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Most of these are people with loans taken out longer ago, so their contact details may be out of date too.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.
Jackie says
I am a guarantor and still waiting for the email but I just checked my spam box and was very pleasantly surprised to find my outcome with all 5 loans upheld. I don’t know yet if the borrower has got their letter or what happens as there was an outstanding amount still to be paid. But finally I have been released as guarantor
At the moment I can’t log onto the portal to accept as it keeps coming up as error but I will try again tomorrow. I sincerely hope that the end is finally in sight for those who are still waiting and they also receive a positive outcome
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you make any payments that are being refunded?
Christine healey says
I am still waiting for a decision but when I logged into the portal it said my loan was sold to interim. Does this mean I can’t claim a refund?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No.
Sold to Intrum? Does it say when?
What does the portal say about your decision?
Christine healey says
I can’t find a decision. It was sold to Intrim in about 2018 I think.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
this will not stop your claim being considered and you getting a refund or balanace reduction if it is upheld.
Christine says
I have since paid off the loan. My guarentor was my mum who has since passed. I did tell them I am the administrator when I made the claim.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
had your mum made any payments to Amigo?
Martyn says
Hi Sara
Thanks for all your help on this, you really have given so much great advice on this forum.
I had 4 loans – initial plus 3 top ups. All loans paid off (last one end of 2020) – missed few payments but organised late payments without guarantor needing to be involved. I still don’t have any word back – should I be worried they seem to be now dealing with ‘current loans’? I thought maybe mistakingly that my type of situation would have been a quick resolution.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, I don’t think you should Read anything into this. But do check the portal regularly and that the email doesn’t go into spam
Dave says
Hi im in the same situation as you, i spoke to Amigo on Monday they said mine is with the decision makers it will be sorted soon, so i wouldn’t worry yet
P s says
Hi sara
My gaurantor has had her claim upheld on all the loans but me the borrower hasnt had a reply yet do you think its likely ill be upheld too
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was your guarantor complaining the loans were unaffordable for her? Or for you?
James says
I’m in the same boat as you
aden says
Hi
I just got a letter from the adjudicator they have overturned Amigos decision and upheld my claim. I had 1 loan for £10k which I have paid back the initial £10k.
Now I await on details from amigo
Sara (Debt Camel) says
good news!
Jackie says
Yes according to Amigo I had made just over £12,000 in repayments for the loans of which the last 4 were top ups up to 10,000 from 2015 to 2017. If I am honest I thought I paid more but I will not dispute it as I know that initially the borrower had managed to make payments. Then they took a payment holiday during Covid. I do not want to go through the hassle of getting bank statements and trawling through those to check. My result is that including the 8% interest I will eventually be paid 17% of a total of 16 000. There is an outstanding balance showing on the borrowers account of £3500 so I don’t know what happens to that. Neither of us has been approached to make any payments for a long period of time so just have wait and see if the outstanding balance will be sold to a debt collection agency or if the balance is the interest on the loans maybe it will be written off. Thank you again for all the support and guidance you continue to provide
Jackie
Lauren says
Hi… I just want to say to everyone.. Don’t give up. I was rejected and I appealed the decision. Had a 10k loan I think it was. I just received a response saying my appeal has been successful and the adjudicator has overturned Amigos decision. I was equitable set off. The letter says Amigo will contact me shortly.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
great – thanks for sharing this
ed says
Hi Lauren
Can you tell me what you included in the appeal as if any of mine are rejected I have already sent them everything I have as evidence? What did you say to them?
Lauren says
Hi Ed, the first claim I sent I didn’t send anything off. For the appeal, I sent all my bank statements from 6 months before I had the loan and 6 months after and I again stated it was unaffordable and I shouldn’t have been given it. And that’s been accepted and Amigos decision overturned
Lauren says
Hi, I’ve been reading these comments and I’m a bit worried I have done something wrong. I have won my appeal and Amigos decision has been overturned.
I have noticed alot of comments on here about the guarantor claiming. My guarantor didn’t make a claim. I thought if I won my case it would just be written off for my and guarantor (in equitable set off.. 10k loan.. 20k paid and there was 5k owing).. Should my guarantor have made a claim? Are they going to chase him for the 5k outstanding?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no, your guarantor should be released. Ask Amigo – they will confirm this.
It only matters if your guarantor made a claim if they had made any payments to Amigo. Or if your claim was rejected.
Lauren says
Hi Sara, thank you for responding and thank you so much for this page. I wouldn’t have know at all about all this if I didn’t randomly find this page one day.
Donna says
I received my outcome today and my claim has been upheld.
What does this mean for me? Total cash claim value = £3196.64. Total refund = £1170.96.
Any help much appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Total cash claim value = £3196.64 – this should be paid at a percentage, expected to be about 17%
Total refund = £1170.96 – these are later payments you made which should be refunded in full.
Donna says
Thank you so much Sarah for your reply. Will it now be a long wait for our payments to come through?
Hope everyone manages to receive something back. And hope you all have a great Christmas.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The payment in full should be “early next year”
The 17% will be paid in two parts, the larger one first, then a final one much later in 2024
Kirsty says
Hi Sara
I asked Amigo about when they will be paying the ‘in full’ refunds:
Hi Kirsty,
Thanks for your email.
As part of your upheld claim you have been awarded redress and a refund. Both mean that there are payments coming to you, but how they are processed is different.
Your Total Cash Claim Value of £2527.07 will be subject to the pence in the pound payment and is paid in two parts (first instalment expected early 2024 & the second instalment 6-9 months later)
Next is your Total Refund Value of £1,106.92 and you will receive the full amount of this, expected to be paid early 2024.
I hope this helps, but should you need anything further, please don’t hesitate to get back to me.
Rachel says
Hi Sara
My partner took out a £10k loan in 2017 during a period of gambling addiction. The loan was completely unaffordable and no payments were made for some time. The interest obviously accumulated up to £22500. He contacted them in 2020 and managed to get the interest frozen and has been making payments at an affordable amount of £100 per month. The balance is now £17000. We have been told that the claim he made has been either partially or fully upheld but no decision received yet. My question is, if it is upheld and the interest removed to take the balance back to the original loan amount of £10k what happens to the £5.5k of interest that he has already chipped away at? Does that get refunded of the £10k balance? I can’t find any explanation of this anywhere and amigo are unable to answer it either.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The 10k loan should be reduced by whatever payment he has made. If he has paid £5,500 so far, the balance should be reduced to £4,500.
Also his guarantor should be released. This will become a standard loan with no interest being added any more.
Richard says
Hi Sara, do you think that amigos estimate of the 31st dec for the majority of outcomes is realistic or should we still keep our fingers crossed for the end of jan 2024?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have no idea.
V says
Hi Sara,
Amigo have upheld my claim for my fully paid loan and the total cash claim value is for the interest in full.
However, regarding the full refund for payments made before/after the scheme effective date, they have outlined a refund for payments after the scheme effective date when in fact I first complained (and the complaint was not upheld) in November 2019.
Does this mean that I should appeal my outcome and ask that I receive a full refund for payments made from November 2019, not the scheme effective date?
Thank you for your help – they really do make this complicated!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
when was your last payment?
V says
July 2022 was my last payment, thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then you should ask for the payments from December 2021 to July 2022 to be refunded in full.
No payments before Dec 2021 are being refunded in full however early you made a complaint.
V says
Received a really sneaky email from Amigo after escalating to adjudicator trying to get me to withdraw my escalation.
It didn’t take into account any of the evidence I had submitted in regards to my initial complaint date and said that if I didn’t respond in 2 days my escalation would be withdrawn.
I have responded and outlined my complaint and evidence again but would advise everyone who has escalated to keep an eye out for these emails!
Jenna says
Hi Sara,
Sorry little confused what I will receive, no guarantee paid anything at all and nothing is outstanding. Thanks for the help.
Total Borrower Refund
£17,812.69
Cash Claim Value £15,534.57
8% Compensation £4,990.13
Total Cash Claim Value £20,524.70
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You should get a percentage, probably about 17%, of the Total Cash CLaim Value – so about £3490
Jenna says
Thank you I thought it was around that figure.
Issy says
I’ve not had my claim back yet but it’s been removed from my credit file so expecting to hear soon.
I just want to be prepared when I do.
What is the difference between the Cash Claim Value that everyone has talked about, and the Total Refund Value? How are they calculated? Does everyone have their claim split into these two things? It’s very hard to keep up with! Thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
when did you last make a payment to Amigo?
Issy says
Probably around 2021 but off the top of my head I can’t remember the month. I went into ESO and have been ever since. Loan was taken out in 2019
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you go into ESO at about the time you made the complaint?
Issy says
I’ve just double checked. Went into ESO in Feb 22, not 2021. But the complaint was in with the Financial Ombudsman before that, in 2021. When the scheme started I was put straight into it, so I suppose that was after I was in ESO
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then you should probably get the payments from Dec 2021 onwards repaid in full.
Leona says
Have you heard anything more? I realised today it’s off my credit report. And received the message to say no more payments to be made
AJ says
Hello Sara and everyone in this chat. I wanted to update you that my claim was initially rejected in September 2023 and following Sara’s advice, on 14/09/2023 I rejected Amigo’s decision and asked Amigo to escalate my claim to the Adjudicator. Today through Amigo I received a detailed letter from the Adjudicator upholding my claim in full. I do not yet know how much will be refunded to me.
@Sara – I made an affordability complaint to Amigo in February 2020 which Amigo never dealt with, in that they acknowledged my complaint but never made a decision. Now that my claim has been upheld, will Amigo assess my claim from February 2020 or will it be from the date of my claim to the Scheme which was made on or around July/August 2022. I am unsure of how and when they will calculate my claim from.
I want to say a great big thank to you (Sara) for all your guidance and support not just to me but to everyone battling with Amigo.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
great – you are the third person today reporting that an appeal has been successful.
Are you still making payments? If not, when was your last one?
AJ says
Hi Sara, I took out my loan of £9.000 in July 2019 and it was to be repaid over 5 years. I am still making monthly payments of £355 and my loan term will end in August 2024. Now that claim has been upheld, do I still have to pay monthly amount.
As I said in my earlier message, I made an affordability complaint on February 2020 and then made a claim under the Scheme in July/August 2022. Will I get refund of any of the payments I made? If so, will it be from February 2020 or July/August 2022? If I carry on making monthly payments, will I get refund of any ongoing payments?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you should get a refund in full of payments from Dec 21. No payments before that date are being refunded in full.
Yes if you carry on making payments they will be refunded in full. But that £355 a month may be better used to clear other debts… so I suggest you ask amigo if you can stop paying now.
AJ says
Thank you Sara for getting back to me. I will write to Amigo and request that they confirm I can stop paying them now. Really appreciate all your guidance and advice.
AJ says
Hi Sara,
Just wanted to update you and everyone in this group that after I emailed Amigo today requesting to enter ESO today, Amigo emailed me as follows:
“You would not be eligible for Equitable Set-off as you have already received your claim outcome. In the meantime, we can discuss the possibility of a payment plan. Please call us on 01202 629161 to discuss this further.
If you have an upheld claim, the loan will be removed from your credit file so there will be no impact.”
So I am not sure why one person Amigo advised me to email them to enter ESO and now they are saying I am not entitled to it.
Although the Adjudicator found in my favour and Amigo is aware of this, Amigo has not confirmed to me that I can stop paying especially given that they will not be confirming calculations till March 2024.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“So I am not sure why one person Amigo advised me to email them to enter ESO and now they are saying I am not entitled to it.”
As I said, I don’t think they have a worked through procedure for handling these appeal upholds…
I suggest you call that number and say they are behaving unreasonably. Ask for your case to be escalated to a manager.
aden says
It seems very confusing as the adjudicators letter states their decision is final why would this need to be re reviewed and why would further payments be need to be made if the intial value of the loan has been paid off.
again they are dragging their heels with this March 2024 date
AJ says
Hi Sara,
I contacted Amigo by phone and by email asking them to escalate my claim to a manager on the basis that their continued demand for payment made no sense when I paid off the full loan over 26 months ago. I took out a loan for £9k and to date I have paid almost £19k.
The Adjudicator found in my favour and so I asked Amigo to explain what they mean by re-review my claim but they had no answer to this when they spoke to me over the phone and as you will note from their response below they have not cared to explain in their email either.
Amigo’s response to me today:
“Thank you for your email and I am sorry to hear that you are unhappy.
We cannot pause payments as we cannot guarantee that any potential redress owed, will settle the loan. Please contact us on 01202 629161 to discuss the possibility of a payment plan. For example, we can consider a reduced payment plan.
In the meantime, please await further communication from us, expected in March.”
It seems Amigo is like the broken record because they are stuck on singing the same on repeat: “call us” or “wait till March 2024”. This is frustrating and I simply do not know what to do next.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How difficult is it to keep paying them?
Or you could just ignore them – what could they possibly do? I understand this is very stressful and don’t think you should be through this.
David says
Was wondering if anyone can advise please. I took out a £9,000 loan in January 2018. Between Jan 2018 and April 2021 I had paid back £13,490. On 21st April 21 I opened a resolver case and continued to pay the loan. Between May 21 – Dec 21 I paid an extra £2,485 (Bringing total paid to £15,975). As I couldn’t afford to pay anymore, I emailed Amigo asking about my resolver resolution, and asked for equitable set off. Which was agreed. I’ve found out today by an appeal letter (as claim was rejected originally) that the rejection has been overturned and I have been successful and Amigo will be in touch.
Sould I expect a refund of some or all of the 6k interest I have paid, if so does anyone know how much? I’m mainly just thankful to be free but some extra cash would go a mile right now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
its sounds as though you have paid 15975 – 9000 = about £7000 in interest. This, plus a bi of 85 interest, should be your total claim value and it will be repaid to you at a percentage, about 17% probably. So you are likely to get about £1,200 back – and the balance cleared of course.
David says
Thank you for responding so quickly
Michael says
Good Morning All.
Just wondering if someone can help me, I received an email on 30/11/23 similar to a few others I’ve read; that I no longer need to make any payments whilst my claim is being assessed and my liability for the loan is more than likely to be taken away.
The loan has disappeared from my credit file as well, how long did other people wait for a final letter on the decision? I’m obviously excited for this all to be over.
Fingers crossed for everyone for the best outcome.
Sean Flood says
Hello
My claim has been upheld. Am I right in thinking I will be refunded a percentage of the cash claim value? And then the full amount of the 8% compensation left any tax deductions?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No.
Does your decision have any lines about set off refunds?
Sean Flood says
No it does not have any comments
So is it a percentage of the final amount including compensation?
Thanks
Sean
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, in that case you will be refunded a percetage of the “total cash claim value” figure . that includes the 8% added – there is no seperate full refund for that.
Amanda says
Hi Sara, I was wondering if you could help me? I received a letter yesterday that my claim upheld by the adjudicator, they have overturned amigos decision that the claim was affordable in September. I have had the loan since 2011, I was paying back £30 back a month, I logged on, on Tuesday and paid £1060 with my partners card, he’s not the guarantor, will we receive this payment back? I also rang and confirmed I have paid £5252.89 since I took the £3000 loan out in 2011, we only decided to clear the loan on Tuesday as it was affecting my credit rating to maybe buy a house in the future. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is now 5 people in 2 days that have won an appeal.
On the numbers you have given, the balance should be cleared and the loan removed fr9m your credit record.
You should get a refund in full of recent payments made, definitely from the start of the Scheme in late May 2022. Did you make a complaint before the scheme started?
As the settlement amount did not come from your guarantor, this should be refunded. It wouldn’t be if it had come from your guarantor.
Amanda says
Thanks Sara
No I didn’t put a claim in until 30/05/2022. Will I receive full refunds for payments made after this date?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you should. Including the settlement payment
Sam says
People winning appeals and heres me still with no final response…..
Andrew says
I’m the same – still waiting! :-O
G says
Yep. Same
Here.
Syed says
Same here still waiting for final outcome
G says
Annoying thing is. Mine isn’t complicated at all. One 5k loan in ESO. No top ups. No guarantor payments.
Then there’s people getting adjudicated decisions before us..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The adjudicated decisions are because Amigo got done early “simple” decisions wrong…
No one should worry that their case is complex. Get prepared for an appeal by getting your bank statements is one positive thing you can do at the moment
Del boy Elder says
I honestly think the people that are left will be straight forward payments, it seems too me that they are getting the people out of the way that they are not sure of as in rejections and stuff. I’m also waiting on 1st letter and too be honest it’s becoming very frustrating. Let’s hope this week brings some good news, I’ve also heard that we will only get the smaller part of payment bye end of January and the full refunds will not be paid until end of march, so I wouldn’t be getting your hopes up thinking this will be xtra cash for Xmas folks.
Natalie Smith says
Hi Sara ,
I hope you are well.
I have followed this thread for ages and can confirm I have finally received my response from Amigo, all though to add they didn’t email me I checked on the portal and found the outcome.
They have upheld my claim but I do not understand the numbers could you help me?
It says agreement claim values
Interest waived £7,564.04
Fee refund £0
Reinstated interest £0
8% Compensation £625.90
Claim value £8,189.95
Agreement set off refunds
Refunds of payment made £487.89
8% compensation £0
8% compensation tax £0
Claim value £487.89
I’m not sure I understand so the total claim value is £8,189.95 but the refund is £487.89?
Thank you
Natalie
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m not sure I understand so the total claim value is £8,189.95 but the refund is £487.89?
Your refund will come in two parts.
The £487 is for recent payments that are being refunded IN FULL
The £8189 is the rest of your refund which will be paid at a percentage, probably about 17%.
Natalie Smith says
Oh I see it didn’t make sense as the £487 was my monthly repayment so are they saying you get £487 back as you paid too many repayments ? And then 17% of the £8189 , I guess that’s it.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you make one last payment after the scheme started in May 2022? Or after you complined Earlier than that?
Cj says
I have had one loan which is still live.i had a message from them to stop paying and had removed fron ny credit report. But still no outcome letter from them.when u rang them this week they again confirmed for me not to send any money and that yes it did look favourable but the staff there dont have access to see where abouts they are with final outcomes they can only see them once letter been sent . I was just paying just interest as I had principal sum paid 18 months ago i continued to pay monthly even though was hard as didn’t want my guarantor to pay.. she did say would receive letter by end of year and refunded early next which in their books could be anytime in next 5 months . I did ask why if mine was agreed why I woykd have to wait so long for refund as the money for full refunds went into an account specifically for people who continued to pay their loans and was separate to everyone else ..but the could not answer
Peter says
good evening,
I received my email confirming that my case had been upheld, which I am really please about as the struggle to meet the payments was extremely difficult and many other aspects of my life suffered.
Appendices
Amigo Loan Agreement No. Loan Amount Loan Term Date Loan Approved
ZDP9011677 £3,000.00 48 03/09/2012
39254397 £4,000.00 36 04/12/2017
42708521 £7,000.00 60 19/07/2018
Interest Refund Fee Refund Reinstated Interest Total Borrower Refund
£13,735.55 £0.00 £0.00 £13,735.55
Cash Claim Value £10,076.40
8% Compensation £2,315.34
Total Cash Claim Value £12,391.74
I am just confused to both the terminology used in the email, and what I am due?
thanks in advance for your help.
Peter
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did your guarantor make any payments?
Peter says
no i made all the payments. in addition, I don’t understand the below either.
Refund Type Refund Amount
Payments made after Scheme Effective Date (1) £3,659.15
Payments made before Scheme Effective Date (2) £0.00
8% Compensation on payments made after Scheme Effective Date (3) £281.26
8% Compensation withholding tax (on payments made after Scheme Effective Date) (4) £56.25
Total Refund Value (1+2+3 minus 4) £3,884.16
thanks
Peter
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This amount Total Refund Value (1+2+3 minus 4) £3,884.16 will be paid to you in full.
And you will also Get a percentage – probably about 17% – of this amount Total Cash Claim Value £12,391.74
Gabor says
Hi Sara,
I am a guarantor made complaint that loan was not affordable for borrower, who has been bankrupted. I made all of the payments. I haven’t got email yet, but on amigoscheme webseite I have outcome:
Summary Agreement Claim Values
This is not the amount you will receive.
Interest waived £0.00
Fee refund £0.00
Reinstated interest £0.00
8% compensation £1,424.97
Claim value £9,090.75
Cash claim value £9,090.75
Total cash claim value £10,515.72
Agreement ********
Date of payout 20/05/2019
Amount borrowed £10,000.00
Other party ************
Your party type Guarantor
Outcome Upheld
Agreement claim values
Refund of payments made £9,090.75
8% compensation £1,424.97
Claim value £10,515.72
Does this mean that I can expect some refund? At the moment the amigo account still shows that I owe money, so I do not know what is going on. This outcome says upheld. Very confused.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you checked if your email has gone into spam?
It looks as though you paid 9090 to Amigo. Your calculated claim value is £10,515, but you will only receive a percentage of that. The percentage is currently expected to be 17% so you will get a bit over £1,700 refunded
Lamar says
Hi, I finally received a response confirming my claim has been upheld by Amigo. The gave me two amounts. Total cash value and total refund value.
My total cash claim value: £9598.08
Total refund value: £5327.10
The email said I won’t be getting total cash value but the pence to the pound of it.
Does this mean I’ll be receiving the total refund value?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you will. Those are more recent payments you made that are being refunded in full
AJ says
Hello Sara, I emailed amigo asking them to confirm what they will do next now the the Adjudicator has upheld my claim and overturned Amigo’s decision. This morning the received the following email from Amigo:
“Thank you for getting in touch.
Please contact the scheme team regarding equitable set off here:
amigoscheme@amigoloans.co.uk
01202 629798
Kind regards,
Elysse @ Amigo”
Is this correct? I am totally confused as to why Amigo is now asking me to enter into a equitable set off even though the Adjudicator has upheld my claim.
I have emailed Amigo to ask them to explain why they are asking me to arrange an equitable set off.
I don’t know if anyone has experienced the same following the Adjudicator’s decision upholding their claim.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
my guess is they haven’t got a worked through procedure for an upheld appeal so they are suggesting equitable set off as a sensible step now if you want to stop paying.
AJ says
Will an equitable set off not affect my guarantor (my daughter)?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Only if your claim wasn’t upheld. As it has been upheld she should be released as guarantor.
The Amigo loan doesn’t appear on her credit record, so you not paying can’t affect that.
AJ says
Hi Sara, I emailed amigo asking when will they confirm the outcome/calculate my claim now that the Adjudicator case upheld my claim. Amigo replied:
“We expect to re-review all calculations by the end of March 2024.“
That’s a long wait and they have not confirmed if I should stop making monthly payments. So it seems I have to ask them for ESO – as I have no choice right now.
Joanne says
So I’m still waiting on my claim outcome . Today though my guarantor who also made a claim in the scheme got his , it says the 5 loans were all upheld and he would be released from the loans but no redress is due to him as he made no payments for me . My question is how likely will these loans be upheld for myself .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
was your guarantor claiming that the loans were unaffordable for him? or unaffordable for you?
Jo says
For us both but mainly me , hopefully I won’t wait long now I’m in an eso atm xx
Gaz says
Hi. My guarantor has had 10 of the 11 loans upheld the first being defended. What would this mean for my claim. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you had 11 loans, that sounds like a very strong claim.
Z A says
My Guarantor received the following email from Amigo Loans today:
“We are contacting you today with regards to your current loan with Amigo.
One of the parties on this account, either the borrower or the guarantor, has raised a Claim within our Scheme of Arrangement. Further updates regarding this Claim will be issued to the relevant party, in due course.
Following a review of this claim, and given that you have an outstanding loan balance, we have made the decision to stop automatically collecting any future payments from you, whilst the Scheme Outcome is finalised.
This means that you will most likely have your liability for this loan removed, and will not have any further payments collected from you. We’d also ask that you do not make any future payments to the loan, and cancel any Standing Orders or regular payments that you have set up.
Whilst we finalise the details of this claim you may notice that the account has fallen into arrears and you might receive some communication stating this. No action is required from you, and we’d ask that you keep this information for your own records. We will ensure that you are not detrimentally impacted in any way from the actions that we are taking to resolve this matter.”
I have not received any correspondence from Amigo. Does this mean my complaint was upheld?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so the guarantor did not make a complaint? have they been making any payments?
Z A says
The guarantor did not make a complaint. I made the complaint. The guarantor has made no payments to date, and currently I have an equitable set off arrangement in place with Amigo.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok then it’s very likely that Amigo will uphold your complaint about the current loan b
Toni says
My Guarantor has just had a final response and had the claim upheld liability has been removed, they have never had to make a payment as I have always maintained payments so no redress is due to them. I am still waiting on my final response and still have an active loan is it correct that the guarantor would of had a response before me?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This has happened to quite a few people in the last few days. I think Amigo has just sent out a large batch of guarantor decisions.
Lonnie says
Hi I today received the email to say stop payments. When will I likely hear from them regarding an outcome? I know I paid more than double what I borrowed. Am I likely to be offered a refund of that?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When will I likely hear from them regarding an outcome?
it may be this month. If it isnt, it should be next month
I know I paid more than double what I borrowed. Am I likely to be offered a refund of that?
when did you make a complaint? do you know at what month you passed the point where you had repaid the amount you borrowed on the current loan?
Lonnie says
The full payment hasn’t been made but I complained the day they opened I think 2021
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Say you had borrowed £4000. I was asking at what point you think your payments to Amigo had got over the £4000 number, ignoring interest added.
the scheme opened for complaints in Late May 2022. Had you complained before that?
Lonnie says
Well I borrowed 9250 in total starting late 2000s can’t remember the initial amount and can’t access details. I paid everything and had 4 top ups that finalised the amount at 9250. Today I counted the payments made from 2016 till I stopped paying and I had relayed 16000in 4 years
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so your “redress” will be the interest you have paid on upheld loans and what is being removed from the current balance.
Unless you know what you have paid to this last loan, and when you made the complaint, Icant be exact, but some of the more recent payments will be refunded “in full” and some at a percentage, probably about 17%
Lonnie says
Ok thanks for your help
Lauren says
I got my Amigo settlement email today. I have to say thank you Debt Camel because I have used your blog for advice to claim back over 20k in unfair loan payments in the last few years.
I took out vast amounts of debt during a period of poor mental health and from using the advice on this blog I have had all of them overturned now and the interest paid back.
I originally complained to Amigo before the scheme and they found themselves to have done nothing wrong (shock). When I complained I found that they had decided my eligibility based on using the national average income, and not my actual income which was much much less at the time.
The final outcome I have today has given me a final figure of £8,745.17. Obviously, I will get back much less than this and god knows when, but I feel great knowing I’ve been vindicated and they can’t do this to vulnerable people ever again.
Thank you! x
Cilivian guarantor says
For the people who have been getting their decision result would you be able to let us know when you put the claim in. Fri, Jul 8, 2022.
I want to know if they are doing it in some sort of order or just randomly?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They are being done in batches which have some loose theme eg responses to guarantors which have made a claim. But they are NOT comprehensive, so the batch of guarantor responses will not include ALL guarantor responses.
These are NOT in date order of complaint.
Or alphabetical.
Cilivian guarantor says
Thank you for this information
Mark says
Was beginning to think I’m never gonna hear back from Amigo but this morning I received the email about not making any further payments as my claim is likely to be upheld.
My guarantor, who hasn’t raised a claim, also received the email but I’ve been keeping them informed since entering ESO in September last year anyway.
Amigo was removed from my credit file last month so I’m just hoping my Final Response Letter will soon arrive.
zoe says
ensure you check the scheme portal website, my letter had gone into my junk folder so had not seen it!
Issy says
I’m in ESO so haven’t paid for a while now. The loans have been removed from my credit file. But I haven’t had one of the letters/emails asking me to stop all payments. Not sure what that means really?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
possibly that they haven’t got round to telling you.
IainHL says
People in ESO don’t get the current letter/email telling them to stop making payments since they are not making them anyway (my partner is in ESO).
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s is what I originally thought. But at least one person with ESO has got one of these letters. Amigos communications can just be rather random sometimes.
Becca says
I’m in ESO and I got the email to stop making payments.
Guarantor never paid or made claim. I’ve also had my credit file updated
IainHL says
Yes, apologies for the misleading post. My partner received her email telling her to top making payments last Friday. As you say it seems that Amigo’s communications can be rather random/take some time.
As an aside she is one of the 29% who still haven’t received her outcome email. I wonder if Amigo are working between Christmas and New Year?
Karen says
My eso started last month after they removed the loan from my credit file. I received an email asking me to stop making payments and cancel the direct debit.
Sean says
I’m eso and I received it.
Jim Smith says
My loan has been removed from my credit profile, does this likely mean my claim has been upheld?
When I check the scheme portal it’s still showing that I haven’t had a final outcome.
Have people whose claim has been refused still have it showing on their credit profile?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
does this likely mean my claim has been upheld?
yes this is probable, but not yet certain
Lori says
Hello,
I had a quick question!
I was made bankrupt and my amigo loan was included into it. I’ve recieved a decision from amigo of a reduced balance where I would still need to pay £1838. My original loan was £5000 but they continued to add interest onto it when It wasn’t being paid due to the guarantor not affording to. So the balance ended at £5870.55
My guarantor has recieved an email on a decision to remove them from being liable to pay for the loan. My question is that I have 30 days to accept or decline the offer they have given me but if I accept will I be liable to pay the left over balance even though I have the bankruptcy for this debt already or is this me entering into a new agreement so i would need to pay ?
Or do I decline it and leave it alone as the main goal was to have the guarantor removed.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what date did you go bankrupt?
Lori says
February 2021
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok so you have been discharged from bankruptcy and your debts have been wiped. Nothing Amigo does and nothing you say to them will change that.
However I think it’s worth making this plain to Amigo now rather than have any arguments in future. I suggest you reject the decision and appeal it,, accepting the decision that it was unaffordable but pointing out you have no legal liability for this loan after your bankruptcy so you do not owe a balance.
Vinny says
I am in a similar position to Lori, I went bankrupt in July 2019 and the payment was passed over to the guarantor. Who paid for just over 12 months and lodged their own case which was upheld. Now Amigo are saying the loan was left open for me, I explained it went into the bankruptcy, but they are adamant it was never closed, even though it was passed over to the Guarantor. My bankruptcy ended in July 2020, but I still had to pay the receiver for 3 years. Surely it’s illegal for them to keep open for me?.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you made a claim to the Scheme?
Are Amigo saying you need to make a payment arrangement?
Or are you mainly concerned about your credit record?
Vinny says
They are telling me that the complaint was upheld, but then saying that from the money they owe me, they will pay the outstanding part of the debt. My argument is the debt was paid through the bankruptcy and there should not be anything owed at all. The OR never implied that I still owed money after my bankruptcy, but Amigo are suggesting I do.
I hope that is clearer.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so in this situation it is normal that a lender will use any refund to clear any balance that was wiped in insolvency.
I know this feels wrong, as you are right that you no longer owe that debt. But:
a) this is what has been done in literally tens of thousands of cases of PPI reclaims – it isn’t Amigo inventing something to be difficult
b) if you were sent any refund (which you will not be) then that money would be owed to the Official Receiver in bankruptcy anyway. So you will never get any money back from this.
Zara says
Hi Sara and everyone here,
This is more of an FYI than a question. I’ll update as the situation revolves:
I have a very interesting (previously stressful) situation. I acted as a guarantor for a close friend on a 10k loan but very quickly it started to unravel and I made all payments from month 2 onwards, eventually totaling up to ~15k (can’t remember the exact figure but all submitted to amigo for review) with final payment being made in July 2021 (shame on me). I haven’t heard from her in almost 2 years after failed promises to pay me back. I’m eagerly waiting for the outcome of the claim it’s roughly started that guarantor’s should get a refund on everything they paid (merry christmas if true) but i’m not holding my breathe.
watch this space
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I hope your claim will be upheld. You will only get about 17% of the calculated redress.
Tee says
Hi Sara,
Please can you kindly advise me.
I made a complaint to Amigo on 31/03/21 regarding affordability via Resolver. I received a message from Amigo via Resolver on 26/05/21 stating they have not been able to issue a response as they were experiencing a large number of queries and Covid 19 has impacted them. As the 8 weeks has now passed and I can refer my complaint to FOS without waiting for a FRL. However, I received another email from Resolver on 05/08/2021 that my case with Amigo has now closed. I haven’t taken any action since then as I was unsure whether to wait for the outcome of the scheme.
I took out my first loan in 2017 for £4000 which was consolidated into 3/4 other loans with Amigo between 2017- 2020. I repaid the loan in full in 2020 as the interest payments were too high.
Based on recent communication regarding the scheme, I checked the Amigo website and noted a message stating a FRL has been not been sent yet. I am unsure if I should continue to wait or refer my compliant to the Ombudsman. Also if i am unhappy with their decision, will i still have option to go to FOS?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can’t go to the Ombudsman. Either now or later if you ar3 unhappy with the scheme decision.
Mark says
Hi, I’ve been following this page for months. I’ve finally had both my claims upheld. I just want to clarify – I received “Total set off refund” of £1998.20. “A total claim value” of £2908.31 and a “total cash claim value” of £663.96. I am working on an assumption I will get full refund of the set off refund, 17% of the total claim value, but unsure of the total cash claim value – can you confirm if I am correct and what total cash claim means. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did you guarantor make any payments? When was your last payment made? do you still owe a balance on the last loan?
Mark says
Potentially 2 or 3 at most. As far as I can remember. My last payment was roughly 2021 (I believe) both paid off/settled back then. Do you know what difference this makes?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The guarantor payments would explain why the total set off refund plus the total cash claim value is less than rhe total claim value.
Yes you should be paid the total set off refund in full. And a percentage of the total cash claim value
Syed says
Scheme progress update – 11th December 2023
We apologise for the delays in the claim process. This has been driven by both the unexpected volume of claims and the complexity of redress calculations.
To date, we have issued over 119,000 outcomes in the form of Final Response Letters to customers. This represents approximately 57% of total claims.
Scheme update on their website on Monday 11th, so they have approximately 2 weeks if that to get through 43%, when that approximate figure took them from September to December to complete… Somehow Im in doubt for this end of December.
Marty says
Hi Sarah, Hoping you can help I am a guarantor on a loan and I originally complained in December 2021 that the loan was unaffordable for my partner and even me as guarantor, I continued making payments on the behalf of my partner and after coming into some financial difficulty myself I called Amigo last year to see what we could do to help me with the payments – They mentioned as I had paid in interest more than the amount borrowed over the numerous loans over the years and that as we had a complaint on the go that if I couldn’t make the payments they would not contact us, So far we have had no contact with Amigo aprt from the scheme updates –
Today I received an email saying to not pay anymore payments (I have not made a payment for over 10 months now anyway) “Following a review of this claim, and given that you have an outstanding loan balance, we have made the decision to stop automatically collecting any future payments from you, whilst the Scheme Outcome is finalised.
This means that you will most likely have your liability for this loan removed, and will not have any further payments collected from you. We’d also ask that you do not make any future payments to the loan, and cancel any Standing Orders or regular payments that you have set up” –
Can you advise on what this means and as we have a balance left on the account still could that be written off?
Complaint was made to Amigo on 23/12/2020 – Does that mean that any payments made after will be refunded in full?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds likely that Amigo has decided that the loan was unaffordable for the borrower.
It is pretty hard to guess here what the overall outcome will be. You should Have all the payments you made Refunded as your redress … payments made from Dec 21 should be refunded in full.
I can’t tell whether the balance on the borrowers loan will be cleared. It may well be. NB you will have no liability to pay any remaining balance if there is one. I suggest you should resist any suggestions by Amigo that you could use your refund to clear this… they may well offer her a much lower settlement offer and if they don’t the debt collector her loan is sold too probably will.
Kirsty says
I hope this question makes sense-
If my claim is upheld, which looking likely given the indicators, will my remaining balance be reduced using the claim value that will be refunded at 17%, or the cash value which is comprised of payments made since the scheme was started?
Hope this makes sense!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The balance will be reduced by the claim value. But that reduction is in full, it is only the remaining total cash claim vale that is paid at a percentage.
The repayments of some recent payments in full only applies if your balance has been cleared by the claim. Ie if you have already paid more than the amount you borrowed.
If you could give some numbers – what did you borrow? How much have you paid to this loan? Has your guarantor made any payments? did you make a claim in the scheme or before? – it would be easier to think about them rather than the position in general.
Kirsty says
Thank you for your reply!
I had 3 loans (all of which have now been cleared from my file)
First was £1000, second £2500 and third £5000. I had £913 left to pay before ESO.
I complained prior to the scheme and then entered it from there. I only stopped paying in April this year, my guarantor made maybe 5 payments over 6 years and this was when I paid him back as they tried to take the funds early.
I have received the generic email saying I needn’t pay more to Amigo.
Kind regards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So on those numbers winning just the last loan should clear the balance.
The payments by your guarantor will reduce the amount you receive (unfairly… horrible weaselly trick by Amigo)
Some recent payments should be refunded in full.
E says
Can I apply the same logic / ask the same question.
My loan was 7500 over 60 months. I’ve paid £12450.48 with 8 payments to go. The loan came off my credit file and at that point I triggered ESO, then amigo emailed to say my liability has been removed.
Guarantor has never made any payments, and my complaint was within the scheme.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you work out which month you would have crossed the point where you had repaid 7500 to Amigo?
E says
Would likely have been September / October 2021
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then from the start of the scheme any payments you have made should be refunded in full.
E says
When was the start of the scheme, or the timeframe between at which payments made would be refunded, I can never remember
Sara (Debt Camel) says
26 May 2022. See article above for the details of when [payments are refunded in full.
FA says
Hi Sara,
This blog has been really helpful. I just need a bit of help. I received an email from today. I want to give you the full details so I know what to do going forward.
There is a table at the end:
1. Amount (£1,500), Outcome: Defended. What does this mean?
2. Amount: (£1,500), Outcome: Upheld
3. Amount: (3,750), Outcome: Upheld
4. Amount: (£4,250), Outcome: Upheld
5. Amount: (£10,000), Outcome: Upheld
Another table says:
Interest Refund: £10,164.74
Total Borrower Refund: £10,164.74
It then has another table saying the following:
Total Borrower Refund (1) – £10,164.74
Current Balance (2) – £10,367.23
Total Cash Claim Value (1 minus 2) – £202.49
Portal:
Summary Agreement Claim Values
Interest Waived: £10,164.74
8% Compensation: £454.89
Claim Value: £10,619.64
Cash Claim Value: £0.00
Total Cash Claim Value: £454.89
When I go through the breakdown of agreements on each loan, they all have a claim value amount which totals up to the claim value given (£10,619.64) however only ONE loan which is loan no.3 (£,7450) it says 8% compensation £454.89 but all the others say £0.00. I would just like to know if I should appeal or should I accept and would I be getting just the £454.89 and if so, why is it only that amount and would I be getting any money from the £10,619.64 claim value.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“Defended” means Amigo has rejected your put claim about this first loan. If you want you can appeal this.
Basically the calculated refund is being used to clear the remaining balance.
Do you know what the payments you have made to the last loan did up to?
Has your guarantor made any payments to any of the last 4 loans?
FA says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for the reply.
I will appeal the first loan. Thanks for clearing that up.
Oh no… So does that mean I am owed nothing? After all that stress and as it says -£202.49 does that mean I owe them money? I hate to be the “woe is me” type of person however, I looked through pretty much everyone’s comments and I never saw anything like this so I knew something was not right. I am still confused on the Total Cash Claim Value. Will this money come to me?
Unfortunately the email that I used to sign up to Amigo was hacked but I managed to forward all the emails to another email and I have found some old emails however, not everything is on there and that bank account used to make payment is now closed. Do you think they would give me a statement? I know I never made that many payments if I am honest however, if all can be settled I will be okay with that and no my guarantor hasn’t made any payments they only tried to take money from their account when I didn’t pay.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What are the claim value amounts fior the last 4 loans?
FA says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for the rapid reply. As soon as I sent that msg I logged into my Amigo account and found my statement of all the payments.
In response to your question,
Loan 1: Claim Value: £210.28
Loan 2: Claim Value: £2.953.25
Loan 3: Claim Value: 369.63
Loan 4: Claim Value: £7,086.48 – This is the only loan on my statement on my account and part of the payout was for the previous loan 3 months before getting this one.
Total payments I have made from 06/2017 – 11/2018 – £6,324.00
Guarantor made 1 payment in 10/2017 (£394.25 Direct Debit Amount)
Interest accrued from 10/2018 – 01/2019 = £1,012.99 and no activity on the account from 02/2019 Closing balance: £10,367.23.
Hope this helps. Also I want to know why only one loan shows 8% compensation which is Loan 2 everything else is showing £0.00.
Thanks again.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
are these loans 2-5 on the original numbering?
Was lloan 2 here settled in full befoere loan 3? so loan 3 wasnt a top up?
is it correct that you havent made any payments since Feb 19?
what was the date of the last loan?
FA says
Hi Sara,
I’m not quite sure what you mean regarding original numbering? The loans were taken out after each other however, the only loan on my account is the last loan which is loan 5. I do think the loans taken out in the same year which are loans 2-3 in 2014 and 4-5 in 2017 I think we’re either paid from the payout or a top up. I cannot remember but I know for sure they wouldn’t of given me two loans in one year. I’m sure they were top ups as they were enticing via the app.
My last payment to amigo via Direct Debit was made on 16/11/2018. Amigo stopped adding interest to my account on 28/01/2019 and the closing balance was: £10,367.23
The last date of a loan where I was paid from amigo was on: 04/05/2017 this was loan No.5 I borrowed £10,000 from that £10,000 I was paid £5,587.72 and loan No.4 was settled with the remaining balance from the £10,000 borrowed which was £4,412.28. Please let me know if you need any more info.
Am I okay to accept the claim values or do I need to escalate them?
Thanks again.
Much appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So at the start you listed 5 loans:
1. Amount (£1,500), Outcome: Defended. What does this mean?
2. Amount: (£1,500), Outcome: Upheld
3. Amount: (3,750), Outcome: Upheld
4. Amount: (£4,250), Outcome: Upheld
5. Amount: (£10,000), Outcome: Upheld
Now you are talking about 4 – are these the first 4 loans? or the last 4 loans?
FA says
Hi Sara,
My apologies it was quite late UK time. I’ve just re-read yours and my comment. Yes it was referring to 2-5 from the original numbering. I disregarded the defended loan as you clarified what it meant. From now on I am only talking about loans 2-5 from the ORIGINAL comment. Please forget about Loan 1. Going forward I will only be talking about 4 loans and NOT 5. There is a section on the scheme portal to enter bank details from the information I have given you would it be okay to enter my details and proceed with getting a refund as mentioned before my summary is as followed:
Interest Waived: £10,164.74
Fee Refund: £0.00
Reinstated Interest: £0.00
8% Compensation: £454.89
Claim Value: £10,619.64
From the calculations they have done: Claim Value (minus) Interest Waived = £454.89 – So from my understanding as my last payment was 16/11/2018 and interest was added 3 times before closing the account. I am only entitled to £454.89 which is not bad considering I haven’t paid anything in 5 years and it has been removed from my credit file.
Can you let me know if it is okay to go ahead and claim the monies and enter my bank details or do you think I could get more from the claim value? Judging from other comments it seems they have paid a lot more than me therefore entitled more money.
Thanks.
Cash Claim Value: £0.00
Total Cash Claim Value: £454.89
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well its pretty hard to work out what you should get but I can’t say the numbers are clearly wrong.
As there is such a large balance owing, if you are happy with the offer to clear the balance are get a small refund, i suggest you accept it.
FA says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for the reply.
I think from reading the comments a lot of customers were still paying up until recently hence why their Cash Claim Value is clearly higher than mine. If I am honest I wasn’t expecting much from this so a refund and a removal off my credit file seems like a win win and to be honest, I was very young when I took the loans out and they just kept throwing money at me and I would take it. I am going to accept the offer they’ve given and hope this is the end of this drama!
Thanks again for all your help and the constant updates. It’s been a life saver as there is not a lot of clear information out there. I wish there was a lot more people out there in the world like you.
Thank you for everything.
Ashleigh says
We are contacting you today with regards to your current loan with Amigo.
One of the parties on this account, either the borrower or the guarantor, has raised a Claim within our Scheme of Arrangement. Further updates regarding this Claim will be issued to the relevant party, in due course.
Following a review of this claim, and given that you have an outstanding loan balance, we have made the decision to stop automatically collecting any future payments from you, whilst the Scheme Outcome is finalised.
This means that you will most likely have your liability for this loan removed, and will not have any further payments collected from you. We’d also ask that you do not make any future payments to the loan, and cancel any Standing Orders or regular payments that you have set up.
Whilst we finalise the details of this claim you may notice that the account has fallen into arrears and you might receive some communication stating this. No action is required from you, and we’d ask that you keep this information for your own records. We will ensure that you are not detrimentally impacted in any way from the actions that we are taking to resolve this matter.
Many thanks,
Amigo Loans
Received this today, I made the claim and the guarantor made no payments on this load x does anyone know what this means x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It means i5 is very likely they will uphold your claim and that the balance will be cleared so they owe you some money. They don’t want you to pay more now, as they will just have to refund it. Cancel any direct debit or standing order to Amigo.
Graham says
Hi Sarah. Thanks for all the information. Would appreciate your thoughts on this.
I made a complaint before the scheme was opened. Amigo rejected it and it went to the fos. The scheme then opened. I had a message to say my complaint would now be automatically placed into the scheme. I heard nothing for ages so at the last minute put my claim into the scheme.
It has been upheld now without any of the full payments from dec 21.Amigo used the excuse that I wasnt in the scheme as apparently the fos used the wrong email address and they never received it. I complained to the adjudicator and my complaint has been refused. I made 6 months payments of £395 after the December date before my loan was finished. Seems like im being robbed
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I had a message to say my complaint would now be automatically placed into the scheme.
Who was this from? And what date?
Graham says
Hi Sarah. This is a reply I received from Carl Bibby senior investigator of the fos after I asked about the complaint.
They received correspondence from claims company 6/7/2020 along with the final response from Amigo. A conversion notification fos sent to Amigo.
11/10/2020 Follow up email to Amigo following contact from them.
Finally this. We confirmed we wouldn’t be able to progress the complaint sent to the claims company 21/5/2022.
AMIGO will automatically include you as part of the court approved scheme process.
Amigo tell me I can no longer take this any
further although Carl Bibby kindly mentioned if I require any more help to contact him.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you used a claims company? I suggest you ask them about this issue.
JC says
Hi Sara, I received the below from Amigo yesterday, just wondering if you can advise how much I will likely receive.
Am I right in thinking it’s the £2,052.54 in full plus a percentage of the total cash claim value (17%)?
Cash Claim Value £5,831.93
8% Compensation £268.70
Total Cash Claim Value £6,100.63
Refund Type Refund Amount
Payments made after Scheme Effective Date (1) £1,877.31
Payments made before Scheme Effective Date (2) £0.00
8% Compensation on payments made after Scheme Effective Date (3) £219.03
8% Compensation withholding tax (on payments made after Scheme Effective Date) (4) £43.80
Total Refund Value (1+2+3 minus 4) £2,052.54
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Am I right in thinking it’s the £2,052.54 in full plus a percentage of the total cash claim value (17%)?
that sounds right
Lonnie says
Hi so I got figures from amigo I got 2500 paid 3050 topped it up to 3750 paid 4649, topped that up to 7000 paid 9136, topped up to 7500 paid 9638, topped up to 8500 paid 12443 then topped up to 9250 and paid 7312 to date . Can you help work this out
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can you give the dates of these loans please?
When you say you “paid 3050” to the first one, does that include the settlement value from the top up?
Lonnie says
I’m taking it as it was cleared then new loan it was 08/14 01/15 09/15 06/16 03/17 04/18 the constant messages of top up available made it easy to think why not. Till now I tally up what I paid it’s sickening
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you know how much you received in cash from each of the loans?
Lonnie says
Was the difference between each never the full amount
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok, unless you know either the final settlement amount for each of the loans settled with a top up, or the amount you received in cash for each loan, it’s not really possible to work out much. Sorry.
Ramona says
My claim was originally refused but I’ve escalated it in September and never heard anything since. However, last night I’ve checked credit karma and the loans still shows, but instead of missed payment for the past 4 years it shows ‘no data’
Would this Be a good sign?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds a bit odd. Did you supply Bank statements with your appeal?
Ramona says
Yes I did this time. But only on the appeal
Michael says
Hi sarah
I Had 2 loans, one in 2013 for 5000
And top up 7500 in 2016.
Interest refund 8247.36
Fee refund 0
Reinstated refund interest 0
Total borrower refund 8247,36
Then it states
Cash claim value 1677.6
8% interest 1255.39
Total cash claim value 2933.03
Any idea of what the total borrower refund is stated at the top means.
Many thanks
Michael
Sara (Debt Camel) says
has your guarantor made any payments?
both loans were upheld?
When was the second loan settled?
Can you paste in all the figures for each loan and the total ones.
Michael says
No, I made all the payments myself
Both loans upheld
2nd loan paid in full on August 2020..
I can’t find the figures except what they sent me, other than I have already posted I’m afraid
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you should have been given numbers for each loan seperately. And then a summary.
I have no idea why your total cash claim value is so much less then the interest refund… the usual reasons are either your garabtor made quite a few payments or you had a balance owing thet has been cleared. with part of the refund.
I suggest you contact Amigo and ask.
Stug says
Could you tell me I have been paying this loan still and still haven’t received my decision. I did read that if my claim is upheld I would get every payment made since December 21 back in full and then a the rest 17p of the pound. Could you tell me is that right? Or will it just be 17 pens to the poundens?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
when did you make a complaint to Amigo?
Stug says
A very long time ago don’t know the exact date but it will of been around the time the scheme started taking claims
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So after late May 2022?
If at that point you had repaid more than you had borrowed, you will get payments made since then refunded in full.
Del boy Elder says
Hi folks, could someone answer this question please.. if you are someone who has had there decisions upheld and you’ve agreed too what you are owed is there any date been given too you for 1st payment… this all seems like a bit off wash out too me, as in amigo are messing us about time and time again… Here’s hoping that we do here back for end off month but too be honest I don’t have much faith in seeing any payments until march time. I’m out off work 4 months now and could really do with this too help me through a bad year.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
there may well not be any payments before march. but no one really knows
Glen says
Wouldn’t surprise me if they find a way to drastically reduce the 17% or even get out of making any repayments, they’re a bunch of slippery cnuts
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am no fan of Amigo, but it would surprise me…
Mr Lee Guthrie says
Slippery Cnuts indeed
John says
Again, my cash claim value was a lot less than the total borrower refund. I had a few loans, but I’m sure only one payment was paid my guarantor? Shall I appeal?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes. Ask for the details of each loan and the payments you made.
Marta says
Hi Sara,
I received below email from Amigo today:
We are contacting you today with regards to your current loan with Amigo.
One of the parties on this account, either the borrower or the guarantor, has raised a Claim within our Scheme of Arrangement. Further updates regarding this Claim will be issued to the relevant party, in due course.
Following a review of this claim, and given that you have an outstanding loan balance, we have made the decision to stop automatically collecting any future payments from you, whilst the Scheme Outcome is finalised.
This means that you will most likely have your liability for this loan removed, and will not have any further payments collected from you. We’d also ask that you do not make any future payments to the loan, and cancel any Standing Orders or regular payments that you have set up
Does that mean I’ll be eligible to get a refund if I has repaid more than the amount I borrowed?
Many Thanks,
Marta
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It means that is very likely.
francis says
Hi sara
My guarantor has just heard that they have been released. However I have heard nothing. Do you know if each complaint separately. Which seems odd to me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo do seem to be handling complaints by borrowers and guarantors separately. So you both made a claim to the scheme?
francis kearney says
Yes. both me, and my guarantor made claims. However they have made no mention to my guarantor of any money, they may be due.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Has your guarantor made any payments?