Debt Camel

Answers to questions about debts and credit ratings - in plain English!

  • Home
  • Debt refunds ▾
    • Large loans
    • Overdraft refunds
    • Catalogues & credit cards
    • Car finance – affordabilty
  • Debt solutions ▾
    • Debt Management Plans
    • DRO – Debt Relief Order
    • IVAs
    • Bankruptcy
    • Payment arrangements
    • Compare 2 solutions
    • Help if you can’t pay bills & debts
  • Car commission
  • Latest posts
  • About ▾
    • About Debt Camel
    • Media

How the borrower of a guarantor loan can complain

UPDATES:

Do not use the template on this page for Amigo, Buddy, George Banco, Trust Two,  Glo. It is now too late to complain about them.

For TFS see TFS Loans goes into administration.


Guarantor loans are very expensive. Often the lender didn’t check properly that you will be able to manage the loan repayments without having to borrow more.

If proper checks would have shown that you couldn’t afford the repayments, complain! There is a template letter in this article to help you.

You can get an existing loan reduced so you only repay the amount you borrowed, or get a refund if your loans have been repaid. If your complaint is rejected you can send the case to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) who is upholding a lot (90%!) of guarantor loan complaints.

If you are the guarantor not the borrower, read Complaining if you are a guarantor which has a different template letter to use.

guarantor lender logos - and how to complain if you have borrowed money from one of them

Contents

  • What is an affordability complaint?
  • What should the lender have checked?
  • How to complain to the lender
  • Taking a complaint to the Ombudsman
  • Complicated cases & help with guarantor loan complaints

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:

  1. It doesn’t matter if your guarantor is well off, the loan has to be affordable for you!
  2. 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.
  3. If you were self-employed or had wages that varied, the lender should have looked at how your income went up and down.
  4. 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.
  5. When you top up a loan, the lender should check the new larger loan is affordable. If the current loan was causing you problems or your finances had got worse you shouldn’t have been given a larger loan.

If you feel there was something else unfair about your case, add that into your complaint as well!

What would a “fair solution” be?

If the lender or the Ombudsman decides the loan wasn’t affordable, this is what happens:

  • The loan has been repaid, then any interest you paid should be refunded to you.
  • The loan is still outstanding, then interest should be removed from the balance that is owing, so you only repay what you borrowed. Your guarantor should be released from the loan. The lender should accept an affordable monthly payment from you to repay the rest.
  • Any payments made by the guarantor are refunded to the guarantor, not to you.

Will a complaint affect your guarantor?

Complaining won’t affect your guarantor if you carry on making the payments. The guarantor shouldn’t be told you have complained unless your complaint is being upheld.

If you stop paying the loan when you make a complaint, the lender may decide to get your guarantor to pay it. If you don’t want this to happen, you have to somehow carry on making the payments even though it’s hard.

If you can’t afford to carry on paying and you don’t want to hurt your guarantor talk to a debt adviser about your options in this difficult situation.

Making an affordability complaint won’t make things worse, and it may help in a few months time, but it isn’t an immediate escape from your problem.

Think about whether your guarantor also had a good reason to complain – see Complaining if you are a guarantor for details. If they win a complaint, they will be removed as a guarantor, which would take a lot of pressure off you.

How to complain to the lender

A template complaint to use

Don’t use this for Amigo, Buddy, George Banco, Trust Two, TFS, Consollo, Glo. It is now too late to complain about them or you have to go to the administrators – see the update at the top of this page.

For all other guarantor lenders, including ones that have stopped lending, send your complaint by email – here is a list of lender email addresses:

Guarantormyloan – customerservice@guarantormyloan.co.uk
Hero Loans (Hamilton Greig) – collections@heroloans.co.uk (put COMPLAINT as the title)
Juo Loans – customerservices@shelbyfinance.com
LendFair – in liquidation. Contact angus.gilles@mhllp.co.uk.
Suco – hello@suco.co.uk (ignore any suggestions to contact ODR – you want a reply to your complaint from Suco and send the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman if it is rejected.)
UKCredit – no longer lending but you can still complain to welcome@ukcredit.co.uk (put COMPLAINT as the title)
1 plus 1 complaints@1plus1loans.co.uk.

Use SAR AND COMPLAINT BY BORROWER as the email title.

Here is a template. Change it to describe what happened to you and delete what doesn’t apply.

You gave me a loan of [£2,000] in [August 2017].
Only put this in if it applies to you: I took a top up of [£2,500] in [March 2018]

Add a reference number for the loan or give some other details such as your date of birth and your address when you took the loan out. 

Please send me a copy of all the personal information that you have about me, including but not limited to all credit record checks, a copy of my loan application(s) and recordings of all phone calls from me. You have 30 days to reply to this Subject Access Request (SAR).

I am making an affordability complaint. This loan was/These loans were unaffordable for me and you would have realised this if you had checked properly before giving me the loan(s).

Delete or change any of the following so they are right for you:

[You would have seen from my credit record that I had recently missed payments/had defaults/was in a DMP/IVA.]
[I was on a low income/My only income was my pension/benefits.]
[You did not ask me for proof of my income or expenses and you did not ask about my expenses in detail.]
[I get ESA/PIP/DLA but you did not ask me if I had any extra expenses because of this.]
[I had a gambling problem which you could have seen from my bank statements.]

If you topped up the original loan: When I topped up the loan you should have seen from my credit record that my financial situation had got worse. [delete if not relevant: You ignored the fact that I had made several payments late to you.]

If you still owe money:[I am asking you to remove the interest from the balance so I only have to repay what I borrowed, release my guarantor and allow me to make lower monthly payments.]

If the loan has been repaid change that to [refund me the interest that I have paid plus 8% statutory interest.]

If you don’t want your guarantor to be told: [I want to carry on making the normal monthly payments because I do not want my guarantor to be affected. Please note I do not want my guarantor to be informed about my complaint unless my complaint is upheld.]

You have 8 weeks to respond to my complaint before I send it to the Financial Ombudsman.

If you would like some help with this, then go to your local Citizens Advice.

Definitely send bank statements!

It’s good if you can attach bank statements to your complaint.  Send three months of statements before each loan or top-up and two months afterwards. So if you had a loan in August 2017, send statements for May-September  2017.

These statements will show how unaffordable your loans were. Don’t worry if there is gambling showing on the statements – that helps your case!

Don’t delay starting a complaint if you are trying to get your bank statements – just add them later. But now is a good time to get the statements as they can help your case.

Also get a copy of your credit record if this will show defaults, that your debts were increasing, that you had a large overdraft etc. Download this and keep it.

What to do with your personal information (SAR)

Copies of personal information (SARs) are often sent out by post, so if you have moved, make sure the lender has your new address. You should get the information within 30 days. It is often sent on a CD with a password.

This information is not the lender’s response to your complaint. Most lenders will send that separate from the SAR, usually a few weeks later.

You don’t need to do anything with the SAR, just keep it safe. You have asked for it now so that you have the details in case the lender rejects your complaint or makes a poor offer so your complaint has to go to the Ombudsman.

Taking a complaint to the Ombudsman

If the lender rejects your complaint, go to the Ombudsman

Don’t delay in sending a case to FOS –  it has to go within 6 months. And while you have an “open” complaint at FOS, the lender cannot take you to court.

Lenders seem to reject many complaints and hope you give up! So don’t be surprised if a lender says No, the loan was affordable or We based our decision to lend on your application which was inaccurate.

If the lender says No, or you haven’t had a reply 8 weeks after sending your complaint, send your case to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) the best way to do this is by using the FOS online form.

This is free to do and easy – you don’t have to quote laws or regulations. You can just send FOS the complaint you sent the lender. And if they have replied and said something that’s wrong, mention that as well.

You don’t need to go into details – a short FOS complaint is fine.

If only some loans are refunded, is this fair?

Sometimes a lender will say that just a few loans are unaffordable and remove the interest. Which is good, but should it be better?

If the rejected loans caused you difficulties and led to you needing a top-up, send your complaint to FOS and say you think the earlier loans too should be refunded.

Are you likely to win your Ombudsman complaint?

The Financial Ombudsman is agreeing with the customer on 90% of cases!

It is much simpler to win a case at FOS than a court case. If a lender has already started a court case against you, Citizens Advice can help you get the court case “stayed” (that’s legal jargon for put on hold) while you take an affordability complaint to the Ombudsman.

Complicated cases & help with guarantor loan complaints

If you want help with these complaints, Citizens Advice can help. Every Citizens Advice has access to the national Specialist Debt Advice Service if this isn’t something an adviser has come across before.

Leave a comment below this article to discuss what to do or talk to Citizens Advice if:

  • your guarantor has made a lot of payments.
  • you have been bankrupt, in an IVA or a DRO – read guarantor loans & insolvency .
  • you have a CCJ from the guarantor lender  – read guarantor loans & CCJs.
  • if your debt has been sold to a debt collector.

Do not use a Claims Firm or a solicitor that is acting as a claims firm. There are two good reasons why you should avoid them:

  1. they will probably do a very poor job. They are not experts. They won’t put time into looking at your personal case.
  2. 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.

More Debt Camel articles:
refunds from overdraft charges

Can you get an overdraft refund?

Card limit too high? Ask for a refund

Complaints about bank & other large loans

February 14, 2020 Author: Sara Williams Tagged With: Guarantor loans, Refunds

Comments

  1. Charmaine says

    June 16, 2020 at 6:27 pm

    So I originally sent my complaint in Dec, it passed the 8 weeks, I got an email asking for 4 more weeks, then I had an email saying they are not upholding my complaint. I forgot to submit it straight away to FO, I have now done this, I have received an email today from amigo saying they have revised my complaint again and how it’s been dealt with and have now upheld my complaint!!! I always thought it would never happen to me but it has!!! Xx

    Reply
  2. Shaun says

    June 16, 2020 at 6:31 pm

    I received a email from ameigo loans last week (tuesday) . And they up holding my complaint so my remaining balance will be wiped and i get a cash refund of just over 2k. I emailed them the same day and did a follw up call on the wednesday to accept. Logged into my account today and its still showing i owe the balance and as yet have not recieved a refund. Any idea how long people have had to wait at the point of accepting their offer.

    Thanks

    Reply
  3. Ted says

    June 16, 2020 at 6:33 pm

    Hello all. Got a email form my case handler today saying amigo have agreed to pay back all my interest + 8% was just wondering how this works and the time frame. But I still have not been given a figure. Wondering what happens next? My loan was over 6 years old.

    Reply
  4. Johnny says

    June 16, 2020 at 6:44 pm

    Day 346474 since amigo complaint lol, today I’m thinking will be no different, check email see nothing but spam and be no further forward, almost fainted, a response about my complaint, upheld and will get my redress figure within 5 days after 23/6/20..cant believe its finally happened, hang in there folks, they really are dealing with all their complaints…. 😊😊

    Reply
    • Dave says

      June 17, 2020 at 3:52 pm

      Great news

      Reply
    • Emma says

      June 17, 2020 at 3:57 pm

      I’m currently on week number 10 , I have asked several times for my subject acsess request and still nothing apart from we are dealing with this , had no update apart from the usual response of we are dealing with your complaint and will update you in the next 4 weeks , fingers crossed , happy for you :) x

      Reply
    • Gemma says

      June 18, 2020 at 10:16 am

      Mine has been going on from Jan 31st.They have now offered redress on all interest and charges.Customer Relations are saying they still need to buy remaining debt back from Interum which they said they had done months ago to tally up my redress as had two loans.I feel like it has been going on forever.Do they email requesting bank details or do they send a cheque??.
      Thanks
      Gx

      Reply
    • Gemma says

      June 19, 2020 at 8:06 am

      Hi Johnny can you update when you recieve redress seems many in limbo.

      Gx

      Reply
  5. Amanda says

    June 16, 2020 at 6:45 pm

    Hi Sara,

    I am unsure how to post the lengthy email offer from Amigos I have just received today and wondered if possible you (I know you are very busy) would mind looking over what they have sent me prior to it being posted for everyone to see and if you possibly have an email I can send it to? If you wish to share it afterwards I’m fine with that however I would really appreciate your view before I call them to accept.

    Thank you,
    Amanda

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 16, 2020 at 9:31 pm

      sorry, no you can’t send that to me.
      Have they offered to refund all your loans? If not, how many loans did you have and which ones are they offering to refund?

      Reply
      • Amanda says

        June 17, 2020 at 5:12 am

        Hi Sara, totally understand. I’ve had 3 loans going back to 2014. They have offered a refund on the last two loans, interest paid approximately £16,000, which they will use to clear the £9,000 balance leaving a refund of approximately £7,000 to be refunded. They have removed my G, and this would be an end to this nightmare! I don’t know if I should accept or send the offer to FOS…? I’m just wanting this all tied up and gone from my life. Thank you for your response.

        Reply
        • Sara (Debt Camel) says

          June 17, 2020 at 8:26 am

          so the first loan, do you know how much interest was paid on that?

          Reply
  6. Darren says

    June 16, 2020 at 7:35 pm

    Hi Sara
    Well big thank you after 18 weeks finally recieved today regarding Complaint to Amigo had 4 loans they have upheld only 1 of £5000 I made payments of £197 from May 2012 to May 2017 they did not give me a figure an also 8% to be added I will send 3 others to FOS they said i will receive 5 working days after 30th June not sure what figure will roughly be any idea Sara an once again thanks for this great site an information

    Reply
  7. Karen says

    June 16, 2020 at 7:56 pm

    Thank you so much Sara for helping us all!! My husband this evening got an email to say his complaint is being upheld he put his claim in 13 weeks ago. I had put my complaint in before him but this has gave me hope that fingers crossed i should hear from them by 26th June x

    Reply
  8. Car says

    June 16, 2020 at 8:03 pm

    Same thing I want to know so many up held complaints but only one person said they have received after 4 days so CAN popele comment when they have recived there money and how long it took them.
    AS it’s all good a well but if there not getting there money we all need to know

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      June 16, 2020 at 10:05 pm

      Why would they not pay out ? I’m only on day 2 of waiting on redress but the lady I spoke to said up to 15 days 😊

      Reply
    • Skids says

      June 16, 2020 at 10:13 pm

      I’m on day 11 after accepting. Rang today, basically fobbed me off and said “it will be sorted soon”. (Whatever that means)

      Reply
      • Lisa says

        June 16, 2020 at 10:23 pm

        Omg a have seen people have had theres 4-5 days I was hoping for the same ☹️ They didn’t even give me the correct number to ring and confirm when I rang the number on the outcome letter it was a painter and decorating firm 😳

        Reply
      • Emma says

        June 16, 2020 at 10:25 pm

        I accepted FOS offer 2 weeks ago tomorrow. They told me 10 working days so I took that as today. Received my “final response” from them today with no calculation. So rang them and was told it was only sent to the team to work out the calculation today- and they were also only counting this as day 8 despite him confirming they received an email from me 2 weeks ago tomorrow. I was told if I haven’t heard by end of play thursday, to call them to chase. Told him it was extremely frustrating to see other people being paid out faster and me getting conflicting info.

        Reply
      • car says

        June 17, 2020 at 3:05 pm

        skids did you get your money as yet

        Reply
    • Andrew says

      June 16, 2020 at 10:24 pm

      Hi,

      On day 14 tomorrow – waiting time be payed £6000. They Said it will take 14 days. My acc for now shows same balance. Let’s see what will happens tomorrow.

      Reply
      • car says

        June 16, 2020 at 10:45 pm

        this is the problem says 10 day on the letter. And even 5 people in complaints said the latest is the 10th day to actully see it in your account. But then people have been told 14 days and still waiting longer then 14days and some have recived after 4- 5 days.
        and regards to a telephone number i have seen a few comment aslo about this.
        mmmm makes you wonder

        Reply
      • car says

        June 17, 2020 at 2:47 pm

        hi andrew did you recive your refund as yet as your on day 14 that long keep us updated

        Reply
    • Emma says

      June 19, 2020 at 11:05 pm

      If it helps, I got my final response offering a refund on 8th June, accepted on 11th June and had my refund put into my account today (19th) so 8 days since acceptance. I was told 10 working days originally so it is quicker than expected but I know others have been waiting longer so seems random. My refund was about £5500.

      Reply
  9. Ted says

    June 16, 2020 at 9:26 pm

    Hello all. I received a email today from my case handler saying amigo are upholding the fos decision they are repaying all the Interest from my loan +8%. Just wondering what happens next the loan was over 6 years ago. Any ideas when they will be paying be back?

    Reply
  10. Chris says

    June 16, 2020 at 9:33 pm

    Got 19000 back this morning ,thanks Sara for all your doing to help us out ,would never came across this if I never seen the Wonga stuff ,here’s my timeframe for people ,submitted 28th January to amigo ,sent to fos at week 8,got picked up 3 weeks ago ,amigo upheld last Wednesday,got offer Friday and was in the bank this morning,good luck everyone and thanks again Sara

    Reply
    • Jo says

      June 17, 2020 at 3:38 pm

      That was quick I accepted yesterday so fingers crossed I’m not like others who are still waiting 2 wks on! I’m with nationwide. Not sure if it’s anything to do with the banks or amigos random pot luck work schedules 🤷🏼‍♀️🤣 I flirted with the man on the phone to see if that would help 🤣🤣

      Reply
      • Sara (Debt Camel) says

        June 17, 2020 at 3:52 pm

        I am sure it has NOTHING to do with who you bank with.

        Reply
    • Gemma says

      June 19, 2020 at 8:11 am

      Hi Chris my case been ongoing from end Jan,said waiting to retrieve account back from Interum but was told prior already was as I still have 4k outstanding.I am due redress due to numerous charges and insane interest.This has been very drawn out for sure.Glad when it’s all over.

      Gx

      Reply
  11. A.n says

    June 16, 2020 at 9:48 pm

    Quick query for all those with payouts

    I guess a lot of people (like me) are asking Amigo for updates regularly.

    However, do you know roughly how long it took from when Anigo actively started looking at your complaint, until the outcome?

    For example I know mine has been looked at for 3 weeks ago so curious as to how long it could go on for….?

    Many thanks

    Reply
    • Chris says

      June 16, 2020 at 10:18 pm

      I don’t think they even looked at mine until the fos took my case on tbh

      Reply
    • Jo says

      June 16, 2020 at 10:40 pm

      15 wks for mine! Some people have had complete silence! I personally got a msg at 7 wks to say they needed longer then a msg at 10 wks to say that again and would be in touch within 4 then got the email today! I’ve said above! Mine appears to be pretty simple! I apparently didn’t mention my debts on record, they didn’t look at the time (all 3 times apparently) and I get all back because of that

      Reply
  12. Ali says

    June 16, 2020 at 10:54 pm

    Hi Sara, couldnt find my original post to re-comment under sorry if this message seems random

    I am on week 5 with Amigo at the moment, they have sent me this (seems generic) :

    Further to our letter acknowledging your complaint, I’m writing to confirm that we are still investigating the complaint you have raised. This is due to your complaint requiring a more detailed investigation or because we haven’t been able to pick it up as quickly as we had hoped. However, your complaint is important to us and I’d like to assure you that we will be responding to your concerns as soon as possible.

    Thank you for your patience. We’ll send your final response, or an update on when you can expect to receive this, within 8 weeks of the date we received your complaint.

    In the meantime if you need to contact us or have any further concerns please do not hesitate to email us at complaints@amigoloans.co.uk and we would be happy to help.

    My complaint had my extreme gambling problems stated and I did attach many bank statements, do you think its best to just wait or shall i push and send an email explaining myself in further detail?

    Thanks so much!

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 17, 2020 at 6:22 am

      It’s a generic message. No one has looked at your complaint. If you have sent bank statements then they probably have all the details they need, so send more jnfo, but you can send more explanations if you want.

      Reply
  13. Rachel says

    June 17, 2020 at 3:08 am

    Hi I was coerced into getting a loan for my ex partner after months of refusing. I am a single parent on low income. He was the guarantor. I was given a £4000 loan over 60 months £158 per month in Dec 2017. I had £500 out of the loan he kept the rest. He did pay to Amiago £1984 in may 2018 and then I refused to get a top up he dumped me and disappeared 2 months before our wedding. I complained via the template and have recieved an email upholding my complaint. They are going to remove him as guarntor but also refund him the £1984 plus interest if he gets in touch by Tomorrow which he probably will. This seems unfair as they say I did not sound coerced. Is there anything I can do ?

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 17, 2020 at 8:28 am

      I want to double-check – you were the borrower and he was the guarantor?

      they say I did not sound coerced
      was this when they spoke to you before giving the loan?

      Reply
    • Rachel says

      June 17, 2020 at 12:53 pm

      Hi
      Yes I was the borrower .
      Yes they are saying in the call before the loan was agreed he was sat next to me pushing me on. I even passed the phone to him during the call and they talked to him.

      Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 17, 2020 at 2:53 pm

      ok then i suggest you get back to Amigo saying you were coerced, they could tell that from your phone call and you think it is treating you very unfaril;y if they refund him the money and leave you owing more. Tell Amigo you will be taking the case to the Ombudsman if they do this.

      Have you made any payments to the loan? What have you asked Amigo to do to resolve your complaint – wipe the loan?

      Reply
      • Rachel says

        June 17, 2020 at 3:26 pm

        Hi
        I tried again today and they are saying it is a civil matter and they do not feel I sounded coerced and adbised the ombudsman.So with the interest and payments i have paid it totals £4010 i have just added it up. so the loan will be paid off ? Will I recieve any interest like he apparantly is at 8% Amiago told me ? I couldnt afford to take him to a smalls claim court will the ombudsman help with this ?

        Reply
        • Sara (Debt Camel) says

          June 17, 2020 at 3:37 pm

          “i have paid it totals £4010 i have just added it up. so the loan will be paid off ?”
          based on those figures, yes.

          “Will I recieve any interest like he apparantly is at 8% Amiago told me ?”
          no, as you have only just paid off what you borrowed.

          ” I couldnt afford to take him to a smalls claim court will the ombudsman help with this ?”
          No. But it is possible the Ombudsman will reach a different decision if they listen to the call and decide it was obvious you were being coerced, In that case the Ombudsman could say amigo have to refund your 4000…
          I’m sorry but I can’t be sure what will happen here. I haven’t seen one of these cases. but as a general rule of thumb, if you think you have been very unfairly treated you can ask the ombudsman to look at the case.

          Reply
          • Rachel says

            June 17, 2020 at 3:59 pm

            Thankyou for your help it is much appreciated.

  14. Gemma says

    June 17, 2020 at 8:41 am

    Hi Sarah,

    I have an affordability case with the FOS at the minute for match the cash. i took this loan out around the time as Amigo loans who agreed with my complaint and refunded me last year.

    The adjudicator completely agreed with my claim and agreed all 3 loans shouldn’t have been given.

    However since that response was sent to the company they have come back and not agreed and my adjudicator has sent me the following reply –
    Thank you for your email and apologies for the delay in getting back to you.

    The business has disagreed with my assessment. They’ve raised some issues which we are currently reviewing before it is passed to an ombudsman for a final decision.

    I hope to have an update for you soon on how best to progress your complaint.

    I’ll be in touch once I do.

    Kind regards

    Does this usually mean that the claim will not now be accepted? i have no idea what additional information could have come up since last time as my credit file clearly shown defaults and got worse as they issued more loans to me.

    is this a Normal response from a business?

    Many thanks for all your helpful replies and updates.

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 17, 2020 at 9:42 am

      The adjudicator has to read and consider what the lender has said – this is a fair decision-making process. You may be confident there is nothing new they can add, in which case the adjudicator is probably hoping to replay that after considering the businesses arguments, they have not changed their mind and their proposed decision stands. At that point the lender has to decide whether to accept it or ask for a second “Ombudsman-level” decision

      If the adjudicator does change their mind, you can go back and argue why this is wrong.

      Reply
  15. Chanel says

    June 17, 2020 at 8:55 am

    Hi, I had a guarantor loan for £5000 back in August 2018 with Bamboo I put in an affordability complaint and they denied it. I let them know that I was going to go to the FSO and they said they will escalate my complaint and be in contact yesterday they asked me to contact them (bamboo) they have said they will wipe 2/3 of my interest, remove my guarantor and offer lower monthly repayments. Do you think I should accept this or do you think I should go further to the FOS or try and barter with bamboo to see if they will take anymore of the interest off. The interest was around £6800 so there going to removed around £4400 Ish. I have a week to make my decision! Xx

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 17, 2020 at 9:54 am

      ah difficult!

      My guess is that you have got a strong case or they wouldn’t be offering you anything.

      How much will you still owe under what they are proposing?

      Reply
      • Chanel says

        June 17, 2020 at 10:54 am

        So the loan was for £5000, interest was around £6800.. I made 19 payments off around 199 so I’ve paid around £3780 i currently owe around £8200 and if I take there offer it will decrease to around £ 3750
        (These are roughish figures)

        That being said the man I spoke to from bamboo said it was a difficult case due to me saying I was using the loan for debt consolidation but I explained I used the money for clearing creditors and family I owed amounts to not just things in my credit report he did say that he can now see I was falling behind with other creditors prior to the loan.

        I was unsure wether to escalate to the FOS or ask if they could offer a better offer directly to bamboo?

        Thanks
        Chanel

        Reply
        • Sara (Debt Camel) says

          June 17, 2020 at 11:04 am

          what are the rest of your finances like at the moment?

          Reply
          • Chanel says

            June 17, 2020 at 12:58 pm

            I’ve set up payment plans on a lot of things, I still owe a few creditors range by from £50 being the lowest to £1500 the highest excluding my guarantor loan I probably owe around £3000

        • Sara (Debt Camel) says

          June 17, 2020 at 6:47 pm

          OK, so it sounds as though with a lower balance and lower payments, you would be able to manage. I was asking because if you think you may just go bankrupt, then there is no point in arguing about the details , you have got your guarantor released and that would be the most important thing.

          Yes you could go back and try to negotiate a bit more. This is a very annoying decision to have to take.

          In the end if you think its a big improvement and not that bad, there is nothing wrong with taking it. But if you think this loan has caused you so much trouble you want every penny back you can, then you may need to go to FOS.

          Reply
  16. L says

    June 17, 2020 at 10:25 am

    I put my complaint in 18 weeks ago, nearly coming up to 19. I’ve asked for updates and been ignored. I even called the other day and was told no one has looked at mine yet however they’ve been given a deadline of the 26th. What if they don’t meet this deadline? I’m just on edge a lot like I’m being forgotten as I’m seeing a lot of people getting refunds and they’ve put theirs in way after mine.

    Reply
    • rebecca says

      June 17, 2020 at 10:48 am

      Hi I’m I’m the same no one responding to my emails being completely ignored. It’s very difficult to keep level head…..at least theres only 9 days until 26th June. Fingers crossed that we have a decision by then

      Reply
      • L says

        June 17, 2020 at 11:11 am

        I hope so!

        Reply
    • rebecca says

      June 17, 2020 at 12:44 pm

      Hi what number did you call the one I’m using is not giving me an option to speak to anyone🙄

      Reply
    • Jason says

      June 17, 2020 at 1:56 pm

      I am in the same position too! Just trying to keep cool.. I find it strange i had 3 top ups in 3 months at one stage out of 7 loans altogeather and was never able to pay a direct debit in 6 years, I had to pay by card or my garuntor paid, my credit file never changed with my score always being poor and all my other debts had the same balance…seems like a simple answer to me. Why did they keep on lending?

      Reply
      • rebecca says

        June 19, 2020 at 11:43 am

        I had a reply from the complaints department today for an email I sent 9 days ago I was asked for more details so they could locate my account but at least it’s a form of communication. I’m sure the response wont be anything to write home about but I’ll keep you posted. Any news at all is good as it does settle you a little to know your complaint is actually being dealt with…I’ll update if I hear anything back

        Reply
  17. K says

    June 17, 2020 at 11:28 am

    On week 17 with Amigo heard not a jot! Sent to FOS on week 10 and just received an email from them telling me they have contacted amigo and I should hear from Amigo within 8 weeks and FOS won’t do anything unless they hear back from me. Not sure if things are moving now or not :-(

    Reply
  18. A.n says

    June 17, 2020 at 12:33 pm

    I spoke to Amigo complaints today and they confirmed the deadline of 26th June for clearing the “backlog”

    The backlog refers to complaints raised up until end of March.

    Hope that helps. (Again, just what I was informed).

    Reply
    • Andy says

      June 17, 2020 at 4:21 pm

      When you say you spoke with them was that via email or phone as I’m getting no luck when I ring ..do you have a number

      Reply
      • Becqui Lewis says

        June 17, 2020 at 4:35 pm

        I too have just spoken to them via phone I just rang the normal phone number from google and I’ve been told the same that all loans put in before may are being sorted by the end of this month

        Reply
  19. NAG says

    June 17, 2020 at 1:01 pm

    Hi all,

    To give others more info about how long things take – I submitted a complaint about my two loans to Amigo on 20 Feb –

    Dec 2011 – £3000 for 24 Months at £185.45 p/m
    Top Up in Jan 2013 to £5000 for 60 Months at £197.67 p/m

    Both were paid off on time (Last one 2018) and my guarantor made some payments towards each (4 lots of £197.67 for loan 2 and possibly 5 payments towards loan 1 but I’m not sure).
    Complaint upheld on 9th June and my guarantor was offered the payments that he made back – he said that it was effectively £2500 (no idea how they have worked that out). I have figured out that based on what they are returning to my guarantor, I should get about £5,618 before adding the 8% interest – I’m not sure how to work that out given the time elapsed since paying them off. Any help in working out the numbers would be appreciated.
    Guarantor accepted straight away but no breakdown sent to me and no other communication from them since. They have given me varying times to wait – from 5 days to 10 days to ‘a few weeks’. Some have said I need to wait until the 26th June and others have said that it should be quicker. I have called to give my bank details although they didn’t ask me to do that and I keep hassling them with emails but they have now stopped responding to me. Seems to be very random how they are going through things.
    Good luck to all, whatever stage you are at but don’t give up! All the best!

    Reply
  20. Matt says

    June 17, 2020 at 1:18 pm

    So I had my initial complaint with amigo rejected sent off to the FCA and did not get a response I then chased this up and a day later got a response say my claim for mis sold had been accepted and they would refund my interest etc.
    On accepting this was told it would be 5 days for my refund, 5 days pass no money told it would be settled in 10 due to back log vivid etc day 10 still no payment told now it will be by the end of the week and just seems it could go on for an unknown amount of time
    Joke of a company and no way to complain about it as no doubt company will no longer exists in a months time

    Reply
  21. Kimberley says

    June 17, 2020 at 1:58 pm

    I’m the same 19 weeks today have asked if it’s even been looked at and was just told that some complaints are more complex blah blah blah again. I only had 1 top up and still paying £355.72 a month although on a payment break at the moment. I’m worried as I’m likely to be furloughed until September that I won’t be able to restart payments and also struggle with mental health so this isn’t helping me at all

    Reply
    • Jo says

      June 17, 2020 at 3:17 pm

      Mine has been sorted at 15 wks, 2 top ups! My reasons for complete refund was because I had defaults on my record at times of loans and obvs money issues and they hadn’t checked! If you are similar fingers crossed it’s not much longer!! I have similar health issues and did email
      Them last wk to say I was suffering to which they replied and gave me redress 2 days later so even if it’s a coincidence and mine was on its way anyways it’s not going to hurt if you lay it on the line!
      Hope that helps and you feel better soon xx

      Reply
  22. Jordan Williams says

    June 17, 2020 at 3:10 pm

    Just had an email today after waiting 19 weeks

    REFUND

    £10,011.36

    Pay off my loan of £4,565.48

    So cash refund of £5,446.38

    Thanks for your help Sara

    Reply
  23. Amanda says

    June 17, 2020 at 3:16 pm

    Just want to say thank you to you Sara and this site! I am 16 weeks from the start of my complaint against Amigos, it went to FOS at 8 weeks. FOS have not assigned my case yet due to their backlog however last night I received an email from Amigos stating they are upholding 2 of the 3 loans I’ve had with them and have done the following;
    1-they’ve released my G
    2-they’ve calculated £16,000 interest paid on two loans and offered to refund that.
    3.the outstanding loan balance will be cleared and a refund of £7,246.73 is now due to me.

    I’ve rang Amigos today and accepted their offer and informed the FOS of my decision as I’m wanting this hell they’ve had me in since 2014 over and now it is!!!

    They’ve said today after I accepted payment could take 10-12 days.

    A huge thank you to you Sara, to everyone else and for others sharing their experience as without this site I would NEVER be free!

    Good luck everyone and I will update how long it takes to actually have the money in my account.

    DONT GIVE UP!

    Reply
    • Jo says

      June 17, 2020 at 3:33 pm

      I got redress yesterday at wk 15, I hadn’t heard from fos as of yet but do I need to cancel them now or will amigo do it? Did you ring or email? I was wondering this yesterday
      Thanks

      Reply
  24. Fellowman says

    June 17, 2020 at 3:35 pm

    35 weeks since starting my complaint with Amigo. It has been at the FOS since Dec 19. Only now has it started being dealt with. Shocking being ignored this long. Now I have to wait even more time to get an outcome.

    Reply
  25. James says

    June 17, 2020 at 3:40 pm

    Due to the amount of misselling, is anyone concerned if there claim is upheld that amigo might go into administration beforehand?

    They seem to be in a lot of trouble.

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 17, 2020 at 3:51 pm

      They had about £115million in the bank on 25 May. I doubt they are in imminent danger of running out of money.
      There is an FCA investigation into their lending underway. I don’t know how long that will take.

      Reply
      • James says

        June 17, 2020 at 3:55 pm

        I am guessing it will cost them half that to clear everyone and they will tighten their lending criteria, hopefully this is the end of lenders being so relaxed.

        I have certainly notice, these companies are being regulated a lot more stricter now.

        Reply
    • Car says

      June 17, 2020 at 4:00 pm

      Yes James that why I am on there case to many people are waiting and I’m worried they going to go bust before paying out as some people are waiting over 14 days so I’m worried of this happening like others

      Reply
    • Stevan says

      June 17, 2020 at 4:05 pm

      There a high volume of redress claims being accepted yet hardly any comments regarding the money landing in peoples accounts. Thats what got me worried.

      Reply
  26. A.n says

    June 17, 2020 at 3:41 pm

    Guys
    Need some help!

    I had a redress offer and also my guarantor to be refunded.

    Is it the best thing to do for guarantor to accept their refund and then tours be calculated?

    Or is it best for guarantor not to and then I just pay them back out of my redress?

    Or does neither make any odds?

    Urgent help.would be super appreciated

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 17, 2020 at 3:54 pm

      I think in general between the two of you you will be better off if they accept the refund and then help you out if needed, rather than the other way around. Because they get 8% extra interest on everything they paid, but you will get very little.

      Reply
      • A.n says

        June 17, 2020 at 4:04 pm

        Perfect thanks Sara.

        I want to take this opportunity to say how grateful I am. They upheld all of my loans so it is just a case of waiting for their calculation now and this is all over.

        All the best

        Thanks again.

        Reply
  27. Bonnie Knox says

    June 17, 2020 at 4:20 pm

    Hi i woke up to an email from amigo they had rejected my complaint. Totally disregarded everything and said everything was affordable ect. I totally disagreed with all of it i already have sebt it to the ombudsman. Really nervous now has anyone had the ombudsman uphold your complaint after amigo disagreeing with everything? They said all checks were fine and even if i had told them about gambling it still might not have effected their decision? Feel like ive just got ahead of my self. Intrum who bought the loan have now added themselves to my credit account just when my loans been rejected :(

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 17, 2020 at 4:26 pm

      has anyone had the ombudsman uphold your complaint after amigo disagreeing with everything?
      Yes!
      Tell FOS that Amigo have just rejected your complaint.

      Reply
      • Bonnie Knox says

        June 17, 2020 at 5:09 pm

        Okaydokie thankyou ive already sent everything to ombudsman about 3 weeks ago but had no email to say they recieved the info or anything like that I will message them again to let them no thanks sara

        Reply
    • James says

      June 17, 2020 at 4:57 pm

      Sorry to hear that, this is my worry as mines is based on gambling plus i said i was using it to consolidate debts, so they might say if you consolidated the debts rather than gambling you could have afforded it but when we are in this situation we will say anything to get the money.

      I hope the Ombusman gets to the bottom of it and you get what you deserve.

      Reply
      • Bonnie Knox says

        June 17, 2020 at 5:12 pm

        Thankyou james . I hope yours goes well too. Its nerve wracking so it is. They dont even give you a proper apolige either . Fingers crossed for us. They will try and get out of everything. I replied to them today saying half of what they said isnt true .. got ignored .

        Reply
        • Nikki says

          June 17, 2020 at 10:57 pm

          Hi bonnie
          I’m the same too with gambling! I think it depends on the amounts of gambling transactions on your account at the time! I had £4000 worth of gambling at the time of applying for my loan!

          Reply
        • ken says

          June 18, 2020 at 6:51 am

          That’s really odd:( mine was upheld because of gambling issues. Hope you get something sorted!

          Reply
  28. L says

    June 17, 2020 at 5:03 pm

    How quick is it to receive the redress letter? I’ve just had an email upholding my complaint but I don’t know the redress figures yet :D

    Reply
  29. George says

    June 17, 2020 at 5:08 pm

    I cannot thank this site enough specially Sara for all your help.
    I’ve just heard back from Amigo with regards to my complaint and all 3 loans have been upheld.
    After my outstanding loan of £3177 has been cleared I will receive £16,096 within the next 10-15 days
    For the first time in my life I will be completely debt free, I could actually cry with joy right now
    I was on week 11 and haven’t really chased them for an update until this week

    Reply
  30. John says

    June 17, 2020 at 5:35 pm

    Well last year this fabulous site helped me get rid of Amigo saving me over £400.00 per month with a £3k refund.
    Today after sending to FOS I have been told George Banco are going to get in touch with me as they have reviewed my complaint and I’m owed a refund but couldn’t say how much. Should this bode well I will be in total with both complaint over £600.00 per month better off and debt free. Amazing people here especially Sara here’s to a more enjoyable life and a massive learning curve.

    Reply
  31. Claire says

    June 17, 2020 at 5:58 pm

    I’m so happy for you guys getting refunds. I’ve had my complaint in for over a year now! It’s on the waiting list for the financial ombusman.
    Amigos have been telling me for weeks itll be done by the 26th but now apparently I have to wait for ombusman. Worse financial dissision of my life!
    I’m on the verge of falling out with my guarantor cos she keep getting threating emails yet they’ve told me my payments are on hold until this is sorted!
    It’s been over a year
    I want to put in a complaint about my complaint but just feel itll hold thing up even more! Sick of it now!

    Reply
  32. Skids says

    June 17, 2020 at 6:04 pm

    Hey I’m on day 12 after accepting my redress offer and still my account shows a balance owing neither have I received the redress into my bank, I have just phoned them for an update and was told they are now doing batch payments and mine is due Friday. So for anyone waiting and wanting to know when they will receive their money I’d say they now have a pretty good idea

    Reply
    • Rebecca says

      June 17, 2020 at 7:03 pm

      I’ll call tomorrow thank you. Day 8 tomorrow.

      Reply
    • Shaun says

      June 17, 2020 at 7:04 pm

      Lets hope they dont turn round and go into administration or we wont receive Nothing, theres alot of cases being refunded, im currently on day 8 and my balance still shows

      Reply
    • Car says

      June 17, 2020 at 7:17 pm

      Yeh I spoke to them today not telling me none of that stuff of batch payments just saying it be soon and take 2 hours to pay to account hopefully I’m part of the batch and I hope you do get it Friday aswell u waited long enough.
      Keep us updated on friday of you get it so we know as there many people now worrying as it been over 10 days they should not be telling max 10 days for a payout if they not doing it simple

      Reply
  33. Mark says

    June 17, 2020 at 6:14 pm

    Finally got final response from Amigo after 11 weeks mark. They uphold my complaint and I’m due to refund 15k (10k current balance which is gonna be settled and 5k cash refund). Called them and accepted offer. No longer need to pay them! They said that money will be in my bank account within 10 working days. I’m so happy. Don’t give up guys!

    Reply
  34. Declan says

    June 17, 2020 at 6:37 pm

    Hi Sara, just had an email from amigo loans yesterday saying my complaint has been up held, after a 19 week wait, the fella said money would be payed out in up to 10 working days. I just want to thank you for this page for your help. I’m due 7500 refund and the 2300 balance has been cleared also. Your doing a great job
    Thanks again

    Declan

    Reply
  35. Lk says

    June 17, 2020 at 7:34 pm

    I’ve received an email upholding all my loans. Does anyone know how long it takes to receive the redress figures?

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Abbie P says

      June 17, 2020 at 9:23 pm

      I still haven’t received my redress figures and my
      Complaint was upheld 2 weeks ago tomorrow.
      I was told 10 working days from when they received acceptance so my 10 working days will be up on Friday.

      Reply
    • Georg says

      June 17, 2020 at 9:23 pm

      The figures should be at the bottom of your letter, then you ring them to accept it and it takes 10-15 days for you to get the money

      Reply
    • Jo says

      June 17, 2020 at 9:27 pm

      Mine was at bottom of email? Did you complain directly?

      Reply
      • Abbie P says

        June 17, 2020 at 10:25 pm

        Mine has been relooked at it was with FOS. So My email says:
        Amigo is in the process of calculating your redress and we will write to you again shortly to confirm the details. This letter is sent to you for your own records.

        Reply
  36. Kayleigh says

    June 17, 2020 at 8:00 pm

    Hiya,

    Wondering if you could help with seeing if my loan balance would be wiped and if I’m entitled to a refund?
    Amigo have overturned their first decision and decided to uphold my complaint and I’m confused with how to work out the redress and such?
    Loan 1 Sept 2016 – £2000 – 1 payment x 97.58
    Loan 2 Nov 2016 – £6500 topup (amount paid out £4556.60) – 8 payments x £256.91
    Loan 3 July 2017 – £8250 topup (paid out £2020.52) – 27 payments x £326.91

    My current balance stands at £6948

    I’m really hoping that my account balance is cleared 🤞🤞

    Thank you in advance

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 18, 2020 at 12:17 pm

      On those numbers (and you may have typed them in wrong or I may have, so this is a guess!) you have paid the following interest:
      loan 1 £41
      loan 2 £1778
      loan 3 £552
      so if they are all decided to be unaffordable, you would get the balance wiped and a refund of £2371.

      Reply
      • Kayleigh says

        June 18, 2020 at 9:03 pm

        Thank you for that breakdown!

        I believe they have upheld all 3 loans, but I have other people calculating that. The interest that I have paid so the £2371 will just be knocked of my current balance of £6948 so I will still be left with a fairly large amount to pay!?
        This doesnt sound right or fair to me as that would mean that I will still end up paying back more than double the amount I actually recieved from them?
        But the email states that they will remove all the interest charges under the loan agreement?

        Sorry if I’m being confusing as I haven’t actually got a clue how any of this works and I’m very stressed with it all.
        Thank you xx

        Reply
        • Sara (Debt Camel) says

          June 19, 2020 at 9:31 am

          “The interest that I have paid so the £2371 will just be knocked of my current balance of £6948 so I will still be left with a fairly large amount to pay!?”
          NO! I am saying the balance will be wiped AND you will get a refund of £2371.

          Reply
  37. Dan says

    June 17, 2020 at 8:22 pm

    Just to save people a lot of time. You can ring Amigo and you might even be lucky enough to speak to a complaints handler but they will only ever give you generic answers. You will never actually speak to a decision maker as there are too many people in the chain and it seems only a small transactions team. Amigo will want to keep their redress war chest for as long as possible even if for the interest alone so I doubt they will pay within the 10 days. This is not a negative post as I have been in same situation and recently had my claim upheld but it was not through speaking to anyone who could help. It was waiting since January and ultimately the FCA putting a date on backlog. Today’s verdict means the board stays and major shareholder will off load his shares so they won’t be going into admin. I know it’s not easy and I’m sure everyone could do with their redress money but there is no point ringing in as you will only stress yourself out further as they can’t even fast track any payment regardless of why you might need the money. However if it goes past 10 days then of course you should ring and try get answers but until that has passed you’ll just be told 10 working days and they’re sorry and understand but can’t do anything. That’s the line the company have taken. I just want to save people the stress of trying to get answers as you won’t from Amigo but you will from this thread. Good luck to all and may payments land in a timely manner.

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 17, 2020 at 9:03 pm

      Amigo will want to keep their redress war chest for as long as possible even if for the interest alone
      It is extremely unlikely that is what is happening. The amount of extra interest they get from a delay of a few extra days is tiny and the admin cost of try to do that would be large. Amigo are trying to manage a process of paying out a lot of refunds, certainly hundreds, possibly several thousand. A certain amount of confusion and some people being paid before other is, I am afraid, inevitable.

      Reply
    • Ask says

      June 17, 2020 at 10:12 pm

      Why would you think he will offload his shares? Pretty pointless since Amigo have the cash on hand to ride out this storm. The only reason today failed was due to the group undertaking not to vote.

      Reply
      • Sara (Debt Camel) says

        June 18, 2020 at 7:18 am

        Why would you think he will offload his shares? would you think he will offload his shares?
        That is what he said he would do, sell 1% of the company a day for 60 days. Will he? No idea.
        Not sure the share price makes any difference to the running of the company anyway (although I suppose in theory there could be something in their Bond T&Cs or banking covenants) so this may not matter to anyone except the other shareholders.

        Reply
  38. Martin says

    June 17, 2020 at 8:26 pm

    Hi

    I put in An affordable Complaint and I received my answer today which was that amigo agree with my complaint and they can not be sure they did everything in their power to do all the necessary checks.

    I have had 5 loans over 5 years

    1000
    1000 top up
    1250 top up
    5000 top up
    5000 top up

    Current balance is 4876.00

    None were brand new loans

    They have said that via a phone call today that I will still have a balance after does this seem right

    Who could I seek advice from

    And should I wait for the official redress letter with the confirmation of funds owed or not owed.

    They have also took all liability from my guarantors also

    When counter offering exactly what can you ask for

    Thank you

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 17, 2020 at 8:57 pm

      Hi Martin,

      Amigo are making a lot of these offers in the last couple of weeks. See the comments below the guarantor loan page to see what other people are saying.

      If you know some details about your loans, I can look at whether their offer is right.

      What I need to know for each loan is :
      – what you borrowed (you have already given those numbers)
      – what you received in cash for the top up loans
      – how much you paid to the loan eg 8 lots of £131.

      When did you take the last top up?

      Reply
    • Martin says

      June 17, 2020 at 9:10 pm

      Hi thanks for replying I hope the information below helps a little further

      Number 1

      I recieved 1000 in to my bank

      I paid 10 payments of 103 pounds

      Number 2

      I received about 800 and paid 61 pounds for 20 payments

      Number 3

      I received about 800 again
      And paid 87 pounds for 4 months

      Number 4

      I received about 3700 and made 9 payments of 243 pounds

      Number 5

      I received 500 pounds and have made with Covid-19 in mind 7 payments of 197.00
      And 2 payments of 90 pounds

      This are not exact but close ish.

      Reply
      • Sara (Debt Camel) says

        June 17, 2020 at 9:48 pm

        on your rough figures, i make the interest you have paid:
        L1 230
        L2 670
        L3 398
        L4 1687
        last loan, you have only paid 1559 so far so would still ow 3441 befaor that is repaid.
        But if they are all being refunded, then the refunds from the first 4 will repay most of that leaving you owing a balance of £456

        Reply
  39. nath says

    June 17, 2020 at 9:42 pm

    Hi, just wondering if anyone can tell me what this actually means, i have had a response from amigo today,

    ‘ The removal of all interest charges under the loan agreement’

    &

    ‘A refund of any payments you may have made in excess of the capital amount of the loan agreement, along with 8% simple interest

    cheers

    Nath

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 17, 2020 at 9:51 pm

      if you just had one loan , how much did you borrow? how much have you repaid eg 36 lots of £147, and if the loan was settled, how long ago was that?

      Reply
      • Nath says

        June 17, 2020 at 11:00 pm

        The loan isn’t settled.

        I got the loan Jan 2018. Had 3 tops up.

        I borrowed £9000

        I have made payments of £6045.07

        And the interest total is £7052.85

        Not sure if that will help or not but appreciate the reply

        Reply
      • Sara (Debt Camel) says

        June 18, 2020 at 12:06 pm

        ok so you actually had 4 loans, not 1.
        if you haven’t paid more than you borrowed, you won’t get a refund and will be left owing a balance. Also there won’t be any 8% interest added on.

        If you would like a guess at the number, could you give the details for each of the loans/top-ups:
        – what you borrowed, what you received in cash, how much you have paid to that loan.

        Reply
        • nath says

          June 18, 2020 at 12:55 pm

          Hi Sara,
          loans were as follows
          07 Mar 2018 £4,000.00
          Payments 3x £247.26
          Total Interest added on agreement £ £525.93
          Payout £ 1,965.85
          03 Jul 2018 £5,750.00
          Payments 3x £280.54
          Total interest added on agreement £589.02
          Payout £1,502.60
          04 Oct 2018 £7,000.00
          Payments 3x £299.43
          Total interest added on agreement £ 714.81
          Payout £2,183.48
          04 Jan 2019 £9,000.00
          Payments:
          14x £60.43
          5x £355.72
          £180.60
          £175.72
          £65
          £150
          £140.72
          £120.86
          £70
          £50.86
          Total interest £5223.09

          i hope that is what you need

          please let me know thank you

          Reply
          • Sara (Debt Camel) says

            June 18, 2020 at 2:18 pm

            So that is a bit confusing but
            Total Interest added on agreement £ £525.93
            Total interest added on agreement £589.02
            Total interest added on agreement £ 714.81
            look right for the interest you have paid to the first three loans

            I assume all the numbers at the end are the payments you have made to the last loan? I make them add up to roughly £3748.

            If that is right and all the loans are to be refunded, then you would still have a balance of
            9000 (what you borrowed)
            less 3748 (what you have paid)
            less 1828 (refund on first 3 loans)
            so £3424 still to pay. You would then be able to make an affordable payment arrangement for that and your guarantor would be released.

            What is the rest of your financial situation like?

          • nath says

            June 18, 2020 at 2:55 pm

            sorry if that was a load of jiberish lol
            so yes the interest on the first 3 loans is what you have and the total of the interest for the 4th loan to date is £5223.09

            i have added up all the payments that i have made on the overall of the 4 loans which totals
            £6045.07

            i have then added all of the interest added onto the 4 loans which totals
            £7052.85

            the 4th loan was £9000

            my financial situation has been getting worse ever since i got this amigo loan which i have explained to them

  40. Dlmb2017 says

    June 17, 2020 at 10:31 pm

    https://www.lse.co.uk/ShareChat.asp?ShareTicker=AMGO&share=Amigo&page=2

    Some interesting posts here. A long one blames Debt Camel and the FOS for ruining Amigo. These are investors mind you so are probably miffed at the collapse in share price.

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 18, 2020 at 8:37 am

      Some wild stuff there, from upset investors and people who work for other subprime lenders. I suggest they should all spend some reading and thinking about the two lead FOS decisions on guarantor loans, which set out in great detail the legal and regulatory environment and why those complaints were upheld

      Reply
  41. Liam says

    June 17, 2020 at 10:57 pm

    Hi Sarah,

    Really sorry to do this as I know you get loads of requests but if you get time could you please work this out for me if you don’t mind.

    Loan 1 – £750 – 2 x £77 In payments £154
    Top up received £977 – 2 x £85 in payments £170
    Top up received £1361 – 6 x £128 in payments £768
    Top up received £2060 – 5 x 213 in payments £1065
    Top up received £1725 – 3 x £256 in payments £768
    Top up received £1102 – 14 x £296 in payments £4144
    Top up received £1952 – 15 x £335 in payments £5025
    Top up received 1265 – 11 x £355 in payments
    £3905

    My balance remaining is £8672

    These may be slightly out as I’ve tried to work them out from my own statements as I still haven’t had access to my DSAR from amigo even being in week 13 of my complaint. The complaint has been sent to FOS though.

    Thanks in advance.

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 18, 2020 at 12:13 pm

      you have given the amount of cash you received for each top up, which is helpful, but can you also say how large all the top up loans were?

      Reply
      • Liam says

        June 18, 2020 at 1:00 pm

        Apologies, have added below.

        Loan 1 – £750 – 2 x £77 In payments £154
        Loan 2 -£1750 – Top up received £977 – 2 x £85 in payments £170
        Loan 3 – £3000 – Top up received £1361 – 6 x £128 in payments £768
        Loan 4 – £5000 – Top up received £2060 – 5 x 213 in payments £1065
        Loan 5 – £6500 -Top up received £1725 – 3 x £256 in payments £768
        Loan 6 – £7500 – Top up received £1102 – 14 x £296 in payments £4144
        Loan 7 – £8500 – Top up received £1952 – 15 x £335 in payments £5025
        Loan 8 – Top up received £1265 – 11 x £355 in payments
        £3905

        Remaining balance of £8672

        Thank you.

        Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 18, 2020 at 1:52 pm

      Guessing that the last loan was 900 (from the size of the monthly payment) – is this right???
      ————————————————————————
      If it is, from those numbers I make the interest you have paid as follows:
      loan 1 177
      loan 2 59
      loan 3 708
      loan 4 840
      loan 5 666
      loan 6 3192
      loan 7 4260
      current loan still need to pay £5095 before you have repaid what you borrowed

      If all the loans are refunded so the interest is used to clear the balance of the last loan, you would get c £4800 refund. Plus a small amount of 8% interest,

      Reply
      • Liam says

        June 18, 2020 at 3:10 pm

        Yes it was £9000

        Thank you ever so much for working that out for me.

        Reply
  42. Nikki says

    June 17, 2020 at 11:28 pm

    Has anyone had their complaint upheld due to high level of gambling transactions!?

    Reply
    • Ken says

      June 18, 2020 at 6:44 am

      Yes, I have. I put in my complaint at the end of March and got it upheld yesterday

      Reply
      • Anon says

        June 18, 2020 at 10:42 am

        Hi ken,
        Did you send bank statements?
        I have a complaint in due to defaults/debt arrangements/gambling but not heard anything yet.
        I did pay the loan on time as didn’t want my guarantor being done over but I ended up borrowing more from other sources because of that

        Reply
        • ken says

          June 18, 2020 at 11:11 am

          I did, yes. Without them they will likely not take your complaint into consideration as they need proof that you were gambling at the time of your loans/top ups. I was asked to send in statements showing my gambling a month before and after my loans

          Reply
        • Jo says

          June 19, 2020 at 12:52 am

          Mine isn’t gambling and I always paid loan every month, never my guarantor and mine was upheld cause I was basically borrowing to pay off and In a mess when they gave me all 3 loans! Which I got to sort the mess and you know the rest! They didn’t look at my credit record so pay out was full amount and you sound similar!

          Reply
  43. ken says

    June 18, 2020 at 12:34 am

    Hello!

    Just had the confirmation my loan will be upheld. Woo!

    Could you please tell me how much I am likely to get back in redress?

    Loan 1- £1500, 2 payments of £154.59
    Loan 2 – £4000 (paid out £2707.66), 4 payments of 247.26
    £Loan 3- £4500 (paid out £1197), 8 payments of £278.17
    Loan 4- £5000 (paid out £1423), 15 payments of £213.88

    I currently have a balance outstanding on my loan of roughly £5100.

    Thanks for your help!

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 18, 2020 at 6:30 pm

      Assuming all 4 loans are being upheld, on those numbers I make it you have paid the following interest:
      loan 1 101
      loan 2 291
      loan 3 1301
      loan 4 still 1805 to pay until you have repaid the 5000 borrowed.

      So after loans 1-3 are used to clear some of the balance, there will be about £112 remaining for you to pay!

      Reply
      • Ken says

        June 18, 2020 at 10:29 pm

        Excellent, thank you! yes, all four were upheld.

        Just a couple more things – Does that include the 8% simple interest? I also changed my payment dates to later dates so I assume that would change my figures slightly since Amigo interest is calculated daily?

        Thanks again, you’re a gem!

        Reply
        • Sara (Debt Camel) says

          June 19, 2020 at 6:26 am

          There won’t be any 8% interest according to Amigo’s calculations as you havent yet repaid what you borrowed.

          Changing your payment date can increase the interest you pay a lot, but that would have been taken j to account as the calculation just looked at cash movements.

          Reply
  44. Claire H says

    June 18, 2020 at 7:44 am

    Omg my anxiety levels are through the roof right now, I put my complaint in with Amigo 28/01/20 about a loan I took out in 2016 so I was at the 20 week mark on Tuesday, I have not heard from Amigo since they sent me the details about my SAR and that was 11/05/20, I am starting to worry that with only 8 days until the deadline that my complaint has been lost or something, I am hating that there is no system to the way Amigo are dealing with their complaints backlog, I feel it is almost like one last dig at the people with complaints in. I was just wondering all the people who have had their complaints upheld when did you take out your loans if you dont mind me asking

    Reply
  45. L says

    June 18, 2020 at 7:59 am

    Hi I need some advice
    My guarantor has received the redress amount of £1,5064, however he is abroad with the army so it’s not possible for him to ring and accept. These payments I have paid him back anyway. A total of £10,000 was borrowed from amigo and I paid £8,000 in December. The email says if he does not accept then the amount will stay on my loan agreements but does this mean they will take £500ish off my redress plus his payments to make it £10,000 and refund me the rest? Or will they take it off my repayments? I hope that makes sense. Otherwise would they be keeping my guarantors payments?

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 18, 2020 at 8:20 am

      £1,5064 ? I assume this should be about £1,500?
      £500 ish? where does this figure come from?

      Reply
      • L says

        June 18, 2020 at 8:31 am

        Hi Sara
        Sorry for the confusion. In December I paid £8000 to settle the 10,000 loan. If my guarantor refuses the redress of £1558.77, would this mean they would take £442.23 out of my repayments to make £10,000, then would I get the other repayments refunded? I’m not sure how the guarantor side of things work as it says if my guarantors payments (which I’ve already paid back to them) are refund refused, it goes back onto my loan agreement?

        Reply
        • Sara (Debt Camel) says

          June 18, 2020 at 8:40 am

          “In December I paid £8000 to settle the 10,000 loan.”
          had you made other payments before that? If yes, what did that add up to?

          Reply
          • L says

            June 18, 2020 at 9:44 am

            Yes, £3505.87. My guarantor paid £1558.77, which I’ve already paid him back for. I don’t suppose he can reply to them saying this and telling them to add it onto my redress since I’ve already paid him back?
            It was loans starting from May 2017 at £2000, I topped up 8 times and it was settled in December 2019.

          • L says

            June 19, 2020 at 8:42 am

            My guarantor has responded to them refusing it as he has already been paid back by myself. Will they add this onto my redress? Thanks sara for your help so far

          • Sara (Debt Camel) says

            June 19, 2020 at 9:12 am

            They won’t add as much onto your redress as he was offered, as that would have included 8% interest on it all.

            Have you been sent a redress figure already?

            When you are now sent a new one, I am happy to help you look at that as I do want to know what Amigo are doing in this sort of situation.

          • L says

            June 19, 2020 at 9:28 am

            Hi Sara,

            I tried to respond to you on your recent comment this morning, but it wouldn’t let me so I’ll respond on this one. Yes of course I will keep you updated. The main issue was he couldn’t phone to accept anyway, they’re lucky to have gotten a response via email as he’s currently in the army on tour, and they’re not allowed to make phone calls due to potential tracking and very rarely get WiFi connection. He did mention this in the email, i dont know whether it’s worth me ringing to reiterate this to them? I will keep you updated on the redress. Thanks for your help so far!

  46. Rebecca says

    June 18, 2020 at 8:00 am

    Hi Sara

    I got an alert from credit Karma when I checked my credit alerts my amigo loan had been removed and then added again according to the alert….I haven’t had a decide yet but thought it was strange. Any ideas? Maybe just a coincidence
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Andy B says

      June 18, 2020 at 10:22 am

      Call Credit/Transunion (Noddle/Credit Karma) have a pretty much real time system, one Credit Reference Agency starting with E takes a few days to update, the other one starting with E (the biggest one) takes weeks and weeks to process updates.

      I only know this because of a complaint I have with another company.

      I wouldn’t read to much in to it, probably just a transient error. I had an alert from Credit Karma to report an update whilst it was being carried out during a telephone call with a lender so their system is double quick smart.

      I wish the big one didn’t seem to work on such a slow system though, up to 90 days to process any change…

      I would say it is an indication your file has at least been opened though.

      Reply
  47. am says

    June 18, 2020 at 9:26 am

    Hi Sara

    I had my complaint with Amigo upheld, around the time that i took the loan with Amigo i also took two other (stupid i know) with TFS and UK Credit. Should i put complaints in there as well? I only did the Amigo one because i stumbled across your site one day.

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 18, 2020 at 12:24 pm

      The same affordabilty rules apply to all guarantor lenders. So if you think the TFS and UK Credit loans were unaffordable, put in complaints to them.

      Reply
  48. S says

    June 18, 2020 at 10:13 am

    Just had my email through from amigo. Complained on 8th April for just one loan but they have rejected my complaint so off to the FOS info; feeling a little deflated as I genuinely can’t afford the loan and wondering how I’m going to continue to make the payments. Hopefully the FOS will overturn their decision

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 18, 2020 at 6:24 pm

      sorry to hear that – on a positive note, Amigo are settling a lot of cases at FOS so hopefully yours will go through fast.

      Reply
  49. Karen says

    June 18, 2020 at 10:47 am

    Does anyone else feel as though they are being ignored by the complaints team at Amigo? I have sent emails last week and this week and noone is getting back to me!!

    Reply
    • Andy B says

      June 18, 2020 at 11:16 am

      Very much the same (complaint has been in since 05 Feb 2020) but in a way I guess it’s probably a good thing, my logic may sound perverse, but look at this way.

      If Amigo were not planning to investigate these complaints and resolve as expected they would no doubt go in to ‘fluff’ mode and start batting out emails saying ‘Sorry, more time, please leave us alone’. The wall of silence I believe indicates they probably are especially busy and on the grounds that everything is going to be dealt with – ignoring customers would look especially bad if there’s an FOS case, so that’s a gamble they probably wouldn’t take unless they are 100% sure that they will be resolving all issues.

      That said, if you’re anything like me and checking your email a hundred times-a-day it’s not an especially nice feeling.

      Reply
    • Chloe says

      June 18, 2020 at 11:43 am

      Yep same! Put my complaint in on the 24th jan, haven’t had an update since 25/5 just saying they couldn’t say when I’d have a final response, but Iv just had a text saying my payment break has been accepted so hopefully my complaint will be dealt with by the time my break ends so no more payments to them! Hoping it’ll have flagged them to look at my complaint too 🤞🏻

      Reply
    • Jason says

      June 18, 2020 at 12:30 pm

      Yeh loads of us are in the same boat! I can’t stand how much i check my emails its like an OCD now, just want it to end.

      Reply
      • Rebecca says

        June 18, 2020 at 12:34 pm

        This comment somes up my life right now…it has become an obsession 🙄

        Reply
        • Karen says

          June 18, 2020 at 12:53 pm

          It really is an obsession checking emails every few minutes!! As much as it’s nice to know I’m not alone i really hope we all hear back from them really soon x

          Reply
          • rebecca says

            June 18, 2020 at 2:28 pm

            I used to go days without checking my emails…I miss those days lol. This site will be the first place I tell no matter what decision I get everyone sharing their situation and of course Sara’s advice has really helped. I’ll try and find this wee chat and let you know if I hear anything. They actually responded to me today but it was fairly generic but at least its something. Stay positive 😊

  50. Daryl says

    June 18, 2020 at 10:56 am

    Thank you again Sara
    This morning Thursday 18/06 at 10:10 received my redress email from Amigo.
    Took 17weeks and 2days but finally got the response I had hoped for. Had sent to FOS at 8 weeks but still hadn’t been picked up so was dealing direct with Amigo.
    Now have a 10-20 day wait for the cash to reach my account.
    After finding this site I have already had redresses from 8 payday lenders and now amigo in the last year and really turned my life around and am now debt free.
    Amigo is by far the hardest and longest company I have had to deal with.
    Now awaiting responses from Likely Loans and Satsuma to complete my full house of lenders.
    For everyone still waiting hang in there the feeling of relief when everything is cleared indescribable.

    Reply
  51. Gemma says

    June 18, 2020 at 10:57 am

    Mine has been going on from Jan 31st.They have now offered redress on all interest and charges.Customer Relations are saying they still need to buy remaining debt back from Interum which they said they had done months ago to tally up my redress as had two loans.I feel like it has been going on forever.Do they email requesting bank details or do they send a cheque??.
    Thanks
    Gx

    Reply
  52. Chloe says

    June 18, 2020 at 11:23 am

    Well still no email regarding my complaint BUT I have received a text saying they are allowing me a 3 month payment break!! So surely they will have dealt with my complaint by then! It’s a relief to know I don’t have to make any payments to them! Hopefully never again once my complaint is dealt with!

    Reply
    • Chloe says

      June 18, 2020 at 11:24 am

      I’m hoping that might have drawn there attention to my complaint too!! Fingers crossed 🤞🏻

      Reply
  53. Jade says

    June 18, 2020 at 11:48 am

    Hi All, just to keep you updated. Have just spoken to Amigo. She said money will be in my bank on Monday 22nd. Will let you know if I receive it as promised x

    Reply
    • C says

      June 18, 2020 at 12:06 pm

      Hi. When did you accept their offer?

      Reply
    • car says

      June 18, 2020 at 12:13 pm

      hi jade how many days in total them was ypu waiting thank you hopw you do get it

      Reply
    • Stevan says

      June 18, 2020 at 12:34 pm

      when did you accept the claim?

      Reply
    • Jade says

      June 18, 2020 at 12:38 pm

      I submitted my complaint in Feb.
      Received an email on 6th june with offer of redress.
      I accepted 8th June
      They picked it up on 8th june so 10 working days from then.
      Thank you! Hope you all get the answers you want :)

      Reply
    • Skids says

      June 18, 2020 at 7:59 pm

      I had something similar, I’m on day 13 after accepting and have been told the money will be in my bank tomorrow… we shall see!!!!

      Reply
      • Jade says

        June 19, 2020 at 9:57 am

        Hi Skids, did you receive your money? I checked my amigo account this morning. I paid my loan off in 2018 so cash refund. It is showing a minus figure of £2756 detailing bank payment. Fingers crossed

        Reply
  54. Amanda says

    June 18, 2020 at 12:06 pm

    Hi Chloe,
    Just to help with some hope for you…. I also received a 3 month break and when I was due to repay on the 20th June they text me saying …
    “If you need an extra month reply to this text saying ONE MONTH” and bingo another month grace during which time I have had my complaint upheld.
    It’s worth ensuring you get text messages from them regarding this.

    Good luck x

    Reply
    • Chloe says

      June 18, 2020 at 2:47 pm

      Excellent thank you!!

      Reply
  55. Rob says

    June 18, 2020 at 12:41 pm

    I’m over week 22. Sent an email, received a generic reply. Sent to FOS at week 8, no correspondence, asides from an automated ‘We’ve got your case’ email back when I sent it. They’re clearly not dealing with complaints in chronological order.

    Reply
  56. Johnny says

    June 18, 2020 at 1:19 pm

    Hi
    Is it good for us waiting for a redress that Amigo’s board is to remain in place, regarding the vote they had. This must mean it’s the same board who have agreed with the F.OS to uphold the complaints?

    Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 18, 2020 at 2:00 pm

      I don’t know what would have happened if the board had been replaced and there is little point in speculating about it now.

      Reply
  57. Cherz says

    June 18, 2020 at 3:10 pm

    Hi just an update for info for anyone waiting on refund ,I called amigo on Monday to give my bank details,money in account today so three days ,very quick.

    Reply
    • Rebecca says

      June 18, 2020 at 4:04 pm

      Wow, I done mine last Monday and still waiting

      Reply
  58. peter says

    June 18, 2020 at 3:32 pm

    I have just spoken to the under writing team and advise my case has not been looked at yet been
    with them from 7th Feb

    Reply
    • Shelby says

      June 18, 2020 at 3:58 pm

      I spoke to someone and they said only the complaints team can say if it’s been looked at , is it me or is it hard to belive anything

      Reply
    • Andy says

      June 18, 2020 at 4:02 pm

      How have you managed to speak to underwriting team ? I can’t get anyone lol

      Reply
      • ASk says

        June 18, 2020 at 4:27 pm

        I’d say to be honest it’s like a setup I used to work for for some of them. You take the call and someone demands the underwriting team, complaints, the unicorn factory and for a peaceful life you pass it to someone after giving them a heads up and they just give you none answers.

        Reply
  59. Jordan Lea says

    June 18, 2020 at 4:03 pm

    FYI

    Today I spoke too amigo who advised me each time I’ve emailed them complaining about the length of time, this has put my complaint into the ‘more information to review” category. And further down the list, amigos words on the phone this morning.

    I’m not sure how true This is, but this is what was said too me this morning. Complaint has been in since early March.

    So people may wish to refrain from chasing

    Reply
    • Karen says

      June 18, 2020 at 4:31 pm

      Why would they do that? Just to make you have to wait even longer because you rang for an update?

      Reply
    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      June 18, 2020 at 4:34 pm

      I am not sure there is any gain from chasing at all. but it’s possible you just got someone who was feeling very fed up and. um. lied to you.

      Reply
    • Harry says

      June 18, 2020 at 4:38 pm

      I chased every monday after the 10 week mark got my upheld on the 14th week,

      Reply
      • Jordan says

        June 18, 2020 at 6:33 pm

        Thank you for the replies, yes I thought it could just be a tactic to get me off the phone and to stop emailing, however I thought it may make sense considering any further screenshots may be adding review time. Thanks for clearing up.

        Reply
  60. Harry says

    June 18, 2020 at 4:40 pm

    So sara thats amigo loans upheld my complaint on Friday past and now lendfair have upheld my complaint. Thank you so much,

    Reply
« Older Comments
Newer Comments »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I post regularly on Instagram

Follow me!

Help with your debts

Recommended places for debt advice

Get an email after a new article:

About Debt Camel

This is the personal website of Sara Williams.

More about Debt Camel.
Privacy policy and Comments Policy
Contact (not for debt advice)

 

Copyright © Debt Camel 2025