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Most of these are people with loans taken out longer ago, so their contact details may be out of date too.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.
Rhys James says
Still haven’t heard anything from them yet!
Kim says
Came here to ask the exact same question “/ … still not heard anything at all. Their timescales advised all claim decisions will be made in the first half of 2023, we’re past that now. Just an absolute joke. I’d be interested to know if anyone else has had any correspondence from Amigo regarding their claims.
Tina says
Please would you tell me when to expect a decision from my redress claim
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No one knows at the moment. You won’t get a clear answer by talking to Amigo’s customer services.
natasha says
Afternoon everyone. I have just spoken to a claim service agent and he has advised me all customers final outcome letters will arrive by the end of August.
Cat says
I put in a complaint in January 2021 about a loan taken out in 2019. I went to the Odbundsman about it but everything froze. I checked my emails today and found one email sent about redress in my spam folder. There has been no correspondence from Amigo Loan or the Odmundsman. I now see redress is closed, Surely it’s not good enough not informing people properly. Is there anything I can do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you had an active complaint with the Ombudsman, I hope a claim to the Scheme has been entered for you. You need to check this with Amigo.
Las says
Hi Sara
With regards to the amigo scenario, I regrettably persude a claim
Through quanta law before I seen your site, to be honest though this has never been about getting a redress it’s more about getting them away from my guarantor and stop paying them. Anyway I received this email tonight and wondering what this could mean in terms of my claim? I am on a a set off and currently have about 8 grand in interest… stop to be paid We write with reference to the above matter and further to our previous correspondence.
We regret to advise you that Quanta Law have made the difficult decision to begin the process of a managed winding down of the law firm. Unfortunately, we will no longer be able to assist you with your claim. As your claim is pursued using a statutory redress scheme, you may wish to deal with the matter yourself. Alternatively, you may wish to obtain alternative legal representation to assist you in continuing to pursue your claim.
Limitation Advice
We need to make you aware of any potential limitation
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am not sorry to see them go.
I suggest you contact Amigo and tell them Quanta are no longer handling your claim and that you will be. Attach the email from Quanta.
So that email says nothing about any fees? I suggest you also reply to Quanta asking them to confirm that they will not be charging you any fees and also that your details will not be sold to any third parties.
Mark says
I originally took out a loan approx 5 years ago and had 2 top ups – I remember one top up was given immediately with no phone call to myself and they never contacted my guarantor to check either.
Anyway I knew I couldn’t afford it but I was desperate. In all honesty I’m not looking for compensation – I made those choices and accept I was wrong to keep topping up an unaffordable loan.
Anyway, I opted for Equity Set Off about 6 months ago as I’ve paid back over 3 times the value of the loan with the majority of the loan amount still owing. If my claim is upheld does this mean the loan will be written off completely or just partially?
Also, as I’m in Equity Set Off so not making any payments, the interest has been frozen until my claim is assessed. Should my claim fail will all the unpaid interested during Equity Set Off be added back onto the loan or will payments just restart as normal?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If my claim is upheld does this mean the loan will be written off completely or just partially?
if your figures are right, and if Amigo agrees that the original loan and the two top ups are all unaffordable, then you balance will be cleared and you will get some cash refund.
if Amigo only upholds the last top up, or both top ups but not original loan, then it makes an unfair deduction from the redress for “unpaid interest” on the previous loan. This can be a few hundred but I have also seen several thousand… ihere i can’t guess at the position you may be left it.
If this happens to you, appeal the Amigo decision, saying the original loan was unaffordable which is why you had to top up.
Mark says
Thanks for the info. Like everyone else I just wish they would get a move on and make a decision as being in Equity Set Off isn’t helping me try and rebuild my credit score.
But appreciate the help not just from your reply but from this whole thread which has been really helpful.
Laura says
You can find estimated timelines on page 51 of the Explanatory Statement, which is available here. In summary, we estimate that we will be agreeing claims in the first half of 2023. Where claims are not agreed and are referred to the Scheme Adjudicator we estimate that they will be determined in the third quarter (July-September) 2023.
For any claims that are upheld, we currently anticipate making first interim payments in late 2023.
I’ve just found this on website. I still haven’t heard anything and I am now starting to believe I won’t get redress.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They aren’t yet behind on that timetable
Tina says
When will I know how much I’ll get or if I will get anything
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They will reply to your claim at some point, hopefully soon. That will say whether your claim has been upheld, partially upheld (ie some of the loans/top up have been decided to be unaffected not all) or rejected.
You can appeal if it is rejected or partially upheld.
Atif says
Hi Sara
Firstly thank you for all your assistance an support
I have made a claim under the scheme a few years ago and topped it up a de times. I also took out out loan when they were called FLM in 2009 which was alp topped up a few ties and did fall behind a few times but managed to repay it back. Do I need to provide this? Will this go against my claim. Any advice will be much appreciated
I have had the below response from Amigo asking for bank statements from 2009. I think I banked with Barclays bu not sure
We are contacting you today regarding the claim that you have made, regarding your accounts with Amigo Loans.
Your claim is currently being reviewed, however, due to the time that has passed and in line with our data security policy, we no longer hold all information regarding the sale of all of your loan.
In order for us to complete a thorough investigation, we are asking for you to send us a bank statement from the time the loan was paid out and/or a credit file from the time.
Your loan/s were paid out on 30/07/2009
If we do not hear back from you by (Give 2 weeks), we will continue to investigate with the information we do hold for you.
Kind Regards,
SchemeCo
Amigologo.png
Amigo Loans Ltd
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The more evidence you can provide, the greater the chance of an uphold.
Kayah says
I got the same response and I sent them the bank statements which was about a month ago now am just waiting.
I really hope my case wins because this loan has caused me a lot of stress.
Howard says
Hi. I was a guarantor for a loan for my, now ex, partner. This loan was topped up a few times. I received an email off Amigo today saying they gave me all the relevant details and done the necessary checks at the time and have therefore rejected my claim. Should i challenge this decision?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is there a balance remaining on the last loan?
Did your ex also make a claim?
Howard says
Hi Sara. No my ex has not made a claim. And no there is no outstanding balance the loan. But i was forced to take a personal loan out myself to pay it off.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so can you provide bank statements for 3 months before the last top to 3 months afterwards? They should show that the loan was unaffordable for you.
Howard says
No unfortunately. This was about 8 years ago.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you are still with the same bank, it may be possible to get the old statements? If you can’t, do you have anything else that can help? Emails, letters, credit reports, anything about your finances at that point? Evidence of the loan you took?
Without anything, you can appeal and just explain what happened. But evidence makes this more likely to work.
Shauna says
Hi,
I have a redress claim with Amigo and still yet to receive an outcome. This am i have received a letter from them stating that if I don’t pay the remaining balance they will approach the guarantor and issue a default. Is there any advice on this on what i should do? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
read https://debtcamel.co.uk/stop-paying-amigo-set-off/ and consider asking for equitable set off
Jeanie says
I have today received a default notice from Amigo.
I had 3 months left of a 5 year loan with them and I stopped paying in august 2021 and told them whilst my complaint was in I was not going to pay them anymore as they owed me money. I told them until my complaint was dealt with I wasn’t going to pay. Now nearly 2 years on I have a default notice to pay the outstanding balance by the 19th June. I have 2 claims against them and I was put in the pot like all the others for redress. I know I will win as it was unaffordable at the time.
I have replied stating they can take me to court for the £519 I ‘owe’ and said that they owe me at least £5000 and as they are not in business anymore they are now trying their hardest to get money back from customers by now sending these warnings 2 years later after I stopped. I had nothing from them all this time. It’s actually laughable now but how many others will get scared by this. Can’t wait for them to proper go under
Craig Dorner says
Had exactly the same stopped paying once my gaurntoor was realised in 2020.
Think they are trying to get some cash back 😂😂
Catherine says
I’ve today received a default notice from amigo. I’m in an equitable set off until my complaint is sorted. They said they are going to go to my guarantor for payment if I don’t pay anything by the 19th June. What should I do. Clearly they shouldn’t be taking anything from either of us and I want to make sure they don’t take any money from my guarantors account.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They have sent out a lot of these… It may be a mistake and they do not intend to ask your guarantor for payments at the moment because of equitable set off.
But better safe than sorry – tell your guarantor to cancel any direct debit to Amigo with their bank AND ALSO phone their bank up and say they want to cancel the Continuous Payment Authority that Amigo has over their debit card.
Catherine says
I think I did all that with the bank when they decided on the scheme as I’d already sent it to the FOS and told them I was paying no more till this was sorted. I called amigo and the they said it’s a standard letter and they will definitely not expect payment while I’m in an equitable set off. But I wouldn’t put anything past them at the moment!!
Cher says
Hi there, we still haven’t heard anything from Amigo, do you know if we will before July?
Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is no new information about time scales. Very frustrating.
Matthew says
I received a payment into my bank from Amigo last week but haven’t had a letter or email of any details of the amount.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you log into the portal?
This sounds like an overpayment rather than a refund after an upheld claim
Lee says
has anyone had a response yet? if so did you get an email / see this on the portal or letter?
I have asked Amigo to remove the default marker and missed payments from my record until such time they are in a position to settle my claim, no such luck unfortunately! 18 months now and waiting!
thanks
Ronnie Jones says
Seems to be a problem logging into their portal, showing an error?🙄
Neil says
Hi I’ve got a notification that Amigo will be removed from my credit file in the next few days! Not heard anything from them yet though.
Milena says
Where did you get the notification ?
Neil says
Just on clear score, I rang Amigo and they didn’t have any new information but did say a letter will be going out shortly to thousands of customers so let’s see.
Laura says
Current loan?
Old loan? When did you finish paying?
Pray mine gets removed.
Neil says
Current loan yes I stopped paying them around 2 years ago when I made the initial complaint. Just checked my report so there’s no default showing for June but they haven’t removed all the past defaults yet will have to look into if they will.
Laura says
Did they also do an anti money laundering check on your file too?
That’s good it’s being removed! I wonder what the letter will be too.
Craig says
If a debts older then 6 years it drops off ur credit report might be that?
Sean says
Well my complaint in now 3 years old.
Still no response.
It just says no final response letter yet.
Really am starting to give it up now and just wake up and understand I’m being F****d
Never progressing
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This absurdly long process should be coming to an end in the next few months.
Craig says
This is why I voted against in every thing as they been lieing from start like the company’s before then and don’t see why these company’s get away with paying pence In pound or nothing but we owe them it’s every penny and if don’t pay it’s extra fees from debt collected or ccjs
Gemma says
Weirdly they performed an anti money laundering fraud check according to my trans union report. They are definitely up to something!
leighton says
My claim has been rejected should I appeal
What should I say in the comments
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Tell me about your Amigo loans.
Chantelle says
I am in equitable set off – awaiting decision and have checked credit report and seen that Amigo have done a soft search on my credit report on 02/06/23…what’s could this mean?
Kayla says
I want to know the same, they did a soft search on mine dec 2022 then again 13th April 2023 they’ve not updated my record since 1st April on one, on another credit app they are still marking it as missed payments
Gemma says
I’m in the exact same position. They did the search on my file on the 6th June.
Sean says
Just checked and have the same on 02/06/23
Laura says
Identity check for the claim. I believe anyway. Had the same.
Rebecca says
I had a soft search by amigo loans Ltd T/A reward rate on the 16th November 2022 and I still haven’t had a response so not sure why they do it!
Rebecca says
Do they not need to obtain consent even before running a soft search?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No – when you take a loan the lender is allowed to make checks afterwards.
Soft checks are no visible to other lenders and do not harm your credit record.
Chantelle says
Ok but why would they be checking for at this stage? Do you know? Could it be to do with them making a decision or using it to make a decision? I know when I wrote to them years ago to ask them for help or to write off the loan due to affordability they refused and game me points why – one of which was there were no defaults etc on my file for 6 months prior to having the loan which was a lie because I did. So in my claim
I made them aware there were defaults. So was thinking are they checking that out maybe. Otherwise it’s very random isn’t it.
Mark says
Hi Sara,
so I’m waiting for my claim outcome like everyone else.
I’m currently still paying in full to amigo and only have 2 months left thank god!! It’s been a long 5 years.
Am I right in thinking that the payments I’m making are being put to one side and if the claim is in my favour, I get the whole amount back as from November 2022?
I’m pretty sure that’s what I read on this site last year… but knowing me I probably miss read it.
Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You should get the whole lot back from the point you made the complaint OR the point you had repaid more than you borrowed, whichever is the later.
This assumes Amigo hasn’t badly messed up (there is no reason to think they have just because things are going slow) AND that you didn’t have earlier loans, when things get complicated if Amigo makes an unfair “deduction for unpaid” interest.
Mark says
Thanks Sara, that has helped a lot. Hopefully we won’t have to wait to much longer.
Thanks for all the help! Best forum I’ve found and so much info!
Ciara says
Hi Sara,
I am currently waiting on my decision like everyone else. I have no ongoing loans with amigo thank god ! I had one loan and top it up on 4 occasions (stupidly)
If my claim goes in my favour will I paid for all loans or just the first loan ?
I rang amigos last week and they informed me everyone should get notification by the end of July.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo has legally given you 5 loans and they will make a decision on which of these, if any, are unaffordable. In general the more loans, the stronger the case is that the later loans were unaffordable.
sam says
Hi,
Was wondering what legal route if any I can go down if my claim is upheld. I’m looking to buy a house however I cannot until this is resolved. House prices have risen considerably since I put my complaint in. If upheld is there any legal route I can take as I don’t see why I should have to find and pay another eg £10k more for a house now than I would have if they had just sorted this out in a timely manner as I should’ve never had the loans in the first place? So either way I’m financially penalised by them no matter the outcome. Obviously I know there is 0.01% chance I can do anything but worth an ask!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No there is nothing you can do.
Emma says
i made a claim but it was through the amigo account and i have no saved document o the claim i made will this automtically just be sent to amigo or do i need proof i sent it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ask Amigo to confirm that you have made a claim.
Tom says
Hi Sara,
Would paying the balance to settle my outstanding loan (4th topup to 10K) have ANY impact on Amigo’s decision making process on my claim(s) ?
I am currently paying a reduced amount per month (ESO) waiting for them to make a decision in Julyish which only increases the arrears…can’t afford to pay both the balance and the arrears so kinda hoping the arrears would “go away” ?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No. They have a hundred thousand plus claims to decide. Tens of thousands of those have current loans. Yours will not get speeded up by doing this.
Tom says
Not so much concerned about being speeded up, given their current track record, more interested in paying off some of the balance now to reduce future interest payments. Even if my claim is upheld, any “payments” due for reimbursement wouldn’t occur until later this year anyway….maybe ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If the claim about the current loan is upheld, all interest will be removed and no more will be charged. With so many top ups yours is likely to be a strong case.
If the claim is not upheld, then the interest is capped at what they originally quoted when you took the loan out. So some has been accruing as arrears but as you carry on repaying the loan at some point the interest cap is hit and no more will be added.
There is also the possibility that you can offer a lower amount to settle the loan to the debt collector that buys the remaining loans, as Amigo is being liquidated. That may mor may not happen.
Daniel Smith says
Got told by someone who knew what they were speaking about from amigo , that we will receive all response letters no later by the end of November and all pay outs no later then the end of April 2024 of our claims are upheld .
Tom Delaney says
Good grief, it was my understanding that all claimants would be notified by the end of July….Amigo are working in a legal black hole….nothing gets out ?
Rebecca says
I thought it was originally supposed to be everyone to have a response in the first half of the year, then it changed to July and now they are moving the goal post again. They are absolutely destroying my credit rating and it just seems unfair that the regulator are allowing them to stall in this way 🙄
Tom Delaney says
Many thanks for the reply….I guess it’s a case of hurry up and wait ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes…
Nathan James Smith says
Hello. I paid Amigo 7 days late so they reported it as arrears to credit agencies. The balance is now back in line and there are no arrears. Will this be removed from my credit file at some point? Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have you made a claim to the Scheme?
Nathan says
Yes. Made a claim and still waiting for a response, like everyone else. I know it will be removed if the claim is found to be in my favour, but what happens if they find against me, how long would it be on my file?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
6 years after the debt is settled.
But it starts to affect your score less after a few years.
Nathan says
6 years because I missed a payment by 6 hours? Damn. That’s harsh.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh yes it is. Normally I would suggest phoning up a lender, sounding extremely sorry and asking for it to be removed as a goodwill gesture. I suppose you could try…
But you said 7 days… not 6 hours…
Nathan says
I am paid in 4 weekly rotations. My payday is different each month. Part of the year it means I get paid after the Amigo direct debit. I spoke to them about this and they would move my direct debit date to accommodate. After a few times they could no longer do this as it could affect the loan term date. They agreed that I can be given a 6 day grace period each time to pay at an alternative date to avoid arrears. I spoke to them at the end of May and said I wouldn’t be able to pay till the 31st May. They agreed. It wasn’t till the 30th I got the message telling me I’d be reported for arrears if it wasn’t cleared on the 31st. They didn’t say that as soon as midnight struck it would be reported, I believed I had till the end of the 31st. So, it was six hours. I was only six hours over our agreed extension. I’ve spoken to them to see what they can do, basically saying I’ve got a 10k loan and paid back more than 21k without missing a payment or needing to use a guarantor.
simon says
hi my guarantor sadly passed and i decided to phone amigo to see what would happen to his claim and they imformed me it would go to next of kin now they have said she wont get nothing
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your guarantor made some payments to the loan?
simon says
hi sara thanks for reply yes my guarantor made a total of ten payments coz i was struggling and they were hounding him for payment
Craig Dorner says
Haven’t payed amigo since 2020 once my gauurentor was realeased from my loan,
Now in the last month they have bombarded me with default notices etc 😂😂
Had 5 to ups and 5 loans still waiting for the rejection letter.
Dan says
17p to the £ is an absolute disgrace. Yet again, people being ripped off by a corrupt system.
Thomas says
Good afternoon Sara,
I have received my claim outcome which was rejected. The reasons were very standardised with the reasons for their decision was because
I had a sufficient buffer and my credit file was checked prior to them lending
I understood the financial agreement
They believed and carefully considered the ability for me to maintain and sustainability of the repayments.
Just general generic points. The fact that I had missed payments nearly all the time . The fact that my guarantor paid 5,500 off to clear it so I could pay her back at smaller repayments was not important. They got their money back and years before they should have.
The biggest pile of rubbish.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how long ago was this loan taken out? Do you have your bank statements from that time or can you get them? (this can be possible from closed accounts)
Nathan says
I spoke to Amigo today. Informed they won’t be issuing decisions till the end of August and even that was an estimate. God help us.
sean says
Surely they can’t just keep putting it back.
Daisy says
Hi All
I have a horrible feeling that no-one will have their claim upheld they will all be rejected
Nathan says
It’s quite ridiculous to have gone on this long. Yes, I get they got a lot more than they bargained when they opened the scheme. I get they’re having to wind down their business whilst going through the scheme and dealing with day to day customers, but at what point do they stop pushing the dates back? We’ve been quoted about 5 different windows now. I believe they’re finding they’re leaning more in favour of claims upheld then not. They had an 80% upheld rate before the scheme officially launched.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Ombudsman had an 80% uphold rate on Amigo claims – Amigo never did. I have NO IDEA what their uphold rate will be as they have refused to say what their estimate is.
Thomas says
Hi Sara,
The loan was from 2015. I had already sent them bank statements. They were full of gambling and they ignored it.
Personally I think the scheme is a sham! They said I have 30 days to appeal their decision.
Many Thanks Sara
Kind Regards Thomas
Chris says
I agree in that I think it is a scam. They keep changing the dates we will be informed, payment windows if successful and they’re beginning to wind down the business. I don’t trust them at all but I’m sure protections are in place. I’m seeing nothing but rejections now which makes me wary. I took out a loan in 2018. It finishes this year, finally. I hope my claim is upheld. I applied at 10am on a random Tuesday morning and received £10k an hour later. Nobody called me to do proper checks, nobody asked for bank statements or proof of income. Standard online form and took less than 2 minutes. The only person they spoke to was the guarantor (my mum) and when it was paid to her.
Laura says
Hi, i understand that you don’t get all the money you are owed in redress, say if you are owed £1000 then you are likely to get £170 or what ever it may be. But if you still have an outstanding loan with them, say £2000 will they adjust that down to £1000 or will it be the same and be £1830? If that makes sense? Do you only get less if they actually physically owe you the money?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You get the full amount of a balance reduction, and only a set percentage of any cash refund.
So in your example the 200 would be reduced to 1000.
And if the refund was 2,500, the balance would be wiped and you would get 17% of the remaining 500.
Richard says
Hi Sara , my question is pretty much similar to the one you have just answered. I’ve had the eso since may and have so far paid back roughly £8500 of a £5000 loan, how would this work if my claim is upheld.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
was this your only Amigo loan?
Joanne says
I was told today it’s more than likely the redress could fall to 8/9p in the pound as there is that many claims , amigo also told me today that it could be end of august before anyone here’s an outcome . There rules completely we don’t have a say at all xx
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I was told today it’s more than likely the redress could fall to 8/9p in the pound as there is that many claims
Amigo told you this?
Jo says
Yes amigo told me this absolute joke
Cheryl says
Hi Sara,
I have received this email from Amigo, given the dates is it possible to get these from a closed account and how would i get a credit report for that time?
We are contacting you today regarding the claim that you have made, regarding your accounts with Amigo Loans.
Your claim is currently being reviewed, however, due to the time that has passed and in line with our data security policy, we no longer hold all information regarding the sale of all of your loan.
In order for us to complete a thorough investigation, we are asking for you to send us a bank statement from the time the loan was paid out and/or a credit file from the time. This is to help us assess your financial position at the time of the payout of the loan.
Your loan/s were paid out on 01/02/2012
Ideally, we would like to receive copies of your bank statements covering the 3-month period prior to the above date.
If we do not hear back from you by 12/07/2023, we will continue to investigate with the information we do hold for you.
Many thanks,
Cheryl
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long ago did you close the account?
It isn’t possible to now get an old credit report. If you happened to have kept a copy of one from any date between 2012 and 2017 that will give a picture of what credit you had when you applied for the loan in 2012.
Do you have any other information about your finances at that time? Letters/emails from creditors, from any debt adviser you spoke to, any court papers etc
Cheryl says
Hi Sara,
Actually only recently as it hadn’t been used for 14 years so it was automatically closed.
I may have something in my old email account actually so I guess that’s a good place to start.
Thanks,
Cheryl
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well it is worth asking the old bank – explain why you need the statements. I am not saying this is likely but it will considerably help your claim if they can be produced
Simon says
hi after reading some of theise comments im absolutely disgusted at the wayamigo are treating people thise people are the oneswho voted in favour of the scheme to help amigo stay afloat now theire getting shafted
Craig says
This why kept trying say people should vote against least if we did it would been dealt with now
Common sense citizen says
The only people the scheme has benefited is Amigo employees. It has kept them in a job for longer. Under administration they would have been out of work yonks ago. Under this scheme, they are doing as they see fit, they are getting paid their monthly salaries which could have been used for other creditors.
Gazza says
Hi. I only took out most of the top ups (10 I think) to gamble with. I was going through a bad time with this an they also stopped all interest on my loan. I even spoke to some one from amigo on one of my top up regarding gambling,an he was reluctant to pay the loan,but yeah haha after a few words money was in the bank
Gaz says
Hi Gary,
I hope you are well.
I have heard back from the complaints team this afternoon regarding your interest. This was frozen by mistake on our behalf, and so we will not be reinstating this as a gesture of good will. No further interest will be applied to your account moving forwards.
Maureen Walton says
Thank you for contacting Amigo Loans Scheme Support Team.
If you are emailing to request an update on your ongoing claim, please note that our team will not be able to provide this until an outcome has been reached.
We are working hard to try and provide all scheme outcomes via email by the end of August 2023 and for any claims that are upheld, currently anticipate making first interim payments in late 2023.
This is the reply I received to my query
Ross says
That’s the same response I got recently. They seem to be changing the dates month by month. I feel like we’re getting strung along.
Maureen Walton says
My friend has already had a response from Morses Club she knows exactly what she will be getting, it’s unfathomable why Amigo 8months after claims line closed they are still faffing around.
Daniel Smith says
I was thinking the exact same thing earlier
Matt bushll says
Just out of curiosity , has anyone recieved conformation that thier claim has been upheld.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
not that I have heard of.
Ben says
I don’t think they will uphold hardly any if I’m honest
Chmj says
Why do you say that? Would they have to give valid reason for not upholding claims surely they just can’t reject because they don’t want to pay out
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A lot of people are very worried and deeply suspicious of Amigo. But there is no reason to think Ben is right.
Ann says
Hi I have been on to my login with amigo and it is a blank white screen. It was ok back in May but has now changed is everyone’s like this.
Alex says
I haven’t been able to log in to mine for a couple of months now.
Debbie says
Perhaps we should contact Martin Lewis’s team??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Not sure what you hope they can do?
Simon says
i think they should be taken back to court and put in front of the same judge i dont think he would be too happy with the way they are acting and timescales the financial conduct authority even let them off with a 73 million pound fine too help customers who now are getting shafted
Bobby Jones says
Totally and utterly agree shambles and a farce .
Daniel says
Too long to go into the history , but amigo as caused so many problems for my family . Today I got told we could be waiting till next September for a response . Absolutely fuming 😡
Lisa says
I think we should all put a protest scheme together somehow and once and for all stop companies allowing people who are already struggling with money regardless of the reason to get further into trouble, there’s such a big thing on gambling, mental health etc but who is doing anything about this really… NOBODY… but yet people who have money can get loan after loan credit card after credit card and pay peanuts interest on the funds but we are penalised. Just got to stop. People are suffering.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The best way to protest is to look at making more affordability complaints about your other debts that have proved difficult – see https://debtcamel.co.uk/tag/refunds/ for articles on different sorts of debts, not just loans but credit cards, catalogues, overdrafts and car finance. Don’t get mad, get even!
Robert says
They’re not saying September for responses. Just wild.
Jo says
I just rang amigo and they told me everyone should know by the end of august , people r starting to receive letters of upheld claims but with no figures of what they will get just that they have been upheld . Has anyone got a letter yet I haven’t as yet xx
Craig says
That’s first I’ve heard of upheld claims
Becca says
With amigo already causing so much detriment, I am really struggling to understand why the FCA and FOS are continuing to allow these rolling timeframes! There is no concern for the impact it’s having on the customers affected and it is beyond me that they’ve been allowed to continue to act in this way! What’s your thoughts on this Sara?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS has no jurisdiction to intervene when there is a Scheme.
Amigo are still FCA authorised but as they are winding up, it’s hard to see that they will pay much attention to the FCA.
IMs sorry, I think this is a disgrace, but it is clear to me that the FCA can do anything speed it up.
Gemma says
I did hear something a while back that they were notifying unsuccessful claims first, so that they could get a measure of how many would appeal. The total number of presumed successful appeals & the number of upheld complaints would then be used to calculate the rate of redress.
As with anything to do with Amigo, let’s take it all with a pinch of salt.
At this point I’d be happy if they just wrote off my outstanding balance & fixed my credit file.
Tony says
Anybody unable to login to the scheme portal? I haven’t been able to for a few weeks
Maureen Walton says
If you go back to the comments of the19th of December on here there is a link someone has put on that’s the only way I can get on the portal
Milena says
I have no problems with loging in. Maybe worth give them a call ? Hope resolved soon.
Louise Marriott says
I’ve just spoken to the Amigo Scheme people and they are quoting August for a response to the claim I’ve put in on behalf of my sister.
The wait is worrying because I know the daughter and Mother team that talked my sister into standing guarantor for twelve loans totalling nearly £60,000 (capital only) are still in touch with her.
My fear is my sister will agree to standing guarantor for these two people (I’d like to use a stronger word) with other companies.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There are very few guarantor loan lenders any more.
Louise Marriott says
Thank you Sara. That is reassuring st least.
Ciara says
Can I ask what everyone outcome is saying on the portal?
Mine is now saying “you have not received your final outcome letter ”
I haven’t received nothing from them.
Mark says
Yes that’s what mine says and has done since this all started.
Maureen Walton says
That’s what mine has always said
Catherine says
That’s what mines says. I’m hoping it’s a good sign that I’ve not heard anything yet as all the rejections seem to be hearing first.
E says
That’s the standard line that’s been used since the claim site opened
Bobby Jones says
Hi Sara I contacted Amigo through email as I hadn’t heard from them since February.They stated that all decisions will be sorted by August.And that any upheld appeals will be paid out later in 2023 .
Mark says
Unfortunately I think they will screw everyone over.
Maureen Walton says
How in what way do