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
Kat says
Hi Sara
Just a quick question-
I have had 3 out of 4 of my loans upheld- which is fantastic- but unfortunately not my first loan which is where most of my interest was paid- however after reading through amigos final offer letter to me/ they have confirmed that TransUnion (call credit) confirmed my income? Surely they should have asked for bank statements or payslips from me instead of relying on a credit reference agency??
My question is- is using TransUnion enough of a source for confirming my income?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was the income they had accurate? It won’t matter if they didn’t check properly if the figure was actually correct.
But the real question you should be thinking about is whether the first loan was actually affordable for you or not. Not the details of what Amigo did and didn’t check…
So – did making the repayments on this loan cause you difficulty – did you have to borrow elsewhere? get behind with bills? If YES , then you should send this case to the Ombudsman and say you feel the first loan was unaffordable and if Amigo had looked properly at your situation eg looking at your bank statements, they would not have given you the loan. Don’t get hung up on the way they verified your income, what matters is your whole situation.
ALSO
is there a line in your calculation saying “something like “Unpaid Interest on non-upheld loan” ? If there is, they should NOT be deducting anything for that. Tell the Ombudsman about that too!
ross says
Could you please calculate the redress on these figures please
loan 1
03 Nov 2016
£4,000.00
60 months
£158.10 a month
loan 2 (top up)
04 Apr 2017
£6,000.00
I received £2087.65
60 months
£237.15 a month
loan 3 (top up)
05 Jul 2018
£9,750.00
I received £4158.36
60 months
£385.37 a month
Payments I made.
1. 5 payments of £158.10 total paid= £790.50
2. 15 payments of £237.15 total paid= £3557.25
3. 19 payments of £385.37 total paid= £7322.03
Final payment of £8599.99 January 2020
ross says
Loan agreement 1 calculation.
loan amount £4000
I paid £790.50
Loan top up of £6000 (loan agreement 2)
I received £2087.65
£6000-£2087.65= £3912.35 was used to pay off loan agreement 1
£3912.35+£790.50= £4702.85
£4702.85-£4000= £702.85 excess of the capital amount of the loan agreement.
Redress on loan agreement 1 £702.85+(8%-20% tax on interest) simple interest= £747.83
Loan agreement 2 calculation
loan amount £6000
I paid £3557.35
Loan top up of £9750 (loan agreement 3)
I received £4158.36
£9750-£4158.36= £5591.64 was used to pay off loan agreement 2
£5591.64+£3557.35= £9148.99
£9147.99-£6000+ £3148.99 excess of the capital amount of the loan agreement.
Redress on loan agreement 2 £3138.99+(8%-20% tax on interest) simple interest= £3339.88
Loan agreement 3 calculation
loan amount £9750
I paid £7322.03
Final payment made £8599.01
total paid= £7322.03+£8599.01= £15,921.04
£15,921.04-£9750= £6171.04 excess of the capital amount of the loan agreement.
Redress on loan agreement 3 £6171.04+(8%-20% tax on interest) simple interest= £6565.98
Total redress to be paid to me
£747.83+£3339.88+£6565.98= £10,653.89
They offered me £9,691.45 (that includes the interest of £ 26.95 – 20%) surely that cant be right
Sara (Debt Camel) says
My rough calculations of the interest paid on each loan are:
loan 1 703
loan 2 3147
loan 3 6164
total £10014
The detailed calulations you gave – those are your calculations? They match mine for the “excess of the capital amount of the loan agreement.” calculations.
But you have completely misunderstood the 8% calculations. You appear to be taking 8% of the excess capital number and taking off 205 tax. That is not how these calculations work. It is 8% PER ANNUM, but you need to know the date the per annum calculation starts from… And Amigo starts that from the point where you no longer owe them any money.
However let’s ignore the 8% part…
“They offered me £9,691.45”
can you give all the components in this line? because it doesn’t sound right, It can’t be less than 10014 (unless some of the figures you gave were wrong).
So that pretty much matches what the calculations were.
ross says
Yeah that’s my calculations. I understand the mistake in the percentage calculation.
They said my total interest I paid was £9664.50
8% simple interest was £26.95-£6.74= £9691.45 Cash refund.
That’s the only information stated on the letter.
All my figures are correct.
So is the 8% interest only calculated per annum once all loans are paid off? surely it should be from when the individual loan is paid off or topped up as that’s a new agreement?
Should pursue this mistake or just accept there offer as its quite close to being correct?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it’s £400 out… it’s up to you if you feel strongly about this. I think it is worth asking Amigo to look again at their calculation as you think the interest paid is incorrect. Ask them to break this down by loan – that should make it easier to spot the problem.
I think Amigo calculate the 8% interest in an unfair way, but unless you are prepared to dispute this and go to the ombudsamn they will not change their mind. So far most people have decided they would would rather have the matter closed.
Lk says
Yet again told to wait for figures. They already know I’m on medication for heart problems so the stress really isn’t helping. All I want is my redress and to accept and receive the money so I can leave this all behind.
Jason Webb says
How many days you been waiting
Im on working day 16 (obudsman case)
Lk says
22 days today. Was promised a call back today. Also want to note she said “I don’t think think they’re that far behind now”. Haven’t had a call back
Jason Webb says
Is that 22 working days or 22 days ;)?
Gemma says
Anyone who amigo upheld through FOS got figures through yet???
Fellowman says
Nothing yet. 40 days and waiting for figures. Who knows how long they will make us wait for payment. But the complaints list looks better for Amigo regardless. A load of complaints upheld but no interest in paying out.
vicki says
Well .. I heard back from Amigo and called to except last monday .. Im looking at getting pay out around end of July they said, so fingers crossed.
Can’t thank Sara and this page enough for the information and support given.
Just over 8K .. changing amount of money ! Wedding paid off ! Happy Days !
Thanks Again
vicki says
Also if anyone it having nay trouble with Amigo replying I had this issue as well .
I first put my claim in March 2020 and was constantly getting fobbed off . So i sent to FOS and waited weeks and heard nothing.
Soo… i went onto amigo website i found email addresses for Amigos Investors and directors etc all the important people. I did an email copied them all into it and BAM week later email back Redress upheld. Its worth a try guys .
Vicki x
Kitty says
Hi Sara
Please can you answer my question-
Is obtaining earnings confirmation from a credit reference agency a good enough form of confirming earning for a loan? This is in relation to amigo loans?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
see https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/comment-page-45/#comment-375483 which sounds like a similar situation.
Shell says
Same here accepted on 18th june and still nothing getting a bit annoyed now spoke to fos will look into it
Ben d says
I am 32 days since accepting my redress and my guarantor has accepted also. My account still shows an active balance. No funds received to either.
I’ve just been told by customer complaint on the telephone, that my account won’t show as settled until the redress has been paid. This is contrary to everything I was told, and everything that happened to cases with guarantor involvement above??
Frogman says
My Guarantor phoned in last Friday to accept redress figure and was advised of a 35day wait.
Emma says
Hi,
My complaint to Amigo surrounds one loan, and then another top up loan.
Details of loan one:
Amount borrowed: £5,000 (Originally asked for £10,000 but was told my guarantor was unsuitable for the full amount as she rented and did not own her house). At the time I only had a part time job, and relied heavily on universal credit and child maintenance payments. I also had a large overdraft of around £2,500. numerous missed payments on my credit file including a CCJ for £1,333.
Towards this loan I made 15 payments of £197.62 (Total £2964.30).
Details of loan two:
Top-up loan to £10,000- £5297.69 paid to me, £4,702.31 used to settle loan one. (Used same guarantor as previous as she now somehow qualified!). At this time I told the advisor on the phone the reason for the loan was to make it over the summer as I will have no income (Just finished my student teaching and starting employment in September- due to be paid the end of September which was a whole two moths away). He agreed, however by this time I had catalogues and payday loans up to my eyeballs. He checked my guarantor and I got he loan. However he never asked me to go through any income and expenditure with him, nor do I believe he checked my credit report.
Can you suggest what amount I may get back from them? I’m currently in a really bad situation, I have just complained to SafetyNet and had that wiped clean and had a further £832 refunded to me which makes me confident to do others.
Thanks for any help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can you say how many payments you have made to the current loan?
Your current bad situation, is that related to coronavirus at all?
What other debts do you have apart from this Amigo one? Do you still have a large overdraft?
Emma says
I have made 11 payments of £398 towards the second loan. I had to push the date for the payment in December from the start to the end so I could afford Xmas.
I wiped the Overdraft with the first loan, however bad money management, stupidly high rent, high childcare and only a part time position quickly put me back where I was. I then paid this off, slowly, during my training year. I now have no overdraft- can you complain about overdrafts to the bank?. I took out numerous payday loans to ensure Amigo was always paid- I had a refund from safety net credit, I have just cleared lending stream which I stupidly used a company to complain about through and all they got me was a small deduction and then I had to pay them £65!!! I had catalogues- still owing around £500, a tandem credit card with £750 on it.
It is linked with COVID partly, however I’m a school teacher so I’ve been paid throughout so they won’t offer help.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I make the interest:
loan 1 2667.3
current laon – you have only paid £4378 so far. So if interest is removed from this loan there will be still be a balance of £5622 to pay.
If both loans are upheld, the refund from the first will clear some of that balance leaving you with £2954 to pay. Your guarantor will be released and you will be able to make an affordable payment arrangement to clear this. Or put the debt into a debt management plan with your other debts.
Are you still making payments to the other debts?
What has been the impact of COVID on you? It doesn’t have to be a direct affect on your income for you to be able to get a payment break…
Emma says
I thought they would also calculate the interest I have paid on this current loan- also does the 8% statutory interest not apply?.
I’m making minimum payments to my other debts so they are slowly going away.
COVID has impacted us in that my partner hasn’t been working, so I’ve had to foot more of the bills than I normally would also my sons dad has been out of work so his maintenance payments have reduced leaving me with less money than normal. We have survived.. but only just.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There are a couple of different ways to work out what will happen to the last loan, but they give the same answer and the one I have used is the simplest. And in your situation you will not get any 8% interest.
Amigo should still give you a payment break even though it is your partner and your ex who have been affected by Coronavirus. Go back to Amigo and say you need a three month payment break and quote this https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/finalised-guidance/finalised-guidance-personal-loans-coronavirus-updated-final-guidance-firms.pdf to them:
“1.7 It is intended to provide help to those who might be having temporary difficulty in making their personal loan payments due to a loss of orreduction in their income (or income of other members of their household) or to those who expect to experience such difficulties.”
Jaz says
Hi Sara
My mum was the guarantor on my Amigo loan, she made a few payments towards the loan when i could not, the loan was for 3 years, about 2 years into the loan my mum paid off the balance remaining and settled the loan early, not long after I payed my mum back all the money she had borrowed me, as Im making a affordability complaint to amigo loans, what do I need to do to tell amigo loans, that all the payments that was made by my guarantor has been all paid back to them by me. what would I need from my guarantor to show Amigo that I have paid them back.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am going to assume you win your complaint.
Amigo will then offer to refund your mum. If she says Yes, then will repay her but then take the money off your loan accounts so you again owe the money. Your mum can then give you the money to settle the balance at Amigo.
If she tells Amigo she doesn’t want the refund, it will come to you.
Jaz says
Hi Sara
The loan is already paid off, my mum paid the whole loan off and settled the account, so their is no money owed to Amigo, I don’t understand what you mean when you said,” but then take the money off your loan accounts so you again owe the money.” there is no balance to pay as the loan is finished and payed off.
Craig says
Hi Sara
I have just had a phone call from Amigo regarding unpaid interest on my non upheld loan, basically they said interest is charged daily and when I topped up the loan interest was charged till the day of top up now that they up held all my other loans it means that they can charge me for interest for the duration of the affordable loan and that they didn’t take it from the payout of my second loan. I told them I don’t believe them and tha the complaint is with the ombudsman.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I told them I don’t believe them and that the complaint is with the ombudsman.
Quite right
Shem says
Hi
I have also raised the deduction of unpaid interest with them, although I had already had the refund a week ago I saw Sara’s post about this and then checked my figures, it’s a relatively small amount compared to some at £167 but I have given them a week to refund it will update my FOS complaint rather than close it as planed. Essentially this feels like an early repayment penalty. If we had settled the balance any other way daily interest would only be added until the date of settlement so this shouldn’t be any different. Plus it’s not like subsequent loans were squashed and void we still repaid the capital and it was the capital that was deducted from the loan total to settle the prior balance so they really are chancers here.
I hope the FOS is aware and takes an overall stance on this rather than everyone having to raise it on case by case basis As I know some are hundreds short!
Shem
RD says
Hi Sara.
I’ve had my affordability complaint rejected by George Banco today.
On my application I told them that the GB £10,000 loan was to consolidate two loans worth £9,902. Which I lied about, I was heavily gambling at the time. My bank statements shows a lot of paypal transactions, but those are to gambling sites. So you have to look at both my bank statements and paypal statement to see how serious my gambling problem was.
From my credit report
1) I had 11 active forms of lending totalling £39,219.
2) I had opened 9 forms of lending in 12 months before applying for the George Banco loan. (August 2018-August 2019) totalling £38,474 (£21,819 for a car hire purchase and £16,655 for loans). Out of the 9 active loans, 6 had history of missed payments and early arrears. 1 loan had default.
4) I had a delinquent status on one of my three credit cards with numerous missed payments and arrears.
5) My two remaining credit cards showed that my balance was over my limit most months and I was paying the very minimum each month. £516 balance/£24 payment and £213 balance/£6 payment.
Going from my terrible lending history and the amount of new accounts opened in 12 months, would an irresponsible lending complaint stand better than a affordability complaint? Should they have noticed that something was not right?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“Going from my terrible lending history and the amount of new accounts opened in 12 months, would an irresponsible lending complaint stand better than a affordability complaint?”
this is largely semantics, there is no point in worrying about how to label your complaint.
If they had looked at your bank statements they would have seen a surprising number of the payplan transactions. they should have queried what these were. I suggest you send the complaint to FOS.
Johnny D says
I’ve just recieved my funds…. Thank you everyone and thank you Sara… Put complaint in Nov and got refused in Feb. Sent to FOS in Feb. Got an email from Amigo on the 13th June saying they had changed the decision. Got redress figure 2nd July accepted on the 3rd. Got my money today the 13th. Got told after accepting that it will take up to 15 days but cud come sooner. Good luck everyone, it will happen.
Stevan says
Evening All,
Redress of 3.5k was paid this evening after 20 plus days wait..
Can finally breathe…
My account was settled 2 year ago with not GT payments. Claim was made in January 2020
I will make a donation to citizens advice – many thanks Sara!
Just have a claim with 118118 and lending stream both with FOS. fingers crossed with both of them.
Ben says
Was it 20 days or 20 working days
Stevan says
20 plus working days
Sarah says
Hi Sara,
I am waiting for my cash refund from amigo have till 17th July then it would of been 15 working days. Just wondering do you know if it will show up on the account with amigo even if the account has been closed and settled since 2017
Shem says
Hi Sarah
Mine did. Account was closed in 2018 but the refund amount showed up a couple of days before it was paid into my bank.
Shem x
Shem says
Hi all
I know this thread is mostly Amigo related but having recently had an Amigo complaint upheld I have submitted similar to UK credit as also relied on pay day lending to make payments to them rather than drop my guarantor in it. Anyone had any dealings with UK Credit in terms of complaint handling to give me any idea of what to expect in terms of response time and how fairly they treat complaint etc?
Thanks
Shem x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
expect to have to send your case to the ombudsman…
Catherine says
Hi does anyone have any advice. I had loan upon loan off amigo over a few years. Mounting up to £20k in total. After a while my mother paid the loan off with a lower interest loan to which I am still paying. I sent a complaint to amigo 16 wks ago & haven’t heard anything back apart from asking for more 4 wks ago. What is my next best course of action?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your case should be resolved as part of Amigo’s program to clear the backlog… but they aren’t agreeing with all complaints and if you have had several loans they may only offer to settle a few…
So I suggest you send the complaint to the ombudsman now, see the article above for how to do this. This gets you into the Ombudsman queue in case your complaint needs to go there.
Catherine says
Thank you. Is there a covering letter to send to FOS or just an email being enough? I did contact them last week & they suggested giving amigo a dead line. To which I have done & had no response
Don says
Just a little update. FOS contacted me on the 3rd July to say Amigo has reviewed my complaint and were now upholding all my loans. I accepted this with fos the same day. Just phoned Amigo to ask when I’m likely to get some form of contact from them. The guy on the phone although polite was near enough laughing when he spoke to me and said they’re very busy at the moment and he can see on my notes we’re waiting for the figures to be done and he can’t give a timescale, no timescale at all. I asked if there’s a maximum amount of time I could end up waiting and he said no there is no timescale. He said if I don’t hear anything this week to phone next week and they may be able to do something about it….not sure what they can do next week that’s different to this but there we go. The wait continues. I’ll update again when I hear something.
Charlotte says
What number did you contact them on?
Thanks 😊
Don says
Hi Charlotte I’ve always phoned them on 01202 835170 and they‘ve answered pretty much straight away each time.
Catherine says
They told me 3 wks ago that they can not give a timescale as they are extremely busy. As most companies they are using covid as an excuse.
Can I ask how long since u first complained? And how long since u contacted FOS.
Thank you
Don says
Hi Catherine, I first complained in August last year and it was sent to the Fos at the end of September but wasn’t allocated to an adjudicator until March.
Fellowman says
It”s same scenario as mine. I accepted through the fos 3rd of June. 6 weeks waiting for figures. In the meantime they are continuing to complete complaints that were filed months after. No timescale or intervention by fos is poor. I could end up waiting longer than the initial 8 weeks just to get paid. 9 months until now.
Catherine says
I haven’t even had the claim accepted yet which I submitted 15 weeks ago.
Can someone shed any light on how long it took them on claim being accepted?
I took out £6000 loan to which I topped up 3/4 times receiving max £1000. Paid back in total £17,214 😩
Gemma says
That’s an outstanding timeframe fellowman have you contacted your adjudicator? I know there was a lady on here that got hers over a weeks ago and she was waiting 5 weeks! If they had caught up surely you should have yours by now. Bloody ridiculous!
Paul says
Don – i have been in exactly the same position as you since early June! I may be wrong but it appears that those people who have accepted an offer from Amigo via FOS have not been paid. This group of customers are apparently being treated differently and i don’t know why. What on earth is going on i wonder?
Don says
Paul – It does appear that way doesn’t it, I can’t understand why the treatment is different. I completely appreciate they’re trying to get through a backlog and COVID-19 has impacting staffing etc but surely if they’re upholding complaints the next step should be to do the figures before moving onto the next complaint. Baffles me! Have you been back in touch with the fos?
Gemma says
I suggest you all get back in touch with fos as they have a 4 weeks timeline and mine are up! When I received a reply from the fca their advice was to phone or email your adjudicator as they are the ones who can push it through 🤷♀️
Ann says
Hi Sara I have been refused my complaint last week witch is now with the ombudsman.but I have been on reduced pay with my job because of covid a loss off £500 a month I have had 3months payment freeze with amigo loans and now am asking for more time as my situation hasn’t changed.but they have agreed but are saying it will now have interest added can they do this many thanks ann keep up the good work 😊
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes they can – but if you win your complaint at the Ombudsman all interest is removed, so the extra doesn’t really matter. Basically if you can’t afford to make the payments then you NEED the break.
What was your guarantor’s situation at the time you took the current loan from Amigo?
Ann says
Hi Sara my guarantor was working cash in hand and had just started a horse rug washing from home has two small children and a husband in the army but they own their own home on mortgage it’s my daughter I was refused the loan first time round and when my guarantor came on board they said yes because of her owning the house but so she could help me she was saying she earned more on the rugs a month than she did she has now put in an affordability complaint thanks
Lynn says
Hi,
Great site. I currently have an affordability claim with Amigo and was wondering if you could give me an idea of any refund that would be due based on the following figures:
Loan 1 21/08/2012 £2000
Interest £574.48
Payments 9 x £123.63
Settled 04/06/2013 £1461.81
Loan 2 (Top up) £3750 04/06/2013
Cash payout £2288.19
Interest £3194.03
Payments 26 x £182.96
Settled 22/10/2015 £1241.27
Loan 3 (top up) £3250 22/10/2015
Cash payout £2008.73
Interest £711.52
Payments 6 x £200.90
Settled 18/05/2016 £2756.12
Loan 4 (top up) 18/05/2016
Cash payout £1493.88
Interest £3446.54
Payments 34 x £307.35
Outstanding balance of £359.29 left to pay
Loan 4 was for £4,250
Sara (Debt Camel) says
My interest calculations for each loan show:
loan 1 569
loan 2 2224
loan 3 707
loan 4 6188
Which is a total interest paid of £9688
I would expect my calculations for loans 1-3 to be the same as you have… loan 2 looks a long way out? Are you sure the numbers are right?
Lynn says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for your response. I have just taken the interest applied straight from my statements for each loan. I have recalculated and get the same figure.
M says
Hi Sara,
I hope you’re well.
I had my complaint upheld by FOS on 3rd July against Buddy Loans. I was wondering if you could help calculate redress figures as i am unsure on how the 8% works.
The loan was for 1000 and i paid 30 x 53.90
it was settled in March 2019
Thanks,
M
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you paid them 1617, that is £617 interest to be refunded. Plus about£200 in 8% interest less £40 tax – which you can problem claim back from HMRC, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/.
Vicki says
Well Happy Birthday to me! Submitted my Amigo complaint 7th May 2020. Escalated to FOS last week.
Received my response direct from Amigo today upholding all of my 5 loans
£10,805.12 accpeted and will be paid within 15 days.
Im in shock!
Huge thanks to Sara for all your help and advice on all of this, I hope that everyone gets their responses soon!
Sandra says
That’s amazing vicki what all did you submit to fos after the eight weeks were up if you don’t mind me asking, thanks.
Vicki says
I just followed the steps in the post above and advised the same as what I said to Amigo, uploaded my Statements and advised it had been 8 weeks with no response from Amigo.
chris says
Where as those of us 20+ weeks havent heard a dicky bird. Why is amigo doing it like this its so stupid.
K! says
Here! Here! It’s ridiculous how long they are taking. Newbie people are sorted very quickly. Why are the people who have been waiting so long… Waiting so long?
Claire says
It’s very frustrating isn’t it I’m still here and waiting 21 weeks now for me. I am happy for others who have had there decision but I’m also slightly annoyed that I am still waiting as mine is not a complex case.
LEE says
Feeling your pain there, in my 19th week. I emailed their complaints director yesterday…not that that will make a jot of difference!
Vicki says
I know Chris, I was honestly floored to receive a response so soon, I was sat back thinking it would be October before I got a response. I feel so bad I am sorry:-(
Regarding my case, if it helps.
I had a 3 month payment break due to COVID19
I emailed them to ask where my SAR was when I didn receive after 30 days (I then got it the next day)
I emailed them to ask some questions about my options related to my loan ongoing due to my household still being impacted financially as a result of COVID19 and stated within that email that I was suffering with Mental health issues and Anxiety they sent me a load of questions about my health to complete – I responded to them about Anxiety in particular regarding mine and my families future last night (13th July) and then got my response today.
The email they sent was dated 9th July.
I am still really shocked and I truly hope that you all get your responses soon and they are all positive.
Nath says
So everyone seems to be told different.
Today I was told that regardless of when guarantor accepts refund it doesn’t get process till the 14 working day is over.
Then you are supposed to receive within 5 working days the figures.
Mine as it stands now is around 19 working days overdue
I’m fuming, frustrated and stressed about this whole situation
Emma says
I’m in exactly the same spot , I keep getting fobbed off. My guarantor accepted his redness 18 days ago and I’m still waiting for my figures and nothing , everytime I email all I send me back is the same email including there time frame which clearly doesn’t stand
Nath says
Absolute time waster so quick to chase when you owe money but when you want something sorted they fob you off.
I asked for a payment holiday in April via email and over the phone. Only to find out yesterday they hadn’t even applied it and told me I should of been maintaing payment I just laughed.
Amy says
I’m at 5 weeks waiting for my redress , phoned amigo and the FOS , amigo said they have a back log and can’t give me a timeframe even though I was told 10 days to do the calculations , just phoned the FOS and they have told me to wait another 2 weeks due to the backlog and Covid ! I don’t mind waiting but this is insane and to be told different things is very frustrating :(
martin says
Hi sara
Many thanks for this page, this afternoon I received ‘the email from amigo, I first complained on April 25th 2020, they have upheld 3 of my 4 loans and have accepted the redress figures which I am very happy with,
Thanks for all the info and advice given on this page its fantastic,
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do check those figures… is there a line there which says something like “unpaid interest on non-uphold loan”?
Because if there is, Amigo should not be deducting that. You can send a complaint to FOS asking for that money back.
martin says
Hi sara
Yes there was that line and the figure was £22.14, in the grand scheme of things to put this to an end I am happy to write of this £22, but the final figure is slightly higher than I imagined it to be anyway,
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Fair enough! £22 isn’t worth arguing about!
Jonathan says
I had my first Loan when the company was called FLM loans, probably back in 2007. They werent that bothered how much I earnt and my affordability as my guarantor had a house. First loan was for 3K. Missed a few payments and the guarantor had to pay (paid him back) and then they kept bothering me asking me if I wanted a top up which I took out. This was for 5K and ended in 2012-2013. I made my complaint in April and have not yet had a response but the 8 weeks has passed. I know that there is a 6 year period, but I wasnt aware so am hoping that the additional 3 years will apply as I wasnt aware that I had a complaint prior to this and reading online.
Any thoughts, or anyone else have any similar circumstances where the 6 year period had passed?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send your complaint to the Ombudsman now. If Amigo reject your complaint, FOS is usually considering these older loans. (But only if the first one was taken after April 2007.)
Jonathan says
Can I go to FOS even though I went through a claima management company? I can’t get hold of them at all.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have they vanished or are they just not responding?
Jonathan says
Just not responding. I have just sent my complaint to FOS and included the letter from the claim management company.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I also suggest you tell your claims company as they have not responded to your emails dated dd/mm/yy, dd/mm/yy etc you have sent your complain to FOS and you will not be paying them their fee as they have been failing to support and advise you.
Claire says
I am on week 21, I have just received the email :) amigo have upheld 1 out of 3 loans and my Redress is 6.5k Which will be refunded to me as I do not have an outstanding balance. I am going to accept this as I want this to be over now. I hope you receive a decision soon if it helps I spoke to an advisor today who said to wait a few week and ring again if not received a decision by then so it really isn’t worth calling them. now the wait for the refund :) I really hope you all hear something soon.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s fine if you are happy to take an offer of just one loan to be refunded if that feels ok to you.
But do check and see if there is a line which says “unpaid interest on non-uphold loans” or something like that?
Claire says
Hi Sara,
I haven’t had any charges or unpaid interest fees added, basically the interest paid and the 8% and the 20% tax that was it.
I am happy at that result as that was the main one I was putting my claim in for as the other two were borderline.
Thank you again for all the help I couldn’t have done it without your help and the people in the same situation so thank you I will make a donation to my local citizens advice :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s great – it’s good to move on!
Fellowman says
I have just contacted Amigo after waiting another 14 days.
My timeline :
Initial complaint October 2019. 12 weeks
Rejected January2019.
Sent to Fos January.
Picked up in April by Fos.
Complaint upheld 3rd June on all loans. No gaurantor involvement. Promised redress figures in 10 workings days from june 3rd. Now 6 weeks later.
Today both Amigo and FOS would not give me any time frame for payment. I will get it when i get. Or If i get it.
Seems for some of us it’s a different set of rules. Amigo refused to offer any way i could escalate, neither did Fos offer any avenue. Looks like resolved on paper is satisfactory for them.
Gemma says
I sent an email yesterday to say that as it is now the 4 weeks and the fos states you have 4 weeks to settle I will be going back to the fos and asking others to be prioritised with ombudsman as they will take into account the 2 loans you have not upheld! Few minutes ago received my calculations! I’m in shock…. fellowman your case is not closed yet as they have not settled so fos really should be helping you! I reallly hope you get them ASAP.
Fellowman says
Nice to hear you got them finally. All the best.
LEE says
So my email to complaints director may have worked, got my offer and they’re upholding three of the top up loans (latest three) and I agree with their appraisal. Of course they’ve whacked on £1900 worth of that bloody interest on unpaid loans so I’ll continue with FOS in that regard and flag to FCA.
Sara thanks so much for this site, you’re amazing and I am rooting for everyone still waiting for redress and response.
Claire says
Great news Lee I also emailed a few people on amigos website yesterday and just received my final decision this evening maybe it did work who knows :)
LEE says
Fab! Glad to hear that Claire :) This ain’t over for me yet but 50% through now as opposed to 5%! :o
L1991 says
Anyone had any joy with TFS lately? I’m week 10 with them, had an email at 8 weeks asking for 4 more weeks but it seems they’re rejecting most of late.
Rhiannon says
Hello Sara,
Thank you so much for all the help and information you’ve posted on this page. Thanks to you I have been successful with my complaint.
I was just wondering if you could please help me figure out what I am owed from them?
Loan 1 .36 months £3000- 3 payments of £146.37
Loan 2 36 months .£4750- 21 payments of £231.75. then the outstanding balance was paid by my guarantor. They have offered him £2333 plus the 8%
Loan 3 12 months. £750- 3 payments of £77.29
Loan 4 24 months. £1250- 17 payments of £77.27 then my mum paid the remainder for me.
I wish I could buy you some wine and chocolates as I feel you’ve given me a lifeline, I finally feel like I can pay off my credit cards and breathe easy. Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
loan 2 and 4 were top-ups? How much did you receive in cash when you took these loans?
Rhiannon says
Hiya Sara,
Yes they were top ups. Unfortunately I’m not sure how much I received. I can’t seem to find it on credit report or emails.
X
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can you look at your bank statements? Or ask your guarantor?
Rhiannon says
Sorry £2044 and £510
Do you think I will end up owing them money as they’re going to give my guarantor £2333 back? The loans are all cleared but I’m so stressed over this xx
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry another question –
you say your mum settled the last loan – was she the guarantor? of did she make the payment and Amigo would have thought it was you paying? How large is this payment?
Rhiannon says
Mum paid about £460. She wasn’t the guarantor so they would have thought it was me making the payment. X
Jordan says
Update-
My account has just changed to settled
Bethany says
Jordon
What time did it change
When did you accept
Mine still not closed it’s really upsetting me
C says
Mine updated over night last night!!
I accepted on 6th
Jordan says
Accepted last Friday
Settled 930pm last night :)
NAG says
🤣🤣🤣 Great news for you Jordan.
But… they really are laughable.
I accepted my offer last Wednesday.
I think we can all agree that constant checking is just going to stress us all to the point of insanity.
Having spoken with them and read other peoples’ experiences, it appears that the number of ‘processes’, ‘proceedures’, ‘checks’ and ‘investigation’ that they are doing involve a combination of the following:
1. Magic voodoo bones.
2. Dice.
3. Big wheel of fortune.
4. Number randomizer.
5. Lottery balls.
🤣🤣
Gemma says
Hi Sara here are my figures
Interest paid to be refunded to you : £15,690.57
8% statutory interest awarded : £1,699.90
20% tax already deducted from 8% : £424.97
Unpaid interest from non-upheld loans: -£218.93
Total interest refund due : £17,171.54
This interest refund has been applied to the current outstanding capital balance on your current loan. This has settled your loan and closed in full and now a cash refund is owed to you of £7,331.88.
Obviously I know the £218.93 shouldn’t be taken off! But my current loan outstanding is £9839 do they take the interest off and add it to the total interest I’ve paid? Can I request a breakdown of the total interest?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can ask for a break down of the interest by loan.
I can’t say the numbers look clearly wrong. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/comment-page-46/#comment-376201 where I tyry to explain how they work out the interest on a loan which hasn’t been settled.
Gemma says
Thanks Sara I emailed and asked for the breakdown with their reply being just give us a call if you want to discuss this! I refused and said no I just request a breakdown.
Audrey says
Hi Sara my husband is still waiting to hear about his complaint. They sent him an email just before the 8 weeks.stating they were still looking in to it. And would update him in a month. That has passed. He spoke to a member of amigo on Friday
He was a bit behind. They have come to an agreement with him to get account back on track. He is paying £329 per month for 3 months. Then back to his original payments of £395. Would any of this affect his claim thanks audey
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am not sure how paying less for 3 months can get an account “back on track”?
Can you afford these payments?
I know you had to self-isolate before. Are you or your husband’s finances currently being affected by cornoavirus?
PS if you haven’t yet sent the complaint to FOS, I suggest you should.
Jonathan says
I forwarded my complaint from a CMC to the FOS last night with some further information as the 8 weeks had passed with no response from Amigo and also sent Amigo an email today outlining that I had sent it to the FOS. Do you think there is any scope now they know I have sent it to FOS due to no reply they will look at it in-house?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think it will make no difference to what Amigo are doing or the speed they do it at.
And it won’t be looked at by FOS any time soon as they will be witing for Amigo to decide and will need Amigo’s case file.
But the good reason for sending this to FOS is that if Amigo reject your complaint or make you a poor offer, you are already in the FOS queue so your complaint may be considered by FOS earlier as they will have had it for longer.
Sarah says
Hi is the redress offer sent by email or letter in the post?
PM says
My guarantor received an email with the letter attached. I’m expecting the same. There is no reason for them to post it, totally unnecessary admin.
Andy says
I took out my original loan with Amigo in November 2014 for £2750 and then had 2 top ups in March 2016 with a £6000 and Sept 2017 £10000 always just receiving the balance once the earlier loan was paid. I contacted them a number of months after the last top up as I was struggling but was told that they would contact the guarantor if I could not pay. As I had a lot of other debts including rent arrears and council tax and did not want to burden my guarantor I tried to enter into an IVA and pay my guarantor monthly out of my living allowance (I informed Amigo in a phone call of my plans) but this was declined by the council and Amigo so went bankrupt 12 November 2018. Since then I have paid my guarantor all moneys she has had do pay.
I raised an affordability claim after finding this site on the 11th of May sending bank statements of proof of erratic spending and non payment of rent and utilities, My credit file would also of appeared terrible at the times of the loans but don’t have access to these, hoping they have copies on the files I have requested off them. I have now escalated to the FOS as still not received a reply.
They have now emailed a link which I’m a waiting log in details for the data they hold on me once I escalated to the ICO.
Sara do you think this is potentially a good case?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You may have a great case however if you win it any refund that you would have got will go to the Official Receiver not to you…
So it is essential that if you win your case your guarantor should tell Amigo she wants to receive the refund she should get. Because if she says No, you will not see any of the money. If Amigo pays a refund to your guarantor they will adjust your accounts so that the payments your guarantor has made are removed – this will leave the accounts showing that you owe a balance, but all debt that you owed to Amigo will have been included in your bankruptcy so you will not have to pay any balance Amigo say you owe.
I assume you have been discharged from bankruptcy? Are you paying an IPA?
PS Your guarantor appears to have also asked about her position on the guarantor page, so I will answer your questions about that over there
Andy says
Thanks Sara
Yes i was discharged in Nov 2019, The IPA was not required due small amount of spare cash left after living costs and bills.
Got in arrears with the personal tax payments and council tax due paying Amigo every month.
Appreciate I wont get any money back but the 18 months of Guarantor payments will come back my way and the final financial anchor from my past will hopefully be removed.
Just worried that the bankruptcy might hinder things.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No that should be OK if you are happy with the refund going to your guarantor.
charlotte says
Hi Sara
If you we’re declared bankrupt but have been discharged do they still send any refund to OR?
I was discharged 4 years ago
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the money will probably go to the Official Receiver :(
The “right to make a claim” was an asset you owned when you went bankrupt (if even if you didn’t know it) and the right than became the property of the Official Receiver. So the OR should get any refund from the claim.
This is also what happened with PPI refunds.
Chris says
Hi there I’m awaiting my redress figures as Amigo upheld 3 of my 5 loans but have a question. If there is unpaid interest from the first 2 loans which they have taken off my redress figures and I accept the figure can I still complain to FOS and try and get unpaid interest back?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If this happens, then you can complain to Amigo that should not have been deducted. They may well tell you to accept the offer and take your complaint to FOS.
Holly says
Hi guys !
I’ve put in a complaint with amigo , in the mean time I have asked them for a reduced monthly payment usually £74 I have asked for £50 . On my income and expenditure sheet there is a section for other which I put in £200 this going towards my mother who at the time lent me some money to help pay off bigger debts , I pay her this every month and can prove it and unfortunately she has been registered disabled in the last two years so of course this money is a massive help to her . Amigo are suggesting I pay her less and them more and they aren’t accepting my payment plan Saying I am not treating them fairly
I have listed my creditors apart from mum and said they have all accepted plans and they have been paid on time every month due to them being affordable so I am treating the creditors fairly in terms of them .
Any advice at all ?
Thanks
Holly
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am afraid Amigo are being reasonable here – there is no reason why you should pay your mum back in full each month and pay your other creditors less.
Holly says
Oh dear ok
Marie says
Hi ,
I have today received from redress amount from amigo:
Total Interest £12,027.96
Unpaid interest from non-upheld loan £557.18
Total redress £11,470.78
Existing Loan balance £12,270.40 minus Redress leaves balance of £799.62.
However unsure what the unpaid interest is as that is from the first loan I ever had with them and was paid in full, also as they are removing all interest from loans my existing loan is £11500. Should it be amended to that balance then less the redress.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Unpaid interest from non-upheld loan £557.18
Amigo are doing this to a lot of people at the moment. I think it is very unfair. I think they should remove that deduction. And I think it is likely the Ombudsman will agree.
Was it just the first loan they aren’t upholding? How large was that loan? Do you know how much interest you paid on that loan? because perhaps that loan should be refunded as well…
Gemma says
Marie I have asked for a breakdown of the interest as I was unsure weather they added the interest from the last loan to the full interest figure! Not that they have got back to me yet.
Marie says
Hi ,
Yeah it’s the very first loan I had it was for £3000, not sure how much interest I paid.
Should they reduce my existing loan balance to £11500 As well?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“Existing Loan balance £12,270.40 minus Redress leaves balance of £799.62.”
They are proposing to reduce your existing loan balance to £799.
If the “un[paid interest” wasn’t being deducted, your balance would have gone down to just £242.
Marie says
Hi Sara,
I mean with my existing loan shouldn’t it now just be the capital £11500 being paid back not the £12270 that’s outstanding?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Thereare two ways to look at the calulation. Both give the same result.
The simple one is to say you only have to repay what you borrowed, the 11500 and any amount over that are “interest” and should be deducted. That is what I do.
The more complicated one is to look at your account for the loan and see that says you paid £x of interest on Nov 15, £y of interest on Dec 15 etc and then refund you those amounts and the interest still to pay, taking them away from the balance outstanding.
Amigo’s way you have to know lots of different numbers and then treat any other charges seperately. My way you need to know a lot fewer numbers and it automatically accounts for any other charges.
But they come to the same answer in the end.
NB I am not saying Amigo got the numbers right in your case. But what you have said doesn’t suggest to me that they have got them wrong.
Jack says
I just had my affordability complaint rejected because:
Your stated monthly income of £xxxx was verified by a third-party credit reference agency and your monthly expenditure of £xxxx was checked against averages published by the Office of National Statistics (“ONS”).
I know this isn’t true, there can’t be any agency that could have verified my income being that high.
Which third party credit reference agency could they be referring to? Are they playing games?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo normally uses TransUnion (used to be called Call Credit).
But there is no point in trying to argue with Amigo about this, send your complaint straight to the Ombudsman, or if you did that before, send a copy of your rejection email to FOS and say you would like FOS to now proceed with your complaint.
Sally says
Update
I accepted on 29 June 2020
Just had a call to say should be settle bu end of week they are running to plan
They gonna ring me tomorrow night with another update
K says
I also accepted on the 29th, I hope this is true I’m constantly checking my account!
Jordan says
Hello everyone,
Just letting you know I have been paid today.
3.3k accepted Friday
Account settled last night
Funds today
NAG says
That’s fantastic news, congratulations!
The randomizer strikes again!
Lk says
lmao literally.
Haven’t even received my figures yet. It’s been three weeks. Guarantor has already accepted and won’t receive anything until mines done.
jen says
hi
would you still be able to see your statement if an account has been settled ?
😊
Sandra says
Hi Sara I have looked on my credit file and they can see from me borrowing money from other creditors and being in arrears with some
Does this help my complaint obviously I have an affordability complaint in with amigo at the moment was just wondering, many thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo lend money to people with bad credit records. But iyour credit record is part of what Amigo should have taken into account when deciding whether you caould afford to repay their loan.
Have you sent Amigo copies of your bank statements?
Sandra says
Yes I’ve sent them pages of statements and it shows gambling also and debt around when I first took my loan back in 2015 I still have a loan with them so I’ve just basically copied the template from this page and sent them my agreement numbers etc all the information they need. It hasn’t been with them
Long only a few weeks I’ve had a few emails
Just the normal things they are dealing with my complaint etc.
Martin says
Well what can I say, yesterday I posted i jad received my email upholding 3 out of 4 loans, I called them to accept this and over 5k has hit my account today, am stunned how fast this has been paid after reading some posts on here, original complaint put in 25/04/2020
Beth says
Wow that was quick I’m still awaiting mine
L says
Well done to you but this is a slap in the face to people like me whose complaint was put in 06/02/2020 upheld 17/06/2020, guarantor accepted same day and I still haven’t received any figures.
martin says
I am stunned at the quickness to, they said it would be paid anytime up to 4th August, I certainly didn’t expect it to be next day,
Nath says
Absolute joke. Submitted mine 28/01/2020 not even had figures yet and no one at amigo knows when I’ll be getting them.
I am getting so annoyed at the fact people are being paid out so fast and I can’t even get a straight answer
Claire H says
I’ve put my complaint in on the same dat as you, I did how ever get some sort of response from Amigo yesterday saying they are working with the ombusdman and will be in contact when they have reached a conclusion but I am none the wiser as to how long I will be waiting, so frustrating
Jen says
I wonder if it’s the person who takes the call who then has to do all the work on the account to close it
Maybe it’s how proactive they are and things
Maybe I got the wrong person to answer my call haha
I’ve got lovely lass ringing me back again tomorrow so fingers crossed it’s closed tonight as really stressing me out I’ve been promise bu Friday should be done but I have no fairh
Victoria says
I havent even had an email from them advising me if my complaint has been upheld or not! 2nd of March, so people who are after than this should count themselves fortunate that they’ve heard. If mine is upheld I will be waiting a few more weeks for figures and then payment! I have been ringing everyday, have been waiting for a call back 3 times in the last week with no joy plus sending lots of emails. Plus I’ve been lied to so a further 2 complaints have been lodged.
Good luck to you all! 🙂
Lk says
I think putting a further two complaints in on top of your original will cause a longer delay as they’ll now say they need to investigate them for your final response.
Anon says
I had an email today to say they can assure me no one has been dealt with who put a complaint in after me – they have not jumped the queue 🤣
They are lying through their back teeth – I put my complaint in in March.
Siobhan says
Count yourself lucky, mine has been ongoing between Amigo and FOS since February 2019!
NJ says
Hi
I sent my complaints on 18th June with bank statements and credit history(defaulted accounts) through experian and trans union the following week. The 8 week period will expire on thursday 13th of august. Do i expect Amigo to get back to me before the 8 week period or literally the last day of it?
What is the quickest response time anyone has had with them?
DLMB2017 says
I sent mine in January NJ. Nearly 6 months now. I feel pig sick to be honest that I’ve not heard a bean out of them when I see some of the posts on here of people putting claims in April being settled and paid up already :-(
Lk says
No. It is highly unlikely. You will get an automated email saying they’re delayed, as their backlog is large. Send it to FOS at the 8 week mark. You are probably looking at a 3-6 month wait depending on your case it could be even longer.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your complaint will be in the backlog Amigo is trying to work its way through. You are unlikely to get a response before the 8 week. And Amigo are rejecting or making poor offers on some good cases, so it may be best to send it to FOS at the 8 week point.
Beth says
Please let me know if anyone’s accounts get settled tonight
NAG says
Not mine Beth, absolutely fuming now. I accepted an offer on the 8th July after complaint was upheld on the 9th June.
I’m really made up for the guys that were paid today (congratulations to all!) and I’ve remained quite cool throughout but now – having seen two folks who accepted offers after me get paid, I’m so angry.
It’s easy to say to ‘just keep checking’ and be patient but this means so much to people it’s difficult to do, infuriating and very (very!) stressful. If they were CONSISTENT then it would be easy to do. It is easy to understand that they’re busy but there seems to be no process and the customer service agents, whilst friendly, give nothing away. They need to be honest and consistent with their advice rather than giving random timescales and frankly talking complete BS.
It is even more annoying that we can’t do anything because phoning and emailing get us nowhere.
Beth says
It’s so sad I accepted on 29th and still not got money and account still open driving me mad the stress I’m going through checking and checking
Kel says
Yep I accepted 19th June and nothing for me either. No changes to account either. So frustrating.
Simon says
Spare a thought for people who complained last year and are still waiting payments….
Nicole says
Mine got settled tonight.. I accepted on the 6th July
Stacey says
Hi,
I settled last Wednesday and received the funds tonight, my guarantor hasn’t received there’s though. Does anyone know how long it usual takes after the borrow gets their payment?
TIA
Sophie says
If it makes anyone feel any better, I put my complaint in on January 29th 2020. Got refused in early feb pretty much straight away due to being 6+ years old. Got a reversed decision from FOS on 15th June and have been waiting since then for my figures. I know it’s really irritating but I do believe they will get round to us when they can. Ringing and emailing constantly just uses the resource up that could be spent on settling more accounts so best to just wait it out in my opinion. They have money in the bank, so although it’s not ideal, we will get our money eventually. Hoping to have figures any day 🤞
PM says
Completely agree, Sophie. Last time I asked, I was told they had a team of 20 working on the complaints, and another 20 on phones and emails. When you consider the 9000+ reported complaints, it’s going to take time. As hard as it is, we need to be patient because it’s out of our control.
Kayleigh says
Just thought I’d share the email I received this morning regarding payments, I’m getting more frustrated that people who accepted after me are being paid out first…
Hi Kayleigh,
There is no order, we can’t give out specific times or dates, it is to do with the banking. The time frames that you were given are the time frames you will get your redress.
Thanks
Paige @ Amigo
John says
If it makes anyone feel better, my complaint is very straightforward and I’m still waiting for a decision from Amigo after 23 weeks (submitted to FOS at 8 weeks). I call once a week and get told ‘we have no information to give you at this time’ so I don’t even know whether it’s been looked at all or anything.
Justin says
I’ve just got this back from Amigo, very oddly they’ve upheld one loan, but not the rest where my circumstances haven’t changed, even when I’m paying more only five months later!! I’ve sent to the FOS as they offered me £126 redress, which makes no difference to anything.
26 Oct 2017 £10,000.00 48 months, £427.75 Not upheld
07 May 2018 £10,000.00 36 Months, £487.89 Not upheld
05 Dec 2018 £10,000.00 36 months, £487.89 Upheld
31 May 2019 £15,000.00 36 months, £731.84 Not upheld
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Quite right to send that to FOS – very peculiar decision!
£126 seems low even for that 1 loan – did they deduct money for “unpaid interest” in doing the calculation?
A says
Just wanted to thank you Sara I received my money today I can’t believe it I never imagined this day would come!
Just a timeframe for anyone wondering –
I submitted my complaint beginning of January
After numerous chasers I received my decision on 6th July.
I rang to accept redress the same day and I was paid the money on the 15th (yesterday)
They upheld 2 out of 3 loans and I was paid £5224
I did have the interest taken on for non upheld Loan but it was only 240 pounds and I didn’t want to challenge it incase it delayed everything else xx
Jonathan says
Just rang Amigo and they couldn’t find me on the system for my loan that ended in 2013/2014. Said it was due to 6 years record keeping, I said that the FOS said it was 6 years which is right but another 3 if you were not aware you could complain and then complained immediately. Can anyone confirm this? Surely they will archive records and not just purely delete them? I read on here that some people have complained for loans after 2007?
Jonathan says
They just rang me back and asked said the only way they can find my details is if I have any of the agreement numbers which I dont anymore as it was some time ago. I suppose thats the end of it for me as I cant even view them on my credit file anymore as they were older than 6 years.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Other things that may help – your old bank statements? Your old emails? Does your guarantor have the emails about the loan?
Jonathan says
I no longer bank with who I did at the time unfortunately and have had a couple of accounts and cant even remember which one it was with!! Cant seem to access old emails either. Haven’t seen the guarantor for years but have tried to get in touch to see if he could help. This may be the end unfortunately.
Andrea says
Can you log on online? You use your mobile number, click the top left 3 lines box, and select my letters, there won’t be any letters there but all agreement numbers are, mine are there from 2010.
Hope it helps
Jonathan says
I don’t have my old mobile number or even remember what it is anymore it was so long ago unfortunately. They reckon they would have stripped all personal information away and without agreement numbers they wouldnt be able to find my details.
Simon says
They should have the info if you ask for your Subject Access Request. Mine date back to 2009 when they were FLM loans and they had every date I took out each loan.
Jonathan says
That is interesting. What should i send them? Do you think they are lying?
Jonathan says
If they cant find my info on the system would a SAR do any good? Surely they would just reply that they cannot find me?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It may sound unlikely but a few people have been told Amigo can’t find any records only for a SAR or an ombudsman complaint to miraculously find them…
Jonathan says
That is comforting to know. I have sent them a SAR request on email just now, asking for details of all loans held with them including application details and telephone call records.
Jonathan says
What info did you send them for a SAR?
Maria says
I put my complaint in on 29 January then at 8 weeks to FO who have advised they have asked Amigo to deal with my complaint but as yet nothing. I don’t want to antagonise Amigo by phoning fir updates but think I need to now
Lewis says
Hi guys so done affordability complaint with Amigo loans they acepeted on first response time they got back to me loan was 35 months out of 36 months toltal interest £945 since 15/08/2017 anyone help?
Also can you claim compensation for this on the basis of : inconvenience/Stress, Emontional suffering/Anxiety and Impact to reputation.
I’m disabled with multiple health health worst with stress
Cheers guys
Lynn says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for your response. I just took the interest paid straight from my statements that Amigo provided.
I have just recalculated and I get the same figure for loan 2.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So loan 2:
Borrowed £3750
Payments 26 x £182
Settled 1242
(rounded numbers)
In total you paid 4732 in the monthly payment plus 1242 in settlement = 5794.
You borrowed 3750
So you have paid 5794-3750 in interest = £2224
Not “Interest £3194.03″… some numbers are wrong, I can’t tell what.
Lynn says
I see what they have done now. For some reason they have duplicated information and I didn’t spot it. The £2224 calculation is spot on if I remove the duplications.
L says
I made a complaint about the loan I took out in 2017, I had one in 2015 but I requested for this 2015 not to be included into the complaint as I had no issues with that one. They’ve now decided upon redress figures that they need to speak to the guarantor of this one that I wasn’t complaining about, are they allowed to do this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are they proposing to give you redress for the first loan?
L says
My guarantor settled it, who I paid back. We are now on extremely bad terms. She said on the phone I wouldn’t owe amigo anything by this one being upheld but I don’t know whether to believe it. They upheld all 8 of my loans from 2017 onwards, one was the original loan, the rest were top ups all within two-three months of eachother which is why I put an irresponsible /affordability complaint in for the 2017 one. My guarantor received his redressb(who is in Afghanistan so we have arranged for it to go into my account, so I’m hoping they cannot take this away from him due to his circumstances)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“My guarantor received his redress (who is in Afghanistan so we have arranged for it to go into my account, so I’m hoping they cannot take this away from him due to his circumstances)”
this is the guarantor of the second set of loans?
Have you asked Amigo why they are contacting your guarantor of the first loan?
L says
Yes that’s the guarantor of the second Loa 2017. He can’t send his bank details as he’s on tour with thenarmy in Afghan so we agreed with amigo for it to be paid into mine. Now I’m worried about that.
When I asked why, she insisted it’s part of the investigation whether I mentioned it or not. I argued that I specifically put in my complaint that that loan was not part of my complaint, it wasn’t even noted in my appendices to which she said oh yes I’ll query it but I have sent her anrefund offer. My redress figures were due to be sent to me today, and I’m gutted that now I have to wait for 2 weeks for this guarantor to reply to a complaint I never even made in regards to that loan. They haven’t mentioned it once until today. Now she’s going to have 4K refunded which I have already paid her back, and I know she will keep it. And I will probably end up in a worse position despite her saying I won’t owe anything, I was relying on what I was getting.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is your case currently with the Ombudsman?
L says
They haven’t picked it up yet unfortunately. I put my complaint in 06/02/2020 and 8 weeks later sent it to the ombudsman. I’m really surprised they’ve upheld the 2015 one, itnwas only open for about 4-5 months and i never even had that one in my complaint. On then questionnaire they sent out I even put on the answer to that one that it was not part of my complaint.