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
Lou7 says
Great news. Amigo have accepted the adjudicators decision. I am over the moon. Thank you so much Sara and everyone else for your advice.
Brandon says
Well done Lou ,
It’s been a long process but worth it in the end I hope fingers crossed all us others on the thread get sorted also
All the best you deserve it
Lou7 says
Hi Alfie,
I am getting a refund from loans 2-6. I presume I will get the 8% interest. I am just glad it’s over. I submitted my complaint to amigo in October 2018 and to the FOS December 2018. Hope this helps.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Lou’s case took so long because it first of all got held up in the FOS backlog in the first half of 2019, then with jurisdictional issues and also there was almost no evidence about the first loan that was a very long time ago. Loans 2 & 3 were over 6 years old but were upheld. No-one else should expect a case to take this long!
Alfie says
Chuffed for you lou! and thanks Sara!
Lou7 says
Thanks Alfie, Sara and good luck to everyone x
K says
Just following on from someone saying they complained to the FCA also regarding amigo loans. I sent one also and have just received quite a long reply which i wont post all of but this paragraph was the main part which I thought sounds interesting & seems amigo are on the fca radar…
I’ve spoken to my colleagues in the team that supervises the conduct of Amigo, who we authorise to lend money to consumers, and they have confirmed that they’re aware of the situation with the firm.
I do want to let you know that I’ve shared the information with my colleagues, as this is helpful to us, but that due to legal and policy restrictions I’m unable to provide you with feedback about what’s happening.
Vanessa says
Hi I submitted my own claim to Amigo in October 2019 which Quickly got rejected by them. Took no longer than 2 weeks for them to reject my complaint. I’ve since gone to Financial Ombudsman
Who have assigned case worker. I had email from Amigo to say would take 8 weeks to complete their investigations. Then yesterday I had another one from them informing me that they are still investigating and should be 4 weeks. My concerns are that I see they have now put their company up for sale. I’m not sure how this will affect mine and others claims. Do you have any advice please.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The sale of the company affects who will get the profits from the company. I don’t think it will have a direct effect on these complaints.
Phil H says
Hi Sara
Can I go direct to the ombudsman as my amigo loan was around 2009 so I’m guessing Amigo will refuse it as its over 6 years old so trying to save time
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No! It will waste time as FOS will then tell you to go to Amigo.
Phil says
Hi again Sara
My loan with Anigo of £2500 was back around 2008/9 I have cleared it now but it was a struggle at the time and I had other PDL but because of how long ago it was I don’t remember which bank I was with and so have no chance of sending bank statements or reference numbers. All I have is my address at the time and obviously my personal details. My guarantor has since passed away so does this mean I wouldn’t stand much chance of a redress
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Why not just start with a compleint to Amigo? See how it goes? If in the end no-one has any records of this loan, then you aren’t going to get anywhere.
S says
I am now on week 5 with the FOS Adjudicator and Amigo and they are point blank refusing to say they have any data on me! The adjudicator is going to try and resolve my complaint without any data from them and only on my provided statements. In other news, I took them the Information Commissioner for a GDPR breach as IAW FCA rules they must retain data for a reasonable time (6 years in most cases). It seems they used to (in my case keep it for 4, they have now increased to 6).
I am not holding out much hope, take it day by day and see what comes next.
Lou7 says
Hi Sara,
Back again!! I have had an email from amigo but they are saying they will take £7,099 from what they owe me to close the balance on my loan but I thought if I had paid back what I owed then the rest was mine? Please help me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
We looked at your loans in mid Jan here https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/comment-page-18/#comment-335330
At that point I thought (from your figures) you had paid the following interest on each loan:
2 £1839
3 £2323
4 £1843
5 £2234
6 £4004 so far But since then you will have made 1 more payment? or 2?
They added up to £12283. Plus the recent last loans payment(s).
Amigo work their figures in a different way, leaving the interest in and then crediting it back to you. I take the interest out as it is easier.
But the end result should be very close. So how much do they say they owe you?
Lou7 says
Total Interest Paid to be refunded = £22,839.35
Total 8% statutory interest = £3213.21
20% Tax deducted already from 8% statutory interest = £803.30
Total refund due to you = £26,052.56
We’ve firstly used this refund to settle your outstanding loan balance of £7,099.85. This means that your loan is now closed, and no further payments will become due. Due to me £18,952.71. I just wanted to check it’s correct
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can you say when loan 4 was settled?
Lou7 says
Loan 4 was taken out November 2014 and repaid in march 2015. Do they inform the guarantor of the payout?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They shouldn’t, but the guarantor should obviously be told they are being released from the last loan.
I think those figures look fine. (I wanted to know about the settlement date to give a better guess at the statutory interest figure.)
Tony says
Hi ,
I had amigo loans dating back 2009 can I still make a claim ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, you can still claim. Whether there is any evidence about your earlier loans mya be tricky. Do you have bank statements or emails going back that far?
Tony says
Hi Sara
No emails , may be able to find bank statements ( not sure). I don’t hold much hope for success unfortunately
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So put in your complaint now and start hunting round for information. Your guarantor may have kept information about the loans even if you didn’t?
Until you put the complaint in, you don’t know what information Amigo will send you. You need to see what they send and work out what you can supply as well.
Don says
Hi. Just wondering how long people are waiting for their complaint to be assigned at the FOS? I put my complaint in to them at the end of September 2019 after I’d received my final response from Amigo. Whenever I ask for an update from the FOS I get the same response along the lines of “they have asked the company for my file to save time when it is assigned.” and “complaints are treated in order.” Just wondering how long I’m likely to be waiting?
Also how long should the FOS take to deal with a complaint? I only ask as I’ve had another complaint with them regarding another company and it started in September 2018, I feel like I keep getting fobbed off by the person dealing with it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is the other lender?
Don says
It’s creation financial…ill try to cut a long story short creation wouldn’t look at my complaint so hence going to FOS in September 18. Creation agreed to look at it and provided a final response December 18, I didn’t accept and went back to FOS. It got assigned to an adjudicator in April 19, in July she said she’d asked for further information from them, by August said she was in a position to look at it then September she again said she’d asked them for more information and said Creation had asked to look at it again as they felt there was parts of the complaint they hadn’t known about previously. Fast forward 8 weeks I get a letter saying because it was a duplicate complaint they were not investigating it and closing the complaint.
FOS got in touch and they said they’d reopen it and here we are now. I chased it up the beginning of this week with the FOS to be told creation hadn’t reopened the complaint properly so it still hasn’t been looked at by them but in “good news” they’ve agreed to let her look at all aspects of the complaint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well not good, but it is Creation that are being very obstructive, not FOS. stick with it!
Steven says
Hi Sara I have an ongoing complaint as does my guarantor. My guarantor has since cancelled his dd as have I. I sent an offer to pay what I could afford by email with a breakdown of my current income/outgoing. They realise they can’t get money from me or my guarantor atm and we have a level of safety due to ongoing complaints so they emailed me back to say this would be fine but I must ring them for a conversation. Unsure of what to expect I’ve been happier dealing with them in writing and am quite socially awkward on the phone
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can reply by email that you don’t feel comfortable talking on the phone and can they please email you instead.
James says
Hi. Just hoping you help me with some numbers.
Loan 1 – £2500, 2 × 121
Top up to £5000, 32 × 197. I got £2,498 in cash.
Getting some right Hassal off amigo now with no support and short answers with no resolution with my questions so just want to make sure I no my numbers first.
Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then so far you have paid £244 in interest on the first loan and £1302 on the second one.
What sort of hassle are you getting from Amigo?
James says
Perfect thank you.
I’m just getting ignore now by email. Horrible attitude on phone calls, not interested in talking to me to sort out issue not related to the complaint. Just gone down hill ever since putting the complaint in.
HMB says
Does anyone know how long before Amigo loans pay redress amount once accepted?
Tony says
Hi Sara,
I had a email back today Amigo say they cannot find my details , have asked for account number I had with them. I have looked back on my credit file and can’t see that far back. Also can’t find bank statements from that far back 2009. So I’m stuck I know I had 2 loans with them back in 2009 and 2011 any suggestions where to go from here ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is why I said you may need to find details of your loans. Your bank statements or emails. Or your guarantors bank statements or emails.
Stacey R says
Hi Sara, I was just wondering if now my husband has a complaint in place as of about a week ago, shall he get the guarantor to cancel their DD and cancel his too or will this affect the claim? Only because we are majorly struggling with finances and covering just normal household Bill’s. My husband worried it will go against him and they wont complete the complaint if he cancels the payments for a short period.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The lender (who is it?) can’t refuse to consider his complaint if he stops paying.
BUT if he does stop paying the will go after his guarantor.
Who is his guarantor? Could he afford the repayments? I am asking because if the answer is NO then the guarantor may have a good reason to complain and say he should be removed as guarantor because he can’t afford the payments.
Stacey R says
The company is amigo, and no the garentor can absolutely not afford the payments. But they are worried if they cancelled DD that amigo would find away to still get the money of them. The garentor is his mother and she is on pension benefit only x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If his mum is on Pension Credit it is pretty unlikely the loan is affordable, how large is it?
Was this his first loan from Amigo?
Stacey R says
He took out a 6,500 loan thays before interest and yes his first and only loan through amigo x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so thats 250-300 a month? that would be a lot for someone on pension credit. to afford.
So if she puts in a complaint (there is a template for a guarantor over on this page https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/) she could complain for two reasons, (1) that the loan isn’t affordable for your husband and so should never have beengiven by Amigo and (2) that the loan is unaffordable for her.
If she does this AND she cancels her DD to Amigo, then if your husband stops paying and cancels his DD, then Amigo can’t take money from either of them. They can write write cross letters and send texts or phone, but they can’t actually take the money. And while he has a complaint in, they can’t take him to court and while she has a complaint in they can’t take her to court.
So far Amigo have made threatening noises about court but not actually gone to court while there are complaints open with them or with the ombudsman.
What is the rest of your husband’s financial situation like? Does he have other problem debts? How long ago did this Amigo loan start?
Stacey R says
To be honest his wages only.cover half of his Bill’s. Every month I have to use my personal allowance of income to make sure his Bill’s are covered. He took the loan out in 2016 when he was on less income than he is on now x
Marl says
hi Sara my son sent in his bank statements to amigo, which they had never asked for, on applying for his loan, they rang him twice in 4 days, and would sort it out. He used your template to produce a very good letter to them. Now they have sent him an email which says. So we can help you more will you please answer these questions. 1were you aware when you applied for the loan that it would be unaffordable. 2 why do you believe your loans were unaffordable . 3 was your income at the time we paid out the loan you received this X amount correct. 4 was your expenditure correct at the time. Well wondering what he should say here, as I think they have enough information, ty for your time sara
Sara (Debt Camel) says
he doesn’t have to reply to any questionnaire. He can just say he has sent his bank statements which show how unaffordable the loan was.
Sue says
How long did people wait for redress payment to be in account once agreed with Amigo through adjudicator please
Lou7 says
Hi Sue,
I had an email from amigo saying the funds would be in my account within 3-5 working days depending on the bank.
Sue says
Thanks Lou have you had the payment now or still waiting?
Lou7 says
Hi sue.
I was told yesterday what my refund would be. Haven’t had anything yet. I am thinking possibly Wednesday or Thursday next week.
Sue says
Thanks Lou FOS told me the offer this morning which I accepted but still waiting for them to send paperwork through, so I can provide bank details.
Sue says
Hi Lou did you get payment?
How long was the process from being told your offer. Accepting to receiving payment please?
I was told Friday morning, accepted (through FOS) and waiting for confirmation payment will be made! However speaking to someone at FOS just now and they said it could take up to 4 weeks!!
Gemma says
Just an update on my George Banco claim they upheld today and total redress of £3500 due back me absolutely over the moon! Thank you Sara for giving everyone hope and giving us light at the end of a dark tunnel x I received this email today the 8 week deadline was tomorrow and the same with amigo which I don’t have much hope for x
Beth says
Hi Gemma
May I ask how may loans you had with George Banco and what their response is like? I put in a claim for my single loan on Monday of this week and haven’t had an acknowledgement of receipt as yet?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Gemma says
I had 3 loans with them and I didn’t receive my acknowledgment until the 6th day after I put in my complaint! Hope that helps.
Antony says
Hello
If you have time I just wondered if you could work out what interest I have paid on these amigo loans.
Original loan – 3000 – 12 x 146.37
Top up 6500 – received 4605.26 – 11 x 341.53
Top up 10000 – received 4426.03 – 25 x 487.89
Top up 6500 – received 1963.01 – 6 x 401.80 ongoing.
Thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so the interest paid on the first 3 loans like roughly (remember you may have typed in numbers wrong or I may have, this is just a guess) :
loan 1 647
loan 2 2825
loan 3 6712
If all three are refunded, that adds up to £10184
On the last loans there is still £4094 to pay until the amount borrowed has been repaid. that would be cleared by the refunds from the previous loans and you should get a refund of £6090.
Antony says
Thanks Sara. Great page by the way. I’m in week 5 of my complaint, just hope they don’t decide to fold like wonga did.
T says
Hey,
Suppose this is a little update.
Amigos 12 weeks are up on tuesday. I rang the fos to see how long it would be till they looked at my case. Fos advised 4 months (raised with fos at 8 weeks) fos requested I sent them the emails off amigo regarding the complaint. I have done this.
So anyway I emailed amigo to say I was a little concerned that they havent been in touch nor have they asked for any evidence etc. Their reply was they will be in touch by the 29th feb now. Not the 25th (where the 12 weeks end) with a final response. Personally I dont think it’s going to happen.
Every time I ring and ask how far they are in the process no one can answer “as they are not from that team”.
Guess I’m frustrated. I think I’m going to have to wait for the fos.
Guess I just needed to vent my frustrations.
If yours went over 12 weeks did they get in touch? Was it a positive outcome?
Thanks
K says
Im almost at 11 weeks now, i sent to the fos at week 8 & spoke to them on the phone & they said id be looking at 6 months for a response from them. They asked about my financial situation & after discussing the man i spoke to spoke to his manager who agreed to put my case as a priority case which they would try to resolve in 6-8 weeks (not guarenteed but defo sooner than 6 months) . Maybe give them a call & ask for it to be made a priority
T says
Thanks for your reply. K I dont think I can be made a priority as the loan is paid off. It’s just infuriating that there is no communication from them. They have not been in touch at all unless I contact them. I’m pretty sure come the 25th or 29th which ever date they aim for, that i wont have a response. I do have a case number with the fos but no one is assigned to the case as yet. I raised this on the 29th jan 20 which was the 8 week mark.
I think this is going to end up with the fos sorting.
My guarantor never made any payments but I was always late or changing the date so I could pay. I rang them a few times asking for the repayments to be lowered to be point blank refused everytime. They did a expenditure over the phone and said I could afford it. My husband had left me with 3 children and I was then claiming benefits as he was the main income earner. I do beileve I have a strong case but i get the feeling amigo are saying no to most just to delay tactics.
K says
I think they’re delaying while hoping they dont go under like wonga! It is a nightmare. Ive still got over 2 years of paying this if my complaint isnt upheld, i have a strong case though & the fos have all the evidence so im hoping they manage to sort it although mine hasnt been assigned as yet either. Amigo said they would come back to me by 2nd march but i very much doubt they will
ST says
Can someone help me please? I am a current customer of amigo, original loan was £5500, opened in July 2017, payments of £268.34 over 36 months, paid back for 29 months now. All the £5500 has been repaid it is now just interest, can I make a claim as making this payment every month has made me get behind on priority bills such as council tax, electricity etc. Can I make a claim now or wait until it’s paid in full, due to finish in Nov 2020?
K says
You can make a claim at any time during paying the loan. Its actually interest you’ve paid, none of the loan.
Mine is similar. £3,500 then topped up to £5,000 then topped up to £7,500
My balance is still £7,700 after paying for almost 3 years. For the first 3 years you pay interest with only around £40 a month coming off the loan. Once the 3 years is up, the next 2 years all you pay comes off the balance. My interest payments are up in june this year so everything i pay after that will get my £7,500 down to zero…hopefully my complaint is upheld & its sorted well before then though
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Definitely claim now and mention you have now got council tax arrears and electricity bill arrears because of having to pay Amigo.
What is your gaurantor’s financial position? Could they really afford £268 a month? That’s a lot of money..
ST says
I’ve never missed a payment, it’s always been the first thing to pay as I’ve always been very aware that I have a guarantor etc. It’s just getting such a struggle now. My guarantor is in a fairly good place and would be able to make the payments if I couldn’t but I wouldn’t ever expect them too, does that make sense.
C says
Amigo didn’t uphold my complaint this week. They wouldn’t consider the first 2 loans because they were over 6 years old. For the 4 loans they supposedly looked at they said I had a disposable income of £880.64, £1424.20, £897.07 and £790.61. The bank statements I provided show otherwise. During the time I have had the loans I’ve had a continuous string of payday loans and 5 other guarantor loans. I have spent the last 10 years borrowing from Peter to pay Paul and have never had any disposable income. Amigo’s argument was if the income/expenditure figures I gave them sounded reasonable then they wouldn’t need to verify these! My complaint is in a queue with the FOS
Steffy says
Had a fantastic result with Trust Two today, I took out a £10,000 loan in July 2018 in sheer desperation and have been paying £400 back per month. They sent me my FRL on 7th February which was riddled with errors, wrong years, incorrect figures etc. So I asked it to be escalated to the complaints manager, following a few emails they have agreed to stop all interest on my loan (so much better than the further £13,000 in interest I would had to pay!), as I have not yet paid the principle borrowed, I still owe £2485.15 but I am pleased to know that in 6 months this loan is also cleared! (As I also had a £400 per month payment with Amigo which has also been wiped so soon I will have over £800 more a month…).
Thanks for everything as always Sara
Kelly says
Hi – made a complaint to U.K. credit in Oct 2018 for a loan I took out in 2012 which they didn’t uphold. I sent complaint to FOS in Jan 19 and it was passed to adjudicator who upheld my complaint on 4th oct 19. U.K. credit were given until 18th oct 19 to respond to their findings which they failed to do. The matter was then put in a queue to be looked at by an ombudsman on 25th oct 19. I have heard nothing since then despite numerous calls to FOS to see if there has been any progress. I have been waiting in a queue now for over 17 wks – how much longer will this take……. has anyone had any luck getting a refund from U.K. credit?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They are a pretty small lender. There are three cases on the FOS published decisions (https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/data-insight/ombudsman-decisions) against UKC and none in favour of UKC. There is usually a delay of about 2 months from a decision being given to being put onto the published decisions database.
Anon says
Hi Steffy, that’s great news for you! I am on week 4 of my complaint with them, can I ask how long it took for their final response from when you put the complaint in? I pay them nearly £240 a month and I’m not earning anywhere near enough to be able to pay it. They lent to me while I had around 4 other different payday loans open (MyJar, Onstride, Safetynet Credit, Lending Stream) and I also had an open Amigo guarantor loan (with the same guarantor!) as well as gambling on my statements, so I am really hoping my claim will be upheld. I was stupidly hoping they would come back to me before my next payment date but not likely :(
louise says
hi sara just a question please i had my loan complaint upheld partially so took it to fos but still waiting to hear from them for the other loans, i still owe amigo a balance but they will not let me set up an affordable arrangement my guarantor as been removed, i have not paid my last 2 installments they are sending me letters saying court action will be taken if i do not pay the arrears if it goes to court what will happen then? thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you have other debts as well?
louise says
yes i have 3 ccjs now and others outstanding i need to set up arrangements for
thank you
Sue says
Update re Amigo put a complaint in and they rejected it. Due to health reasons didn’t send it into FOS til 12 months later (Dec 2019) Loans taken out in 2009 and 2011.
Wasn’t able to provide any bank statements or details but today FOS informed me that Loan 2 complaint upheld. Could look at Loan 1 if provide statements but accepted offer as couldn’t do with the stress and also worried they may go under in the mean time. FOS prioritised due to health and financial issues.
So still submit if loans older and no details as you never know. I’m just hoping money does land in account in the next few days.
Thank you so much for this website x
Phil says
Hi
I’m in the same boat. What info did you send to fos?
Cheers
Sue says
Hi
I just sent my original complaint and their response .
Paul says
Hello Sara,
I’ve received a request to fill in a questionnaire for each of my loans with Amigo. I’ve read above that there’s no need to respond to these, if they make me anxious, but they’ve stipulated that I must return them within 10 days to help them with their investigation. Is it still the case that there’s no obligation for me to respond before the complaint can continue? Thanks again for your help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you sent your bank statements?
Paul says
Yes, they had already asked for one month previous and two months post each loan and I sent those straight away.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I suggest you reply that you have already sent them your bank statements which show how unaffordable your loans were and you look forward to receiving their response to your complaint. Keep it short, you do not have to engage with a stressful discussion here. Sending your bank statements is being totally open with them – you have done your job, now they need to reply.
I suspect they are hoping that some customers will be put off complaining by this sort of questionnaire and the insinuation that it is your fault if your application was not completely accurate. That is not correct – Amigo knows people may be desperate or unclear about their situation and that it is the lender that has the obligation to verify figures. Amigo is losing these cases at the Ombudsman.
Paul says
Thank you so much for putting my mind at rest, you’ve made this whole process far less stressful than I thought it was going to be.
kaz says
Has anyone been successful without bank statements? Their standard response if you don’t have these to hand we can use information we have on file? Going to cost me money from bank to obtain some statements – already living hand to mouth zero cash spare until I’m free of the Amigo shackles :-(
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, it is possible.
You have sent the statements for the last top-up loan and the P60?
have you asked the bank for old statements? What are they saying they will charge?
Rebecca Dawson says
I asked the same thing.. Just so you know they will refund bank statements you have to obtain
Not sure how long it would take for them to refund you though.
Rachel says
Hello Sara,
I took out a loan from amigo of £750.00 in March 2019 and then I took a top up of £8,250 in June 2019. I used your template to make an in affordability complaint and have sent bank statements too. They have said that they have received my email and are investigating it. The lender then sent me another email asking for more questions on both of the loans.
The questions they asked were:
Were you aware at the time you applied for the loan that you wouldn’t be able to afford to repay it?
Why do you believe your loan was unaffordable?
The income stated at the time you received (X), was this correct?
The expenditure stated at the time we paid out this loan was (X), was this correct?
I read that you can ignore these questions, but I wanted to ask what would be sensible to do? If I were to answer the questions, how do I respond? Or should I ignore the questions as I have sent bank statements which they requested, shows that the loan was unaffordable.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you reply saying that you have sent them your bank statements which show how unaffordable the loans were and you look forward to receiving their response to your complaint. You are being completely open, sending your bank statements.
I think they are trying to make people complaining feel it is their fault if their application was not accurate and give up. Whereas actually, it is Amigo’s responsibility to verify income and expenses. These complaints are being won at the Ombudsman.
philip m says
hi i got a 10.000 after only just paying off 300 loan of them and i had many other loans 118 moneybox sunny credit cards my total after there loan was 22.000 and the next day after the loan i asked them to not give me as much as i need to be able to pay the rest of my debt i was told to be quiet well they said they are trying to do everything they could for me to get the loan and they boosted my guarantors score to be able to repay if i failed i even told them i have started to gamble to be able to repay them i got on to step change we drew up an iva i was not even able to afford them repayments to all my creditors in fact they sent me nutty with stress constant bombardment of call after call i had to keep getting loans to pay off other loans to the point i dont open letters i have panic attacks when i see mail they knew i was not able to pay back the amount my loan was with the others and when i tried to do something i was told tuff too late there is nothing we can do for you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“i asked them to not give me as much as i need to be able to pay the rest of my debt i was told to be quiet well they said they are trying to do everything they could for me to get the loan”
was this conversation over the phone or by email?
“they boosted my guarantors score”
what was your guarantor’s financial position like at that point? do you think they could have afforded the repayments, which must be a lot a month?
“when i tried to do something i was told tuff too late there is nothing we can do for you”
have you ever sent them a Complaint before? or just asked them for help and been refused?
C A says
Has anybody won a complaint at the FOS against Guarantor My Loan?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They are a tiny lender. Only a couple of people have ever mentioned them. That doesn’t mean you won’t win a FOS case, but it means it is likely no-one will reply to you.
C A says
Thanks Sara. They rejected my complaint so I sent it to the FOS 2 weeks ago. I got an email from the FOS on Wednesday to say they were ready to look at my complaint. I borrowed £5000 in 2016 and topped up to £7250 in 2018. I had loans with Amigo, UK Credit and a whole string of payday loans, SNC etc at the same time. The reason I sent it to the FOS is they say they did a full income/expenditure assessment on me but they missed off quite a number of regular expenses that showed on the bank statements I was asked to provide at the time of applying/topping up. By missing these off made the loans look affordable but in reality they aren’t
Steve says
Hi Sara,my guarantor is going to be bankrupt in a matter of weeks ,do I have to tell amigo this and will he still be ok as my guarantor ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is great news for you if you are having difficulty paying. Without a guarantor, this just becomes a normal loan. You can put it in a debt management or ask for a payment arrangement.
pauline says
Hello. I have a joint mortgage with an ex partner who has left me in the property and having to pay the mortgage alone plus all other bills. this has got me into financial difficulty, using pay day loans etc. I am now going to sell the house but once sold it would mean me having to rent somewhere. I am worried that my credit rating is so bad (currently rated as poor) that I won’t be able to rent anywhere. Does anyone know if its possible to rent properties with a bad rating, or if there is anything I can do. I have heard about a guarantor, but the only person I know that would do this is my mother, who is retired and has low rating too, so wouldn’t be much help either I don’t think!
thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This page is for guarantor loans, which doesn’t have anything to do with being a guarantor for a tenancy. Have you talked to a debt adviser about your situation? See https://debtcamel.co.uk/more-information/where-to-get-help/. Is your ex happy with it being sold? does he expect any equity?
PS You may be able to get refunds from any payday loans that were unaffordable, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-loan-refunds/
Amy says
Hi Sara ,
After waiting nearly 13 weeks for Amigo to reply they have emailed this morning and have not upheld my complaint!
They have sent me all my info and expenditure which was all wrong and at the time when I was with my partner I stated he would pay most bills which they have used , I’m no longer with that person and haven’t been for a few years now and have moved back with my parents due to not affording to live.
I sent to fos at 8 weeks.
What should I do now please? I’m gutted!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sent the rejection to the Ombudsman.
Amy says
Just sent, fingers crossed . Thank you.
Phil says
Hi Sara
I have just sent my email to amigo complaining about affordability for the loan I took out in 2009. My question is that when I took the loan they were trading as FLM loans and not Amigo. Does this make a difference to my chances.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo are currently rejecting all complaints about loans over 6 years so expect this to have to go to the Ombudsman. Do you have any information about the loan? eg bank accounrs from that time? emails?
Phil says
Hi Sara
I spoke to my bank today but they couldn’t confirm over the phone so I need to go to branch and ask for archive statements. Will the lack of statements/emails mean I don’t have a case.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That depends on whether Amigo has any record of your loan.
Sue says
Thank you received redress from Amigo today and tbh although I had to take it to the FOS they have been very good at responding to the FOS despite me having no statements, just my original complaint and their final response. They even made the payment via faster payment due to health/financial reasons! So this is the very end of my PDL complaints and I can now breathe!!! Thank you to Sara and this website and everybody who has offered advice. Good luck everyone
Phil says
Hi Sue
I notice you said you had no statements to send yet your complaint was still upheld.
I have emailed Amigo today with my complaint but it was in 2009 and I have no ref or statements. Can you tell me what exactly you sent to them to have your complaint upheld.
Thanks
Sue says
Hi Phil
I didn’t send Amigo anything they rejected the complaint and sent me copies of the CD covering the phone call when applying.
I just forwarded the complaint I sent to them, their final response (which included the recordings) to the FOS. That is all I provided.
K says
I am at week 11 today & asked amigo if they had an update yet…I have just received this back from them. Baring in mind I have asked them every monday since they asked for the extra 4 weeks & they have guarenteed a response by March 2nd last week…now this off them.
Your complaint is in a queue waiting to be assigned. Unfortunately I can’t provide you with any further update at this stage.
If you’re struggling with payments please speak to our Collection Department on 01202 629161 and they’ll do their best to help.
I’m going to call the fos tomorrow to see how far they are into my complaint as they said they were going to make it a priority. 3rd of march my next payment is due so that will be another 3 payments of £296 made to them since I put the complaint in
Jay G says
Hello,
I just requested a statement from TFS loans,
For the last 2 years I have been paying next to nothing on principle and 90% on interest each month. Leaving me 500 paid on the actual loan……!!
Can they do this or is this something I can go to the ombudsman about and complain.
Thanks
J
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how long is the term of the loan? Are the repayments affordable for you – making them is not leaving so short of money you have to borrow elsewhere or get behind on debts?
Phil says
Hi Sara
I sent my complaint to Amigo 2 days ago and have received a response today saying that my complaint has not been upheld because it is outside of the time parameters set by FOS of 6 years. Do I just forward the email to FOS. If so where do I find the right email address and so I need to add anything.
Regards
Phil
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The article above looks at how to send the complaint to FOS. FOS’s online form is best because it asks for all sorts of little things you may not think to mention in an email (eg what your date of birth is, whether this is a joint claim etc these are easy things but FOS needs to know them to record your case.)
T says
Hi all,
So today marks the 12 week point. Last week when I rang I was told my complaint was being handled etc. Wait for a response.
So today I ring again to say its 12 weeks where are we at. This time I’m told no one has looked at my complaint as yet. Its sat waiting in a pile. I asked how long will now have to wait to be told they dont know.
I’ve asked them to put this in an email for me so I can forward to the FOS. So those waiting for responses be prepared to go over the 12 week mark.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You don’t need to wait for the email from them, send your complaint to FOS without it.
T says
Hi sara.
I raised the complaint to fos on the 29th jan 20. I spoke with fos last week who advised I send all correspondence to the fos. That’s what I ment when I said I was awaiting an email to forward to fos. Sorry for any confusion.
Steven says
Hi Sara, I got my payment plan rejected yesterday. Myself and my guarantor have both ceased paying and have complaints lodged 7 weeks ago. They stated in their response that I must reduce my payments with my other creditors for my other debts (debts I accrued to pay amigo payments and are currently up to date) they said they are a priority creditor. I’ve read this is a lie but I would like to be sure before responding?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry I didn’t see your comment left yesterday.
Legally they are not treated as a priority creditor in debt arrangements. See for example page 22 in National Debtline’s comprehensive “how to deal with debt” pack https://www.nationaldebtline.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/how-to-deal-with-debt.pdf
In practice, some other firms are understanding and will accept payments arrangements in order for you to pay more to Amigo.
What other debts do you have and are you up to date with them? Are there any priority debts?
Can you say more about your father’s position. Does he have other debts as well?
Steven says
I’m not too sure on his exact financial condition but he has stated he couldn’t afford to pay and has lodged his complaint accordingly. I have credit cards and just put the minimum payment for each on the affordability for amigo as with provident. I am up to date with everything apart from amigo.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
o the problem here is that you are supposed to treat all your creditors the same. You have a pile of non-prioprity creditors but you are trying to pay Amigo less than the monthly minimum whilst paying your credit cards the normal monthly amounts.
Can I ask how much you owe Amigo? provident? All your other debts combined? How much do the minimum payments on the other debts add up to?
Steven says
I took out amigo in July last year for 10k and the payments are 396 of which I have made 5 payments, the last in December 2019, my other debts that are not utilities etc amount to 400 per month including a credit union guarantor loan took out shortly after the amigo loan and total debt is approx 9700. I read advice on debt helpline and stepchange that said that if I’m OK with my creditors and just have the problem with one then don’t make my financial position worse by falling behind with everyone else. It said stand your ground only offer what you can afford to pay.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It said stand your ground only offer what you can afford to pay.
But guarantor loans don’t fit into neat boxes where you can rely on general good debt advice.
If you and your guarantor are both prepared to tell Amigo to go whistle for their money until your complaints are resolved, at the ombudsman if necessary, then that is a perfectly good way forward. But is your dad is going to be pressured into paying more than he can afford? That was what you were worried about before.
Are you buying or renting? What about your dad?
Dan says
Coming up to 4 weeks since i put my complaints in with Bamboo, Amigo and BuddyLoans but I have only received SAR from BuddyLoans, i know it’s 30 days but it’s not looking promising – where do I stand with this?
Looking forward to the LONG process and fingers crossed i get my complaint upheld, i worked out over the years on all loans i have paid about £9k interest and currently have a loan with Amigo, would be nice to just clear everything and get the stress off my head!
Dan
Claire says
I would send a message for an update, bits also check your spam for emails from Amigo all mine went there for some reason
Dan says
Thanks Claire – I will keep my eye on it.
checked the one from BuddyLoans and turns out they never carried out an affordability check
Dan
Claire says
Fingers crossed for a good result there then, good luck
Steven says
We both private rent. My dad is refusing to pay to use his words he has no assets and his only income is pensions. I did get him to cancel his dd. He sent a breakdown of his income and spoke with them on phone telling them he can’t afford to pay. I’m of course more worried about him than he is and was trying to offer something to amigo in the hope it eased things but did not want to ruin my other lines of credit which had been paying amigo and is helping keep me and my family going.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good your dad has cancelled the DD.
Have you also complained to the CU guarantor loan?
The problem is if you win this complaint (and may well have a strong case, I don’t mean to suggest you don’t), you will still owe £8500+ to amigo. At that point either you can go bankrupt or for a debt relief order (depending on the level of your total debts) or you will need a payment arrangement. This complaint by itself is not going to get rid of the Amigo debt, it will still be huge.
And these other lines of credit are actually not helping you – they look like they are but actually you have way too much debt and they are just taking advantage of that. It sounds very much as though you need a debt management plan including all your other debts and also the Amigo balance. then when you win the complaint, the Amigo balance will halve and your DMP will be repaid a lot faster.
So the simple thing is to set up that DMP now. And give moral support to your dad in his refusal to pay anything to Amigo as he can’t afford it. You don’t want him racking up other debts trying to pay this one.
Why not talk to StepChange and see what they say?
Wesley says
I borrowed 6000 and ended up paying back 10500 I lost my job at 1 stage and had no money they took it from my sole. My guarantor had breast cancer and lost her job with monarch airlines they harassed her for payments I felt suicidal over all this what can I do. I finished paying in December
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds horrible.
can you clarify ” lost my job at 1 stage and had no money they took it from my sole.”, not sure what this is. possible some autocorrect error?
Ad says
Morning
I got a response from Amigo asking for bank statements – but I responded saying I would not send them as if they lent to me responsibly they should have them?
Am I wrong to do this? Should I send them the statements to prove the loan was unaffordable?
Thanks
Ad
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You will only win an affordabilty complaint at FOS if the lender didn’t make the right cheks AND if the right checks would have shown that the loan was not affordable. Your bank statements prove the later point.
I suggest you send the statements. Amigo may still reject your complaint, but at least you will have given it the best chance. And if at all possible you need those statements for when the complaint goes to FOS. Although it is possible to win a case without statements if the loan s are old you can’t get them, having the statements makes it simpler and faster to win at FOS. So if you don’t have them at the moment, not is the time to get them!
Stacey R says
Hi, we put a complaint for my husbands amigo, to which they requested bank statements, my husband sent these to them. Now they have sent him link which directed him to there website with questions to be answered. Now it states that he had an income off £2239, and outgoing of £1676. And a question asking was he aware that it was unaffordable.
Well that income was wrong,
as that was his income AND all my wages and MY benefits. Which they shouldnt of took into account as I wasnt married to him at the time, and all my incomes was not going into his bank account.
Should he reply examining they was wrong amounts and he was aware he made the mistake of income amounts or should he ignore this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know if he remembers much about the application? I have a snapshot of the Amigo website in 2015 which emphasises “5 minute application”! So Amigo didn’t exactly encourage people to take their time and think carefully about what they put down.
He could go into a lot of detail about his income and your income and benefits but unless he remembers it clearly, it’s best not to try to make this up or guess. So he could just send them a short reply saying the application was very quick and he doesn’t remember it in detail but he has now sent them his bank statements which show how unaffordable the loan was.
Rosie says
Hi sara,
I sent my complaint and SAR to amigo on the 24th jan this year, I haven’t received anything yet. I had been told by Amigo that they had 30 days to reply. This has now passed. What should i do, if anything?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you email them and say you have not had the SAR and that you will be reporting them to the ICO if they do not provide it.
MrN says
Afternoon. Just a bit of information for people wondering after they submitted to ombudsman.
I submitted on 07/01/20 and today I’m being asked for more information. So I believe it’s with an adjudicator now, it has a ref number.
Andrew says
Hi Sara, what a fantastic job you do on this site. Appreciated by many I’m sure. I have lodged a complaint against amigo and was wondering if my guarantors credit score would be affected if we cancelled our dd until complaint reaches a conclusion?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think if your guarantor checks their credit record, they will find the guarantor loan is not shown on there. It doesn’t usually appear unless Amigo takes the guarantor to court and gets a CCJ.
What is your guarantor’s financial position like? Would the loan really be affordable for them or would paying it cause them difficulty? I am not suggesting that they should pay, but that they too may have a reason to complain to Amigo…
Sara says
Hi all!
Just an update! In a few minutes it will be the 8 week mark!
I have just completed and sent off an FOS form, figuring it would be fine because I sent it after office hours, and I’ve recieved the acknowledent email from them.
Still no word from Amigo! I can’t tell you how many time I’ve checked my email today 🙈
I have a question though. I’ve been reading that the FOS can prioritise cases? What makes you eligible for this?
K says
Im at week 12 on monday so expect to keep waiting. You can call fos & ask, i had to send proof of things that was affecting me & how much more debt i was getting into whilst trying to pay the loan for them to prioritise the case. Even with it prioritised still looking at a 3-4 month wait with fos though
Sara says
Thanks, K. I’ll try and call them today! I just don’t know how long I can hang on now :(
Linds says
I have made an unaffordable complaint against Guarantor My Loan, they have not upheld it.
I have repaid the loan fully and missed no payments. However I had a gambling problem, had mortgage arrears, 2 other guarantor loans, numerous payday loans and a logbook loan.
I always made the payment so my guarantor would not be affected but I had to take out other loans to cover my debts and bills.
Is it worth taking to the FOS?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes! That loan sounds unaffordable and the Ombudsman is upholding very large numbers of these complaints.
natalie says
hi
myself and my mum (guarantor) have just rec’d a message to log in and answer a few questions. does this need to be done? also I have went through them and my guarantors monthly income remained at around £1500 throughout the loan and top ups but on the 2nd last top up her monthly income was £3400. I know this not to be true. also on my 2nd last top up they had my income as £3600 im not sure where they have got this figure from. if I earned that a month I wouldn’t have need this loan in the first place lol.
also what reasons would the ombudsman give to not uphold a complaint?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you both the sent Amigo bank statements?
If you have, the simple answer is to ignore the detailed questions and just reply that you have sent them all your statements which show your income & expenses and you look forward to getting their response to your complaint.
Natalie says
Have sent all the bank statements. My guarantor hasn’t as that bank is no longer open.
Can anyone please tell me what reasons would your complaint wouldn’t be upheld
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can get bank statements from closed accounts, definitely if the statements are less than 6 years old. Your guarantor should have a go at getting them now.
Reasons a complaint may not be upheld include:
– the person complaining never had a loan from Amigo (you may think that’s daft, but Amigo has apparently received some fraudulent claims from claims management companies for people who were not customers!)
– there is no evidence about a loan if it was really old
– the loan was affordable for the borrower.
Sometimes someone took a £1000 loan then topped it up severel times to £5000 and on thinking about they think that the first loan probably was all right but the later large loans weren’t – if thats what the ombudsman thinks, their complaint will be “partially upheld” not fully.
Sometimes someone was in a good financial position when they applied – they had a good job but they had a destroyed credit record from earlier, so they got a guarantor loan – yes it was expensive but the repayments were affordable.
But you wrote “bank statements which would have shown persistent debt. Payday loans. Other guarantor loans. Numerous direct debit reversals. Payments to debt collections etc” for your first loan. That doesn’t sound like a good financial position to me and your loan may well be unaffordable.
Stevie says
Hi Sara
Amigo have rejected my complaint and. I’m going to send off to the fos but just wanted some advice my guarantor can’t afoord payemts and is entering at dmp for her own debts will amigo be able to touch her if I stop payments
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you guarantor is going into a dmp, the simple thing for her if you need to stop paying, is for her to include the amigo loan in her dmp. Then if you win your FOS complaint, the loan will just be removed from her DMP and she will get a refund of the payments she has made.
This way she should get little hassle from Amigo. as they can see she is paying what she can afford.
Do you think you have a strong case?
Charlotte says
My case has now been asigned to an investigate at ombudsman. Called today and they said they will be In contact within a week. So relieved. I’ve ceased all payments to amigo as I just can’t pay it. I’m receiving contact letters txt emails from them about a ccj. I am crossing all my fi gers and toes the investigate will see how much amigo has ruined my life.
Jen says
How long did it take to get to this point please?
MrN says
Mine was 7 weeks before I was asked for more info by an adjudicator. That happened this week.
Charlotte says
I referred to ombudsman on 39th Jan. Asked for my case to be prioritised on 10th February. Got an email on 12th Feb to say I was awarded priority. Chased it up today and it’s been assigned to an investigator and they’ve requested the documents from amigo. Happy with those time frames.
Jen says
I complained 2nd Jan, so 8 weeks today. Sending to FOS tomorrow as I have not heard anything at all today. I have emailed them to ask for a decision before needing to send to FOS.
I just wondered how long from here I ahould expect to wait?
I also have TrustTwo complaint with 8 weeks ending Monday. Has anybody had experience with TT?
MrN says
Send it on 8 weeks regardless. Amigo seem to be waiting 14 weeks before rejecting the claims.
At least you’ll be 6 weeks deep if they do that.
If they uphold then just withdraw from FOS.
Either way, get it into the FOS as soon as the timeline allows
Jen says
Thanks, I will do 😁
Jen says
So, I had the standard ‘we need another 4 weeks’ email on the 8 week day. Sent to FOS and wondered do we complain to FCA too? Not about complaints, but the company taking so long (Amigo obviously!). Thanks
Marl says
Marl hi Sara do people suspend payments to amigo and such company’s if they have dispute with them, and expect to wait 8 weeks, or would they go and get the payment from the guarantor ty for your valuable time
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if you stop paying, they will go after your guarantor.
Do you have other problem debts?
what is your guarantor’s financial position like?
SamF says
Hi
Im new to this website and after reading that I could be entitled to a claim back for amigo not using the appropriate guidelines to check my affordability I put in a complaint. That was the 31st of January and I’m still waiting to hear back.
I was just hoping someone could give me some advice. I am up to date on monthly payments but really struggling and have no money left after I’ve paid them. Would I be able to contact amigo and ask to lower my repayments and have my guarantor cancel her direct debit and mine? Would that affect my guarantor in any way?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what is your guarantor’s financial position like?
do you have other debts that you are paying?
SamF says
She is in a good financial situation and her credit is good. Which is why I’m worried incase this will affect her.
I have a home credit loan out which I have had to lower payments to also and I am currently going through an affordability complaint with them too but through a company (wish I had done it myself) and a loan from a friend that I pay back monthly.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You could reduce your payments to the home credit further. After that you have to decide whether to pay Amigo less – and they will go after your guarantor – or your friend less. Not a nice choice.
If your guarantor cancels her DD she will get a lot of hassle from Amigo – some people can just shrug this off, others get badly upset about it.
If she checks her credit record, i think she will see that this loan is not on there, so you not paying won’t affect her credit record until the point amigo go to court, which will be many months away.
SamF says
Thank you for your help. I will have a think I’m just so worried about it all.
I was hoping they would have gotten back to me sooner but I’ve seen on these comments people have been waiting months or rejected and had to take it further.
I’m hoping I won’t have to take it to FOS as my credit was so poor, only income was benefits and I was/ still am still living in an overdraft and they didn’t look into any of it only my guarantors wage slips.
Cazza says
Would I be able to make a complaint regarding PayPal credit? Both my partner and I had standard PayPal accounts for normal purchases; however, the credit option was available which we both took to cover xmas the year before last. They have
the automatic credit increase facility so my balance in particular has risen from £1000 to over £4000. I’ve used PayPal to pay other accounts so the debt has spiralled. The monthly payment has now become un manageable, is it worth considering a complaint?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There isn’t a guarantor on this is there? Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/ and ask any more questions on that page. And I think you have other problem debt as well, so the best thing is probably a debt management plan for you while any complaints go through, as they can take a VERY long time. Talk to StepChange https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx
Jade says
Hi sara
My 8 weeks is up on monday, received an email today thanking me for sending in bank statements which I sent in weeks ago. In the mean time amigo have lowered my payments as I physically cannot afford it anymore, although but lowering the payments, this entails loads more interest paid and a longer loan time which I could really do without if I’m honest. What do I do on Monday? Do I email them and chase it up? Really unsure where to go from here now. Thankyou
Sara (Debt Camel) says
this entails loads more interest paid and a longer loan time which I could really do without if I’m honest.
well yes… but this gets you through your current crisis until your complaint is resolved, but amigo or by FOS. So can you think of it as just temporary?
On Mondy, I suggest you send the case to FOS. It’s easy, the article above says what to do. Amigo will still look at your complaint and if they do accept it, you can just tell FOS you want to withdraw your complaint. And if Amigo reject your complaint in 6 weeks, you are already 6 weeks closer to having your case looked at at FOS.
Ljc says
Hi Sara
I don’t know whether you’ve seen this but this is in my local paper thus morning
https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/18268299.loan-firm-amigo-sees-profits-drop-sets-aside-millions-complaints/
Matthew says
Hi there
Could someone give any info I’ve recently put a complaint in against UK Credit they acknowledge it and said they have the balance of 8 weeks to come to there decision it is at its 3 week point my question is do they take the full 8 weeks or do they reply sooner?
Andrew says
Hi Matthew,
to handle mine it took 8 weeks. UK Credit They rejected my complaint so I have sent to FOS and it has been handled after couple of days. Now waiting for meesage .
MrN says
I got mine on the 8th week, last day. They upheld.