On 25 January 2021, Amigo announced that it is proceeding with the next stage of the Scheme of Arrangement which it proposed in December.
Amigo is proposing a Scheme because it can’t afford to pay refunds to all the customers who were given unaffordable loans. It says it is likely to go into insolvency if the Scheme is not approved.
About a million Amigo customers are being texted or emailed about the Scheme. This includes current customers – the borrowers and guarantors for the current 150,000 loans – and all previous customers whose loans have been repaid. This is what the text says:
ACTION REQUIRED
If you have taken out or guaranteed a loan with Amigo, you may be affected by a scheme of arrangement that ALL Scheme Ltd is proposing with its creditors. You may be a creditor if Amigo owes you compensation. Please go to www.amigoscheme.co.uk and read the ‘Practice Statement Letter’ which provides important information about the process. You should do this as soon as possible. If you do not act promptly, you will lose the opportunity to vote at the Scheme meeting, expected to be in late-April 2021. Further, if the Scheme is approved and then you do not make your claim in the Scheme by the claims submission deadline (expected to be in mid-November 2021), you will lose your opportunity to submit a claim in the Scheme.
Amigo has set up a website with information for customers about the Scheme. This contains the Practice Statement Letter (PSL) which sets out more details. I encourage you to read the full PSL.
This article provides a brief summary of the Scheme for customers – the stages of the Approval process and what will happen in the Scheme if it is approved. If you read this first, then reading the full PSL document afterwards may be easier.
Contents
The approval process for the Scheme
The proposed timeline for Scheme approval is:
30 March – First Court Hearing
The main purpose of this hearing is to convene the creditors’ meeting. This is not a rubber-stamp exercise – it will consider the fairness of the Scheme. It is likely to take several hours and FOS and the FCA may make representations to the Court. All creditors covered by the Scheme are entitled to attend and speak – this includes all Amigo customers. The hearing will be online, so that will make it easier.
If the Hearing gives the go-ahead for the creditors’ meeting, Amigo will publish more details about the Scheme and how customers can vote on it.
Late April – creditors’ meeting
A formal creditors’ meeting will be held online where customers and FOS can vote on whether the Scheme should go ahead. But you don’t need to attend this online meeting, you will be able to vote on a page that Amigo will set up for this.
10 May – Second Court Hearing
The second court hearing will consider whether the Scheme should go ahead and whether it is fair to customers.
If the Scheme is approved at this hearing, the Scheme is expected to start in mid-May.
An overview of the Scheme
When the Scheme starts, all open FOS cases will be sent back to the Scheme.
Under the Scheme, customers can put in a claim if they were given an unaffordable loan or were the guarantor for one. Or if they have any other complaint about a loan or the way Amigo treated them.
There will be a six month period for these claims to be sent in after the Scheme start date.
Amigo will decide whether to uphold each claim:
- there are no details about how it will do this;
- will Amigo uphold the same very high rate that the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) does? It has not mentioned this;
- Amigo will appoint an independent person to look at any appeals – you won’t be able to appeal Amigo’s decision to the Financial Ombudsman which most people would prefer to do.
Amigo will then calculate the redress (the legal term for the refund you would have received if there wasn’t a Scheme) for the claims it upholds:
- for borrowers this is the interest they paid.
- Amigo has not said if it will carry on applying the “unpaid interest deduction” that it started making in summer 2020 to reduce refunds. The PSL refers to Amigo replicating its current redress calculations which suggests that this deduction will still be applied.
- guarantors should get a refund of their whole payments.
- where a guarantor is being paid a refund, the borrower’s account will be changed so that the guarantor payments are removed. If the borrower has also had a Claim upheld, interest will be removed from the borrower’s account. There will be a cap to stop the borrower being left worse off after the guarantor reductions and the interest removals, but the effect is that borrowers may get a lower refund calculated than they expect.
If you have a balance still owing to Amigo:
- your balance will be reduced by the refund;
- if you still owe a balance after this reduction, you can make an arrangement to repay it at a more affordable rate and your guarantor will be released;
- if the refund is larger than the balance this extra will be paid from the pot of cash Amigo is putting aside and you will only get a small percentage of it;
- Amigo has estimated that £85m is a reasonable provision for these balance reductions. It has not explained what would happen if the write-offs are larger than this amount.
If you are owed a cash refund:
Customers whose loans have been repaid will have their cash refunds paid out of the pot of money Amigo is putting aside for this. There will not be enough money in this pot to pay full refunds.
The pot will be divided up between all the people who are owed a cash refund who will all get the same “pence in the pound” percentage of their proper redress.
Amigo is putting in £15m, which could be increased by up to £20m if the balance reductions are lower then expected. This sounds unlikely to me – it would only reach £10m if the balance reductions are £25m lower than Amigo expect and £20m if the balance reductions are £50m less than Amigo expects. I think this increase can be disregarded.
Amigo is proposing that it will add 15% of its profits in the next four years into this refund pot. As Amigo is currently loss-making this sounds like some jam in a few years, or possibly none at all.
Amigo hasn’t given a range for what percentage of their proper refund people will actually be paid. A simple comparison suggests people owed a cash refund may only get very little compensation.
- Amigo thinks claims by 150,000 current borrowers will result in balance reductions of c.£85m (I think that may be an underestimate but let us assume it is correct);
- But there is only £15m (with the promise of perhaps some extra in later years) for the 700,000 previous borrowers and guarantors.
So you may get a very low percentage of your proper refund back, possibly as low as 5%.
Amigo expects the first payments to be made in “in the first half of 2022”. I think it may be late in that period as Amigo will have to allow time for any appeals to be made and reviewed.
The main points of interest
I think there are seven key points arising from the proposed Scheme:
- The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has not agreed to the Scheme and may not before the first court date.
- There are no details about how Amigo will decide whether to uphold a customer complaint.
- Amigo says this is the best way to treat its customers and other stakeholders fairly. But the bondholders and shareholders are the major gainers from this Scheme and the customers are the big losers.
- Amigo says the Scheme is in the interest of customers who have a valid complaint, but I estimate that tens of thousands would receive more if Amigo went into administration now than they would in the Scheme.
- Amigo has not given an estimate of the percentage of the redress that customers may eventually get paid.
- Why will Amigo not be accepting Ombudsman decisions taken before the Scheme starts? This is in breach of the FCA’s DISP rules and Amigo does not have a waiver from DISP..
- All complaints about current and previous loans will be included, even if they are not affordability complaints.
I have looked at these seven points in more detail here: Amigo’s Scheme (2) – key points to think about.
The FCA will also have to consider the effects on the wider credit market, such as whether the Scheme is anti-competitive, putting other bad credit lenders at a disadvantage.
What do Amigo customers need to do now?
If this is the first you have heard about refunds from Amigo, read Refunds for guarantor loan borrowers or if you are a guarantor, see Complaints by guarantors. Those pages explain why people are making complaints and have a template letter if you want to ask for a refund now.
If you want to know more about the proposed Scheme, read the PSL and look at my other articles on the Scheme.
For the Scheme approval, you don’t have to do anything at the moment:
- you can decide to attend the Court hearing by Zoom if you want;
- it is too early to vote – that comes afterwards, if the court gives approval.
Siobhan says
As you know my complaint has been ongoing since April 2019, FOS have made a final decision and did this before the scheme was announced. Where do I stand now? Amigo are still ignoring them. They’ve ignored numerous of my emails. I have contacted FCA twice. Can they really ignore an FOS decision made before the announcement? My adjudicator upheld, amigo disagreed, adjudicator explained why it is upheld. Amigo ignored adjudicator so FOS made the decision. This is causing me massive amounts of stress and upset and I’m so tempted to get a solicitor involved.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you had a FOS final decision from an Ombudsman before the 21st December, Amigo are not going to ignore it.
What was the date?
Toni2707 says
I have been thinking about making an affordability claim for a while I am just unsure how to do it. I have had 3 Amigo loans previous to my current one of £5000, I was drowning in debt when I got the loan and though it would be my way out but I am now having trouble keeping up with payments. My Step daughter was my Guarantor and she is at Uni and only works part time so cannot cover the payments and if I am honest never would. My question is can I still make a claim or is it now too late with this new scheme I do not really understand it all? Also the previous loans I have had I cannot find any details of (ref numbers ect) as I paid them off and had a 4 year gap before getting my current one.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can’t make a claim under the Scheme until/unless it is approved which is months away.
But you don’t have to wait. If you feel the loan is unaffordable because it leaves you too short each month for all your other expenses, then you can send in a complaint now – read https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/ which has a simple template to use.
You don’t need to know your old reference numbers to make the complaint. Amigo can trace them from your current record. If the Scheme goes ahead you will get very little back even if Amigo agree the old loans were affordable, but I expect the important thing for you is to sort out the current loan.
It sounds as though the loan was also unaffordable for your step-daughter, so she can make a complaint and ask to be released as the guarantor. There is a template for guarantors here https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/
Have your finances got worse because of Covid-19?
Kyle says
If I have my complaint with FOS does that mean that Amigo can’t take my case to court? Would this not make my case exempt from this “Scheme” as a lender can not take you to court if you have a complaint now logged with the FOS?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If I have my complaint with FOS does that mean that Amigo can’t take my case to court?
Yes. Well they can start a court case but it would be against the FCA’s rules. And although Amigo threaten this, they don’t actually do it.
Would this not make my case exempt from this “Scheme” as a lender can not take you to court if you have a complaint now logged with the FOS?
No. That is not how a Scheme works. You are not being sued. The creditors affected by the scheme – customers owed redress – can vote on whether it should be approved.
If the Scheme is approved and goes ahead, FOS will legally have to return your complaint to Amigo to go into the Scheme.
Ingrida says
Hi thank you for answering this. I have sent them an email asking to provide a letter, once have an update will let you know.
Many thanks!
Shelley says
Can anyone explain what happens if the amigos go bust for us borrowers and paying back etc! Thanks shelley
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sure. If you say a bit about the current loan (and was it your first?) this could be more specific. How large is the current loan? Is making the payments causing you big problems? How much have you paid so far eg 18 months at £179?
Wes says
I’ve had my complaint settled and paid out back last year. However I’ve gone to the FOS in regards to the unpaid interest deduction. How will that be affected if it will be? As I’m still waiting for it to be picked up by someone from FOS.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you get a cash refund or do you still owe a balance?
Wes says
Was a cash refund. But they took the interest tax or whatever they called it off. I’ve sent this off to the FOS. Just waiting for it to be picked up.
Carl says
I had an adjudicator decision come back 18/12/2020 upholding my complaint and deeming all three loans unaffordable. They gave Amigo until 01/01/2021 to respond and they didn’t. I spoke to the adjudicator last week who said they aren’t hopeful of receiving a response from Amigo at all. Today, at 20:05, I received an email stating that Amigo have responded today and they agree with the decision to uphold the complaint.
Is this just following a process in Amigo’s end and is this likely to go no further due to the the Scheme of Arrangement? I have taken this case up on my mums behalf and she has had £15k worth of loans over an 8 year period. I don’t want to get her hopes up if this is just a false dawn.
I was very surprised that Amigo responded and the adjudicator that I spoke to a few weeks ago didn’t hold out much hope.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is interesting.
Normally I would have expected Amigo to ignore the adjudicator decision, not accept or reject. Now they have accepted, I think you should talk to Amigo about when they will be paying out. I understand why you may not want to suggest to your mum that this is going to happen soon, or indeed in full. But there may be something odd about this case which means they will.
Can I ask if your mum was being given priority for some reason at FOS?
Tina says
Hi Sara,
Same thing happened to my husband last night. He rang Fos straight away and they informed him Amigo have accepted their decision. Fos have given amigo 8 weeks to pay out. He was a priority case with the FOS and he has also been in contacted with the FCA over the matter.
Carl says
She has had some issues that I raised with FOS. They only said that they might class her as vulnerable but never had anything solid to confirm that.
I have just spoken to Amigo this morning. The guy didn’t know much and said all redress is paused but they expect payment to be made. My mum owes about £350 and I honestly don’t see the point setting out a repayment plan when they have agreed none of the loans were affordable and she has more than paid off the capital amount.
I will try again on Monday and see if I can get through to somebody else. It’s a very strange situation. Why bother agreeing to the decision if they have no intention of paying out.
Carl says
Sorry, they expect payment of the outstanding balance to be made.
I have just spoken to another lady at Amigo though that was a bit more clued up. She is taking the details away and calling me on Monday. They have definitely done something as they have removed all of the deferred interest that they said was due only last week. All that remains as an outstanding balance is the £350 that my mum missed when she lost her job due to COVID.
Jay says
Hey Sara,
So i took out a loan for £4k in march 2018. And i have so far made payments worth £4.2k for interests and still owe them around £3.8k outstanding. I want to make a redress claim just want to find out if this will work in my favour as i don’t think i can afford to pay them anymore but they keep hassling my guarantor even if one day is missed for payment. We spoke earlier in the post which i am unable to find. But I want to make such a complaint where they can stop asking me for payments and leave my guarantor alone and be happy with what i have paid them so far. Do you think that would be possible and if so how do i make a redress claim. I will be calling FOS on monday to discuss further.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have your finances been affected by Covid-19?
And I have so far made payments worth £4.2k for interests
Is that the total of what you have paid them? If not, how much have you paid them?
Could your guarantor have managed to make all the loan payments from the start and still paid their own bills, debts and living expenses?
Tufan says
I agree,
amigo have not upheld all complaints.
Mum had a stroke in 2019.. I had to give up my career in care to move back with her in order to help care for her.
(My mother was my guarantor)
However it has been a year since my complaint. I was told a final decision was sent out to me in May.. I asked for the info to be ignored time and time again.
I have had no news from the ombudsmen but reading into it now I have seen they have so many complaints to deal with.. I felt it may be necessary to ask amigo again..
I then write to amigo again.. practically begging to free me from this debt, I took out 10k.. I payed for 2 years (struggled to pay on good wages). And I’ve pretty much cleared the 10k I borrowed.
I sent them my mothers hospital letter.. along with my carers allowance letter.. begging.
I had an automated email response stating there is a new scheme which they are asking the supreme Court to allow them to continue under this new scheme.
I told amigo I do not want any compensation, just please wipe interest off and remove my mother as guarantor. As a good will gesture at the least.
Instead I get a letter in the post from the new CEO of amigo stating again how much interest is owed and we must pay.
Amigo did not do the affordability checks.. I didn’t even have a job when the loan was taken out. And my mum was on benefits..
Say No to Amigo
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you still making payments?
Has your mum made a complaint too and asked to be removed as guarantor? That gives her 2 chances of being removed, if she wins her complaint or if you win yours.
Tufan says
I contacted my bank and told them amigo is no longer authorised to take anything.. and yes I asked to hav her removed. She’s been diagnosed as having learning difficulties on top of her stroke. She’s paralysed on left side and has speech difficulties so i handle all her online communications and letters etc. I am now her registered carer and it’s my duty to ensure she is safeguarded.
They have millions set aside and they can’t let off a person who has pretty much paid what they borrowed.. to now be on carers allowance.. caring for his mother.. and the guarantor is the stroke patient they want to take from lol. I think amigo should let us know which Complaint they upheld and why.
They refuse to take anything into consideration and respond with deaf ears. I am really upset with the new CEO as my complaint was placed before he was even there. Therefore sending letters to a vulnerable persons home with threats about payments should be taken with caution. I won’t be paying amigo a penny anyway. Even if they fraudulently went through and they won and said I owe them £1.00 I will say NAY! I owe u nothing. Goodbye God Bless lol.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, have you also stopped any payments being taken from your mum’s account?
I asked to have her removed.
Was this in your complaint? Or have you put in a complaint on her behalf? You both have a right to complain if Amigo did not assess each of you could afford the repayments.
Can I ask if she owns her house or is renting?
Tufan says
Hi she is a council tenant. I have placed a complaint officially on her behalf also but heard nothing back.. the last thing I was told was due to it being with the financial ombudsmen we have to wait for the decision. So not sure what’s going on. Receiving letters stating we still must pay says a lot lol.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am still not certain where the complaints are – just to be clear, you and your mum should each make complaints to Amigo and if these have been rejected or you have not received a reply within 8 weeks both should be sent to the Financial Ombudsman. With you both making complaints there are two ways for her to be released as guarantor – if you win yours or if she wins hers.
If neither of you can afford to make the repayments (which is what it sounds like) you should both cancel your Direct Debits to Amigo.
This will harm your credit score but you probably don’t care, it’s having money to exist on that matters. And any negative marks will be removed if you win your case. It won’t harm your mum’s credit score as the Amigo loan doesn’t show on a guarantor’s record.
Amigo may threaten court but they should not go to court while there is an open complaint (which is why both your complaints should be sent to FOS). In practice these texts/letters are just an unpleasant bluff at the moment – Amigo doesn’t go to court in this situation.
As you haven’t quite repaid the 10k you borrowed. if you win your case you will still owe the remaining difference – if you have paid £8,900 that would be £1,100.
You will get exactly the same result (and so will your mum) in the proposed Scheme or in Administration. The only difference between is, will Amigo uphold your complaint? Amigo have said nothing about how they will decide this. In administration, the administrators try to follow roughly what the ombudsman would have been likely to decide.
If you aren’t sure about cancelling the direct debit you can talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000. And they can also talk about any other problems debts you have.
Stacey1377 says
Hi Sara
I had a Complaint with Amigo who rejected as expected, it was sent to FOS and it is now with an investigator. My mum who is my guarantor also had a complaint rejected by Amigo. My mum was only on carers allowance due to looking after my dad, he has since past away 3 weeks ago and my mum has now had to make a claim for universal credit. Is there any other way I can have her taken off as guarantor as my loan amount is 395.00 month.
Thanks
Stacey
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you afford the repayments?
Sorry to hear about your dad – money problems make a bad time feel much worse.
Was your mum’s complaint also sent to FOS?
Does your mum have other problem debts?
Is she renting?
Stacey1377 says
Hi thanks for the reply
No my mums rejected complaint wasn’t sent to FOS but we are still in the timescale to do this if best.
Yes my mum at the time and still is a private renter with a housing association. Since my dad passed she is now responsible also for bedroom tax my mum is under pension age at the moment and has been a carer for 18yrs to my dad so only income was carers allowance as my dad claimed the housing and council tax benefits due to his disability.
I am really worried as I became a single mum last year after a very unsettling break up with my partner when he was removed from the home. This has left me in significant financial hardship and although I work I get very little in the way of benefit top up support. I am worried that if I can’t make a payment they will take it from my mum and this will cause significant relationship breakdown when she needs me most and I need her. Also my mums current uc entitlement won’t even cover the monthly payment
Cheers
Stacey
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, so I suggest your mum’s complaint is sent to FOS – there is no reason not to do this as it is easy and it shows she still regards the complaint as “open”.
Then as she can’t afford the repayments, she should cancel her direct debit to Amigo. So there is no danger of Amigo taking money and leaving her short.
This gives her two chances of being released as guarantor – if she wins her complaint or if you win yours.
Amigo will send threatening texts but this cant harm her credit record as theAmigo loan is not on there. And they aren’t going to take her or you to court with open complaints.
The complaints will have to be decided in the Scheme or by the administrators if Amigo goes under.
In the end if you both lose your complaints you will both need debt advice about what your options are. But at the moment it seems good odds that she may be released as guarantor so there is no need to overthink what might happen in a year’s time, it’s probably best to make sure you are both safe and not short of money now.
If you want to talk this through with a debt adviser, National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 are very friendly and know about affordability complaints.
Stacey 1377 says
Thank you Sara this is a great help in a really difficult situation. Never though in a millions years life would be like it is.
Very grateful for all you are doing to help
X
Billy says
I made a complaint last April and had 6 out of 8 Loans upheld. This wiped the balance and I got £1k from Amigo.
I complained to FOS and have now had loan 6 upheld. FOS told me figures of £3k and I have had an email from Amigo offering redress to the guarantor. Guarantor turned down which Amigo have acknowledged. They said over the phone my redress will be paid because it was before a certain date etc, although I’m not totally convinced.
I know my figure and am effectively owed £3k by Amigo right now. I’m gonna push them this week to pay it out. If they don’t, do you think putting in a claim via the small claims court could work?
Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You should be paid if they have confirmed the settlement was offered before 21st December.
Small claims cases are not fast! They typically take 6-12 months if they are defended. In which case the case will not be heard before the Scheme comes into operation or Amigo goes bust – I suggest you don’t waste your money / time on starting a case.
William says
Thanks for the reply. The original claim was made and settled some months ago, but this loan has only just been upheld. Will that still be included as part of the original claim do you think? They have confirmed that it will be paid and not included in the scheme, but I won’t hold my breath.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ah. Has this loan only been upheld after Dec 21?
William says
Yeah, it was last week. I’ve had a payment from them for other loans, but they originally didn’t uphold this claim. The FOS have been looking into it and Amigo now upheld it and made an offer. I’m hoping that because a payment has been made, this will be considered as a part of that claim and just be paid.
But effectively, they now owe me £3k. So was going to just put a court claim in.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I see why you are nervous…
You can submit a court claim, but you really shouldn’t do that before giving them a chance to pay. I suppose it could bluff them into paying but there is a real chance the case will never be heard and you will have wasted the court fee. I’m not sure it is a good idea.
William says
I think that’s where I’m at. I’ve said to them that I’ll give them good time to pay before submitting a court claim (hoping that it’ll give them an incentive!). Obviously they’d want to avoid court costs and they don’t actually have an argument against it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Their court costs would be negligible in the early stages. I wish you good luck if you try but I am not convinced it will work.
William says
Thank you, much appreciated – I’m gonna call them incessantly this week and email them 100 times a day if I have to. Not gonna let it lay.
Stacey1377 says
So I have a complaint sitting and being investigated by FOS Amigo has just sent all the requested Docs. So my question is I am struggling to understand what would happen if amigo go into administration. I get the scheme part that it is likely if it goes ahead my case will be sent back to amigo and given they rejected it once already there is 100% chance they will do it again.
So if Amigo go into administration if not agreed will my guarantor still be liable for the loan if I don’t pay? can I stop making my payments and wait until my debt is sold on and make more affordable arrangements with who ever buys it. Or will everything just stay the same whilst in administration.
Thanks
Stacey
Sara (Debt Camel) says
given they rejected it once already there is 100% chance they will do it again.
I hope not 100%! But until Amigo say how they will decide complaints, you are right to be pretty worried about this.
If Amigo go under, then FOS will pass your complaint back to the administrators to determine. Administrators usually try to have a process that produces roughly the same results as FOS would It can’t be exact as they can’t look at every case individually. You may feel they are more likely to be fair than Amigo would?
Legally in administration, the loan, including the guarantee, continues.
Mark says
Hi Sara
With amigo blatantly ignoring complaints / FOS rulings (potentially for months) whilst they try and get this scheme in place is there anything further we can do?
Are we able to report them to the FCA for example as they have not got a waiver from DISP which they tried for? Maybe a long shot but there’s clearly plenty of people here with issues with them and being stuck in limbo – if enough complained might it help?
Thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You currently have a loan? Are the repayments affordable?
How large was the loan? How much have you paid to it so far? Did you have previous loans?
Have your finances been affected by Covid-19 – if yes, have you had a 6 month payment break?
What are your guarantor’s finances like?
If paying this now is a hardship then can you stop and explain to your guarantor what is happening? So they too can cancel their Direct debit or continuous payment authority to Amigo? Their credit record will not be affected. The risk here is that your complaint is not upheld of course.
What were your guarantor’s finances like when the loan was taken? Could they have afforded to make all the loan payments and pay their own bills, debts and living costs?
Mark says
Hi – I am the guarantor on the loan.
Other than a couple of late payments by the loanee it’s all upto date.
I’ve made an affordability complaint for my self that I should not have been accepted as a guarantor (bank statements from around the time the loan was taken show I wouldn’t have enough money at the end of each month to pay) so I feel my case should be fairly strong to be removed as a guarantor.
Complaint has been in since December, spoke to amigo they said they are not looking into affordability complaints whilst they are trying to get the scheme running and I’m welcome to submit it to the FOS which I already had – just wondered if there’s anything else we can do to stop them treating customers so badly !
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can consider deleting the direct debt it Amigo from your bank account so they can’t take the money if the borrower stops paying.
Have you suggested the borrower should also complain? IF he wins, you would be removed as guarantor and interest would be removed so he would have less to pay – win-win for you both.
You can email the FCA if you want at consumer.queries@fca.org.uk and say how unfair you think this is.
Mark says
Thank you will get in touch with them may not make any difference but worth a try!
Have also got the borrower to put in a complaint based on your template- submitted with bank statements showing it would have been unaffordable and shows lots of gambling too so fingers crossed one of our complaints holds!
Charlene says
Hi Sara.
I put in a number of complaint towards amigos in June 2020 but mainly about an unaffordable loan. They eventually emailed me back saying that I could potentially get redress compensated and had a few questions to ask to submit the complaint, which was has I been in contact with my guarantor & have they contributed money towards the loan whom I’m not able to get in contact with
I had received no more contact after I filled out this information for amigos until they sent out the amigo scheme email/text to majority of borrowers in January.
I am confused whether this redress is going to move forward or this will not be submitted now because of the scheme getting put in place? Or I’m best to vote or not to.
My loan settlement started at £1,500 and have paid £1,595 towards the loan with an outstanding balance to pay of £1,038. I have been paying monthly still (lower payments)
Any advice would much be much appreciated for moving forward
Sara (Debt Camel) says
My loan settlement started at £1,500
is that the amount you borrowed?
did you never get a reply to your complaint? Or did they say the loan was unaffordable but they needed to sort out what your guarantor had paid?
Are you out of contact with the guarantor?
Charlene says
Thanks for your reply Sara
Yes sorry borrowed £1,500
They contacted in November to say the investigation is still on going and needed some additional information which was if I had spoke to the guarantor and gave any money back to the guarantor. They explained that this was because my records indicate that the guarantor had made some payments and there normal approach would be to also redress the guarantor aswell as myself. They also mentioned that in some cases this could increase the loan outstanding balance.
I have paid majority of the loan.
Yes I can no longer get in contact with the guarantor
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It doesn’t sound as though they have agreed the loan was unaffordable. So it is likely that they will not progress this now and the complaint will have to go into the Scheme if the Scheme goes ahead. or to the administrators if Amigo goes under.
If it goes into the Scheme and if Amigo uphold the complaint. your balance would be wiped and the samll omount extra you have paid – £95 over the loan amount – you would get a tiny amount of back. Possibly less than £10.
If Amigo go into administration and the administrators uphold your complaint, you wouldget the loan wiped but no extra back.
As the extra amount would be so tiny, what really matters to you in deciding whether to vote for the Scheme or not (if it comes to that – it will be months yes before there is any voting) is how likely Amigo are to uphold your complaint. They have said nothing about this. Administrators normally try to follw what the Ombudsman might have done. I hope Amigo is going to give more information.
Mark says
Some representative from the customers side should openly (in a form of an open letter maybe) say to Amigo that customers can agree to a modified scheme, where more funds are allocated into it. Amigo if wants survive would agree to twice they offered.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So £30m up front and 30% of future profits for 4 years?
That would be an improvement.
But why limit the number of years? Why not say 30% of profits every year until people have received in total 50% of their proper compensation, with no dividends payable during this time? That would give a better balance between customers and shareholders.
But that is only half the problem.
Amigo also needs to commit to upholding cases that would have been upheld at the Ombudsman. So a lot more than 80%, including single loans where all payments made on time by borrower, loans that were unaffordable because of gambling etc.
Until Amigo does this, people can have no idea if a complaint from them might be upheld.
Jonathan says
Hi Sara, Can you look at some figures for me. I know that I still have payment left to make to Amigo for the money I have borrowed but if my complaint is upheld by FOS or their own scheme or insolvency how much would I still have to pay Amigo to clear my loan borrowed.
I took out £5000 on 4/6/18 and paid £243.95
I topped up on 11/7/18 to £7250 and received £2286.56. I made one payment of £286.56
I topped up on 21/12/18 to £10000 and received £787.24. Made 4x payments of £395.25=£1581
I topped up again on 14/6/19 to current loan of £11250 and received £831.01. Made 10 payments of £444.66 and 1x £144.66= £4591.26
Thanks for your help Sara. Let’s keep positive folks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I topped up on 11/7/18 to £7250 and received £2286.56. I made one payment of £286.56
I topped up on 21/12/18
Can I check this is right? You have only made 1 payment on 5 months? did your guarantor make the other payments?
Jonathan says
Sorry Sara,
I topped up again on 29/8/18 from ££7250 to £9500 and received £2139.25 pay out. I paid 4 payments of £375.49 = £1501.96 before I topped up again on 21/12/18 to £10000.
Also no Guarantor payments where made.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, I assume you have had a covid-19 payment break which why you have made so few payments to the last loan.
That many top ups in so short a time normally shows you were in big financial trouble,
I make the interest you have paid on each loan so far as follows:
loan 1 £207
loan 2 £397
loan 3 £1,213
loan 4 £1,999
loan 5 not yet repaid the 11250 borrowed – still £6,656 to go.
If all the loans are upheld as being unaffordable, the interest on the earlier loans would be used to reduce the balance owed on the last one to £2,840.
Do you have a lot of other problem debt?
If Amigo go into a Scheme or insolcvency you should owe the same number if the all loans are upheld.
For you there are 2 big problems with a scheme –
1) Amigo may not uphold all the loans. they have an incentive to uphold as few loans where the customer still owes a balance as possible as this will mean you have to repay them more :(
2) if Amigo don’t uphold all the loans you may think that doesn’t matter so much for the first couple as the interest was small. But in this case Amigo may apply the dreaded “unpaid interest deduction” which FOS never does and i cannot beleive an administrator would… that could add to your balance :(
Jonathan says
Thanks for that. Yes Sara I had a Covid break as well. I’m in talks to get a reduced payment plan each month moving forward. The guarantor has stopped his payment methods after speaking to him so if they don’t accept my reduced monthly figure of £200 instead of £444.66 the only other option is default and court action. Are they likely to go down that road? I had a lot of debt at the time, pay day loans, car finance, 2 other guarantor loans which i’m in the process of claiming interest back from George Banco and Bamboo Loans. I think we all need some input from FCA ASAP on this Scheme that Amigo want to put in place. I just can’t believe they aren’t looking at complaints and getting away with it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
your guarantor’s financial position – what was it like when you took the last top up loan? Even well off people would find it struggle to pay £445 a month every month and still pay there own debts bills and normal living expenses? what is their financial position now – have they been affected by covid-19 at all?
Jonathan says
I know they wouldn’t have completed affordability checks with my guarantor with all the top up loans. I don’t know his financial position now but he does have a mortgage and car etc. He was shielding from work during Covid as he was in the high risk category. I just don’t want him taken to court or defaults on his record. He is a good friend and we are in good terms. I feel in the current climate they need to address what is affordable for me until at least they process my complaint. I keep hearing from the new CEO at Amigo that they are changing their practices of old and want a new company going forward but unfortunately nothing seems to have changed they need to help to get their house in order and that starts with helping their current customers.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If Amigo don’t accept your offer of lower payments – or do but say they will still want your guarantor to pay the rest then
– they can’t help themselves to his money as he has cancelled their access to his bank account
– a default won’t appear on his credit record as this loan does not show there at all. he can look at his credit reports to confirm this
– Amigo may threaten court in texts and emails but these are just an unpleasant form of bluff. I have not seen Amigo take anyone to court in this situation for years and now, with a Scheme coming up and them wanting to look “clean” to their regulator they are very very unlikely to do this. It isn’t going to happen.
But it may also be good if he send Amigo a complaint saying the loan was unaffordable for him. As I said £445 a month is a lot for anyone to pay every month, and he has all his own debts and bills that have to come first. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/ which has a template he can use.
This give two chances for him to be released as guarantor – if you win your complaint or he wins his.
If he would like to talk to a debt adviser about not paying, his credit record and possible court cases then he can phone National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 and tell them about the situation and your affordability complaint.
Clair says
I have received an email from Amigo stating
I can confirm your complaint will not be included within the Scheme and you will receive redress in full as previously communicated to you.
Does this mean they will pay without me waiting for the scheme
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes! Well that is what it sounds like. Have you asked them when you will be paid?
William says
Have they asked you to confirm your bank details? Sounds like we’re in the same boat. Chase them rather than wait. Call them and it should speed things up! I’ve just confirmed my total and bank details and await payment. We shall see.
Clair says
No they haven’t asked for bank details I shall ring them and hopefully it will speed things up thanks
Clair says
Oh thank goodness nice to get good news!!! I’ve emailed several times and heard no response I too have had my interest stopped since September
Becky says
Hi Sara, could you please work out some figures for me?
My complaint has just been upheld & I can’t work out how much I’m owed.
I borrowed £4000 in January 2017 & paid back 4x £158.10
I then took a top up on 25/5/2017 for £6000. This cleared my previous loan and I got what was left.
Paid back £237.15 every month since then. (Minus 6 months break from the pandemic)
Many thanks.
Becky.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I got what was left.
do you remember how much cash you received? It would be on your bank statements. Or on the curent loan account with Amigo if you look at that.
Paid back £237.15 every month since then. (Minus 6 months break from the pandemic)
So how many payments is that? I mean I can guess but I can easily be out by 1 or 2 and it’s better to get this right!
Becky. says
Hi Sara, I received £1,769.94 after the first loan had been cleared by the top up.
I believe 39 payments at £237.15
Thank you.
Becky says
Yes it was fast tracked due to vulnerability. I understand they do usually take quite some time.
Thank you so much for your help.
Becky.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is an adjudicator decision? about an Amigo loan? both loans were upheld?
On those number your refund should have been:
loan 1 £863
loan 2 £3,243
so if bother were upheld the balance on the last one would be wiped out and you should get a refund of £4,106. plus a few hunder in 8% interest.
But unless there is something unusal about your case, it is unlikely that Amigo will accept this decision. Then your claim may end up in the scheme if this goes ahead.
If Amigo uphold both loans in the Scheme, then your balance would be wiped and you would get a small percentage, possibly only 5% , of the £4106 back.
If Amigo uphold only one loan or none, you may still be left owing a balance :(
If instead Amigo go into administration, then administrators usually try to roughly follow FOS decisions so I would hope your balance would be cleared even if you don’t get a refund.
Becky says
Thank you. I got an email from FOS this morning and it said the below message- (my irresponsible lending complaint against amigo was sent in at the middle of last year. It has been fast tracked, and yes both loans were upheld)
Thank you for letting me know you agree with how I think your complaint should be sorted out.
Amigo Loans have also been in touch confirming acceptance of my findings. This means your complaint has been resolved and we no longer need to issue a final decision.
I’ve asked Amigo Loans Ltd to settle the complaint directly in the way we agreed. So I won’t do anything more unless I hear from you.
But if you don’t hear from Amigo Loans Ltd within the next four weeks – or there are any problems – please let me know.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
excellent. Yours was fast tracked for some vulnerability reason – good for you but other people reading this can’t assume it will happen to them.
Stewart sadler says
Hiya,
Ive put my complaint is, as has my mum(guarantor) an they have threatened to make my mum pay as i missed my weekly payment (i cancelled it, not payin money i dont think i need to) question j have is how long will they wait before takin it, an how can she stop them? Like can she cancel it like i have when the bank has never taken a payment?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, she needs to cancel the direct debit with her bank. She can do this on the line or on the phone.
She will get hassled by Amigo – you have talked to her about what you are doing and why?
Stewart sadler says
Yea basically said that its my credit it affects, an while this is goin on theres no point payin them money i struggle to pay in the first place. She doesnt think they have her details anyway, an if they do it’ll be a ccp or a cpa, whatever there called now. She can tell the bank to refuse that request tho Cant she, so theres no chance of them just taking it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, she should ask her bank to cancel the DD and a CPA if there is one.
Stewart sadler says
Ok thanks, im assuming the fact they have never taken anythin from her wont affect the ability to cancel anythin?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no – she can still cancel. It’s dead easy to cancel a direct debit. If there is a CPA she may have to be more persistent as some banks aren’t that helpful but it is her right to cancel.
Matt says
That’s good news! I am in a similar position and it has felt like they are going to delay payments until at least after the vote for the scheme. That way if it doesn’t go ahead they’ll just go into administration and shaft anyone they had made offers to. I’ve been hoping I’m wrong so this is a good sign.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am not sure this is good news for most people. I suspect they are just paying a few that meet some criteria but not others. don’t get your hopes up.
William says
They have contacted me today to ask me to confirm bank details. They said the payment would be made in a maximum of ten days but is likely to be sooner. There are very few people calling at the moment and it seems they are trying to clear those who have made their claim and have been made offers before a certain date.
Mine seems to have been dealt with pretty quickly. I email them 10-30 times a day, literally spamming their inbox. I did the same with the first claim and it seemed to speed them up.
Shaun says
Hi. I have a current balance of over 10k. I have had 4 or 5 different loans with them and topped up each time, my garuntoor was recently released from my latest loan which I’ve been paying £400 per mth for last 2+ years which is good news and today amigo emailed me saying I will not be part of the scheme, and my complaint as been upheld and full redress will be paid. What’s this mean ? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is good news and they should pay you in the next few weeks!
Shaun says
That would be good. What will I get will it be just the interest paid back on my current loan of 10k or would it be all the interest I’ve paid on all the other loans aswell. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
which loans have been decided to be unaffordable?
Shaun says
My current situation is. I owe 10k I rejected the £346 offered in September. It went to the FO. I have not heard a thing UNTILL this email on Monday saying I would be paid redress in full. Now they are saying this email is a error in their part. They are apologising for this email but surely I can use this as part of my complaint ?
My garuntoor was released from the loan in November 2020I
I am paying amigo but I think I might just stop altogether. Also I’m part of a Debt management plan.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
One simple thing to do is to ask for the Amigo loan to be added into the DMP, so your payments will be shared between all your creditors.
But how large are the debts in your debt management plan? If they are large and you can’t pay much a month, it may be sensible for you to look at bankruptcy or a debt releief order? Without a guarantor this Amigo loan is just a normal loan. Can you talk to your DMP firm about your options? Because in either a Scheme or Insolvency it is going to be a long time until your claim is sorted. If that still leave you with unmangaeable debt it may be better to get on with a better debt solution now.
Stacey Robinson says
Hi I received this on Friday evening from FOS…
Thank you for letting me know you agree with how I think your complaint should be sorted out.
Amigo Loans have also been in touch confirming acceptance of my findings. This means your complaint has been resolved and we no longer need to issue a final decision.
I’ve asked Amigo Loans Ltd to settle the complaint directly in the way we agreed. So I won’t do anything more unless I hear from you.
But if you don’t hear from Amigo Loans Ltd within the next four weeks – or there are any problems – please let me know.
Do I need to contact amigo to request the refund or am I best waiting for them to contact me,
Also anyone else been at this stage already and roughly how long till you received any money?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would give them a week then contact them
Jo says
I received the same email on 12th December, sadly I’m still waiting and amigo are not responding to emails
Natasha says
Hi Sara
So last year we made a complaint to amigo they took my guarantor responsibility off and reduced my overall loan amount with redress. They are now still asking for me to pay the amount owing which I’m struggling to do what would happen if I was to put this debt and others into a debt management plan/ bankruptcy/ debt relief order ? How will this affect me as I am a secretary of a limited company thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is a good time to think about this rather than struggle on, try to find a better way forward.
I suggest you talk to Business Debtline https://www.businessdebtline.org/ who can go through the options you have here.
L says
Hi Sara
Thanks for explaining this more.
I’ve just had four loans upheld by FOS. Amigo have until 25th feb to respond. I had to threaten court action for amigo to even start complying with FOS because FOS asked for my business file to be sent to them in November and amigo kept ignoring it. Finally, they sent in January and the complaint was quickly upheld.
I would get about 10k back if they were to pay the full redress. Reading other replies, do you think they will just ignore the investigators decision? Is this allowed?
I’ve also got about 2k left on my current loan to pay. Would they at least take that off before this scheme, or do you think they’ll ignore it until after the court cases and keep chasing me for payment?
I’ll be voting no, because for all the grief, stress, and harassment they’ve caused me, it’s not worth keeping them alive to get £100 at some point in the next year.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can I ask if your case was prioritised at FOS, if so, why?
L says
When I say it was quickly upheld, I sent it to the FOS last summer so it still took about five months, but two months of that was because of the delay by amigo. My investigator stated investigating in October last year, but because amigo failed to send the files, he could only look into it this year. My case may have been prioritised because I’m not well, but I think most people are waiting four months or so at the moment. Does that make a difference?
I’m hoping, even if they don’t pay redress, they respond to FOS and take the remaining outstanding balance off my loan.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The details of the Scheme suggest that Amigo will ignore FOS decisions and the cases will end up in the Scheme, if it is approved or with the administrators if Amigo goes bust.
At the moment only a very small number of cases seem to be being accepted by Amigo – I am guessing because of significant vulnerability concerns in those cases.
if Amigo don’t agree to accept the adjudicator decision, then they will expect you to carry on paying. But every payment you make now is effectively throwing the money away as your balance is low compared to the amount of redress that you should get.
Can you talk to your guarantor about this and explain why you want to stop paying? Your guarantor would need to cancel their direct debit and/or contonuous payment authority with their bank to Amigo. the gaurantor would get some pushy texts and emails, possibly threatening court action but:
– this cant affect their credit record as the Amigo loan will not show on there
– Amigo are not going to go to court in this situation. they shouldn’t while there is an open complain disputing the debt, they haven’t tried this for years and in your case they would be mad to try it as you can produce the adjudicator decision and counterclaim that they owe you money.
L says
I’ve been incredibly ill, and am clinically extremely vulnerable, although, I don’t think amigo care about this. My current loan with them was upheld by amigo last year, so I have no interest being added, and my guarantor has been taken off. They didn’t uphold four other loans that were taken out years before my current loan, which I sent to the ombudsman.
My six month breathing space is coming to an end, and they are now aggressively harassing me to get the payment set back up. They still haven’t taken the late payment marks off my credit file, from six months ago. So, when they say in these aggressive messages that they destroy my credit rating, I do worry they will put late stamp marks on it, even though they’re not allowed. However, I am going to aggressively ignore the calls, texts, letters, and all else, because, other than take me to court, there’s nothing they can do now, or so I understand.
If they accept the ombudsman’s investigation on the other loans, the £10k I’m owed would cover the 2k I have left on this current loan. I haven’t the strength for this right now, so I’m just going to have to ignore it, and hope they don’t apply late stamps to my credit file.
Do you think they might accept the ombudsman decision and take the remaining amount off the loan before the court case, or just ignore it all? They’ve definitely dragged it out in order to miss the deadline.
Grace says
Hi Sara
I made an affordability complaint against Amigo loans on the 27th January 2021 using Resolver. After a week amigo responded with the Redress Scheme email. If I do not get the claim resolved in 8 weeks should I take it further to FOS? What happens if my affordability claim is approved and Amigo goes into administration or if the Scheme gets accepted. Will they write off the debt if interest paid now covers the loan amount with both the scheme or going into administration. I am just in so much debt and will be happy if this was a debt cancelled. Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How much did you borrow?
How much have you paid so far, ignore if Amigo say it is “interest” or “principal” eg 16 monthly payments of £173.
Grace says
Hi Sara
Thank you for responding. I had about 6 defaults when I borrowed. I first borrowed in May 2015 £1,000 which I topped up with another £1,000 Dec 2015. I borrowed again £750 in 2017 and another £750 in 2018. My guarantor paid for me for 2 years until July 2020. I then took up the Covid relief break for 6 months now I have payment due end of February. They have done an affordability assessment for both me and the guarantor and we can not afford. They have requested for a the guarantor’s bank statement and saying if I do not make payments or if they are reduced it will be noted as late payment. But after a couple of months then they might have to take it to court against the guarantor’s house (he is 74 retired) and I am on benefits so they refused to take the money directly off my universal credit. Right now I we the £3,300 plus and even requested they send it to debt collection agency so that I can pay through a settlement figure. They refused and said guarantor has a house so that is the best route as they do not send sell debt to debt collection agencies.
Mark says
Has anyone got this redress scheme email address please? Have put in a complaint as both loane and guarantor and both just been ignored so far and this is from the start of December – wondering if this gets through to some different people!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can’t send a claim to the Scheme at the moment, that is months away. first if has to get through the first court hearing, then it has to be voted on and then there is a second court hearing.
In the meantime your complaints are being, well, ignored :(
How large is your current loan and how much have you paid to it so far?
Did you have previous loans from Amigo?
John moren says
Hi hope you can help. I’ve made a complaint to amigo re my gaurentor loan and they didn’t respond, so I completed the forms and sent it on to the fsa. They recently responded and asked for me to fill in a form, which I did.
I can see some posters have said they have submitted bank statements etc. At no stage have I been asked for these yet. Have I done something wrong?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I assume you have sent your complaint to the Ombudsman (FOS) not the FCA.
When your FOS complaint is picked up by an adjudicator you will be asked to send FOS your bank statements.
But the problem is this may never happen – FOS as 13,000+ complaints and may not get round to yours before Amigo either goes bust or sets up their proposed Scheme.
Do you still have an Amigo loan?
Ryan says
Hey I’m just wondering has anyone actually stopped paying amigo loans ? I’m considering it with my work putting game on furlough an contracted hours being dropped also. My guarantor is in the same position an if she was to pay my loan she would be leaving herself with just under 100 pounds a month she’s wrote to amigo asking to be removed from the loan itself an has sent in payslips to show how much she’s getting but no response any paymeants that I’ve missed they’ve actually took the money from her cridit card leaving her in more debt I’m just wondering if we both agree to stop paying how would it affect the guarantor I don’t mind how it affects me we both live in Northern Ireland so I know somethings will be different ? If we stop paying will it affect her credit score at all ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think quite a few people are starting to do this. Some through a deliberate choice as they realise they are throwing money away they will never get repaid in a scheme or administration, others out of necessity as they simply can’t afford the payments.
Your guarantor would need to cancel their direct debit and/or continuous payment authority with their bank to Amigo.
The guarantor would get some pushy texts and emails, possibly threatening court action but:
a) they won’t get missed payments / defaults on their credit record as the Amigo loan is not on there.
(It will affect your credit score but that will be cleaned up if your claim is eventually upheld.)
b) Amigo are not going to go to court in this situation. They shouldn’t while there is an open complaint disputing the debt with them or with FOS. They haven’t tried this for years. They aren’t going to do it now with their regulator watching closely what is going on.
So far as I know being in Northern Ireland makes no difference here.
Ryan says
Tha is for your quick response I just wasn’t sure an would off rather struggled paying the loan back rather than see my guarantor effected if I stopped paying it that’s good to know that it doesn’t effect there credit score or anything like that I kind of thought we’ll if they can’t afford to pay back money that peoples owed that I’d doubt they would have the money to take customers to court thanks for your replie.
Worried says
Are you sure people with loans will get them written off or reduced in administration? Don’t the secured creditors get everything? So all borrowers will be better off in the Scheme?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes I am sure.
A customer’s balance will be reduced – possibly to zero – when they have a claim upheld in administration as they have the right of set-off. Exactly the same happens in a Scheme.
I have seen several payday lender administrations go through over the past two years and I do know what I am talking about here.
And Amigo agrees with this. It is in the details of their PSL letter, see 12(c) which is looking at what happen in administration. It says:
if you had both a valid Redress Claim and an outstanding loan balance, ‘set off’ (described below in paragraph 15) would apply to reduce the amount of your loan balance by the amount of your Redress Claim.
Kyle the tent dude says
The senior FInancial ombudsman told me on the 21st jan that she is nearly completed her assessment, and should have it by the end of the month if not sooner. I emailed her on the Friday last day of the month and she replied and said it’s taking her a bit longer to look at a few things. Do you recon she is waiting for the decision for the court? I know she said she is processing it the same way, but it seems like things have slowed to near a halt now? And why haven’t the FO delivered their verdict on it? Have they set a date for their verdict or are they waiting for the court? This whole thing is a mess 🙈 it’s now been two and half weeks since she said it would have been completed.
Pauline Evans says
Hi was in contact with Amigo since last year, 2020, messed around quite a bit.
Then hit a ‘tidy’ guy who took me through the process. Experienced an absolute idiot in between who tried to instruct me that my account never existed. Was finally told buy the’tidy’ guy my complaint was being dealt with. That was December 2020 since then I have heard nothingeven after emailing Amigo. What do I do next, appreciate any advice!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
From your previous comment you complained in June and you don’t have a current loan from them.
They managed to string you along, didn’t they… I am sorry but if this Scheme goes ahead, they will have succeeded because you are likely to end up getting very little, even if they do uphold your claim in the Scheme.
You can send the case now to the ombudsman if you haven’t already done this.
But there isn’t anything at the moment you can do to get Amigo to make a decision on your complaint, they have put complaint handling into extra slow motion if not on ice completely.
Pauline Evans says
Thank you will forward it to Financial Ombudsman. Should I be contacted with regards the scheme what should I do, join the scheme?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if the Scheme goes ahead, you will not have any option about joining it or not.
Julie Collier says
Hi, I took out my loan in 2010, all I needed to guarantee the loan was a guarantor who owned their own property, no other financial checks were made. When I lost my job, I contacted Amigo to try to reduce my payments until I could find another job, I received no help and no sympathy, if the money was not in my account, they took it from my guarantor, 3 times this happened and I was charged for them doing it. I started robbing Peter to pay Paul and ended up in arrears with my rent, Council tax and other Bill’s. In 2012 I received a Notice Seeking Possession Order on my home, that I’d lived in for 14 years, I had letters from bailiffs and debt collectors, I lost my home, most of my possessions and my 2 cats, I had to move into a friends spare room. I paid this loan in full by 2013.
I used Resolve to make my complaint on the 1st February. Needless to say, I’m not getting very far, they sent me a copy of their “Complaints Procedure”, they have not addressed my complaint, they just keep mentioning “The Scheme”. I pointed out that the Scheme has not been approved, so how can there be a Scheme? I have no faith or trust in Amigo to treat their customers fairly, it seems as if they are trying to find a way to pay their customers the minimum amount possible.
How do you suggest I proceed?
Many thanks
Julie.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is nothing you can do at the moment to push this along.
As you say, we don’t know if the Scheme will go ahead, if Amigo will go into administration or something else. I can’t see why the FCA is allowing Amigo to not look at new complaints such as yours. The only Scheme that has been approved in this area was the Money Shops – that was an odd one because they were always going into liquidation, Scheme or no Scheme. But the Money Shop kept deciding complaints and acceopting and paying out on Ombudsman decisions until the Scheme was agreed. So why isn’t Amigo doing this?
You can send the complaint to FOS at 8 weeks. If you do, probably nothing much will happen and it will later be returned to Amigo for the Scheme or to the administrators if they have gone bust. But… it’s quick and easy to send the complaint to FOS see https://help.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/help, so it’s up to you.
Vlad says
This whole scheme is literally like holding claimants hostages by Amigo. Amigo is basically saying you have to vote for this abysmal scheme if you want any chance of seeing any sort of money from your complaint. They’re basically holding you hostage and making you vote to keep them in business.
Don’t forget that the only reason they’re in the mess they’re in is because they profit off of desperate people and they’re incompetent of running a proper business without profiting off of people’s hardship. I hope people will vote against this scheme of theirs and I hope they go bust never to be heard of again like they deserve. Even if it means some people will not get a refund including myself, it’s 100% worth taking this abhorrent lender off the market. Down with Amigo!!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo also seems to be suggesting it’s this Scheme or you get nothing.
Well they would say that, wouldn’t they… but there could be a third alternative… for example a different version of the Scheme that is fairer to customers say?
And many people with current loans will be no better off in a Scheme than if Amigo goes bust because they just want the interest removed and their guarantor released. Thatt can happen in administration. Indeed if Amigo reject good complaints in the Scheme people may be better off in administration.
Vlad says
Considering Amigo is being very careful with what they disclose in terms of details for the scheme and considering Amigo are in this mess because of their shady practices, I personally have not an iota of trust in them or any scheme they come up with.
After seeing how many people they are refusing to refund or delaying their refund, how slow they are, and how many people are being charged with “unpaid interest” after having an adjudicator decision in their favour, I have no reason to trust Amigo will change and believe everyone would be better off if Amigo go into administration.
Matt says
Completely agree. I’ll be pursuing them until I receive the refund they agreed to and in the meantime I’m providing details of how they’ve handled the whole thing to both FOS and FCA.
The company is either incapable or unwilling to resolve my complaint and the longer it goes on, the more evidence the FCA are getting of their failure to settle it. Ultimately any scheme will require FCA approval and, if it’s obvious that Amigo can’t or won’t handle existing complaints, there is no way the FCA can be confident they will be able to manage a scheme where they judge their own complaints.
It’s in everyone’s interest to resolve things, but by not doing so Amigo are just making their own position impossible.
Margaret says
I will definitely be voting no to the scheme they have made my sons and mine unbearable . And I am in poor health . Your not likely to get compensation from them anyway. It’s just stalling tactics . Again playing with vulnerable people
emma says
So basically in 2018 i borrowed 5000 from Amigo and now in 2021 i still owe 3800 i did complain back in early November and was told i had to wait 6 weeks then miraculously got a letter about the scheme a few weeks after, I have since complained to the financial ombudsmen and they have sent off my complaint to amigo for a response, however i did call Amigo and say i couldn’t afford the £200 a month payments and was told i would have to provide bank statements etc..bearing in my mind i lost my home a few years back due to these crooks. I ended the call and called the account manager and they told me i had breathing space back in March but was entitled to more so i now have 3 months worth of breathing space until May..that wasnt what was said originally i was told no. Full of it and if anyone else is struggling maybe try this as i would rather pay off other bills than give these lot anymore of my money. Come May i am unsure whether to start paying again can they take me and my guarantor to court for non payment? And yes i will be voting in the scheme and it will be a big fat NO from me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So it’s good you have got this extra 3 months breathing space because they can’t ask your guarantor to pay in this time.
They do add interest but if you win the complaint that is all removed anyway – so if you need the money for important bills it’s good to go for this.
Come May everything will be a lot clearer. They may have gone bust or the Scheme may have been approved or … other possibilities are a Scheme that isn’t so badly weighted against its customers as this one is.
In a Scheme if you have a claim in they aren’t going to go to court until the claim is decided.
Ultimately if you lose the claim then you have to start repaying the balance but that’s a long way off at the moment.
What were your guarantor’s finances like when the loan was taken? Could they have afforded to make all the loan payments and pay their own bills, debts and living costs? Even well off people with houses may not have a spare £200 lying around every month… If they also have a reason to complain the loan was unaffordable for them and ask to be released, then that gives you two ways to won – if either your complaint or theirs is accepted.
Emma says
Thank you for quick response yeah so at the time the guarantor would have been unable to afford the repayments alone and i had 2 ccjs and very poor credit history on £1000 a month wage. Would you suggest the guarantor complains separately now or wait until a little bit later down the line?
Jacqueline says
Hi Sara
Is there a way of avoiding paying Amigo loans until we know if it’s going into administration or scheme. I have already used the 6 months break but I still can not afford payments. My guarantor as well is in a bad financial position. They have assessed both of us and concluded we can not pay. Amigo suggested we wait until it’s a missed payment then after sometime they can then take us to court and get the money from my guarantor’s house. What should I do as I I do not want the missed/late payment on my credit file. I also put in an affordability complaint last week.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds as though you are talking to your guarantor which is really helpful in this situation.
You have had a 6 month covid-19 payment break but has your guarantor? If their household finances have also been affected, they can ask for a 3 month break now and another 3 months when that one ends.
You have put in an affordability complaint last – could your guarantor do the same? What were their finances like when the loan was taken? Could they have afforded to make all the loan payments and pay their own bills, debts and living costs from their income? It doesn’t matter if they have a house or a nice car, they have to be able to pay it from their income. If the loan was unaffordable for them at the time it was taken out, there is a template for them to complain here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/. If your guarantor has a complaint int, this gives them 2 ways to be removed from the loan – if you win your complaint or they win theirs.
Credit records:
– if you miss payments these will be recorded on your credit record, there is no way around this. But if you later win your complaint, eg in a Scheme or Administration, all negative marks will be removed from your credit record.
– if your guarantor cannot pay, this is NOT recorded on their credit record. The Amigo loan doesn’t even appear there. A CCJ would show on the guarantor’s credit record, but see below for why Amigo is just bluffing about going to court at the moment.
Court:
– If you and the guarantor don’t pay, you will get texts and emails threatening court action.
– The procedure for “taking money from your guarantor’s house” is that Amigo has first to get a CCJ from the court and then get a charge over her house. But Amigo never takes the next step and forces a sale of the house – that is one of Amigo’s promises here https://www.amigoloans.co.uk/our-promise.
– And Amigo will not go to court if there is an open complaint with them. You have already complained so that is good. Amigo however continues to threaten this but it just seems to be a bluff.
What option do you have if you can’t pay and your guarantor can’t? Amigo may be unpleasant but it’s better than getting behind with the rent/ mortgage, council tax, utilities. I hope your guarantor has cancelled her direct debit to Amigo with the bank?
Jacqueline says
Thank you for the response. My guarantor probably could have afforded the loan when I applied. But now she can’t. She has called amigo for the 3 months break but they refused and said the account has already had the 6 months break. Don’t know how I can sort this out really as there is no money in our accounts to cover this month’s payment. I have tried to somehow have reduced payments of £40 but they refused and said it will take too long to clear. Has anyone been in this situation, what did they do and what was the outcome.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
She has called amigo for the 3 months break but they refused and said the account has already had the 6 months break
I don’t think that’s right. She should call Amigo again and say she needs a covid-19 payment break and explain why. Say she has not requested one before and ask Amigo to explain in writing why she is not entitled to one.
But in the end if you can’t afford aot pay and neither can she, then you both need to cancel the direct debits to Amigo with your banks and sit tight and wait for your complaint to be determined, in the Scheme or in administration.
Amigo are not taking people to court in this situation. For a start it takes months and months, it is a very slow procedure. They will be into a Scheme or have gone bust before then.
And also they will be being watched by the FCA, their regulator at the moment. They aren’t going to take someone to court before they have even decided their complaint!
There are quite a few people who have now simply stopped paying Amigo. Some because they just can’t afford it. Other because they have realised that in their situation they are just throwing money away that they won’t get back if their complaint is later upheld.
wes says
I’ve had my complaint settled and received redress back last year. However I’ve gone to the FOS in regards to the unpaid interest deduction. How will that be affected if it will be, if the scheme goes ahead? I’m still waiting for it to be picked up by someone from FOS, so not a forgone conclusion that id get the deducted interest money back anyway, was just interested to know.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
We don’t know. So far Amigo haven’t said if they will still be applying this unfair deduction.
wes says
ahh ok, ill just wait to see what the FOS say in the mean time.
Kelly says
Debt camel i had a text of raf from amigo on the 7th of December telling me they were working on sending me final response ASAP. But still nothing what more can I do
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo are no longer sending out decisions on complaints – I doubt they are even working on them.
If you send the complaint to FOS, probably nothing much will happen and it will later be returned to Amigo for the Scheme or to the administrators if they have gone bust. But… it’s quick and easy to send the complaint to FOS see https://help.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/help, so it’s up to you.
Do you still owe them money?
William says
I have been given my figures by Amigo and asked for my bank details for payment. They said it would be within 10 working days from the 8th Feb. Obviously it’s in the time frame still, but I’m not holding my breath that they’ll meet that deadline as they have missed every other deadline.
How likely do you think it is that I’ll get paid out? Is there a chance that they’ll delay long enough that it’ll just become part of the scheme and I’ll end up with £300 rather than the £3000 they have promised me? This has gone through the FOS.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so far as I know these payments at the moment are being made on time. Fingers crossed!
Serdar says
Hi Sara,
I have read all the discussions here and other related pages.
The scheme is not likely to be approved for the following reasons:
– As you stated, if approved this will set an example path for many other companies which the court would not want.
– if approved, Amigo will be the judge of all cases. Court knows how bad this will be for us who they owe money to.
So what will happen then in case of Amigo going bust if
– Amigo doesnt respond to our claim
– FO receives our claim and decides in our favour?
Will we ever get any money?
Or is going to be what they claim, “if we go bust, you get nothing”
I feel the scheme is a route to getting £0 from Amigo.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo wants you to think it’s the Scheme they have proposed or they go bust and you will get nothing.
But there may be other options here.
Amigo may not go bust – at the moment we only have their word for it and they want to make things look as bad as possible…
Or the Scheme could be amended so it gives a lot more help to customers, with Amigo’s bondholders and their shareholders doing less well than in the current Scheme.
Ruth says
Hi Sara,
Thankyou for keeping us updated. Just so I know, I have a claim with them since August 2020. At this stage, apart from send to FOS, is there anything I need to do? Thankyou
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you still owe any money?
Ruth says
Yes but on a covid break until May
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, a lot more will become clear on the proposed Scheme before then! So nothing to do now.
Angie says
I’ve just had confirmation that the offer I accepted prior to the 21st September has been increased and they have requested my bank details for refund to be processed
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you mean you were paid before and they are now offering you more?
Do you know why?
Angie says
The first figure they suggested was questioned by an adjudicator even tho i had accepted the original, so it was then adjusted to a higher figure .Just had an email saying it has processed and will be in my bank within a maximum of 15 working days ?
Christopher says
Something is going on with the FOS and Amigo.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Such as?
Kyle the tent dude says
Hey everyone. It’s nearly been a month since the senior financial ombudsman investigator said she would be done with my case. I asked for an update because I feel saying it will be done by the end of the month, if not sooner, then taking another month is madness. She said it’s taking a little longer to look into a few things. I asked her if she is just leaving my case and waiting till the court has made a decision on the scheme and she said the FO are still dealing with the cases as usual. But to me they seem to have stopped replying. Or more so replying very very slowly now. I wonder if they are waiting. Anyone else’s FO investigator suddenly gone quiet?
Siobhan says
I had my final decision made around 17th Dec. I still haven’t heard a thing. Amigo are palming me off. FOS are no longer responding to me.
I’ve complained to everyone I can think of. My complaint has be ongoing since April 2019 and now it looks like I won’t be getting a penny!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I had my final decision made around 17th Dec
A Final Decision for a FOS Ombudsman? Not an adjudicator?
Siobhan says
Final decision. I thought it was going back and fore between the adjudicator but Amigo disagreed with adjudicator twice so it went to FOS for their decision. I’ve given up. Amigo have ignored all my emails about this but responded within an hour to an email I sent requesting all information they hold for me. They’re refusing to acknowledge FOS.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then Amigo should pay you. Phone up and be VERY persitent.
Siobhan says
I ring and email daily. They say they have no answer for me, If I email I get no response when querying redress but if I email asking for a number for their FOS team, they respond within minutes, obviously not with the number because apparently the department doesn’t have a telephone lol
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you tell the FCA about this delay.
T do this, email consumer.queries@fca.org.uk and copy this to nick.beal@amigoloans.net and complaints@amigoloans.co.uk
Subject: Why will Amigo (708284) not pay my refund, offered on 17 December?
Give your Amigo reference number, your name and address.
Give the details of the loan(s) and the offer from Amigo – when it was made and when you accepted. Attache an email to show this.
And describe how Amigo has not confirmed they will be paying you and you don’t understand why.
If you have immediate need of this money say something about it. Say how stressful this is.
Also leave them a bad review on Trustpilot https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/amigoloans.co.uk if you haven’t already done this.
Siobhan says
I’ve complained to to FCA three times. Nick Beal is copied in to every single email I have sent to Amigo (there’s a lot). I’m amazed they are still upholding some complaints and down right ignoring FOS decisions.
L says
I suggest you threaten to sue them. If FOS has upheld the complaint, and before the deadline, taking them to small claims court might be worth it? Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s what I’ve threatened them with. They delayed sending my files to ombudsman intentionally, to miss the deadline. Sounds like they’re using tactics with you, too.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s wasting everyone’s time to make these threats. Small claims court cases take ages to go through, Amigo is either going to go bust or be in a scheme before then and in either event a court case would end.
L says
I wouldn’t say it’s a waste of anyone’s time. I’m trying to get my redress, which is desperately needed, and will try and help myself as best I can – obviously emails / calls don’t work and they’re not bothered about FCA or ombudsman. As I understand from these posts, they may not go bust if the scheme isn’t approved because their finances haven’t been declared.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
But if they don’t go bust or into a SCheme, then they are going to have to pay out on these FOS offers!
Well it is up to you. To my mind it is just wasting your time and you may have to pay to submit a small claim which seems to me like a waste of money.
William says
I have finally been paid nearly £4K back from Amigo. If I can give any advice, it would be, to be persistent. I started my claim in June of last year. I have read so many posts about people who have started their claim way before mine and not got anywhere. Push Amigo for results. Email every day. Call and be persistent every day. Get the name of who you talk to and use it in correspondence. Leave 1 star reviews on Trustpilot. Leave multiple reviews. Every day if you have to! Some of you are owed thousands, put the work in and make them pay!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you had a decision before December 21st?
LESLIE says
Hi Sara I have A complaint of mis sold loan and guarantor against Amigo and G Banco with the FOS the complaints were given case numbers by the FOS in October 2020 how long do you think it will be until I could expect a decision also I had offered Amigo and George Banco what I thought was a very good deal as the loans and guarantor part are clearly mis sold if you do the maths or background checks the offer was I would pay them the full amount of the actual money borrowed less any payments I had ever made being deducted from the borrowed figure but I was not willing to pay any interest due to mis selling in short they would not be out a penny Amigo said they could not even look at offers until the FOS made Decision G Banco never even responded I do find Amigo a lot easier to work with than G Banco Is this the case they can’t accept an offer before the FOS decision
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A lender can agree a settlement with you while FOS has the case. But your “very good offer” is only what you would get if you win your case so it isn’t really a compromise offer at all.
GB – you can ask FOS if the GB have sent FOS their case file. FOS may well be waiting for that.
Amigo – Amigo is going to ignore anything FOS say and say your claim has to go into the Scheme they are trying to set up. Which won’t start until May if it gets approved.
Are you making payments to both loans at the moment? Are these affordable for you?
Wil0791 says
Sara,
I’m in a similar position and my borrower have fully paid the loan by 13.6%, I’ve reached out to Amigo to settle the loan once and for all with an offer of an additional £1500, they replied and said “no”, with no further explanation. Now the original borrower is in a bad state with no income and on a high-risk list re covid. Yet they are still pushing with notifications to take me to court, etc, etc. until that point, the account was running ok. The original borrower has kept Amigo abreast of everything, but it seems they simply don’t care – even to settle which is madness. The case has been raised with FSA for help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is very poor behaviour by a lender :(
Are you making any payments at the moment?
Has the borrower looked at whether the loan was originally “affordable”? They may have been struiggling even before Covid-19 and not wanted to tell you. A loan is only affordable if you can pay it and still pay all your other bills, debts and living expenses… Suggest the borrower reads https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/ and sends in a complaint now.
If the borrower wins the complaint, now (unlikely as Amigo as in go ver very slow mode), in the proposed Scheme if it goes ahead, or in administration if Amigo goes under, then the remaining balance would be wiped as the borrower has already repaid more than they borrowed.
In which case you need to consider if you should offer a settlement. because if you settle this now for 31500, then in the proposed Scheme you would get back a very small percentage of that money.
Leslie says
Hi Sara No not making any payments as I cant afford to sorry can you expand on the comment the very good offer is not really a compromise not sure what you mean by that do you mean my offer is not generous enough for them to settle or the opposite is it likely if I won the case the offer is to generous an offer I am making at this stage and would be better to wait the FOS out come where possibly the FOS could award compensation and I would end up owing Amigo and Banco a lot less I am panicking and scared about the interest building up on top of the loan and was only trying to get away from theses people I would have to borrow money from a friend to pay them off but the interest would be down to good will is it the case that the interested on the original loan from amigo and banco is caped and can not exceed the amount borrowed and agreed at the time also what is the average time the FOS are taking dealing with cases as I said it is 3+ months OCT 2020 since I got a case ref number once again thank you for your help and the work you do
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your offer is exactly what you would get if you win the FOS case.
So I meant it’s not a good compromise offer for the lenders as that is for them the worst case.
With Amigo it doesn’t really matter what you say now though – they aren’t looking at any complaints.
I suggest it’s not a good idea to borrow from a friend here. If you win the FOS case against GB then the interest would be removed and you could then repay it at a lower affordable level with no interest being added.
Nicola says
Hi have asked amigo for another 3 months break due to struggling with payments due to Covid. While I’m on this break am I still able to send I a complaint about being given the loan when I was struggling financially before and never should of been given it ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you can. This is a good time to get a complaint started.
Sonya says
I sent my original complaint to FOS on 25th February LAST YEAR, I am yet to receive an update from the FOS about this and today Amigo Loans have fobbed me off yet again. Anyone else having trouble and anyone know if there is anything I can do about this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Basically Amigo are ignoring FOS, apart from a small number of cases that were (I think) classed as priority.
Do you still owe them money?
Sonya Hawley says
I thought as much. I don’t owe them anything. Was paid up a few years back now. Absolutely disgusted by this.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Indeed. And people are apparently going to be asked to vote to approve a Scheme with no indication of either how likely their case is to be upheld or what low percentage they might get back in the end.
Sonya Hawley says
I have already been asked.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so far you have just been told about the Scheme. It isn’t possible to vote on it at the moment.
Rebecca B says
Amigo confirmed in a final response letter in august 2020 that I was owed £4643 redress. However I never recieved the letter until November. They never sent it to me. In the mean time it went to the FOS as I had not recieved a reply.. by chance I chased up with amigo in January 2021 why I had never had a response, they advised me they sent final response in august and sent me a copy. I accepted the £4643 redress and On 18th January amigo confirmed in writing they would pay me the £4643.
After a month of chasing and being lied to they have emailed me to say they have gone back on the decision and that because it had escalated to the FOS it would need to go through them despite me accepting the final response and the FOS confirming they have withdrawn the complaint because of my acceptance.
I am livid , extremely upset and this has caused my health to suffer significantly.
What does this now mean for me ? Have I lost £4643 compensation through no fault of my own ?
Surely the FOS will rule them to pay as normal due to final response being august 2020. ?
Please help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you spoken to FOS about this? it doesn’t sound reasonable at all!
Rebecca B says
Yes they are looking into but it’s taking ages, I don’t know where I legally stand on this
I agree it’s massively unreasonable on their side, I’m really stressed and unwell over it
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m sorry there isn’t anything simple to say here. Of course Amigo should pay you. But whether the FCA will let them get away with not doing it… it’s shocking.
Francis says
Hi
I have a current loan with amigo. I was wondering how do I petition to speak at the court hearing. Amigo put me through to their solicitors who said they would bring up my concerns, very dubious of such intent. Why would they when their sole aim is to see the scheme implemented.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo’s solicitors have duty to bring any representation from creditors (and all people claiming refunds are creditors here) about the legality of the Scheme or the proposed classes for voting in the Scheme to the attention of the court.
Whatever you may think of Amigo, their solicitors have to do this.
However, what is not clear to me is what the solicitors will do if your statement talks about how you think the Scheme is unfair. It isn’t the job of the first court hearing to consider arguments about fairness. But there may be a legal argument underlying your words that is relevant to the court, you may just not have phrased it very clearly.
One of the things the first court hearing can consider is the adequacy of the Explanatory Statement. This is a detailed document that has not yet been published.
I suggest you may want to wait until you see that. I assume it will be published at least a week before the court hearing date.
Many people’s questions will be around how Amigo will determine whether to uphold a claim and how it will calculate the redress. I hope some of these points will be clarified in the Explanatory Statement.
At the moment I am not optimistic that it will set out a process that is reasonable. Only yesterday someone received an offer from Amigo which still included the unreasonable “deduction for unpaid interest”. But it is better to know the facts than make a vague statement that Amigo’s solicitors will be able to say has been dealt with in the explanatory statement.
Sally says
Final update on my amigo loan ,
In August amigo rejected my complaint , I than sent it to FO , received communication from FO stating that amigo would like to make an offer , upholding my complaint and taking the interest off my ongoing loan , which would have left me owing amigo £514 . Received phone call from amigo today saying they are writing off the balance as a goodwill gesture . Completely satisfied , thanks Sara and this page for all the support .
C says
Hi Sara
Thoughts please, I had a claim rejected and I sent it off to FOS back in Sep.
Since then I noticed Amigo have stopped interest payments, maybe they know they are in the wrong to have rejected it. Anyhow, whilst I await a response that isn’t likely to come back anytime soon, I have £2000 left to pay over the next 3 months! As I hadn’t already asked for a COVID payment break and as my work/salary was affected last year, (all be it, temporarily) I thought now would be the perfect time to ask, which I have done! This should lead up to the May decisions hopefully! Why should I pay them the £2k when they will owe me a lot more (again, very doubtful will ever see that)? Can somebody put my mind at rest that I have done the right thing by asking for a break and not handing over this £2k at least until I know more on the Scheme? They play games with all of us so maybe it’s our turn? A little scared though 😳 ps I have offered a token payment of £50 a month, should I have done that?
Mark says
Hi Sara
My self (guarantor) and loanee have made complaints, mine as a guarantor has been escalated to the FOS as hit the 2 months.
Live others I’ve noticed the last couple of payments have been 100% towards the principal and no interest paid… any idea why they are doing this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Not really. How could this help them?
Suppose you had one loan, borrowed 1500, to pay back 3000, so 1500 interest.
If this loan is upheld in the Scheme and you have paid 1000 so far, the balance will be changed to 500 owing, regardless of whether they say the previous payments were “interest” or “principal”. If you have paid 2000 so far the balance would be cleared and you would get 500 going into the pile for cash refunds and get back 55 of something of it. Again regardless of how they have previously catgorised your payments.
So something complicated to do with when bondholders get repaid? Some problems associated with their systems and people who had taken payment holidays? An error? No idea.
Do you think your/the borrower’s complaint is strong? Has more been repaid than the amount borrowed? If Yes and Yes then you should probably just stop paying! Because every pound paid over the amount borrowed is effectively being flushed away, you are going to get very little back of it.
Mark says
I just had a look and not yet – the loan was for £2000, and the borrower paid back £1300, remaining balance is still around £1300. I guess by the time we know if the scheme is going ahead of not should have reached around or just under the original £2000 borrowed.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
then unless there were previous loans, the 2000 borrowed does have to be repaid