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
Hi all,
Does anyone know if amigo play ball when it comes to sending info to the adjudicator? I really would like to have a payment plan whilst this complaint is going through but from what I have read they are not easy to deal with. Any info would be appreciated
ben says
Amigo wouldn’t agree to a payment plan with me, I sent them I&E details payslips & bank statements. They came back to me and told me i couldn’t afford to pay them anything and they registered my account to “unwilling to pay” An absolute joke considering I had an affordability complaint with them that they rejected. I won my case, but now amigo are saying I can afford my monthly payments and still wont agree to a payment plan. The worst company I have ever dealt with I cannot wait to Finnish paying them off.
Jane says
Hi Ben,
It was exactly the same with me! I only had £500 left to pay and I offered a small amount to keep the loan ticking over. I then had a battle with them because they said according to my I and E I also couldn’t afford to pay them. I’m self-employed and just returning to work after a serious illness. They weren’t interested….said my guarantor must pay. I have paid them £5.5k in interest in 5 years! I was also registered as unwilling to pay and they reported a late payment to credit agency immediately.
The telephone conversations and emails were stressful…unlike any other lender…pure nightmare!
I would return to the adjudicator with this information if I were you…they need to be informed that this company is extremely difficult to deal with.
J says
Amigo said to arrange a reduced payment with them I had to contact my other creditors to reduce their payments so everyone was treated fairly. I did this and then Amigo said as I had increased my disposable income their loan was now affordable. Not very ethical and I’m sure not very favourable with the FOS
tom price says
Amigo are the worst company to deal with. They are a disgrace and will hound you until you pay even if you cannot afford too
Jane says
Hi Lou,
I think the general feeling is that it’s very difficult to negotiate a plan with Amigo but, you must try.
My poor adjudicator asked me for around 6 pieces of information on Amigo…I sent her so much evidence she’s probably hired a PA to help her out! This included all my correspondence with Amigo and my battle to negotiate a payment plan on the last £500…you can only try.. each case is different but,Amigo have to begin to listen.I wish!!!
Keep smiling,Jane
Lou7 says
Thanks all for your advice and info. I just want this nightmare to end. I am trying to compile extra points to bring up with the adjudicator so I have a strong case.
Lou7 says
Do you think it would help my case if I made a list of borrowing whilst paying back the 2 amigo loans?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think it helps to make a list of your borrowing at the time you applied for the first loan, noting any recent credit record issues. Then at the time you applied for the second loan, and noting any new credit record issues that have appeared after the first loan.
This keeps the focus on Amigo’s decision making – what did they know and was it responsible to lend to you knowing this.
Lou7 says
Thanks Sara. I will get cracking on that. Just trying to think of as much info and evidence that I can for when my complaint gets picked up.
chris says
hi Sara , thinks this is similar to mine, ive had my SAR back, i had five loans in 6 months first was £1500 then last £10000.
on my credit report they see that my debt problems have only got worst with each loan, Balance limit is 99% FOR EACH LOAN APPLICATION, MY TOTAL BALANCES HAS GONE FROM £21,544 TO £31,954. how can they argue against of that. they also never checked by bank statements to verify my expenses.
Lou7 says
Does anyone know why amigo have taken 1p from my account?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They have reduced their interest rates? OK that’s unlikely…
Lou7 says
Oh Sara that made me laugh. I have no idea, logged into account but no change on there.
Mark says
Lou7,
That sounds like a ‘test debit’ that companies use to confirm that bank/debit card details supplied on an application are correct and valid.
Knowing how ‘underhand’ this lot are, I would guess they are trying to disprove something in your complaint. (e.g. You refused to provide bank statements as the bank account used when you applied to them is no longer open or that you can’t make any more payments to them as you lost your debit card).
Hope that helps.
Lou7 says
Hi Mark
Yes thanks. I shall be keeping a close eye on things whilst trying to get as much info together as possible 👍🏻
Lou7 says
A quick question. If I wanted a payment plan with amigo do they inform the guarantor? I am really struggling with payments and it’s stressing me out. I wrote down borrowing for both loans and it’s pretty bad. I don’t think I paid any month of amigo with my own wages!! Any info etc would be greatly appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They won’t accept a payment plan from you unless they also go to the guarantor for the rest of the payment you should be making.
Lou7 says
Ok thanks Sara.
Can you tell the ombudsman that you are struggling financially because of amigo or is it not worth doing that?
Jane says
Hi Lou,
You can indeed. I think it’s particularly relevant if you were struggling and were still accepted for a top-up loan.
The FOS are really interested on your situation at the time of borrowing but,if your situation has worsened then of course mention this and produce evidence wherever you can.
I know it’s difficult but,stay positive and remember once you’re assigned an adjudicator they are there to help and find the best resolution.
Best wishes,Jane😁
Lou7 says
Hi Jane. Thanks for your advice. Do I tell them now or wait until I have been assigned an adjudicator? I am still paying one off at the moment and have been writing down borrowings for the first loan and the top up.
Jane says
Hi Lou,
I waited to be assigned an adjudicator to see what information they required.However,when I submitted the complaint to the FOS I attached a three page letter explaining my issues,offering an insight into the facts and said I could (and have done since) provide supporting evidence.
Each case is different and I was asked for further information in about six points.
One of the points was any other info/documents you feel are relevant.
Don’t worry there’s lots of chances to have your say!🤞🤞
Lou7 says
Hi Jane,
Ok thanks Jane. I will wait for an adjudicator then but continue to collect evidence. How long did you wait to for your complaint to be picked up? Thanks for your great advice!!
Jane says
Hi Lou,
That sounds like a plan!
I submitted my complaint to the FOS on 30th October and received the standard reply about 2 weeks later.It was picked up by an adjudicator on 21st January when they requested further info…I’ve sent my replies and just waiting for the next move🤞🤞
chris says
hi so i had my SAR back from Amigo – i had 5 loans in space of 6 months, first was £1500 then £10,000
should amigo have used better judgement considering my Total debt from loan 1 to 8 went from £21544 to £31954.
my balance limit% never went lower than 98% on each credit search they did off me. i was adding a total of 4 accounts each month then closing them the following month (payday loans), and finally my revolving balance was always £3600 for each loan,
i think they should of seen clearly my situation was not improving.
they never asked for bank statements as well.
is that the best way to go to get the FOS onside, complain about them not confirming what your monthly out goings was and amigo not verifying them?
thanks
Lou7 says
Is the letter from the ombudsman about 12 weeks the timescale that it will take to get complaint sorted or timescale to be given an adjudicator?
jane says
Hi Lou,
The first letter from the FOS states you will be assigned an adjudicator within 12 weeks from your complaint. During this time the FOS will also write to Amigo to see what has happened. Once it is picked up it will depend on the case. As you can see some are resolved within days, other may take weeks/months.
It just depends on the work loads and the details of the case….keep the faith!
Gareth says
It might take a while, complaints about Amigo and other organisations have gone up quite a bit. I have been waiting the the case to be allocated since 3rd September!
Thanks,
Gareth
Matt S says
I am up to 17 weeks now since lodging my complaint with the FOS about Amigo and I’m still waiting for it to be assigned to an adjudicator. Keep checking my emails hoping i’ll have something from them but nothing so far.
Lou7 says
Thanks Matt & Gareth. Looks like it’s gonna be a long wait then. Fingers crossed it’s a good outcome 🤞🏻
Lou7 says
Am I right to presume that you can’t add amigo to your dmp?
David D says
if you add a guarantor loan to a DMP the DMP company will quite rightly advise you against it because the guarantor loan company will simply chase your guarantor for the shortfall instead, so it would be a pointless exercise and more than likely get you in bother with the guarantor.
however you can keep your guarantor loan as a priority debt on a DMP and work around it, reducing your debt repayments elsewhere instead.
Adele says
Hey,
I was with step change and added my amigo loan into the debt plan but I had to make up the short fall every month, they would not freeze the interest so the amount still goes up daily, it was the only option I had with StepChange to prevent them taking it from my mum who was my guarantor
Sarah Reid says
Hi
Has anyone had an affordability /irresponsible lending complaint upheld with Amigo please.
Many thanks
Sarah
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes – look back through the comments. A few wins, a lot of cases in progress.
nicole says
I have had word from the fos today that amigo agree to them looking into 2 of my 3 loans with them… £3000 and £4000… The adjudicator reckons it should progress quite quickly… Any ideas or results from anyone ? I borrowed from them to pay back payday loans… Financial suicide… Couldn’t afford it .. family member gave me lump sum to pay back… All interest front loaded so I paid back more than I borrowed… Any good news stories ?
David says
Sounds like my story. Borrowed 4k Then top topped up to 7 then to 10.to pay off other bits. I never did and this is proven on the phone calls I have received copies off. Then family member bailed me out and then borrowed again. 4K topped up to 10. Which I’m paying back now.
I sent my complaint to FOS in September and still not had my assigned. When did you send yours over to the Fos.
Sarah Reid says
Hi NIcole
Please could I just confirm that Amigo have to agree to the FOS looking into your loans before they will proceed?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo can only refuse in some odd situations – if you had been offered a settlement which you had accepted, if you had complained and been sent a Final Decision more than 6 months ago, if the loan was given more than 6 years ago etc
For “normal” complaints they don’t have to agree.
Sarah R says
I had two 5k loans totaling 10k with Amigo with horrendous high interest charges being front loaded. I was struggling to meet monthly payments, as I was robbing Peter to pay Paul but Amigo were not sympathetic when I called to advise I was financially struggling and could they help. Debts were spiralling out of control and caused me illness with all the anxiety. Managed to pay the loan back in full in May 2018 due to help from family. Lodged my complaint with Amigo end of December 2018, they responded by stating they are not upholding my complaint as they believe the loans were affordable even though I was in a DMP. Raised a complaint with the FOS. Heres hoping that it will be looked at and hopefully in my favour.
Sarah Reid says
Hi
Raised my complaint on Sunday 10th Feb 2019 and just received this response….does this mean it has now been allocated to an adjudicator?
Your complaint about Amigo Loans Ltd (trading as Amigo Loans)
Thanks for getting in touch with us. We’ve now asked the business to send us the information they have about your complaint so we can look into what’s happen
Your complaint reference number is xxxxxxxxxxxx. Please quote this whenever you contact us
if you have more information
Naziya Janab
mass claims consultant
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, this is FOS getting complaint ready to be looked at. When Amigo have supplied their file it can then be allocated to an adjudicator.
Have you sent FOS a copy of your credit record and your bank statements from 3 months before the first Amigo loan?
Sarah Reid says
Hi Sara
I have just downloaded a copy of my credit file and can see the two Amigo loans on there however it only goes back to when I fist took the loan out in May 2013? As for bank statements I think I can try and find them for this period.
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can only see your current credit record so there is a limit to how far it goes back. It is still worth sending to FOS.
Jane says
Hi Sarah,
I sent my current report from Experian. Noddle is good also and free! Good thing is my report showed when the majority of defaults occurred and they were all predominately in 2013 in between Amigo loan one and two! Even if the report only shows the last few years entries it’s important to note when any defaults/difficulties occurred.
Fingers crossed!
DD says
Hi all,
Can I just check, when people are receiving their SAR information back from Amigo, has it come through as a hard copy? I’ve requested mine a few weeks ago and it’s come back via post with hundreds of sheets of paper to trawl through. Is the the norm? Cheers
Lou7 says
Hi DD,
No I’m afraid it comes through as a paper copy. Mine was in a torn paper envelope and the disc of telephone recordings wasn’t even in there. Hope this helps.
chris says
hi mine was the same,
for each loan there is a split of, loan contracts, loan statements, credit reports, income/exp forms and all communications ie emails and texts.
so does anyone know the process of the FOS. so ive gone from dealing with a claims handler 10 weeks ago, now im dealing with an investigator? i know it sounds obvious what does the investigator do? do she report to an adjudicator? thanks c
Jane says
Hi Chris,
I was signed to a claims handler (initial response in November) then assigned an adjudicator in late January. Asked to supply various pieces of information relating to my case. Then received several emails confirming my case was being assessed and information attached to my file…..then…if you are still awake!!! Then I received an email:
We are looking closer at some of the issues relating to these types of products and hope to complete this work within the next few weeks.
Your complaint will not be investigated by myself, but I have allocated it to a team who will be assessing it for you, and they will be in touch when they are ready to start investigating.
I’m hoping this is positive for all of us or at least that the FOS are interested in the complex issues surrounding guarantor loans. No complaints with regards the time frame, the FOS have so much to deal with. My Mum also has a complaint with the FOS with regards Amigo Loans lending criteria, she is my guarantor…
Keep the faith!
Peter says
I had the same message from the FOS regarding these guarantor loans. I asked them to look at loans from 3 companies. After rejecting 2 of the 3 they have now said they are looking at these ‘types of products’ which I suspect is of a result of the number of complaints against these companies. I can only see it as a positive and hope there is some class decision they can apply. I do see that they don’t like the quick top up loans they provide relatively soonish after the 1st loan. Of course every case could be different.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Every case is different. There won’t be a “class decision”. But if there are increasing numbers of cases, FOS may decide to have a dedicated team looking at them which can bring more consistency. And they may decide to talk to the lenders to encourage them to apply the same approach to deciding a complaint that FOS does. And they may talk to the FCA about the cases they are seeing.
David D says
Hi Sara. Bit of advice please…
I am currently in dispute with amigo about an existing loan taken out in 2016 and they have sent me a huge pile of paperwork from my account history. In this I have noticed that a prior amigo loan from 2012 (paid off with the help of a parent 2 years later) was granted despite a default and arrangements to pay evident on my credit report and that my income and expenditure says I was only paying £100 a month for food.
Would it be too late to submit a separate complaint about that loan too?
I first read up about irresponsible lending on this brilliant site in jan 2017, so does the 3 year rulong apply?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think you have a realistic chance of a claim for the 2012 loan. Payday loans are the big exception here. There is lots of repeat borrowing from the same lender, so even if the lender hasn’t kept any details (which they don’t have to after so long) a case can be reasonably looked at. That isn’t likely to apply to your Amigo loan. You can try – but I will be surprised if FOS will look at it.
David D says
I see, thanks again for your response. I was more shocked they’d permitted a loan with clear bad signs on my credit report. I appreciate two loans in 4 years isn’t really repeat borrowing.
Thanks again. I’ll give it a shot with Amigo anyway.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
To be clear, you don’t have to have repeat borrowing to win an Amigo case as the loans are so large. But there is often very little evidence about cases over 6 years old – with payday loans the sheer number of repeat loans gives enough evidence.
Very often the strongest argument against Amigo isn’t that you had a bad credit record – no one applies for an Amigo loan if they have a good credit record – but that Amigo should have been able to tell that something was wrong about your application. eg you hadn’t mentioned some of your loans or your expenses were implausibly low. So if the application didn’t look straightforward, then they should have stopped and looked a lot more closely at it.
David D says
I see. Thanks again. On the docs they’ve sent 6 expenses such as utilities and tv are flagged as “partner pays” with a zero balance and food is only £100 a month. I’d imagine that is enough to go off for a start.
Plus their original response to my complaint says that my credit record looked perfect, but in the same pile of docs they’ve sent I see 5 accounts in arrears or defaulted!
chris says
1/2
good afternoon Guys so ive made my final complaint all backed up facts and their records what do you lot think as its always nice to know what other opinions on if i have a strong case.
i had 5 loans, in the space of 8 months, £1500, £3000, £4500, £9000 and finally £10,000 over 5 years.
my argument is they knew i was suffering financial hardship, bad lending and my they knew my expenses was not high enough.
for each loan i had 3 maxed out credit cards totaling £3725. to store cards at £1000, a PCP agreement roughly £21,000 and a HP agreement at £900. also at the start of each loan i had 3 to four payday loans totaling £2000. continuously lending to someone who was clearly in financially hardship was irresponsible.
im also complaining about the length of the loan, as their affordability calculation left me with £320 per month after i paid the monthly installment for 5 years. this is clearly dangerous as there was never any contingency budget for if my situation changed due to unforeseen cicrucmatnsces ie if i had to move out and pay for accommodation.
chris says
2/2
im also complaining about how they allowed to understate my expenses, knew i had a car but didn’t include insurance and running costs. i had £0.00 for food and clothing, i also had £0.00 for telephone costs but their credit check showed i had 2 monthly contracts. also they never question i never paid rent and never any contingency budget for if my situation changed unforeseen cicrucmatnsces,
my last complaint as their credit reports showed my position was worsening/ not improving with each loan. my balance to limit ratio was always 99% my total debt was increasing, went from £21544 to £31954, accounts opened was increasing at rate of 3 per month. my revolving debt was never improved. all clear signs that i was at risk and more checks should of been carried out.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did Amigo not ask you why you were having borrow more and more money?
Did you say any of it was to consolidate debt – if you did, then your next loan application should have showed that you didn’t do this?
£320 a month – was that after the last 10k loan? So it was much higher for the earlier loans? Or were they shorter term?
How much of this £320 a month would have been accounted for by food, clothes, insurance and other car running costs?
chris says
hi sara yes each loan was for debt consolidation purposes. yes on the 10k i had net income of £713 after expenses . so £713 less the £395 p/m = £318 per month
im also going to listen to my recordings, because i may say some loans was to pay my car off, but i never did, also they never asked for a settlement figure before lending.
so of that £395 i need to pay phone costs £75 pm , food £100 (already £50 in there) £70 to pay cataloger. and £100 -£200 cash for rent) which wasnt on the income/exp.
ive also borrowed money of my parents roughly £1500 and £500 grand parents. and £1500 loan from work, should i send this over as well? i guess the my laon of my parents could be written off as rent? the loan from work is paid in my bank from my work and marked as loan.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What is your current financial position?
Listing loans that Amigo couldn’t have known about won’t help you a lot.
What was the cause of your problems, did you have a gambling habit or something? Or had you just borrowed way too much?
“£70 to pay cataloger” what is this? Also car costs – insurance, servicing, car tax.
Listening to the recordings is key to the complaint. You are looking for:
– discrepancies – things you said that Amigo have a good reason to suspect aren’t true
– also if you were being led to agree to statements that weren’t accurate
– or if they weren’t asking you why you needed the extra money.
chris says
hi sara – as hard as it is to say it i was suffering from denial and depression from my debt problems and was just borrowing to keep my afloat. so each loan from amigo was to pay off their last one then i would get about £1000 to pay off some payday loans, each time. my position has improved slightly, I’ve arrange plans with most of my creditors.
i am pretty certain i told them each loan was to pay off other loans and also to pay my PCP agreement termination amount. but this was never paid and ii kept getting more payday loans, which they knew about is my main complaint. they never asked for Termination amount as well to make sure it the loan was enough.
amigo should of been suspicious of my expenses as i had minimum amounts in for phone, food, clothes, rent and travel.
they should of realized was paying off the same lenders with each loan, as i supplied proof i paid off the debts which are four main payday loans. so each loan i told them i was paying off LS, MYJAR, QQ P2P.
Gareth says
Hi Sara,
With my Amigo complaint they did not actually call and speak to me on any of the 5 top ups I had (all in 7 months) so they did not ask what they money was being used for. Would this help or hinder my case do you think?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you can argue that because of the number of top ups they should have been looking closely at your situation.
David says
Have we had any more positive stories from
Complaints sent to the Fos about amigo ? Or is everyone’s still in the que waiting. ??
nicole mercer says
Hello my adjudicator emailed me today.. she’s looking Into 2 out of 3, just emailed her bank stmts ….
Jane says
Still waiting David🤞
Passed from an adjudicator to investigator but,no response yet.I do know they are very busy and it is a free seevicted…praying for justice for all of us!
chris says
hi sara – cant reply above so copied your questions
So what has happened to the car – do you still have it? yes being VT this month.
Is your last Amigo loan still running? – still running for another four years unfortunately.
have you looked at making payday loan affordability complaints? yes 5 lenders for 30 loans With the FOS
NB I am looking for other options for you, not alternatives to your Amigo complaint. 5 top ups in 8 months and they should definitely have asked to see bank statements!
they never asked for bank statements for any loans, ive also listened to my calls with them, they never asked what each loan was for or why certain expenses was down as £0.00 or £50.00.
they just asked about the four open payday loans and if i was paying them for each 5 loans i taken. so they knew i was consonantly paying off the payday loan providers to make the loan affordable for me. this is where i think they are negligent. for each loan i was clearing loans from the same four payday loans companies.
for each loan i had the majority was cleared to the old amigo loan plus interest. it was a cycle and they was happy for it to carry on.
is paying £395 a month for 5 years when you have a net income of £1300 seem dangerous for amigo to lend? especially knowing they knew you had other credit commitments.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ah I am just writing a new article on how to VT a car – look out for it!
chris says
bit off topic for this page but mine was with BMW and to be fair they have been really understating with my situation. im behind with four months payments and the excess millage, but once i have the final bill ( payments owed and excess mileage) i can pay it off over 18 months. but im hoping i get back the interest from loans/paydayloans/catalgous by summer and will use that to clear it.
back on topic so with Amigo – my loan history is ive repaid £5794.49 and paid interest of £5349.73
loan repayments made
£1500 1
£3000 1
£4500 1
£9000 5
£10000 10
should the FOS look at why amigo never asked why i made 1 repayment and then doubled my loan. how can i word this as a complaint? complain about there internal procedures?
thanks
Lou7 says
What does an investigator do? I had an email saying that my points would be added to the information for the investigator?
Jane says
Hi Lou,
It appears a new team has been created at the FOS to deal with Amigo complaints. As Sara has recently mentioned, most likely to gain some consistency in how these complaints are handled. I’ve had the same email as have a few others. This was after having an adjudicator look into my complaint and me supplying reams of information.I’m praying it’s a positive sign!
The team are apparently concluding their research and will be in touch to investigate your complaint and possibly ask you to supply further information. I was told February/March.
Best wishes,Jane
Rob says
Hello Sara
I’ve just sent off the initial SAR/complaint about Amigo. One thing I clearly remember during the initial phone conversation was being quizzed about my levels of debts and defaults. During this conversation, I clearly stated I wasn’t paying or it was in dispute. The call handler instead pushed me to provide an amount should I have to poay this debt back. I provided suitably low values (£10 for debt A, £50 for debt B etc) as it was on the spot. Since then I have topped this loan up twice but never missed a payment because my fiance is my guarantor. My credit file was literred with numerous defaults, payday/ installment loans and my bank statements are covered with gambling transactions.
Does this sound like something that should have been a warning sign that these loans were not suitable? Surely by actually stating in the phone call I was actively not paying debt is worrying to any lender?
Any help would be appreciated. As I say, I’ve sent off the initial complaint and in the mean time I’m only able to pay this because I’ve had success in other loans that I’m now in a position where it is affordable.
chris says
Good afternoon has anyone had a SAR from Trust Two?
on the letter it has Affordability and Outgoings, i spoke to them and they said Affordability was my net income and expenditure was my expenses. could anyone confirm this? they have a figure of £1650 which is higher than my payslip net pay by £85.00
in their decision they have used my payslip net figure of why it was affordable but surely if they had the wrong figure from the beginning that has to go against them. i know £85.00 inst a lot but if you use their original figure then i dont meet their affordability requirements.
also they haven’t included the affordability calculations for what makes the inc/exp figures in their letter, the credit report they carried out on me, or their calculations as to why they think it was affordable. do you think that it is odd?
thanks
chris
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you complete an application form? there should be a copy of that. Do you remember if you supplied a payslip or bank statement? Yes, there should be a copy of the credit check they did. Did you have a conversation with them on the phone before the application was approved? If you did, you should have been sent a copy of the phone recording.
I suggest you go back and say you don’t seem to have been sent all your personal infomration and list the stuff that is missing.
chris says
Hi Sara yes i sent over payslips, no bank statements. the pay they have down doesn’t match my gross or net pay its quite odd.
i have rang and requested they send me over the credit report yes i have the call recordings but and to confirm that that figure is the net pay, i will give them a listen to as i dont think they will be much useful.
i did complete an application from but they haven sent me one. im just waiting on them to send me over what they had for income/exp and their workings as i think they have made a mistake.
so my complaint to FOS will be, although they think i can afford it with correct net pay figure, (i cant btw missed things from credit report) they used a wrong figure in the opening affordability calculation. if they used the correct figure i wouldn’t off passed they criteria. cant really argue that can they?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You do still need to prove that it WAS unaffordable from your bank statements.
“i cant btw missed things from credit report” does that mean there were debts on your credit report that weren’t on your application or expenses?
chris says
yes sara im fairly certain there was debts/monthly commitments not included in expenses – or at least they have included then as living expenses.
so should i compare my monthly out goings vs what they have down? is that the best way too prove it?
table it out as
actual TT calcualted
income income
less credit commitments less credit commitments
less living expenses less living expenses
should i do the same for Amigo and all payday loans send to FOS toadd to my cases as not one lender asked for bank statements.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have to do two things for Trust Two & Amigo:
1) show that the lender should not have given you the loan. there could be lots of reasons for this and the more the better in case FOS don’t agree with one of them, you have others as a back up! Some possible reasons include:
– they broke their own lending rules;
– they have your income down as incorrect (and too high) even though they saw your payslips
– they ignored information about your borrowing that was on your credit records, making your expenses too low
– they ignored the fact that your application didn’t mention debts that were on your credit record – should have been a warning sign
– some of the expense figures were implausibly low. £50 a month for food, nothing for clothes, prescriptions, no car expenses except for petrol, no disability expenses despite you getting some disability benefits etc These are things some other people have spotted
– they appeared to lead you in the phone call to agree on some expense figures that were not correct. That isn’t right, they should have been asking what they were, not suggesting a number.
When you had a second loan or a top up from the same lender all the above apply and you can also look for evidence that your situation had got worse after the first loan:
– look at your credit record, has the total amount of debt gone up? Do you have more payday loans showing? are there any recent missed payments or new defaults or CCJs?
– if you said originally that the loan was to consolidate some debt, does your credit record show that you didn’t do this?
2) you also need to show that the loan was not affordable. Your bank statements and credit record are the best evidence of this. The difference between this and (1) is that (1) is what the lender should have known before giving you the loan and (2) is what actually happened after the loan. the lender could have made a right mess of checking the affordability, but if you could actually afford the repayments you probably won’t get a refund.
You don’t normally need to do this for payday loans where you borrowed multiple times. There it’s going to be rare to get the first few refunded and basically not worth the hassle of trying to argue for this. It’s different with guarantor loans as the amounts are so much larger and the loans longer term, so it’s more important that the first loan be sustainable for you to make the repayments. But as you carry on borrowing, the argument with payday loans is that the lender should have noticed this and either stopped lending or asked for a lot more information. That doesn’t happen with guarantor loans, usually!
David D says
I can only speak from my own experience but the first of my two complaints against Amigo went to the FOS late Jan 2019 and I already have the “12 week” letter saying they have asked Amigo for details from their end, so it looks like it is already begun the process.
Many people giving the FOS a hard time of late, I’ve been guilty of it in the past too, but they seem quite on the ball here so far.
Good luck to everyone in the same boat as me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think your Amigo complaint is yet with an adjudicator – just a complaints handler from FOS who is getting your case ready to be looked at.
chris says
so ive listened to my calls with trust two –
i originally applied for £2k but was rejected – and offered £5k if they paid some debts with the extra amount. the money left over was to pay some other debts and pay my car finance off. i was left with roughly £1k. to VT my car at that point it would of been around £3.5k clearly way more than what i had left over. Trust Two never asked for proof of VT amount – should i add this to my complaint? as from my credit report i had 18 months left on my HP and the figure i quoted on the phone was clearly to low. or will this go against me?
they have still haven’t found the credit report they carried out on me and admitted that my net income is to high and looking into the anomaly.
sorry for all the posts but i get alot of free time at work and what better way than to put it to use to beat amigo and co.
thanks for all your help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I understand you wanting to get ahead, but as TT are looking into this and you don’t yet have all the information, it may be better to wait and see what happens?
Nicky says
Mine is currently with the adjudicator.. should have a response within the week for Two loans
David M says
Nicky when did you send yours over? What are your grounds for a refund ? What were the loan amounts. I had 5 from them over 2 years.
Nicky says
Irresponsible lending… I had 3 they have agreed to look at 2 £4000 and £3000. At the time I had multiple pay day loans and couldn’t afford any of these. I was borrowing off Peter to pay Paul. All my payday loan complaints have been upheld over the last 12 months so I’m hoping this is too.
Lou7 says
Hi all,
Any idea what this means???? I asked for an update from ombudsman about my complaints but they sent this for Amigo Loans.
This case is currently in the queue waiting to be allocated to an adjudicator to review the merits of your complaint.
Jane says
Hi Lou,
This means they will look at the strength of your case and which loans they may consider.
My adjudicator was particularly interested in the top-up loan but,I’m now back in the queue waiting to be assigned to the new team of adjudicators specifically focused on Amigo.
Hope that helps👍😁
Lou7 says
Hi Jane,
When your complaint gets picked up by an adjudicator to decide which loans they are going to consider do they contact you by email? How long did you wait from the time you got the first letter to an adjudicator looking through your complaint? Thanks for your help Jane, and any information to answer my questions would be appreciated.
Jane says
Hi Lou,
I know it’s frustrating waiting but, from what I understand the FOS really are under lots of pressure presently with so many complaints.
I have six cases with them on-going. Each has been different to be honest and on several, like many others I have been waiting for sometime to be allocated an adjudicator. They are very friendly and helpful I have to say.
I have a complaint with another lender and as called by the adjudicator the other day to go through my complaint.
With Amigo I submitted the complaint in October, received the standard letter in November and was assigned an adjudicator via email ( no phone call which is fine). She then requested six pieces of further information and explained she was still waiting for information from Amigo. Initially, I had also supplied significant evidence to support my complaint.
I sent a huge amount of further supporting information and it is the top-up loans that she is particularly interested in.
As mentioned, she acknowledged all the details had been attached to my file and I had then been moved to a new team of adjudicators, specifically focusing on guarantor loans. That was February 7th and I’m now waiting to be reassigned. She said it would be a couple of weeks….not going to push them. It is a free service after all!So I’m certain many of us will be in a similar situation.
Worth reading the history on this thread…lots of comments but, don’t forget each case is individual.
Best wishes,Jane
David says
Anyone had any positive or negative results from the new amigo team in the last few weeks?
I’ve neen waiting since November and still not been allocated an adjudicator.
David
Jane says
Hi David,
My FOS claim on Amigo went in at the end of October and I was briefly assigned an adjudicator in January then passed to new team at the beginning of February. They said it would be a couple of weeks so I’m waiting patiently, as many of us are.
I’ll be certain to post as soon as I hear anything….
Well worth listening to the Money Box show which aired at the weekend featuring a segment on guarantor loans:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0002ycr
Sara Williams you did us proud! Cool, calm and super collected!
David says
Well that was interesting.
They certainly didn’t do any proper checks with me as I was unemployed when I took out the loans and just made up every single income and expenditure on their list off the top of my head. All a lot lower than my expenses actually were.
I bet they have a lot more complaints now than they did last year.
Jane says
David,
I certainly hope so!
I took my first loan in the first month of a new job…I hadn’t even been paid yet! I had to to send the FOS my payslips /bank statements and they certainly do not match Amigo’s income and expenditure records.
Crossing fingers we get some progress soon. My guarantor has also made a complaint to the FOS about Amigo’s handling of the loan applications/complaint etc. They actually declined her as a guarantor initially but, then tweaked the figures and suggested she stop buying clothes!!!
louis says
hi could anyone advise me on – im my brothers gaurontor on two loans – 1 amigo and 1 trust two ( everyday lending),
i then got my own loan with everyday lending which is same company, should of they rejected think knowing im my brothers gaurontor?
they also didn’t check my income/expenses, im going to complain but want to know if they should of factored the fact i was gaurontor on their records already in to affordability equation?
thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You are going to complain about the Everyday Loans loan?
It’s difficult to know how much weight a lender should give to the fact that you are the guarantor for someone if you are not actually making any payments to it.
Are you also complaining and asking to be removed as guarantor for the two loans? If your credit is so bad you have to go to Everyday loans for credit yourself, could you really afford to pay the guarantor loans?
chris says
hi again so trust two have finally admitted that the branch have used an incorrect figure in my affordability calculations they haven’t used the income i supplied to them via payslips. they have used a higher figure, if they had of used the the figure on my paylsipi sent them i would of failed the initial check. they have redone the affordability check – which i have passed but only because they have reduced outgoings from branch’s in itial calculation. so surely the FOS should look at it as i should not of been given the loan in the first place, right? and find in my favour.
thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“but only because they have reduced outgoings from branch’s initial calculation” what have they reduced? do you think it is to an unreasonably low level?
chris says
(income/outgoings)
so branch had £1650/£1119 and on my complaint they have used £1565/£1019
they reduced my income by £85 and reduced my outgoings by £100. its not the biggest amounts but i have gone through my credit report and im certain the original outgoings carried out by the branch is correct and they have deliberately lowered it to meet the criteria.
i have gone though the credit report they have used and and wokring what is included and what isnt.
Dean says
Hello. First time commenting on here. I have used your template letters for payday and guarantor loans in the past. So thank you for that. I’ve had 3 complaints against payday lenders upheld by the FOS in the past year or so.
However I’ve just had a complaint against Amigo for unaffordable/irresponsible lending rejected by an adjudicator. Long story short, I had 3 loans over about 2 years of £2k, £5k and £8k. The last loan a top up. All because of a big gambling issue I had at the time. I informed the adjudicator of this as well as various missed payments with other various loans and also that I’d entered a DMP just after the second loan.
My complaint was rejected. He decided the loans were affordable and that I had never missed a payment. This is true but I had budgeted for this within my DMP as I didn’t want to cause problems for my guarantor. However the adjudicator had not once mentioned in his decision making the gambling problem or the DMP. I found this hard to understand so I challenged him on this.
He said if I rejected his decision officially via email he would look into it again. I did this and at the same time offered him all my bank statements from around the time of the loans. I was surprised that I’d not been asked for these already as in previous complaints I’d filed they were among the first things I was asked for. Also further back in this comments thread I have seen people say they had sent bank statements to their adjudicator when asked. He told me they were not required.
Just over a week later I received an email informing me that my complaint was rejected again. Saying to me that I had not told either Amigo or my guarantor of my gambling problem. They wasn’t to know that the money was for something other than debt consolidation which is what I had told them on all 3 loans I applications.
Thought I would share this on here as comments from other people with similar issues have been helpful to me in the past year or so.
All advice welcome. Just feel there’s something not quite right with this. Maybe I am missing something.
Thanks for your time.
Dean says
My complaint was rejected. He decided the loans were affordable and that I had never missed a payment. This is true but I had budgeted for this within my DMP as I didn’t want to cause problems for my guarantor. However the adjudicator had not once mentioned in his decision making the gambling problem or the DMP. I found this hard to understand so I challenged him on this.
He said if I rejected his decision officially via email he would look into it again. I did this and at the same time offered him all my bank statements from around the time of the loans. I was surprised that I’d not been asked for these already as in previous complaints I’d filed they were among the first things I was asked for. Also further back in this comments thread I have seen people say they had sent bank statements to their adjudicator when asked. He told me they were not required.
Just over a week later I received an email informing me that my complaint was rejected again. Saying to me that I had not told either Amigo or my guarantor of my gambling problem. They wasn’t to know that the money was for something other than debt consolidation which is what I had told them on all 3 loans I applications.
Thought I would share this on here as comments from other people with similar issues have been helpful to me in the past year or so.
All advice welcome. Just feel there’s something not quite right with this. Maybe I am missing something.
Thanks for your time.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So each time you said the loan/top-up was for debt consolidation? Was that what you used the money for?
If it wasn’t, you can point out that when you applied for the second loan and then the top up that
1) it should have been obvious to Amigo that you had not used the money to consolidate your debt
2) your debt situation had got worse. You need to list the debts outstanding at the time you applied for the first loan, the second loan and the top up and add them up to prove this.
re “He decided the loans were affordable and that I had never missed a payment. This is true but I had budgeted for this within my DMP as I didn’t want to cause problems for my guarantor.” The point you need to make is that CONC 5.2A.12 (and previous CONC and OFT rules) says that a firm must consider the customer’s ability to make repayments under the agreement (4) without failing to make any other payment the customer has a contractual or statutory obligation to make. As you had to enter a DMP you were unable to make your contractual repayments to your other debts. This shows the Amigo loan was not affordable.
If the adjudicator says he won’t revise his decision, make the above points and ask for it to go to the Ombudsman.
Also send your bank statements again – even if you haven’t been asked for them.
Dean says
Thanks for the reply.
No. I’m ashamed to say I pretty much used all of it to fund my gambling habit at the time. I’ve got 2 weeks to reply to the adjudicator. I will take your advice and ask him to consider the points in your reply once I make the relevant list. My bank statements would confirm all the gambling and the DMP which is why I found it hard to understand why he didn’t want to see them. Even in the second rejection email he never mentioned the DMP at all.
Thanks again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“No. I’m ashamed to say I pretty much used all of it to fund my gambling habit” I guessed – that obviously isn’t good on one level but it actually HELPS your case now.
Amigo have to take into account everything they know about you when assessing affordability.
And they should not take your word for income & expenditures if they have a reason to think you may not be telling the truth.
In this case, you clearly didn’t use the previous loan for consolidation which suggests there is something that Amigo don’t know about – which was of course your gambling – so they should have asked more questions eg to see your bank statements to find out what was going on. which would have been littered with gambling transaction and they should never have given the next loan or top-up.
chris says
hi im wondering if anyone has advice with the devil that is amigo. i know i should of got the loans but at the time my situation was much better. i have a complaint in with FOS and its a few weeks away being assigned an adjudicator.
so i had 5 loans with them in six months from £1k doubling in balance to £10k- all the usual, lots of payday loans, low expenses they knew i was in trouble. but carried on lending. so i was paying back the the loan £395 for ten months then my partner found out about my debts and kicked me out, and i have not paid them for 3 months as i have been living in my car/ sleeping at friends. they dont care they are now refusing to talk to me, i have had one default notice issued in jan 19 and i ve tried to talk to arrange clearing my arrears by paying monthly plus an extra £200 which will clear them around 3 months times but they didn’t want to know.
my questions is what if they reject this – whats there next step after they have issued a default notice.
so default issued in Jan 19 – how long before they apply for a CCJ? how long does that take to process at the courts?
if the court agrees will they accept a monthly payment as me and my gaurontor having nothing valuable?
im about two weeks away from having an adjudicator look at my case – can they tell amigo/court to hold off?
i am going to call the national debt helpline so if they have any advice as well.
many thanks for this sites its a god send.
chris says
ive broken everything down from amigo and im making various complaints about each loan. to refresh i had £1500 in may, £3000 in June, £4500 in July, £9000 in august and £10000 in dec. im arguing that they should of checked my expenses as they was very low.
im struggling to phrase my complaint about why they should not of rolled over the loans each month. is there a FCA guidlines about they should of been more thorough? or wordings to say they was reckless. should of they off been suspsicious at constant rollover of loans. as i each loans i had more payday loans.
im mention how many payday loans i had the month before as well. im mention my evolving credit balances and limits, accounts opened each month and other things. also complained about my income was never verified its £50 higher on the applications.
should there be any weight that i had £0.00 in phone costs when i have phone costs on my credit report.
thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Steve, sorry lots of questions.
Was it your brother who posted a few days about guaranteeing your loan? HAs he put in an affordablity complaint?
When did you put in an affordability complaint to Amigo? when did you send this to the Financial Ombudsman?
” i ve tried to talk to arrange clearing my arrears by paying monthly plus an extra £200 which will clear them around 3 months”
a) so you are offering £585 a month – can you actually afford this? are you renting somewhere at the moment?
b) if you missed 3 months payments of £395 it will take 6 months to clear at £200 extra a month won’t it?
chris says
im moving in with grand parents – so no rent for a a year
yes he has was rejected by Amigo – just about to put one in with the FOS.
complaint with the FOS in OCT 18, my investigator has marked high priority and hopefully will get looked at in next few weeks.
am i right in thinking that i have missed payments that it shows it was unafordabale? with the last three loans my income less expenses was £360. but i had no or little costs in for travel, food, clothes and insurance, so if you add them on i would failed the affordability check.
yes i will be bale to afford it – but im highly skeptical they will accept as they was awful on the phone and just being completely horrible because i was a few months behind.
James says
Hi, I submitted a complaint about Amigo to the FOS 7 months ago, I called them today and they told me it is in the queue for an investigator to review. My main argument is that i kept stating debt consolidation but my debt rose for each application and the number of payday loans I was taking out increased.
I borrowed £4000 in June 2014 and i’d had 77 payday loans in the previous 12 months with a value of £18k
I topped up by £4000 in March 2015 and between those two date i borrowed another 29 payday loans with a value of £11.5k
I topped up by £3000 in April 2016 and between these two dates i’d took out another 38 payday loans worth £14.5k
During the 1st and 2nd top up i clearly stated i was going to clear all the payday loans with the Amigo money. I think it should have been pretty clear to Amigo that I was in a financial mess, every Amigo loan should have cleared my high interest debt but at every top up more had appeared on my credit file.
What is an investigator and do you think this is a strong case?
DK says
Hello, got a bit of an unusual one… got a final response from TRUSTTWO on 29th July. Not upheld and had loads of factually incorrect information such as I was an operations manger(!) from 2008 (I’d have been 17 then and even at the time of taking the loan I’d have been 22), wrong outgoings that I had seemingly stated, etc. Went back and asked them to reinvestigate with the correct info. Second final response on 15th August, still not upheld. Does the 6 months start from the first final response like they’re trying to say? Or the second (actual final) final response? I submitted my complaint to FOS on 01/02 meaning I’d have been within timeframe from second letter but not first. To add to this shambles, I called FOS twice (08/02 and today) and for some reason my complaint hasn’t made it through to my record. I could actually cry. The girl told me to resubmit which I’ve done now and actually got a reference number this time but even at that, this company are totally going to reject the FOS looking in to it now aren’t they? Am I out of luck here? Surely there must be some sort of contingency for system issues. I’m losing everything here. Wonga our the window, another complaint not upheld by FOS and now this. I’ve zero luck :(
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have never been asked this before, but I think you have a good case to say the 6 months starts from the second “Final response”.
It is a big pity you didn’t send it to FOS earlier though.
How did you send the case to FOS on 01/02 – email, letter, phone or online? FOS should have a record of your phone call on 08/02 though, and that is within 6 months from the second final response. Keep persevering with FOS and I hope they will take this.
DK says
Thanks Sara. I thought so too. Surely can’t call it a final response if it’s not the final response!
Absolutely no excuse for not doing it sooner. I just kept putting it off.
Did it online but never got a reference number like I did with the pay day loan complaints I submitted last year. There will defo be a record of my call on 08/02 as I changed my address at the same time and asked if it was showing on my record but he said not yet as it takes a week or two to show.
Really hoping I’ve not ruined my own chances!!
Thanks for replying so quickly!
chris says
hi guys so good news about my Trust Two loan they have reviewed it again and upheld my complaint. this wouldn’t not of been possible with out help of this site and Sara, so make sure you always request SAR. that is what has proved they was wrong. so i am no longer paying £200 for the next 4 years just for the next 16 months but i will probably pay it off in the summer. now i can focus all my attention on amigo.
Jane says
Good news Chris…hopefully you will have success with Amigo also!
Jane says
Hi David,
I last heard from an adjudicator on 7th February saying my case was being referred to the new team who were concluding their research into these types of products in the next couple of weeks. I’m planning to contact them end of the month, if I haven’t heard anything before…will keep you posted.
I submitted my complaint in October so we’re at the same point!
I’m remaining positive…you have to!
David says
Hi Jane have you had any more news from amigo.
Jane says
Hi David,
Not a twinkle!I keep waiting patiently but, it’s nearly two months since I heard from the adjudicator.I keep hoping we’ll get some good news on here soon.There’s got to be some success soon!
Going to drop them a line at the end of the week…I take it you’re in the same boat?
Don’t laugh but, I have a post-it stuck on my PC with the total amount that could be refunded if the top-up loan is deemed unaffordable….it keeps me motivated!
Keep the faith!
David says
Dare I ask what the post it note says?
I have had to put my payment dates back so have actually had my loan increase due to the interest rates. £487 paid. Interest on the month £550.
I rang them today and was told the same thing as I did 2 months ago waiting in the que still
Jane says
David,
Good for you calling them…thanks for the update.I’ll be behind you I’m certain!
Okay…here we go…my post-it says total interest on the top-up loan was £5485.98!!Loan commenced in 2013….finished this year.It’s killed me paying it off! I guess 8% on top of that would be nice also.
Absolute nightmare of a company.I wonder if Sara can shed any light on the Amigo hold-ups or if this is simply due to a very stretched FOS?
David says
Amigo have taken 1p form my account today. Why would they do this ?
Ni says
Maybe to check the account is still live I. Readiness for refund ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ni gets today’s prize for optimism!
Lou7 says
Hi David,
The same thing happened to me. It says on their website they do this every 9 months to re-validate the card and check it’s valid and active.
Andy says
I have recently used the template from here on amigo loans. I will keep yous posted with my out come. Been reading a lot of comments on here. Hopefully monster company’s like this end soon. My biggest regret ever. Thank yous for the information that you provided.
Bee says
Hi Sara
I want to make a complaint regarding my amigo loan. I topped up a while ago to £10,000 (the maximum)
The repayments are killing me and I am already in a debt management plan for my numerous other debts. I think I have a good case as if they had looked at my credit file or asked for bank statements they would have no way lent me any money at all let alone their maximum loan. I have topped up a few times with them, and each time my financial situation has got worse than the first. I have also had a few months where I have been unable to pay and my husband who is guarantor had to pay the repayment until I could pay him back.
What I am wondering is if I happened to win an unafodability case with the ombudsman, would all interest be taken away from my current loan, or could you claim back interest from the previous loans paid? I would just be happy to have the current interest wiped, but wondered if they ever have to pay back previous interest which would lower the balance further?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When you complain to the Ombudsman, you are complaining about the original loan and the four top-ups you received (or however many there were).
The Ombudsman has to decide whether each loan/top-up was affordable and that will affect what is refunded. So if the Ombudsman says the original loan and the first top up were affordable but the later top-ups were not, the interest on the last loan will be deducted (refunded) and the interest on the 2nd and 3rd top-ups will be refunded by reducing the outstanding balance.
Your complaint is going to ask Amigo to send you all the information they have for each loan and top-up, including your application, your credit record at the time and recordings of any calls. You can use this to show that Amigo should have realised your situation was getting worse (increased debt, worse credit record) as they lent you more. If you had said you were borrowing to pay off debt but when you next topped-up your credit record showed you hadn’t done this, then Amigo should have noticed this. Make out a separate argument for each loan and top-up.
Also there should be an estimate of your income & expenses for each loan and top-up. Were any of these unrealistic? Too little for food, clothes, no car expenses apart from petrol and insurance? Did it look as though your income was increasing or your expenses were decreasing – if so was this realistic?
CAn your husband now afford the repayments if you lost your job, left him or died? In that situation he would have to pay all the household expenses, – could he manage that and repay the Amigo loan? If no, then he should complain too and ask to be removed as guarantor, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/ as the complaint is a bit different. If he can be removed, then you can simply ask for an affordable payment arrangement.
Louise says
Hi there,
Has anyone had any experience of complaining about TFS loans? My complaint is currently awaiting an adjudication to be assigned. It’s been with the FOS for a while now. My first loan with TFS went into a CCJ due to financial difficulty. I eventually repaid the loan but was later lent another large sum. None of my other guarantor loaves have been upheld by the FOS. I just wondered if anyone had any success with TFS?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They are a small lender and I don’t remember anyone having had a result from their complaint. But having had a CCJ from the previous loan should have been a big warning sign not to give you another one! Did TFS also go after your guarantor? It is unusual for a guarantor Lender to take the borrower to court for a CCJ! They normally don’t bother but take the guarantor to court instead? Did you have the same guarantor for the second TFS loan?
Peter says
Hi, has anyone received an update recently from the FOS team that has been assigned to looking at guarantor loans. Seems there is a bit of a black hole in communication currently.
Jane says
Hi Peter,
As far as I’m aware we’re all waiting to be assigned an adjudicator/investigator…unless there are any updates from anyone?
I wonder how many of us are in the queue?!!
Peter says
Thanks Jane. I was given an adjudicator in Jan and she was to make an imminent decision after reviewing my file. Then it all went into a bit of a black hole to be honest after the decision to look at these ‘types of products’ on a larger scale.
Jane says
Hi Peter,
That’s frustrating when you were so close.
I’m not sure how close I was to a decision, mine was also picked up by the adjudicator in January after submitting the complaint in October to FOS…I keep praying everyday for news!
I don’t like to hassle them too much but,will make contact tomoand report back👍
David says
Sounds like we are all in for a long wait then.
Gareth Patrick Gough says
Hello,
I have just today had my Amigo case allocated so people should start hearing soon!
It was sent to FOS around the end of September.
Thanks,
Gareth
Jane says
Great news Gareth,hope it’s a good result for you!
Gary says
Hi,iv had 3 loans with amigo so far.
The latest one was February 2018 when i took a 10k loan out,paying £487 a month.
When i got that loan i was paying between £700-£800 a month to my debt,including amigo themselves,and i was planning to consolidate my debt,but unforseen circumstances arose,which meant that by august 2018,i was paying over £900 a month to debt,including the amigo loan.
I had to beg them for a payment plan after they refused my affordability claim,which they agreed upon by allowing me to pay £400 a month instead of the £487.
But my credit rating has dived to an all time low because of this and I’m basically paying over 18k in 3 years for a 10k loan.
It’s obvious that the loan shouldn’t have been paid out considering i owed the BOS 3k,lending stream £500+,wonga £300+,amigo 2k+,safetynetcredit £1100+,and my bank of scotland overdraft which was £1650.
My wage at the time was averaging £1500 per month but it feels as if they gave me the loan on my word that i would consolidate.
They refused the 1st claim over 6 month ago,and i didn’t take it any further because of the payment plan implemented.
Where do i go from here?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am sorry but if they rejected your complaint over 6 months ago, it is now too late to take this to the Financial Ombudsman.
Would the loan be affordable for your guarantor? I am not suggesting you should stop paying, but if your guarantor couldn’t afford it, then they can complain and ask to be removed as a guarantor, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/. If this can be done, your loan turns into a normal unsecured loan and you can look at options such as insolvency or a debt management plan knowing your guarantor will not have to pay.
How are your affordability complaints gainst payday lenders going? refunds there should let you pay off some of this Amigo loan.
Gary says
I looked through my email and text history sara,and i don’t see a actual reply to my original complaint,i think it was on the phone that it was rejected.
Safetynetcredit-im on a payment plan still,£80pm.
Quickquid-eventually paid off.
WDA-paid off then 1 month later closes lol.
Wonga-administrator closed my account due to affordability complaint beforehand.
BOS-£53 pm
BOS overdraft-£1600
BOS credit card- £500 maxed out,paying minimum payment of £8 pm.
Tesco credit card- £600 maxed out, paying minimum payment of £12pm.
Morses club-2 loans,£100 pm combined.
Lending stream/CRS- i owed over £900 on 4 loans but they ‘sold’ my debt to CRS due to i being not happy with their service,i went through a legal company who didn’t get 1 response in over 4 month from lending stream.
Matt S says
just an FYI, but when I received my final response from Amigo back in October they stated the following :
“Although there are time limits for referring your complaint to the Ombudsman, we will consent to the Ombudsman considering your complaint even if you refer the complaint outside the time limits.”
Not sure if this is a usual thing with Amigo, but maybe worth checking with them?
Gary McCormick says
Aw cheers matt.
I’ll definitely give that a think over buddy and try and get something sorted👍
Sara (Debt Camel) says
YES it is a usual response from Amigo. Matt S is quite right & I had forgotten about this.
I suggest you send your complaint to FOS immediately. Also ask Amigo for a copy of all your personal information , including the credit checks and recordings of all phone calls, but don’t delay sending your complaint to FOS while you wait for this.
David says
After the gentlemen who heard from the FOS regarding his amigo loan last week has anybody else had contact from them regarding there’s and where they stand ?
Jane says
Hi David,
Nothing yet…still waiting patiently. Mine was submitted October 2018. Planning to email for an update on Friday.Hope you get some news soon!
Matt S says
Also still waiting after registering complaint in October. Only ever been told its in a queue waiting to be assigned. Hoping for some positivity soon.
James says
I suited mine in September 2018, keep getting told it’s waiting for an ‘investigator’. Hopefully will hear something soon.
Gary says
I will send it to the FOS sara,but will that interfere with my payment plan that i currently have with amigo?
I’m supposed to be paying £487pm but after i explained my circumstances they lowered it to £400pm for time being though it does have a negative impact on my credit rating.
Dan says
Hi I’ve had a bad experience with TFS and fell into arrears when I had to give up work we both got a ccj and they have put a 5k charging order on his property. He had now sold this property and the sale is due to go through next month, I have about 2700 left to pay and really don’t want my guarantor to have to pay the 5k for my problem I estimate I’ve paid back approx 9k is there anyone that’s been in this predicament
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If there is only 2700 left to pay, your guarantor should not be charged more than that.
Steven Sweeney says
Hello
I have sent a SAR request to Amigo for two loans I had first in October 2013 then topped up and another in April 2014 paid off in November 2014
They are saying they no longer hold my details on file as they only hold them for three years due to data protection so they are not able to investigate my claim. Where do I go from here?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you know how much interest you paid on the last loan?
Steven Sweeney says
Hello
I don’t as I have no paperwork and do not have any emails from them. I am seeing if my guarantor can find any information for me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, you need to go and find your bank statements for this time. With this information, you can work what you borrowed and how much you paid.
Phil says
Are there examples of where people have been successful with amigo?
I had 2 loans with them, first was £4000, taken out with reason to consolidate debts, then a top up to take out £10000, by the time the second loan was taken out my credit had risen by £6000 and I was using 98% of available credit versus 40% in the first loan. This is all evident in the credit check that they showed me. They didn’t ask why I hadn’t declared the loans I had in either application,
In their justification they basically say that they don’t use that as a basis for borrowing, and that they’re fully regulated and the fca know of how they work. They say that instead they make sure I have a guarantor that can pay it and that’s it.
I don’t feel like they have any answer for the points I’ve raised but I’m not sure if it’s true what they’re saying that it’s all above board and so I don’t have a leg to stand on?
Gareth says
Hi Phil, they has been some success with Amigo. The FOS have just finished researching more into guarantor loans and how they work. The loan has to be affordable to you regardless of the guarantor element.
I am hoping to hear about mine from the FOS soon – been allocated had 5 top ups in 7 months!!
Phil says
Thanks Gareth. Will be a case of referring to FOS for me!
Good luck!!!
deborah says
Wondering if I have a case for complaint and would appreciate some advice. In August 2011 I took out a £500 loan with FLM. Then in November 2011 I took a loan out with Amigo for £1935. I didn’t pay off the FLM loan. In March 2013 I to a further advance making the loan £5000 I paid off the balance of both loans at this time. During the period I had many payday loans and was in arrears. I have been successful in getting most of the payday loans removed from my credit file thanks to the FOS. However I have never sent a complaint to the FOS for amigo as my understanding was it was not likely to be successful. Amigo have now sold my debt to a company called Intrum finance as I have been making reduced payments since 2015. Does this new company still have the same rights to go after my guarantor if I don’t make payments? Also I have never made an unaffordability complaint to Amigo for the first loan but I did try to complain about the other 2 two loans which Amigo rejected could I still make a complaint to the FOS?
Thanks
Debbie
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“However I have never sent a complaint to the FOS for amigo as my understanding was it was not likely to be successful.” That is a shame. All the loans are now over 6 years old. FIOS may well reject them now because of that.
“Does this new company still have the same rights to go after my guarantor if I don’t make payments?” This isn’t something I have been asked before. Did Amigo not go after your guarantor before?
“I did try to complain about the other 2 two loans which Amigo rejected could I still make a complaint to the FOS?” how long ago were your complaints to Amigo?
What is the rest of your financial situation like now? Apart from this loan, what other debts do you have? and are you repaying them all at a reasonable rate?
deborah says
Hi Sara,
Any loans I still have are being paid back at an agreed amount of between £1 – £5 but Amigo would never agree to reducing the pmt to less than £60 per month.
They never went after my guarantor as he is my husband and it was because he was made redundant that I then struggled to repay the £197 that was the actual monthly pmt.
Amigo rejected my claims for the 2nd loan & top up in March 2017 I didn’t continue because they said they would go after my husband as our house is in his name and they would put a charge on the house. At the time the advice was that it was really hard to get an unaffordability claim against guarantor loans and I was afraid that by trying to complain I would make the situation worse as they said they would cancel my payment arrangement.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have never heard of Amigo not going after a guarantor in this situation. I am wondering if there is some defect in the guarantor documentation which means that they can’t.
I will get back to you about this.
deborah says
I have just checked my old emails and still have the one from my account manager in which she accused me of falsifying information and threatening to take legal action against my husband to obtain a charge on the house. I had asked them originally to stop adding interest onto the debt but they refused. Plus they wouldn’t accept pro rata pmts. After this I was too frightened to continue with any complaints.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you and your husband both send Amigo seperate Subject Access Requests. Email them at hello@amigo.me with Subject Access Request as the subject line, explain who you are, give any Amigo reference number and ask for a copy of all your personal infomration including but not limited to all application details, credit record and aother affordability checks, phone recordsing and and infomration realtion to the sale of the loan.
See what comes back.
Cee says
Hi Sara,
I’ve had an amigo loan for 7 months now and have paid back 2k In interest. The loan is for 5 years years, I’ve asked for a settlement figure from them thinking that the 2k interest I’ve paid would be knocked off the balance but they’ve came back and said the settlement figure is £7,014.
Is this Correct?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you ask them to give you the details of how it has been calculated.
Al says
Hi , I had a loan with amigo for 3k I topped it up to 5k I already had several payday loans with different firms at that time & was struggling to pay one and not the others borrowing again to pay another I defualted many tines with amigo to the point they took me to court & got a ccj against me, can I still make an unaffordable complaint even with a attachment of earnings as they sold the debt on to lester alridge who I now deal with if they looked at my record original they really shouldn’t of lent to me as I was already in debt and still struggle to this day thanks Al
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When did you take the loan and when did you top it up? Did Amigo not go after your guarantor?
Al says
Hi , I took out the loan 2012/13 I topped it up within the first year, amigo originally went after both of us but since court action it seems to be just me named on all documents & the ccj & attachment of earnings was issued just to me , my guarantor has nothing issued against her as Iv seen her credit report etc ,I tried to agree new payment terms with them but they would not budge Iv tons of emails before court and the responces are fairly blunt and no help whatsoever for my situation at the time thanks Al
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can still complaint to Amigo but the first loan is more than 6 years old so that probably wouldn’t be considered but the top may just be under 6 years? if it is, get the complaint in asap and get it to the financial Ombudsman spot on 8 weeks.
Ash Alexander says
Amigo the devils lenders of guarantor loans and are getting away with manipulating and bending the rules but staying within FOS law . I hate hate this horrible company with the passion . I have been reading people’s struggles with this company as I am experiencing myself . I have just one loan with amigo for £9K and I would never seek a top up loan cause they will just tangle you into more misery and sky high interest which will seem like paying forever and I would suggest to anyone never to take a loan out with this company or apply for a topup no matter how tempting it can be for a short term fix I have had my fingers burnt and learnt my lesson from using a loan company like a Amigo they are there to make James Beamour richer
Cee says
I originally taken a loan out with them last March for just 3k which was affordable paying £138 but then just after 2 months of repaying, They offered me a top up and I stupidly topped up to 7k but only receiving 4K of it and now I’m paying back £279 every month and the Balance don’t budge! Not once did they call me for loan 1 or the top up to see if it was affordable. The top up loan was definitely not affordable and Every month they offer me a top up without fail which I will not be taking as I’m trying to get rid of it as fast as I can.
Delroy Norris says
I had amigo from them I finish it pay off some years now .I take out about £3500 pounds. So how can I get a refund from this company.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When did you take out this loan?
Ant says
Hi Sara,
Back in June 2014 I applied for a guarantor loan with UK Credit and received a loan for £6,000. The main reason for the loan was to try and consolidate debts I had with creditors most of which were payday loan companies. During the application process I was asked over the phone what the loan was going to be used for which I replied that it was for consolidating debts I had. From that phone call as I remember they only other questions were asked was about my employment and how much I earned and no other question were raised regarding my debts. With my guarantor finalising his application the loan was granted and paid into my bank. It was as easy as that! I knew that £6,000 wasn’t enough as my debts (I originally applied for more to cover all debts) were much more than that but at the time I thought if I could pay off some if not most of them I could try and balance things with my wage and slowly get back on my feet again. However, as I used the guarantor loan as intended I found with the rest of the loans outstanding the interest of payday loans then forced me into a debt management program. I then ended up paying off payday loans through my DMP as well as paying off my guarantor loan.
Do you think I have a case for irresponsible lending here?
Thanks in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you used the loan to clear a pile of payday loans but you still had some left. The question is, could you afford to repay those loans AND repay the guarantor loan and not borrow again?
It sounds as though the answer is No – you had to take out more payday loans.
In that case, the guarantor loan was NOT affordable and you should make an affordability complaint. Expect it to be rejected and to have to go to the Financial Ombudsman.
Ant says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for getting back to me. Yes – Indeed that was the case. I found myself having to take out more payday loans to cover my existing loans as well as pay the guarantor loan.
I shall start the process.
Many thanks for all the good work you do on here. This site has been amazing!! I’ve managed to get most of interest back from payday loans so far which I never thought I would. It’s changed my life and managing to use the interest to put towards saving for a deposit for a house. :)
( Just hope begin in a DMP previously doesn’t hold me back)
A massive thanks again!!
Tim says
Hi Sara,
I used your site a few months ago to help me reclaim interest paid on payday loans. Amigo is my final complaint. At the time of borrowing from Amigo I had several pay day loan accounts, 3 overdrafts and 3 credit cards (all maxed out). When I applied for the loan I don’t believe amigo asked for statements from me or my guarantor but only payslips (had they looked at my statements they would have seen I had a ridiculous gambling addiction from which I am thankfully out of now). The loan was for 5k and I have been paying it off since February last year. I submitted a complaint and it was rejected, does it sound like I have a chance at the ombudsman or would it not be worth it as my guarantor could easily afford the repayments?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is worth taking to the Financial Ombudsman. The FCA rules clearly state:
“When considering affordability risk, the firm must not take into account the existence of… any guarantee or indemnity or other form of security.” So the fact your guarantor could afford it is irrelevant, they should still have done a proper check that you could too.
Amigo reject all complaints, it says nothing about how good or weak your case is. Have you asked for all your personal details from them?
David says
Morning all.
Same questions as always has anyone had any more news positive or negative against amigo in the last few weeks. Only seem to hear about people
Complaining but no refunds or rejections from the FOS
Still waiting for mine to be seen.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is because most people are waiting for a decision from FOS.
A few comments up, Miss W left a comment saying she has finally got a decision from an ombudsman that she should be removed as guarantor. originally the adjudicator had agreed with Amigo – so this shows it is worth taking a case further to an Ombudsman.
EDIT the Ombudsman decision was later published – here is my article on it https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-ombudsman-released-guarantor/
David says
Thanks Sara.
I saw that from Miss W so fantastic news. I’m just a bit surprised nobody has heard from the Fos good or bad when complaints have been there so long.
I suppose I’m looking for positive news so it gives hope.
I hadn’t heard of anyone having a positive result from amigo that’s all was hoping to start the week with some. Sorry for being a pain.
Peter says
Hi Guys,
I have complained to the FOS as to their lack of communication recently. Especially due to the fact that early Jan I was told I would get a decision on my 3 cases. My adjudicator has apologised and has asked her manager for more clarification. As soon as I have any information I will share.
Charlotte says
Hi I was wondering if you could help me regarding FLM quick loans, I was a guarantor for some one but they didn’t pay it, in the end I had to pay it off by adding it to a debt plan which I had gone on to due to being in debt with many payday loans. I contacted Amigo loans and they said that flm quick was a different company and I wouldn’t be able to claim as it’s no longer running. Do you know if that’s true? the loan amount was about £800, I did pay it all off but at the time I shouldn’t of been accepted as a guarantor due to my financial situation.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When was the loan taken out?
Charlotte says
Hi,
it was 2011 so quite far back.
Jane says
Hi Charlotte,
I also had a loan with FLM Quick. Paid back £1500 on a £500 loan finishing in 2015! I complained to Amigo, their sister company and was told to write to FLM, incidentally at the same address! I also spoke to the FOS with regarding the complaint ( it was still in the six year time scale). Unfortunately, as Sara mentions they were taken over and are no longer trading. The FOS explained it would be difficult to get redress if there are no funds left in the business.
You can still put in a complaint though. This is the address they gave me:
FLM Quick
Walton House
56-58 Richmond House
Bournemouth
BH2 6EX
Possibly worth a try. You never know!
Best wishes,Jane
Charlotte says
Hi Jane,
Thank you for that info, I really appreciate it. I was searching the Internet for hours trying to find information about them, I didn’t even know it was a separate company, so brill thank you
Jane says
It’s a pleasure. Good luck…let us know how you get on.
David D says
I have used Amigo twice. Once as FLM Quick and once as Amigo. I complained regarding both loans directly to Amigo, and they responded to both accordingly, no mention of it being a separate / sister company.
this seems to me like someone being pedantic and wanting to stall the process.
hope you get it sorted whoever you contact!
Charlotte says
Hi, well this was the reply from amigo which I got when I emailed them
“Thank you for your email. I have been unable to locate a loan on which you have stood as guarantor. It may be possible you are referring to a loan taken with FLM Quick, which is a different company to FLM, now Amigo. Could you provide me with a reference number if you have it to hand, to see if I can locate you. However, if you took a loan with FLM quick we will not be able to locate you.”
But I’l try the address which I was given, thank you for your comment.
Matt S says
Feel bad having a gripe about the Ombudsman, I know they are a free service and that they’ll be overflowing with complaints over the last few years and I do appreciate the work they do.
However, now at 7 months since raising my complaint against Amigo and have actually had more information about what is happening from here than from the actual Ombudsman service. I know from comments on here that they have been looking into guarantor loans in general and this is holding things up, however all I’ve ever been told personally by the Ombudsman is that it is in a queue and they cant give me a timescale.
I have also twice this year emailed them a question regarding my complaint, both times waited about 3 weeks without a response so chased up on it, and around another 2 weeks later received replies stating ‘Thank you for your email. I have noted your comments in the below email and added your correspondence to the case file. If you have any queries or questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact us.’ and yet they’ve not actually answered the questions I have asked.
I know everyone is in the same boat but the lack of communication and unwillingness to answer questions is becoming frustrating.
Gareth says
Hi Matt,
As you say if feels bad to complain but the delays do cause people issues. It would be nice to get more updates from them. I put my complaint in around end of Sep. It was finally assigned about 6 weeks ago but I have heard nothing since depsite asking for updates! All I was told was it wont take as long as I waited for it to be assigned from this point (should hope not!)
With other pay day loans it was usually a couple of weeks once case was assigned so not sure why this would take much longer?
Thanks,
Gareth
David says
Seems everyone is in the same boat. I sent my claim in September.
I’m just worried that nobody is reporting a single good results means that amigo are going to get away with all the irresponsible lending and we will all be left in huge debts we can’t pay off.
I don’t think I will get anything even though I had 5 loans with them over 2 years.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
All these cases are very individual, but 5 loans over 2 years sounds like a very good case to me, if you can show that your finances got worse over that time.
And there have been several cases where people have won at the adjudicator level. It’s just that there haven’t been any decisions at all for months! The time to get worried is when people are coming and saying that they have lost their case.
Steven Sweeney says
They are saying as they have no details they are unable to investigate my claim, do I just go straight to the FOS?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
from your previous comment, this was in 2013/4. That is within 6 years so you can go to FOS. You are going to need to get your old bank statements to prove what the borrowing and repayments were.
If Amigo haven’t kept any records, it will be interesting to see how they try to argue to FOS that they made a good lending decision, if your bank statements and Noddle report show the loans were unaffordable!