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
elektra says
Hi Sara
my guarantor had made 4 payments on behalf of me- I reimbursed her back- but amigo will refund her and then she will return the funds to me – this is fine to me. She accepted her refund last Friday and they said it’ll take 10-15 days to get her refund.
They have advised me that:
We will send you a separate letter detailing the breakdown of your redress amount and confirm any outstanding balance or refund amount no later than five working days after 1 July.
However today I received this:
Thank you for your email. Once the guarantors refund has been processed, we will issue you with the redress calculation from our transactions department, that takes into account any payments made to your guarantor and the impact on the balance. As soon as we have this information we will send you the details.
I’m furious! I have replied to them that this is misleading information.. Could I have your opinion please?I will immediately forward this update to FOS as well – they have not yet dealt with my complaint.
Thank you so much
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what is the problem?
elektra says
I have Sara, they are now saying I need to wait for my guarantor to get refunded first and then they will send me the redress – the information I’ve received before was that I will be getting my redress ”no more than 5 working days after 1st of July’. I was never advised I need to wait for my guarantor to be paid first and then get my redress figures. Thank you very much
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ah ok, timimg of payments. Amigo do seem to be shifting the timescales around.
elektra says
thank you for your help Sara! I called them immediately and complaint for the misleading information I got today – especially as the advise was actually given to me on that email and twice on the phone as well. I will update you asap I get more information, Thank you!
A.n says
I have been back and forth with amigo a few times on this. As a result I think I am pretty clear now on the policy …
Guarantor has 14 days (not working days) to accept their offer. After this you will get your calc within 5 working days. You accept and then your 14 days has to expire. Following this refund is processed for both you and guarantor at the same time within 5 working days.
The whole process from the 1st email to guarantor is 35 days and will not be any longer.
Hope that helps.
Margaret says
Evening Sara
I hope this email finds you well. I was wondering if you could assist with what my possible outcome could be with Amigo on my history with them :
Nov 2016 £1500 1 payment £62
Dec 2016 £3250 cash payout £1839 3 x £158
Feb 2017 £6000 cash payout £2789 2 x £292
May 2017 £7750 cash payout £1775 5x £331
Nov 2017 £10000 cash payout £2341 8x 395
Dec 2018 paid off balance of £10400
Thank you so much xx
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I make the interest you have paid on the loans as:
loan 1 -27 (odd – this should not be negative)
loan 2 435
loan 3 559
loan 4 1564
loan 5 3560
If all those are refunded you should get £6091 back plus about a thousand in 8% interest.
Adam H says
Just to give people current timescale on FOS.
Sent my complaint to amigo in Jan. They didnt agree so sent to FOS early feb. Had call today to say it my case will be passed to an case handler in due course but this could take up to 4 months before it looked into. Apparently they are snowed under with amigo complaints.
Sue says
My redress figure states fees and charges of £500 :(
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you ask Amigo what these are?
Are you only being refunded for some loans? If Amigo say the fees and achrges relate to a loan which is not being refunded, ask them why you are being charged this as the loan was settled with the top up loan.
rebecca says
Hi sue this happened to me also my fees and charges on the loan not upheld were over 5k. When I challenged they said that they had to project this interest as if the loan has went to term. I argued that this loan was topped up so it would have been settled. Basically just said if I didnt like it to go to FOS. This meant I still have a balance of over 3k. Its gutting I feel for you. It could now take me months or a year to get it resolved but it’s worth it as it seems wrong. Keep fighting 🤞
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This sounds like the same Cunning Plan that TFS are trying in Sam’s case here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/enforce-financial-ombudsman-decision/comment-page-1/#comment-371652
If you read that, it says FOS have told Sam they think he is right and TFS are wrong…
Definitely send this to the Ombudsman.
Rebecca says
Hi Sara I was actually going to try and escalate mine while it was with the FOS but have no idea how to do this. It’s impossible to find a director or CEO email for Amigo. Any ideas? Nothing to loose at this point
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Try nick.beal@amigoloans.net – that is the contact for Amigo on the FCA register.
I suggest you email FOS the details and say you would like them added to your case. Because Sam’s TFS case already had an Ombudsman decision, that will be looked into very promptly and I hope FOS will then look out for similar problems with other lenders.
And why not email the FCA too, so they find out what Amigo is doing? They will not investigate your case specifically but they have a supervision team currently looking at Amigo’s lending and they may be interested to hear of this.
If you want to do this, email consumer.queries@fca.org.uk and copy this to nick.beal@amigoloans.net and complaints@amigoloans.co.uk
—————————————————————-
Subject: Amigo (708284) is adding Fees and Charges when it has settled my affordability complaint
Give your Amigo reference number, your name and address.
Summarise your borrowing from Amigo – how many loans, how large.
Then explain Amigo’s offer. Copy out the bit in the offer with your calculation.
This was one person’s but change it so it is yours:
Total Interest £10,302.11
8% Simple Interest (After Tax Deduction) £569.37
20% Basic Rate Tax Deduction on 8% Simple Interest £142.34
Fees and/or Charges £1,982.68.
Total Redress Payable £8,888.80
Say you feel this is unfair, you don’t see what these have been added. If Amigo says they refer to a loan that was not being refunded, say it is unreasonable for them to try to reopen a loan that was settled.
And say you think Amigo is trying to take advantage of the fact many of its borrowers are desperate to get away with paying them less redress than they should get.
—————————————————-
There is no need to write a lot. Do put it all into your own words, just say what has happened.
You will just get a “thank you for the information, it has been passed on to the relevant team” reply from the FCA, you won’t be asked any more questions.
A.n says
Sara
Is this fees and charges a new thing ?
It sounds like it is just tweaking if an old loan has not been upheld?
I am awaiting my calc but all mine were upheld so I assume this wont affect mine ??
It’s all a worry !
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it seems to be new, but some people may not have noticed it in the email they were sent.
A.n says
Ok. I will wait for my calc and feedback but sounds like just a tweak for those not upheld.
Doenst sound right though
Sue says
They upheld all 3 of my loans. My account was settled before I filed a complaint but I will ask and let you know.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh even more weird. Please let me know.
Dg says
Hi Sara I’ve put a complaint to buddy loans and they have emailed to say I need to confirm if the income and out goings was correct and if they aren’t and they had the wrong figures they will report it as fraud as They check credit scores to make sure it’s affordabile I’m worried as I don’t put some out goings on as I was desperate and needed the funds
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A few lenders are aggressive like this (some examples – Uncle Buck, 118 Money, MoneyBoat). So far no one has had any problems if they take a complaint to the Ombudsman.
Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-lender-says-lied/ which looks in detail at this.
Have you sent BL your bank statements? This is a very good idea! If you have, the best reply may be to ignore this and say “You can see my income and expenses from my bank statement which I have sent. These shows how unaffordable the loan was. I look forward to getting your response to my complaint.”
Dg says
Yes have sent bank statements so they will see some of the figures wasn’t accurate and that I had other loans around that time I was just worried when they threatened action fraud if I admit some of the figures was out
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Read that link I included about this sort of situation. No-one has had a problem with this if they send a complaint to FOS.
holly says
Hi Dg,
Hopefully this helps to ease your mind, I raised a complaint with Buddy Loans and it was rejected in November – they said the exact same thing to me and massively tried to intimidate me. I took my complaint to FOS and sent them bank statements and today I have had the adjudicator uphold the complaint based on the fact there was more on my bank statements and had BL of checked them they probably wouldn’t have agreed to the loan. Hopefully this helps
x
Darina says
Hi Sara,
First of all sorry to bothering you,
I’ve complained to amigo 3th February, and I’ve just received a response from them. (5months later)
My loans were like:
£4000 March 2018 for 12months and montly payment £412.23
Then on August 2018 I’ve topped up as £7500 for 12months monthly payment £772.94
And on November 2018 I’ve topped up as £10000 for 24 months monthly payment £618.16
And I’ve paid every month to them(sometimes I delayed the payment but it has never gone through to my guarantor)
Basically they just decided , they can offer me £674 as first Loans interest and redress will be like £5500 and they decided loan 2 and loan 3 were affordable. While I was getting money from them I was in overdraft since 1 year as £3500 and also I had 5 CCs and struggling to pay but I had no CCj. Only my credit score was so low.
How come they can decide only for first loan was not affordable and the other 2 was affordable while other 2s monthly payments were higher and time were longer than 1st one? So I just need your help what do I need to do?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That doesn’t seem to make sense, does it…
I suggest you send your complaint to the Finacial Ombudsman if you haven’t already. If you have, then send FOS an email saying Amigo’s offer is not acceptable and you would like FOS to now look at your complaint.
If your finances have been affected by Coronavirus you can ask Amigo for a 3 month payment break and during that time Amigoc cannot go after your guarantor.
Jim says
Hi has anyone had much luck with uk credit recently? I’ve not been on this site for a while and theres too many posts to scroll through as it seems all to be mostly amigo. My case has just been picked up by an adjudicator. Thanks all
Matt says
I’m in the same boat with uk credit just wondering how long did you wait till an adjudicator picked up your case I’m at 4 months and still waiting
Jim says
I sent it the ombudesman November last year! I think the wait is roughly 6 to 9 months
Karen says
So coming up on week 16 and when I rang amigo for an update they told me my file had been opened this month and last month. I don’t understand if someone opened it then why not make a decision why leave it another month feel as though I am never getting a decision!!
PM says
They’ve told me the same thing for the last 3 weeks, latest was this morning. I think it’s another generic update to get you off the phone. I’m on week 18 and still waiting for a decision. Rang this morning for an update on the extension and they were hoping to have the decision by tomorrow, albeit the agent I spoke to thought that it would be unlikely.
Amy says
Been waiting 12 days now for my calculations was told it would take up to 10 days, phoned amigo to get told mine has slipped through 🤬 how does that happen ? I understand how busy they are but seriously! Has anyone had any good news on their calculations etc
Fellowman says
3rd of June i’ve been waiting since for calculations. I was told give it 4 weeks by fos originally. Now i’ve been told to wait another 2 weeks for them. I have replied i think it’s unacceptable to wait 6 weeks just for redress figures.
K Woo says
No good news whatsoever. Been waiting 16 working days for a told 10 days calculation. What is happening.
Helen says
Anyone been paid this week if so when did you agree redresss?
Em says
Also would like to know, fed up of checking my bank every 5 minutes haha.
Chapers says
I feel like I go round and round. Due to Amigo not responding in the timeframes set by the FOS I am now in another Prioritised que ( been there since May 20th and still not assigned to an investigator) for an investigator to give a final response in regards to my affordability complaint which was submitted originally November 2019. When I spoke to Amigo 2 days ago they said there own FOS team onsite who looked at my case again on the Saturday prior and have been in touch with the FOS regarding my account. Why can’t Amigo tell me what they have told the FOS? Until an investigator picks my case up I’m not going to find out what’s happening this is shocking just a very long waiting game. anyone in a similar position ?
Suz says
Yes we seem to be much the same, been with the fo since December, keep getting told different things but nothing that actually means anything at all.
Kitty says
I applied for a repayment break- which after an almighty fight amigo gave me 2 months- I then had to ask for another month as I am still furloughed- my payment would have been 30 June- so they extended my breathing space until the 31 July- however I logged onto my account On the 30th June and it’s saying payment late and now in arrears- they said they would freeze the interest too until my repayment break needed but they have continued to add this now up to an additional £370 interest- I have an affordability complaint in- now on week 14- they are completing ignoring my emails and I can not phone due to my mental health issues which they are fully aware of! It’s still saying overdue today- I just don’t know what to do as I seriously can not take anymore- this loan will be the death of me!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can now ask for another 3 months payment break – FCA has just announced this.
During this time they cannot go after your guarantor.
They will usually add more interest, but if you win the affordability complaint that is all removed anyway!
Kitty says
Thank you Sara! I will try and email them yet again!!
They really are useless! Just so fed up of waiting and constantly checking emails!
s says
Anyone got the direct number for complaints department amigo?
Andrea says
01202 835170
RD says
Hi Sara.
I requested DSAR and made an affordability complaint to George Banco loans. They replied acknowledging on 4th May 2020. I’m yet to receive my DSAR. Am I correct in saying that legally they have to provide DSAR with 1 month?
I’ve emailed asking for an update to the complaint and where the DSAR is as it’s been almost 2 months.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes a month in theory. In practice these things will take longer in lockdown. As soon as your complaint gets to 8 weeks, send your complaint to FOS if GB haven’t replied.
Karen says
I just got an email they have upheld all my loans once I pay them 118.00 that is me such a relief thank you so much Sara for all your advice x
Sandra says
Anyone else been sent a budget sheet even though you have sent bank statements more
Than enough evidence and told them numerous times that the loan is unaffordable and was from the start feel like I’m going round in circles
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is this budget sheet from?
Sandra says
It’s from amigo they have sent me one this morning even though I have sent statements showing everything, to be honest the fella I’m dealing with is very helpful I can’t fault him
But I just feel like I’m going round in circles especially when I’ve explained my financial situation over and over again. If I send it in it’s just going to show them
Exactly what I’ve been saying in the emails.
Sandra says
Is it normal for them to ask for you to fill out a budget sheet I’m
Really confused as I’ve sent them bank statements already?? Just to show how unaffordable it was the loan and top ups and how my circumstances have changed etc.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
are you asking them to accept lower payments?
if you are, then you could either fill out this sheet or if you find it confusing, talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 who can help you.
but if you are just making an affordability complaint, i suggest you reply that you have sent them your bank statements and they show your position at the time of taking out the loan(s)
Sandra says
I have just sent them an email Stated this that the loan was unaffordable and I stick by what I say that I can’t afford to pay it and I’d send them in more documents my mum has also cancelled her direct debit in case they try to take money from her and I’ve cancelled mine so they can’t take any money I don’t have it to give!
Jo says
Hi Sara
Amigo agreed to uphold all 4 of my loans, they advised FOS investigator of this on 3rd June and FOS confirmed my acceptance on 4th June. I received and email from Amigo on 15th stating they were upholding all loans, 8% interest and release my guarantor and would receive redress figures within 10 days… I’m still waiting the calculations and have chased them, received email today saying they hope to have calculations to me by end of day tomorrow which will then be day 14.
Would you be able to try and work out what the redress may be for me please:
1st Loan January 2014 was £2500 over 24 months made 11 payments @ £154.54
2nd – top up Jan 2015 to £5500 received £3876.26 payout and made 26 payment @ £268.34
3rd – top up April 2017 to £8500 received £6100 and made 7 payments of £335.96
4th – top up November 2017 received £1832 and so far have made 16 payments @ £395.25, 10 payments @ £402.66 and 3 payments of £75
The balance showing to settle my loan is currently £8991.53 which includes an arrears balance of £1275.15 which is one payment I missed in April 2019 which would have been £395.25 and then had the amount reduced to £75 over the last 3 months.
Your help would be much appreciated
Many Thanks
Jo
Jo says
Sorry forgot to add the last top up loan in November 2017 was for £10000 over 60 months
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
On those figures I make it you have paid the following in interest
loan 1 818
loan 2 3868
loan 3 2013
loan 4 still 3455 to pay until you have paid the 10000 you borrowed.
So you should get a refund of £3244 plus a prtty small amount of 8% interest.
Look out and check you are not charged any extra fees or charges opt interest on the repaid loans – come back and say if you are!
Jo says
Thanks Sara
Can you check the last loan of £10K again please. I’ve added up the amount of interest I’ve paid so far from my online statement and it comes to £9969.13. The total amount I have paid towards the loan is £10978, as I’ve repaid over £10K already would that not mean that it the loan will have been paid?
Thanks
Jo
sangha says
Hi Sara
I know TFS Loans is not mentioned very often, however I had an adjudicator uphold my complaint with TFS on Monday and they have given TFS 2 weeks to accept or reject, a couple of points:
1. Do you recall any comments by anyone that had received the same and TFS accepted an adjudicator’s conclusion or have they always gone to the ombudsman; and
2. I am concerned as they have stopped lending due to Covid-19, however, I had an ombudsman decision upheld for Sunny over 2 weeks and was told I would be paid, and then they went into administration, so worried that when a lender stops lending it is a cause for concern.
Many thanks
R
Sara (Debt Camel) says
they aren’t often mentioned – I don’t have a good feel for how often they accept adjudicator decisions.
Andrea says
Hi
How long has your complaint been with the ombudsman for? I submitted mine beginning of March ?
River says
I submitted to Ombudsman on the 9th October 2019. It was picked up by an adjudicator on 26th May 2020 and I received the adjudicator decision on Tuesday. So unfortunately, it has taken some time to get to this point, which has been frustrating. I made a point of emailing every month before it was picked up for a an update.
Andrea says
Thank you :-) that’s great to know for time scales ;-)
E says
Has anyone been paid redness from amigo in the last 7 days? If so how long after accepting and what time of the day was it paid in? Thanks you x
Julie says
I’d I like to know aswell please as I’m awaiting mine
E says
When did you accept yours Julie? X
Julie says
Friday but a lot of people was getting there refunds after 3 days of accepting I read loads of notes and was in the evening about 5.30-6.30. My account isn’t showing as settler on the app yet is yours
Em says
Let’s hope ours is soon as mine was Friday too!!
My account has been settled for around 1 and half years but it still let’s me logon at the moment, but says settled and closed (it has done for past year and half!) please update on here if you receive it! Thanks
Paul says
I recieved my email on Tuesday – they said you get paid on day 10 -15 so between 15th and 20th of the month
Stevan says
I accepted redress 14 days ago and still waiting for payment. Fingers crossed it tomorrow the 15th day but I have feeling there will be another excuse. Ive not seen many come on here lately confirming payment.
A.n says
After accepting redress you need to wait 14 days for it to lapse (not working days).
Payment is then made in 5-7 days
That’s what Amigo constantly tell me.
I am still waiting on calc.s
Stevan says
Im fortunate that I settled my account last year and didn’t have to get my GT involved at all. I got an email on the 13th with the figures and accepted on the 15th.
I was originally told after ringing them to accept it would take ten working days to hit my account. on the 10th day told it 15 working days. It’s been 15 working day tomorrow and by you comments they are going to say I have to wait up to another 7 days. Just one thing after another.
Lesley says
Hi I’m on 8 weeks gone to financial Ombudsman could you tell me what I could be looking at please first loan £1375 paid then top up £2500 and another top up of £3750 I’m confused as to what I could get bk I still owe 1,500 thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you know how much you have paid to each of the three loans? And how much you received in cash for the top-ups?
Lesley says
I know I paid the first loan off then got the top up loan where I was paying 98.00 a month then they topped it up again and I’m now paying 148.00 a month this whole year I’ve been late paying every month I’m really not sure of all the payment details though could be I just have to wait to see what they offer thanks Sara
John says
Hi I have had 4 loans and was waiting 18 weeks they have offered to pay me on the smaller 2 but the bigger 2 when I was worse off financially declined them. I have said no to them and gone back to the FSO. Do you think this is the correct thing to do
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds like a poor offer, so rejecting it and telling FOS sounds sensible.
Johnny says
Just got my redress figured and pleasantly pleased, it took a hell of a long time for my complaint to be resolved, 4th Jan submitted, heard from amigo 15th June, got redress and accepted today, so hopefully within 15 days the last of my 5 complaints will be completed, got 4 redressess and turned down by the bank which I was expecting because its near impossible to beat them.
Phil Huntley says
Hi Sara
I’ve had my complaint upheld and I’m waiting for the offer letter. My question is this my guarantor made some payments which I repaid him in cash at the time but Amigo have made an offer to him of £800 as it was 8 payments I missed over 3 years @£100 a month.
Surely this can’t be right as the loan was only £2200 over 3 years at £100 a month. So that equates to £1400 in interest of which they’ve given him £800. Surely they should calculate the capital and the interest from the payments he made.
Can you let me know what you think or if you’ve come across this before
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your guarantor is entitled to be refunded for all the payments he made, not just the interest part as the loan should never have been given and he derived no benefit from it. he could refuse the offer or accept it and repay you as you have already paid him back?
Lb says
Hi Sara,
Would you mind working out what I could possibly get back if mine is upheld please.
1st loan: £5000 @ £191 a month I paid 32 payments.
Top up: £8000 got £7028 in cash, @ £342 a month which I am still paying now but have paid 24 months so far.
Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So on those figures that looks like you have paid the following interest:
loan 1 2084
loan 2 208
So if both loans are refunded the last loan is cleared and you woud get back £2292 plus a pretty small amount of 8% interest.
NeverAgain! says
I only put my claim in in early May and received an email advising receipt. After reading some of the comments on here regarding timescales I decided to phone and they told me they only received it on 15th June. I said about the email receipt and they said “no, only received 15/06”. What are they all about????
Sara (Debt Camel) says
EVERYONE getting a refund from Amigo..
When you get your refund numbers from Amigo, check if they are deducting money for “Fees and Charges“.
Or “interest on unpaid loans “.
Or anything else (except tax on the 8% part, they have to deduct that.)
They shouldn’t be!
Anon says
Hi Sara, mine says they are deducting £95 for ‘unpaid interest on non upheld loans’ do you know what this means? Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think they should be doing this.
Can you go back to them and ask them to explain what this line is for and how it has been calculated.
Gemma says
See if they wanted to play that game that a previous loan wasn’t upheld then when your paid out for a top up for ex you applied for a £5000 loan but you only receive £3360 then you can say well I only got the top up amount instead on £5000 so really they owe you more interest back? Il be interested to see when my figures arrive as they didn’t uphold first two!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Indeed. I can’t understand how this can be valid.
Dlmb2017 says
Just seen they have been granted an extension until the end of October and have £130m cash in the bank at present. So anyone worrying about money at the moment – they’ve got enough to sort everyone out for now!
Bit disappointing on the October timescale.
Expect more very lengthy delays.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The October timescale is because they are getting so many new complaints. I would hope the existing ones are dealt with sooner!
PM says
But they’ve said all along that the cases are not being worked in any particular order? It doesn’t give any guarantee for those of us who have already been waiting for months, does it? It’s a huge extension, a bit disheartening
Vic says
This gives a little bit of hope being in the bucket of complaints just after the initial lot (Up to end April to get a response by 26th July). Just past 8 weeks myself at least I know that mine is included and the end October is the target (and they still have plenty in the bank!)
I spoke to them the other day to add the 3rd month to my Coronabreak and they said that after this month they can discuss further options to start repaying but that interest will start. Have the FCA issued guidance now on further 3 months extensions of this type?
It would be great if I can push for a further extention to cover me until the end October !
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, the FCA announced yesterday that people affected by coronavirus can have a further 3 month payment break. Importantly during this time guarantor lenders can NOT go after your guarantor.
A.n says
Anyone have the news of the amigo cash balance ?
Seems a positive.
What are your views Sara?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Cash balance of £136m at the end of June (see https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/AMGO/amended-voluntary-requirement-with-fca/14602015).
I have said several times before that Amigo do not have immediate cash flow problems. They are not lending (or only a tiny amount) and many loans are being repaid so the money rolls in.
Dlmb2017 says
If you search Everest Research Limited on Twitter – they have run a report into Amigo this week stating they expect costs of complaints to be around £206 million, with 33% of loans dead wood.
Their cash balance is only high as they have stopped lending, probably benefitted from furlough and have just collected cash in the last few months. They’ve hardly paid a thing out in complaints yet, and their whole business relies on new custom. That £130m cash balance they have quoted today could disappear very quickly if that £206m figure is anywhere near true….I’d think it’s nearer to that than the £35m plus materially higher than Amigo are quoting.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well let’s see what Amigo’s annual account say, shall we? Out by the end of the month.
Amigos’s auditors should have given a lot of thought to the “going concern” point.
I have no idea if that research report is worth the paper it is written on and I’m not paying £3000 to find out!
Nt says
Hi Sara
I logged a complaint with Amigo in May 2020, and understand it’s still early but can you clarify if my complaint was to be upheld what the redress or balance owing could be.
Loan 1 04/07/2014 £5,000
Paid 23 x £197.62 Total paid £4,545.26
Top up Loan 2 £7,500 on 24/06/2016 received £3,386.00
Paid 33 x £296.44 Total paid £9,782.52
Top up Loan 3 £10,000 on 25/05/2019 received £4630.52
Paid 12 x £395.35 Total paid £4,743
Outstanding balance £9,206.22 as at today’s
Thankyou
Sara (Debt Camel) says
on those figures I make the interest paid on the first 2 loans:
loan 1 3645
loan 2 7638
On the current loan you have only paid 4740 so far, so 5260 to go until you have repaid the 10k you borrowed.
If all the loans are decided to be unaffordable, the last loan should be wiped and you should get a refund of £6023. Plus several huindred in 8% interest.
Paul says
Ive logged onto my amigo account today and it states my account is settled does this mean that the redress will get paid today – Has anyone experienced this ?
Thanks
paul
John says
Paul when did you accept your redress. That’s what they said to me Paul once it shows as settled payment Will follow
Paul says
i accepted it on Tuesday – they said between 10 – 15 days though
Annemarie says
Hi Paul
Was your guarantor involved? Mine isn’t but I think the less complicated ones are getting settled and paid out quicker than those that are a bit more complexed. I may be wrong just my opinion.
I accepted Wednesday and they said up to 15 days but maybe earlier.
Claire H says
I wish that were true, I had one loan and paid it off in full without my guarantor paying anything and I have been waiting 22 weeks and still havent heard back, feeling quite deflated if I’m honest
Claire says
Hi Sara,
A few people mentioned previously that while amigo had the previous deadline (end of June) FOS would not be looking into those claims as they were expecting amigo to investigate the backlog. Do you know if this will still be the case now amigo have a new deadline of October? Will FOS not investigate?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know what FOS will do. I would be surprised if it looks at many cases but it may prioritise a few because of the customer’s situation.
Amy says
So this is an email sent this morning to myself , was due to have a figure by Tuesday and now this , so no idea on how long this is going to be ??
Hi Amy,
Ive heard back from the Fos team and they are still working on the calculations,so as soon as they have a figure they will be in touch.
Thank you for your patience,
Kind regards,
Louise@amigo
Jase says
Have you done the 10 working days?
Amy says
Yes it was Tuesday :(
Jase says
Im at same stage.. my 10th working day is today.
Making me really angry
Amy says
It’s very frustrating , I phoned and spoke to a lady just now and she said that giving 10 days isn’t what should be said and some cases are more in depth to look at and it’s just a waiting game really but to stay patient as they are working on it, she said as soon as they have the figures I’ll get an email and then it will take 10-15 days for the transaction to go through , it’s so annoying being told one thing then another , I’m giving them another week and I’ll phone again , good luck with yours 😁 x
Jase says
Just phoned them they saying 15 working days now for redress figures…….
No idea why they dont put figures on the final response like every other company would lol
Sue says
Hi Sara
Amigo have agreed that the following loans were unaffordable this morning. Please can you give us an idea what redress will be?
Loan 1 – £1500 paid £146.36 then topped up. Settlement figure £1490.36
Loan 2 – £3000 paid £292.74 then topped up. Settlement figure £2933.03
Loan 3 – £4000 paid £316.20 then topped up. Settlement figure £4053.78
Loan 4 – £5250 paid £622.53 then topped up. Settlement figure £5215.49
Loan 5 – £6250 paid £741.09 then topped up. Settlement figure £6381.65
Loan 6 – £7500 paid £3944.64
Balance outstanding -£6308.31
Amigo have agreed to remove all interest and pay 8% simple interest. How do you think the redress will look. Amigo have said she will receive her redress email by 17 July but we are not hopeful. Thanks for all your help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
On those numbers I make it you have paid the following interest:
loan 1 136
loan 2 225
loan 3 369
loan 4 587
loan 5 872
current loan – still 3556 to pay until you have repaid the 7500 borrowed
Using the refunds from the first 5 loans to clear some of the balance leaves you still owing £1367.
Your guarantor should be released and you can then make an affordable payment arrangement.
Tammy says
Hi,
I am replying to Sue’s comment, I am the borrower.
Loan 1 I paid £146.36, interest was 136.72
Loan 2 I paid £292.74, interest £225.77
Loan 3 I paid £316.20, interest £211.88
Loan 4 I paid £622.53, interest £588.02
Loan 5 I paid £741.09, interest £809.74
Loan 6 I paid £4094.64, interest £4310.69
In total, I have paid £6067.20, interest amounting to £6283.09
As my mum stated, there is still £6308.31 still outstanding
They redress provided was
1. The removal of all interest charges under the loan agreement
2. A refund of any payments you may have made in excess of the capital amount of the loan agreement, along with 8% simple interest
3. The removal of any adverse information from your credit file in respect of the loan agreement.
tammy says
Hi Sara,
Is the outcome still the same that I owe them now I have wrote down the interest and what I paid? Looking back on some of the comments, I can see that you have replied saying they are owed a refund even though they still owe quite a bit on the loan, similar to my situation?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the numbers you have given match whatSue said except for loan 3 and loan 5 where I work out the interest as different from the number you gave. And for loan 6 where you are saying you have paid £150 more than Sue said.
You need to ignore the interest number on the last loan – that is misleading as your last loan will be reworked with interest removed.
I suggest you come back when you have the Amigo numbers and i will say if they sound right?
Tammy says
Hi,
I have left another comment regarding this thread. I have also just worked out, I only ever received £5979.05 from them. When they have paid me the new loan and settled the last one, they have took back in total £18,520.95.
I never looked at it in that way before, the final loan in total was £7,500 but i only received that? i’m a little confused
Tammy says
My apologies, I miscalculated.
I received £7488.68. They took back £20,010.95
Ahmed says
Hi sara
May i ask , am i right in saying …1st email to say your loans have been upheld..the 2nd email will be the redress amount.
.then after 14 day payment ….from Amigo ?
Regards
Aftab
Craig says
I only received 1 email saying they were upholding 5 of my 6 loans and it had the redress figures as well
Annemarie says
Mine had my figure on it.
Maria says
Hi all
Has anyone had a final responses from email Amigo today. My complaint was raised on the 29th January and l am being told it is with the complaints team but have not heard anything yet. I do not want to keep phoning them as it may effect their decision.
Maria
frogman says
Submitted a day before you, 28th of Jan. No word from them on progress
K says
I know its hard but hang on in there! I got my response last Saturday so they must be working weekends too!
Claire says
I started my complaint last july!!!
L says
I’ve had to wait 15 days for guarantor to accept, now five days to receive my figures. Then 15 days to accept and for it to be in my account. Is this correct?
Johnny D says
I got a email same day as my guarantor the 13th June. My email said that I will receive my redress no later than 5 days after the 27th June. It came yesterday which was 4 days after. I phoned today to accept there offer and got told it should be in your account within 2 to 3 weeks. Hope this helps.
L says
Thanks for the reply! Yeah I had an email saying no later than 5 days after 01/07. I hope you don’t have to wait 2/3 weeks when some people have got it in 3 days!
Paul says
My redress email is late – guarantor accepted into the day I’m still waiting…
What kind of payments di you get guarantor/redress just trying to figure out second amount
Em says
Can someone help! I had had email saying I now have to wait 14 days for my guarantor to accept?! I accepted on Friday. I don’t understand why my guarantor needs to be included! My loan was paid off almost 2 years ago and he didn’t pay a single payment!!!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds like an error. Go back to them and ask what your guarantor is being asked to accept as he did not make any payments so should not receive any refund.
Tom says
Finally after 14 working days after receiving the “we will uphold your complaint” my guarantor has been told he will be refunded his part.
He has been told “the case for the borrower will take longer to resolve as it was through FOS” and he has also been told it can take up to 35 days for him to recieve his payment… 35 days?!?!
Would the FOS have any say in this or should I follow up with them? Last communication
Adele says
Hi Gemma,
I finally received redress today of £11,100, got knows how long it will take to go into my bank, guy said up to 15 days, I put complaint in end of Oct for loans sept 2010 top up 2011 another top up 2012.
Il keep you posted how long the money takes to go in.
Thanks
Gemma says
Oh fantastic Adele I’m so pleased for you! even though yet again another bloody long wait. My investigator said the other day that there was someone else that had a lengthy wait was getting their figures this week! I did wonder weather this was you. I hope it’s a lot sooner then 15 days Adele 😊x
Adele says
Hi Gemma,
Probably was me, I emailed FOC every 2 days & phoned Amigo every day as well as emailing all 3 email addresses I had for them, have to say I don’t think it made any difference, honestly think they will get to you when they get to you & there’s no order at all, doesn’t help that the people I spoke to from amigo were lovely, especially a guy called Ben, initially I was phoning to shout he made it hard, I was stable before I made this complaint, now I’m a woman in the edge lol, fingers crossed everyone gets their well deserved money back.
Thanks
Adele
Gerry says
We got an email this morning confirming they have accepted our complaint and offering redress, just have to ring and speak to them to accept and of course I cant through so far. But they are paying me back more than I thought I would get, I was just happy if I no longer owed them. This is an added bonus and I look forward to receiving my payment. Good luck peeps
Elliott F says
Sent in a complaint template from this site in January, received my calculations on Tuesday the 23rd of June, accepted and confirmed bank details on Wednesday the 24th of June and today I have received payment of £966.
Hang in there guys I hope you all receive the money you deserve soon!!
Peter says
Hi Sara
Excepted my offer on Tuesday , just had notification
from bank £2150 been paid in so only 3 days
after being told 15
Good luck everyone who’s waiting
Thanks for the help
Charlotte says
I got my refund today after not receiving the full breeakdown only overall figures … it seems way out to me ! They seem to have applied my refund to the full opening balance of my current loan even though I made 7 payments of 479. Can you advise what I can do I went back to the ombudsman and sent an email explaining. I think the figures are out by a couple of thousand!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you ask them to provide a breakdown of how the calculations were done. Come back when you have that.
Look out for them charging either “fees” or “interest added on previous repaid loans”.
PM says
Finally got over the first hurdle. Received a response from Amigo this evening and they are upholding my complaint on 3/3 loans. Taken 18 weeks to get to this point but I’m glad I know where it’s heading.
Nicole says
Hi everyone
Week 15 today and I finally got my loan upheld! That’s my loan paid off and no more payments yay!! :)
Thanks so much to Sara for her help and patience :)
Sandra says
Hi Nicole what all did you send them I’ve sent them
Bank statements etc just so I know
I’m heading in the right direction, also such a relief for you amazing.
Nicole says
Hi sandra
Yes I sent them 2 months bank statements before loan was taken out and 2 months after loan was taken out :)
I hope you get your response soon! Good luck! :)
Don says
I honestly can’t believe it, I received an email from an investigator at the FOS this afternoon saying this (I’ve cut it short so it’s not too long)… “We’ve been speaking to Amigo about the cases we’ve been seeing with issues similar to those you told us about in your complaint. Amigo has now told us it would like to make an offer in full and final settlement of your complaint. And we wanted to let you know about this offer so that you can decide whether or not you want to accept it.
Amigo will write to confirm the full detail of its offer including any amounts due – however, they have told us that they will follow our general approach.” They then go on to say it includes refunding all of the interest and charges (if any) that you’ve paid on all the loans you’ve had with them plus 8% per year (less any tax properly due), from the date you repaid the loan until the date of settlement and removing any negative credit file information.”
The email came from a different investigator to the one I’ve been dealing with. I’ve emailed to say I will accept the offer and they replied to say Amigo will be in touch within the next 4 weeks and if not to go back to them.
I am in complete shock and keep reading the email to make sure I’ve understood it right. My long wait is finally coming to an end!
SuzyQUK says
Brilliant news.
When did u refer it to the fo? We’ve been waiting since December and loosing all hope tbh.
Don says
I was feeling exactly the same, especially as when I’d spoken to Amigo a couple of weeks ago they said they weren’t looking at my complaint because it was waiting for the ombudsman and the fos told me everything was on hold with them because of the review Amigo we’re doing. I was resigned to thinking no one was looking at it. To answer your question I put my complaint to Amigo in August then fos end of September but it didn’t get allocated to an investigator until the end of March. Hopefully your wait won’t be too much longer.
SuzyQuk says
Wow that’s a real long time to wait, it’s disheartening when u see people that have gone to the fo months and months after you getting final reply’s.
Amazing that you can finally move on with a answer now that is what it should have been to start with.
We’ve been told over and over the fo are waiting on amigo to send the info over. Hopefully not too much longer and this makes me feel a bit easier knowing it’s not just us that’s waited so long and it’s not because it’s not going to go our way and still a equal chance of them doing the right thing.
Enjoy your rightful payback
Thankyou
Don says
Thank you! 😊 Even though I was obviously happy for people I was getting so disheartened with every post I saw where people had put their complaints in after mine and getting them resolved. Even just two days ago my original adjudicator emailed me with an update saying he couldn’t give a timescale, I just thought it would be months again. The email I had today came from a different adjudicator, I’m not sure why that is and I’m certainly not moaning about it, maybe theY have a team at the fo who are working with Amigo on older complaints? Who knows. But definitely don’t give up hope!
I know there’s one lady who put her complaint in last July so I’m really hoping she’s heard something as well.
Lee says
Finally got my response today after waiting since Feb, 3/3 loans upheld, due something in the ballpark of £12k give or take, plus 8%!! Thankyou Sara for all of your advice on here. Persevere people!
JT says
Hi all just had fos investigator email saying amigo are accepting her views and I will get refunded interest only problem is my guarantor has been paying for the past 12 months, fos didn’t ask to remove my guarantor and have asked for me to be refunded any interest that was paid is this something amigo would do automatically ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did you just have the one loan? How large? How much have you paid to it? Has your guarantor paid to it?
What would you like to happen?
JT says
The guarantor only paid into the last one, I had 1 loan and two top ups I was hoping amigo would remove them as I should not have been accepted.
Don says
Hi Sara, I really didn’t think I’d be writing this post after giving up hope but it’s my turn to ask if you could help with the figures please?
L1 in June 2010 for £3000 – 11 payments of £151.19
L2 in July 2011 top up to £5000 – I’ve written down the top up amount was £2389.77 so I think that’s what I received. 32 payments of £217.39 and a final payment of £4157.62 to close the loan.
Many thanks for your help.
Gemma says
L1 £1273
L2 £6114
You would get back roughly £7387 +8%
Don says
Thank you Gemma, that’s roughly what I had it worked out to. I wasn’t sure about the 8%, do you know if they add 8% on for every year the loan has been settled?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is roughly right in your case. So that will be nearly 50% more :)
Don says
Oh wow, thank you Sara! That’s an incredible amount of money and a life changing amount for me. Finally time to pay off the last of my credit cards and a small loan! What an amazing feeling. I honestly cannot thank you enough for all the work you put into this site and the advice you give. You really are changing people’s lives. Thank you!
J S says
I have received an offer from Amigo and I have no idea what to do.
I had an initial £3k loan with them but topped this up and took out a larger loan
I paid approx £690 interest on loan 1 and £4.5k on loan 2.
Amigo have offered to refund loan 1 but refused to look at loan 2.
Response from FOS…
“They have offered to uphold loan 1 and refund all interest, plus any 8% if applicable and remove any negative markers from your credit file.
Please be aware that we have been unable to assess the case as Amigo deemed it out of jurisdiction. We think we can look at the case but if we do get the option to there is no guarantee we would uphold either loan”.
Its obviously a risk to decline their offer, but I feel like they have just made this to get rid of me.
Don’t get me wrong, 690 plus 8% would be good for me, but it wasn’t really the 1st loan that caused me problems, it was the larger 2nd one.
What should I do? Can I make a counter offer and ask for loan 1 and ½ of interest on loan 2 or just flat out decline?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In theory you can make a counter offer. But I haven’t heard of anyone having any success trying this with Amigo. I think they are trying to get through thousands of decisions very fast and it may be that no-one has any time to think about counter-offers. And they are under investigation by the regulator and have said they will settle cases in line with FOS decisons. Now FOS may well have decided the second loan was unaffordable but what is 100% certain is that FOS would not have suggested refunding you half the interest on the second loan, it would be all or nothing.
re FOS jurisdiction – I think this will turn out to be a no brainer for your case. As Amigo have agreed to refund loan one it is VERY hard to see how they could object to FOS considering a later loan on the grounds it is too old.
Also it is common for a FOS adjudicator to start by saying “loan 1 is not in dispute as Amigo have offered to refund it, so I will only look at loan 2”.
Their offer makes no sense except as a way to try to buy you off cheaply.
(NB I am assuming here that your finances had not improved a lot between taking loan 1 and the top-up loan. You didn’t get a big pay rise, have your rent halved or magically managed to settle all your other debts?!?)
The real risk is not that your case won’t be upheld at FOS but that Amigo may go bust and you may get nothing. There is no sign of this happening at the moment. Amigo had £115million in the back at the end of May and this had gone up to £136million by the end of June. But there must be some chance it could happen in the next year or two.
If you decide to decline, just tell your FOS adjudicator you think the offer is ridiculous and unfair and you would like them to progress your case as quickly as possible as Amigo has effectively conceded the jurisdiction argument by agreeing to refund the first loan.
j s says
Thanks Sara for the reply.
My initial thoughts were they were trying to buy me off on the cheap too. I have decided to decline their offer.
My only worry is them going bust, bust I feel like it’s a risk worth taking.
Also, my finances had not improved between loan 1 and 2. In fact I took out the loan and still never had enough to pay off all my debts with it, and effectively got into more debt by taking the top up.
Thanks.
Natalie says
We put in a complaint April 2020 regarding a paid of loan that we cleared up 2 years ago. They had added an extra 3k for changes in payment dates but never told us this would be the case just one day sent a statement. Have just received email saying although our 8weeks is up they have no response for us yet. Should I take. To fos or wait? Or ring? Any advice would be much appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The extra interest Amigo adds on for changing payments dates is simply horrendous. I suspect FOS would say in many cases that should be refunded even if the rest of the loan is affordable.
But in all the cases I have heard of so far where this has been mentioned, the case has been won simply on non-affordability, in which case all the extra interest/charges is refunded without FOS having to rule on this.
It is a personal decision about whether to wait a couple of weeks (no longer!) or go to FOS now.
Nat says
We did try to go to the ombudsman 4 years ago with a complaint about the way they worked out the extra interest. It didn’t get very far. Will this effect the new complaint? We have based the complaint on affordability as they ran thorough checks on our guarantor but not on us, they took payments from out guarentor twice, at the start of our loan also…..for 11 days total movement over 3/4 occasions we had approx 15 months extra payments.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds like a different complaint so I wouldn’t have thought it would impact on your current one.
LEE says
That’s disgraceful! Thanks to you sharing that, I rang them this morning as I changed my payment date this week and asked the customer service agent to confirm I won’t experience charges etc for changing it. He confirmed that I won’t and I know the calls are recorded so should they try to add charges etc, I’m hoping that covers me! It just gets worse doesn’t it :(
PM says
My guarantor has been offered a significant cash refund on one loan that she contributed to. I paid her back every penny and because of that she’s happy to reject her offer if that means that Amigo will then pay me that figure? Is that how this works? The email says that the payments will remain credited to the loan so I assume that credit becomes factored into my calculation? Trying to work out if we’ll lose out on over 7k on a technicality should she reject this offer. Any advice or experiences shared would be appreciated!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So this is generalities, I can’t guarantee what will happen in your case.
The 7k to your guarantor includes a lot more 8% interest than you would get as a guarantor is refunded ALL the money they have paid whereas you only get a refund of the interest, so the 8% you get will be much lower.
So between you you will be better off if she takes the money and then gives it to you.
Either your refund will be lower or you may actually end up owing Amigo money if her payments are refunded as they will be removed from your loan account. But with the money from her you will be better off.
A couple of odd cases:
– if she is a higher rate tax payer and you are not, things get complicated as she may owe the taxman money on the 8% interest part which is treated as income.
– if you have gone through a claims firm, then it may well be that you are only charged their fee on the refund you get from amigo. Not your guarantor’s refund. If that is the case you will be much better off if your guarantor takes the refund.
If you were NOT on good terms with your guarantor and would not get replaid the money, you would have a reason to go to FOS and complain if her getting the refund left you worse off than before your complaint. But that isn’t relevant for you.
PM says
Thanks Sara, that’s really helpful, I will advise her to take the offer.
Jj says
Hi
My guarantor had an offer of 2k and myself 7k is she wasn’t to have accepted that I would have only received 8000 and odd where as with both it comes to over 9 so I would suggest advising your guarantor accept
Hope this helps
Paul says
My guarantor has had an offer but I’m yet to have any figures – just had an email say this week.
Had 4 loans within 6 months starting at 2000 finishing at 7000.
All paid off – just can’t get straight answer
Hopefully this week
What is redress amount?
E says
Has anyone ever been paid a refund from Amigo at a weekend before? Fed up of keep checking my bank account!
I got my offer over a week ago. It’s so annoying seeing people getting it before the 15 days!
Sarah says
I got my response on a Saturday and Accepted it on the Monday
Ruby says
Lookong for some help.
I have just been contacted from amigo after putting in a complaint.
I had a first loan of 7000 (they have deemed affordable)
I then had a top up to 9000 which is classed as unaffordable
The interest between these 2 loans work out as 2841.94.
Should i be expecting this back or only 8%
I don’t want to accept something if its not correct.
Thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How much have you paid to the 9000 loan? ignore how much Amigo says is interest, just what monthly payments have you made eg 17 payments of £299. If you have finished paying this, how long ago?
I assume your guarantor hasn’t made any payments?
If you know the numbers for the first loan it would be interesting for you to know what interest you paid on that…
So you borrowed £7000, made how many monthly payments of how much? And when you had the top up, how much did you receive in cash?
Ruby says
Apologies for the lack of information i gave!
I can only access information from the top up (which is the one they claim was unfordable)
The top up was taken on the 10.7.2017
I received 1817.68 from the top up.
I made 5x payments of 355.72
Guarantor made 1 x payment of 355.72
Guarantor then settled the loan of 10,063.34 on the 6.4.2018
(Took out a loan in his name which was half the monthly payment, but i still pay for)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The first loan – do you have any idea when you took it out? You can check from your emails or bank statements? If you only made one or two payments there wouldn’t be much interest involved, but if you had made more there could have been a lot.
Just at the top up loan…
Your guarantor is likely to be offered a refund of 10063 + 355 = £10518 plus about £1800 in 8% interest. You will then be left owing a large amount of money to Amigo as the settlement will be removed from the loan.
Would your guarantor be prepared to give you the money to settle this?
One option is for your guarantor to take the money you are offered and for you then to tell Amigo you are not happy and want the case to go to the ombudsman who will look at whether that first loan was really affordable.
Ruby says
I have no access to the bank account currently as had to get a new one when going through my debt management. The loan is paid so it seems pointless to claim money to give straight back to them? They stated i will get 8% and something about interest but unsure what they mean be that? When logging in online it only shows a statement for the top up and cannot see before that. Also have no emails regarding the first loan. All i know is the interest from the top up was 2841.94 and that they have stated i will get a redress.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you remember how long you had the first loan before topping up?
“All i know is the interest from the top up was 2841.94”
where did this figure come from?
Ruby says
Yes, only 2 months. The figure came from what i can see on the statement on my account on the amigo website. Its the amount of interest which was added monthly from the top up to clearing the debt. (different amounts due to payment date changes)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK so making a LOT of guesses here, sorry some of these may not be right.
If your guarantor takes the refund, they will probably get about £12,000 (numbers I gave before, less 20% tax deducted on some tax on the 8% part)
And you would then owe Amigo 9000 less the 5 lots of 355 = £7225
So if your guarantor gives all the money to you you can repay Amigo and have 4775 redress. And carry on repaying your guarantor
(Or of course your guarantor could get a settlement figure on the loan and pay that off and give you the remainder.)
If your guarantor say No to the refund, you would get about £2841 plus 8% which would be about £500. So about £3340
As you can see, on these numbers (and guesses) you are a lot better off if the guarantor takes the refund and then you settle up between you.
This assumes you are on very good terms with your guarantor…
Ruby says
Thanks so much for your help. So if the guarantor takes the offer i will not be entitled to no redress for myself?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In theory a borrower can get a redress if the guarantor does.
But your guarantor is getting such a huge amount and you have paid so little to Amigo that if your guarantor gets the redress of £12,000 you will end up owing Amigo about £7225. So if your guarantor gives the £12000 to you, you can pay off Amigo and end up with £4775
the other choice is that your guarantor doesn’t get any money and you get redress of about £3340.
Ruby says
Sorry for jumping on but i believe mine stated if guarantor took the offer you are liable to repay that amount? So you would have to hand back to them surely?
PM says
Yes mine says that too, so the payments my guarantor is being refunded for get added back to my agreements, then any redress I am owed for my payments will be offset against that. So if there is a balance to be paid by me, I’m hoping it will be significantly less than the 7k my guarantor gets, then we’ll use that money to settle in full and be left with the difference. That’s how I understand things anyway, might be totally wrong! Hoping to find out this week.
Ruby says
This is all new to me! Sounds promising, please keep us updated! Good luck!
James says
Hi Sara, I got my figures through today finally. As I am currently out of work due to medical reasons how do I go about claiming the tax on the 8% interest?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
see https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/
elektra says
Hi Sara,
I finally got my redress figures but I think they are too low. Could I please have your opinion as well?I did forward my complaint to FOS as well.
I got £5500 loan in June 2013, paid off loan in November 2016
(£268.34 per month x 36 months but I actually finished the loan 5 months later, so it was £268.34 per month x41). My guarantor made 4 payments for me – I paid her back but they will refund her first and she will give me this money back.
So my total redress amount is: £6,345.88 (they are giving £1073.36 to my guarantor). These are the figures in the redress (no cash refund):
Total Interest: £4,843.98
8% Simple Interest (After Tax Deduction): £1,001.90
20% Basic Rate Tax Deduction on 8% Simple Interest: £250.48
Fees and/or Charges: £500.00
Total Redress Payable: £6,345.88
——————————–
We have contacted your guarantor, who made payments towards the loan agreements that we are upholding and they:
have confirmed that they would like to receive a refund of their payments. This means that any balances on your loan agreements will change by an amount equal to the payments they made towards the loan agreements. This will reduce the total amount that has been paid towards your loan agreements and these changes are shown in the appendix at the end of this letter.
If a balance remains due under the loan agreements, we will use the redress amount to reduce the balance due. If this pays the full balance, you will no longer owe money under the loan agreements and may also be entitled to a cash refund. Details of any deductions are set out in the appendix. If you are due a cash refund, simple interest of 8% has been included within this offer to compensate you for not having access to this money up until the date when the offer is accepted. This means the refund due to you at the date of calculation (including 8% interest) will come to a total of £5,272.52, plus any additional interest that accrues prior to you accepting our offer.
————————————-
thank you so much for everything!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so you only had 1 loan, right?
how many payments did you make, excluding the one your guarantor paid?
what do you mean by “These are the figures in the redress (no cash refund)”
are they saying you won’t be getting a cash refund???
elektra says
Hi Sara,
apologies, they are saying cash refund total is £5,272.52 (I made 37 payments of £268.34 from end of June 2013 till mid November 2016. I only had 1 loan yes!
so figures in email state:
Total Redress Payable: £6,345.88
Cash refund: £ 5,272.52
(they are paying £1,073.36 guarantor refund)
which means it’s only £ 5,272.52 I’m getting right?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So where did these figures come from:
Total Interest: £4,843.98
8% Simple Interest (After Tax Deduction): £1,001.90
20% Basic Rate Tax Deduction on 8% Simple Interest: £250.48
Fees and/or Charges: £500.00
Total Redress Payable: £6,345.88
elektra says
This is in an index at the bottom of their email:
The redress provided will consist of:
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 plus 8% simple interest; and
The removal of any adverse information from your credit file in respect of the loan agreement.
Your Redress Details of the loan agreement and the redress can be found in the appendix at the end of this letter. If a balance remains due under the loan agreements, we will use the redress amount to reduce the balance due. If this pays the full balance, you will no longer owe money under the loan agreements and may also be entitled to a cash refund. Details of any deductions are set out in the appendix.
If you are due a cash refund, simple interest of 8% has been included within this offer to compensate you for not having access to this money up until the date when the offer is accepted. This means the refund due to you at the date of calculation (including 8% interest) will come to a total of £5,272.52, plus any additional interest that accrues prior to you accepting our offer.
there is second row in Appendices:
Previous Loan Balance:
Sum of Guarantor Refund: £1,073.36
New Balance (after guarantor refund): £1,073.36
New Balance Less Redress: £0.00
Cash Refund: £5,272.52
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well I am not surprised you are confused. As a matter of arithmetic I would expect the following figures to add up to the number in the last line:
Total Interest: £4,843.98
8% Simple Interest (After Tax Deduction): £1,001.90
20% Basic Rate Tax Deduction on 8% Simple Interest: £250.48
Fees and/or Charges: £500.00
Total Redress Payable: £6,345.88
Which they don’t. (Fees and Charges is usually negative, but even if it is a positive they still don’t add up. )
BUT I make the total in either case less than their 6345, so you haven’t lost out here. UNLESS the first “total interest” line is wrong.
I don’t know how they get that number. If they just look at your payments and remove your guarantors, then you made 37 payments (that is why I asked you to confirm that) and the interest paid should be about 4416. So again the number they have is in your favour.
They shouldn’t be deducting 500 for fees – that is against you.
And they should NOT be deducting your guarantor’s refund from this. They should be reworking your account without the guarantor payments having been made. I think (but its hard to be sure) this error has gone against you.
If they include your guarantor’s payments as well in calculating the redress , it should be 5488. So that can’t be what they did.
It’s hard to know what to do. The numbers look a mess. Some at least of these errors seem to have gone in your favour. Others against. You can ask them to clarify and explain but it’s possible you may get less… though you could get more…
electra says
Hi SAra thank you so much for your reply
I’m going to call them tomorrow and ask them to explain this a bit to see what they say. So am I getting compensation (redress) plus cash refund so around £11k or just that cash refund after the guarantor reduction? That’s also confused me
Thank you so much!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, you are only going to be paid the amount that is marked as “cash refund”.
The “redress” number is just part of the working out – they work out how much interest and charges you have paid, so they can then work out the 8% amount on top of that.
Honestly the number doesn’t look VERY wrong to me, it could be too high or too low but probably not more than £1000 in either direction. If you think it is, can you explain without using their numbers, why you think it should be a lot more?
elektra says
yes it was paid in November 2016!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so that is less than 4 years, not 7 years. That will reduce the 8% you have estimated.
elektra says
thank you very much Sara, really appreciate your help. I will call them to accept the offer tomorrow and will offer a contribution to my local cab when I receive everything. thank you!
elektra says
Hi Sara,
thank you so much for the explanation. I had calculated that I paid them in 3 years £11001.94 (268.34×41) so interest was £6001.94 not the amount they mention on their email (£4,843.98). Not wasn’t sure how to calculate 8% simple refund on top (I thought it was 8% x 7 years it’s been since I paid the loan back, so it seemed to me what they are offering is around £1000 less than I was expecting – which was around £7.400 – including my guarantor’s refund for 4 payments she made)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I had calculated that I paid them in 3 years £11001.94 (268.34×41) so interest was £6001.94
But your loan was £5500 wasn’t it?
Or did you only receive £5000 in cash?
I thought it was 8% x 7 years it’s been since I paid the loan back,
you said the loan was paid back in November 2016?
Pablo Moles says
Hi Sara,
I got my loan from Amigo upheld and I’m waiting fir figures for a over two weeks now, I’ve been told by next Thursday ( fingers crossed ) can you tell me what I would be due please roughly – I took out a loan in 2015 fully paid off two years ago.
£3250 loan
36 x £158 payments
Many thanks for your help on here – invaluable !
Sara (Debt Camel) says
On those numbers you paid about £2438 in interest. This should be refunded plus a few hundred in 8% interest.
20% tax will be deducted from the 8% interest – if you are a basic rate or non-taxpayer you can probably reclaim this deduction from HMRC, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/ for how to do this.