Amigo complaints can go to the Ombudsman because of the Scheme.
I don’t think asking for a statement constitutes acknowledging a debt (you can phone National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 to check this) but making a complaint certainly does. So even if the debt is not on your credit record, it will not be statute barred until 2024.
What is the rest of your current situation? Do you have other debt problems? Why did you not go bankrupt?
You can make a new affordability complaint to the Amigo scheme even though you complained before. It may be upheld, but that would just remove the interest and leave you with a 10k loan you still can’t repay.
You can also complain that your credit record is incorrect and a default should have been added.
The deadline for making a claim to the Scheme is 26 November but you should get a claim in asap if you intend to make it, don’t leave until the last minute and risk systems problems resulting in you missing the deadline.
It isn’t clear how you can take a complaint about your credit record forward after the Scheme ends. It may be you cant go to the ombudsman. Whether you can go to the ICO I don’t know. You have to take into account that it is possible there will be NO way to get your credit record corrected later.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I should add that although Amigo are not chasing you now, it’s possible when the Scheme ends that they will sell a whole bunch of debts to a debt collector. Who will chase.
Jo says
I feel like the amigo claims r going to take forever my question is ? In November will they start upholding loans straight away and if so will then money paid in the pot be spilt before any claims r paid out ? I put a complaint into amigo long before the scheme came about and I’ve now just been threw into the scheme it’s so annoying as to how slow this process is xx
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know. In theory there is no reason why they have to wait until Novemeber before making decisions on claims.
But no cash will be paid out until all claims have been decided and time for appeals has been allowed. See the Working out how much people will get section in the article above.
Jo says
So no money payouts with any upheld claim at all will be made ? Even from the pot that money has been set aside with payments that have been made from last year
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh it is possible that refunds of those payments could be made earlier. but don’t hold your breath.
Beth knappert says
Hi..I am. Guarantor for a loan from amigo and while the borrower is still paying the loan of he defaulted this September and paid late .BUt I noticed about 4 days later amigo took out they same amount from my account and I’m pissed about this PLease what are my options in order to retrieve my money …can I get it back from amigo or the bank…thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did Amigo inform you that they were taking this money from your account before hand?
Beth knappert says
They sent me a letter on Friday the 23rd saying the delayed payments had to be made asap or they would take the money out the following Friday (yesterday).I informed the borrower and he made payment on Sunday the 25th so even after he had made payment they still took out the same amount from my account on Friday
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well that should not have happened.
Was it taken from your bank by direct debit or continuous payment authority?
Have you asked amigo to refund this immediately?
Beth knappert says
It was taken by direct debit as I had provided my bank details when signing up to be a guarantor.I have not spoken to them but will be giving them a ring this morning to see if I can get the money back any advice you can give with how to deal with them will be real helpful.thanks you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Just phone them and say you want this money back immediately.
Unless it sounds as though they are very sorry and are going to to do this straight away, I suggest you contact your bank and say the DD was taken in error and ask for it to be refunded under the Direct Debit guarantee scheme.
You should also consider canceliing the DD when this has been sorted and also phoning you bank and cancelling the continuous payment authority Amigo has taken over your debit card… Better safe than sorry next time.
Do you know if the borrower has submitted a claim to the Amigo Scheme? If not, you should encourage them to this. If they win the complaint interest is removed from their loan and you will be released as guarantor.
Beth knappert says
Will do that..thanks for your help
Robert says
Hello, I’ve made a claim and when I log into the portal, it states:
“Thank you for submitting your claim on 23rd August 1 PM. You can edit your claim or provide additional information until 26th November.
If you would like to amend the bank details you have provided to receive potential compensation you can do so, by clicking the edit button below.
You are no longer able to edit the details of your claim online. However, if you would like to submit further details or change any details regarding your claim, please contact us using the details on our contact us page.”
I’ve not provided them with any evidence. What could I provide to show it was unaffordable? A credit report that shows my record is in a bad way with defaults etc? Is it worth sending it now or waiting for them to decide and then appeal?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
was this your first loan from them? how long ago was it?
Robert says
It’s a current loan that I’m still repaying.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then you could send them a copy of your current credit record )or any old ones if you have them) and your bank statements, 3 months before the start of the loan and 3 months afterwards
AJ says
When I logged on today to make a claim, it said that a claim had been submitted for me on 23/08/2022 at 1:00pm. I did not submit a claim on that date. I did however lodge a formal complaint with Amigo on 13/02/2021 but Amigo did not redress my complaint nor pay me compensation. I do not know what claim has been submitted or who submitted it and what has been said in my claim. Does anyone know how I can find out more details. The other problem is I tried to submit a fresh/new claim but the system is not allowing me as it says that “you have indicated you would like to make a claim”. I do not know what is going on. Sara can you please help/advice. I have sent an email to Amigo’s complaints team and their customer service email address enquiring about the claim that has been submitted.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As the article above says, it is possible that Amigo has automatically submitted a complaint for you.
Glen says
Hello, my question is this, when filling in my claim Amigo asks for bank details, my wife, understandibly is very wary of this due to scams and fraud etc. Is this standard practice to ask for bank detilails and how do I know I can trust it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well you already gave Amigo your bank details at the time you took the loan… they want them now in case you have changed them so any refund is paid to the right account. It is a reasonable thing to ask for, not a scam.
Mac says
Hi Sara,
I’ve just logged into the portal and am seeing this message “Thank you for submitting your claim on 23rd August 1 PM. You can edit your claim or provide additional information until 26th November.”
I did not submit this claim. I did however submit a complaint in November 2019 which Amigo denied.
Do you suggest I use the email address to submit details of my current claim instead? Have you heard of anyone else experiencing this?
Mac says
Apologies, I’ve just seen a comment above which answers this question. Interestingly the date and time are the same.