UPDATES
In May 2021 the court rejected the Amigo Scheme accepting the arguments of the FCA that it was not the fairest that could be proposed to customers. See Court rejects Amigo Scheme of Arrangement for details.
In December 2021 Amigo published the proposals for its Second Scheme. See Amigo’s new Scheme for the latest news.
Amigo announced on 21 December 2020 that it is seeking approval for a Scheme of Arrangement in order to cap the amount it has to pay to customers who were mis-sold unaffordable loans. The announcement says:
Whilst the Scheme will not enable all claims relating to customer redress issues arising from unaffordable lending (“Redress Claims”) to be paid in full, the Directors have now decided that a Scheme is the best vehicle for addressing customer Redress Claims.
In 2020 Amigo has been trying to get on top of increasing numbers of affordability complaints by borrowers and guarantors. In its half-year results in November, it said:
Amigo is working with advisers to review options, that are acceptable to all stakeholders, to address the current level of complaints. While at an early stage, this includes assessing the use of a scheme of arrangement as a potential vehicle for customer redress.
So today’s announcement is no surprise.
Amigo wants to restrict the money available to settle affordability complaints. It says:
The Company anticipates the immediate cash payment under the Scheme towards the Redress Claims Pool will be £15 million, with the option for this to increase should the anticipated Balance Adjustments be less than expected, up to an extra £20 million of cash. In addition, the Company will make a cash contribution to the Scheme based on 5% of profit for the next three financial years ending 31 March 2024. In light of the cash contribution to the Scheme and the Balance Adjustments to the loan book, the Company believes the requirement for the current unutilised complaints provisions remains in line with expectation.
It isn’t clear what that means. Is it saying the current provision in the accounts is expected to be used for customers with balances that are written off, and that customers with settled loans who need a cash refund will be limited to £15-35million? If so, that sounds entirely inadequate.
Amigo wants to stop complaint handling while the Scheme is being approved, proposing it will only settle complaints where it has already made a Final Response offer or where the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) has made a Final Decision, ie not an adjudicator decision. This would be in breach of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s DISP rules, so Amigo is asking for a waiver from these.
The announcement says:
the Directors consider that Amigo has adequate liquidity for the medium term … The Board is confident that it will be able to restart lending in early 2021.
This article looks at the background to this, how a Scheme works, the details Amigo needs to provide, the questions the FCA needs to consider, and the worries customers may have.
Contents
Background
What is an affordability complaint?
The regulator says that a loan is unaffordable if making the repayments means you have to borrow more money or get behind with essential bills.
For guarantor loans:
- the lender has to check the loan is affordable for both the borrower and the guarantor;
- when a borrower wins an affordability complaint, interest is refunded;
- when a guarantor wins a complaint, they are released from the loan and all payments they made are refunded;
- because guarantor loans are large, complaints are often won about a single loan, even if all the payments were made on time.
In 2019 FOS published two key decisions on Amigo cases: one by a borrower and one by a guarantor. It has set out how it decides guarantor loan complaints here. FOS is currently upholding 88% of guarantor loan complaints.
2020 – Amigo complaints jump & other problems
Complaint numbers began to increase significantly from the start of 2020.
From March to September there was a board room dispute about how Amigo should handle complaints. James Benamor, Amigo’s founder, resigned from the Board and said Amigo should challenge FOS decisions in a judicial review. Benamor did not regain control of the board and by November a new board and CEO were in place.
In May, Amigo agreed to a Voluntary Requirement (VReq) with the FCA to work through a backlog of c. 9,000 complaints by the end of June. But complaint numbers increased and Amigo asked for an extension. In November Amigo said that it had made a decision on c. 25,000 complaints included within the extended VReq.
In August the Kerrigan judgment and the FCA’s Re-lending by high cost lenders report were published. Neither offered any encouragement to a lender considering a judicial review of FOS decisions.
Complaints are not the only issue facing Amigo:
- with Covid-19, Amigo faced the difficulty of assessing a loan application when the person applying may lose a lot of their income. Amigo restricted lending to key workers, which was a very small number of loans. In November all lending stopped.
- the FCA began an investigation into Amigo’s creditworthiness assessments in June. There is no indication when this will be completed.
How Schemes of Arrangement work
See What is a Scheme of Arrangement and why do lenders want one? for an explanation of how Schemes work and the previous Schemes that have been approved and rejected.
All 650,000 current and previous Amigo customers are potential “redress creditors” because they may have a valid affordability complaint. Potentially both borrowers and guarantors can complain so they will all be given a vote in the Scheme.
A lot of questions
Questions for Amigo
(1) Complaint numbers and redress amounts
Amigo needs to give these numbers as they are essential metrics for assessing the Scheme proposal:
- How many new complaints arrive each month and how many complaints are at the Financial Ombudsman (FOS)?
- What is the average redress paid?
- What is the value of outstanding loans?
- How many customers has Amigo had? Update – Amigo says it has had 650,000 customers – 150,000 of these have a current loan.
(2) Determining complaints
There could potentially be hundreds of thousands of complaints so an automated process for determining complaints will be required. It should try to make broadly similar decisions to those FOS would. FOS agrees with the customer in more than 80% of Amigo complaints, including many single loan complaints where all payments had been made on time.
- Does Amigo expect the Scheme to uphold more than 80% of claims?
- How will the Scheme assess claims? Amigo’s own records are not sufficient as FOS often finds Amigo did not verify income and expenses.
- Will the Scheme make a deduction for “unpaid interest” when not all loans are upheld? FOS does not do this.
(3) Should borrowers and guarantors all be in a single class for voting?
- How will Amigo assess refunds where a guarantor has made payments?
- There are potential conflicts of interest between the guarantor and the borrower, so should they be treated as separate classes for the voting?
- Is a single class for all borrowers fair? Borrowers with a current balance will get a lot more back from the Scheme through the right of set-off than borrowers whose loans have been repaid.
(4) CCJs, charging orders and debts sold
If a complaint is upheld at FOS, Amigo has to arrange for any CCJ to be set aside and any charging order removed. If the debt has been sold Amigo has to arrange for payments made to a debt collector to be taken into account. Lack of clarity about sold debts has resulted in many customers feeling unhappy about the ICL Scheme.
- What is Amigo proposing to do?
- How many of CCJs, charging orders and sold debts are there?
(5) How much money is being put into the Scheme?
There needs to be clarity about the money being put into the scheme.
- how much of the provision in the half year accounts has already been used?
- is most of the remaining provision in the accounts expected to be needed for write-offs for customers with balances?
- how much cash will Amigo be left with after ring-fencing the money from the Scheme?
(6) What p in the £ will customers get?
This has to be an estimate but it has to be realistic. The original projections by ICL of an 80% return were highly misleading and ICL should have known that at the time.
UPDATE – I have done a long article exploring this question in more detail: Amigo Scheme – the numbers don’t look good. It concluded that people with a current balance may be OK but everyone with settled loans may get 6p in the £ or less.
Will the FCA agree to this going ahead?
Why would the FCA agree to a Scheme that lets an authorised firm pay customers less compensation than they should get? This is the fundamental question for the FCA.
If the FCA approves this, won’t every other lender think this sounds like a Cunning Plan? The FCA has previously not approved requests for a Scheme from large payday lenders who wanted to carry on lending.
There are other questions too.
How can the FCA agree to a DISP waiver? This seems highly unfair to customers who have already complained – the Scheme may not go ahead so why should their complaints be delayed?
Legally it isn’t the FCA’s role to decide if a Scheme is fair to creditors. However the FCA may feel it has to consider this as many customers may be vulnerable and lack the financial background to understand what they are being asked to agree to. So:
- should the bondholders be left whole? Would not some form of debt for equity swap provide more money for redress payments?
- the proposal that 5% of Amigo profits in the next three years should be added to the money for distribution seems insulting. Why should Amigo shareholders be able to profit from the new lending while old customers take all the pain in the Scheme?
What does this mean for customers?
We don’t know the details of the Scheme yet. Until we know a lot more, it’s impossible to say if customers should vote to approve this.
But many people will be worried that Amigo will be “Judge and Jury” in a Scheme, with no right to take an appeal to the ombudsman. And they may think it is unfair that they won’t be repaid in full if Amigo wants to be able to continue as a lender.
This Scheme may not go ahead, so I suggest that all Amigo borrowers and guarantors think about complaining now if repaying an Amigo loan caused them problems.
Comments for this article are now turned off.
Please read the more recent articles at
Amigo’s Scheme
for the latest news and leave any comments there.
Emma says
Yes but we don’t live together so I don’t think it would’ve included his income. I’m sure it was my parents income that caused it – I will look into it more today then!
I’ve emailed Amigo earlier this week for more breathing space, referred to their own website where it does say they’ll give more if your financial situation is likely to change soon which it hopefully will do as recruiters have told me that there are more jobs coming through in my industry and indicated 2-3 months I could be a in a new job. Fingers crossed.
I don’t think I’ll escalate to FOS yet, it’s just a waiting game to see what happens with the scheme / administration first I think.
I didn’t say before but I still have over £5k to pay back to them at £198 per month. Over 75% of the payments is still interest. I really hope I can get the amount of interest reduced so I can clear this final debt.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Talk to your local Citizens Advice about your UC application.
Andrea says
Hi Sara,
I had 2 loans with Amigo, I put in a complaint last June re irresponsible lending . Amigo admitted that they had lent the second loan irresponsibly but not the 1st. I sent it to the Ombudsman and haven’t heard anything regarding it as of yet.
I am currently unemployed due to the pandemic as I’m shielding and I’m in receipt of universal credit, Amigo are now putting pressure on me to restart my payments. My guarantor doesn’t work ( she wasn’t working when accepted as guarantor) and is experiencing extreme mental health problems, Amigo are also messaging her about repaying my loan.
Are Amigo allowed to contact her or should she have been released as guarantor when they admitted irresponsible lending, even if the case is not closed?
Thanks in advance for your response
Sara (Debt Camel) says
She should have been released – I don’t know why this didn’t happen, Amigo usually do this.
I suggest your guarantor also puts in a complaint to Amigo saying she should be released as a guarantor both because the loan was unaffordable for you and also because it was unaffordable for her. She needs to cancel her direct debit to Amigo if she hasn’t already done this and it may help if she provides them with any evidence about her mental health problems.
Zey says
Hi Sarah
I have been a gurantor since 2015 to 2018 struggled to make payments. I write to amigo in July 20 then in September 20 again in January x7 they don’t seem to be interested to pay out. I have also put in ombudsman they caused my mental health
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They do not have a good record of handling complaints from people with mental health problems well.
Is there still a balance owed on that loan?
Zey says
How many gurantors have been paid out by amigo??? What tine scales
Sara (Debt Camel) says
very very few in the last 5 months!
Zey says
Hi Sarah
I paid I had no choice but it was stress when burrower does not pay. They ring you none stop and intimidate you.
Ombudsman is very slow to look at the cases amigo could go bust we need to see payout examples and deadlines from complaints to payouts
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then if the Scheme goes ahead I am afraid even if your Claim is upheld – and at the moment we have no idea how Amigo proposes to do this – you would get back only pennies in the pound instead of your full compensation. If Amigo reject your claim in the Scheme you will get nothing and this cannot be taken to the ombudsman.
james burry says
On the 21st December 2020, Amigo announced a proposal called a Scheme of Arrangement (“Scheme”) for customers – both borrowers and guarantors. Amigo’s objective with the Scheme is to ensure that all of our customers are treated fairly and no customer receives a benefit that disadvantages another. We have not stopped processing complaints but have stopped paying out redress since the announcement. This is so that those customers are treated consistently with all customers under the Scheme.
At present, the offer made to you through the Financial Ombudsman Service is under review as to whether it will be included or excluded from the Scheme. This is due to your acceptance of our offer from the FOS was received on the 21st December. Until the business has made a decision, I am unable to provide you a time frame when you will receive your redress.
I understand this must be frustrating for you and I apologize you have not been made aware by us. The FOS has been informed and we are still working with them. We are currently in the process of contacting our customers regarding the Scheme.
Once we have an update, we will be in touch however I’d like to thank you for your patience in the meantime whilst we look to get this resolved for you.
Kind regards,
Steven Peacock
Customer Relations Team
Amigo Loans
Nt says
This is helpful, the same person sent my offer calculations on 04/01/2021 which were sent to FoS in November. Suppose it gives some clarity as to why there’s been a pause. Just need to be patient and see what transpires in the next few weeks. Fingers crossed its good news.
Christopher says
Hi Sara,
So finally yesterday the Final Ombudsman ruled in my favour on two loans. Will Amigo have to “put things right” since this is a final ombudsman decision? I am aware of this scheme but wasn’t sure if it applied to final ombudsman decisions
Thanks
Chris
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am afraid you are going to have to wait to see if the FCA allows the Scheme to go ahead and if so what the detailed terms are. At the moment Amigo has only said that it will pay out in full on Final Decisions taken before 21st December.
Chris says
Such a crook move. They know every trick in the book.
The FCA surely can’t allow Amigo to overule the FOS as it sets a dangerous precedent. I hope they boot it out.
Chancers.
Raf says
Hi. Can we still send Amigo affordability complaint? I want to do IT that last year but to mamy thinghs been wrong. I took 2 loans last year over 2 k first oneand then after 6 months I applied for next one which was 3,5 k . I had other debts and my friend guranted for me do I could psy other debts. I vbenn paying on time over 200 pounds every month . Is my claim will be positive ? Please help me
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Getting a second loan soon after the first one is often a sign they ypu are in financial difficulty.
If you know repaying the loans have been difficult and meant you had to borrow more, then send in a complaint using the template letter on this page https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/
James Burry says
So why are they saying paying out up to 21st December. And I get a email saying they are waiting decision to include in there scheme
Sara (Debt Camel) says
My guess is this is somewhere between confusion and a sensible desire not to spend too much time being specific to people not when the situation may change.
James Burry says
OK amigo send fos settlement figures I agree on 21st.then they say waiting for scheme. Is that a breach of contract
Sara (Debt Camel) says
not that you could go to court for – I am sorry I know it’s all very frustrating but you have no sensible option at the moment except to wait and see what happens.
James Burry says
So why offer settlement figures of which 3 parties agree then tell you there not settling. This was agreed on 21st December 2020 at 9am.
Samantha says
Hello Sarah,
I received a redress from Amigo in 2019 as the Loans’s weee unaffordable. Can I get these removed from my credit score? I didn’t go into arrears and met all payments but I don’t want them on my settled accounts. How can I get these removed? Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can’t. Other lenders can’t see who you borrowed from, there is no flag like for payday loans. These settled loans don’t hurt your credit score.
Caroline says
I complained to Amigo for irresponsible lending, 2 loans for £10k back to back and every top up offered taken! Amigo rejected my claim in Aug 2020 sent to FOS and although they have acknowledged receipt, nobody has yet been assigned this complaint, maybe FOS aren’t looking in to these complaints and have them on hold until they know more? Which would be extremely annoying and unfair! I sent 3 other rejections from different lenders to them at the same time and all of those have an adjudicator assigned.
There defiantly seems to be some sort of purpose pause with these complaints, just hope Amigo don’t put these complaints prior to 21..12.20 in to the same group.
Zey says
The real story is amigo is wasting time and financial ombudsman has no clue to fast track anything.
Customers need to email amigo 5 times a day to get a small result.
How many gurantors have been paid what is readdress.
I write to amigo in July and September no response January 2021 they still are wasting time and have emailed me but no results why should I wait for another Year
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think emailing Amigo 5 times a day will help at all at the moment. I hope the situation should be clearer within a couple of weeks.
If they were still asking you to pay, you could cut your potential losses by stopping now. But as you have already paid them, that is not an option for you.
Zey says
I will hire lawyers to chase them up and add extra costs on
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The problem with that is if they end up in a Scheme or in Administration then all court cases stop and you would have wasted your money on lawyers fees.
Chris says
Amigo saying people will be updated on next step of their cases within 2 weeks…Also another ex FCA added to the board. This is all beginning to look like a real stitch up and scheme going to be given green light.
I do hope I’m wrong.
Marie says
I wouldn’t be so sure on Amigo not paying out to some people. They’ve compensated me £50 for taking an two years to sort my complaint and have also confirmed I will be getting my redress. Don’t know if it’s because they’ve messed up big time with my complaint and know they don’t have a leg to stand on. Had my compensation today and expecting redress ASAP according to them.
Mark says
I have just spoken with Amigo as I hadn’t had a response to the complaint that I made in October (12 weeks ago). They said that all customers that hadn’t had a final response by 21st December will be dealt with under the scheme proposal and nothing will happen before March at the earliest – they anticipate this is when the voting for scheme will start but could be later!
Amanda says
The longer this goes on the more stressed I’m becoming just wish amigo would take responsibility and pay funds back sooner I can see why ppl are taking their lives as a way out of financial mess been bi-polar it’s hard enough living day to day without the added pressure of the debt I took out with amigo yes I took the loan but in my case it was the guarantor that persuaded me to take in the first place an I don’t think amigo went through my outgoing’s correctly
Louise says
Hi I am a guarantor for a loan and she stopped paying it. I was never asked when she took more money out and my affordability had changed. Its over 400 pounds a month and I am paying it but getting in more and more debt. I would have been able to afford the orinigal 150 but she took more. I’ve got a complaint in and just had an email saying it’s still being dealt with. what are the chances of me getting anything back??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would hope there is a good chance that you can at least get the rest of the debt cancelled!
If you put the complaint in using the template on Debt Camel (https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/) you will have asked for a copy of all your personal information – did you? Because in your sort of case the phone recordings can often show you were not contacted about the top up loan or that it wasn’t properly explained to you.
But from now on if Amigo go into a Scheme or if they fall into administration, every month you pay is effectively throwing the money away as you will get very little of that refunded.
If you cannot afford these payments and are getting deeper into debt I suggest you simply stop paying and say you will not restart until your complaint has been decided. This will NOT affect your credit record – if you look at your credit reports you will see the Amigo loan is not on them.
Amigo may threaten to take you to court. They should not do this when there is a complaint open and in practice they don’t. their threats are just bluffs.
Clare Smith says
So if we have loans still to pay do you recommend carrying on paying or stopping?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you give some details about your situation? When did you send Amigo a complaint? How many loans did you have from Amigo? The last loan, how much did you borrow and how much have you repaid so far? How difficult is it to make these payments?
Clare Smith says
I sent the complaint through quanta claims. I think it was around September. I got my first loan in june 2017 and then ‘topped up’ in august 2018. I borrowed £5000 in 08/18 and pay £213.88 every month. I still owe £3502.56. It’s always been hard to make the payments but I’ve never missed any as I don’t want any trouble for my guarantor.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, have your household finances been made more difficult because of Covid-19?
Clare Smith says
Not really. I’m still working as I’m a key worker. I suppose house hold bills have upped a bit due to someone being home all day to look after my son.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If your bills have increased then you can ask Amigo for a 3 month Covid-19 payment break. And when that ends if the situation continues you can get another 3 months. During a covid-19 payment break Amigo is not allowed to ask your guarantor to pay.
The aim here is to get you through to when a scheme is underway or when they go into administration. After then, if you win your claim (and with a top up loan it may well be a good one) you get any payment you have made refunded in full as you have already repaid more than you borrowed for the last loan*. But at this point if you later win your claim in the Scheme or Administration you are effectively throwing away the payments you make in January, February, March as you will get back only a very small percentage.
* I am assuming here that Amigo do not apply a deduction for unpaid interest in a Scheme. We don’t know what they will do. But in administraion that would not be allowed. You may be better of in administration than in a scheme… we should know more later about this.
Clare Smith says
Also I get tax credits abs they have reduced quite a lot due to one of my children turning 19 so I no longer get that for him.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Does your son have a job? If he is unemployed because of covid-19 and you are having to support him that is a VERY clear reason why you should get a 3 or 6 months covid-19 payment break.
Clare Smith says
Do you know what sort of proof amigo will ask for and my son is at college. He receives universal credit as he has special needs. Both my children have special needs.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So they are getting disability benefits?
Clare Smith says
Yes they both get disability benefits
Sara (Debt Camel) says
For your Amigo complaint, one point to note is that if Amigo knew you were getting disability benefits they should have asked specifically about the extra costs you also had because of your children’s disabilities.
So back to the question of whether you should stop paying. You can ask for a covid-19 payment break – if you get that it won’t affect your guarantor.
Otherwise you have to decide whether to stop paying and explain to your guarantor about your complaint and suggest they too cancel the direct debit to Amigo.
If your guarantor does this, it will NOT affect their credit record – if they check their credit reports they will see the Amigo loan is not on them.
Amigo may threaten to take you and the guarantor to court. They should not do this when there is a complaint open and in practice they don’t. Their threats are just bluffs.
Clare Smith says
I’m pretty sure they didn’t ask any questions about the children having disabilities but I’m not 100% sure they knew about it. I can’t remember if I told them about the financial help they get due to this. I’ve asked for a payment holiday and they have advised they will get back to me within 14 days but won’t take a payment in that timeframe.
Paul says
Same crap different lender . Quick quid said I would receive £970 with in 7 days . Day after they went into administration. Got a claim with amigo it’s well over the 8 weeks I can see them doing the same . Struggle
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you still owe Amigo any money?
Richard says
So the 15 days is up 2moz from the 4th january still no redress. Sara do you think them who accepted the offer on or before the 21st December will get paid there redress. I’ve rang them 3times in the 15days 1st time they told me I would definitely receive the funds no later than the 22nd january 2nd time I rang they said there was another pause on the payments being paid out and the 3rd time they just say they cant give a timescale of when we will receive payment. Is this just them holding back payments so then we end up being put in the new scheme. Thank you
Nt says
UPDATE ALL
Amigo have credited my redress half hour ago I only found out as I went to check the amigo portal and it had nothing but my personal details. They advised 15 working days on 04/01. Just glad its over now.
The redress was for an offer from amigo upholding my last 2 loans and gave me back 11k.
Nt
Hope this helps.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Excellent news – what a relief for you.
Richard says
Hi. Was ur the borrower or the guarantor. Today is the 15th day I should of been paid out redress I’m the borrower and still nothing. When I’ve rang they first said i would get it paid out then i rang again it was on pause so i rang yesterday and they said they cant tell me when i will be paid out. Thank you
Nt says
Hi Richard
I am the borrower. Tbh, I’m not sure if me ranting via email to FCA and Amigo was the cause of getting the refund or anything else but they took out a payment via my card on 21st when I cancelled the DD that really got me. But I’m so glad its done now. Fingers crossed you will be credited soon.
Thanks to this site and Sara, I am now debt free.
Nt
Emma Kane says
Thank you for getting back to me. It’s all just a nightmare isnt it. They been fobbing me off from the beginning. I put my complaint in early feb last year. Could you tell me the email address for the fca please. Thank you
Lorne says
Hello Sara
I made a complaint to amigo through a CMC regarding two loans I took out with amigo. Both these loans have been paid off. There was bit of a hold up as my guarantor had made a few payments which I paid my guarantor back.
I had to fill out a questionnaire with amigo back in November 2020 but have not heard anything since.
What does this mean for me with this new scheme amigo are trying to enter?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Has Amigo agreed one or both loans is unaffordable so is the delay in getting numbers for the refund? or have they not made a decision on your case?
Lorne says
They have not made a decision on my case
They just acknowledged my complaint back in September
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So this isn’t good news for you.
If the Scheme goes ahead and if your case is upheld you are very likely to only get back a few pence in the £ for the refund you should have got.
And worse, at the moment we have no idea how Amigo intends to decide cases in the Scheme – so they could reject yours and you could not appeal to the Financial Ombudsman.
Zey says
Gurantors who have been paid out can you share the info or a strategy of how much you got paid
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you mean recently? So far as I know Amigo has stopped paying guarantors since August. In breach of the FCA’s DISP rules. It upholds their complaints but doesn’t actually do the calculation and pay them, even if the borrower and the guarantor are in agreement about the refund payout.
Is this your situation or is your complaint at an earlier stage and hasn’t been upheld yet?
Zey says
I put a complaint to amigo in July and September 2020 heard nothing at the moment I’m firing all emails and copying ombudsman it’s really stressed out.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, then there isn’t much point in asking what has worked for other people – before August these complaints were going through fine, then Amigo slammed on the brakes. It is nothing to do with what you say or how you argue your case. Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-delay-paying-refunds-disp-waiver/ which is my latest article to Amigo delays.
J says
I spoke to amigo this morning and asked for the truth after being fobbed off since Christmas – they’ve said being transparent they don’t know if and when we will get paid our redress even though offered accepted before 21st! They said they don’t know if our case will be put forward for the scheme even though we accepted on the 3rd December! Explained obviously not happy but he said there is nothing more he can do! So for the last 2 weeks they have lied to all those that have contacted them stating 15 days from the 4th of January 2021! Have sent email to FOS caseworker and also sending email to the FCA! Delay tactics spring to mind and I’m not sure how they can get away with it when they clearly stated all those that accepted before the announcement would still get paid! Will keep you updated
Chris says
Will this affect complaints already submitted to FOS but not yet resolved? Amigo rejected my complaint in August 2020 and I sent it off to the FOS. They’ve sent a couple of acknowledgement emails since then but I don’t think anyone has picked up my case yet.
If someone at FOS picked up my complaint now and upheld it, what would happen? I still have an outstanding balance with Amigo.
While it would be good to have interest paid so far refunded, my main goal is to remove any remaining interest and reduce my monthly payments. I’m hoping this is still possible.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes it will if the Scheme goes ahead, which is far from certain as it seems to be taking longer than Amigo expected to get to the next stage.
If the Scheme is approved – this must be at least 3 months away – then FOS will have to return all open complaints to Amigo to setle in the Scheme. At that point the question is would Amigo uphold your complaint? At the moment we have no idea how they plan to assess complaints in the Scheme. If it is uphold, then interest is removed from your current balance. If there is a refund left over after that, you would get paid a few pence in the pond for it after a year or so. (Incidentally, you would also get the balance reduction if Amoigo goes bust.)
Once the Scheme is underway (or indeed administration) you will have refunded to you any payments you have made since the scheme started (this also happens in administration.)
So you have two problems at the moment.
1) knowing if Amigo will uphold your complaint.
2) should you carry on making payments at the moment. How large was your loan and how much have you paid to it so far?
Chris says
The loan was £10,000 and so far I’ve paid £5138.25. The balance is currently £11,061.57. I had a 6-month COVID payment break during which interest accrued in the latter 3 months, as well as some months where I had to pay less or defer payments.
What would be the reason to stop making payments now and is it advisable? The main issue is they would go after my guarantor and it would cause myself and my partner anxiety to have him involved at all, especially being hassled by Amigo.
My complaint was based on the fact that they didn’t get proof of my income which means they didn’t know I was on a reduced wage due to long-term sickness (which eventually led to losing the job), they didn’t check my expenses in detail and they gave me the loan despite being in a debt management plan with multiple defaults on my credit history. No idea if the scheme will deem this as reason to uphold the complaint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so assuming this was your fist loan from Amigo, if you have the complaint upheld the interest will be removed so you still have c £4850 to pay…
There are two possible reasons for someone to stop making payments now:
– the payments are causing you significant hardship. You may not want your guarantor hassled but it is foolish to run up rent arrears or borrow from payday lenders to try to prevent this.
– you have already repaid more than you borrowed. Here someone is essentially throwing away the money each month by paying it as you will get so little back in a Scheme or in administration.
The second reason doesn’t apply to you now and wont for a long while. Making the payments now will just reduce the balance you eventually owe if you do win your case in a Scheme or in administration.
So how much hardship are they causing you? It could be better to have an honest conversation with your guarantor about how they will get hassle but can cancel the payment to Amigo by cancelling their dorect debit and this cannot harm their credit score as the Amigo loan does not appear on a guarantor’s credit record. Amigo may make threats of court action but it isn’t going to court at the moment where there is an open FOS case and I can’t imagine it would in a Scheme either.
An alternative would be to ask Amigo for a lower monthly payment. Some people have got Amigo to agree to this, I am not sure how.
Chris says
What counts as an open FOS case? I sent my complaint to FOS in August 2020 but they still haven’t picked it up; they’ve only acknowledged that they received my complaint. Does the fact that I’ve simply sent it mean Amigo can’t take any court action? Or would someone at FOS have to pick the case up first?
I’m also concerned as on the 28th January it’ll be 6 months since I got my complaint decision from Amigo and it said I have to forward the complaint to the FOS within 6 months. Once again, since I sent it 6 months ago does that mean I’m within that time limit? Do I need to inform Amigo I’ve sent it to the FOS?
Thank you for all your help. I’m going to consider my options. If I decide to stop paying Amigo altogether, I imagine it’s best to inform them why I’ve done so?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes that is an open FOS case.
You sent the complaint to FOS within the 6 months so you won’t have a problem with that. If they threaten court action say this is unfair as you have an open FOS case. They will probably continue to threaten this but they aren’t going to court in this situation.
Chris says
If stopping payments to Amigo, is it best to let them know that you’ve cancelled the direct debit and why you’ve done it? Is it best to call them or would an email suffice?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You don’t have to. But an email seems easiest – doesn’t take so much time, less stressful, you have a record of it being sent, they have to reply in writing.
LEE says
I’ve managed to negotiate a lower monthly payment with Amigo, my case hasn’t been picked up by an FOS adjudicator either and I escalated to them in May. Amigo caused a four month delay by not sharing my business file with FOS in August which was an error their end. Ugh!! I’ve got 13 months of payments left now and then I’m shot of them but have asked FOS to look into 2k’s worth of unpaid interest :(
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you got a lower payment arrangement as the last loan was unaffordable and your guarantor had been removed.
Are the new monthly payments really affordable? If they aren’t, ask to have them reduced.
MEH says
FOS not dealt with my sons claim yet but If Amigo have already refused my sons guarantor claim (borrower refusing to pay, he’s been paying as guarantor and there’s still a balance), surely Amigo will reject it again in the scheme and he’ll have no right of reply with FOS at all.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would hope that the FCA will not let an Amigo Scheme go forward unless Amigo apply standards like those FOS does, and over 80% of cases are uphld by FOS.
But I understand why the idea of Amigo being “judge and jury” in a Scheme sound dreadful to people who have already had a bad experience of Amigo’s complaints process. That’s why we need a lot of detail about how this will work. Amigo needs to evidence a reliable and consistent process for decision-making that will give very similar results to what FOS would. That looks nothing like their current complaints department! And they need to be clear that they are giving up on the unfair “unpaid interest deduction” from refunds. And explain how they will handle case where the guarantor has made payments.
Liam says
Is it possible to take Amigo to small claims court for the money owed in redress? I’m asking for a friend.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Realistically no. Going to court for an affidavit complaint isn’t that simple and even if it was, the timescale for a court judgment are very long, it’s not a quick process. I can’t suggest that anyone should try this, if your friend wants to I suggest they need to talk to a solicitor.
TC40 says
Never ending story …
My claim started August 2019 and was just closed early December 2020 with a redress figure accepted. I’ve just made my third call to Amigo today and they still insist all the good and I’ll be paid next week by the redress team – despite the advisors inability to work out 15 working days and the excuse that it takes time to process a redress.
They are doing untold damage to their brand as I see on various forums the rants from people not receiving the redresses owed to them and rightly so. To finally think your case has ended and you’ll get the amount owed to be then treated so poorly …
Its the blatant dishonesty that gets me … Look forward to seeing updates from others on this forum as its so helpful to see what’s happening and what we are all being told- and hope this nightmare gets sorted soon and we can all see the back of Amigo
rosie says
Hi, I was given my offer on the 21/12/2020. I had to call them the next because they where not taking any more calls. They took my bank details and told me it will take 10 to 15 working days. I contacted them and got a respond on 07/01/2021 thats it take a little longer because of public holiday. I contacted them again and got respond that my account on pause.
I called them on 22/01/2021 and the lady told me that there must of been a mistake, i still should receieve my refund because i was given the offer on the 21/12/2020 and that i should wait till next week.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You are being messed around :(
I suggest you email the FCA and complain about these delays and contradictory information. The FCA won’t look at your individual case but if they get enough of these emails they may tell Amigo they have to pay out now.
To do this, email consumer.queries@fca.org.uk and copy this to nick.beal@amigoloans.net and complaints@amigoloans.co.uk
Subject: Amigo (708284) is delaying paying my agreed refund
Give your Amigo reference number, your name and address.
Explain how your complaint was upheld, give the dates and amounts, and attach the email from Amigo (or your claims company) with these in.
Describe how you keep being told different things.
If you are in desperate need of the money explain this.
Ask if Amigo has been given a DISP waiver, because if it hasn’t say it’s disgusting they are allowed to get away with not paying people the amounts they have already offered.
Also leave them a bad review on Trustpilot https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/amigoloans.co.uk if you haven’t already done this.
Ben says
I can’t afford repayments on my amigo loan at the moment. There is £5k outstanding but I’ve almost paid back the original loan, about £500 more and I will have paid back the original loan amount. So assuming my complaint is upheld which it should be as I was on a DMP when I took it out and topped up, then the interest would be removed and I’d just have £500 to pay.
My guarantor can’t afford to repay either and is onboard with just ignoring amigo as I’ve explained it won’t affect her credit rating.
I can escalate my complaint to the FOS now – so would it be best to do so as then am I right in saying amigo won’t take court action if a complaint is with the FOS?
Would it be advisable for my guarantor to make her own complaint and later escalate it to FOS? She’s never paid them anything on my loan.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
We don’t know yet if the proposed Scheme will be approved – that will only be in a few months time, so yes, I suggest you send the complaint to FOS at the moment. It may not help but it’s quick and easy to do, so why not? Amigo should not start court action with an open case at FOS, it won’t do it in a Scheme either.
Was the loan unaffordable for your guarantor when it was taken out?
Ben says
Hello Sara thank you, I’ve escalated the case to FOS now.
No at the time my guarantor would have been able to afford the repayments, but I don’t think either of us thought it would be so difficult for the borrower to arrange a lower repayment plan given Amigo like to state they would always work with the borrower in the first instance. That hasn’t been our experience, they threaten to call the guarantor all the time presumably because they know this will make many people make another unaffordable repayment.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is a very common reaction. Amigo’s debt collection is unreasonably aggressive.
In that case I don’t see any point in the guarantor starting a complaint now. If the Scheme goes ahead… well perhaps as I have no idea what the criteria will be for upholding a claim. Yours sounds good… but at that point it will be a simple thing for you guarantor to put in a Claim, so why not?
You have explained she needs to cancel her direct debit to Amigo?
DARREN CAIRNS says
I have had a amigo loan for a few years that was topped up 18 months ago and I was in a Iva at the time and have a very very poor credit score my mum was the guarantor (age 77)but she only has a pension and lives in council accommodation and has no assets at all
I could no longer afford the payments so for 14 months it been coming out of my mums bank and I give her what I can
My complaint has been going on for over a year and with the FCO for month’s
Would you say I can stop paying amigo until it’s sorted ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You probably have a good case, but why not give yourself 2 chances to resolve this?
It sounds as though your mum has a clear case that she should not have been accepted as guarantor – I suggest she sends in a complaint now, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/ for a template and also cancels her direct debit to Amigo.
Her credit rating will not be harmed as this loan is not on her credit record. And Amigo may make threats but they are not going to be so stupid as to try to take her to court for a CCJ when she has a complaint open and also has no assets at all. They have not sued anyone in this situation in the last 18 months.
It sounds as though your loan will not be cleared even if you win the complaint. Do you have other debts as well? What is your plan for that point – another form of insolvency?
DARREN CAIRNS says
Paying into a Iva now(approx £9500 in debt plus my car HP) just being reviewed by PayPlanPlus as struggling to pay the £50.
As I have a car loan I didn’t want to lose as I need a reliable car or I would lose my job it impossible to get transportation to my work place
I was told by PayPlanPlus a DRO was impossible
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you cannot go on paying your IVA, then you can ask Payplan to propose to your creditors that it is treated as completed on the basis of the funds paid to date. If they refuse, then your IVA pay have to fail.
Once this is all known AND your Amigo complaint has been resolved, you need to get advice then on your debt options.
James says
I’ve just received my redress into my bank! After all the stress and the phone calls including today where I was told they don’t when I will get the redress I can finally say it’s over ! Thank god 😰
Alexandra says
I made a complaint to amigo in November 2020 regarding a loan I took out in 2017. The loan has been paid off. What does this mean for me with this new scheme amigo are trying to enter?
They haven’t made a decision in my case, and I sent the complaint to FOS one week ago.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This Scheme is bad news for you. Administration would be too.
If it goes ahead, your FOS case will be returned to Amigo to decide in the Scheme. If it is upheld – and we have no idea how Amigo will be deciding these one loan cases, we know FOS was upholding a lot of them – then you will only get a small percentage of the proper refund.
Do you know how much interest you paid on the loan?
Jack says
Hi
Bit confused here , does this mean everyone will have to make a new complaint if the scheme goes ahead? Are they refunding guarantors payments they have made for now?? Also I have an outstanding balance surely they should wipe that as it’s only a small amount so I don’t have to carry on paying??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
does this mean everyone will have to make a new complaint if the scheme goes ahead?
I hope not – Amigo may set up the Scheme to force everyone to put in new claims or they could take the more customer-friendly route of automatically treating open complaints with them or with FOS as Claims under the Scheme.
Are they refunding guarantors payments they have made for now
A lot of gases involving guarantor payments have been held up by Amigo. I don’t know if these will now be paid out in full on the basis that Amigo agreed the loan was unaffordable before Dec 21st.
I have an outstanding balance surely they should wipe that as it’s only a small amount so I don’t have to carry on paying??
what stage is your complaint at? Are you a borrower? Has your gurantor made payments? What is your current financial situation and how large are the payments?
Harley says
Hi Sara ,
Just wanted to give massive thanks for all your help covering this amigo loan situation you deserve nothing but praise for all you do here.
I found your site early last year and all the information you provide is a giant help to all currently affected by this company and the loans they have irresponsibly lent to.
Please continue fighting the good fight