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Most of these are people with loans taken out longer ago, so their contact details may be out of date too.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.
Vanessa says
I just received an email letter to say they are still investigating my claim and thanking me for my patience (as if I have any other choice). Basically it doesn’t tell me anything but at least it’s a communication from them. I am a guarantor for £10k my son took out and neither of us were able to afford the repayments. They took my to court, so have a CCJ and although I was paying the amount of the CCJ (still paying) and never missed a payment, they then put a charge on my house. I can’t tell you the amount of anxiety and worry this has caused me.
K says
Has anyone else got a claim in for the unfair unpaid interest deduction Amigo applied when paying redress? Took nearly £2k off my claim citing it was interest they lost when I took top up loan. I was one of the lucky ones and received my redress payment however I took this part to the ombudsman as it’s out of order. Of course ombudsman dragged its heels and now we are here!
Kyle says
As far as I’m aware the FCA only have their opinion it’s unfair to deduct this. I don’t believe they stipulated it shouldn’t be done, or wether they had any say so with the final ruling. I believe Amigo are still going ahead with these deductions. But this is just my opinion, I’m probably wrong. It is unfair. It takes off £2570 from mine and leaves me with about £350. Which given the 40p to every pound ratio, it’s gonna be a pittance 😅
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So far as I know Amigo are carrion with these unfair deductions. So much for all their talk about being reformed and customer friendly…
But in the Scheme it is possible that your earlier loan(s) may also be decided to be unaffordable in which case there is no deduction for unpaid interest.
Matthew Bushell says
Just seen this this. Posted on the 14th.
The FCA would have imposed a fine of £72,900,000, however Amigo demonstrated that this would cause it serious financial hardship. A fine would also have threatened Amigo’s ability to meet its commitments to a High Court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement, which aims to pay redress to customers.
So got away with the fine and still dragging thier heels.
Bobby Jones says
Why wasn’t the fine suspended until after all the complaints have been heard?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Because it would have put investors off.
Craig says
Always about the investors never mind the lives they ruined
Bobby Jones says
Surely though Sara this verdict from the court ,must give the people who have made a complaint added hope that they will be successful.Or do you think it will have no relevance ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This fine? It would have been from the FCA, not a court.
i suppose you could arguse that it should encourage any people who have their claims rejected in the Scheme to appeal it.
Bobby Jones says
Sorry Sara I got mixed up I meant the FCA .
Chmj says
I currently have an equitable set off for my amigo loan.
I have just started the process of going through an iva. Amigo have just informed me that the iva will cancel the equitable set off and my guarantor will be chased. I don’t understand how having an IVA effects equitable set off when I still have an outstanding redress claim with them it makes no sense.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo’s equitable set off is a weird sort of concession that they have granted.
Was this your first loan from Amigo? CAn you say how much you borrowed and how much you have paid so far?
Can you tell me about this IVA and your situation because IVAs are being mis-sold to thousands of people a year. How large are your debts excluding this Amigo loan? Do you have any assets to protect such as a house with equity?
Chmj says
So I already had the equitable set off in place for the last year this is my second loan with amigo 1k then 2nd loan 4k I have paid across the 2 over 11k with a 4k remaining balance.
I don’t work currently as i look after our 4 children but my husband does we have about 39k of debt between us and we both have opted in for the IVA we don’t own out own house or have any assets.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is your husband your guarantor?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if you don’t own a house and you don’t have any assets. an IVA is probably a VERY POOR debt option for the two of you. Who is it with and has it been approved?
Chmj says
It’s with lawson fox it’s not yet been approved we have the creditors meeting on 6th March. I don’t really know what other options we really have we have so much debt and I’ve tried debt management and it dosent do much to stave off creditors …. my father is my guarantor for the amigo loan
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what other debt advisers have you talked to about this?
Lawson Fox will make literally thousands of pounds out of getting you two to enter an IVA. A third of IVAs fail because people cannot keep up the payments for 5 years. An IVA is most unlikely to be suitable for you if you have no assets to protect.
There are two other forms of personal insolvency in England – a debt relief order and bankruptcy. You need to talk to a proper debt adviser that will help you look at all your options and their pros and cons, not an IVA firm.
You do not both have to have the same debt solution. Or start at the same time. In particular, it may be better for you to wait until the outcome of your Amigo claim is decided. That should not stop your husband going ahead with a more appropriate debt solution.
Gary Brown says
Sara can you explain to me why amigo can get away with not 73million pounds fine because they can’t afford to pay it like the thousands of people who can’t afford to pay there loan to amigo….I am baffled….they take people to court put ccj and chase the guarantor..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s the regulators decision, not mine. It’s been done so they have a chance of staying in business. Personally I think the UK is a better place without Amigo and that all guarantor loans should be banned as they are dangerous, even if a lender does adequate affordability checks at the start.
Angela says
To be honest would they have made the decision to let them off as its best for the customers, in business we get 41p to the pound back if they go under we get next to nothing
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No that’s not right.
If Amigo goes under now, everyone with a current loan will still get the write off in full but the cash pay out would be lower – Amigo estimated 33-37p in the pound.
Bobby Jones says
Personally Sara I’d of loved it if Amigo went bust .This whole process seems centred on share holders and not the customers.
Rob Wells says
is there a contact number to actually speak to anyone about this?
my old email address is not curent and with change of jobs, i have a new number so need to update
Lisa says
Has anybody read the Daily Mail Online this morning? My mum sent me the link. Amigos founder cashed in some of his shares for the tune of £305 million after it floated on the stock market and is living a jet setting lifestyle. Amigo are still struggling to raise £45 million from shareholders. I wouldn’t be surprised if they drop into the fall back position in a few months. But I’m glad some is enjoying our money 🙄🤷♀️
Sara (Debt Camel) says
here is the article – I am quoted in it: https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cardsloans/article-11776225/The-Jet-set-lifestyle-shamed-Amigo-Loans-tycoon-James-Benamor.html
Chmj says
What happens if amigo lcannot get the 45 million in funding ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In that case the Scheme changes to the “Fallback” option described in this article https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-which-way-to-vote/
Basically anyone still owing a balance will still get the balances reduced/cleared if their claim is upheld. People dues a cash refund will still get it but it will be paid at a lower rate
MJD says
He is on LinkedIn, bragging about being a millionaire by 40
Stu says
I made a letter of complaint and they responded to say they wouldn’t do anything until court had been agreed. I then heard nothing from then and I now see the deadline for claim has passed, where do I stand?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I hope a claim has been entered in your name by Amigo – it is a shame you didnt check up on this.
I suggest you contact Amigo and ask if there is a claim for you.
Mike says
Raising a complaint and filing a claim is 2 different things, I made a complaint myself but I was advised by amigo that I would need to still file a claim via there portal.
Ch says
When I log into scheme portal nothing comes up. Is that the same for everyone
James says
Mine is the same but i do have the original email still from when i made the claim with my claim number on it. I’ve emailed them this evening to find out why i can’t access anything.
Angela says
Do you have a link for the portal please
Ruth says
Latest I’ve been told now is May and the court has given 6 months to respond to everyone ….that’s the third different month I’ve been given now. If it wasn’t ruining my credit file and setting off my anxiety it would be laughable!
So basically….don’t hold you’re breath until end of May guys :(
Nathan says
Seems like they’re just going to drag it out as long as they can so they can still bring in cash from active loans. They’re very quick to brag on social media they’re made millions in stocks but extremely slow to absolve the issue with us waiting responses. I absolutely hate this wait. I still have £395 to pay a month and the loan only has 6 months left. I’ll be struggling and paid up before they even respond at this rate.
Dynamic Dave says
As you’ve only got 3mths I would see about getting a breathing space order (can be done via StepChange)
That gives you roughly 3mths where you can’t be chased hopefully by then you will have your answer.
Just put the money aside to another account.
And if needed you can pay off the loan.
You could even say at end of breathing space that you’d like to do a full and final settlement of half the value you owe.
Maybe worth a try you never know.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Unfortunately a breathing space won’t stop Amigo asking your guarantor to pay….
But you could ask Amigo for equitable set off, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/stop-paying-amigo-set-off/ for how this works.
Gemma says
I had exactly the same issue last year it’s so difficult isn’t it. I called them and I now pay a small amount each month as I explained myself and my guarantor are experiencing financial difficulty so I’m currently paying £45 a month now. May be worth giving them a call to see if you could do something similar to help in the mean time?
Jonny says
Hi Sarah
My own loan which I’ve spoken about on here before I stopped paying about 23 months ago. I had initial calls from them to say must pay etc and ring them but ignored and claim filed.
Since I defaulted they have not sent me one letter. Not one. The only letter I have is a letter from august 19 saying that I’ve missed. A payment etc.
I’ve got screen shots of all this lack of documentation but I’m told the fact they haven’t documented a default or missed payments
Or anything means they haven’t got a leg to stand on and my claim
Will get upheld anyway. Would you think this is likely to be the outcome given the fact they must document such matters legally?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m told the fact they haven’t documented a default or missed payments
Or anything means they haven’t got a leg to stand on and my claim
Who told you this?
A claim will be decided on based on your situation when you took out the loan(s). Nothing that happened afterwards can make any difference to the whether the original lending decision was reasonable.
Ann says
Just received a email from amigo loan’s saying they are still looking into my claim and will get in touch soon. I’m sure it’s a generic email.but fingers crossed.
Ruth says
Just out of curiosity, was that them replying to an email you sent or an email you got out of the blue?
Vanessa says
I also got that email today out of the blue. It’s the 2nd one I’ve had.
Ann says
Hi the email I received was just out of the blue I also can’t get into my login page?
Ruth says
Oh fingers crossed for you then! Please keep us updated. Would be brilliant to finally hear some (good) results!
aden says
Hi
Has anyone made a negotiated settlement with amigo just to get this debt cleared and off the credit record.
I like so many others are fed up with waiting i thought maybe make them an offer, get debt cleared and move on in life.
Would be interested to know if this has happened to anyone.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Not that I have heard. Amigo has little interest in settling any early. It doesn’t matter if it looks cheap, there will still be the same amount of money divided between those with upheld claims so Amigo wouldn’t gain anything.
Njw says
Hi, recently received a letter from Amigo, telling me that an Nosia that’s they sent me c.5 years ago was incorrect. They have now sent me the correct one.
I won affordability complaints against them previously, got all interest back etc
My understanding is that if a company doesn’t provide an NOSIA or it’s incorrect then I’m not liable to pay interest/default sums during that period.
My question is, is this worth complaining about or would I have had all money back already through previous affordability complaints (I got the standar interest returned plus 8% previously) thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If a company has not sent the correct NOSIA, they can’t continue to add interest. But the compensation is a refund of the interest incorrectly added. But as you point out you have already had all that refunded, so you won’t be able to get anything else.
Ed says
I thought about offering Amigo a settlement to clear account. No matter what I do to try and rebuild my credit file I still have an outstanding loan with so called arrears from Amigo. If they had a issued a default as they should have done it would be gone by now.
Better to hope complaint is upheld and they will then wipe your credit file.
Has anyone actually received an outcome letter? Amigo are dragging this out, no regard to the distress they are causing. Probably got their staff working on the new loan site they have opened rather than deal with complaints.
Jo says
So I’m just off the phone with amigo and the guy I spoke to explained everything so well . To cut it short he basically said that they have started responding and sending emails to those with unsuccessful claims anyone with upheld claims will not get a response til all unsuccessful ones r finished . So he reckons that it could be may or June if ur successful. No news is good news at this time
Craig says
Really that last a interesting way of doing it where they still taking payments off people
GMR says
Do we know how much in the £ we are likely to get if we do have a successful claim ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no – Amigo haven’t said how many claims there have been and no one knows how many loans will be upheld as unaffordable. If not many loans are upheld the P inthe £ rate may look high – but few people will get it. If a lot are upheld, the pay out may be low.
DM says
I would not believe anything Amigo tells you. If they were sending out rejections first I am sure there would be plenty of comments on this thread. Most likely they will leave as long as possible so they can keep hoovering up the payments from those that have not requested equitable set off , and will drag on for as long possible so board members can continue to collect their salaries. Personally I can’t see how anybody would get a fair outcome with Amigo managing either a new scheme or wind down based on their historical performance. Correct me if I am wrong but the figures that everyone voted on had no provision included for FCA fines as otherwise there should be a bigger pot for redress now they have been let off , or had no intention of paying.
anyway?
Jo says
I’m personally in a set of with them atm I’ve paid them thousands back on interest
Craig says
Yeah I put set off in last month as I kept paying thinking it be done a lot sooner and gave up being broke every month cause paying them 400 a month so this month was nice to actuly see money left but I paid 7k in interest and still had 18 months to go completely shocking what they charged
Jo says
Well I did mention on the call about them going bust he said that there was a pit of money and let’s say I get 35p in the pound , ( not that he said that’s what they r looking at ) maybe an example . Huh not sure but it’s a long drawen out process I’ve paid like 28,000 in interest alone to these guys
Jo says
Sara I agree if a lot r upheld the outcome will be low
Ewan says
I haven’t been paying interest on my loan since September 2022. Is there any particular reason for this?
My original complaint was filed in May 2022, so it’s not in relation to that I don’t think?
I’m confused, although glad my £296.44 is paying off my balance without 90% of it going on interest. I know it’s a sliding scale, and the interest portion of your monthly payment decreases over time, but I’ve got 16 payments left (I think) so I would expect to still be paying interest, no?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think it’s worth worrying about this – if your claim is upheld then all interest is removed. If it isn’t, then the interest Amigo can charge is capped.
Maureen Lang says
I had this happen enquired they said it because interest is capped
Craig Dorner says
You pay the interest first th n you finally start paying the loan,
If you look at you statements over the last months you will see the intrest decrease,
Then the Amigo magic use to start by sending you Top up offers 😩😩just to drag you back to the same cycle of high intrest,
Very sly business model !!
Matt says
Not sure in true , but just spoke to them and was advised all emails will be sent out before end of march regardless if successful or not.
Nathan says
They seem to be just throwing dates out all the time. They’ve told me the first quarter of the year so March. They’ve told others April and May. Someone else said they were told first half of the year so potentially no answers till June. I get it when I get it – see what they say.
Mark says
Well done Sarah, you successfully encouraged a high volume of claimants…as a result genuine claimants are now only going to receive 20p in the pound if the preferred scheme passes. Thats 50% less redress than qas anticipated.
Feel sorry for all the genuine folk, they’re the ones missing out as the door was opened for everyone to jump on the wagon.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have been saying for a long while, since the first Scheme, that Amigo needs to publish the assumptions it made in coming up with the suggested payouts. Because it looked as though either Amigo was make an implausibly low assumption about the number of people claiming or it intended to uphold a low proportion of the claims. Or both.
It is hardly my fault if Amigo chose to use a low number of claims in order to make their estimate of the payout look large.
You have no evidence that the “extra” claimants do not have ”genuine” claims. Indeed if they do not, Amigo would be rejecting them and the payout would be unchanged.
Ruth says
I don’t know you Mark but I really feel the need to jump in here. Sara does nothing but he’ll people in genuine serious need of advice. She has helped people like myself get out of a real hole of spiralling debt, which has caused serious financial and health issues. I genuinely thank Sara so much for all her advice in regards to Amigo whatever comes of it as she does this for free for no other reason than she wants people taken advantage of to be righted. Amigo are the people to blame not Sara. Amigo would never give the full percentage back, regardless of the amount of claimants. Sara has however given us free, unbiased and educated advice. I for one am grateful that she’s helping us bring down disgraceful companies such as Amigo.
Jonathan says
Mark, give your head a wobble. I would think that anyone who has ever used amigo would have a valid and genuine claim……. Why else would they use amigo in the first place, no one who wasn’t in financial difficulties would of touched amigo with a barge pole.
Gemma says
You sound extremely salty about the fact everyone genuinely taken advantage of will now get something back, instead of a small number of people getting the lions share because it was kept hush hush. Are you actually that selfish & entitled that you are publicly throwing a tantrum about getting less because people have found out they can claim & you blame Sara for this? The person who goes out of her way to provide free advice, which you’ve no doubt benefitted from, for no other reason than that fact she’s a good person, standing up for people who’ve been taken advantage of? You’re the problem here pal, not people like Sara. If you’d done your homework , like a lot of us have with Sara’s help, you’d have negotiated equitable set off a long time ago. Not only will our outstanding balances be cleared, we’ll still get x % in the pound for any extra redress due that couldn’t be written off! I genuinely hope that information ruins your weekend!
Craig says
This is clearly a share holder you should see what they’re saying about claments on the ise message board apprently we all single mums and p!@& head dads it’s starting to dawn on them that amigo are no longer just affecting the claimants now there seeing there money loss
Baz says
Hello guys can anyone give me advise please
I took out a loan with amigo in 2018/2019 and topped up about 6/7 times with guarantor then couldn’t afford repayments off £600 a month neither could guarantor was up to 13k in debt with amigo I filled out claim before the last date I could I just wanna know if we will be entitled to anything? My guarantor ended up going bankrupt
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you still owe any money?
Top ups are usually a sign that loans were unaffordable.
Did you guarantor make any payments to Amigo?
Baz says
Well this is where I’m not sure. I only made a couple of repayments maybe like £800. My guarantor couldn’t afford to pay anything so went bankrupt. So I don’t know where this stands with the claim, there’s about 12 thousand on the loan from 6/7 top ups.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you must have made more repayments to the previous loans than that. However it sounds as though even if you win your complaint you may be left owing a balance, possibly a large one.
Now there is no guarantor, any remaining balance would be like any other unsecured loan – you would be able to put it into a debt management plan or write it off in a debt relief order (see https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-options/dro/) or bankruptcy.
Baz says
I don’t think I did, if I did make more payments than that it wasn’t a lot more I was literally topping up my Loan every month/2 months with amigo. I don’t speak to my guarantor not because of this something else, when I did speak to the guarantor said they filed bankruptcy and had to get rid of car etc. so are you saying that I probably owe the 12k to Amigo? They haven’t chased me for it in 4 years I didn’t know whether cause guarantor filed bankruptcy the Loan was then paid off etc?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your gaurantor’s bankruptcy has not affected your loan – you still owe that.
I think you need to wait for the result of the claim. No point in guessing at the moment.
Do you have other problem debts?
Baz says
Okay I see, yeah if I’m honest I’ve been struggling for years I had about 15 payday loans, some have been paid back some have been written off and the rest I’m paying monthly back to DCAs. Just unsure where I stand with this one as amigo haven’t contacted me in 4 years still defaulting on my credit record, and now slightly worried if I have to pay it all back
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So if the end result is more debt than you can repay, talk to a debt adviser such as National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about your options. Which are much simpler as this is no longer a guarantor loan.
But for now 🤞🏽 that you get a good result from the claim.
Craig says
Fuming I’m in equiuty set off amigo say we won’t expect you or your guarentor to pay whilst in it but sent my guarentor a letter saying I haven’t paid if I don’t pay soon there be expecting payment out of him this has caused me and my best friend of 18 years a massive row they should not be allowed to send letters telling my guarentor they expect payment off him if I do not pay!!!!!!
simon says
I’ve had the same. They don’t write to me just to my guarantor at one point most days.
Craig says
I called them they went a bit quiet when I mention equity set off states not expecting any payments from me or my guarentor and then they send that letter which to me is asking and a bully boy tactic told them I’m giving it to my solisitor to see what he says about it very sheepish after that I don’t expect to recive another letter lol
nicola c says
hi, has anyone heard anything about weather there settlement has been accepted or not? applied with them a long time ago, and now when i try to log into the claims portal its blank? it used to be blue and say awaiting response…now page looks like it hasnt loaded properly.
Daniel Smith says
We will hear something latest November 2023
Char says
I arranged for the equity set off myself today and was told my guarantor would receive some correspondence but not for payment until my claim is decided. I was told by June 2023 and those who are receiving outcome email/letters now are for those whom been refused. So I’m praying the longer l wait to hear the better the outcome however, Amigo loans l believe are saying anything at this point as l can see from previous comments. I don’t trust them one bit.
Sue B says
I went as a guarantor for our son and ended up selling our property to pay off amigo loan. We were of retirement age and due to covid and furlough our son couldn’t afford repayments. Hopefully we will have some redress through this scheme.
Matthew Bushell says
Reading this morning , looks like Amigo going into liquidation as unable to secure the money needed to continue business.
Wondered were that would leave redress customers ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo says it’s unlikely it can complete by 26 May the capital raise from shareholders to put £15m into the pot to be distributed to customers with upheld claims.
The Scheme that was voted on and approved contained a Fallback option in this case. Amigo said that the expected payout would decrease from about 41p to 33-37p. Customers with a current loan will still be able to get that reduced/cleared if their claims are upheld.
See https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-which-way-to-vote/ which explains how the fallback option fits in.
Amigo however is trying to explore the idea of a third scheme instead of the fallback option. Which would mean going back to the court again.
Mr sean g brown says
This is just going to run on for years. I just want it off my file I couldn’t care about compensation now I just want it gone.
They just want to drag this out.
Surely if you receive a letter saying it was misold then they should take it off your file.
How can anyone move on with life. My complaint went to them in November 2020.
They can’t just come up with schemes then go and decide to make another.
Baffeled how national news outlets and papers have not made this major news and someone must be asking the question of when will customers get their complaint dealt with.
Mark says
You can go and read the update yourself, Sara likes to pick and choose her words to suit. They have announced the possibility of looking into a new scheme (soa3). However, the timelines for claimants redress would remain the same. This is quoted in update. The only impact in claimants would be the potential amount received per £.
However, whilst that amount per £ changes, its likely to be be more favourable than what it would be if they went into fallback. Nothing is agreed yet they are only looking at options
The Gooner says
Mark, do you work for Amigo? Can’t understand the constant Sara bashing on here! Why choose to come onto the site if all your going to do is keep having a dig, nobody is forcing you to check what’s being posted.
I hope Amigo go under I think anyone still believing they’re actually going to receive anything close to the amounts in the £ they’ve been quoted are in for a harsh reality check.
Gemma says
If you don’t like what she says, stop coming to her site!
I’m inclined to agree with an earlier commentator – you sound like an amigo shareholder who’s profiteered from the misery of others & is now seeing his ‘investment’ dwindle.
Your negativity & Sara bashing won’t get you any support on here. I doubt you’re doing anything to help people out of debt, or help anyone generally.
You spend your time coming onto a helpful , positive forum to bash the content creator whilst doing absolutely nothing of value for anyone. Are you jealous because Sara has a following? Is helpful and this site is becoming very well known & respected? How many other sub prime lenders are you invested in, perpetuating the misery they cause? Honestly, you need to take a long hard look at yourself.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Here is the full update https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/AMGO/update-on-capital-raise-and-scheme-of-arrangement/15870219
Craig says
Don’t you find it ironic that the two choices where to survive or wind down cause it’s looking like a wind down all sudden we need not a second but a 3rd scheme but first scheme could only pay back 10% for the wrong doing bet they hound people for payments still wait they did my guarentor while I’m equity set off till I got a solisitor to phone them has it struck the share holders amigo might be done now? And now all the people you lot have slagged down your in same position amigo running away with all your money but that’s how shareholding works if you invest in company’s like amigo who would place a bet on a company that’s got a history like amigo is beyond me
Col says
I raised my complaint in October 2020. I’d already paid be l back well over what I’d borrowed and have now paid the loan off.
Because I already repaid the principal, am I right in thinking that everything I paid since I raised my complaint should be ring-fenced in an escrow account and returned to me (if complained upheld)?
I know that’s what should happen but I don’t trust them to do the right thing.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The details of the escrow account are in 6.33 in this document https://www.amigoscheme.co.uk/documents/explanatory-statement.
Money was only put into that account from payments made after December 2021. So some of your payments will not be covered.
And Amigo is only putting in a proportion, as it doesn’t expect that all claims will be upheld. I would hope that proportion has been set at a cautious level, but Amigo has not given any details.
AmigoAmigoYeeHa says
Isn’t it ironic Amigo struggling to get funds together and begging for extra time / different plan.
When we as consumers of Amigo requested this kind of help they stuck two fingers up and went after guarantors.
They’ve have continued to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes, at every single stage and no doubt will continue to do so if a new scheme is passed.
Personally now I’m prepared to vote against any additional scheme as it’s no longer of benefit to the current customer database, and solely the purpose is now to continue trading to fill the pockets of the shareholders.
Nathan says
I personally think they’re dragging heels on giving outcomes as they’re trying to get cash. My theory is many of the people making claims currently have active loans and therefore it’s income into the business. Before they had to launch the scheme they were finding in favour 88% of all complaints. We’ve known for some time they’re struggling horribly whilst their CEO flaunts his lavish lifestyle on social media and bragged about making money off their market value soaring after being let off the hook with the fine last month. They’re playing people for mugs. They keep giving different dates of potential outcomes. The figures in compensation seem to be going down and down. They’re giving mixed messages to the public. I don’t trust them.
aden says
The FCA and high court seemed to have relinquished any responsibility. They could be at this for many months/years to come.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, any changes to the Scheme have to go back to the High Court.
At which point the FCA could choose to intervene.
Marie says
Just spoke with amigo they said they are looking into the oldest complaints first and that all complaints would be dealt with by may and payments of redress by end of year
Louise Marriott says
I spoke to Amigo today after finding a notice on my sisters account asking for payment of arrears in excess of £8,000.
I signed her up for the Equitable Set-Off and the scheme advisor confirmed that any demands for payment will now stop.
I was also told that they should have a decision with regards the case in May.
I managed to get her removed as guarantor on the borrowers daughters debts at another sub-prime lender despite a court date having already been set to pursue payment so I’m confident I will be able to get her name off the Amigo Loans contract too.
Nathan says
They keep giving people many dates. Someone said they heard April or May, others have said June, and someone said November. I spoke with them and they told me it would be the first quarter of 2023. Someone else said if your claim is being rejected, you’ll hear in March. I just don’t believe any of these timelines at all. Multiple people seem to be told May, so fingers crossed that is the confirmed date going forward. Well done on the work you’ve done for your sister too.
Karl Schulz says
Sara you know you’re stuff but be honest amigo will do whatever they can to not pay out. They are dragging their heals to find the best way to lose as little money as they can. I’ve been through this with provident and loans at home and the best outcome for me was they went into liquidation and my loans were written off. I believe this is what will happen with amigo so I’m not holding out for a refund. I need help though reducing my payments to them until this happens if you could give me some advice thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
See https://debtcamel.co.uk/stop-paying-amigo-set-off/
Debbie says
I raised a complaint with Amigo before the company were in trouble. On the 3rd of July 2020 I had a letter to day 2 out of the four loans had been upheld and to respond to them to discuss. I did that and heard nothing back, then I wrote to the Ombudsman about the other two claims.
On speaking with them today I have been advised that all four claims are being reviewed again in light of their situation, even though their previous letter states 2/4 are upheld. She then went on to say that she didn’t know where in the queue I am but June was the date she gave me.
Craig says
I spoke to them today there exact words on date to me where April may June tbh I think there holding out to wind down and get as much as possible.
I asked them why they don’t tell there customers about equity set off the reply was so we don’t hurt peoples credit files nothing to do with the money which I’m sure a lie lol
Nathan Smith says
They’re disgraceful. They’re pushing for more cash from people and they will push it to the deadline before Mo doubt telling people there’s no cash and winding down. They’ve gone from saying it’s March to April to May and now June. I highly doubt they’ve even began to evaluate anyone’s claims.
Col says
Are the FSA or the Financial Ombudsman or external auditors (or anyone) monitoring Amigo’s activities to make sure they’re doing what they’re obligated to do under the terms of the scheme.
Is anyone holding them to account or do we just wait till they’ve milked the company and remaining customers dry and the administrators pick up what’s left?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The most recent Scheme supervisors report is here https://www.amigoscheme.co.uk/scheme-supervisors-reports
The Ombudsman has no jurisdiction here to intervene.
Neither does the FCAin a Scheme but Amigo remains an FCA authorised firm.
L says
Amigo shares down at 1.38. Can’t say I’m not thrilled. Feel like this is going to crash any minute. Does this mean if it hits zero, it’ll automatically go to the administrators? Feel like if we hurry up that bit, at least we might be payout this year?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A company’s share price rarely goes to zero unless it is in administration. The challenge for Amigo is meeting the terms of the scheme so it does not move to the fallback case, or getting those terms varied. .
L says
Hmph. Was hoping they’d be forced into the fall back (think that’s administration), as I truly do not see anyone getting payout for years at this rate.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
fallback is actually part of the agreed of the Scheme.
Amigo has not yet missed any points in the Scheme timetable, although it seems surprising that there are no reports of anyone getting a claim decided yet. And they are getting very near the May deadline for the equity rise.
L says
Oh, I’ve missed that bit. I’ll have to go and see what it says. Does fallback bascially give them another out, or does that mean back to court? So tedeous. Really hope FCA step in and say enough is enough this time. Amigo said in an article they don’t expect to meet the equity raise by May, so stringing it out seems really off.
Nicola says
Any 1 had eny decision yet? Iv waited 3 years for a decision and still not had one iv now rang and told them they arnt getting another penny of me I am sick of them I have paid 2k in interest my loan was only 2k but my loans is now at 2k 600 how does that work
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No one has reported having a decision.
Many Amigo loans result in you paying a lot more in interest than you originally borrowed.
Maureen Lang says
Maureen,
Thank you for your email. I can appreciate that the wait for an outcome will have been frustrating but I can assure you that our Scheme Investigators are working as hard as they can to review and respond to all claims in the quickest time frame, whilst also ensuring that the outcomes are fair and correct. Unfortunately there are no further updates that we will be able to provide you at this stage, until an outcome to your claim has been issued.
Gary Brown says
Mmmmm quick as possible but you still want paying for the loan….my claim is upheld until it sorted….I been paying 192 for last two years on 4.500k loan and still got over 3000 left to pay….absolute joke
Stuart says
I’ve not been able to get on the portal page for over a month now just says welcome back to Amigo loans on a white screen nothing else
GMR says
I have the same issue. Only noticed tonight.
Baz says
Yep same issue here. White screen.
Caroline says
I can get it n my portal page no problem
GMR says
On the MSE boards someone is claiming to have their claim rejected by the scheme. This was posted on the 16th March. So maybe they have started contacting customers
Craig says
Amigo have gone it’s in the news how did we know before claims dealt with
Sara (Debt Camel) says
NEWS – Amigo announces it is unable to raise equity:
– scheme collapses into the fallback option.
– lending stops, firm will close.
– customers with current loans can still get them cleared, reduced in the Scheme
– Amigo has originally estimated it would pay 41p in the £ to customers getting a cash refund. By November that estimate had fallen to 20p in the £ because a lot more claims had been made than Amigo expected. Now in the fallback option that is expected to fall a bit to 17p in the £ (November estimate)
See https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/amigo_loans/news/rns/story/wk7nkdr
I will be writing a post about the implications of this for customers today
AmigoAmigoYeeHa says
Now we will see an influx of unsuccessful claims being sent out by their administrators with no option to challenge.
For successful ones it’s going to be at least another 6-9mths before anyone gets a sniff of a payment.
Caroline says
Thank you for letting us all know Sara. My loan is all paid off, I had 5 loans all in all and I went through the financial ombudsman to complain ( resolver) so my question is do we actually get 17p in the pound or could this drop?
Jo says
So it’s deffo a fallback? Will this put a hold on receiving letters about upheld claims ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes its the fallback
no this should not delay the scheme but there will be less cash for refunds
Matthew Bushell says
Personally I would like to see the FCA reissue the fine of £70M.
They got away with it to help payout the scheme. But doubt that will happen and think shareholders will get there money before any compensation will be paid out.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is no money to pay any fine.
Shareholders will get nothing. Share price has now fallen to under 0.5p
L says
AMIGO have gone bust! Thank God! I may be tens of thousands out of pocket (money I, like others, desperately needed) but the knowledge these vile criminals cannot profit from vulnerable anymore is an absolute blessing. I see no money coming back to me now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Many people will agree with you!
The Scheme continues but any cash refunds will be a bit smaller.
Lou says
Can I ask if they have now officially gone bust does this mean all payments still being made will stop also I currently pay £178pm will I still have to make the repayments even tho my claim still hasn’t been looked at?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-fails-scheme-fallback/ for details.
AJ says
Hi Sara, I am unclear and a little confused over how this will end for those whose claims are upheld.
I want to know what exactly will successful claimants get now that Amigo has gone bust? Will they still consider complaints? I borrowed £9k and to date I have paid almost £16.5k inc interest charges. I still have 1.5 year left to my loan term. I made an affordability complaint in 2020 which Amigo never confirmed the outcome and then in 2022 August Amigo confirmed they used my affordability complaint to log in a claim. Following this I submitted documents in support of my claim before the deadline in November 2022. To date, I have not heard of the outcome of my claim.
I want to know where a claim is upheld, will the successful claimant’s monthly payment stop if they have already paid the capital loan amount? What will happen to the interest paid so far? Will the successful claimants get a refund of interest plus near to £0.17p to the pound or zero/nothing? Please could you advise me
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Will they still consider complaints?
yes, the Scheme continues. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-fails-scheme-fallback/ for what is changing (the payout will be a bit lower) and what isn’t (most of the rest of the Scheme.)
I want to know where a claim is upheld, will the successful claimant’s monthly payment stop if they have already paid the capital loan amount?
yes.
What will happen to the interest paid so far?
From December 2021, a proportion of the payments you made should have been put into a trust. The money there will be used to repay some of the interest in full. The rest will be repaid at roughly 17p in the £.
Nathan says
Hey Sara. You’re likely very busy this morning but what happens to my loan now? I’m due to pay on Monday. Do I let that go through as normal or should I stop it via my bank?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have you made a claim to the Scheme? Are the repayments affordable for you?
FLM to Amigo says
Whilst it’s then end of yet another vermin of a financial company poorly controlled by the regulators, we do have to remember there were reasons we all entered into a contract with them.
At the time you, like me need the the funds for something important & was refused conventional lending options.
What situation would you have been in IF you were unable to secure the original funding.
I know that I would have been without a home and job as I needed the funds for a vehicle after mine went to the car god in the sky.
So for their availability under the brand FLM I appreciated their service – it was only the subsequent loans under Amigo (3 further) that put my into a spiral of debt.
Hopefully I will see at least 20p in the £, but I’m not holding my breath as this will now be in the hands of the Administrators, who will say all previous scheme’s agreements are now obsolete.
Funny fact: the phrase Amigo only came into popular culture during the 1800 when Mexican Banditos would refer to their American victims as Amigos before they were robbed.
Guess that’s why they changed the name from FLM to Amigo
Cj says
I’ve paid the jnital loan off over 12 months back I’m now just paying interest.what happens now.do I still need to wait for outcome from administrators and do I keep paying
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Scheme continues – you will just get a rather smaller refund at the end of it. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-fails-scheme-fallback/ for details
Sara (Debt Camel) says
See https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-fails-scheme-fallback/ for my new article of todays announcement.
the Fallback option will cut the cash refunds but the rest of the Scheme should proceed as planned