UPDATES:
Do not use the templates on this page for the following lenders, instead see the specific page:
- Amigo has set up a Scheme of Arrangement. The deadline for making a claim has now passed, see Amigo’s Scheme for details.
- Buddy Loans went into administration in September 2021, see Buddy Loans goes into administration.
- George Banco & Trust Two set up Scheme of Arrangement, the deadline to make a claim to this has passed, see Everyday Loan Scheme for details
- TFS Loans went into administration in February 2022, 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 of Buddy – see the update at the top of the page.
For all other guarantor lenders, including ones that have stopped lending, send your complaint by email – here is a list of lender’s email addresses.
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 you want to add more details, read How Subject Access Request information can help an affordability complaint. But you don’t have to do this.
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
Tim says
I put a complaint in at the end of September regarding the last two loans i had with Amigo. I had 7 in total but it was these loans or top ups where my credit rating had really suffered, i had missed payments to other lenders and increasing debt else where that was not considered. They had prepopulated all my income and expenses which i just agreed in my haste to process the loan and i had expected them to call me to go through these amounts as they had done with every other loan or top up but i received no call.
Long story short is that Amigo rejected my complaint, they partially upheld it in saying they could have called me but stated there was no redress due and gave some really wooly answers regarding their reasons. I kind of expected this despite being confident that my case will likely be upheld by the FOS. The really weird one is that at the end of the complaint response they said if i could provide bank statements to them for that period that they may revise their decision. My finances were a mess across two accounts at that time so ive sent them in and good luck to them trying to make sense of it all.
Is there any reason they would do this? Seems strange to reject a complaint but leave a chance to reverse their decision.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes other people have had this – it’s why I suggest in the article above that everyone sends bank statements with their complaint, to avoid this delay at the end.
It’s a shame you only complained about the last two loans. It was probably the previous loans that led to you getting into more of a financial mess!
Tony says
I’d like some advice if possible. I took a 10k loan out in mid 2017, I was paying around 500 a month, this became unmanageable and I fell into arrears. I ended up suffering some health problems due to this and in the end my Father in law paid it all back. I’m now paying him back. He paid 15k back so that’s 5k interest as well as the extra interest and fees I paid.
Can I still message them and make a claim that I was in no way able to afford that loan originally. If I had the interest back I’d be able to pay my original debt back to my Father in law.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is a guarantor loan from Amigo?
Was it the first loan you had from them? (Lots of people have won one loan cases against Amigo but I am. Just asking because you may have had smaller ones before.)
Was your father in law your guarantor?
Tony says
It was my first and only loan with Amigo and my girlfriend was my guarantor. I had numerous other pay day loans out and was juggling to be honest. My loan was 10k but I paid around 16k back in only 18 months. My Father in law settled it in full.
Can I complain to Amigo as a first time complainant or do I have to go to the Ombudsman directly. I’m thinking the first option, can I still complain is what I’m asking?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you can complain. You have to complain to Amigo first, you can only send a complaint to the Ombudsman when the lender has replied to your complaint or after 8 weeks if you haven’t had a reply.
A 10k loan should have been looked at very closely especially if you had payday loans. Amigo may. Not have checked properly that you could manage the repayments. I asked if your father in law was your guarantor because if he was, the money he repaid would be refunded to him not yiu, but as he wasn’t the guarantor any refund will come to you.
Jade says
Just want to say a big thank you to Sara. I’m not sure how I found myself on your website, but I know it was no accident. I followed your steps to complain to Amigo loans, including my bank statements, and yesterday I got a response and they are upholding my complaint and I am very grateful. It means that my guarantor has been ‘released,’ my overall loan balance will be reduced significantly and I now have some freedom in my repayments going forward. Again Sara, a huge thank you. Happy Holidays!
Rachel says
Hi sara
Response from amigo they have not upheld my complaint for any of my loans.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am very sorry to hear that.
I think you should send your case to the Financial Ombudsman today, get it there as fast as possible. You can just keep it simple, use what you sent to Amigo as your complaint and add on about your health problems that have developed because of the stress of these loans.
Then after a week or so, phone the Ombudsman up and ask for your case to be treated as priority because of all your health issues.
Also tell Amigo to send you a copy of that form they want you to complete – you may as well see what it is.
You said you weren’t in touch with your guarantor any more because of all this. Did they make many payments? Are you paying at the moment? what is their financial situation like?
A says
Same here it seems quite a few people got a reply yesterday! Mine was originally for a loan in 2012 but complained in 2016 which they didn’t up hold I didn’t send it to the ombudesman at the time due to my mental health but I remembered that I could at anytime as per there letter anyway long story short I complained in oct was told they would relook at it as they have changed the way they look into cases fast forward to yesterday and they have gone back on there word saying they wont look at my case as its past the time frames! Wasted 10 plus weeks should have went straight to ombudesman but believed amigos again but yet surprise surprise more lies from them totally fed up!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, for anyone else reading this, if you had a previous rejection from Amigo before this year, you can go to FOS straight away.
A says
I’m just so fed up of there lies over 10 plus weeks grrrrr. I really thought they would have at least relooked at it like they said when I submitted my new complaint. Amigo seems now just to be finding any excuse to get through the backlog of complaints without addressing them properly and I truly believe after reading this forum recently amigo have changed there stance on things again and this will see alot more cases going to the ombudesman.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Possibly. That will be very annoying and, for people with balances still owed, stressful. If it looks like they are turning more down or making partial offers when people should have had a full refund (see my recent article https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-partial-refund/) then I will start saying send your cases to FOS on the dot of 8 weeks.
Vanessa says
Hi Sara
They emailed me today to say they will make a decision by the Dec 27th it has gone up a few days this was in reply to my email to them asking for a update,they have asked for bank statements because I had to include that bank account in my DRO the accounts closed and I no longer have access to it will affect my claim if I can’t produce them?
Also my guarantor has not heard from them about her claim for affordability as she was in benefits but had a text from the payment dept saying they can see she can not afford the repayments to them.
Many thanks Vanessa
Sara (Debt Camel) says
tell them bank account was closed when you had your DRO, you don’t have bank statements to hand but you will get them if this has to go to the Ombudsman (this should be asy but it won’t be instant and you don’t want to delay this any more).
Is the 8 weeks up for your guarantor’s claim?
Vanessa says
Hi Sara
Eight weeks is up Xmas Eve. How do I get bank statements from a bank account that’s been closed the first loan was took out six years ago the top up four years
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Just email or write to the bank and say what you want. Or go into a branch. It will help if you remember your account number.
It may sound odd but the ideal result for you could well be that your guarantor wins her complaints and is released from the loan and gets a refund of what she has paid but you don’t win yours… because if you win yours and get a refund of more than £1000 your DRO may be cancelled.
So I wouldn’t worry too much about Amigo taking a bit longer and the fact you don’t have those statements. You may not need to get them if your guarantor wins her complaint.
Vanessa says
Hi Sara
Ok thankyou the DRO is disqualified in February next year.
I hope they get back to daughter soon that stood guarantor.
Thankyou for your replies
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I thought you said the DRO was in September?
Vanessa says
No sorry that was the one I got in 2013 it had been discharged a year when I got my first loan. This one I got February 2019 sorry for error
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no worries. I was just confused.
Vanessa says
Hi Sara
My guarantor is getting texts and emails threatening about account going into arrears and litigation . Can they do this while a affordability complaint going through? Many thanks Vanessa
Sara (Debt Camel) says
She has a complaint in I think.
(In case you wonder why I keep asking this sort of thing, it stops me misremembering your case and it also makes it clearer for other people reading this.)
In that case the account is going into arrears because neither she nor you can afford to pay. But Amigo are not going to start court action with a complaint in progress. No one has had this problem so far.
Vanessa says
Hi we have been given three different dates we will hear by on their decision 24th Dec 26th Dec and now 27th . My guarantor has been given 2nd January sounds like they are just plucking random dates .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your guarantor’s complaint is separate and may be handled by a different team – there is no reason why the date for that should be the same as the date for your complaint even if they were put in on the same day.
I think you just have to not worry about your dates and wait until the response comes. Amigo can’t start legal action while a complaint is in progress and you are not paying, so although it’s stressful waiting, you aren’t having to pay more than you can afford.
Vanessa says
Hi Sara
I received a email saying that they need four weeks extra to continue their investigation, if I take it to the FOS does it stop Amigo continuing their investigation?
Is it just better to wait for amigo many thanks Vanessa
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In your case (which is unusual because of your DRO) the best result may be for your guarantor to win her case and you not to win yours… so perhaps wait until your guarantor gets an answer before you decide whether to send your complaint to the ombudsman?
Rachel says
Hi sara
I have sent it today although vague due to my memory issues with my condition. Amigo are aware of my health problems now and it got to a point where I was that anxious about it all I thought about ending my own life I will never forgive myself for getting involved with them.
I will give the ombudsman a call in just over aweeks time and advise of my health conditions. Amigo have advised they received information from the fos but in suppose it’s just a waiting game now. My mum was my guarantor and we have very little contact but no she made no payments as I asked for payment plan but they did hound her. I am not paying the loan as it was settled in april 2018 by a family member as the situation living on my brothers living room floor was too much for us they gave us the money to settle it we still pay what we can back to them. Its nit greatest the moment my financial situation it never has been since amigo I’m still recovering mentally and financially a year or so on.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK so if the loan is repaid it’s just a question of getting a refund, your guarantor can’t be affected now, that’s good.
Helen Taylor says
I emailed Amigo yesterday can anyone give me a rough idea of how long they take to reply please
Michael Lord says
Is this your first email with a complaint? Looking at 8 weeks or upto 12 weeks before a response to the complaint.
you will get a reply to say they are looking into it then another acknowledging your reply then you just wait, within 30 days you will recieve your SAR that you would have requested.
Hope that helps (im 9 weeks into my complaint and have another 3 atleast to wait for an answer)
Helen Taylor says
Yes Michael this is my first email that I sent to them. I only have this month to pay then my loan will be finished. On my account it did say that I can reapply for a top up in February but since I’ve sent my complaint to them it now says I can no longer borrow money from them which doesn’t bother me to be honest. But it could mean that the process is starting so I’ll wait and see. Thankyou for your helpful response.
Michael Lord says
Ho helen
Everybodys top up message changes as soon as complaint email is sent mine was too
Good luck on your complaint
Helen says
I received a reply from Amigo on Monday morning. They’ve acknowledged my complaint and said that I will get a written response within the 8 week deadline. Fingers crossed they stick to it and it’s good news. Although I won’t hold my breath and anticipate a delay as have many other people on here from what I’ve read in comments.
Ewan says
I submitted my affordability complaint to Amigo on the 7th October and am pleased to say that I received my response today and they are upholding both loans. This should clear my balance and give me a refund. Thanks to this website this will make a big difference.
Michael Lord says
Hi Ewan,
Well done indeed, can i ask did they ask to extend the time from 8 weeks a further 2 or 4 weeks? My complaint went in in the 17th and they have asked for another 4 weeks lol
Ewan says
They asked for an extra 2 weeks after the 8 weeks and I didn’t hear until 2 days after the 10 weeks.
Emma says
Hi Sara,
I’ve just has this update
My name is Simon and I work within the Customer Relations Team at Amigo.
I appreciate the last correspondence we sent on the 29th November advised that we would issue our Final Response Letter within two weeks and regrettably I can see this time has passed without any further contact.
Unfortunately due to current volumes our estimations have been extended slightly. I’m sorry for this additional delay and that nobody has been in touch to set your expectations about this.
I have spoken to your complaint handler and I can confirm that your Final Response Letter will hopefully be sent by close of business tomorrow, but at the latest on Monday.
If you remain dissatisfied at this extension, you’re within your rights to escalate your concerns to the FOS. However, I believe their turnaround on resolving complaints can take several weeks or sometimes months, so in the meantime we will have issued our response.
I hope this update helps and I’m sorry for any inconvenience.
Surely if they issue their response and I’m not happy I can go to FOS anyway? Is that right?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it’s Thursday now, you could send it today or wait until Monday? No later, I suggest you say you are sending your complaint to FOS on Monday evening if you have not had a suitable response. I think you said you had three top ups? If they say they will only refund the last one or two, read https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-partial-refund/ as you may want to send the earlier loans to FOS.
Emma says
I will do thanks Sara, as they have said final response do you think there’s a chance they will make a decision without the statements or they may do as I have seen another say that if I send them they may reconsider? I’ll get the statements ready incase I need to send to FOS
M says
I had a very positive and interesting update on my complaint with Amigo. I had 4 loans in total (this includes 3 top up loans) and my complaint was rejected by Amigo. I submitted my complaint to the FOS in May and had not heard anything from them about the complaint until yesterday. I was contacted to say that the FOS have been speaking with Amigo re. complaints of a similar nature to mine and that they have made an offer to refund interest on loans 2, 3 and 4 plus stat. interest. It was surprising as I had no idea that my complaint had been picked up by the FOS, but I do not think it was with an Adjudicator, instead with an Investigator. I’m waiting for confirmation of the settlement figure (which I am told will be confirmed within 10 Business Days) but as the loan has been repaid I am expecting a substantial amount.
Patricia Grainger says
I have had a complaint upheld by FOS, Amigo have amended my account and repaid interest on all 3 loans and i now owe £1980 and no further interest will be added.
i had 3 loans
loan 1 £3250
loan 2 2000
loan 3 £7500 of which i received £3121.12 as the rest was used to pay off loan 2.
I made 23 Payments of £158.57 Total £3647.11
3 Payments of £219.55 Total £658.65
10 Payments of £296.44 Total £ 2964.40
So i paid in total £7270.16 yet still owe £1980?
I have asked for a break down of there calculations as no explanation has been given.
Do i go back to FOS if i do not get a reply from Amigo?
Ian Bland says
Just had a nice little update from UK Credit. The ombudsman had originally upheld my complaint and sent it over to UK Credit to review. After a few emails back and forth and some bank statements. UK Credit have now upheld my complaint. I thought these were going to be much harder to deal with but im glad its all over and done with now.
Leslie Boylan says
I sent my complaint to amigo about an unaffordable loan which i took out in 2012, the loan was paid in April 2017. When I took the loan I was self employed and operating at a loss. After 11 weeks I got a response from Amigo stating that it was out of time for the complaint due to it being sold over six years ago.
I have now sent the complaint to the ombudsman as I was not aware until this year that I would be able to complain after reading various articles. Is my complaint likely to be upheld?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo will probably object to FOS looking at a loan which is over 6 years old. FOS will then have to decide whather it has “the jurisdiction” to look at this case – I am saying this as an email from FOS may use the term jurisdiction which many people find confusing.
In some other sorts of high cost lending FOS is routinely deciding that it can consider over 6 year loan cases. I would hope it will reach the same decision for guarantor loans. It has upheld some refunds for older loans already.
I hope you have your old accounts and preferably bank statements as well for the period. They may not be needed, but try to get them in case you are asked for them.
Helen Taylor says
Hope it’s ok for me to post this link https://www.ft.com/content/60794508-1a5f-11ea-9186-7348c2f183af
I came across it this morning while doing some research into Amigo Loans.
Vanessa says
Hi Sara,
Amigo have asked for an additional 4 weeks to look into my complaint now the 8 week deadline has been reached since I put the first complaint in. Is this normal?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is becoming the new normal :(
You can send your complaint to the Ombudsman straightaway – Amigo should still carry on looking at your case if you do this. Or wait a few weeks and hope Amigo will offer a refund.
(If Amigo only offer to refund the last loan, you will then be in a much more comfortable position as your guarantor will be released, so you can set up a payment arrangement for that and send the complaint about your previous loans to FOS to be looked at, because getting a refund on them will really help you. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-partial-refund/.)
Tom says
Hi there
Used this website last year which helped get around £1000 back from the many payday loans I had.
I submitted a claim to Amigo which was ultimately rejected. I didn’t follow it up, but after seeing a lot more people qualify for redress I was wondering whether I can resubmit my claim? Or can I forward onto ombudsman even though I’ve not responded for around a year?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you look at your rejection from Amigo, it will probably say that you can take your claim to the Ombudsman. Normally there is a 6 month time limit on this, but Amigo used to waive this :)
So you can still send the complaint to FOS now. Some people in this situation have asked Amigo to look at it again but Amigo has refused, so I suggest just sending your complaint to the Ombudsman now.
Lou7 says
Hi Sara,
I had a letter from the adjudicator yesterday about my complaint but I am not sure what it means. It says to amigo if you agree with my conclusion and are prepared to look at all of the loans then to let them know. So does this mean they still have to make a decision on the complaint to decide if I have a refund? Any information would be appreciated as I am confused.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Does it say what the conclusion is?
Lou7 says
Hi Sara.
It goes on about the time frame for the complaint and it says that I have complained about all my loans within the three year part of the limit and if amigo agree with the conclusions and are prepared to look at my complaint about all of my loans to let them know by the 2.1.20 and amigo to provide any documents or evidence which is relevant to looking at whether loans were properly lent. Then it goes on about what they have to do if they disagree with the FOS conclusion.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So this isn’t a decision about your complaint, this is just the “jurisdiction decision” as some loans are over 6 year. FOS have decided they can look at them as you complained within the “three years since you became aware that you could complain”. Your adjudicator is asking if Amigo are prepared to accept that decision.
Andrew says
I’ve just received a email from amigo saying they need another 4 weeks to deal with my complaint. As the 8weeks have passed should I escalate this to the ombudsman service or should I give them the 4 weeks to get my final answer off them.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s a hard decision. They often reply in less than 4 weeks, but things may get worse over the next week holiday period. They are sometimes making good offers, sometimes making poor offers (see here https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-partial-refund/#comment-332398 for a readers comment yesterday) and sometimes rejecting good cases that are then won at the Ombudsman.
Are you struggling at the moment? Do you still owe a balance?
PS be a good citizen and leave them a bad review on Trust Pilot https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/amigoloans.co.uk saying how much you regret taking the loan and how poor the Amigo complaints service is, missing the regulators 8 week deadline to reply and asking for another 4 weeks. This won’t help you but may help someone else!
Michael Lord says
Same happened to me so i left them this review i also left my agreement number for them
Complaints very very slow
They are very quick to sign you up to years of misery (did it 3 times) however make a complaint and they want 3 months (12 weeks) to look into it. Do not make the wrong decision no mater how desperate you feel, these people thrive of it.
Sorry amigo i wish i could give 5 stars but its taken over my life now
They responded , ive also left numerous emails and facebook messages , apparantly my claim is with someone now (im on week 10) but with xmas break i dont know how long this will take good luck anyway
Andrew says
The balance is roughly £4700 this is the second loan first one was £3000 then topped up to £6000. I’ve been late with payment once (day late) I’m petrified of missing any as my 71yr old mam is the guarantor and that’s stress she doesn’t need in her life. I’ve given them all bank statements before and after loans were taken there’s numerous defaults on credit file due to missed payments on payday loans.
Sarah says
Hello – need some help with my claim. I received my final response letter in April 2019 and sent it to FOS about a week later. However the FOS sent me an email which I’ve just seen in my email account I never use saying I needed to fill in this form and send back to them. Have I missed my opportunity to complain because I’ve read something around 6m from final letter date? Thanks so much in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You will have to ask FOS. Did you send the complaint to FOS using their online form? If yes, did yiu say you would prefer to be contracted by letter, email or phone?
Are you still paying thus loan?
Sarah says
Hello, I did do it online. I’ve emailed them to say is this still possible to continue. I finished paying the loan in early 2019 but I had loans with them from 2011 :(. I was a student at the time. Love this website btw!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you did it online, you would have been asked if you wanted to be contracted by email, phone or post. If you said email but gave an email account you never use, then I think you have a problem… But if you said you would like to be contacted by letter or phone, or gacve a different email address, then this sounds like an error by FOS.
S says
Hi Sara,
I have submitted a complaint with Amigo at the start of December after coming across this page. Thank you for all your help and guidance.
I am wanting to ask, my monthly payment is due in a few days and I am really struggling with my finances at the moment. Is there any way I can ask for the payment to be delayed in me paying it? Or even not paying it until I hear back from them in regards to my complaint? My monthly payments are £395 and every month I struggle with this.
Many thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A few questions that may sound irrelevant…
Is this your first loan from Amigo?
Who is your guarantor and what is their financial situation like?
Do you have other problem debts?
S says
Hi Sara,
I initially took a loan out for £6000 in August 2017 and then topped it up a month later in September 2017 to receive £10,000.
My guarantor is my sister, she has two children depending on her ages 4 and 8. She is working but won’t have enough to lend me the money.
I have other debts such as 2 credit cards, one had a limit of £200 and the other had a limit of £300. Both aren’t currently being used and are defaulted for not keeping up with my payments. I also have utility bills outstanding such as Scottish power, Yorkshire Water and BT.
I am not working and I receive Personal Independence Payment benefit. That is my only source of income.
Kind regards,
S.
Joseph says
Hi S, just a quick one but my sister works for Scottish Power and they have a hardship fund you can apply to, to help pay some of the debt you owe them – She says year on year there is always money left over so always encourages people to apply who are in exactly your position – Hope it helps
S says
Hi Joseph,
Thank you for letting me know, I will look into this. Much appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Thats sounds a very difficult situation. Was your only income PIP when you applied for this loan? Do you live on your own? Are you not getting universal credit or ESA?
S says
Hi Sara,
Yes I only received PIP when I applied for the loan.
I have now applied for universal credit and I have an appointment with the job centre in the new year.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m glad you have applied for UC but that will take 5 weeks at least from your application to come through. You can ask for an advance of your UC that can help you get through this period, but that is a loan and is then deducted from your UC payments in the first year. It’s worth doing though, you just need to be aware of what will happen.
Are you currently getting housing benefit? This will carry on for 2 weeks after you applied for UC then stop.
Amigo aren’t usually sympathetic if borrowers say they want to pay late or pay less.
I don’t like telling borrowers they can stop making their Amigo payments just because they have a good case, this is a really difficult decision for you as even good cases can take a while to sort out.
You could talk to your local Citizens Advice about your situation, but you probably won’t be able to see a monty specialist there for a week, possibly two because its over the holidays.
Things to think about:
– if you lived on yiour own and your only income was PIP and HB, then it sounds as though you have a VERY strong case
– if you win your case, it looks to me as though you have already paid Amigo about £10,000 since you took the loan out (unless you missed payments?) so your balance should be cleared if they refund this loan
– it sounds to me as though your sister can’t afford to make the payments either… she can complain and ask to be removed as the guarantor for 2 reasons – when the loan was taken out (1) you could not afford the payments and (2) she could not afford the payments either. There is a template letter she can use to complain here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/
– if your sister puts in a complaint and you don’t make the next payment, Amigo can ask her to pay but they can’t take her to court while she has a complaint in.
So if you are on good terms with your sister, you could explain the situation to her and say you can’t afford to make the next payment, but you already have a complaint in, if you win this she will be removed from the loan and that you should hear in February. Show her this discussion so she realises your problem. Ask if she would like to put in a complaint too?
S says
Hi Sara,
I never received HB when I applied for the loan and never have received it. When I took out the loan I was only receiving PIP.
I have paid around £10270 (approximately) since I have had the loan. I have never missed a payment but have paid late nearly every month for the past year or more.
Thank you for all the information & help.
C says
Hi Sara,
I’m not sure if you remember me but I had 1 loan and a top up and the top up was partially upheld.
Anyways the loan was meant to be removed from my credit report and I was told it could take up to 8 weeks but it’s still showing 12 weeks later? I did get in touch with someone from amigo and they said they would get in touch with someone from the relevant department this was a week ago and I’ve heard nothing back since. Also I had an agreement to lower my monthly payment to £144 which I’ve been paying.
However after making this months agreed payment my account all the sudden said I’m in arrears of £109 but this didn’t happen last month when I made the same payment. I also received a letter a couple days later stating missed payment and the following ‘’ Hi C,
I understand that we have agreed a payment plan with you. However, I have a responsibility to let you know that your account fell into arrears on Sunday 22nd December, 2019 and is currently behind by £109.27.’’
What do I do? Because this is incorrect, They’ve made a few mistakes along the way and I’ve been very patient with them but I’m getting fed up with the constant mistakes now!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you send them a complaint! Email title – “Complaint about Amigo errors” so it doesn’t look like a normal affordability complaint.
C says
Hi Sara,
I sent an email to amigo on the 27th and yet to receive a response, I’ve since received a default notice that was sent out on the 23rd saying I should pay the £109 by the 10th otherwise they will take further action. What do I do?
As I shouldn’t be in arrears and paid the amount that was meant to be paid!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Phone them up and ask why you have been sent a default notice when you are not in arrears.
M says
Amigo loans update – made me an offer through the FOS before I had been assigned an adjudicator. I accepted and they sent me the settlement figure within 3 days of acceptance and money in my account 3 days later. Merry Christmas indeed. Just waiting on one lending to respond to the adjudicator and then my payday loan and Guarantor loan nightmare is done and dusted. Thank you to this site – It has been a godsend!
Clare says
Hi, can anyone help me? Amigos 8 weeks was up today and they’ve just emailed saying they are very busy and will respond in 4 weeks. Can they do this? I’ve been counting down to this day for weeks now, I’m doing this for my husband who is off work with stress and depression and I so want to give him some good news 😒
Michael Lord says
I had same about 2 weeks ago still waiting for my decision and i complainer mid october
Joseph says
To be blunt, yes they can. But now the 8 weeks is up you can refer you case to the Financial Ombudsman. But, often people say to give them a little extra time as they could come back and make an offer. What you could do is submit it to the FOS now, and then wait to see what they say, if they reject it you’ve not wasted a few weeks and if they uphold it just remove the complaint with the FOS. The FOS won’t pick up your complaint within that 4 weeks as they’re busy so it’s a win win (I wouldn’t tell Amigo you’ve sent the complaint to FOS)
Clare Webster says
Thank you for replying, what does sending it to FOS entail?
Joseph says
FOS deal with complaints between companies and individuals who can’t find a resolution. But to put it simply, if Amigo reject your complaint they can look at it and force them to do what they (the FOS) say – worth giving them a call to discuss further
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The article above explains how to send your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. It’s pretty easy!
Emma says
Same… mine has been 12 weeks today. They have emailed promising a response on 3 occasions the last being Xmas eve… emailed today and they responded to say they are working to get me a response as soon as possible! Mine only actually got allocated to an agent a day before the 10 week marker.
I guess it must depend on who is working your case as I know a few others on here have sent complaints after me and had a response.
Luke says
Hi Sara,
I have had the following response after having my loan ruled unfiar:
“further to our conversation back in October, would you prefer for the loan to show as settled and A paid (never missed a payment) or removing from your credit file? The resolution of this aspect of your complaint is on track as per that conversation and subsequent email; I wanted to clarify your preference however.”
What would you recommend? Would settled and paid give me a better credit rating compared with removing it altogether?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That depends a bit on what the rest of your credit record is like. A loan paid on time does help your credit record, and this isn’t a payday loan, which other lenders see as a warning signal.
But if you have a lot of other defaults and late payments, then one loan paid on time won’t help much and it may be best to get it deleted so it looks as though you have borrowed less.
Whatever you decide, it’s a good idea to take a copy of your credit reports now from Credit Karam and keep that, in case you ever want to make any other affordability complaints, you want to have a complete record with the Amigo loan showing to prove what a bad position you were in.
Emma says
Hi Sara,
Amigo haven’t upheld my complaint, I’ll refer it to the ombudsman but again I’m not hopeful. Thanks for all your help with this, so disappointed I have £5200 left of a £6500 loan and already paid over £9500! Hey ho!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You were one of the people that has waited 12 weeks… I think I am now switching to telling most people to send a complaint to the Ombudsman dead on 8 weeks, unless there is something unusual about a case.
I have lost track of the number of people who weren’t hopeful about taking their case to the ombudsman and then won! With 3 top-ups you have a very strong case. One loan complaints are often won and every top up increases the amount of checking that Amigo should have done, but usually didn’t.
What is the situation of your guarantor like?
Emma says
Oh really? Ok ill send it to them with all fingers crossed! Their response is so generic it’s so frustrating… my guarantor is stable and we are in regular contact still.
Catherine says
Merry Christmas all,
I’ve had a response from George Banco Everyday Lending,with a partial uphold.They agree after reviewing the bank statement I sent and consider gambling expenses that loan 1 was unaffordable.Not upheld either top up however I realised my mistake was that I didn’t include statements for the months prior to the two top ups as evidence to support my complaint(I’d sent lots of complaints at the same time and thought I’d sent when I hadn’t)
I’ve gone back to them and played dumb and asked why they will not uphold top ups when statements for those show gambling expenses too,and so makes those unaffordable for the same reason.
I made out like either they hadn’t received them or had ignored them and sent them in my reply.
They have agreed to look further into the top ups with the additional information.Given their reasoning to uphold loan one,I’m praying that after viewing other statements then they will come to the same conclusion and refund those too.
They have said it could take up to 3 weeks to review further,I’m happy to wait to avoid having to take the whole lot to the FOS.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds promising…
Lisa says
Hi catherine, I made a similar complaint to this company on behalf of my niece who had 2 top ups, initially they partially upheld the first loan as irresponsible lending, i wrote to them and asked them to review the 2 top up loans and provided bank statements at the same time, they responded in 5 days and uphelp all 3 loans as irresponsible lending, she had a debt of over £13k and now owes them just over £2k which she has added to her DMP. Send them bank statements as they will require this to look into your other loans and it speeds the process up. Good luck.
Catherine says
Hi Lisa thanks for commenting about your nieces experience.Given their reasoning to uphold loan 1,with the top up loan statements showing the same gambling expenses then really they should also be upheld as there was also lack of credit file checks on the top ups as well.
I’ve sent the top up loan statements now,was my fault for thinking Id sent them with the initial complaint.
The main investigating work is done so hoping that after they view statements they will issue a further response promptly.
Did they originally say it could take longer than 5 days to review others?
lisa says
Hi Catherine, they did say allow up to 2 weeks but due to the statements showing the same gambling transactions during the period in question as you say the investigation part has been done already. Hope you hear back soon.
Katie says
Can I ask some advice please?
Got an amigo loan 2016 for £5k, topped up to £7,500
Paid back so far around £13k ish & still owe about £7,600. Put a complaint in to them december 7th so the 8 weeks cut off will be feb 1st. I had the automated response about them receiving my complaint, i replied asking for loans & top ups to all be taken into account & someone replied stating all agreements will be taken into consideration. This was a personal email rather than automated so am i right to assume it has been assigned to someone to look at already?
If so, should i not hear back by 1st feb, would you recommend me leaving it maybe an extra week before contact due to xmas & new year?
Also when i click on my amigo account & bring up “letters” which show both agreements, it wont actually bring up the agreements so i cant work out the full amounts etc, any tips?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The reply may not have been automated but it sounds standard, not necessarily from someone actually looking at your case. I wouldn’t expect to get a reply before the end of the 8 weeks and then it may well be a request for 4 more weeks..
What is your current financial situation like? Do you have other problem debts you are paying?
What is your guarantor’s Financial situation like?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can work out the actual amounts from your bank statements if you want to. The important thing is that it sounds as though you must have paid more than you borrowed so you should not owe a balance if both loans are upheld.
katie says
Im in massive debt, not hugely high amounts but a lot of little ones, 4 ccjs, other debts etc. Single parent to two under 16 & have only worked 16hrs a week for the last 5 years. Have had the loan 3 years, pay £296 a month back on it. Have even taken out phone contracts to sell the phone to pay off the month due to it leaving me so short but then not been able to keep up the monthly cost of the phone so put myself in even more debt just so my guarentor doesnt have to pay
Also trying to pay back a lot of council tax debt & nursery fees
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It doesn’t sound as though a loan costing £296 a month is remotely affordable.
Are you making payments to the CCJs and the other debts? Of the ones you have listed the council tax is a priority debt.
What is your guarantor’s position – I am not going to suggest you don’t pay so they have to, but it may be they too can complain and ask to be removed as the guarantor.
katie says
Its definately not affordable. They never checked anything when i applied. My guarentor is my dad who im not overly close to so id prefer him not to be involved in. Ive just been struggling along paying every month because i didnt want it to affect him but now i just need it gone. I cant afford to pay any of my other debts except council tax which have agreed a payment plan with me. The rest including ccjs are on the backburner until i can sort this out with amigo. I try to save through the month, i pay my rent, the kids are always priority, then amigo payment becomes due & i end up not eating much at all for a week or so just to make sure the kids have enough that week & that i can pay that month. I think 1 of the ccjs was from around the same time i got the original loan, the 2nd was just before the top up.
Michael Lord says
Hi katie
I complained on the 17th october and when my 8 weeks was up i was asked for another 4 week extension i have just about a week left give or take and have not heard anything apart from the usual standard emails after 30 days and the SAR stuff, at the 8 week mark I left a bad review on trust pilot and starter the process with the FOS, so if its not upheld im already in the que hopefully,
My last loan was for 7500 ive paid back something like 12-13k and owe about 6200 now, my third payment since the complaint is due tommorrow aswell ! Grrrr
katie says
Hi michael
Im hoping mine will be upheld, fairly quickly. Ive only got this fridays payment between my complaint & the 8 weeks but its crippling me
Michael Lord says
Yeah fingers crossed but expect the worst, ive seen many people complain and every person since the week before mine has had there complaint extended by 4 weeks , im hating paying mine and been told my complaint is being looked at but thats pretty generic. Good luck and happy new year
katie says
Fingers crossed for both of us that even at the end of any extension they uphold both our complaints. Good luck to you too & hope 2020 brings you good news!
Michael Lord says
Yeah you too! Its a painfull wait im always checking emails lol
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Michael & Katie,
It’s a horrible situation. The problem is that there is no guarantee you will win a complaint at 8 weeks or 12 weeks and if it goes to FOS you may well win but it can take months. If your guarantors can also put in a complaint (there is a simple template letter for guarantors here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/) then you would feel safer to stop paying – the guarantor would get cross texts and emails but with a complaint in Amigo could not take him to court.
S says
Hi Sara,
I have put a complaint in to Amigo at the start of the month but I did not send my bank statements. Do I need to send them in now? One bank account shows my monthly payments of PIP.
I banked with a few different banks at the time so my banking is varied. I have taken a look at my accounts for when I received the loan, it doesn’t look like I’m in financial difficulty but it shows I have no income of a wage and that I only receive PIP benefit. Should I send them in? Or should I wait until they request them, I’m confused with this on.
Many thanks.
Alison says
2.1.2020
I stood guarantor for a friend’s daughter who at the time was at uni with a job. After about a month starting getting emails stating that the borrower was not paying and I had too. I later found out she lost her job. Now claiming benefits. She gave a incorrect address. She was in debt as she had a CCJ arrive at another address she gave some lenders. The repayment is very high every month leaving me to use my overdraft. I wrote to Bamboo from your template letter they acknowledged my complaint and are investigating so no response but they are now saying they are collecting the arrears on 9.1.20 when I said to stop payment till my investigation is sorted. I don’t want to cancel my DD as I have never been in debt before and don’t want to to effect my credit score. I have phoned them to say I do not want to pay until my complaint is sorted. Still waiting for them to get back to me. Just want to ask should I not cancel my DD with the company allow them to collect payment
Alison
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is the debt showing on your credit record?
Alison says
Got a email they are not taking this months payment until my complaint is dealt with. Your letter and advice has helped thank you
Alison says
Got the information back today just showing guarantor agreements and my credit record. But my main complaint was they didn’t do any checks financially on the borrower as they have not sent anything on the borrower. Obviously she could not afford this loan which I did not know as I though she was in employment. No one made me aware of her finances. It is like I signed for the loan and gave away the money to the borrower. I signed trusting Bamboo had carried out checks on the borrower and she had a job and could afford the repayments. Should bamboo have carried out financial checks on the borrower and asked for bank statements etc . What should I do next please Alison
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Complaining that Bamboo did not do proper checks on the borrower is a valid reason, but it can be hard for you to prove unless the borrower is co-operating – which in your case she obviously isn’t.
But you should also me complaining that the loan was unaffordable for you. If you can only pay it by using your overdraft , that shows it is probably unaffordable. Was this also in your complaint? It is always good to use all the possible reasons that were relevant for you, not just the one you feel is the most important.
Alison says
Should Bamboo of checked the financial history of all new borrowers? Is giving false information ie address acceptable on an application?
I can get into with the borrower. What should she be doing to help this situation.
Alison
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If she wants to help, the simplest is for her to submit an affordability complaint too. Use the template letter in the article above (I hope you used the template over on the page for guarantors? https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/)
If she wins, then interest is removed from her loan, you are released as guarantor and she can then set up an affordable payment arrangement for the balance left.
Otherwise she could supply you with a copy of her Credit Karma report. And / or bank statements from the three months before the loan application. She may well see both of those as being very intrusive though.
AM says
Had a fantastic start to New Year from Amigo. Bit of back story, I originally complained to Amigo in Jan 2018 about 3 loans I held with Amigo. These loans were all in chain and last one was settled March 2015. Amigo back then declined my complaint. I totally forgot about sending to FOS within 6 months. This August I was reading the final Response they sent me, and it stated they would consent to a FOS review even if it was sent outside of 6 months. Sent to FOS in August 2019. Last week FOS confirmed that Amigo has offered to full refund on loans 2 &3 and 8%, and all information removed from Credit Report. Accepted the offer as my first loan was the smallest and only ran for 9 months before I began topping up. Email from Amigo today confirms refund of £6800 and should be in my account within 3 days. Proper made up, and can’t thank Sara and this site enough.
Robert says
When in August did you send to FOS and when did the FOS team pick it up? Sent mine over in late August so trying to guage when FOS might come back to me
AM says
Hi, I sent it to FOS at the beginning of August 2019, and it was picked up by an adjudicator on the 15th October. The Adjudicator stayed they would write to Amigo for the file. Spoke to FOS on 30th December who informed me Amigo had made an offer to settle. Accepted offer. Amigo contacted me on 31st December for updated bank details. Money was in my account by the 3rd Jan. Very Quick
P says
Hi Sara
Bit of a strange one here but any advice would be appreciated.
I won my affordability complaint against Amigo , they realised my guarantor from any obligation against my loan. They refunded the interest Clearing the loan and the difference was paid out to me – happy days.
3 days later they called to say they’d overpaid me by £250 ish because a direct debit was cancelled by me which they had assumed would clear at the bank (prior to them refunding me).
I used the payout to pay rent and council tax arrears and I said I would repay at the end of January / start of feb when affordable to me.
Then I received a letter saying I was behind with one instalment and if not paid by xx date (which is a few days from now) a default notice would be issued!!
When I called to challenge this they said a default would be issued but NOT reported to the credit reference agency! My response is this isn’t a missing loan repayment but a clerical error by Amigo.
Considering they upheld my complaint and the original loan wasn’t due to end until May 2020 should I stick to arrangement to repay at the beginning of February when it’s affordable to me??
Can they issue a default ?? Seems bizarre
P
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you care if they “issue a default” but don’t report it to the credit reference agencies?
P says
Hi
No I don’t care if they issue a default but don’t report it.
But I do care that I believe that :
1]technically they shouldn’t as the loan isn’t behind – do you agree?
2) they do report and I have to spend more time communicating with Amigo getting it removed, and more importantly
3) they somehow in their incompetence drag my Guarantor back into this (is that possible)?
Thanks P
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No they can’t get your guarantor involved again!
I suggest you email them and say you will be repaying the £250 in early February as that is when you will have the money to do it.
Point out that CONC 7.3.4 says a firm must treat customers in default or in arrears difficulties with forbearance and due consideration.
And that CONC 7.3.6 says Where a customer is in default or in arrears difficulties, a firm should allow the customer reasonable time and opportunity to repay the debt.
As the error was theirs in the first place and you have used the refund to settle priority debts, your offer to repay them in a months time is not unreasonable or prolonged.
Say if they continue to pressurise you about this you will be sending your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman and asking for compensation for the stress they are causing.
Sara says
Hi, Sara.
I emailed Amigo yesterday using your template for an affordability complaint and I’ve already recieved a response. This is what I got back;
“Good Afternoon,
Thank you for your email, I’m sorry to hear you’re unhappy with your loan.
Due to what you’ve advised, I have raised a complaint on your behalf. Our Customer Relations Team will be in touch within 3 – 5 working days.
To aid our investigation, please can you send us your bank statements for 3 months prior to each loan that your complaint relates to. If you are unable to send bank statements we will complete our investigation using the information that we already have.
I’ve also raised your subject access request and passed this to the relevant team. Please be aware that we have up to 30 days to send you this information.
Should you have any questions in the meantime, please feel free to reply to this email.”
I’m just hoping for a little advice in what to expect or how to go about the conversation I’m assuming they’ll want when they get in touch.
Many thanks,
Sara
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s a good idea to send the bank statements if you haven’t already.
There probably won’t be much of a conversation. Do you have a loan outstanding?
Sara says
I replied to her email to request all the dates from my applications as they don’t show on my online account with Amigo, and I’ve requested which form and how to send the statements to them. Just waiting for them to respond.
Is it a good sign that I’ve recieved such a quick response. From reading other’s comments, some seem to have been waiting a while.
And yes. My current top up isn’t due to finish for another 3.5 years.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think Amigo’s complaint handling is changing all the time. I don’t think anyone has yet looked at your complaint – that email didn’t suggest the person sending it knew how many loans you had, it was just generic.
Sara says
That makes sense.
Do you think from them getting in touch within 3-5 working days that I will have a response sooner rather than later, or could I still be waiting the 8 weeks?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You may be waiting 12 weeks… I hope they are now speeding up again.
Michael Lord says
Hi Sara
Im on week 11 of my complaint and had the same generic email when i first put my complaint in, you will get another in next couple of days saying its being investigated and probably an attachement with there guidlines for complaints, after that you will recieve you SAR details and another email at 4 weeks saying they are still looking into it, at 8 weeks i and many others have had emails saying it will take another 4 weeks as they are very busy, myself i have another 1 week left to hit 12 weeks, im expecting it wont be upheld and at 8 weeks sent it straight to the FOS hope that helps as during my waiting period i was always hopeful that it had been looked at and i was due sonething any minute and read these forums alot of times, expect the worst hope for the best and very good luck (sorry for long post )
Catherine says
I’m afraid what you have received is just generic from customer services,they raise the complaint on your account and then it waits for a customer relations member to investigate.
No one has looked at mine yet,8 weeks has gone and they said it could be another 4 before a response as they have a huge number of complaints at the moment.
Don’t expect a response before the 8 weeks as it’s very unlikely.
Sara says
Thank you, Catherine.
When it says I’m the email that “Our customer relations team will be in touch within 3-5 working days”, does that mean I’ll be called or emailed etc?
Thanks
Sara says
Thank you, Michael :)
If it reached the 8 weeks and I was still being ‘stalled’ would I be better off to send straight to the FOS?
Catherine says
Apart from the initial acknowledgment I didn’t receive anything else not even at 4 weeks.I was due a response on the 29th of December but had to ring to find out when I would get one and only then did they say it would be another 4 weeks and sent me a email.
Just send in all your statements and a copy of your credit report so they have everything when someone looks at it and then it’s a waiting game.
I’m in no rush for a response so going to give them the 4 weeks and hope it’s upheld.Ive luckily won a few complaints without going to FOS which has made my situation easier.
Good luck
Michael Lord says
No problem sara, i sent it to FOS at 8bweek basically just to start the process, ive not mentioned it to amigo as im hoping they will respond before the FOS, i also left a bad review on trust pilot and send an angry email to the FCA. It didnt achieve much apart from annoying them a little bit. Hope your complaint gets a good outcome. One thing i worry is people who send these complaints pin everything on them being upheld and its never a 100% thing, so just bear that in mind (i know thats a rubbish thing to say) good luck in any case and ignore any typos ive had a beer or 2 haha
k says
Ive messaged today with bank statements but they were happy enough with only showing my incoming amounts for the 3 months before each loan. Hopefully that is enough. They have been in quite regular contact today regarding statements & which dates & when I sent the lady replied saying thank you for the now correct statement dates & confirmed they have been attached to the case file to assist with the complaint
Fingers crossed thats all they need
Sara says
Where do you send your bank statements to? Is it the email address they responded with?
k says
It was the complaints@amigo one. Someone called caroline messaged as i was talking to someone else & sent the wrong dated statements so caroline messaged me & said they werent all the right dates & gave me dates of the loans & asked if i could send all statements showing the 3 months before each loan if i wanted all 3 loans taking into account. I sent them back to her via replies & she messaged back a little while ago saying those were the correctly dated statements & that she has now attached them to the complaint to be considered with it
Syed N says
HI,
I made a complaint to Amigo loans its been nearly 10 weeks now no reply or a outcome from them.
Today I emailed then saying can I get an update reply was still working on final response as soon we have update will email outcome
I logged with FOS already.
Any advise anyone ?
Michael Lord says
Same boat as me. Just sit tight you’ve done all you can so far maybe put a bad review on trust pilot
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I see you have left them a bad review on Trust Pilot.
What is your guarantor’s financial position like?
robin says
Hi Sara,
Had a previous comment, think it may be to long To sum up, I complained about my 6 loans, loan 2 and 6 got upheld Amigo contacted gaurentor and offered refund.They then told me that I now have a balance, and they reinstated my DD which I have now canceled I told them I’m taking it to the ombudsman they said they still expect me to pay until they hear from them Can you explain more about the FOS looking into giving guarantor large refunds? I’m worried that I will end up with more debt on top of the crippling 10-15k I already have.
robin says
Loan 1 Jan 2013 £1500 80 percent payments made by me, a couple of DD bounced and guarantor paid
Loan 2 The refund issued to guarantor already £3250 £800 used to settled old agreement £2400 paid out Most payments made by me some late and bounced DD
Loan 3 December 2015 £3000 PAYOUT Most payments made by family/guarantor, guarantor cleared the loan balance off
Loan 4 December 2017 £3250 paid out I struggled and guarantor paid most payments
July 2018 top-up started Loan 5 £4250 £3000 used to settle old agreement £1000 paid out again i struggled, guarantor stuck with payments and paid most
April 2018 top up started Loan 6(Refunded to guarantor) April 2018 £4000 £2600 to settle old agreement £1400 paid out guarantor made most payments and cleared loan.
I really cannot afford the further debt, is it likely the ombudsman will refund the others to my guarantor? This has me really worried as struggling as it is. Its been with the ombudsman since October and they are working on it Any advice on what to expect/would be really appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This 10-15k – does this include the balances you now owe Amigo for loans 2 & 6? Who is the rest of the debt owed to?
Are you paying the other debts at the moment?
Did you ever repay your guarantor for any moneys they paid Amigo?
Amigo is routinely refunding the guarantor for any payments they made to loans that are decided to be unaffordable. If there are only a few, most borrowers think this is pretty reasonable. But where there have been a lot of many loans, it can leave the borrower in a much worse position which isn’t “treating customers fairly”. FOS is trying to decide what to rule in these cases.
robin says
No unfortunately it doesn’t
A few are payday/monthly loans that i have payment plans in place for, a couple of big credit cards £4-6k each and also behind on a months rent and some bills
Ive fallen behind on the repayments for most as the financial situation is not great
I never repaid my Gaurentor, i couldnt afford the loans, neither could they and the cycle ended when they paid the last off. This caused a lot of strain and we arnt on speaking terms unfortunately. However, they did text me after the refund asking about the other loans.
I dont dispute the gaurentor should get back the repayments, i just cant afford payments of £200 plus right now.
Do you know what thye are trying to decide? Is it likely that the guarantor will get their payments back? and based on what ive said do i have much chance of winning the other loan complaints?
A lot of this was caused by my gambling problem does this affect the ability to win the argument at the FOS?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Gambling actually makes it easier to win these case – if Amigo had looked at you bank statements they would never have given you the loans.
And they should NEVER have carried on giving you loans when your guarantor had had to make so many payments to the previous loans.
I would say that, based on what you have said, you have a very good chance of winning the complaints about all or your loans, with the possible exception of the first which was so small. But you may win the lot.
If this happens and if Amigo are allowed to carry on with their current refund policy, then your guarantor looks set to get a lot of repayments. And although the interest will be removed from all the loans, it looks unlikely to me from your loan list that you have actually paid much if any interest on loans 3, 4 & 5. So you may end up owing Amigo more on these loans.
If FOS decide this is unfair on you, then I don’t know what they will say should happen instead. They may say the repayments should be made to the guarantor but the loans should be written off if that leaves you owing money. So your position would not get worse but you aren’t going to get any cash refund.
I suppose it’s possible that FOS could decide the refunds should all go to you. But I’m not sure that is at all likely, after all you haven’t actually repaid the amount you borrowed on these loans and if the guarantor complained, they would clearly have to get their money back.
So what should you do now?
First I think you need to take some debt advice. Talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000. What you are doing at the moment – making payments to payday lenders when you have rent arrears is not sensible. I think you need to prioritise repaying your rent and bills and pay less to the payday lenders and credit cards. And nothing to Amigo until the complaint is finally settled.
Given the scale of your other debts, it may also be sensible to consider bankruptcy. Sorry. It seems pretty unlikely that a refund from Amigo is going to come to your rescue here. And if the FOS decision goes the wrong way, you could end up owing more.
There is a debt solution called a debt relief order which is like a simplified form of bankruptcy. If National debtline suggest that you need to explain that its possible you could end up owing MORE on the old Amigo debts. Bankruptcy would wipe out any problems that may emerge from them in the future. A DRO wouldn’t.
robin says
Thank you for this Sara,
It definitely clears up my position and mindset.
I think it is fair they repayments from the guarantor should go back o them, as they i think ended up taking a loan to pay this off.
I will let you know what is said from the FOS
Thank you for the advice and debt advice i will look into it tonight
Robin
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good, I think talking to National Debtline will help clarify things for you.
It is possible I suppose that your assessment has been too pessimistic and that you have paid more to the loans than you think so the best case is you might get a few thousand back. I don’t like making guesses. But you have to get yourself into a place where your priority debts such as rent arrears and bills get most of what money you do have for debts.
katie says
Ive just logged into my account, my payment is due tomorrow. Always been the 3rd for my payment date but now when i login, it says your account is in arrears of £296.44 since 2nd january
Ive never known it to say this & how can i be in any type of arrears when my payment isnt due until tomorrow & the money is in my bank to pay it as promised to pay until complaint has been handled. Does this mean they arent going to take the payment? Last thing i need is them hounding my guarentor who has just gone on holiday
Bonnie says
Mines is meant to be due on the 1st. But because it was new years day it would usually (like last year) come out on the 2nd and it never did. Like you mines in the bank also waiting for them to take it and when i try to log in its saying i dont have an account with amigo. ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Katie, Bonnie did you use the template letter from here which says you want to carry on making the payments? I suggest you phone them up and ask what they are doing.
Rachel says
Hi Sara
So after contacting the FOS on the 1st of November with complaints against Everyday Lending (trust two) and TFS loans , I finally heard back off them on the 23rd of December , asking me to send the copy of the final response letters , which I forwarded on the same day.
In the mean time I have asked TFS for lower payments monthly as I’m struggling to pay the £304 repayment they expect. I have continued to pay both loans though.
The FOS haven’t asked for any more information as yet and I was just wondering if anyone knew how long I should wait for a response from them etc? The payments are causing me extreme stress and anxiety , I have been put on low dose tablets due to lack of sleep and panic attacks. I’m also well aware this is all my own doing and I can’t believe I let desperation get that bad to get myself into this mess!. Please can I add that Amigo upheld my complaint but these other 2 companies did not.
Thank you
Rach
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you sent FOS your bank statements?
23 December isn’t very long as the adjudicator may have had some time off. But I think you should ring up and explain about your mental health problems and having to take medication now for them, ask if your case can be speeded up and if there is any further inofrmation that they need.
What is your guarantor’s financial position like?
Rachel says
Thank you for reply.
No I haven’t , they only asked for the response letters for final decision. They didn’t ask for any bank statements. At the time I was with NatWest bank and the account has since closed (which I am in arrears with) can I still ask for statements? If needed.
My main argument is that my credit rating was extremely poor and also showed defaults and CCJ’s some of them being around the time of the loan. And that also I had said my partner paid all household bills I unfortunately I stretched the truth on this as he didn’t. And I am now single with 2 dependants.
My mother is my guarantor , I believe her financial situation isn’t awful but it petrifies me them contacting her as I hate putting her in that position especially of late as her partner has cancer.
Just feel at a loss with it all , the thing is I have asked on several occasions for the payments to just be made manageable for the time being and they always say no.
Rach
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds as though you have a strong case. Lenders know people needing a guarantor loan may be desperate and that’s why they should verify your actual expenses, which they didn’t.
Do call FOS and tell them about your sleep problems and panic attacks.
You can get bank statements from closed accounts. I suggest you do this, don’t wait to be asked for them by FOS as that would then be another delay.
Are you making payments to other debts as well?
Rachel says
I will call the FOS on Monday and also NatWest for the bank statements then.
I am yes , I’m in rent arrears , council tax arrears , and paying off back dated water charges. My gas and electric is pay as you go Now which helps. I really want to get straight! I’m not getting any younger I want to do it for myself and the kids.
Bonnie says
Hi sara
I only discovered this page last night. Its given a slight bit of hope ive just been looking through everyones comments . Its been a nightmare for me with this amigo. Not sure if its a strong enough case for a complaint? ive had 3 loans with them : 1st loan i had paid for about 6 months that was in 2015 and i was allowed to top up to £5000 and the first loan was pretty much all interest being paid back. I was allowed another top up the same year 2015. Then about 4/5 months later had another top up to 7500 to help pay rent ect that was 2016.
. I split from my partner a short time after and ended up on benefits. I was in contact with amigo who of course wanted the money from my dad the guarantor . Eventually they gave a breathing space to get statements to them for how much benefits i was getting.so in the end they said i had to pay £150 a month out of my income support . He knew i had just had my 3rd child who i wasnt receiving money for. Thats 27 payments of £150 thats been paid since nov 2017 about £4050 when interest wasnt freezed It was just the interest i was paying as previous payments were £296. Its depressing if ever ive been on the phone ive been spoken down to . The first loan I was 19 and had they asked for statements they would have seen I had a gambling problem.
So over all since 2015 to now Ive paid back roughly £9500 and its all been interest. Really Sorry for the long post just confused by it all theres still about 9600 to pay im sure
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You definitely have a strong enough case for a complaint!
It will take at least 8-12 weeks to sort out, and longer if it has to go to the ombudsman, but there is no way to speed this up so getting it started asap is the best thing.
Do send your bank statements with the complaint (or add them in a couple of weeks if it takes you a while to get them sorted out.) Gambling showing supports your complaint that Amigo did not properly check you can afford the loans. You need to send the three months before each loan or top up, so if the first loan was September 2015, send Jun, Jul, Aug 15 for that loan.
What is your dad’s financial position like?
Bonnie says
I thankyou for replying and helping. I will do and he is in a steady job but dont know exactly his situation as he doesnt tell me anything about what hes paying out on things ect i think he’ll be close to retiring but always made sure i was paying as he was good enough to be the guarantor for me even though i was struggling it was upsetting.
Bonnie says
Im just going to phone amigo so they take the payment as there is exactly £150 in my bank an neither me or my dad havent had a text to ask for the payment due on the 1st. Site is still saying im not an existing customer wish this was true lol
Bonnie says
I just phoned they said its being passed to intirim or intram i couldnt understand her she was really cheecky i said what? When did this happen she said we have sent lettwrs emails. I said no there has not im not lying ive had nothing she said shes put me onto a manager im just waiting on hold anxious .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That would be to “Intrum”, the debt collector they sell loans to. Don’t panic, this won’t affect your complaint. If you win, Amigo will have to sort it out with Intrum and may buy the loan back.
And it may be good news as Intrum will probably be much easier to deal with than Amigo, who don’t seem to have got the hang of sympathetic customer service.
Intrum will be in touch at some point, tell them you have a complaint in with Amigo as the loan was unaffordable and offer to make a payment that you can afford. If Amigo reject your complaint, send that straight to the Ombudsman and again tell Intrum what you have done. Intrum can’t take you to court while you have a complaint outstanding but you do have to tell them about it.
In the meanwhile, it looks like no one is going to collect this months payments from you. What a shame.
Bonnie says
Thankyou so much honestly for advice there was so many peoblems lol they said they sent a lettler to me and dad which they hadnt then had 2 emaila both different from amigo and intrum. So is intrum like amigo with guarantor? She condriticted herself quite a bit. I told her i was getting in touch with ombudsman or should i complain first? Thanks
Ross says
Sara (debt camel)
Can you please email me directly to please help me with this, Just wanna complain 2.5 years I’ve been paying, I don’t speak to my guarantor anymore but don’t want her to be affected etc.
Thankyou
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry No, I don’t give advice by email. Read the article above slowly, thinking which bits sound relevant for you. The template is pretty simple.
You can also ask any questions here where you are anonymous.
Good luck, very large numbers of these cases are being won!
Jethro says
Good afternoon. Just wondering what my chances are with UK Credit….I do have my DSAR back too. A brief background:
December 2015 – £1500 loan TM Advances
Feb 2016 – £5000 Guarantor Loan Glo
April 2016 – £6000 Guarantor Loan UK Credit
2 x Defaults during the year totalling £2600
March 2017 – £9640 top up UK Credit.
Various other defaults already on CF
Car finance too.
The glo guarantor loan and 2 new defaults aren’t on their credit checks. But they’re on my credit file.
No bank statements asked for, all show gambling (I basically gambled the 1st £5000 in a day (not proud, and all that is behind me :) :) ) so I’m claiming irresponsible lending.
All payments were made and the loan had been paid off. Total £17,533 as a lump sum was paid at the end. That’s just the second loan.
They have asked for statements which I’ve requested from the old bank account.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds like a good case to me.
I suggest you should also put in a complaint to Glo if you haven’t already done so.
Jethro says
I shall, and I’ll get the statements ASAP.
How if these things are on my CF aren’t they in their credit check….and as they’re not will this have/should have affected their decision making process?
If they asked for statements they would have also seen the Glo money deposited and spent.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Which credit report are you looking at? Can you tell from the SAR wich credit reference agency UKC used?
Jethro says
I’m looking at check my file…so all 3 agencied are on there. The loans are reported on 2….experian and TransUnion
Uk Credit report to Equifax and TransUnion.
So I’m assuming they’ve checked Equifax only as that’s the only one that’s not reported…suppose my question is
Is it there responsibility to check my full credit file? TransUnion (who they report to) would’ve shown it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It would be unusual to report to TransUnion but not to check it. I wouldn’t worry about this – for large guarantor loans it is unlikely that FOS will be sympathetic to a lender saying “we didn’t check that so it’s not our fault that we didn’t take it into account”.
Joe says
Amigo got back to me on Friday after I complained on 10th October. They have paid the 7100 that was left on my account and it says it’s been settled online. And on the balance it’s -£2811. Iam assuming that they will refund that to me as it’s minus and the accounts closed. They said they would calculate refund and get back to me in 10days. But account is already settled online. I was paying 345 a month so it’s a weight of my shoulders thanks to your forum. Thank u so much for all ur help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So have they upheld all 4 loans you had?
Joe says
I had 5 with them and the upheld 2,3 and 4. They told me they can’t look into 1 cos it was in 2013 and the last one they said because it was 2 year after my last top up they won’t be upholding that. On my account it says -£2811. Will I get that back now because the loan has shown as paid off now. They said I need to wait 10 days till they calculate it but it’s already paid off online and showing minus on the balance part.
Joe says
I have already sent it to ombusman aswell as it passed the 8 weeks mark so do you think I should just leave it with them aswell and see what they say about the ones that weren’t upheld.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can send the other loans to FOS if you want. The last one in particular, unless it was small, it should probably have been included!
I suggest you don’t place too much reliance on what your account shows at the moment, you need to wait for the figures from them.
See https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-partial-refund/
Joe says
The account actually says that the loans been settled though.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am just saying wait until you have a proper statement. Then check and see if you agree with the figures.
I’m sorry but it is possible you are not looking at at a final account. Amigo may not have completed their calculations. It sounds great, but you are going to have to wait a few days to get the numbers confirmed.
As the case is already with FOS, when you have the final numbers, go back to FOS and say what Amigo have done (settled 2,3,4) but you would like them to continue to look at your complaint about 1 & 5. Obviously all the pressure will be off you if the balance has been cleared!
a says
Hi Sara
as previously discussed amigo have not yet updated the balance on my credit file and this still stands at 13k while the real balance is 1773. i have not paid them their monthly instalments now for two months because of this however both me and my guarantor have not heard anything from amigo normally you miss one payment and your completely hounded could there be a reason for this??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your guarantor should have been released from the loan as it was unaffordable. Weren’t they told about this?
I think they are in a mess at the moment. Their systems don’t seem to be geared up to handling these loans after an afordability settlement.
You could just wait and see when they get in touch and point out you aren’t paying anything and say they still haven’t sorted out your credit record. Or you could go to FOS and say they still havent sorted the credit record.
a says
No after the FOS they were still chasing my guarantor for the rest of the balance. have done a fair few times. final refund Aug last year and balance of files not updated since July 2019. the arrears have only just been taken off my credit files in December. this loan is not showing on credit karma totally money just equlifax and clear score. last updated 17.12.2019 and that was the arrears.
a says
Hi Sara,
should my guarantor have been released from the loan as they agreed all loans were affordable??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes they should! Ask Amigo why your guarantor has not been released. And if they refuse to do this, tell your guarantor to send a complaint in see https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/ and use the bit in that template which says that they should be released because the bloan was unaffordable for the borrower.
Emma says
Should you still pay your monthly installments if you have filed a complaint ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How difficult are they to pay? Are you paying other debts as well? What is your guarantor’s financial position?
Emma says
It’s Amigo Loans so if I don’t pay they send final warnings and scares of bailiffs. I have many other debts to pay and my guarantor is also not in any financial position to pay anything.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
First Amigo can’t send bailiffs round unless they have gone to court for a CCJ. And if you have a complaint in with them, they cannot go to court to get a CCJ. And that also applies if they reject your complaint and you send it to the Financial Ombudsman.
If you don’t pay, they will ask your guarantor to pay, even though you have a complaint in. If you are desperate to protect your guarantor, you have to keep paying :( Could you get a debt management plan for your other debts? That might leave you with more money for this loan.
If you don’t think your guarantor could afford to pay (perhaps you were surprised they were accepted as guarantor?) then perhaps your guarantor too could complain that the loan is unafordable for them? There is a slightly different template letter for guarantors here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/
Thomas says
I have filed a complaint at the start of november and just had the typical “4 week extension” email. I’ve forwarded this back to the financial ombudsman and hope they will now follow it up as well. I have had two top ups and a serious gambling issue.
I started with a loan to settle 2 debts that i just ended up only paying 1/4 and now they are with debt collection companies. 7.5k extended to 10k and then extended to 12.5k. A simple bank statement check would have seen I had a serious issue. My credit score has gone down and down since i never made the repayments. I have stopped gambling completely now and i just want this to be over and done with. Thank you Sara for the advice and i will keep my comment updated with any feedback i hear.
Before you comment please check that you have read other comments and also the whole article as most likely your question will be answered!
Good luck to anyone else going through the same thing!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well done for stopping gambling! I didn’t realise Amigo went over 10k.
I hope you sent bank statements in with your complaint? They really help with gambling cases.
Leave Amigo a bad review on Trust Pilot saying how slow their complaint handing is: https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/amigoloans.co.uk
Thomas says
Thank you! I wasnt sure what date rate to include as it has been going for so long so i haven’t yet.
Breakdown of current loan with amigo
£12,500
Repayment of 494.06 over 60 months totalling
£29,643.60 which consists of:
(a) amount of credit: £12,500
(b) total interest of: £17,143.60
Crazy how it has spiralled out of control but definately will be filing a complaint now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You should send the bank statements for the 3 months before each loan and beforre each top up. So if the loan was on Oct 16, send Jul/Aug/Sep 16.
the reason being, that if they had asked to see statements, that is what they would have seen and with the gambling on there they would never have lent to you.
Steffy says
Hi Sara
I have heard back from amigo today who have upheld my complaint for all 4 loans yay! They are stating that they the refund is for £664.55 and I want to make sure it’s correct if you could help please:
Loan 1: £1750
03/10/16-23/11/16
Interest 1323.68
Total: 3073.68
Original payment term 36 months
Made 1 payment of £85.38 in October
Loan 2: £3500
23/11/16-09/06/17
Interest 1692.64
Total: 5192.64
Original payment term 24 months
Made 6 payments of £216.36
Loan 3: £5250
09/06/17-03/01/18
Interest 2538.72
Total: 7788.72
Original payment term 24 months
Made 7 payments of £324.53
Loan 4: £10,000
01/08/18-now
Interest 13715
Total: 23715
Original payment term 60 months
Made 22 payments of £395.25
They have stated they will be refunding interest of £9814.86 with £4.06 of statutory interest and using to pay of my current loan leaving me with a refundable amount of £664.55
Can you please help me work out if this is right?
Thanks
Michael Lord says
Hi Steffy
Out if interest when did you put in your complaint as in awaiting to hear back aswell should hear this week
Steffy says
Hi Michael,
I complained on 16/10/2019 and have chased them weekly! I did only send my bank statements on Sunday and this morning my guarantor got his email saying he was released and mine shortly followed!
Good luck :)
Michael Lord says
Thanks
Same date as me ! Thanks for the reply
Steffy says
Fingers crossed they get back to you!
Michael Lord says
Hi again Steffy
Got my response complaint upheld for loans 2 and 3 first one not upheld so happy haha
Says i have to wait 10 days for my calculations so another wait but very pleased indeed
Steffy says
Hi Michael,
What a result! They literally came back to me within a few hours with their calculations, so hopefully you hear back tomorrow! Good news is once you’ve all agreed payout in 3-5 working days! :)
S says
Hi Steffy,
Quick question, when you were chasing them weekly, was this via email or calls? and what were you saying to them? I think I need to do the same. Many thanks.
Steffy says
Hi S,
I made sure I wasn’t being rude – just kept asking for an update at least once a week, alternating between calls and emails.
I did leave them a review on trust pilot at about 10 weeks just stating they hadn’t got back to me in the guidelines (but not sure if that actually speeded anything up!).
Have you sent them your bank statements? I would definitely send and politely remind them when the deadline is (either the 8 weeks or +4 weeks like myself) they got back to me a day before the 12 weeks!
Despite the delay, I am thankful for them agreeing as it’s a massive burden gone! Was due to pay £396 until August 2023, now I’m free :)
Good luck!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Great!
When you took a top up, the previous loan was settled early. For each top up, do you know how much you actually received in cash?
Steffy says
Hi Sara
Please see below:
1st top up – 23/11/2016 paid out £1735.51
2nd top up – 09/06/2017 paid out £2318.18
3rd top up – 09/01/2019 paid out £5886.57
Thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then their calculations look roughly right.
Steffy says
Thank you! Received the refund on the Friday woo!
Scott says
Hi has any who had a loan with TFS Loans had any success from the FOS mine is currently with them and I often check on here to see if anybody else has had any success but I’m yet to see anybody who has
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There are three TFS cases won in the last year on the FOS decisions website. Here is one of them: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/files/258782/DRN4044241.pdf
Michael Lord says
Sara i cant thank you enough, ive had 2 out of 3 loans upheld (2 top ups upheld) amd have tried but failed to work out what i should roughly recieve
Any possibility you could help me out as my workings seem high for a refund so here goes (tell me no if your busy and ive not had any calculations back from amigo yet)
So loan 2
£5000
Paid 18 payments of £197
Loan 3
£7500 cash recieved £3268.67
Paid 37 payments at £297
Cant remember how much cash i got from loan 2 and not home to check hope that makes no difference lol
And thanks ever so much life changing this is !
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Another great result!
I make it that you have paid c. £6267 in interest across those two loans to be refunded – £2778 on the second loan and £3489 on the third loan. At a guess about £400-500 extra in 8% interest added.
When was loan 1 and how large was that?
Michael Lord says
Wow i worked the same out but thought i must be wrong as it was a fair few quid lol thats great
1st loan was for £4000 made 6 payments then did a top up back in 2014/15
To be totally truthfull i forgot i had the first one untill my sar (silly of me i know) so i didnt put it in my complaint but they investigated that anyway ,
Thank you so much you have helped bring me alot of joy indeed
Michael Lord says
Hi sara
Its even better that they calculated £7200 and took my bank details today
Hope i get paid quickly!
Thanks for the help again! Very happy now
Katie says
Thats great michael! Looks like you got that fab start to new year! Hope mine comes through too
Hope you get it soon & massive relief its all been sorted & no more having to pay it
Michael Lord says
Thanks Katie,
Have you got yours sorted now?
Katie says
Not yet michael but the 8 weeks isnt up for me until feb 1st so im still a few weeks away yet. Ive sent them bank statements, they’ve just sent the sar which i got yesterday so im going to take it that it might not be until end of feb until i get a final response if they ask for a further 4 weeks. I will definately update though & keeping everything crossed just to get them off my back & not have to pay every month
JM says
Hi Michael,
I applied the same time as you and still waiting for a response so seeing your result I hope I can get some good news too. Well done.
Syed N says
Hi,
How long did you get a report with upheld ?
My one is 11 weeks coming this Friday with no update.
Thanks
Michael Lord says
11 weeks and about 4 days untill i heard back , hope that helps!
Sarah says
I have had a great result today, Amigo have upheld affordability complaints on loans 2 and 3 out of 3. The original loan was only small and taken out more than 6 years ago and I was not complaining about that one anyway. These have been paid off some time ago so I will be due a nice refund. Thank you so much for all the help on here it has been very useful and appreciated. For anyone still waiting it was just over 12 weeks since my complaint was sent.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
3rd good result today!
Annie says
Hi i am still waiting. I made complaint on 14.10.2019. Must be my bad luck
Charmaine says
Hi sara,
I realised I messed up the figures I gave you, I took the first loan out in 2014.
1st loan -£5000 I paid 35x£197
Top up- £5500 I had a payout of roughly £3000 (not sure on exact figure but was no more then this) I made 23x 217
Top up- £7500 I had a payout of £2989 and paid 11x£295
Top up to £10000 I had a payout of 2779, I have so far paid 2x £395 and have a balance of 10403, and will make another payment on 28th of this month. My 8 weeks is up 8th Feb.
What am I looking at if they uphold all loans?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
On those figures, assuming you make the payment at the end of Jan, i reckon you have paid just over £2500 in interest – so the last loan would be wiped and you would get that as a refund.
The interest breaks down as follows:
loan 1 4395
loan 2 4002
loan 3 2966
loan 4 – nowhere near paying the back the amount you borrowed – still 8815 to go. But the refunds from the earlier loan will cover that if you get them all refunded.
So if Amigo reject a refund on any of the earlier loans it is going to make a big difference to you – send the complaint to the Ombudsman! Good luck…
Lou7 says
Hi all
The jurisdiction assessment as been sorted. So roughly how long will I need to wait for a final decision from the FOS?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
And they have decided they can look at the earlier loans?
Hopefully quick – that would be a good start to the year for you.
Lou7 says
Hi Sara,
Yes I had confirmation today from the adjudicator who did the jurisdiction assessment that the earlier loans can be looked at. Oh Sara I hope so, it’s been a long time coming. Fingers crossed for some good news for me and everyone on here!!
Chris says
Hi any advice appreciated. Amigo have offered a refund on 4 out of 7 loans + 8% interest (loans 1, 2, 3 & 7). I received my offer and asked for a breakdown of their calculations which showed they are not paying any 8% interest on loans 1, 2 & 3. When i asked why, they said it was because i hadnt overpayed on those loans and that was just the interest i had paid. They say because the payments i made before topping up are less than what i borrowed it is just interest and not overpayment. Am i wrong in thinking they should include the amount from the topup loan in the payments?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What reason did they give for not refunding loans 3,5 and 6?
Do you know how much you paid to each loan – I can work out what the refund should be if they refund the lot.
Chris says
Loan 1- march 2014 borrowed £2000 payed 7 × £97.58
Loan 2- oct 2014 topped up to £2500, received £500 payed 6×121.97
Loan 3- apr 2015 topped up to £4250 received £1995 payed 10 × £167.98
Loan 4- march 2016 topped up to £4750 recieved £695 payed 13 × 187.74
Loan 5- may 2017 topped up to £5000 received £505 payed 5 × £197.62
Loan 6- oct 2017 topped up to £5500 not sure how much i received but was no more than £500. paid 1 × £217.39 then paid £5529.46
Loan 7- dec 2018 borrowed £8500 paid 8 × £335.96 then paid £8000. They have offered me £4900. The reason for not upholding loans 4, 5 & 6 is they say they did sufficient checks on these loans (they definately didnt). I have confirmed my bank details but told them i believe the 8% needs adding.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Just to check I have read this properly…
you paid off loan 6, then loan 7 was a new loan not a top up?
And then you also settled loan 8?
But loans 2,3,4,5,6 were all top-ups?
Assuming that is right, I make the interest you paid on the loans roughly;y as follows (I ignored pence in calculations)
loan 1 – 679, loan 2 487, loan 3 1475, loan 4 2176, loan 5 985, loan 6 246, loan 7 2180
So the loans they refunded you add up to 4820, but all 7 add up to 8228.
This is the significant thing to argue about, not the 8%.
(Amigo use a very off 8% calculation, but in any case a lot of the interest they are refunding you comes from the last loan in 2019 so ther will be very little 8% interest on that.)
You could go back to them and say unless they include the other 3 loans you will be sending the case to FOS.
If you do send the case to FOS it would also be good to query the 8% calculation, but that is minor compared to the other loans being left out.
Chris says
Thankyou Sara for your time and advice. Yes loan 6 was paid off and loan 7 was a new loan which was also paid off.
As i have already confirmed my bank details does this class as me accepting their offer as i have not had any form to sign? I accepted an offer from uncle buck last month and had to print a form off and sign it then scan and email it back.
If they pay me the refund their offering can i not take the other 3 loans to FOS as it doesnt say in any of their emails that accepting their offer is for full and final settlement of my complaint like it did in uncle bucks final response. Amigos final response just said they are partially upholding my claim and would send me the refund calculation in 7 working days. The calculation email just asked me to confirm my bank details so they could send it to the transactions department which i did and they confirmed they had transferred it but i also questioned the 8% in that email and asked for a full breakdown of each loan.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They haven’t said it is a full and final offer. That’s why I suggested you tell them unless they include the other 3 loans you will be sending the case to FOS.
It seems HIGHLY likely FOS will say those loans are unaffordable so for a delay of a few months you could get another few thousand pounds. Also FOS could look at Amigos 8§ offer, although that would only be a few hundred pounds.
There is no danger you will lose the current offer by going to FOS. FOS at end to only look at the loans there is a dispute on, not the ones where the lender has agreed they were unaffordable.
Chris says
Thankyou sara. So would i send my complaint to FOS about all 7 loans or just the 3 that are not upheld? And would that mean i couldnt take the 4800 offered now and wait for FOS to decide on the other 3 and the 8%? Sorry for all the questions, i have read as much info as i can find, but am still unsure as to how it all works when going to FOS.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your complaint to FOS is that Amigo didn’t uphold loan 4,5,6 and those were just as unaffordable as the ones they refunded.
You could wait until the 4800 is in your bank account. Or tell Amigo that if they don’t refund the others you will be going to FOS and see what they say.
“unsure as to how it all works when going to FOS.” there isn’t really a track record with this. Amigo always used to reject everything. Then for a few months they usually accepted everything.
It’s up to you. I know it must feel risky. And I understand how you want that money now.
What I do know:
a) it is VERY likely FOS will uphold the other loans
b) I have never known anyone get LESS by going to FOS after a partial uphold
c) those other loans are worth several thousand pounds to you.
Katie says
Hi sara could you help with amount roughly if i do win my affordability complaint?
I cant see my old loans agreements so dont know how much has been sent over, i just know the amounts ive paid & what the final loan was i got. Since putting in the complaint i cant see the old agreements online
I know one was 10th feb 2016, top up 27th july 2016, top up 13th feb 2017
I paid 4 payments of £138.34 on loan 1
5 payments of 237.15 on first top up
31 payments of £296.44 on the last top up which took my loan to £7,500
Its quite shocking that over 40 months ive paid back nearly £10,000 & still owe more than £7.6k
katie says
Ive just searched my online banking for those dates & my guarentors name
Loan on £3,500 paid £553.36
Top up to £5,000 received £2,388.80 paid £1,185.75
Top up to £7,500 received £1,316.16 paid £9,189.64
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So on those figure I think you have paid about £3740 in interest so far that would be refunded.
BUT the figures for the first loan look odd. You borrowed £3500, paid £552 in monthly payments. Then settled the loan with (5000-2388)=2612 from the top up.
But 552 + 2612 = 3154 which is less tham the loan amount, so something is wrong/. Could your guarantor have made any payments to the first loan?
katie says
Hi sara,
No my guarentor has never made any payments on the loan at all.
Could it be to do with me missing a payment/deferring a payment for a month? I dont understand it all
I got the first loan 10th feb 2016
I made first payment 7th march
Second payment 3rd may
Third payment 7th june
Fourth payment 7th july
All those were for £138.34
Top up to £5,000 was made 28th july
Received £2,388.80
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well there isn’t any point in worrying about this at the moment. When you get a response from Amigo we can look closer at loan 1.
S says
Hi Sara,
I have been reading comments on the forum for a few weeks and it seems like Amigo asks for bank statements when people complain.
When I complained (4 weeks ago), I was not asked to send any statements. However my guarantor complained on Monday and Amigo has asked to see her bank statements. Also from other peoples comments, it seems like they sent their statements in too. I have not been asked to do this but should I send them in anyway?
Thanks.
Sara says
I would just send them across anyway. 3 months of statements prior for each application.
Then, if you don’t hear a response email acknowledging your bank statement evidence, just email again asking for a receipt confirmation :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s a good idea. Amigo used to ask some people for some statements after it had looked at a case at 8 weeks, so that added a delay, which is why it us best to send them early before they ask. Also they didn’t ask everyone or for all statements. They would say something like “we think loans 1 and 2 were fine but if you send statements for the three months before loan 3, we will have another look at that.” But loans 1 and 2 may not have been affordable at all, so if yiu send them the statements for all loans, it’s harder for them to turn a blind eye to that.
S says
Hi Sara,
Thats fine, thank you. My bank statements show I was receiving personal independence payment and not receiving a salary. However there are also some payments on there made to hotels and shopping etc – will this affect my complaint? Although that money was given to me from family members. My credit report at the time had CCJ’s and defaults but Amigo never accurately checked my credit report.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well you don’t have send bank statements presumably you have told them you were only getting PPI and no income? That may be enough on its own!
S says
Will they believe me when I say I only received PIP and no salary, without sending them bank statements?
Do you know if anyone has had their complaint upheld without sending statements in?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes people have won cases without sending bank statements.
Emma says
Hi Sara. Firstly, thankyou for this wonderful site and the excellent information you have provided. I have had a refund of nearly 4k from amigo using your template email, which was paid into my bank end of december. They partially upheld my complaint and paid me back from loans 1,2 and 5 out of 5 loans, although i didnt say i accepted their offer or sign anything to say i accepted their offer, i did confirm my bank details which they then proceeded to send me the refund offered. I didnt send bank statements with my complaint and presume now they have paid me that they arent going to negotiate on loans 3&4 even if i do send them. But my question is, could i still complain to fos about loans 3&4 or is my case now closed?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, I think you can. I don’t think Amigo made their offer as a final settlement of your complaint – they never asked you if you wanted to accept it.
So send the complaint to FOS (https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/contact-us/complain-online) say that you complained about all your loans but Amigo didn’t refund 3 and 4, you don’t think that’s right as they too were unaffordable. Attach Amigos Final Response to your FOS complaint.
If you have your bank statements for the three months before loans 3 & 4, attach those too. If you don’t, send your complaint to FOS now without them and forward the statements later.
Emma says
Thankyou so much Sara, i wouldnt of even known i could complain in the 1st place if it wasnt for you so thankyou so much. I will send it to fos as soon as im home from work today and will keep you updated with what fos say. And it didnt say anything on amigos email about it being for final settlement of my complaint, it just said it was their final response or are they the same? They then sent another email a few days later saying how much they were refunding and asking me to confirm bank details so they could process it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A Final Response is what it says – their reply to your complaint. It isn’t an offer they were asking you to accept or reject.
Bonnie says
Hi could anyone lend a bit of advice please did people send a printed letter to amigo complaints or an email? And with bank statements are you able to screen shot them and send through emails ? Thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Email is best as you have a record of what you sent and when and it’s free. And Amigo can’t say they never received the letter!
You can normally download a bank statement to a PDF which you can attache to an email.
Bonnie says
Aww thats true! ive no printer will be doing it all tonight thank you sara :)
Marie says
Hi Sara,
I have today made an affordability claim to amigo loans, I had a loan from them in 2016 foe £1500.00 which my mum eventually settled for me.
I have since had the following loans:
May 2017 – £1500.00
August 2017 top up to £4750.00
August 2017 top up to £6000.00
January 2018 top up to £7500.00
May 2018 top up to £8000.00
July 2018 top up to £9000.00
August 2018 top up to £10,000
May 2019 top up to £11,500.00 currently paying this loan at £484.00 per month.
I have a severely poor credit rating with 10+ defaults on pay day loans, credit cards and overdrafts and I have been on a DMP with step change since 2013 for a number of other debts, which I pay monthly.
I have also made late payments to Amigo on a number of occasions and had to amended payment dates and arrange payment plan etc. before I was granted the last top up in 2019.
Amigo are aware I am with step change as they asked this and I confirmed the same, I have been asked for 1 copy wage slip back in 2018. No there additional info has ever been asked such as bank statement etc.
I have asked that they refund the interest on the current loan and remove my guarantor as my financial situation is not improving and will not whilst paying £484.00 per month.
I have also requested they refund any interest paid on the previous loan agreements including the 2016 one, plus 8%.
Do you think that I have a chance with this ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think that sounds like a Very strong case! No way can anyone in a DMP afford those loan repayments.
I hope you win this an get you guarantor released (who are they? Could they possibly pay £484 a month?!? )
Even after that you will still be left with a large debt, come back here then and we can talk about your options?
Have you also made affordability complaints for the payday loans?
Marie says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for you response,
Do you think I won’t get much interest back of the other loans? I know i will still be left with the loan of 11500 but hoping some of the refunds would reduce this..
My gurantor is a friend of mine, they have never had to make payment for me on this loan, although I’m not sure they could afford the £484 per month.
I have claimed for a few pay days loans and a lot rejected my claims 2 that didn’t were wonga and another which both have gone into liquidation!
Miss jones
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I can work out what earlier interest you paid – I just suspect it may not be enough to pay off your balance.
If you would like me to look at this, you need to give the figures for each loan – say how many payments you have paid of how much. And for each top up, how much you received in cash.
something like – loan 3 – £6000, received £2,190 in cash, paid 7 payments of £195
Marie says
Hi Sara,
I can only see statements from loan 4 at the moment ..
Loan 4 £7500 – received £854.38 paid 3 x £276.67
Loan 5 £800O – received £838.25 paid 1 x £316.20
Loan 6 £9000- received £699.38 paid 1 x £355.72
Loan 7 £10,00 received £1051.66 paid 10 x £395.25
Current loan £1100 received £1036.00 paid 7 x £454.54
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So I make the interest on loans 4,5,6 as 490, 617, 304 – you made very few payments to these loans.
For loan 7 the numbers look odd. are you sure you made 10 payments? and was loan 8 11,000 or 11,500 and are you sure about the cash payout?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That matches with your figures. BUT I cant see how the settlement amount for that loan can be more than you originally borrwed – after 10 monthly payments it should be several hundred pounds less then 10k…
If it is right, I make the interest on loan 7 £4414. You would still owe £8322 on the last loan if interest is removed. If loans 4-7 are refunded, that would reduce this to you owing about £2500.
If you get loans 1-3 refunded that would drop. And it would also drop if you contest the settlement amount on loan 7…
But I suggest you park this for now as it’s all theoretical until you get a response from Amigo!
Marie says
Loan 7 was £10k and 10 payments made current loan is £11500
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you look at the statement of account for loan 7 online? What does that say the settlement amount was?
Marie says
Hi Sara ,
The settlement amount was £10,463.58.
JM says
Hi Sara
Amigo wrote saying they need another 4 weeks which was up yesterday and i sent an email chasing. Should i complain to FOS now. I am struggling with the monthly £316 and behind on most of my main bills because I don’t want the guarantor affected
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would send it to FOS now. Amigo will carry on looking at it and you can withdraw the FOS case if they offer a full refund. And if they don’t, well your case is a month closer to being sorted at FOS.
You could also leave them a very bad review on Trust Pilot saying how poor it is they can’t answer complaints in the 8 weeks the regulator says https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/amigoloans.co.uk
JM says
Thanks Sara have sent off to FOS and will see what happens. Just hope Amigo reply back soon as well
Lou7 says
Hi all,
I feel like crying today. Sent email to the FOS, the adjudicator who started with my complaint in October 19 is now waiting for amigo to send her all the information for all the loans. I am so fed up, it’s been ongoing since December 2018 and it’s not much further on now. I was hoping it would be sorted one way or another by now. Why is it ok for amigo to drag things out their end with regards to sending info but payments have to be made on time? 😡Right rant over, I wish everyone else lots of good luck 🍀☘️