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
Lyndsey says
Hi Sara,
I have just sent an affordability complaint to amigo after ready through your site and i wondered if you could help me work out how much interest i may be offered so i can assess any offer i get.
Loan 1 £6000 taken 2nd Nov 2017
Paid 1 x payment of £237.15
Loan 2 (top up) taken 5th Dec 2017
Paid 18 x payment of £306.32
Total paid £5786.91
Then borrowed money from family to pay off this horrendous loan paid £6802.78 to close loan.
Could you help me work out what i may be owed?
Many thanks
L
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you say how large the top up loan was? And how much of this you received in cash?
Lyndsey says
Hi,
I topped up the loan to £7750 and received £1757.43 difference.
Many thanks
L
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The interest paid looks like roughly £230 on the first loan and £4566 on the second one. Plus probably about £190 in 8% added interest.
(Small “but” – the amount you paid in the monthly payments to the two loans looks like it adds up to £5750 to me – not the £5786.91 you said. But that’s not far out.)
Gemma says
Hi can you help please I made a complaint to amigos as I have had a gambling problem for which shows on all of my bank statements since I took all my loans out
First loan 2013 £5000 £197 paid back in full 2016
£2000 22/1/17 £123
Topup £3500 10 /08/17 £170
Topup £5500 17/10/17 £217
Topup £6500 5/1/18 £256
Topup £7750 6/08/18 305
Topup £9000 3/08/19 355 and still currently going
What could I possibly get back?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is a LOT of top-ups! That tends to make for a VERY strong case. Even though people are winning complaints here about only 1 loan, all those top-ups in such a short period suggest that you were in big financial trouble and Amigo was failing to check properly that the loans were affordable.
To look at the interest you have paid so far, I need to know for each loan how many payments you made to it and for each top-up how much you received in cash.
Do send copies of all your bank statements for the three months before each loan and top up to Amigo now. If you don’t have then all, send the ones you do have and set about getting the older ones from your bank. Gambling showing on these statements helps your case.
Gemma says
1st loan 44 payments £197 £3367 paid in full may 2017
2nd £2000 7 payments £123
Tup1 £3500 £1513 2payments £170
Tup2 £5500 £2074 3 payments £217
Tup3 £6500 £939 8 payments £256
Tup4 £7750 £842 11payments £306
Tup5 £9000 £800 5 payments so far and on going loan £355
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so on those figures (remember you may have typed in numbers wrong or I may have, this is just a guess) I make the interest paid on each loan roughly:
loan 1 – £3668 – this one will have a lot of 8% extra interest added. did you repay it in May 16 or may 17?
loan 2 – £848
loan 3 – £266
loan 4 – £712
loan 5 – £2456
loan 6 – £3816
loan 7 no interest paid so far, still £7225 to pay until the amount borrowed has been repaid.
If ALL the other loans are refunded, the balance will be wiped and you will get a refund of £4541 plus the 8% interest on loan 1.
If the first loan is not included* but all the other ones are , the balance would still be wiped but you would only get a refund of £873.
* Amigo may say its too old. If you take the case to the Financial Ombudsman, people are getting refunds on these older loans.
Gemma says
Ok the first loan was paid off in may17
Thanks Sara fingers crossed
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then that one would have about £800 extra added for the 8%.
Chris says
Hi Sarah , as your aware I’m simply waiting to get my 8% sorted out on my amigo loans as they have already refunded my interest .judging by how long is fos is taking I was thinking of Persuing this by doing a money claim online against amigo for the 8% interest.Would a judge be able to enforce this or would they just refer it to ombudsman anyway . Don’t want to pay out 500 if that’s what will happen :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A district judge could consider your claim and you may win. If you win, it can be enforced through bailiffs, but I would expect Amigo to pay up.
BUT Amigo may decide to defend the claim. I suspect it may not be as simple to win as you might expect. There is NOTHING written down that will help your assertion that Amigo are using a wrong calculation. If it was me, I would prefer my chances of getting a good result from FOS than the courts.
Have you actually calculated the 8%? You have to for a money claim. When was your last loan finally repaid?
Chris says
Thanks Sarah . It’s more the fact that they haven’t awarded 8% at all for loans one and two even though they have refunded The interest for them that clearly shows I paid more than what I borrowed which means I am eligible. I haven’t calculated it yet . I have the amounts of interest refunded which are correct I just don’t know which date to use to start the 8% from. Is it the settlement date of each loan, the date that I went over the original amount borrowed or the date they was taken out in the first place :) the lady who has delt with it at amigo has made so many errors. She’s trying to tell me that on loans one and two I haven’t paid more than the principle amount but has given me two sets of interest refunds lol
Gemma says
Sara can I also give you figures for a George Banco claim I’m also doing please
First loan £1000 received 5 payments £110
Topup £2000 £1323 received 8 payments £118
Topup £3500 £2200 received 31 payments £170 so far £510 left to pay in full
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so the interest paid on each loan looks like roughly
(you may have typed in numbers wrong or I may have, this is just a guess)
loan 1 £227
loan 2 £244
loan 3 £1770
so if you don’t pay any more and all three are refunded the last loan would be wiped and you would get a refund of £2241.
Julia says
In Feb 2015 I took out a loan of 7k over 5 years with Amigo Loans.
The figures are as follows :
2015 – 11 payments of £276.67 = £3043.37
2016 – 12 payments of £276.67 = £3320.04
2917 – 10 payments of £276.67 = £2766.70
Total £9130.11
In October 2017 I was still struggling and I had to fund another house move so out of desperation I topped up the loan to 10k, receiving an additional 3k.
The figures from that point are as follows ;
2017 – 3 payments of £395.25 = £1185.75
2018- 12 payments of £395.25 = £4746.00
2019 – 12 payments of £395.25 = £4746.00
In total I have already paid £19807.84 for a 10k loan… and still have just under 3 years (34 months) of 395.25 to pay back which is an additional £13438.50. This will total over £30k.
I Have never defaulted & my guarantor has never paid.
I wrote to AMIGO loans over 8 weeks ago and had no response apart from to let me know that they had reached the 8 week period and didn’t have a resolution for me and I could progress directly to the FO. So I have.
*I have just noticed having just accessed my account online that next months interest is £140, and it’s usually around £275. I’m wondering if they have simply reduced the interest rate?? The balance is still showing as just under £8k
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In total I have already paid £19807.84 for a 10k loan… and still have just under 3 years (34 months) of 395.25 to pay back which is an additional £13438.50. This will total over £30k.
ouch!
On loan 1 I make it you have paid £9130 in interest
On loan 2 You have so far paid £671 in interest.
I’m wondering if they have simply reduced the interest rate??
Amigo haven’t done this with anyone else. Sorry, no idea.
Julia says
Okay thank you. Obviously I will wait and see what Amigo day tomorrow as it’s the 12 week point.
What would be an acceptable / fair resolution?
If Amigo have just dropped the interest rate in response to the complaint I don’t think that’s good enough ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good things to be thinking about now. Don’t just feel incredibly grateful if they have reduced the interest rate (which I’m not saying they have as it sounds odd!) but think about what a fair handling of your complaint would be.
You haven’t said anything about your situation before each of the loans,
So without that, I am just thinking around the subject. My starting point would be to say if you were struggling when you took the top up this may have been because the first loan was unaffordable for you… and if the £276 a month payments to the first loan were more than you could really manage, then a loan with £395 a month payments would be even worse.
So what debt problems did you have when you took the first loan? And had your debt problem got worse when you applied for the second?
Julia says
Hi thank you again for your reply.
Basically my husband left me and my daughter – I had nothing in terms of savings and to afford rental of a new property near my parents I needed to pay rent up front. I had been a “ stay at home” mum Since my daughter was born in 2010. So that was the reason for the loan. My ex is the guarantor as there were “ control” issues and I also didn’t want to involve my family members in what was a truly awful situation.
I also had pay day loans at the time.
The 2nd loan I had was necessary as the landlady of the property we lived in, moved back, so I again had to stump up 6 months rent up front to secure us another new home.
She’s now 9 and I’m still a single parent earning a VERY small amount from my online business, I am training in mental health and I do voluntary work at 2 charities in an effort to secure more full time work as my daughter is getting older. But yes my financial situation is much worse.
However my ex ( the guarantor) has a very secure and VERY well paid job.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So being a stay at home mum mean your income was benefits and possibly some child maintenece? in that case it’s very hard to see the first loan was affordable. Amigo should have checked carefully because of you not having a job and having payday loans.
The fact your guarantor has a great job doesn’t affect your claim – Amigo had to make sure you could afford the payments from your income without hardship. The regulator has a clear rule saying this: “When considering affordability risk, the firm must not take into account the existence of (or the intention to provide or request the provision of) any guarantee or indemnity or other form of security.”
On that basis I think you should be hoping for both loans to be refunded. Not just the second one. And definitely not just having the interest cut on the second one.
Jason W says
Hi Sara
I am currently on my 2nd week of my affordability complaint. I have been told that I will hear something within the next 3 weeks apparently. I’ve been reading through everybody’s comments and have noticed that you are doing some excellent working out for them to see what (if) they would be refunded.
Could you work out mine please? Could you possibly send me your answers via email please if possible?
(1st Loan) – Borrowed £6750 on the 3rd of July 2017 over 60 months at £266.79. (£16.007.40 repayable).
Top Up Loan of £10’000 taken in 07th of October 2017 over 60 months at £395.25. (£23,715.00)
When the £10’000 top up loan was handed over I received around £3300 roughly as the rest what was left out of the £10k was used by amigo loans to clear the first loan I borrowed.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can you say how many payments you made to the 1st loan & to the second.
Jason W says
1st loan I made 3 monthly payments then had the top up. And as from the top up loan on 07th of October 2017 I have made every single monthly payment to present.
And also when I complained they asked for 3 months bank statements prior to the loan being accepted to prove I had a bad gambling addiction and that I blew all my wages on gambling and that I had taken a couple of other pay day loans out to replenish the money I had blew from my wages on gambling. My complaint was that I shouldn’t have been accepted the loan as if they had done deeper check they would have seen I was an addicted gambler chasing money.
If you could answer both questions would be amazing please!
Mr F says
Mr F,
Hey all so I managed to get my bank statements from the months prior to having my UKCredit loan, wandering how strong my case actually is
So by looking at my statements I was in and used my 4500 overdraft, in the statements I can see that I uploaded to Ann online casino approx £2000 and only withdrew about £350, along with multiple payday lenders showing, am I wrong for hoping they see this and uphold the complaint without going to fos, I will obviously send if they refuse the claim but would rather it sorted sooner than later it’s my last big debt that I’m paying and clearing it will give a real possibility that I will be debt free by end 2020 (unless amigo uphold also then I’m debt free as soon as resolved)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think a lot of gambling and being that deep in your overdraft helps your case. Have you sent them to UKC? And Amigo?
Mr F says
Sent them to UKC as they were the three months prior to them amigo at the time was in the last year, can’t get the statements for when I took amigo as it is too far back, I’ve also just sent a complaint with the bank to fos as I don’t think that size overdraft should ever have been granted the banks app accepted it and within 3 months I went from 0 to 4500 with poor credit,
Zoe says
I was just looking for some advice with UK Credit.
I placed a complaint with them which was dealt with really well and all in the 8 week timescale. I was shocked to receive a letter 2 weeks ago saying it was upheld and relieved I didn’t have to go through ombudsman and receiving a payout of £4,400 which is amazing.
I was even more shocked to read the payment would be with me in 3-5 days.
However 2 weeks on and I have not received anything. On querying this I was told it was with a senior manager for sign off. The end of last week I queried again to get a rough idea of when they would look at releasing the funds.
I was told that the complaints manager had taken over my case and there was to be a meeting with the other manager as to when funds would be released. I am to speak with him later today for an update.
I have been reassured that I will receive the redress but this all seems a bit odd. I just wanted to know where I stand if this manager is refusing to sign off my redress. I was expecting them to say payment would be within 28 days so I am happy to wait a bit longer. How long do they have before I would need to go down Ombudsman route? Also can a senior manager overrule the complaints department and refuse to sign off redresses? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
that sounds like a great result from UK Credit and I am not surprised you are now feeling stressed by the lack of a payout. But so far there doesn’t seem any need to panic.
I suggest you phone again in a couple of days and ask for a timescale. If they can’t give you one, then say you will be sending the complaint to FOS if it is not paid within a week from that day.
S says
Hi Sara,
I have heard back from Amigo this morning saying my complaint has not been upheld.
They have stated the following:
“As you can probably imagine, we follow a standard process when investigating irresponsible lending complaints, this includes reviewing your credit file from the time of each application, the income and expenditure assessments you completed for each loan, the telephone conversations we had with you as part of each application, and any other evidence we have available.”
However, I am a bit confused as if they did review my credit, I had CCJ’s over 15k and several defaults. I was not earning I was a student and unemployed. I am also disabled and receive PIP.
They also commented saying:
“Having completed our investigation I’m afraid I’m not able to uphold your complaint. This is because I’ve been unable to find any evidence that we did anything wrong at the time of either of your loan applications, and I believe a responsible lending decision was made in regards to both loans.”
How can they believe a responsible lending decision was made when they have no idea that I receive PIP, or do they think it is responsible to give someone with over 15k in CCJ’s a loan? Is that responsible lending?
I will be taking my complaint to FOS, do you know the time length it takes them to look into something like this?
Many thanks,
S.
Julia says
Wow. This doesn’t bode well for the rest of us awaiting Amigo! I’m at week 12 and counting.
Fingers crossed that the FOS get you a result.
S says
I was a little shocked with my outcome as I believe I had various reasons to give me a strong case. But unforunately Amigo doesn’t like to think so. I hope FOS can get me a better result and I hope you hear back very soon with a good result.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“I am a bit confused as if they did review my credit, I had CCJ’s over 15k and several defaults. I was not earning I was a student and unemployed. I am also disabled and receive PIP.”
I think you said you made all those points in your complaint.
Also that your guarantor has also complained? When they get their reply can you come back and say some more about their case?
Send this straight to FOS! I am afraid it’s hard to predict timescales. If you consider that making the payments is causing you hardship because of your disability, I suggest you phone FOS up after a week and ask for your case to treated as a priority.
Rachel says
Ho sara
Omg I have just had a call from FOS amigo are now upholding my complaint on all 3 loans after they initially said they would not uphold it!! and I will get back interest on all 3 loans I took out. Thankyou so much for your brilliant expertise and support
George says
Hello, I have been emailing amigo just to contact me normally as cant get through to there phone or via email at all. Does anyone know of any reasons they wouldn’t be? I put in the complaint and awaiting a response but still haven’t even heard anything from them in regards to making payments? Let me know if anyones heard from them in the past two weeks. I hada loan for 4000 where this has now gone up to 9000 which were unaffordable and im awaiting a response still in regards to my claim also. Do people have much luck with Amigo?
Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t remember anyone saying they had problems with Amigo not answering the phone.
When did you complain?
Are you trying to get your payments reduced, because they may well go after your guarantor?
Lots of people are getting very good results so stick with this process, even if it has to go to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) – see the comment just above from Rachel today.
George says
Thank you Sara! I haven’t had answers from any emails or anything and my guarantor can’t contact them either so not too sure. They have not acknowledged my complain or anything.
I will wait the usual period then send to the FOS and hope I get a response as I really see Amigo as crooks. The loan is not just un affordable but it traps you in payments that are extortionately high and does not even consider your wages when taking out extensions. I’m hoping to get these written off if possible or at least a huge chunk taken off! With original loan and two extensions taken out up to 9k even when I had lost my job, do you think I have a good chance. Had no credit and lots of defaults already so I think I do!
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds like a good case to me.
When did you complain? Unless it was very recent, you should have had an acknowledgement. After 30 days you should have received the SAR personal information you have asked for.
Has your guarantor put in a complaint as well?
George says
Hi Sara, I complained a week ago and not heard anything as of yet. My guarantor has not put in a complaint. Should he do this?
I want to put in as much info as possible. this including my gambling issue and been prescribed with depression linked to finance before taking out this loan. Still affecting me to this day. Is there any more stuff I can do towards this case to help?
Thank you so much! Hoping I can get this big one cleared as it has haunted me for years!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, a week isn’t long. I would give it another week and then ring if you haven’t had a confirmation by then.
have you sent Amigo bank statements? That can help, especially with gambling. When you get the SAR info back in a month, you can look at all that and see if there is anything in there to help your arguments.
Does your guarantor have a reason to complain? Would they be able to afford the repayments? If no, then they too can send a complaint, see different letter for a guarantor: https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/
George says
Hi Sara,
He does not have reason to accept he does not want the debt obviously for me and wants to help. He cant really afford to be making the payments either. He would really like to be taken off the loan completely or just cleared.
I will send off the bank statements now to support my claim and hope that this helps. Should i mention about my gambling and depression diagnosis to help with the claim? I cant seem to get any response or even through to them on the phone at the moment so its seeming very difficult.
Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“Should i mention about my gambling and depression diagnosis to help with the claim? ” it can’t hurt your claim and may help it.
Tony says
Hi Sara. sorry to jump in on this post as I cant find the original one I sent you last week. I have just had the strangest email from Amigo
Dear Tony
Following your recent complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, we’ve agreed to refund you the interest that you’ve paid on your loans.
I’m writing to confirm that the proposed settlement has now been completed and you are due £6,121.23.
So that I can arrange for this payment to be sent to you, please call a member of my team on 01202 835170 to confirm your bank account details.
Any thoughts?
Julia says
I’d be doing a happy dance if this is true! Congratulations.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh! That’s… surprising. Had you sent the case to FOS?
Someone has got some figures wrong. I suppose you could phone them up and give them your bank account but don’t get too excited.
Tony says
yes I had sent to FOS. I did ring them with bank details and they said it would be in my account within 3-5 days however my balance has also come down by roughly this much so I think they have taken it what I owed. It was nice to dream for a few minutes lol.
Steffy says
Does anyone have any experience with TrustTwo (everyday loans) my 8 weeks is up in 2 days and I’ve basically heard nothing, apart from receiving my DSAR information!
I’m hoping as I won my Amigo complaints, as there loan was at the same time – it should be upheld (god knows though!)
Steph says
Trust Two rejected my claim. Said they had done checks, never had statements either for me or my guarantor. FOS have had claim since July last year. Still waiting for an investigator. Stuck paying £370 per month that I can’t afford. But hopefully shouldn’t be too long now.
Vanessa Enticknap says
Hi
Can I ask people how long they waited for a decision from Amigo? It will be twelve weeks on Wednesday. We keep getting told different dates.
Many thanks Vanessa
Julia says
I’m at 12 weeks as of today.
At 8 weeks I had a holding email saying they had no resolution due to volume of complaints, and it would likely be another 4.
At the 8 week point I raised the complaint with the Financial Ombudsman.
So today I hit 12 and still nothing from Amigo / FOS .
Michael Lord says
The FOS will likely take a long time to get back
Check your junk emails however it looks like there may be too many people complaining !
Julia says
Yep. I’m not expecting anything anytime time soon. If anything at all!
They will likely go bust the second I hear anything .. just like so many others . I’ve checked junk and nada.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Phone them up!
But there is no danger of Amigo going bust anytime soon. Compared to payday lenders they are very well funded!
Dean says
Hi Sara,
I currently have a amigo loan and was for
10k my partner was my guarantor
I have been reading all the claims and wondering if you could direct me in the best way to claim back for lending against me. As I have outstanding debts which I should have never been accepted for a amigo loan.
I now have paid back £9300 but still owe around £7000 never missed a payment but some were late.
Thanks so much Sara.
Dean
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Dean, missed your comment yesterday.
read the article above – that explains how these claims work and has a template letter you can use if you think your loan was unaffordable – you could only repay it woth hardship, gettiing behind with bills or borrowing more.
Lyndsey says
Hi Sara,
I emailed a complaint over to Amigo 4 days ago.
I had an email reply today from Adam at Amigo stating i advised my income was double what it was. I know i didn’t give the income they are claiming i did. They said i had a disposable income of £1,800 a month!!? What a joke! If that was the case i wouldn’t have needed a loan.
He said my complaint has been passed to another department for further investigation.
I have replied to let them know this is incorrect information and to ask for any telephone recordings, info they hold on me and affordability checks they carried out to verify this. I also attached a wage slip proving my income from the time i took the loan out.
I do remember the application process being very brief.
Is there anything else you would advise me to do whilst i am waiting on a reply to my second email?
Many thanks
L
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you sent in bank statements for the three months before the loan application?
Jamie says
Claim is with FOS, but I hit 12 weeks today – 4 weeks extra that they asked for is up and still not a peep. So frustrating.
Tried to call them earlier today but got stuck on a never ending loop of automated notices. Sigh.
Julie says
I have sent my complaint to amigo but not bank statements will this affect my claim, when I log in it doesn’t show my previous agreements so
I can’t see when I took my old loans out only my current one
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sending bank statements now may speed up sone claims. And may improve your chance of getting a loan refunded by Amigo directly. I can’t say how much difference it makes.
How many loans have you had from what date?
Julie says
I have 3 agreements on my account with top ups on but when I click them it say no letters available. I can see roughly when they gave me them from bank statements so if I just send them a few months before each one.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, if you got the money in March 2018, send statements for Dec17, Jan18 and Feb18
Chris says
I can see Loads of people putting in these affordability complaints without requesting all of their information from amigo first (SAR request) . Without doing this your potentially allowing your claim to fail as they know you don’t hold all the information . Your SAR has all recorded calls when application was made and all income details . If my call was anything to go buy – they said things like “lets just say around 50 pound for that” and “ just give a rough estimate that’s fine” . These are the things you need to pick out and quote in your complaints to show that they wasn’t responsible. the credit checks they provide will either show little/no information or loads of debt so you can use that to say that they knew your situation. If the credit check has nothing on it then you potentially won’t be putting that bit in your complaint as they will just come back and show u that. The SAR is invaluable, I really think you need it to stop your complaint being rejected . On one of my phone calls my income phone call was horrific , what was said on that call alone was enough to win me my case . I really think it’s important to get this information prior to complaining as your going in blind and can’t see what exactly was said or done – which is hard to remember in most cases being a long time ago……
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The problem with putting in a SAR first is that you won’t get the info for a month and so it delays putting in your complaint and getting a response by a month. For people who are struggling to pay each month, that is an extra month of misery.
My template asks for the SAR when you put the complaint in. You then get all the info after a month and can then read it and use it to improve what you have said in your complaint. By this point Amigo will not have looked at your complaint at all, so you haven’t lost anything by adding this info a few weeks later.
Also most people are winning these cases without using the SAR details. It’s good to have them there in case – they can provide extra ammunition as you say. But many borrowers never had a phone call from Amigo to go through their I&E, so it’s not always vital info for many people.
Chris says
……. (continued) …In my opinion If you are sending bank statements , in some circumstances you may be giving them more for a case against you where’s as proving they didn’t ask for them is easier to prove they were irresponsible in their checks and lending :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You won’t normally win a case just because a lender didn’t do enough checks. The loan also has to be unaffordable, and proper checks would have showed that. That’s what bank statements demonstrate. the worse your bank statements were, the more important it is to send them eg if they are showing gambling.
RecoveredGambler says
I have sent all my bank statements to UK credit for my complaint.
3 months before loan 1 the is;
Ashamedly 16k of gambling deposited in those 3 months.
9k of income in those 3 months.
4 high interest loans being deposited into my account (Uk credit being the 4th)
The second loan shows gambling deposits of 9.7k with and income of 5.7k……this is 2 1/2 months worth as the final 2 weeks is missing.
Obviously some winnings went back in and some incomes form other sources are on the statements to add up to such an amount.
All the while it showed payments to multiple other creditors. Also on my SAR they didn’t check my credit file fully so didn’t show up other guarantor loans, they only run checks with Equifax…who the other loans didn’t report to! Surely they need to check it all??
Anyway, first loan for 6k;
£217.73 x 11
Topped up and £5685.88 was paid off the old loan and £3954.12 was made available to me as cash,
Total paid £8008.91
New amount;
£9640
£327.46 x 33
£6727.41 lump some to pay it off,
Total paid £17553.49.
Those are the overall transactions made.
How do you think my case stacks up or any pointers greatly appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Anyone with a lot of gambling on their bank statements has a good case.
I make you paid £2084 in interest on the first loan and £7893 on the second loan. (remember you may have typed in numbers wrong or I may have, this is just a guess)
the bad old days… well done for stopping the gambling!
RecoveredGambler says
Evening. Quick update.
UK Credit, today, have upheld my complaints and are refunding interest on both loans.
This is the last day of the 8 weeks.
I did send statements into them. And to be fair, they weren’t difficult to deal with.
So here is the end!! And about 10k back.
So thank you for your advice, templates and time.
It’s so nice knowing it’s not going to be gambled away!!
Jimmy says
Hi sara
I have had my complaint upheld
I had 3 loans out and still paying off the last one
Will I get my interest refunded for my first 2 loans even though I still owe a few hundred on the last loan?
Thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The lender (is it Amigo?) will use the refunds from the first two loans to clear any balance on the last loan. But the interest is removed from the last loan so if you only owe a few hundred , that may be wiped and you may get a refund from that and the first two loans.
Do you know how much you borrowed and what you have paid so far?
I can have a quick look at the numbers if you know for each loan:
what you borrowed, what you got in cash if it was a top up loan, how many payments you made eg “17 payments of £117” and any other settlement amount you paid?
(This doesnt work if your guarantor made any payments.)
Jimmy says
Yeah sure
1st loan 17/10/16: £2,500
11 payments of £98.81 – total £1,086.91
2nd loan 21/10/17: ballance £3,500. Payout £917.59
2 payments of £138.34 – total £276.68
3rd loan 23/1/18: ballance £4,750. Payout £1,151.85
16 payments of 187.74 and 1 payment of £237.74 as I missed a payment and was paying an extra £50 a month on top of my normal amount – total £3,287. 58
I think that leaves about £98.83 left to pay?
My maths is bad so I could be way off the mark
Thanks
And yes it’s with amigo and apparently my guarantor payed 1 payment, but they aren’t claiming the money back
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so the interest paid on each loan looks like roughly
(remember you may have typed in numbers wrong or I may have and my number are aproximate, not to the nearest penny , so this is just a guess)
loan 1 £1169
loan 2 £375
loan 3 – no interest paid so far, still £1521 to pay until the amount borrowed has been repaid
so as all three are refunded, I reckon you should have about £24 to pay (!)
Jimmy says
Better than I thought it would be 😁
Will that include their 8% also?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, if this is Amigo there probably won’t be any.
mb050785 says
This site is a great help.
I’m in a similar position – I’ve had 3 topped up Amigo loans, which realistically i couldn’t afford. I have gambling issues, and now my payment is up to £320pm on a £6500 loan (issued in August 2019), I’m at breaking point.
What’s even worse is that a mate of mine who was guarantor for the 3 loans was actually unemployed when approved for the latest one, and is also in a financial mess – he now has no bank account, is in a big DMP and on the verge of being bankrupt. How the heck was he even accepted? Any form of check would have definitely flagged him up, and probably me too, for gradually borrowing more and more as it became eligible.
He wouldn’t be able to pay £1 if i miss a payment, and i’m getting behind in paying other creditors as I’ve been committing to Amigo through fear mainly.
Any advice? It might seem like I’m just claiming off my own stupidity – which is partly true – but Amigo etc prey on people like me who have no options and don’t think clearly at times.
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds as though you have a good reason to complain. Amigo should have looked at whether your finances were getting worse with each top up. And if they had seen gambling they should not have given you the loans. Read the article above and send in your complaint!
do you have other high cost credit as well?
I think your guarantor needs some good debt advice. Do him a big favout and suggests he talkdd to the excellent National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about his situation. If it is bad enough that he needs to go bankrupt anyway, then that would also remove his liability for this guarantor loan. (Other types of insolvency such as DROs and IVAs are more complicated – National Debtline can explain this to him). But if you win your case he is just removed as guarantor so perhaps he wouldn’t need to go bankrupt?
Catherine says
If you are still gambling then I suggest you register with Gamstop and if your bank has the facilities to stop payments to gambling providers like my bank has then I’d do that too.
I gambled heavily for 10 years and got into huge debts,after registering with Gamstop,no matter how much I craved playing slots,I simply couldn’t and it allowed me to regain control.
Good luck but honestly it takes two minutes to register and will change your life.
mb0507085 says
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply.
Yes – sadly I owe money to (amongst others) Peachy, MyJar, Capital One, Studio, LookAgain – hence why i’m at a breaking point as it were. I’ve kept up payments until now, but it’s made my life misery, left me broke each month and basically in a heap of trouble. Payday doesn’t even feel like a relief either, as soon as i’m paid then pretty much all of it is gone, and it shouldn’t really be that way. I’ll take your advice and complain. If they’d checked properly then they would have seen my situation and wouldn’t have lent to me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So send affordability complaints to Peachy, Myjar – template here https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-loan-refunds/
and complaints to Capital One, Studio, LookAgain if you think they gave you credit limits that were too high – template here https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/
and talk to StepChange about a debt management plan for all your debts, except you will still need to pay extra to the guarantor loan or they will go after your guarantor. See https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx
H says
I had a complaint upheld by FOS Re: Studio because they kept upping my credit limit, it’s worth
complaining to Studio and following the FOS procedure.
JM says
Hi Sara
Is it possible to change Amigos mind when they say this is their final response if I find my Loans 3 & 4 needed further investigation. Has this ever happened to anyone
JM
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think I have seen enough cases to be sure in saying it NEVER happens but I can’t remember one where it has worked.
Syed N says
Hi Sara,
I will be escalating it FOS for amigo not upholding first 3 loans.
I had my response from trust 2 Loans they have not upheld my complaints saying I can afford the loans I’m going to pass that on to FOS.
Any advise from you before I do that
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So they have refunded the last 4 but not the first three? You just tell FOS was your complaint is, that Amigo have rejected your casse on the first three but you think they too were unaffordable.
That is the simple approach . And many people use that and win at FOS.
If you would like to add more details, read https://debtcamel.co.uk/sar-affordability-complaint/ as that explains how you can use the info on the SAT you have been sent.
Julia says
I have contacted amigo today as we are now over 12 weeks since I presented my complaint to them.
Lo & behold – I’ve got another holding email ( At least I’m already in week 5 with FOS when I get their inevitable final response ;
Please accept our apologies that we haven’t been able to get your Final Response to you within the extended 4 weeks we previously advised.
I can assure you we are working to get this sent to you as soon as possible.
Please accept our apologises and thank you for your continued patience in regards to this matter.
Kind Regards
Amigo Loans
Rob says
It is very helpful to hear the experiences of others regarding the waiting time for responses. I have just reached the 12 week mark and still no response – although I have been chasing them weekly. For those of us that have exceeded the 4 week extension, how much longer did you have to wait? – or are you still waiting?? It seems to me that Amigo might have begun to operate a less co-operative approach to complaints in recent weeks and that more and more of these will now end up back at FOS? Who knows…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I hope you have already sent your complaint to FOS?
Julia says
I feel like this. I’m expecting a standard response despite it already having been 12 weeks for me. I think the evident increase of complaints will result in a much more vigorous analysis of complaints.. Thankfully I instigated FOS at the 8 week point. But I know it can be months from this point…
When I applied to Amigo, I actually made a company name up for whom I was working for at the time… ( yes I was desperate) and I got the loan.. so can’t wait to hear how they justify their checks & due diligence!
( and yes I’m ashamed)
Rob says
I have been waiting for Amigo rather than sending my complaint to FOS. My mistake! Will be sending it off this week if I don’t get a response from them in the next couple of days. Fortunately I did make sure that my complaint was backed up with loads of evidence: bank statement, credit reports, copies of debt management plans with other lenders etc. But all to no avail as yet. Am preparing myself for a further long wait I think. Fortunately, all my Amigo loans are now paid off so no immediate pressure re. repayments
Nic says
Hi my TFS loan has been with the fos since march last year, it’s well over 6 years old. I received a call yday saying it was now being looked into and I should expect a call by the end of the week. I borrowed £4000 in 2010 at the same time I borrowed £3000 from amigo. Amigo paid me out last year. Apparently the reason for the delay with the fos is that TFS have no record of my loan as it’s so old. I have the loan being deposited into my account and the payments going out for about 18 mths before my family paid it off. Fingers x it’s good news with TFS. Anyone any experience with TFS and guaranteed loans ?
Cherie says
Hi ,am approaching my 12 weeks tomorrow with still no response,have just had a chance to go through my sar cd and it seems that there is nothing for my initial loan in 2014 on there apart from the agreement ,so no phone calls or credit check etc.
There is phone calls and a credit report from my subsequent top up in 2015 ,has anyone had the same?
Lou7 says
Hi all,
I need some advice please. Amigo have contacted the adjudicator and said they are prepared to make an offer for loans 4,5&6. The adjudicator hasn’t made a decision yet. What shall I do? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ask your adjudicator how long it will be to get a decision on loans 1-3 – point out you are in a very vulnerable situation and it doesn’t seem fair asking you to settle now for less than you might get.
danielle says
I have received my final response from Amigo today which took 12 week and 2 days to basically say as its older than six years 2012 & 13 we don’t have to look into it has anyone else had this I have gone to the ombudsman.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send them to the Ombudsman, where these older loan cases have been won.
Cherie says
So I finally got a reply from amigo to say that as expected due to a higher work volume they are still investigating.Bang on 12 weeks today,anyone that waited longer than 12 weeks how much longer did you wait?.
Sent it to FOS at 8 weeks ,just really frustrating now.
I also asked about the missing information on my sar CD to which they have said that this has “probably been deleted in line with their data policy”.
Doesn’t really ring true when on their website it states that they will retain information for a maximum of 7 years ,first loan is five years old.
Jamie says
I am on 12 weeks and 3 days now just FYI.
No response yet.
a says
Hi Sara
so equlifax has agreed to remove my amigo loan from my credit report as this has been reporting incorrect information. i uploaded current statements of my amigo loan and the FOS decision, they emailed me 3 weeks ago to say they have removed the amigo loan agreement from my file as amigo have failed to respond. now this is where its getting weirder, i have not made my agreed payments of £113 towards my outstanding balance because of the credit report issues yet i have missed now 3 months worth of payments and not been contacted once by amigo and i asked my guarantor and he has heard nothing either would you have any idea why this is??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Recapping for other people reading this…FOS ordered a refund on all loans, but you had a very large last loan so there is still a balnace to be paid. But you stopped paying them a few months ago as they hadn’t sorted out your credit record.
I think they are just in a mess. I suggest you start paying again if the amount is affordable. best to be chipping away at this debt!
a says
No Problem, yes i got refunded all interest i paid on 4 loans which reduced my 13k worth of balance i had with the final loan leaving a balance of about 2000. i will start making payments again i just thought it was odd.
Kamil says
Hi Sara,
I would like to make a complain as I just find out your website and realised that every guarantor loan what I have or had in the past should not be given to me as I had a problem with a gambling. Finally I have stoped gambling nearly year ago, but I still have lot of loans to pay (I paying monthly 900£ which make me to do at least 70 hours overtime each month to be able to pay it).
Unfortunately I don’t remember dates and quotes for my previous loans/top up’s and have no clue how much interest I have paid. Should I send a letter first to the lenders and ask them to provide me with those informations?
Regards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, just send off the complaints – you will see in the template there is a request for all of your personal information – that will have all the loan details.
Well done on stopping gambling! Do you have other expensive debt as well as these guarantor loans?
Kamil says
All of my loans are guarantor loans now. I have had ferratum and same wage advance before but there was only bits so I cant see a point to complain with them.
Thanks Sara, I will keep you updating in future how my complains are resolved.
Kamil says
Hi Sara,
I have email back from Amigo, Bamboo and George Banco that they will contact me within next 3-5 days. Do you have any advice for me what is gonna be about and what I should or shouldn’t say to them? Also Amigo asked me to send them statements for 3 months prior to each loan.
Regards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sending bank statements is a good idea.
I can’t predict what any phone call may be about – if you want to carry on making payments to protect your guarantor, just keep repeating that.
Kamil says
My guarantor is on IVA now and in light of law can’t be a guarantor any more. I am making a payments as usual, but this is very difficult for me to afford. What is the best way to do within the time when compaint is under investigation? Carry on paying or stop paying?
Regards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So your guarantor has listed these loans in his IVA? In that case, a good move for you now may be a debt management plan for these guarantor loans. Call StepChange and talk about your situation and that although these are guarantor loans your guarantor is safe . You can drop down to a more normal amount of overatime – 90 hours must be killing you.
If you win these complaints, then interest is removed from the balances so your DMP will get paid off much sooner. If you don’t, then the DMP still lets you make affordable payments.
StepChange: https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx They can also talk about whether you have other options apart from a DMP. But do explain how you can’t carry on with the current overtime amounts.
Shane says
Hi sara
SI have had the same response from uk credit initial loan was taken out in 2010 then topped up December 2012. Exactly 1 month after I topped up an amigo loan (November 2012) 27 defaults many were pay day loans and a ccj on my credit check. The loan was paid off but they added £1000 in late interest fees which my guarantor is still paying. Amigo have agreed to irresponsible lending but uk credit won’t even look at the complaint as it’s over 6 years and have said the ombudsman won’t look at it either. Is their anything I can do? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send it to the Ombudsman to look at!
Mrs T says
Hi Sara,
I made an affordability complaint to both Amigo and UK Credit for my guarantor loans at the end of December. Both loans was dated 2013 and have both been fully repaid. UK credit rejected the complaint immediately due to it being over 6 years (I have already taken this to the FOS to look at) Amigo have acknowledged the complaint but have not responded as of yet. I have today been emailed my SAR file from UK credit and just wanted to ask whether it was normal for the phone recordings to only have my responses? Every recording does not have any of their responses or questioning.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No that isn’t right. I suggest you go back to them and say you have been sent incomplete calls. You need to know what questions you were asked to be able to understand your answers!
Branson C says
Hi Sara ,
My loan was totally wiped out as an irresponsible lend so had it wiped out from amigo on my final response letter as a fair outcome of the complaint being upheld
I gave my loan to the FOS and they said that because my guarantor paid the last year of the monthly installments they would have to complain to get the refund of the overpayment of interest is that correct ?
They have raised the complaint with the amigo but the person dealing with my case at the FOS said that due to the payments being taken from my guarantor card even though I transferred them the money every month it would have to be refunded to them instead of directly to myself .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your guarantor can say they are happy for the refunds to be paid to you.
Branson C says
Sorry for the late reply Sara
That’s great they said they are still doing the complaint procedure as my guarantor has complained after I’ve made a successful complaint which was upheld and coming to the 8 week mark around the 13/14th Feb I will update when I get response .
Never had so much hassle due to the card payment being from my guarantor for the last 12 months of loan before I complained and got the loan settled as irresponsible lend as I was seeking the overpayment in interest from the loan also .
Has this been an issue before for any members ?
Vanessa says
Hi Sara
I got a decision today they have not upheld my complaint or my guarantor.
They knew I had defaults a discharged DRO never checked out my income etc
My guarantor is on benefits and only had £500 a month coming in when I Top up the loan.
They have even told my guarantor since we complained she can’t afford to pay.
Vanessa says
I don’t know what we are going to do my guarantor can’t afford the monthly payments and I don’t want her to get a default in her credit file because if us. We have both took.it.to.the ombudsman but have had no reply yet .
Vanessa Enticknap says
Hi Sara
My guarantor contacted the FOS today she got a ref number they did say amigo can still take action if they wanted to I didn’t think.they could if it was going through them?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS said Amigo can take her to court? That isn’t right.
The FCA’s CONC rules say “A firm must suspend any steps it takes or its agent takes in the recovery of a debt from a customer where the customer disputes the debt on valid grounds or what may be valid grounds.”
Having a complaint open at FOS means she has an ongoing dispute.
In practice I have not seen Amigo start court action while a FOS complaint is underway. Come back here if she gets a letter headed Letter Before Claim/Action (the title can vary a bit, but it has to include various attachments including one headed Reply Form, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/letter-before-claim-ccj/) as that is the precursor to going to court but I will be VERY surprised if she does.
You have a DRO, you shouldn’t legally pay this debt. And you can’t afford to. she is on benefits and Amigo have agreed she can’t afford to pay. They would have to be MAD to take her to court.
I know this must seem scary but it is very good odds that she is just going to get the odd cross letter and text.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If your guarantor checks her credit record, she should see that this Amigo debt is not on there. Amiigo don’t add the debt for the guarantor unless they get a CCJ – and they can’t take her to court while this case is underway.
I know you two are both feeling very stressed by this. Would it help if you want to your local Citizens Advice and asked for thie help with the ombudsman complaints? They could help you write the emails if you would prefer?
Vanessa says
Hi Sara
My guarantor has had more emails today she did a budgeting form twice for amigo and both times they have come back and said she hasn’t got enough money to pay the payments (“The amount you have left would not be enough for a formal arrangement. This does of course mean the account would be at risk of further action.”)
Still.waiting for the FOS.
Many thanks Vanessa
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, well your complaint doesn’t really matter here as you now have a DRO. You don’t actually want a refund!
(You should win your complaint at FOS but there isn’t any point as if you did get a refund it would mess up your DRO.)
What matters is your guarantor’s complaint. She needs to send that to FOS straight away and email Amigo to say she has done this.
Amigo has knows she can’t make any payments. Once she has a complaint at FOS, they can’t take her to court. If they carry on sending unpleasant texts, she should complain to FOS.
Vanessa Enticknap says
Ok thankyou our DRO ends next month would any refund affect it still? . Ok I will tell her as she can’t afford to pay it and they knew by the phonecall her income etc on the SAR .
Many thank Vanessa
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Why don’t you leave your complaint for a while until your DRO has finished? You have 6 months to go to FOS. If you wait until your guarantor’s complaint is settled, we can look then and see if it’s worth you going to FOS.
Vanessa says
Hi
Yes I could do it ends in 21 days. I can’t believe they have not upheld it. They even said they didn’t want to look at the bank statements I provided during the complaint this is what he said about them below
“Given the above, I have not considered the bank statements you have provided as we wouldn’t have requested these at the time the loans were agreed. We completed satisfactory checks to ensure the information provided was accurate and realistic. Whilst the bank statements indicate you may have provided inaccurate information regarding your incomings and outgoings, it was your responsibility to provide accurate information which you could rely on for the full loan duration.”
I also don’t understand how it takes 12 weeks to come to a decision.
Lauren says
Hi,
I put in a complaint with Amigo at the end of Oct 2019. And am now nearing the end of week 12 (after they responded for a 4 week extension). Just wondering if people are hearing back at the 12 weeks?
And also whats the best way to complain to the ombudsman over phone or online, and the time frame for them picking it up?
Regards :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Online complaint is best – read the article above, there is a link and it gives you some ideas.
Timescales have been good but a lot more complaints are coming through so that may slow, but it takes how long it takes – if you don’t complain, you won’t win the complaint so may as well get on with it.
Nic says
Hi has anyone had success with TFS loans ?
Rachel says
I made a complaint to TFS loans back in August 2019. They didnt uphold my complaint and I have sent to the ombudsman. They have refused to take a lower payment for a short time and literally call or text every single day even though the payments are up to date.
I am going to call the ombudsman again tomorrow to ask where the case stands. They are a very unfair lender and very intrusive even though I have kept them informed of complaint at all times!!! I hope you have better luck with them , they literally sent the final response highlighting and coping bits from the loan and also said I had committed fraud by saying I was paying towards debtors on my credit file , which i was not but surely a guarantor loan company with that much interest know the lender is desperate?!!
Adele says
Hi Sara,
I put in a complaint regarding unaffordable lending to amigo 5 weeks ago, i took a top up loan in sept 2012 i had to go into debt management in Jan 16 and was paying it through step change and i made up the short fall, i paid it off in Sept 2016, i know i took the top up loan over 6 years ago but was still paying it until Sept 2016 does that matter? I have sent them bank statements of 6 months before and 6 months after the loan was taken along with my credit file showing all the other debts i had, home owner loan, you could clearly see i was also using Wonga every month to make ends meet also had a bank loan, 4 provident loans and an over draft that totaled 890 a month then add on the 197 a month for the amigo loan, i was only earning 1100 and 350 tax credits a month as well as being a single parent it didn’t leave enough for mortgage and food and house hold bills, I have every letter and statement that they have sent me over the years also. A big fat mess i know but proud to say I’m now totally debt free and have been since Sept 2018 and finished with step change and slowly getting my life together, I’m hoping because i was still paying the loan within the 6 year cut off point that they might look at it.
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is likely Amigo will refuse to look at this because of the date. They are just hoping people will give up – so send it to the Ombudsman straight away as FOS is accepting cases about older loans and people are winning them.
Well done – great example of how StepChange can help someone get their life back.
Have you considered a complaint against provident? FOS is looking at complaints about them over 6 years too – see https://debtcamel.co.uk/refund-doorstep-loans/.
Adele says
Hey Sara,
I got £9000 back of provident about a year ago, 😊
I have had numerous emails from amigo the past week.
You would think they would just tell you no it’s past the 6 year mark after the 8 weeks, would save them a lot of time.
Should I send it directly to fo now or wait until the 8 week deadline?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
great -some Provident payouts are HUGE!
No you can’t send this to FOS until the 8 weeks is up.
Martin says
I have just had email from amigo saying that loans 1 and 2 will not be investigated as they were taken over 6years ago and paid off more than 3 years ago as per guidelines. However loans 3 and 4 they will be paying back interest plus 8%. I assume I cannot do anything about the 1st 2 loans.
All loans have been settled.
a says
to be fair i would take the offer to be honest. the way they are being at the moment they may decide to go bust before long by the time you take this to the fos then you may get nothing. any money back is a win
Martin says
I am accepting loans 3 and 4 but wanted to know if I can get any joy from loans 1 and 2 from fos
a says
i dont think you can accept the offer and get a refund and then take it further to the fos as you have accepted the fact they are not going to look into loans 1 & 2 but im not the expert
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo are not in ANY danger of going bust. They are very well funded, not like so many payday lenders.
lisa says
Hi you should send this to FOS as Sara has advised many others and they have won their cases, depends on the value of the interest amount on the other 2 loans and how much they have offered and how much you need the refund in your account as FOS do take a while, i doubt these will go bust they are thriving on people loaning who are in desperate need as we once did. Good luck either way.
CHRISTINE K says
Hi, I had an amigo loan that I have taken out in 2007, sent complaint to Amigo and within a day they basically said ‘no way we are not investigating as your loan was way over the timeline set out in our agreements. Have I got a chance taking this to the FOS? I don’t know if I am wasting my time. I was selfemployed at the time, going through a bad divorce, had debts coming out my ears. Had credit cards in arrears , a CCJ and loads of defaults. Any advise would be appreciated
a says
No harm in trying if you have nothing to lose really. its free to submit a complaint online so if it gets rejected no harm done but if it gets upheld happy days
Sara (Debt Camel) says
that is a very long time ago. Was this before or after April 2007? Do you have any paperwork about the loan eg emails? bank statements?
Martin says
Sara
My 1st loans were 2011 and 2012 which Amigo say they will not investigate under Fos guidelines. My other loans they are paying up. Is it worth sending to FOS?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you know how much interest you paid on them?
did the old loans cause you a lot of problems? If you thought they were fine, you may feel that you have a fair result from a refund of the 2 recent loans. You don’t have to try to reclaim every last penny if you think you have a fair result.
have Amigo asked you if you want to accept their offer or have just told you what they are paying you?
Martin says
Just told me what they are paying but no figure yet. I think it will be 6500
CHRISTINE K says
Hi Sara, I believe it was a few months after April 2007. I only have bank statements from those years. They said they found my file but completely rejecting my claim.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, well send the complaint to FOS straight away and attach your bank statements for the three months before the loan was given, so if it was in Jun 2007, send March-May07 bank statements. But the April 2007 limit is a “hard” time bar. FOS cannot consider cases where the loan was taken out before then, it has no legal right to.
Lisa says
Hi all
Gambling Case:
An update on my case with Amigo. I had a loan in January 2018 for £4,000 which I paid off early (Gambling win). I then had another loan for £5,000 in June 2018, I had a payout of £1,198 in June 2018 and this increased my loan to £5,750.
Timeline:
19th November – Sent complaint to Amigo, included all bank statements covering 3 months before each loan, this showed all gambling transactions.
14th January – Recieved email at 8 week point asking for a further 4 weeks
15th January – Submitted complaint to FOS
17th January – Received email from FOS stating they are busy and wont be able to reply straight away but gave it a reference number.
23rd Janaury – Received final response from Amigo stating that they will refund interest on loans 2 & 3 as they could have asked more about my financial situation. They will be letting me know within 5 days the calcualation. I have worked it out that it should cover the balance on my current loan £3k so I am happy to accept that as will save me £284 a month.
Lauren says
Wow. My case is a gambling one also, sent it at the end of october and still yet to receive a final response but this does give me hope. Congratulations.
Lisa says
Dont give up Lauren.
Sara, I wouldnt have been in this position without all of your great guidance on here. If I hadnt found this website I would be £5k worse off so far. I missed out on Wonga and QQ but the other two have reduced my debt by £5k, just waiting for FOS as 118 rejected my claim.
I think i speak for alot of people when I say Thank You.
Rachel says
Well my dilemma is now over and amigo have refunded me £3910.81 and I can now move on. It’s been hard losing my house and my health has deteriorated through lending from these clowns but I got a good result after initially having my complaint rejected by amigo then FOS got involved.
Just a message to everyone waiting to hear from amigo or fos keep going FOS are fighting for people like us good luck everyone!! And I would like to thank sara for starting this site it’s been a saviour!
Jamie says
Lots of good news here today. I also received my email from amigo having waited 12 weeks and 4 days for a reply. Upholding loans 4-7 and will calculate interest in next 5 days (just a shame a payment went out today!!). Released my guarantor. Will clear balance and will be debt free now.
This is a gambling case too, my bank statements were littered with lots of gambling deposits. Chuffed.
Thanks Sara for this amazing site
Jamie says
Sara I know you have some figures previously for anticipated refund – are you able to calculate what I will get back after I paid an instalment today? Settled on loans 4-7.
Thanks
Jamie says
Sorry scrap that – just looking at it in more detail in comparison to the loan numbers in their email, they have offered loans 2, 3 5 and 7 which is weird?!?!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Weird – it’s very hard how they can justify that as loan 4 which they have rejected had a much higher monthly payment than loan 3 which they have accepted. Did they give an explanation as to why they have rejected loans 4 & 6???
Adding up the interest on 2,3,5,7 and changing 7 so you have now made 8 payments gives a refund to you of £1957.
I suggest you send the complaint on to FOS. You guarantor has been released and you can safely cancel the DD to Amigo. I find it very hard to imagine you won’t be getting another £1900 off by going to FOS.
Jamie says
Ok will do thank you.
No reason give as to the other loans they rejected, just that they did sufficient checks etc
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you feel cross enough to send a report to the FCA about Amigo’s poor complaint handling?
The FCA is Amigos regulator. Sending this report won’t get the FCA to look at your case – that’s what FOS is for – but the FCA should really make Amigo improve their complaints handling.
If you want to do this, email consumer.queries@fca.org.uk and copy this to nick.beal@amigoloans.net and complaints@amigoloans.co.uk
Subject: Very poor complaint handling by Amigo (708284).
Give your Amigo reference number, your name and address.
Give a couple of sentences summarising your borrowing, just what years and how these were all top up loans and the loan amounts.
Say you have sent Amigo your bank statements showing a large amount of gambling.
Say their complaint handling is very slow, you had to wait [how long] to get a response which you think is very poor as guarantor loan borrowers are very vulnerable because they can’t make a payment arrangement without it impacting their guarantor.
Then say that Amigo has upheld what seems to be a random selection of your loans. Point out your borrowing was continuos. Say there is no reason why loan 3, which they have refunded can be considered to be unaffordable but the next top up, loan 4, which was trwice as large with much higher monthly repayments has been rejected.
Say their response to you has not explained how they have selected these odd loans as they seem to have done the same checks on all of them and you have supplied bank statements for the rejected loans 4 & 6 showing a lot of gambling which they have ignored.
end by saying you know the FCA will not look at your case, and you are sending it to FOS, but you thought as Amigo’s regulator they should be told about this poor and very slow response to a complaint.
——————————————
Cherie says
Lots of positive results today well done to everyone still waiting here at12 weeks +1 day today
Cherie says
Have received this today from amigo
Thank you for your email and your ongoing patience. I cannot specify what stage your complaint is at, I can advise that your complaint is in a queue which will be looked at and issued as soon as our capacity allows. As you have advised you are now over the extension period, I would like to think this would be sooner rather than later.
This is after 12 weeks now anyone else still waiting?
Julia says
Yep – I’m at 13 weeks on Monday.
Cherie says
Hopefully we will both get a answer soon in that case ,its getting really stressful now my next payment is due Monday so I’m pretty sure I won’t hear before then so they can collect the money.
Reece says
HI everyone im after a bit of advice regarding trustwo, before i post my question, just to let everyone know there is light at the end of tunnel, £20k of debt with amigo, TT and others now im down to £3k,
Trust two accepted my claim of unaffordable lending and removed the interest from my loan, i with drew my complaint from the FOS.
i was paying £190pm but now im paying £200 – (paying off more as i got interest back from amigo and stopped paying £400PM to them)
ive had some car & boiler trouble so ive asked them to reduce it to £100pm for two months and there are rejecting it and chasing my brother up for missed payments.
am i right in thinking that because the loan was incorrectly issued and they have removed the interest, the repayment amount has changed and the term of the loan has changed, then my brother shouldn’t be chased as he hasn’t agreed to this new amount or signed anything.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, you are right. Your brother should be released as the guarantor. It is a shame you didn’t get them to agree that with your complaint. But now, I suggest you tell them you want your brother being released as guarantor or he will be putting in a complaint and you will be supplying him with the email you had tram TT saying that your loan was unaffordable as evidence.
Lisa says
So happy. Amigo have worked out my refund and it come to £3196. That clears my current loan and gets me £112.
Thank you so much for having this site Sara, I would never had known to complain past Wonga.
Linzi mc says
I’m in a similar position and will definitely be making a claim for a refund. I took out a £2000 loan in 2016 and have topped up six times. I have paid my repayments on time and in full until recently as the payments are overwhelming £384.98 per month, I am also in debt with other companies. I phoned all my creditors and most lowered my repayments. Amigo on the other hand tried to convince me I can afford my payments, I was even told not to give my children pocket money by one lady. I also had a gambling habit when I took out my loan ( which would have appeared on bank statements). I still owe £8,399.22 which I won’t finish paying until mid 2022 at £384.98. It seems most of my payments only cover the interest so I’m getting nowhere. Am I a good candidate to make a claim??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Having topped up 6 times makes this a good claim. amigo should have been checking very carefully that you could make the payments and still afford all your normal household expenses which would include pocket money. If there is gambling showing on your bank statement then that is another good reason why Amigo should not have given you the loans.
Who is your guarantor? Could they afford £384 a month? That is a huge amount! If they couldn’t afford that then they too can complain and ask to be removed as guarantor.
Linzi mc says
My mum is my guarantor and it would be a big debt for her, I have fell behind with other bills so I could pay amigo and my mum wouldn’t be contacted. I read on another site that when you make the complaint you can ask for your guarantor to be removed. I really don’t understand the interest part especially because I have topped up so many times, i know some months the interest accrued has been over £400 which is more than my repayment.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo’s statements can be very hard to understand. I wouldn’t worry about the interest calculation at the moment as if you win, it will all be removed!
It’s up to you if you want to talk to your mum and say she can ask to be removed as guarantor. It won’t be needed if you win your complaint about the last loan, which sounds like a very strong one from what you have said.
PS complain about all your loans, not just the last one, as it’s the refunds from the earlier loans that can help repay any balance you still owe.
Ljc says
I don’t know if this is of any interest Sara but this has just been published in my local paper (amigo)
https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/18188989.amigo-loans-triggers-sales-process-amid-challenging-conditions/
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, it’s interesting but this is a well funded company and people shouldn’t worry they are about to go bust!
Ljc says
No worries I wasn’t sure if you’d seen it but I see you put a tweet out this morning about Amigo
Claire says
Hi
I’ve received £10,700 in my bank this morning from Amigo. The case was picked up by an adjudicator at the FOS in November 19 after 18 months however my adjudicator wrote to Amigo on 14th January 20, they agreed and upheld it on 21st January 20 I sent the acceptance form back that day. They contacted me for bank details on 22nd Jan 20 and payment was processed on Thursday. Any one with complaints with Amigo hang in there because they were very co operative finally
Abi says
I’m so happy for you!!! I submitted a complaint with them a few weeks ago, did it take them the full 8 weeks to respond initially? Xx
Claire says
Yes it took the full 8 weeks when I first sent my complaint to Amigo and they rejected it so I sent it to the FOS and it took around 18 months. I’ve got one with FOS in regards to loans 2 go and I’ve had notification from them that that could take the same. Today was the first Monday morning I’ve had a smile on my face !
Abi says
Awwww! Congratulations. So nice to hear xx
Sara (Debt Camel) says
great news! Yours must have been one of the last “old FOS complaints” that went on hold in early 2019. Glad this is finally sorted for you!”
More recent complaints to FOS should not (I hope!!) take anywhere near as long.
Chris w says
If you don’t mind me asking ,what loans did you have for that amount back ,I have 5,000,5,000 and a 7,000 loan with them ,last payment in February,just sent first template today ,well done on a great successful story
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it depends how long you had each loan for, a 5000 loan you topped up after only a couple of months you may hardly have paid any interest on, after 3 years it could be over 5000…
Chris says
5000 was fully paid ,other 5000 was topped up at 1 year of payments and in 1 payment off the 7000 ,
Cherie says
Anyone over 12 weeks that’s still waiting?mines is 13 weeks on wed as expected they took their payment today ,very fed up now
Lauren Bartlett says
Yes my 12 weeks were up on thursday :(
Ben Broad says
My 12 weeks is tomorrow.
Just sent an email to hamish.paton@amigo.me
Apparently it’s the email addressed CEO, will serif it helps
Cherie says
I sent one to that email address around two weeks ago and have had no reply to it whatsoever
Cherie says
Have you been in contact with them since Thursday?Cannot believe how long they are dragging these out for
Julia says
I’m at 13 weeks now. And nothing. I had to chase at 12 weeks and got another holding email. After waiting all this time it’s going to be very annoying when they tell me they’ve investigated and they don’t feel I’ve im due any compensation!
On a 10k loan I’ve already paid back 19k with another 13.5k to go…
it’s hell.
Cherie says
I know it’s just getting to be a bit of a joke now ,I am at the end of mine now with one payment left to go but the last five years have been horrendous ,we ended up in temporary accommodation which ended up getting us into more debt
Rob says
Well I am nearly at 13 weeks now. Have finally sent my complaint to FOS and am also writing to FCA to complain about Amigo’s lack of capacity to deal with its complaints properly.
The announcement today from Amigo that the old guard wish to sell their shares in the company is significant – they obviously don’t feel that the business model is sustainable/profitable in the long term given the likelihood of increased regulation and scrutiny. The company’s share price has taken a battering: down from over £2.50 a few months ago to only 52p today. Looks to me like the company may well be broken up as part of the “strategic review” they have announced. Hopefully there are no particular implications for those of us pursuing complaints in the short term.
Charlotte says
I’m at 14 weeks today. I took a loan for 7000 to begin with paid 276 pounds for one year then topped up and reduced the term so I’ve been paying 489 pounds for 7 months up until this month when I just can’t pay it. I lost my home I was renting because I was paying the loan over my rent to avoid my guarantor having to pay. Its just been the most hurrendous time. I called today and they said I should have a decision by Wednesday. Am I likely to be successful?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Oh I do hope so, it sounds like a very good case. Let us know tomorrow (and try to sleep tonight…)
ollie says
I took a loan out with them in 2017 for £1600 I was allowed to top it up to the maximum of £10,000! I was struggling with payments and had a gambling addiction which they asked my about when they saw me bank statements but still allowed me to top up countless time! my guarantor sold their property while I was still paying the loan and also they was allowing us to still top up! my guarantor passed away and I couldn’t keep up with payments on other loans as these payments on this loan were so big! I have now had to enter an iva and it has basically ruined my life!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So this loan is included in your IVA? Do you own a house or are you renting?
ollie says
yes it is included and no I have had to move back with parents.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So this is a very recent IVA? Did you have a lot of other problem debts as well as this guarantor loan?
ollie says
been in it around 12 months now and yes there was 10/11 other loans as well as this.
Jacs says
HI,
I emailed Amigo last week with a letter of complaint (using your excellent template) based on it being unaffordable and also that they did not carry out adequate checks beforehand.
They emailed me back requesting that I send them copies of bank statements for the 3 months prior to applying for the loan. I replied saying that I wouldn’t be sending these as they should have requested these during the application process and PRIOR to lending me money.
When I logged into my Amigo account today, a few things have changed. I am taken to a page headed “pre-arrears” which says they don’t have a way to collect my monthly payments. (I have a direct debit set up which comes out on the 1st of each month which I haven’t changed and have never missed a payment)
Also, where it used to tell me I can top-up my loan in February, it now says “you cannot borrow more money from Amigo”.
I’m sure the name of my guarantor used to appear somewhere but is now no-where to be seen.
In the documents part of my account, my loan agreement has totally disappeared.
Does this mean they have now started the ball rolling for dealing with my complaint?
What do I do about my payment which is due to be taken on the 1st of February?
Thanks,
Jacs
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you should send them the bank statements they have asked for. If they can see from those that the loan was unaffordable you are more likely to win your complaint.
yes, they should have asked for them at the start – but it’s more important that you win the complaint now!
If you don’t have the statements, then contact your bank now and get them.
I suggest you phone them up and ask if they will be taking the next DD as you want them to do this to protect your guarantor.
They have obviously noticed you have complained. this doesn’t mean anyone is looking at it and it is going to be 7-12 weeks before you get a response.
Julia says
Hi
I had this as soon as I’d made the complaint to Amigo, they block you applying for any further advances, and also remove the contracts/ letters from your home page on the app.
They did this from the day of acknowledgement. 13 weeks down the track and I still have no resolution,
Sorry I can’t offer any more help!
Jacs says
Hi Julia,
Do you just keep paying each month as normal?
I don’t want any missed payments on my credit report and also don’t want my guarantor to get any hassle!
Julia says
Yes I’ve just carried on paying – I have a payment due in 4 days so I won’t get a resolution before then!
Peem says
If I state in my complain about gambling issues will this affect my future credit rating and impact upon me attempting to get credit in the future?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is no “is a gambler” flag that a lender can switch on on your credit record. And if you win your complaint, any negative marks on your credit record for the loan being refunded is removed.