UPDATES:
Do not use the template on this page for Amigo, Buddy, George Banco, Trust Two, Glo. It is now too late to complain about them.
For TFS see TFS Loans goes into administration.
Guarantor loans are very expensive. Often the lender didn’t check properly that you will be able to manage the loan repayments without having to borrow more.
If proper checks would have shown that you couldn’t afford the repayments, complain! There is a template letter in this article to help you.
You can get an existing loan reduced so you only repay the amount you borrowed, or get a refund if your loans have been repaid. If your complaint is rejected you can send the case to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) who is upholding a lot (90%!) of guarantor loan complaints.
If you are the guarantor not the borrower, read Complaining if you are a guarantor which has a different template letter to use.
Contents
What is an affordability complaint?
A loan is not affordable if paying it left you so short of money you had to top up the loan, or borrow more from another lender or get behind with bills.
Does this sound like you? Then make an affordability complaint.
Just making the payments doesn’t prove the loan was affordable! You may have been repaying with difficulty, taking out other loans, because you didn’t want your guarantor to be affected.
You can complain if you are still paying the loan or if you have repaid it all.
If you win your complaint:
- interest is removed from a loan you still owe, so you only repay what you borrowed;
- your guarantor is released from the loan; and
- you can arrange to pay the remaining balance at a reduced rate.
When your loans have been settled, you get a refund of the interest you paid.
What should the lender have checked?
Guarantor lenders should have checked the loan was affordable for you before giving you the money.
The lender should have made sure you were likely to be able to make the repayments for the whole length of the loan.
Guarantor loans are large financial commitments. So I would expect a lender to have asked for evidence of your income, to have checked your credit record, and to have verified your expenses.
Some things a lender may have got wrong:
- It doesn’t matter if your guarantor is well off, the loan has to be affordable for you!
- You may have given said your expenditure was lower than it was, because you were guessing or desperate. The lender should have checked your figures.
- If you were self-employed or had wages that varied, the lender should have looked at how your income went up and down.
- The lender should have checked your credit record to see all your debts. If you had recently taken more loans or missed payments/defaulted, the lender should have been careful as your position was getting worse.
- When you top up a loan, the lender should check the new larger loan is affordable. If the current loan was causing you problems or your finances had got worse you shouldn’t have been given a larger loan.
If you feel there was something else unfair about your case, add that into your complaint as well!
What would a “fair solution” be?
If the lender or the Ombudsman decides the loan wasn’t affordable, this is what happens:
- The loan has been repaid, then any interest you paid should be refunded to you.
- The loan is still outstanding, then interest should be removed from the balance that is owing, so you only repay what you borrowed. Your guarantor should be released from the loan. The lender should accept an affordable monthly payment from you to repay the rest.
- Any payments made by the guarantor are refunded to the guarantor, not to you.
Will a complaint affect your guarantor?
Complaining won’t affect your guarantor if you carry on making the payments. The guarantor shouldn’t be told you have complained unless your complaint is being upheld.
If you stop paying the loan when you make a complaint, the lender may decide to get your guarantor to pay it. If you don’t want this to happen, you have to somehow carry on making the payments even though it’s hard.
If you can’t afford to carry on paying and you don’t want to hurt your guarantor talk to a debt adviser about your options in this difficult situation.
Making an affordability complaint won’t make things worse, and it may help in a few months time, but it isn’t an immediate escape from your problem.
Think about whether your guarantor also had a good reason to complain – see Complaining if you are a guarantor for details. If they win a complaint, they will be removed as a guarantor, which would take a lot of pressure off you.
How to complain to the lender
A template complaint to use
Don’t use this for Amigo, Buddy, George Banco, Trust Two, TFS, Consollo, Glo. It is now too late to complain about them or you have to go to the administrators – see the update at the top of this page.
For all other guarantor lenders, including ones that have stopped lending, send your complaint by email – here is a list of lender email addresses:
Guarantormyloan – customerservice@guarantormyloan.co.uk
Hero Loans (Hamilton Greig) – collections@heroloans.co.uk (put COMPLAINT as the title)
Juo Loans – customerservices@shelbyfinance.com
LendFair – in liquidation. Contact angus.gilles@mhllp.co.uk.
Suco – hello@suco.co.uk (ignore any suggestions to contact ODR – you want a reply to your complaint from Suco and send the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman if it is rejected.)
UKCredit – no longer lending but you can still complain to welcome@ukcredit.co.uk (put COMPLAINT as the title)
1 plus 1 complaints@1plus1loans.co.uk.
Use SAR AND COMPLAINT BY BORROWER as the email title.
Here is a template. Change it to describe what happened to you and delete what doesn’t apply.
Only put this in if it applies to you: I took a top up of [£2,500] in [March 2018]
Add a reference number for the loan or give some other details such as your date of birth and your address when you took the loan out.
Please send me a copy of all the personal information that you have about me, including but not limited to all credit record checks, a copy of my loan application(s) and recordings of all phone calls from me. You have 30 days to reply to this Subject Access Request (SAR).
I am making an affordability complaint. This loan was/These loans were unaffordable for me and you would have realised this if you had checked properly before giving me the loan(s).
Delete or change any of the following so they are right for you:
[You would have seen from my credit record that I had recently missed payments/had defaults/was in a DMP/IVA.]
[I was on a low income/My only income was my pension/benefits.]
[You did not ask me for proof of my income or expenses and you did not ask about my expenses in detail.]
[I get ESA/PIP/DLA but you did not ask me if I had any extra expenses because of this.]
[I had a gambling problem which you could have seen from my bank statements.]
If you topped up the original loan: When I topped up the loan you should have seen from my credit record that my financial situation had got worse. [delete if not relevant: You ignored the fact that I had made several payments late to you.]
If you still owe money:[I am asking you to remove the interest from the balance so I only have to repay what I borrowed, release my guarantor and allow me to make lower monthly payments.]
If the loan has been repaid change that to [refund me the interest that I have paid plus 8% statutory interest.]
If you don’t want your guarantor to be told: [I want to carry on making the normal monthly payments because I do not want my guarantor to be affected. Please note I do not want my guarantor to be informed about my complaint unless my complaint is upheld.]
You have 8 weeks to respond to my complaint before I send it to the Financial Ombudsman.
If you would like some help with this, then go to your local Citizens Advice.
Definitely send bank statements!
It’s good if you can attach bank statements to your complaint. Send three months of statements before each loan or top-up and two months afterwards. So if you had a loan in August 2017, send statements for May-September 2017.
These statements will show how unaffordable your loans were. Don’t worry if there is gambling showing on the statements – that helps your case!
Don’t delay starting a complaint if you are trying to get your bank statements – just add them later. But now is a good time to get the statements as they can help your case.
Also get a copy of your credit record if this will show defaults, that your debts were increasing, that you had a large overdraft etc. Download this and keep it.
What to do with your personal information (SAR)
Copies of personal information (SARs) are often sent out by post, so if you have moved, make sure the lender has your new address. You should get the information within 30 days. It is often sent on a CD with a password.
This information is not the lender’s response to your complaint. Most lenders will send that separate from the SAR, usually a few weeks later.
You don’t need to do anything with the SAR, just keep it safe. You have asked for it now so that you have the details in case the lender rejects your complaint or makes a poor offer so your complaint has to go to the Ombudsman.
Taking a complaint to the Ombudsman
If the lender rejects your complaint, go to the Ombudsman
Don’t delay in sending a case to FOS – it has to go within 6 months. And while you have an “open” complaint at FOS, the lender cannot take you to court.
Lenders seem to reject many complaints and hope you give up! So don’t be surprised if a lender says No, the loan was affordable or We based our decision to lend on your application which was inaccurate.
If the lender says No, or you haven’t had a reply 8 weeks after sending your complaint, send your case to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) the best way to do this is by using the FOS online form.
This is free to do and easy – you don’t have to quote laws or regulations. You can just send FOS the complaint you sent the lender. And if they have replied and said something that’s wrong, mention that as well.
You don’t need to go into details – a short FOS complaint is fine.
If only some loans are refunded, is this fair?
Sometimes a lender will say that just a few loans are unaffordable and remove the interest. Which is good, but should it be better?
If the rejected loans caused you difficulties and led to you needing a top-up, send your complaint to FOS and say you think the earlier loans too should be refunded.
Are you likely to win your Ombudsman complaint?
The Financial Ombudsman is agreeing with the customer on 90% of cases!
It is much simpler to win a case at FOS than a court case. If a lender has already started a court case against you, Citizens Advice can help you get the court case “stayed” (that’s legal jargon for put on hold) while you take an affordability complaint to the Ombudsman.
Complicated cases & help with guarantor loan complaints
If you want help with these complaints, Citizens Advice can help. Every Citizens Advice has access to the national Specialist Debt Advice Service if this isn’t something an adviser has come across before.
Leave a comment below this article to discuss what to do or talk to Citizens Advice if:
- your guarantor has made a lot of payments.
- you have been bankrupt, in an IVA or a DRO – read guarantor loans & insolvency .
- you have a CCJ from the guarantor lender – read guarantor loans & CCJs.
- if your debt has been sold to a debt collector.
Do not use a Claims Firm or a solicitor that is acting as a claims firm. There are two good reasons why you should avoid them:
- they will probably do a very poor job. They are not experts. They won’t put time into looking at your personal case.
- if you win a case but still owe a balance, this is usually just reduced. But the claims firm may expect you to pay their high percentage fee immediately even though you have not received any cash refund and still have the rest of the loan to pay.
Can you get an overdraft refund?
Card limit too high? Ask for a refund
Complaints about bank & other large loans
Jack says
Hi All,
I lodged my irresponsible lending complaint against Amigo 2 weeks ago, and I got the following response from them
Note : I had over £3000 unpaid overdarft before taking the loan and top up loan from amigo loans,l. I also had defaults, CCJ, missed payments not to mentioned payday loans as well.
The figures they provide doesnt take into account all of that plus tax.
How should I proceed here?
“The budget you supplied should have taken into account all your outstanding creditors, and I can see 2 current accounts with an outstanding balance and you advised us what you were paying towards each of these.
Previous message from Amigo loans
“In regards to your questions, and as advised in my last email, it is not uncommon for our customers to have missed payments to other creditors or to have defaulted on other credit agreements they may have, as we specialise in giving people a second chance this would not necessarily prevent you from borrowing from us. This is also applicable to the CCJ too.
Your original budget from 03/01/17 gave an income of £1,650.00, expenditure of £1,276.06, leaving £373.94 disposable to manage our instalments. Your most recent budget from 08/01/18, shows an income of £2,083 and an increased expenditure: £928.16 however this still leaves £1,154.84 disposable to manage the loan. As such I can see nothing to suggest that you were struggling or experiencing financial difficulties when you provided us with this information.”
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds as though you have just been sent the copy of your personal information, not a response to your complaint?
Did you supply bank statements with your complaint?
Jack says
Hi Sara,
Yes, amigo loans said they have requested for copies of my personal information to be send, but I haven’t recieved it yet. No I didn’t supply a bank statement because they didn’t ask for one. You think I should send them my bank statement?
They ought to have seen how heavily indebt I was and my £3000 overdraft alone exceeded my income twice at that time.Thats of course provided they did a credit check because that would have been on my credit file.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, send the bank statements for 3 months before each loan or top-up.
Jack says
Hi Sara,
I have just sent them bank statements from my two bank accounts 3 months before and after the loan and top up was taken. Although there were large amounts of money coming in and going out at that time, student loans, payments for my mum ( her money transferred into my account). Some statements shows e.g £4000 in total paid in for a single month and a total of £4000D overdraft at the closing month which shows no disposable income. The fact that I had
Alan Smith says
I put my complaints in yesterday with amigo and uk credit.
Today uk credit told me in no certain terms since the 6 years have passed they will not even look at it and just basically go to ombudesman. So how does it work with the 3 year rule how can you prove that you never realised you could put a claim in for guarantor loans? Should I still go to the ombudesman or just give up?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Just send the complaint to FOS. Include a sentence saying something like “I had no idea that a lender such as UK Credit should have checked I could afford to make all the monthly payments. I first found out what an affordability complaint was early this year when I saw a newspaper article about wonga/my sister told me about payday loan refunds/I saw an advert for a payday loan claims firm.” Just change that so it is accurate for what happened to you. You don’t have to produce “evidence” of this.
Do you have your bank statements for the three months before the loan? If you don’t still send in your complaint now, and set about trying to get the statemants.
Alan Smith says
No not yet the account was closed down, I do plan on popping to the bank though and see what they can do for me.
kathy says
I sent my bank statement nearly 5 weeks ago after waiting the 8 weeks on Amigo coming back saying they have partially upheld the complaints on all my loans. They give me a date of 17th, then moved it to 26th then last week and now this week. Still waiting and havent heard a thing! should i ring them? i did email earlier in week and was reminded I was told they would respond this week!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, ring them. More than a month is ridiculous.
Kelly B says
Hi Sara
I am pleased to say I have been told I am getting my 1st 3 loans interest now also refunded as well as 8% simple interest. They are getting back soon with a figure. I am so grateful to you and your website. You deserve a medal how you have helped so many people. Thankyou from the bottom of my heart
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good news!
Sophie says
Hi Sara,
Just one more question are you aware of the any cases where the they have won the case and Amigo then allow you you to reduce the monthly amount? I will want to significantly lower my monthly amount, would ask to keep the same monthly terms be realistic?
Thank you
Sophie says
Sorry not monthly terms I mean amount of months of loan was for e.g 48
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, they don’t exactly offer this, but you can ask for your monthly payment to be reduced to an affordable amount. The length of the loan has no particular meaning any more. If that means it takes 10 years to pay off, then that’s what it will take. Although you will probably want to see the back of them long before that!
You can now put the loan into a debt management plan, if that would be suitable for your other debts. Or go bankrupt if you want!
Sophie says
Thank you. I’ll call them tomorrow and try to sort it out.
Louise says
Hi can anyone tell me how long it takes for Amigo to calculate the refund please?..
Don says
Hi, it took them just under a week for them to calculate mine and have it in my account.
Louise says
Hopefully won’t be long,thankyou for your reply👍
MnM says
Hi Sara
I have just realised that although I sent my complaint in on 17th August Amigo did not respond until 20th August. Which date will the 8 weeks run from?
Don says
Hi, mine ran from the date they replied to say they’d received the complaint which is when they said they raised the complaint.
MnM says
Thanks Don
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It should run from the day you sent the complaint. But it’s not really worth arguing about the difference of a day or two.
Sarah Harrison says
Hi Sarah i have rang the Ombudsman again this morning and my case has now been put down as a priority. They said that i hopefully should hear this week. Because of my mental health issues. So watch this space. Thanks Sarah
Lou7 says
Hi Sarah
What did u say to them? I Ann going to ring them once I am better but don’t know how to say it.
Sarah says
Hi I told them that Amegio were refusing to work with yet saying that they had. I had asked for all corispondance to be via email because I struggle with telephone calls and processing the information. I said have depression and anxiety issues and this is causing myself more anxiety yet ameigo refused to listen. The lady at the Ombudsman was lovely said the case is now a priority and she will be speaking to her manager to get a adjudicator who deals with gurantor loans to look at my case. She said there are only a few people trained in gurantor loans and they have seen a increase in complaints.
Lou7 says
Thanks Sarah for that info. I will ring them asap.
Sarah says
No problem i also think that the Ombudsman has contacted them. Already because i got an email saying that they have spoken to the manager and moved my payment date as i requested. They refused last month and its strange how they contacted me tea time after speaking to the Ombudsman this morning. Good luck x
david says
random question, but my refund from Amigo did not have 20% tax applied against it, while every other PPI or Bad Credit refund I’ve had has had 20% automatically taken off them.
why is this, anyone know? just intrigued.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think they haven’t got the hang of paying refunds… They hardly ever had to do it, now it’s common they should come into line with normal procedure.
david says
Thanks Sara.
Not being up on payroll legislation etc, does this mean I have to inform the HMRC to make sure I’ve paid enough tax or anything? Because on the other side of the coin, you can claim up to £200 back so just making sure I will have paid enough come year end.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How large are the 8% amounts you have received from this and any other reclaims (PPI, payday loans etc) this tax year?
david says
I got £4.6k from Amigo in July 2019; all other refunds were in prior financial years and all sorted in that respect.
My tax code is 1250L if that helps.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
£4.6k in 8% interest? or in total? it is only the 8% interest that is taxed.
david says
ahhh I see, that would be £1,139.80p then.
SARAH says
Hi
Has anyone ever had a loan from Glo guarantor loans? Or had a successful complaint upheld?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They were small and only in business for a couple of years, so it’s not surprising no one has mentioned them here. But they were owned by Provident which is still very much in business so it’s definitely worth complaining!
Sarah says
Hi Sara
Thank you! Requested a full SAR and sent a complaint. They didn’t credit check me and only asked for verbal expenses over the phone.
I’ll let you know how I get on :)
Amy says
What’s the average time to receive the dsar? It says to allow 30 days but just wondered if it usually comes any quicker? I sent a complaint to amigo on the 27th September and received acknowledgement within the hour so didn’t know if these guys were pretty quick or not?
Vicky says
I received mine after 4 weeks
I received a CD in the post. Sent my DSAR request in via email on 2nd September, received the CD 30th September.
Don says
Hi, is there a rough figure of how many people who have had loans in 2010/2011 having their complaints looked at by Amigo? They are refusing to look at my loans from this date; I’ve sent them another email asking why when they have looked at others from that date.
I’ve also sent the complaint to the ombudsman and had the generic ‘thanks for submitting your complaint….we’re seeing high numbers of people submitting complaints at the moment and it’s taking us longer than usual to let you know your complaint has been received and allocated..’
On average how long are people waiting to hear back from the ombudsman service after this initial generic email?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Past history isn’t much help here. I assume you don’t still owe them any money?
Don says
No I don’towe them anything, my last loan was paid off in 2016.
The response I had when I asked why they wouldn’t investigate my earlier loans when they have others from the same date was….’inline with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) guidelines we have not investigated these loans as if you were unhappy it’s reasonable to have expected you to complain regarding this within a reasonable time from closure; which would be 3 years.’
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So have they accepted later loans? Or were they all more than 6 years old?
Don says
They upheld a loan I had in 2015 and I paid it off early in 2016 after getting some inheritance. They upheld this loan saying although they believe it was affordable they should have made more checks to fully understand my situation.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok, so when the Ombudsman looks at this, in this sort of situation they normally just look at the loans that were rejected, as you and Amigo have already agreed on the last loan. So you aren’t risking the current offer by going to FOS to get the rest looked at.
Louise says
Hi does anyone know if Amigos total calculation include the 8% interest as well..Thanks.
Jenny says
Hi, yes it does. Well, did on mine anyway.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
out of curiosity, out of your amazing £14,500 refund, how much was 8% interest?
Jenny says
Hiya, no probs, £4256 was 8% interest so with the £1000 tax free limit I’m reckoning I’ll owe the tax man just over £700 lol. I’ve set it aside in my savings and we’ll see what occurs 😁
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sounds sensible!
ruby2sday says
hi sara just to let you know my good news! I have had all 3 loans upheld the first from april 2013 so over the 6yr time limit and 1 day early waiting now to see whats offered ty you so much for this site keep up the great work again thankyoe
Sara (Debt Camel) says
great decision!
aden says
Hi Sara @ debt camel, i currently have 5 guarantor loans, all of which were quite easy to get and all are un affordable all with different guarantors. 4 of these were taken out this year. i can not afford to pay these and couldnt to begin with to be fair but as long as i had a good guarantor seemed to go through even thought they should have been able to see these other loans and my credit card debt. one of my guarantors with Amigo wasnt a homeowner but had good credit but only got a small income less than half of mine from bonds.
is it worth complaining now or only once the loan is paid off, i literally have no money left each month because of these, was stupid to do it but i got myself into a situation which i now have a grip on and trying to sort myself out. i just cant see an end or any light and am worried for my guarantors. should my guarantor complain first or should i ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Complain immediately to all of them. Because it’s hard to imagine how you can pay all these off without getting into a lot more expensive debt!
If you can get your guarantors to complain at the same time, that can work well.
Mark says
Hi Sara,
Do you know if Amigo keep 20% back on refunds to pay the HMRC or is up to each individual to pay this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Other people have said that they don’t.
Only the 8% added interest is taxable, not the refund of what you have paid. And a basic rate taxpayer can get the first £1000 of 8% interest in a tax year tax-free as it is treated as savings interest.
lis says
This is the response direct from Amigo with regards to the 20%.
I note you had a query regarding 20% tax on the statutory interest. I believe you may be referring to withholding tax which is not relevant to Amigo, it would be relevant to a personal bank account, as banks are required to withhold a portion of interest due as tax. This would mean that Amigo hasn’t withheld any tax nor would you have to contact HMRC to declare the refund.
I hope this has cleared things up. If not, please let me know
Kind regards,
xxxx
Customer Relations Team
Amigo Loans
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh dear. I will let them know that they are wrong :(
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Update – Amigo are now deducting tax.
John says
Hi
I have put a claim in against George Banco and Amigo and I am now redundant so unable to pay this months payment also I’ve spoken to my guarantor and he is too also unable to pay this month. What would happen should both be unable to pay?
I have told them I have found a job but my first pay is 26th November due to company cut off.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well done on getting a new job so quickly.
If you tell both lenders you can’t pay this month then they should be reasonable – but this is guarantor lenders we are talking about here and sometimes they aren’t reasonable at all. But if this is just 1 month and if they ask the guarantor to pay and he says he can’t, then in practice they aren’t going to take action against him as you are going to be paying pretty soon anyway. He should not borrow money in order to try to make this payment!
Can you ask your brother to also put in a complaint? If your complaint is upheld, he will be released as the guarantor. But if your complaint is rejected by GB or Amigo and it has to go to the Ombudsman, it may be that his complaint is accepted so he can be released sooner which will remove a lot of pressure from you. And him.
Andy says
I would like to thank yous all for the advice I have found on this page. I have had 5 loans with amigo loans stemming back to 2012. I used templates for here to complain to amigo,who of course choose not to uphold my complaints,
Funny thing was when amigo sent my my final response the dates for my loans pay outs were all wrong. My affordably complaint is now with the ombudsman . So fingers crossed they help me.
Thanks again the help provided here is fantastic..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Andy,
do you still owe money on the last loan?
Andy says
Thank you Sara,
yes I still owe on my last loan and continue to struggle through and pay it, if it was not for my partner I would be screwed, I am unable to work at present and shes been picking up alot of the slack, I’m on year three of five on a 7,500 with them, also having other loans of 1750 .. 4500..5250..6500 and finally the 7500 I’m on now..over the period from 2013 to 2016.
I had a call from the ombudsman today to state they were waiting for information from amigo to proceed forward and asked me for various bank statements for my first loan I didn’t even have a bank account I made payments from my mothers bank account, I am however struggling to get statements for my second loan top up in 2014. The bank I used do no have that information anymore.the rest should be not a problem to obtain.
I have only gotten this far due to the help provided on here so thanks to you and your team for doing what yous do.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Persevere with bank statements from 2014. Any bank should be able to provide them, even if the account is closed.
Andy says
See the thing is ,they were not a reputable bank I used at the time. Due to my lack of identification at the time the only account I could open was a silly pay to use things with a company called eccount money. I will however try to contact them again once I’m home and see if I can mabee get some one a little more helpful. Thanks again Sara. 😀😀
Jonathon says
I had a guarantor loan with TFS, I struggled so much maintaining the payments I had to take out a debt relief order. I made a complaint to them that they shouldn’t have issued me with the loan due to my mental health and putting me in an awful financial situation. They rejected my complaint last year and now my Guarantor is straddled with the payments. Am I able to make another complaint to them for me to be able to take the final response to the FOS? is it worth it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It probably isn’t worth you complaining unless you are sure that your payments came to more than the amount you borrowed.
But your guarantor could complain… your guarantor could argue you should never have been given the loan. If they win that complaint, all their payments will be refunded plus 8% interest.
You can help with that complaint by you sending TFS a request for a copy of all your personal information – known as a Subject Access Request – and then give all this information to your guarantor. This can prove that you couldn’t afford the loan.
Your guarantor may also be able to compl that they couldn’t afford the repayments either. But if they are rich and can afford them, they can still win their complaint and get a complete refund by showing that you should never have been given the loan.
See https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/ which has a template letter for complaints by a guarantor.
Sarah says
Hi Sarah my partner has written to Amegio loans asking to be removed from as gurantor like you suggested. He received a acknowledgement from them via email 26th September. He has now received a Cd in the post od the recordings of his telephone conversations. We are confused as to why as it does not explain why only what it is. Have you you any idea why thanks Sarah
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If he used the template letter I have for a complaint by a guarantor (on the other page) then that starts off by asking the lender for a copy of all the personal information th lender has about them. this is sometimes called a Subject Access Request or SAR.
If he just made a simple complaint, Amigo may have assumed he wanted a SAR as most people do.
He doesn’t have to do anything with it now, but it could come in useful later if Amigo reject his complaint and that too as to go to the Ombudsman.
Sarah says
Hi thank you our complaint is already with the Ombudsman. Its been made priority and awaiting assignment of adjudicator ASAP due to my mental health issues. He used the template from your site. Thanks Sarah
sam says
will guarantor loans over 6 years be considered by the ombudsman? 8 days over my 6 year date and TFS have refused to look at it :(
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send it straight to the Ombudsman! It is the Ombudsman’s decision what to look at, not TFS’s. And yes, they have upheld complaints about older loans.
ruby2sday says
Mine was 5 months over the date and upheld
Marty says
I’ve had an Amigo loan since 2014 and topped up a few times. Until today I still had a balance of over 8k and was paying £375 a month to them. I complained 8 weeks ago about the latest of my numerous topups as I believed they hadn’t checked my financial situation well enough.
Today Amigo contacted me and offered to refund all interest and charges on my loan, which had a balance of over 8k still to pay. I only complained about the latest topup but they said out of the blue that they would just refund all interest. So I went from 8k in debt to 6k in credit. Over the moon.
In 2017 they allowed me to top-up 3 times within six months so that might have been part of it. Amigo seem to want to protect their Trust Pilot rating which is surprisingly good when compared to Quickquid and other scumbag lenders. I sent them an Email this morning saying that this was their last day of the 8 weeks so get your skates on or I will escalate the case. Amazingly, that scare tactic seemed to work!
This was all done without any FOS involvement, although it was on the last day of the 8 weeks at 5:45pm.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Great result. What a transformation for you.
For anyone reading, always complain about all your loans!
Amigo always seem to reply on the last day of 8 weeks.
Jack P says
Sara, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for this website.
Amigo have upheld! Awaiting confirmation of refund but by own figures, it’s looking like 11k+. This outcome has taken me from struggling every month to debt-free. A massive weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
Perhaps you can confirm if my figures are right? It was a partial uphold of 2 loans (original loan in Jan 2013 wasn’t upheld, but I topped later that year Nov 2013 and then again in June 2015).
The top up was for 5000 (most of which was used to clear the first loan off which was £4500).
The top up in Nov 2015 was for £6500.
My figures show £3770.59 paid in interest for the 2nd loan and £10779.46 interest for the 3rd. I think this is correct. Could you confirm or do you need anything further? Both the 2nd and 3rd loan were for 60 months.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good news!
Has the last loan been repaid?
Jack P says
9 payments left which I imagine will now be cleared off with the refund. I don’t want to count my chickens but once the balance has been cleared, I came away with a 15k figure which would be life changing…
Am I right?
Bob w says
I am assisting a client with a George Banco debt taken out last year.. At that time she had an IVA and numerous other debts . She then had an unsolicited offer of addition monies this year and took out a top up of £3,500 increasing the payments from £98 to £178pm and whilst at the time of the original lending she was working, when the additional funds were advance she was out of work and the IVA had failed. She had to leave her employment due to poor health. We will be instigating the affordability complaints process as clearly my client could not afford the original borrowing and since the increase, they have claimed all repayments from the guarantor. The guarantor is the son and I do not believe the ‘undue influence’ the borrower would have on the guarantor was ever considered by the lender, apart from the guarantors ability to pay. Do you believe ‘undue influence’ is worthy of inclusion in the complaint from the guarantor’s perspective. The borrower freely confirms that she had to ‘persuade’ her son to guarantee the debt.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
From a practical point of view, if the son cannot afford the repayments then an affordability complaint by him may be simpler, but I would always look to complain about undue influence in a guarantor complaint as well if it seems justified.
From your email address you are a free sector debt adviser – Shelter has a good piece on Advising Guarantors.
So although your client is the borrower, you are looking at a claim by the guarantor as well? If the guarantor is removed, he should be refunded all payments he has made, plus 8% statutory interest. As a result, your client’s debt will increase, although if she wins an affordability complaint the interest will be removed.
Can I ask what the way forward for the client is if she wins her complaint and gets the interest removed? Is she planning a DRO or bankruptcy? In that case it doesn’t matter at all whether her debt increases (unless she is near the 20k limit). Indeed if she cannot make any payments and this is unlikely to change, it may be simpler for her to opt for insolvency now and not bother with a complaint to GB. She could ask GB for a Subject Access request and then supply that information to her son so that in addition to complaining about undue influence, he can also complain the loan should never have been given as it was unaffordable for her.
james says
FOS upheld my complaint for all 5 loans against Amigo, Amigo had agreed, just waiting to hear refund amount.
FOS are saying that the 8% interest will be added from the point that the loan was repaid in full, doesn’t sound right to me.
I.e. my latest loan was £6000, i paid £13000 in total, they are saying the interest will be added from the point i’d paid £6000 back, is that right?
Also, how long have others waited for Amigo to calculate the refund amount and pay?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“my latest loan was £6000, i paid £13000 in total, they are saying the interest will be added from the point i’d paid £6000 back”
that is the simple way to look at this. If Amigo do something more complicated in their calculation, it normally works out in your favour :)
Aden says
Hi mate what template letter did you send to get this result. I want to do this but I just don’t know what to say even with the template. This is a first for me. And even with Amigo I have not been able to keep up my last 2 payments on time.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Aden,
the template in the article above is pretty simple.
Is there a part of it you are unsure about?
aden says
Hi Sara i just dont want them to reject my claim i think thats all, because i am in the situation i am in i just want to make sure i add everything correctly.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Understandable because this can make such a huge difference to your life! But just get it in! There really aren’t any magic words to include in your complaint that mean Amigo will automatically payout. I’m not even really sure they read them any more, they may just log you as yet another affordability complaint and get the process started of considering it.
If Amigo rejects it, then it’s worth putting more thought into what to say to the ombudsman, but for now, get the process started as soon as possible.
aden says
Thanks Sara – i have just submitted all to all 5 of my guarantor loans. none of them had actually asked to see a payslip of any kind nor a bank statement, the most recent took out in august, hopefully one of them atleast considers. i’m not interested in a refund more a reduction on my monthly payments , i am easily paying £1000 a month on paying these back.
Fingers crossed in 8 weeks i have some kind of news.
Neil says
Sara
Firstly I wish I could give you a big hug!
Amigo have just contacted me a day earlier than the 8 week deadline stating that they are partially upholding my claim.
They have stated I’ve had 4 loans since 2011 and the first two were cleared in 2014 and therefore saying that’s that with regard to those. However the second two they have admitted from affordability and my credit file they shouldn’t have proceeded with these loans and have agreed a refund.
I’m absolutely over the moon regarding this and more importantly so is my guarantor as the stress it’s caused her has been sending her crackers.
Just a final couple of questions would you think it’d worth trying to pursue the first two loans with the ombudsman or just cut my loses and run and be happy with the outcome of the second two???
And also do you know how long it takes roughly to wrap this up from this point of the refund stage now?
I honestly can’t thank you enough this truly is life changing and will make such a massive difference especially as another payment of £395 was due tomorrow!
Neil
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Thanks for the virtual hug!
Will the refund be enough to clear the outstanding balance?
Do you know how much interest you paid on the earlier two loans?
Neil says
Sara
I’m certainly hopeful it will be I’ve paid 28 months of £395 on a 10k 5 year loan. I’m guessing it may be marginal either way??
No they never sent me the sar information and I have emailed to call them back.
The first two loans were for 3k and then a top up to 5k in 2013 before my dad cleared it in 2014. I literally have no idea what the interest paid was on those
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“I’ve paid 28 months of £395 on a 10k 5 year loan” thats over 11k so you will get a refund from that and the balance cleared. And a refund on the loan before. Plus 8% interest on these refunded amounts.
How much interest there was obviously affects how much you could get back from the earlier loans. it’s up to you if you think they are worth pursing.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
PS – for everyone else reading this – this was the complaint you were pessimistic about – sure it would be rejected….
Neil says
😀 I’ve always been a glass half empty person, I was convinced it would be rejected as never missed a payment on this loan at £395 a month despite the monthly struggles!!
Honestly can’t believe it
Kalvin says
I took out a £2000 loan with amigo in Feb 2018, I was working in a 12 hour contract job whilst studying at University, my guarantor was also unemployed and his only income was through student finance (approx 6k a year in 3x£2000 payments) but regardless of this I was accepted, I then was allowed to top up the loan to £4000 in June 2018 and then topped up again to £5000 in November 2018 (started my first ever full time job in October 2018 and my guarantor is still unemployed/living off student finance) I also had taken out a large amount of payday loans prior to the large amigo loan and also during the time I had taken the £2000 out from amigo, do I have a case for irresponsible lending? and if so what will the implications be for my guarantor?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds like a very good case to me!
if you win it, your guarantor will be released as the guarantor from the current loan. No other implications for him unless he has made payments to the loan(s)?
Kalvin says
He hasn’t made any payments or contributions to the loan, we were both amazed he was even accepted as im currently playing £250 a month!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
He can also complain and ask to be removed as the guarantor. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/
Kalvin says
If he does that and successfully gets removed what will happen to the loan?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It turns into a normal unsecured loan. So you can ask for a payment arrangement or put it into a debt management plan or go bankrupt… Basically it takes all the pressure off you.
Josh says
Today is the day I should hear back from amigo regarding irl claim, fingers crossed. Will update outcome once I’ve heard.
MnM says
Hi Josh,
What date did you send your complaint?
My deadline is approaching and sooooo nervous and apprehensive about my result as I know it will make a big difference if they uphold it. Thank
Josh says
Cant remember just no their 8 weeks is up today (emailed for an update and they confirmed they would respond no later then today)
Josh says
They got back to me early evening…
They have written off the rest of my existing loan and are also refunding me £3817 in total, thank you Sara I wouldn’t have done this if I didn’t come across this site and wouldn’t finally be out of the amigo hole!!
Jonathon says
Does any one have any stories from TFS ? Do I have to make payments while the complaint is ongoing ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They are a small lender. There are a few complaints in about them. You have to make payments unless you want TFS to go after your guarantor.
Jonathon says
I am the guarantor so didnt know if I can hold the payments while they are looking into the complaint? What has the response rate been like with TFS ?
River says
Hi
I received a rejection direct from TFS yesterday just after the 8 week mark. I have now sent straight to the ombudsman, so will report back as there is not a lot of responses about them
Ian Bland says
Hello, has anyone seen any movement with the loans from UK Credit? The complaints look few and far between and from what I can see it looks like even when the adjudicator upholds UK credit seem to send to the Ombudsman. Has there been any positive success lately with these?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There are several people here with complaints in progress. So far no one has reported UK Credit upholding a complaint.
3 decisions on the Ombudsman website in July & August against them. At some point they will get the message!
Aden says
I have today submitted a claim to them, not too sure how successful it will be but let’s see . 8 weeks and counting will keep you guys posted.
Andy says
Just had my reply off amigo and day before the 8 weeks was up , they upheld my complaint payed back interest and took off interest on my active loan but bringing it down too 2,800 instead of like 7,500 which I am happy about also they said they have taken the garantor off the loan (although my garantor did not complain) so thought it was a really good result , good luck everyone.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did you have previous loans with them?
you can ask for an affordable payment arrangement now on the remaining balance.
Andy says
I had one loan and a top up loan , I’m fine with that if rather get it paid off quicker to get debt free , thanks Sara
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, but think of the Amigo debt as now interest free and it won’t affect your credit record. So if you have credit cards or are paying overdraft fees, it may be better to repay Amigo slower and the other interest charging debt faster.
Andy says
That is a good point but I currently have amigo and bamboo both have no interest now it’s just 2700 and 2800 now which both are 200 a month and all the other creditors I owe are in a dmp so my credit score is now it bits because of the default I would of thought but I’ve got another 6 or 7 claims I’m waiting on too come back 1 with Fos , but the other are due in the next couple weeks as the 8 weeks are up and I’m hopefully they will make an offer as I’ve had between 20-40 loans with each separate company so I will pay the amigo and bamboo off with the refund I get which will leave me some spare change and just my dmp to pay but most of them balances should be wiped as they will use the refund to pay them off so I’m hoping I should be debt free very soon
Amanda says
Hi(
I just had my tfs complaint rejected, should I send their letter straight to the financial ombudman now? Do need to send anything else with it?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I like FOS’s online complaint form here: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/contact-us/complain-online because it asks for info they need to know. Most of this is easy eg “is this a joint complaint?” “how would you like us to contact you” etc. It also lets you attach informatioon eg the reply you had from TFS.
See the “If the lender rejects your complaint, go to the Ombudsman” section in the article above for some tips.
Amanda says
Great thank you
Aden says
I have today submitted 5 complaints to 5 different companies. All guarantor loans were un affordable and one was topped up twice within 6 months of the opening of the loan up to the max of £10,000 with a guarantor that does not work. The other 4 were taken out within 6 months of the last top up of with Amigo and was accepted as a guarantor on another loan with a different company.
Amigo – £5500, £8250, £10,000 @ £207, £345, £395
UK credit – £3,000 @ £180
Buddy loans – £2,500 @ £120
Bamboo – £2200 @ £89 – same guarantor as amigo.
Trust Two – £4400 @ £165
8 weeks and counting to some kind of response from all.
Will keep updated. Thanks Sara
Lou7 says
Hi all,
I have just looked through all my paperwork sent to me by amigo. I had 6 loan with FLM and then amigo. Oct 2008, Dec 2009, May 2011, Nov 2014, march 2015 and the current one June 2016. Surely that should have been a warning sign to amigo?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It certainly should! I hope you get a decision from FOS soon.
ruby2sday says
Brilliant amigo have confirmed £11,478 refund and £3,500 wiped of my current loan ! Ty so much Sara
Sara (Debt Camel) says
excellent!
Sarah Reid says
Hi Sara
I have just had confirmation today that I have been assigned an FOS adjudicator for my Amigo Complaint.
I initially raised my complaint with Amigo back in Dec 2018 and it was not upheld with them so I went to FOS on 13th Feb 2019.
About a month ago I spoke with the FOS to see if they could look at my case as a priority as the stress this causing was becoming unmanageable. It was rejected on the grounds that as I was not at risk of losing my home and I was not being managed under the doctor for stress etc, it was not a priority.
I feel relieved that it has now been allocated. Do you know roughly how long it takes the FOS to assess please?
Many thanks
Sarah
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It should be pretty quick assuming Amigo have sent over their case file.
Tony Brittain says
recieved email from amigo today. not upheld complaint of 5 loans over past 2 years as all payments have been made. not once did they ask for bank statements or proof of income as they claim they do separate check themselves when you apply. massive gambling transactions would have shown on statements and no money in account halfway through every month. Off to ombudsman still not hopeful though after their response.
Rs says
Your situation is pretty much the same as mine.
I’m awaiting my decision on Tuesday from Amigo.
It seems like if you pay on time in full every month your complaint will be rejected.
Good luck at the ombudsman.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No that’s not right. Lots of people have had their complaints accepted who have pad on time.
Rs says
Just a nervous feeling Sara.
Also just like to say you’ve done a great job and pointing everyone in right direction.
Andy says
Ive never missed a payment and my loan got upheld
Tony says
congrats on having yrs upheld Andy. Hope FOS accept mine it will be more of a victory then. il struggle to make the payments but I wont let my guarantor down.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Tony, did you send bank statements with your complaint?
Tony Brittain says
they never asked for any so assumed they would have done the checks themselves. Suppose il just have to get them ready for FOS
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you do need to send the bank statements to FOS.
I do suggest people send bank statements to Amigo with their complaint. Gambling transactions on them make your case stronger.
Tony says
thanks Sara I will send them asap I have checked and before every loan there are hundreds of gambling transactions on the statements. wish I’d sent them with my complain now
Tony Brittain says
This was their rejection letter
Dear Tony,
Thank you for your response.
I understand your frustration and I’m sorry you’re disappointed.
I can assure you we never pay out a loan or top up without completing a number of checks, including affordability checks and reviewing your credit file.Also, a number of other checks are run in the background which you wouldn’t necessarily be aware of at the time of the application.
Based on the figures you provided all five loans appeared comfortably affordable, and there was no justification to request bank statements.
All five loans have been managed perfectly and there was never any indication you were struggling with the repayments.
Once again I’m sorry you’re disappointed with the outcome but I confirm my letter constitutes our Final Response.
Kind regards
Lisa says
Maybe it’s worth asking them to reconsider and send your back statements – 3 Months prior to each loan and top up.
still send to the fos in the meantime and a lot quicker if they decide to uphold, no harm in asking for them to look at it with all the facts. Good luck
Sarah h says
Hi i had exactly the same reply from them. My case is with the Ombudsman waiting for an adjudicator to pick it up. Its seems if the loans are paid on time and up to date they are rejecting complaints. Which is unfair as a lot of people are borrowing from elsewhere to pay and the Ombudsman said the worst thing is that people are only ever paying off the interest. My loan balance is constantly at £10125 and i have been paying £395 since August 2018. Every time I pay £395 it goes back on in interest. So how it is ever going to be paid off i don’t know. :( Sarah
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“Its seems if the loans are paid on time and up to date they are rejecting complaints.”
No this isn’t right. Lots of the people who have had refunds have made their payments on time.
Anyway, your case is with FOS now – and FOS know that paying a loan on time has nothing to do with whether it is genuinely affordable.
Tony says
I asked then to reconsider their position today after sending in bank statements and this is the reply. Off to FOS
Dear Tony,
Thank you for going to the effort of sending these in.
Regardless of what the bank statements may show, what we’ve considered is whether there was evidence at the time of your loan applications which should’ve prompted us to request evidence of your finances, such as bank statements.
My investigation has shown that at the time of each application, neither your credit file or income and expenditure assessment gave any cause for concern.
I understand your disappointment, however, we wouldn’t look retrospectively at bank statements when we believe we followed all of our processes correctly in the first place.
Kind regards
James
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS may make a different decision!
Tony says
I have just realised that on my complaint letter I claimed unaffordable and forgot to add the line irresponsible lending. Do you think it’s worth sending another complaint about irresponsible lending or would FOS take that into account when dealing with it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, that’s fine. No need to worry about that wording.
Dan says
Hi sara
Amigo sent me a final response after 7 weeks and they upheld my complaint. I had a £9250 loan and a £10 000 top up. Sent my bank statements along with complaint that showed hundreds of PDLs and gambling transactions as well as other debt.
They say thay in 5 working days i will get my calculation. Im delighted! Thank you for your aritcles
MnM says
I’ve had my final complaint today and they have upheld all 7 loans. They have paid off my current loan which was at just over £9k and then I’ve got £1300 coming back. I’ve asked for a full breakdown as I had worked out that I am due over £3k. We shall wait and see but excellent outcome.
Janis says
Hi Sara. I’ve made complain about my loan with FLM Quick whos now trading as Amigo, but they sent me this:
“Thank you for your message, FLM Quick is a different company and you will need to send a letter to the address below:
The Richmond Group, Richmond House, Yelverton Rd, Bournemouth BH1 1DF
Thank you,
Phoebe Milner
Customer Relations Team
Amigo Loans”
After looking up in internet found richmond group email and sent my complaint there and response was quick :
“Hi Janis,
The company has been dissolved and no longer exists.
Amber”
Is it not possible to get refund from FLM Quick guarantor loan anymore?
Kindest regards
afaq tariq says
Hi amigo keeps delaying answer for my complaint. They were suppose to answer me 2 weeks ago according to their email they didn’t and i emailed them for update. They then told me i would be replied on 11th Oct and now they emailed me we will need one more week to get back.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you have sent them bank statements? This does seem much too long. You could just send the case to FOS.
Have you already sent your TFS and UK Credit cases to FOS?
afaq tariq says
Yes i have sent them bank statement.
Stacy says
So my 8 weeks for complaining to Amigo is up on 21st of this month,not holding out much hope,I’m really struggling to pay £345 a month still £9000 to pay,I also put in a complaint into satsuma also I’ve 2 small loans with them,I sent them back statements,now they want expenditure and a form filled in from my doctor to confirm mental health,its really making me I’ll, fingers crossed it will be all over soon, thank god I found this group
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Lots of people that expected their Amigo complaint to be rejected have had it upheld. Have you sent them bank statements too/
Have Satsuma asked for a form called a DMHEF? or just a general note from your GP?
Stacy says
Yes I sent bank statements for all loans and top showing alot off gambling and no free income, yes that’s the form satsuma asked me to get filled in by my doctor.
Stacy says
Yes I sent bank statements for all loans and tops,showing alot off outgoings due to gambling and very little few money,also had ccj on my credit report plus token payments on my bankstatments, yes that’s the form satsuma has asked for I also made and ongoing and outgoing over the phone to get my payments reduced they did comment that the figures I’ve given this time dont match previously given figures.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you have depression or anxiety, you should be able to send a copy of your prescription to Satsuma, rather than having that form filled in. You could try that and point out that http://www.moneyadvicetrust.org/creditors/Pages/DMHEF-creditors.aspx says creditors should ask themselves if a DMHEF form is really necessary.
Stacy says
Thank you,
I’ve sent them a copy off this,stating I’ve requested twice I could send the proof of my medication also stating in my bankstatments they can see I’m in reciept of pip and was at time of loans, also that in northern Ireland and this letter needs to be paid for, I’ve informed them that thete treatment is making my depression and anxiety worse and will pass onto the Ombudsman if they continue to handle my case in this way. Thank you again
Stacy says
I had a really nasty women from satsuma ring me in regards to this letter,I told her I could send my prescription and she said no I need the letter,my doctor said they wont do the letter,she said so you dont want to claim then as you wont get the letter,I told her,yes i wanted to claim,i repeated i could send my prescription, she left me in tears, I’ve now had an email asking for this form again, so I’ve printed it of, but my gp said they dont fill these in, satsuma keep changing my 1st contact date,sending me the same email over and over, really stressing me out!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That must have been very upsetting. It sounds as though she may have been trying to bully you into dropping your complaint. Not a way a responsible creditor should talk to someone who has says they have mental health issues.
If this has to go to the Ombudsman (and it does sound as though it’s heading that way) then I think you can then ask for compensation for that… so how about getting the evidence… I suggest you send Satsuma a request for a copy of all your personal information, including all phone call recordings relating to the complaint you sent on dd/mm/yy. If you have previously asked for this, don’t ask for it all again, just all phone call recordings since dd/mm/yy.
Stacy says
Thank you very much
I’ve asked for my SAR but haven’t received them, I will ask for the phone call records from I put complaint in,hopefully I will hear back from my last message soon and see where I go from there
Thanks again
MnM says
Just a note to anyone who worries about having gambling transactions showing on their bank statements to definitely send them in. Amigo have upheld my complaint on all 7 loans and my bank statements are embarrassing to say the least but show that I should never of managed a loan.
Good luck to all claiming.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Thanks – people are always worried about this so your experience will be reassuring.
That sounds like a good result! I hope you are getting help to stop gambling.
P says
Hi Sara
After reading the following case study from FOS website I have more hope of my complaint succeeding..
https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/case-studies/borrower-tells-us-provided-loan-couldnt-afford
The case study is a carbon copy of my 1 loan complaint with Amigo.
P
Ben L says
Hi Sara
4 loans with Amigo – upheld loan 4 but first 3 date back to 2009 so sending my bank statements for those. Loan fully paid off so should be c.£10k! Thank you so so much.
They told me on Friday they would come back with a calculation within 5 working days but do you know how long they take to pay out? Thanks Again
Mario says
Had my refund figure from Amigo Thursday, £15.7k, all coming back to me as I’d paid the loans in full.
Stacy says
Hi, quick question, my next payment to Amigo is the 18th and my 8 weeks for my complaint are up in 21st, would I be better sending that payment or wait until the 21st and wait for decision,then send if needed,
Thanks
Marc says
I’d keep making payments as they will hit your guarantor for payment if you don’t make it. Keep paying them
Until they come back with a decision.
Stacy says
I can hold of for 3 days if you contact them to tell them, they wont take it from guarantor I wouldn’t think if it’s only a few days.
P says
How long have people waiting from amigo giving an offer I accepted there offer with the fos near end of sept not heard from amigo as of yet but fos did say can take up to 4 wks
Thanks
james says
I waited two days.
Faye says
Just got my email through it’s 8 weeks today since I submitted it they have upheld my complaint refunding me interest which has closed off my £4795 loan and given me £1500 refund. Sarah I cannot express how thankful I am for your template and guidance this has just completely changed my life and helped me out even more now I’m on maternity leave. Thank you!
Stacy says
Hi,has anyone noticed around 6 days till there 8 weeks are up there interest has stopped going up?
Thanks
Kirsty says
Hi Sara,
I have emailed my complaint to Amigo on the 5th September in which I received an automatic reply saying the complaint had been raised.
Then on the 3rd October I received another email from them saying that they were still looking into the complaint, later on that day I received a further email from them say that they had sent a CD out to me in the post with my DSAR. I picked up the letter from my local PO on Friday (it had to be signed for and I wasn’t in on the Monday (7.10.2019). Their 8 weeks is up on the 31.10.2019 is it worth chasing them up before this date or am I pushing my luck?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you send bank statements with your complaint?
Kirsty says
No I didnt – I have requested them as I now longer have an account with the bank I was with at the time and I am till waiting for them to come.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, well I don’t think there is any point in contacting unless you have bank statements you can add to your complaint. You just have to wait as they never seem to reply until the end of the 8 weeks. Good luck!
Sarah H says
Hi Sarah i have asked Ameigo to keep all communication via resolver due to my mental health issues. Time and time again they keep insisting they have to speak to me over the phone. I have offered them an amount which i can afford. Yet again they have requested that I ring them to discuss the matter over the phone. As I have posted before my case is with the Ombudsman and waiting as a priority to be picked up by an adjudicator. My question is are they allowed to demand to communicate via the phone.? Thanks Sarah H
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, any customer is entitled to say if they do not want to talk over the phone. But it’s worse when they are badgering someone who has told them that they have mental health issues… I suggest you phone up the Ombudsman and say Amigo are continuing to say they have to speak to you on the phone and you are finding it very stressful – ask FOS what you should do.
Sarah H says
Hi okay thanks for your advice Sarah H
Tracy says
I’ve won my claim of 12k and HMRC have told me that none of the refund is taxable as I paid tax on the money from my wages at the time to pay the loan, if there is anything tax owing to HMRC it’s down to amigo as part of their business tax only.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you have this in writing from HMRC?
The refund itself isn’t taxable – it’s your own money you are getting back. But the 8% interest that will have been added is taxed as savings income.
Ash Alexander says
Good News Good News Good News
I received a call from Matt at Financial Ombudsman today about an hour ago to give me the good news I have won my case against Amigo and they will refund me all the interest I have paid on the loan which is over £9,0000 which will pay the loan off and leave me with some left over that they will refund me . To say I’m happy is an understatement I could cry lol . No more Amigo in my life no more high repayments I can move on with my life debt free . I encourage everyone going through with complaints you will Win your case against these loan sharks and don’t lose hope . Keep complaining about Amigo and we can wipe these loan sharks for good and stop them from taking on new business and making more and more people’s lives a misery . This site is a great help and I will keep using it for your advice to help myself and others . Thanks again
Faye says
Hi Sarah just a quick one on my email I received today, they have upheld my complaint and agreed to refund all interest paid. I had an original loan of £5k then topped up to £7.5k so in total borrowed £7.5k however on my breakdown they have worked out my interest as a total of £18602.33 (sickening) however are stating I borrowed a total of £12.5k (the two loans) so saying then owe me £6313.76 (which includes my 8% interest) I’m just wondering I never borrowed a total of £12.5k so surely I should only pay back what I borrowed ? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The top up is actually a new loan, so you did borrow 5k then 7.5k. But part of the 7.5k repaid the first loan…
Do you know how large the payments you made to the first loan were?
And how much money did you get when you topped it up?
And then how much you have paid to the current loan?
Faye says
Hi Sarah, I can’t remember how much and the payout either I’m sorry! My loan as of yesterday was £4875 which they’ve paid off with my refund so state I’m due £1500.
So I was working out I’d get £6k back. This is the breakdown from amigo
Payments to £7.5k loan-£12,164.04
Payments to £5k loan-£6438.29
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If your total interest was £18602.33 and your balance was £4875 then some of these figures don’t seem correct.
Sorry but you need to go back to your bank statements and work out how much you paid them (eg “I made 9 payments of £118 a month” and how large the top up you recived was. Than I could say something more.
Faye says
Ok thanks, will do just that tonight.
Lisa says
Don’t think it’s total interest the £18602.33 is total Paid towards both loans, so take off the initial loans of £12500 (5k+7.5k) leaves a refund of £6102.33 plus interest.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That seems more plausible. But it still doesn’t seem like a large enough refund when 8% interest is added on.
Faye says
Thanks Lisa yes sorry that’s right! They have then used the refund of £6k+ to pay off the remainder of the loan £4K+, but though this had already been included in the deductions I’ve asked them to have another look anyway! Still over the moon
Lisa says
No probs Faye, it can be hard to understand, the way they look at it is you physically had 12.5k although some was used to pay off your initial loan, so anything paid over this is what you are due a refund. As Sara stated it doesn’t seem enough with 8% interest. Hopefully they give you a full breakdown, they did with me, as you say just happy to see the back of Amigo and have some cash back 😁
Lou7 says
Hi all,
Some great news on here today.
I have sent amigo an email about my depression and I am going to ring the FOS as soon as I get home. Will post as soon as I hear anything new!!
John says
Hi
As mentioned I have gone to Amigo and said that I am unable to afford this months payment due to new employment not paying my wage until next month. My guarantor is unable to pay. I have been pestered by Amigo by email and text no phone calls and now issued a default notice. I have never missed a payment and asked for a little give on this month and they have done this and said it needs to be paid by 1st November and I don’t get paid until 26th which I have told them time and time again.
I’m at wits end on what to do now
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what date were you meant to pay them this month?
John says
Hi
It was the first of each month.
Regards