UPDATES:
Do not use the template on this page for Amigo, Buddy, George Banco, Trust Two, Glo. It is now too late to complain about them.
For TFS see TFS Loans goes into administration.
Guarantor loans are very expensive. Often the lender didn’t check properly that you will be able to manage the loan repayments without having to borrow more.
If proper checks would have shown that you couldn’t afford the repayments, complain! There is a template letter in this article to help you.
You can get an existing loan reduced so you only repay the amount you borrowed, or get a refund if your loans have been repaid. If your complaint is rejected you can send the case to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) who is upholding a lot (90%!) of guarantor loan complaints.
If you are the guarantor not the borrower, read Complaining if you are a guarantor which has a different template letter to use.
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, Buddy, George Banco, Trust Two, TFS, Consollo, Glo. It is now too late to complain about them or you have to go to the administrators – see the update at the top of this page.
For all other guarantor lenders, including ones that have stopped lending, send your complaint by email – here is a list of lender email addresses:
Guarantormyloan – customerservice@guarantormyloan.co.uk
Hero Loans (Hamilton Greig) – collections@heroloans.co.uk (put COMPLAINT as the title)
Juo Loans – customerservices@shelbyfinance.com
LendFair – in liquidation. Contact angus.gilles@mhllp.co.uk.
Suco – hello@suco.co.uk (ignore any suggestions to contact ODR – you want a reply to your complaint from Suco and send the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman if it is rejected.)
UKCredit – no longer lending but you can still complain to welcome@ukcredit.co.uk (put COMPLAINT as the title)
1 plus 1 complaints@1plus1loans.co.uk.
Use SAR AND COMPLAINT BY BORROWER as the email title.
Here is a template. Change it to describe what happened to you and delete what doesn’t apply.
Only put this in if it applies to you: I took a top up of [£2,500] in [March 2018]
Add a reference number for the loan or give some other details such as your date of birth and your address when you took the loan out.
Please send me a copy of all the personal information that you have about me, including but not limited to all credit record checks, a copy of my loan application(s) and recordings of all phone calls from me. You have 30 days to reply to this Subject Access Request (SAR).
I am making an affordability complaint. This loan was/These loans were unaffordable for me and you would have realised this if you had checked properly before giving me the loan(s).
Delete or change any of the following so they are right for you:
[You would have seen from my credit record that I had recently missed payments/had defaults/was in a DMP/IVA.]
[I was on a low income/My only income was my pension/benefits.]
[You did not ask me for proof of my income or expenses and you did not ask about my expenses in detail.]
[I get ESA/PIP/DLA but you did not ask me if I had any extra expenses because of this.]
[I had a gambling problem which you could have seen from my bank statements.]
If you topped up the original loan: When I topped up the loan you should have seen from my credit record that my financial situation had got worse. [delete if not relevant: You ignored the fact that I had made several payments late to you.]
If you still owe money:[I am asking you to remove the interest from the balance so I only have to repay what I borrowed, release my guarantor and allow me to make lower monthly payments.]
If the loan has been repaid change that to [refund me the interest that I have paid plus 8% statutory interest.]
If you don’t want your guarantor to be told: [I want to carry on making the normal monthly payments because I do not want my guarantor to be affected. Please note I do not want my guarantor to be informed about my complaint unless my complaint is upheld.]
You have 8 weeks to respond to my complaint before I send it to the Financial Ombudsman.
If you would like some help with this, then go to your local Citizens Advice.
Definitely send bank statements!
It’s good if you can attach bank statements to your complaint. Send three months of statements before each loan or top-up and two months afterwards. So if you had a loan in August 2017, send statements for May-September 2017.
These statements will show how unaffordable your loans were. Don’t worry if there is gambling showing on the statements – that helps your case!
Don’t delay starting a complaint if you are trying to get your bank statements – just add them later. But now is a good time to get the statements as they can help your case.
Also get a copy of your credit record if this will show defaults, that your debts were increasing, that you had a large overdraft etc. Download this and keep it.
What to do with your personal information (SAR)
Copies of personal information (SARs) are often sent out by post, so if you have moved, make sure the lender has your new address. You should get the information within 30 days. It is often sent on a CD with a password.
This information is not the lender’s response to your complaint. Most lenders will send that separate from the SAR, usually a few weeks later.
You don’t need to do anything with the SAR, just keep it safe. You have asked for it now so that you have the details in case the lender rejects your complaint or makes a poor offer so your complaint has to go to the Ombudsman.
Taking a complaint to the Ombudsman
If the lender rejects your complaint, go to the Ombudsman
Don’t delay in sending a case to FOS – it has to go within 6 months. And while you have an “open” complaint at FOS, the lender cannot take you to court.
Lenders seem to reject many complaints and hope you give up! So don’t be surprised if a lender says No, the loan was affordable or We based our decision to lend on your application which was inaccurate.
If the lender says No, or you haven’t had a reply 8 weeks after sending your complaint, send your case to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) the best way to do this is by using the FOS online form.
This is free to do and easy – you don’t have to quote laws or regulations. You can just send FOS the complaint you sent the lender. And if they have replied and said something that’s wrong, mention that as well.
You don’t need to go into details – a short FOS complaint is fine.
If only some loans are refunded, is this fair?
Sometimes a lender will say that just a few loans are unaffordable and remove the interest. Which is good, but should it be better?
If the rejected loans caused you difficulties and led to you needing a top-up, send your complaint to FOS and say you think the earlier loans too should be refunded.
Are you likely to win your Ombudsman complaint?
The Financial Ombudsman is agreeing with the customer on 90% of cases!
It is much simpler to win a case at FOS than a court case. If a lender has already started a court case against you, Citizens Advice can help you get the court case “stayed” (that’s legal jargon for put on hold) while you take an affordability complaint to the Ombudsman.
Complicated cases & help with guarantor loan complaints
If you want help with these complaints, Citizens Advice can help. Every Citizens Advice has access to the national Specialist Debt Advice Service if this isn’t something an adviser has come across before.
Leave a comment below this article to discuss what to do or talk to Citizens Advice if:
- your guarantor has made a lot of payments.
- you have been bankrupt, in an IVA or a DRO – read guarantor loans & insolvency .
- you have a CCJ from the guarantor lender – read guarantor loans & CCJs.
- if your debt has been sold to a debt collector.
Do not use a Claims Firm or a solicitor that is acting as a claims firm. There are two good reasons why you should avoid them:
- 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
laura says
hiya i have had 3 loans of amigo
one for 2000 paid at 206 x12 paid it off
got another laon for 5000 made 12 x309
got a top up loans to 7000 i recieved 3426 and then made monthly payments of 365 x36
if complaint upheld what am i owed all accounts cleared now
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I make it on th9ose figures you have paid the following interest that should be refunded:
loan 1 472
loan 2 2282
loan 3 6140
so if all three are refunded, you should get £8894. Plus some 8% interest, how much will depend how long ago the last loan was settled.
laura says
it was settled august 2019 is when last payment was made
the first loam was 2014 then second 2015 and last one 2016 up until august 2019
Sara (Debt Camel) says
then you should get over £1000 in 8% interest if all three loans are upheld.
laura says
thank you so much for your help
Andy k says
Hi Sara
I’ve just submitted my claim as I had payday loans and gambling issues at time of loans
Loan 1
27/12/13
2500 paid 8x 154.54
Topped up to £5000
Paid 20 x 197.62.
Paid of by parents in full
New loan
4/17 £4500
Paid 7x £219.55
Topped up to £5500
Paid 10x £268.34
Topped up again to £6500
Paid 7x£401.80
Made card payments over to clear over course of last month of loan.
I’ve worked it out at roughly £9000 interest.
Is this correct.
Thanks for all your efforts you put in for everyone.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
are you saying the last loan has been settled? how large were the payments you made in the last month?
And for the top up loans, how much did you receive in cash for each of them?
Andy says
Yeah last loan settled
1st top up £2961.11
2nd £1467.55
3rd £2021.70
On last loan. I paid
£1409.65
£50x 2
£275
£1300
£480.01
£1500 these payments made over a 6 week period.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, one more number, how much did your parents pay to settle the 2nd loan? And were they paying as the guarantor, or did they just pay it for you?
Andy says
They wasn’t my guarantor and they paid £4435.20
Thank u
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you paid 5064 in the last 6 weeks to settle the last loan
I make the interest paid as follows:
loan 1 771
loan 2 3375
loan 3 1066
loan 4 1659
loan 5 1371
which adds up to £8242
Andy says
Thank you Sara
Andrea says
Hi Sara,
Please can I ask your advice, if I accept these figures, can I still carry on for the two loans they didn’t uphold? Along with the added interest?
Total Interest
8% Simple Interest (After Tax Deduction)
20% Basic Rate Tax Deduction on 8% Simple Interest
Fees and/or Charges
Unpaid Interest from non-upheld loan
Total Redress Payable
£19,141.81
£340.44
£85.11
£500.00
£2,935.05
£17,047.20
Current Loan Balance
Balance less Redress
Cash Refund
£7,559.26
£0.00 – Settled
£9,487.94
It’s only half what I was expecting ( if all upheld) but again nearly 10k is a lot to loose if they go bust too?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yesterday you said the figures were all wrong.
Do you know how much you paid to each loan?
if you know for each loan separately:
– how much you borrowed
– how much you received in cash if this was a top up
– how many monthly payments you made eg 9 lots of £142
I can help you see if the figures are right and it is just an argument about which loans are upheld and this outrageous deduction for “unpaid interest”, or if their numbers are just wrong.
Andrea says
Hi Sara, thank you.
They sent me someone else’s figures yest, then resent mine.
My final letter is all wrong it states I had loans from 2011 not 2010, 5 loans not 6.
But they have a box listing all 6 loans from 2010. It’s a shambles.
They upheld loans 2.4.5.6 the money looks right for those loans it was 1.5k interest on loan 1 and £4200 on loan 3 then add the £3k they have removed its spot on.
I don’t want to loose the 9.5k cash and pay off my 7.6k loan left but I’m also loosing another 9.5k on those two none upheld loans too. Catch 22? Can I accept but chase for the 3k they deducted?
Lk says
Anyone else accepted on the 31st and seen no change on their balance and no payout?
Thanks in advance
Graeme says
Hi can anyone help me.
Got a loan at £1000 made 5x£103 payments
Top up to £1250 made 3x£77 payments
Top up £3250 made 8x£158 payments
Top up £3750 made 2x £200 payment
Top up £4500 made 2x£177 payment
Top up £5000 made 13x£197 payments
Top up £6000 made 13x£237 payments
Guarantor is getting £891 refund. Can anyone work out what my refund figures should roughly be
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you say how much you received in cash for each of the top-ups?
has Amigo agreed to refund all your loans?
Graeme says
Hi
This is the figures I received each top up.
1st loan was £1000
1st top up I received £560.10
2nd top up I received £2048.70
3rd top up I received £524.38
4th top up I received £534.50
5th top up I received £673.39
6th top up I received £549.67
Final top up I received £1188.42
Yeah refund on all of them aswell as 8% simple interest.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
that looks like a loan and 7 top ups. But you have only listed a loan and 6 top ups – is one missing?
Graeme says
Hi
Sorry I’ve missed 1 and mixed up 1.
Got a loan at £1000 paid 5x£103.06
Top up to £1250 paid 3x£77.27
Next top up £3250 paid 8 x£158.57
Top up back to £3250 paid 2x £200.90
Top up to £3750 paid 1x£148.22
Top up to £4500 paid 3x£177.86
Top up to £5000 paid 13×197.62
Top up to £6000 paid 13x£237.15
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so on those figures (and obviousluy there could be some errors in them) assuming you made all those payments, you have paid the following interest on each loan:
loan 1 £205
loan 2 £183
loan 3 £740
loan 4 £366
loan 5 £225
loan 6 £482
loan 7 £2,373
current loan – only paid £3081 so still £2,919 to pay until you have repaid the 6k borrowed
But the interest on the loans 1-7 will clear that reduced bal;ance and you should get a refund of £1655
If some of those payments were made by your guarantor, you have to deduct those from that total.
Becqui Lewis says
I dont get what the unpaid interest is for the loans that are not upheld, this is crazy that they would even include them as they have already been settled cheeky if you ask me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I completely agree. Lenders are supposed to follow the same sort of decision that the Ombudsman would – well I have seen a lot of Ombudsman decisions and there has never been anything like this “unpaid interest”.
Kirsten says
Hi,
I sent off my complaint to Amigo on the 3rd July, received my SAR a couple of weeks ago but haven’t heard anything else yet. Just wondering what kind of refund I’d be looking at if upheld:
May 17 – £4,000 made 1 x payment of £97.41
June 17 – Top up to £5,500 (£1,475.96 received) made 12 x payments of £235.26
Jul 18 – Top up to £6,750 (£1,494.33 received) made
1 x payment of £288.73
Aug 18 – Top up to £8,500 (£1,871.41 received) made 1 x payment of £335.96
Sep 18 – Top up to £9,500 ( £954.62 received) made 4 x payments of £375.49
Dec 18 – Top up to £10,000 (£501.97 received) have made 16 x payments of £395.25.
The account is still open and balance is £10,616.78. I’m currently on the payment break until October as I was made redundant from my job due to coronavirus. I do have another job now but my wages are a lot lower and I’m worried about how I’m going to pay this back if my complaint isn’t upheld.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
On those figures I make the interest paid on each loan as follows:
loan 1 122
loan 2 2576
loan 3 167
loan 4 381
loan 5 1499
loan 6 – current loan – you havent yet paid 10,000 to it so looking at this loan alone wou would still owe £3680 if it is refunded
If all the loans are refunded,, the interest from loans 1-5 would clear that balance and give you a cash refund of £1065
If you get an offer from Amigo whoch does not incl;ude refunding all the loans look to see if theyare charging you “unpaid interest” – if they are, this seems to be wrong, against what the Ombudsman says, so come back here.
You should get an answer to youre complaint before the end of October – but you may still be left owing money if not all loans are upheld.
Your guarantor, at the point the last lop up was taken in Dec 18, do you thjink they could have afforded to make all the £395 monthly payments to this loan and still paid all thier own bills, debts and expenses?
Kirsten says
Thank you. My guarantor is my partner and I know he definitely wouldn’t be able to afford the repayments as he pays out so much already. Is it worth him emailing as well? Thanks 😊
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The problem at the moment is that Amigo have recently been upholding only a few loans for some people and then adding on “unpaid interest”for the ones they didn’t uphold. I think that’s quite wrong, and I will be surprised if people don’t win these cases at the Ombuds,am, but it can still take quote a bit of time to go through. And there are a few cases where Amigo has bizarrely upheld the earlier loans but not the last one, so you guarantor remains on the hook for it…
So I think it may be a good idea for him to complain to. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/ which looks at complaints by a guarantor and note that as part of his complaint he can say Amigo did not fairly assess if he could have afforded the loan if you were unable to pay, because that would also men you were contributing less or nothing to other household bills and expenses.
Ru says
Accepted redress on friday 24th of july and received payment between 7-10pm on Tuesday the 4th of August. Much quicker than they had stated! Thanks sara and good luck everyone!
Andy says
Brilliant news.
When did you start the process?
Kirsty says
My guarantor accepted their redress offer. How long did people have to wait to receive their funds roughly? Was it the full 35 days stated of did anyone receive it earlier?! Thanks x
Jason T says
I would like to know if anyone has been paid sooner as 35 working days seems a bit excessive.
Stephen says
As a guarantor I accepted on the 15th June, after 8 different phone calls and dates given, today I was told it could be paid by the 28th August… 10-15 working days). Seems like they’re good at lying about when they might pay out…
Shaun says
I received my payment on the 17th working day following acceptance of redress. Over 6 grand.
Angela says
I’ve just accepted redress today and was told 20 working days. My guarantor accepted on the 24th July but no payment yet.
Andrea says
So I’ve called at 9am and raised an issue with the “unpaid Interest” and she said I can accept and take the two none upheld loans and the added interest to the ombudsman and still accept what they have awarded me. :-) happy days
Sara Thank you for everything you do you are amazing, I will make a donation to the CAB as soon as the money hits my account.
Lesley says
Hi Sara can amigo charge you Fees and charges due to therm saying it was through a third party when I took the loan out thanks for your help xx
Sara (Debt Camel) says
These should all be refunded if you win your complaint.
frogman says
Finally received my redress figures from Amigo today. I am not sure how they have calculated it but it’s about £1k over the calculation we did here. I have accepted it anyways. Thanks very much everyone.
frogman says
I was wrong and Amigo is right, I did not factor in a £1000 payment I made sometime in 2016. I have gone back searching my bank statement and found it. Guarantor gets £2402 and I get £2293 so I total of £4695 coming my way as I already paid guarantor back. Also, no more £316/m to Amigo. Thank you so much Sara
Lk says
Congrats! I know you’ve been waiting a long time. Let us know when it hits your bank account :) I’m waiting for mine to.
Sophie says
Woop! Congratulations Frogman! Today Mark’s 8 weeks waiting for figures for me 🤣 My Ideal Finance Complaint has just been picked up by an adjudicator though so I’m pretty sure that one will be settled before I even see a number from Amigo haha.
frogman says
Thanks very much Sophie. 8 weeks after they upheld? that’s ridiculous. I am sure you will hear soon. Mine was upheld 9th of last month so just one month. When I phoned to accept it, I was told another 20days for payment to arrive and that I should keep checking online account, and that when the figure changes, its an indication money will hit account soon – That’s one for you Lk :)
Nicholas says
Hi
I have recently submitted a complaint and SAR request. I have been reading the comments and been trying to follow the maths but having a little difficulty, could someone please support me with a rough estimate of where my claim could stand?
27th November 2017 – £2,000 made 2x payment of £123
Topped up 31st Jan 2018 – Top up (£4102.60 received) made 5 x payments of £237
Topped up 17th may 2018 – Top up (£3490.94 received) made 3 x payments of £406
Topped up 29th August 2018 – Top up (£600 received) made 12 x payment of £395
The account is still open and balance is £9,644.20. The interest is so high on this that it just feels never ending.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The top up loans – you have said how much cash you received, which is good, but can you also say how much you borrowed for each of these loans?
Nick says
Hi Sara
apologies,
31st January the loan was to £6000
17th May the loan was to £10,000
29th August the loan was to £10,000
Sara (Debt Camel) says
could the third one have been 9500 as £406 does look like right payment for 10,000?
Also have you only made 12 payments since August 2018? Has your gaurantor made payments?
Nick says
Hi Sara
Yes it was 9500 I have checked my statement, the last loan was paid out on 29th August 2018 and I have made every payment since (so 23 @ £395.25 a month) I apologise my brain must of been stuck in 2019 when writing that down
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I make the interest paid so far as follows:
loan 1 £144
loan 2 £1,195
loan 3 £1,118
current loan – you have only paid £4740, so £5,260 still to pay before you have repaid the 10k borrowed.
If all 4 loans are refunded the interest on the first thre will reduce the amount you still owe to £2,803. your gaurantor would be released and you could then make a more affordable payment arrangement.
But look out for Amogo only upholding some of them and trying to sting you for “unpaid interest” on the once not upheld… come back here if they do that?
Terry says
Hi Sara,
It’s been 8 weeks and 1 day since i registered my complaint with Amigo. After exactly 4 weeks i received an email from them saying that they are working on my case but that due to my complaint requiring a more detailed investigation or because they haven’t been able to pick it up as quickly as they had hoped but that they’ll send their final response, or an update within 8 weeks of the date we received your complaint. I contacted them 3 weeks ago to see if they had received my bank statements that i sent them, which they confirmed they had. I spoke with them this morning to see if there was an update and was told that it is with their case handlers but she couldn’t tell me how much longer they would be? She suggested i maybe wait 2 more weeks before sending it to the FOS. I also mentioned to them that although they get 8 weeks to look at my complaint i shouldn’t still be waiting on my statements for my 4 loans with them, she kindly sent me them all via email this afternoon. My main question for you is if i was to send it to the FOS does that then mean that i can no longer have any dialogue directly with Amigo as the FOS will be handling it? I would prefer to deal with this on my own as i did with Wonga, QuickQuid and others.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“if i was to send it to the FOS does that then mean that i can no longer have any dialogue directly with Amigo as the FOS will be handling it?”
no, Amigo will carry on working out their response to your complaint.
FWIW, I think waiting 2 weeks is not unreasonable. But not longer.
Terry says
Hi Sara,
Amigo have just sent me my SAR information, not sure if that’s because i called up this morning or they planned on giving me it on the 8 weeks? I am having issues with this now because i have made up an egress account and have activated the account but when i’ve downloaded all the attachments it’s asking for a password? Reading the DSAR guide it says that the password will have been sent via sms or a letter? I am currently on the phone with Amigo just now trying to sort it out.
Scott McIntosh says
I have just received an email to state that my complaint regarding my top up loan from 2014 is being upheld. It was for £5000 which was fully paid off last year.
Sara, would you be able to calculate what sort of redress figure I should be expecting to receive?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you know how much you paid to this loan?
How many loans did you have before that they have not upheld?
Scott McIntosh says
11,857.20
I had one loan taken out a few months before top up but I accept that was affordable as I had lost my job in between the two loans
Sara (Debt Camel) says
then you paid £6857 in interest on that loan. Plus over a thousand in 8% interest.
BUT the bad news is that Amigo are likely to say there is a large “unpaid interest” amount from the first loan, reducing what they will pay you. This is very wrong of them.
If they do this, phone them up and say you want to complain about this. they should let you take the offered redress AND put in a complaint to the ombudsman about the deduction for unpaid interest, see what Andrea said earlier today: https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/comment-page-52/#comment-380159
Scott McIntosh says
thanks Sara – what sort of figures are we talking for the “unpaid interest”? apologies if you are unable to answer this
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no idea but after such a long while it could be thousands.
Terry says
Hi,
Sorry to chime in on this one but if Scott has paid off that 5000 loan and he’s paid over 6000 in interest what do you mean by Amigo might well say there is a large ‘unpaid interest’? If he’s paid off the loan i don’t understand how they could come back with that? Is this just regarding top up loans? Either way i am still confused lol?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the “unpaid interest” ios where there was a top up loan and Amigo is only refunding the top up, not the original loan.
This was a new cunning plan from Amigo a month or two ago to try to pay out less. Their argument is baffling and i expect the Ombudsman may say it is simply wrong….
Scott McIntosh says
I guess I will just need to wait and see once I receive a redress email by the end of the month
Lou says
How do you work out what the redress should be?
I had £4000 loan 21 Oct 2013 Payments of £158.10
Topped upto £7000 4th nov 2014 they paid out £2948.67 (top up) paid £276.67 for 60 months and cleared it in Dec 19
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how many £158 payments did you make to the first loan?
Lou says
Hi Sara, I did 12 months of the £158 and then when I topped up made payments of £276.67 for 60 months
Also mine are paid in full and guarantor didn’t make any payments although I moved dates and made late payments will the fact it’s paid off make a difference
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In thise numbers you paid the following interest:
loan 1 £1,948
loan 2 £9,560
So if bother are upheld you should have a total refund of £11,508 plus more than £2000 in 8% interest added on, whioch will have 20% basic tax deducted from the 8% part.
You may be mainly concerend with getting a refund on the second loan as you paid so much more interest. BUT if Amigo do not uphold the first loan, they may take off money from your refund for “unpaid interest”. This seems just wrong as that loan was settled years ago!
You should be able able to accept the offered reduced refund and still take th case to the Ombudsman to try to ask for the “unpaid interest” charge to be removed.
Lou says
Thanks Sara really appreciate your input. How much would the unpaid interest charge be?
They always try and find ways not to pay I guess
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I can’t guess – it is a smallish loan but it was a long while ago so interest could really add up.
Sandra says
Hi Sara I have my complaint in with amigo was just wondering what I’d be looking to get back if my case is successful I still have a loan of £4990 with them in total I have payed a total of £14,154.17 ive topped it up a few times I’m not totally sure how much I got but I do know this is what I’ve paid on a loan at the minute of £5500 it’s crazy!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is what I need to know separately for each loan:
– how much you borrowed, if it was a top up, how much you received in cash, how much monthly payments you made eg 8 payments of £253, and settlement payment you made to the loan
Sandra says
I took loan 1 out £2000 and payed 6x£97.58
then topped up in October and received £3000 bringing the loan to £5000 and payed 54x£197.62
then topped up again in May and received £570 and have made 17x£217.17 and still have a balance of £4990 left to pay.
I think these calculations are correct.
The last loan – I topped it up £5500 and received £570 on the last top up which is the current loan I still have a balance of £4990 owing on it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
On those numbers I make the interest paid as follows:
loan 1 £582
loan 2 £10,568
current loan, paid 3689, still £1,811 to [pay until you have repaid the 5500 balance.
Of all three loans are upheld, the interest on the first two will clear the balance on the last and you would get a refund of £9339 in cash.
BUT the interest paid on the second loan looks wrong, a lot too large. Even if there is a broker fee paid and you moved the payment date. it still looks surprisingly large.
Ar you sure about the figures?
Sandra says
I changed the payment dates a couple
Of times of the last loan I took and still currently have, also I made payments of £197.62 from November 2014 till to April 2019 and then in the May till now I pay the £217.17 a month hope this helps.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The calculation for the second loan interest still feels wrong. I wouldn’t bank on it being right… but there is nothing to be done now apart from wait for a response from Amigo.
Holly says
Hi guys , just wanted some advice please , amigo have responded and are saying they cannot completely say they gave me the loan irresponsibility.
They are offering: The removal of all interest charges under the loan agreement;
A refund of any payments you may have made in excess of the capital amount of the loan agreement, along with 8% simple interest; and
The removal of any adverse information from your credit file in respect of the loan agreement.
The loan was for £1,500 and my balance still owed is £1200. I’ve paid back £120 of it as we’ve been in a payment break (we being my guarantor and I)
Is this fair ?
Thanks
Holly
Sara (Debt Camel) says
then really your balance should be reduced ti £1320… so it’s a good offer from them!
BUT make sure your guarantor is being released and that you can then make an affordable payment arrangement o repay the rest. What are the rest of your finances like?
Holly says
Thanks Sara , I have quite a few small payday loans that I am managing with payment plans , I also have a large buddy loans once in which I am negotiating a plan And sent a complaint to fos as they rejected mine (shock) .
But I deffo need a plan with amigo going forward
Thank you Sara
Dan says
Hi just had my complaint with amigo upheld just waiting on figures was wondering if u could give me a rough guess what my balance would be I know I’ll still have a balance to pay but can do it at a reduced amount
Loan 1 £3000 made 3 payments of £118
Top up £4250 cash received £1200 made 10. Payments of £167.89 thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
both loan and top up upheld?
Dan says
Yes and guarantor being removed does it make any difference if all the payments made in the account come out of someone else bank they wasn’t the guarantors
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Unless Amigo asked the guarantor to make the payments, they will all be treated as though they came from you.
On those figures , you paid £404 interest on loan 1.
Loan 2 balance will be changed to £2178 – that is what you borrowed (£4250) less what you have paid (1670) less the interest you have paid on loan 1 (4040)
Your guarantor will be rel3eased and you can make an arrangement o pay at more affordable rate.
Roxanne says
My loan was not upheld unfortunately, so I sent it to the ombudsman 2 months ago and just received an email today that someone has been assigned to my case.
Sara, would you be able to give me rough figures due back please?
£5000 at £247 pcm then topped up to £10000 at £427 pcm which I only recieved 5k of. I have 8,000 left on it to pay.
Thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How much did you pay to the first loan eg 7 payments of £154? And how much have you paid so far to the second loan?
Kerry says
Hi all I want to send my complaint to the ombudsman but I’m not sure what to do and what I need to send to them. Any help will really be appreciated. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The article above explains How to send a case to FOS.
Your is an “unpaid interest” case? In your FOS complaint you need to say you are complainImg that the lions were unaffordable but Amigo’s offer was not a fair one because a) They did not uphold lian 1 & 2 (or whatever) And b) they deducted an amount for “unpaid interest” fir settled loans which is unreasonable as those loans have been settled.
You don’t need to go into great detail.
Kerry says
Thank you Sara I had to send them an email as the online form was confusing for me. But I attached the letter I had from amigo about the unpaid interest. so I hope that helps
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ah, what about the online form was confusing? FOS cannot set up a case without the answers to some specific questions which it asks for in its online form but you may not have included in your email.
Kerry says
It wasn’t so much the questions is was where had to send a PDF file a the bottom of the page just don’t know how to send it 😅
V says
Interested to know if anyone has received a response from FOS when they have taken their unpaid fees/interest complaint to them? I accepted my redress even though I had around £2k of charges. I did challenge at the time and was told it was from the non upheld loan. Now debating if I should take the non upheld loan and the fees/charges to FOS? I received my initial payout over a month ago.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes send it to FOS, what is the downside for doing this?
These cases are all recent. I don’t even know if Amigo have sent over their case file for any of them yet, without that an adjudicator can’t start work.
McMum says
I think I’ve been forgotten about by both Amigo and the FOS! I submitted my complaint in January then sent to the FOS at the 8 week mark. I still haven’t had a decision from Amigo or any communication from a complaints handler at the FOS. I’m still paying my loan, although have had 2x 3-month payment breaks which come to an end next month. I’ve emailed and phoned Amigo several times but all I get back is “your complaint is still in our queue to be investigated”. I keep reading about people who submitted their complaints a good while after I did and getting thousands paid back to them. I’m not due any money back, just looking to have the interest removed, my guarantor to be released and to pay lower monthly payments. I’m so fed up and stressed out waiting for someone to get back to me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What is your guarantor’s financial situation? At the time of the last loan, could they have afforded to make all the monthly repayments and still paid their own bills, debts and living expenses?
Becqui Lewis says
When I spoke to FOS the man said that until amigo have issued a final response and they have all the paperwork forwarded to them then they won’t even put it in any kind of que 😒 then he checked that I had everything and said that someone would be in touch. Its all such a confusing process. My guarantor has accepted but does he have to wait for my redress for his payout and what happens if I don’t accept my refress figures?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your guarantor’s payout should not be linked to yours.
frogman says
It shouldn’t but Amigo told me otherwise, they said I had to get my figures and accept before guarantor is paid. Guarantor accepted on 9th of June and hasn’t been paid yet.
Lk says
Same! But 14/06
Kyle says
I know the feeling, I submitted mine January 4th, and I’m still waiting. It may be some help to phone up FO and tell them of your situation and maybe they will put you on priority, that’s what I did and a couple of phone calls and emails later I was assigned a case handler. Alternatively for the time being you could ask Amigo if you could pay lower amounts each month maybe? You’re not alone.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you have your SAR details? If your case is being handled by FOS as a priority, ask the adjudicator if they can start work from the SAR if you send it to them.
Kyle says
I’m a noob what’s SAR?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry, bad habit of using jargon – if you used my template to complain, you ask for a copy of all your personal information – this is known as a Subject Access Request (SAR)
Kyle says
I didn’t use your template to complain. Is there any way I could ask for my SAR from Amigo and if so how long would it take for them to send it? Also when they send it over can the FO make a decision based on that solely? Would that speed it up? Or is that probably what my FO is originally asking for from them?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you can ask for your SAR information now directly from Amigo. You may well get this before Amigo send FOS your case file.
Simon says
Update
Amigo have been nothing short of a disgrace in their conduct around my 16 loans. The FOS referred chasing the business file to a manager and a higher department as we have waited months for it… Miraculously it turns up 3 days after people higher have got involved and will now be looked at as urgent by adjudicator. The middle 4 of 16 loans were not being offered as upheld despite £51,000 being deposited into betting account in those 2 years….each year I deposited more than my salary but they deemed the offer as reasonable! Crazy that this process started last December and is still going on. Those who have already been refunded and in short space of time have no idea how lucky they are.
Paul R says
RESULT!
i had £4000 off amigo a couple of years back, still struggling but then today i got there offer, basically i had to pay the £4000 back interest free, as i’ve actually paid that already the loan over the last few years i’m now amigo free :-)
such a weight off my mind (and bank account) around 4 months ago i didn’t know you could open a dispute about affordability with amigo and now they have no hold over me
THANK YOU DEBT CAMEL
L says
The unpaid interest charge is a joke. My mums been charged around £4500 unpaid interest on the non upheld £6500 loan. I’m hoping if enough people have taken this complaint to FOS that this issue will be flagged up and they’ll make amigo refund anyone they have charged unpaid interest to.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Has your mum taken her case to FOS? If not, I suggest she does.
There may have to be a LOT of FOS decisions before the FCA acts and makes Amigo refund everyone who has had this unfair deduction… that could take a very long while and during that tine Amigo could go under…
Basically the sooner your mum’s case is with FOS the sooner she may get the additional money she should be entitled to. The longer this goes on, the more chance there is of Amigo going bust, that doesn’t seem imminent right now, but everyone should be trying to get their money ASAP, not wait for some mass compensation offer in a year or more.
John P says
Good morning,
Would you be able to tell me how much I can expect to have returned from Amigo?
I have had my complaint upheld for all 4 loans I have had and am awaiting offer from them.
Loan 1 £4500 31 payments made @ £177.86
Loan 2 £5000 16 payments made @ £197.62
Loan 3 £7500 19 payments made @ £296.44
Loan 4 £9250 27 payments made @ £365.61
Each loan cleared the balance on the previous, current balance is £7222
Any advice on what they should be offering would be appreciated.
Thank you.
John P says
Hi Sara,
It looks like the amount I received after the previous loans had been cleared was..
Loan 2 £1560
Loan 3 £2690
Loan 4 £2540
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I make the interest you have paid in each of the loans as follows:
loan 1 £4,427
loan 2 £2,962
loan 3 £4,834
loan 4 £605
So the last loan balance shold be wiped and you receive a total of £12,828 interest refunded. Amigo’s 8% calculations are hard to estimate but I would expect you to get another couple of thousand for that. in addition. less 20% tax.
John P says
Thanks Sara, that sounds good to me.
I’ll keep you posted when I get their offer.
They’ve said I should have it by 22nd of this month.
Col says
Hi, I had a loan a few years ago and it’s all paid up, I’ve made a complaint and just waiting for response from Amigo. Towards the end of my loan payments I really struggled and looked into an IVA, this had an impact on my credit file and I had to send the instalments to my friend so she could pay it from her card as they wouldn’t accept mine anymore. My question is, can my guarantor refuse to accept the offer of refund on the payments she made and will that be added on to my refund, or does she accept and just transfer it to me? Also does this prolong the process any further?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your friend was the guarantor?
Did Amigo ask her to make payments, or to Amigo would it have looked as though you had made the payments?
Did your IVA go ahead?
Col says
Yes she was the guarantor, I think they asked her to make the payments but I had told them It was a case of me sending her the money to pay it as I’d not added the amigo loan to the IVA debt list. I didn’t go through with it but it still showed up on my credit file. I had a £500 loan and then topped up to £3000 I received £2616.97 and payed £118.57 a month. My friend payed 22 payments on her card.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think they asked her to make the payments but I had told them It was a case of me sending her the money to pay it as I’d not added the amigo loan to the IVA debt list.
If Amigo asked the gaurantor to pay they will probably offer the refund to her.
I didn’t go through with it but it still showed up on my credit file.
I don’t know what that means. You either had an IVA approved and it started and was added to your credit record or you didn’t.
If you had an IVA started and it later failed, any refund you get is likely to be claimed by your IVA firm.
In this situation it may be better for the guarantor to take the refund – which is her legal right if Amigo had required her to make the payments – and not refuse it so it comes to you!
Col says
Thanks , the IVA never started, I never paid anything to it. I cancelled it because I was going to be no better off financially, but it was on my credit file up until a few months ago. I will just have to wait and see what Amigo come back with. My friends going to give the money to me anyway because she’s not paid from her pocket.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, the IVA being removed from your credit record suggests that it was added in error as it would still remain had it failed.
As this seems rather tangled, it may be simpler however if your friend takes the guarantor refund (assuming it is offered0 and then gives it to you.
Lisa says
Can anyone help with calculating redress please? I have had my complaint upheld however Amigo are yet to release my figures.
Loan 1 Feb 2011 3300 made 12 payments of 151.19
Loan 2 March 2012 Made 3 payments of 195.65 then my guarantor paid it off ( and accepted her refund for payments made)
Loan 3 Feb 2018 1500 made 3 payments of 73.18
Loan 4 May 2018 2500 made 7 payments of 106.94
Loan 5 3000 Jan 2019 made 5 payments of 146.37 then reduced payments to 66.27 up until today.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
things I need to know to look at this:
– for the top up loans 2,4 & 5, how much did you receive in cash?
– what settlement did your guarantor pay for loan 2?
– what refund has your guarantor been made?
Lisa says
Loan 2 I’m not sure Loan 4 was around 800 and Loan 5 694. My guarantor paid 6541 in total which she has had refunded.
I know my current balance is 3204 and I am expecting the refund to be added to the balance meaning I’m in more debt than when I made the complaint.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well wait till you get the numbers. Interest has to be removed so that will help you.
If you end up owing more, then you could send the case to the Ombudsman saying this is an unfair result when you won your complaint. I don’t know what the ombudsman’s decisions will be in this sort of situation.
What are the rest of your finances like, do you have a lot of other debt?
Lisa says
Is there a way of working the interest out myself?
I will look into the Ombudsmen as yes I did win the complaint.
I have a few other debts but all I’m control. I’m about to submit affordability to provident as when I had the loan the agent put down higher income and lower outgoings to ensure it got approved
Ann says
Apologies if this is the wrong place to post this but has anyone had any experience with a TFS complaint.
I am currently at 8 weeks with them and heard nothing, getting ready to send it to FOS
Andrea says
TFS rejected mine in a day as it was over 6years old (by a week) after waiting 5 months the adjudicator from the FOS called me last night, he’s taking my case to them now stating I didn’t do it within 6years as I didn’t know I could. I found out and the next day I applied. Now we wait to see if they will accept this, or its off to the ombudsman over it.
I would start looking at sending to the FOS and get in the queue now, you can always withdraw it if they reply.
Paul says
Hi,
I have had a few loans over the years x2 which are paid off, at the time I had a gambling problem so was trying to resource money from everywhere I could.
Amgio
Bamboo
None of these asked for my bank statements, if they did im sure they would of refused my application.
Is it worth putting a complaint in or is it a waste of time as both accounts are now closed?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
At the moment FOS appears to be saying that guarantor lenders should have verified your expenditure eg by looking at bank statements. In which case they would have seen your gambling and not lent to you.
Lots of people are winning these cases even when they made all the payments on time and the accounts are closed.
sall says
amigo have came back and said they will refund me but the guarantor needs to accept it is this correct? as he made couple of payments on the account, what will happen does any one know?
sall baker says
hi iv had 3 loans with Amigo and they have said they will uphold all 3 but my guarantor need to accept the refund in 14days if he wants what he paid back, so i had a loan of £500 £1250 and £5000 with still just over £2000 to pay!!
so the £5000 one was £197.62 month
£1250 one was £60.99
£500 one i cant remember what that was but i didnt have it long before i topped it up, roughly does anyone know what will be to get back thankyou
Sara (Debt Camel) says
sorry I need to know for all loans how much you paid eg 15 lots of £197.
and for the top up loans, how much you received in cash.
Also what refund is your giarantor getting?
Oli says
Hi,
I have received an email from amigo saying they are still looking into my complaint as their eight weeks is now over. I have now have the right to go to the FOS for a decision. Should I do this now or just wait for their final response they said they are still progressing the complaint and I can still wait for their final response. But who knows when this could be?
James says
I waited and got a response 2 days later advising i had won my case, its really personal preference, i just wanted to give them a fair amount of time. I also emailed them to tell them this, wither that had an effect on it or not i am not sure.
Andy says
When did you start your complaint
Many thanks
James says
I started my complaint on the 9th of June and received the same email as you last Wednesday and then on Friday morning i received a email to say my complaint had been upheld. I accept the offer on Friday and i am now waiting 20 working days(hopefully earlier) for the money to be paid into my account.
Lk says
I’m hoping earlier too! I accepted 31st July :)
James says
I think it is the luck of the draw, i think i seen someone being paid who accepted on the 31st already but don’t take my word for it.
Lk says
Bawww :( I haven’t seen any yet, might have missed it. My account is still showing 0.00
James says
When I log into my account, it is just showing I have no active loans, I paid it off last year, hopefully you receive your refund soon.
Lk says
Yeah same for me but apparently on the statement it changes to a minus figure when money is due to be paid in the day after
James says
Perfect I will look out for that thanks. Not sure if anyone is ever paid before the 20 working days would be a bonus.
Kyle says
It can’t hurt to put it into the FO so you’re not leaving it a long time to send it to them on the off chance Amigo get funny with the complaint.
Kyle says
Hey Sara,
How much redress you recon I should be expecting if I’m entitled to it that is.
Initial loan 8th December 2016 £5000.
8 payments of £197.62
Topped up of £5250 on 24th July 2017
Pay out of £601.48
13 payments of £207.51
Then paid the 4803.45 in full on 27th August 2018
Many thanks for the work you’re doing :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I make the interest you paid as follows:
loan 1 £1,225
loan 2 £2,244
So a total of £3,469 if both loans are upheld. Plus a very guess of about £700 in 8% interest
sarah says
Hi there after reading your article I made a complaint against Amigo loans today 4 weeks late they have responded saying they are dismissing my complaint and I still haven’t received the Sars I requested from them i have now escalated it to FOS
Amigo have been very vague with their answers i guess this is to fob us off in hope that we don’t take things further i would just like to say whatever the outcome a big thank you to you at debt camel for giving me the tools I needed to make the complaint and I hope youll keep your fingers crossed that the FOS reach the correct decision 😊
David says
Hello. I’ve just had my complaint answered and they are upholding my second loan but not my first. Can anybody let me know what I’ll get back roughly.
First loan £2000 14 payments of £123.63 paid
Top up £5000 £4300ish received. 48 payments of £213.88 paid but over five years according to my credit file.
Thankyou in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
On those numbers you have paid the following interest:
loan 1 £422
loan 2 £5,224
Plus some 8% interest, how much depends on when you settled the last loan.
BUT they are likely to take off “unpaid interest” from your refund for the the second loan. this is wrong – if you want you should be able to accept their offer but take a complaint about the unpaid interest to the Ombudsman.
April says
Hi Sara,
I had a response and they have rejected my complaint, but did not send me the SAR as requested
I also have noted they did not pick up on various other loans and over draft charges and never asked my guarantor for proof of income of any sort but they are saying this if for the guarantor to complain
I have sent to financial ombudsman to say I had various loans and credit cards and in debt and bad credit, the top up were to help as I am desperate and always living pay check to pay check
I feel sick that this will be another 3 years of payments I hope the FOS will see my point, I have paid what I borrowed I’m not asking for it to be wiped off or refunded I’ve paid nearly £5000 in interest also
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you have a current loan? If you do, if you can encourage your guarantor to complain (see separate template latter for guarantors on this other page: https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/) then may be able to get released as guarantor which would take the pressure to pay off you while your FOS case goes through.
April says
Thank you Sara I’ll try that ! I have passed it onto the FOS also fingers crossed !
Sarah Heydon says
I emailed my complaint and SAR on 10th June, had not even received an acknowledgedment email, waited till the 8 weeks were up, emailed to ask why I had not had anything from them and was told that they had not received anything, so while the staff member was emailing me I attached my complaint again. She told me I would hear back with in 3 to 5 day that it has been received and that the 8 weeks would start again and I have still not heard from them.
I had in that email how the affordability had been checked when loans were given.
Can I take the complaint as received from the data that I last spoke to them which was 5th August?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can send the case to FOS after 8 weeks from the date you sent it in 10 June. But in practice FOS aren’t looking at Amigo cases unless Amigo has issued a decision, so you are going to be waiting for an Amigo response.
Sarah Heydon says
I have finally received a reply, think they are fed up of my emails. They have said that they cannot take it from 10th June it will be taken from 5th August and I will hear within 8 weeks. So just the waiting game again now
Ben B says
Still waiting on my refund figures, I was advised by Amigo on 16/07 that they took another look at my complaint and now upheld it and would receive my figures 5 working days after 30/07.
When I query again when I would get the figures told its 35 days after 21/07 from one guy and get another reply saying they are waiting on figures from FOS….
They are a shambles
Joe says
Hi
I have a complaint with TFS and recently the Ombudsman ruled they had to remove my Guarantor, while me separate claim is awaiting a ruling is it correct I don’t have to continue paying pending the outcome?
Thanks in advance!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well if your guarantor has been removed this is just a normal unsecured loan now.
If you don’t pay, your credit rating will be hurt… but any negative marks will be removed if you then win your FOS complaint.
Joe says
Thank you Sara, but can I actually say I am not paying until the Ombudsman has reviewed, is this a legit thing?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well you can stop paying any loan – what are they going to do? Put a bad mark on your credit record. They shouldn’t take you to court while you have an open case at the Ombudsman and I don’t recall any guarantor lender actually doping this, though they send threatening letters.
laura says
can someone please help me, so my guarantor when i did my loan top up instead of giving it to me he paid it off the loan, so amigo think he has made £3700 in payments towards loan, wich is lie , he paid my top up what im still paying for now wich is down to £2000!! what will happen as iv won my case,on 3 loans will he get the full refund who gets it? how does it work?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds a mess. Why did you allow him to do this, were you in a relationship with him and under pressure?
What is the rest of your financial situation like?
laura says
well he was my exs brother, so when he got the top up for me, he changend mind and instead of tellong amigo he just paid it off the loan instead, and now amigo are saying he has paid £3700 and will offer that back to him as all my loans have been upheld so he is going to take it . Iv spoke to amigo and they have said there is nothing they can do. So he is going to get money for nothing.Yeah this is the only debt I have so least it will be cleared and il be rid of that family for good.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You would have a good case for suing him to get the money back. Does he own a house, if not, probably not worth pursuing.
BUT you should now send the case to the Financial Ombudsman as the result is unfair, leaving you owing more than before you won your complaint
Andrea says
I accepted yesterday no guarantor refunds etc, and my online account has just changed to this account is closed and showing payments in to my account!!
Yesterday I accepted? There is hope for everyone
James says
What do you mean payments into your account? Did you have a balance left to pay?
Andrea says
Yes I had £7600 outstanding loan, and they are paying me £9500 in cash,
All these get added to your amigo account, with the interest and charges etc and then that clears what you owe and they pay you what’s left in to your bank account. Which should be later on today in my bank ;-)
After waiting 22 weeks for my decision I can’t believe I accepted yest and will have the cash today!
James says
Oh ok, i thought you said you had it in your bank already, i accepted my offer on friday and they said it will take 20 days to reach the bank.
Andrea says
That’s what they told me too, but my account closed last night on line and bank payments should clear about 6pm today
Andrea says
It went in about 4.30pm tonight
Lk says
At what time did the account change?
Andrea says
I checked about 9.30pm, it was the normal at 7pm
RC says
Lucky you, I accepted 3rd August. No payment as of yet.
James says
Hopefully it goes in OK, mines is still saying £0.just have to wait.
Catia says
Hi guys ,
I have made my complaint to Amigo
loan 5 months ago , they haven’t got back to me within the 8 weeks time schedule because of the pandemic situation . Basically my first loan was £ 4k then a topped up for £10 k back in 2017 , I have struggling to pay however this year I finished pay the loan but Amigo Loan said I sill had 3 years contract ending up paying £23k , completely mental .
So I obviously complaint about it as they didn’t replied to me I sent the complaint to Financial Ombudsman which they replied last week asking me to provide Bank Statement back in 2017 plus Credit Score history.
Friday last week received Amigo Loan outcome saying they own me £1600 plus 8% interest also my loan its consider paid , they remove my guarantor as liability and they will remove the loan from my credit score. I am just over the moon .
GUYS PLEASE DONT GIVE UP ,it completely worth it .
CM says
Hi
So Amigo have replied to my complaint and said they will refund me the interest on 3 out of 4 of my loans as they believe my current one was affordable, they are refunding me £2,300 which still leaves me a balance of £3,000 to pay on a £5,000 loan. If I reject this redress will they come back with a better offer or should I just go to the ombudsman?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ithink you will be wasting time waiting for them to change their mind, send the complaint to the Ombudsman.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What are your guarantor’s finances like? At the point you took the loan out, could they really have afforded to pay all the loan repayments every month and still pay all their own bills, debts and living expenses? If not, they too could complain, See this other Page for guarantors https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/.
The advantage of this for you is if your guarantor can be released, you can then offer a lower payment while your FOS case goes through.
Kelly says
Hopefully this gives hopes to others!
I’ve been following this post for a few weeks since my partner put in his complaint with Amigo.
Around July 3rd he emailed amigo directly. On July 24th he received his SAR. He then received an email on August 3rd saying they were still looking into his complaint. Yesterday morning he had an offer of redress. £5994 loan written off and a cash refund of £8664. He had the money in his account by 7.30pm last night. This is the fastest response I’ve seen from amigo so far and we are shocked and very grateful. The process was so easy and straight forward.
Thank you
Lk says
fast, lucky you. I accepted 31st July and no payment as of yet…
James says
That was really quick, congrats. i accepted Friday and i am now in the queue. Hopefully i get paid out soon too :)
You start to think, maybe you have gave them wrong details hahaha
Kerry says
Hi Sara I’ve managed to send my complaint to the ombudsman, just wondering if I should still make these £50 a month payments to amigo until I here from the FOB or should I stop them
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As you guarantor has been released, they won’t be affected if you stop the payments.
If the unpaid interest is removed, your balance will be about £50… so perhaps make one more payment so it would be clear and then stop paying them?
Kerry says
OK thanks Sara but so far I have made 26 x £197.62 so far totaling £5138.12 so technically I have paid them back what I borrowed. I would be happy even if they just took the £5000 and refunded me the £138.12
Sara (Debt Camel) says
good point. That suggests there is something else wrong with the figures Amigo sent you…
So stop paying now.
Audrey says
Hi Sara Stu received his refund last week. His account is closed and cleared. Thank you so much for all your help. We saving £400 per month. Thanks again Audrey and Stuart
L1991 says
Hi Sara,
I had a response from TFS over the weekend rejecting my complaint. They said that as I made all payments on time it didn’t show it was unaffordable. I sent to FOS at 8 weeks anyway but I’m doubting whether to continue with it. When I took the loan with TFS they wanted 3 payslips to prove my income, at the time I only had 2 as I had misplaced my last one so I sent them a bank statement showing the income. However my argument is that on the bank statement I sent them, there were three bounced direct debits, I personally think this proves any extra outgoings were unaffordable. However now their response was so thorough I’m wondering if it’s worth the hassle of going through the FOS.
I did make all TFS payments on time, but to do this i was borrowing off my guarantor in advance, I couldn’t even get a payday loan at the time my credit was so poor.
Do you think the proof of bounced direct debits which they saw at the time of taking the loan proves anything? My amigo complaint for the same period was upheld and received my redress but TFS are clearly playing hardball.
Thanks in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I thin lenders write “detailed” responses in order to dissuade you from going to FOS even if you have a good case.
“They said that as I made all payments on time it didn’t show it was unaffordable”
That is just wrong. FOS knows that you may have felt you had to keep paying however unaffordable it was to protect your guarantor. You may have had to borrow more elsewhere or get behind with bills – the fact you made the TFS payments on time does not prove they were affordable.
FOS is upholding 90% of guarantor loan complaints – in all of these the lender had replied that the loan was affordable and FOS decided it wasn’t.
I agree with you that bounced DDs show any further credit may well be unaffordable.
I always suggest that if someone is unsure whether to go to FOS, think back to when you had the loan. You know if it gave you a lot of trouble – if it did ignore whether the lender has written and send your case to FOS.
Ben says
Hi Guys. Just an FYI with Amigo – they keep “missing” emails that i’m sending to them and I keep “missing” emails that they are sending to me. I would advise to phone them if you’re sending over any docs or when communication goes flat for long periods of time just to make sure they’re actively working on the complaint.
Complaint submitted 1st July so 8 weeks is up in 2 weeks. Only had one loan with them but was gambling a lot in the months leading up to and including the month when I took the loan with them. Also missed DD payments on every DD for the 3 months before. Bank Statements are a mess so, hopefully, this will be sufficient to get the loan cleared and some money back!
Thanks!
Chris says
You obviously havent been waiting the lengths of time others have! Nothing to do with missed emails I’m afraid. It is pot luck on how your complaint is dealt with. Many people first complained last year prior to Amigo caving I and refunding people without having to prove the loans affordability. They respond to you as and when they feel like it I’m afraid. Could be a long wait if you have only just submitted.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo is aiming to get through the complaint backlog by October, so it can’t be that long a wait!
Chris says
Not forgetting that they missed the previous deadline? I’m not sure somebody who complained in July 2020 can say just keep ringing them when I have read comments on here from people last year who haven’t been resolved yet. Amigo made a brave choice by refunding people who would have been able to afford their loan but then said they couldn’t be certain they had checked correctly. Everybody should have been made to prove their complaint. As a result, Amigo wont be trading much further than next 6 months. Major error on their part.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo made a brave choice by refunding people who would have been able to afford their loan but then said they couldn’t be certain they had checked correctly.
um, that is sometimes lender-speak for “oh god how did we let this one go through”… you can’t read anything much into a lender’s excuses for why they are kindly offering to refund a loan…
Everybody should have been made to prove their complaint.
And I encourage people to supply bank statements which do just that.
James says
Hi,
I noticed a lot of people saying their balance changes via Amigo before payment is made, has anyone who cleared there loan had this as well? Mines just says current balance £0, i am wondering if this will change giving me an idea that i am due to be paid?
Any help would be appreciated :)
jenjen says
mine was zero balance & changed to minus the amount expected right before i got paid
Lk says
Hi Jenjen do you know roughly what time it changed to minus? Just so I don’t check 24/7
Lk says
Hi frogman,
Complaint sent 07/02
Response 16/06 guarantor accepted same day
I received and accepted my redress 31/07 just waiting for payout
James says
Thanks JenJen, i shall check it every day haha
RC says
James mine also says current balance £0 I accepted my redress on 3rd Aug. still waiting. Checking my Amigo every few hours haha. Hopefully not much longer to wait
jenjen says
mine changed one evening & then by the following evening around 7 pm i had been paid
good luck guys x
James says
The wait when you know your getting it is worse than the claim haha
Andrea says
Mine changed about 9.30pm money went in my account 4.30pm next day
James says
Where does it change where is says account balance? Check again there and mines is still saying 0 :( its only been from Friday so not been too long.
Andrew says
Hi Sara,
Today I’ve received a final response from Fos regarding my complaint to Buddy Loans. The investigator agreed with my complaint and gave buddy loans time to 26.08. Another good news after the amigo wining.
Thank you Sara
pol says
Hi Andrew, buddy loans seem to have been playing hard ball with their complaints, mine, and I’ve read about a few others, have been upheld by the adjudicator and buddy still rejected, seems a lot are going to ombudsman for final decision. Good luck on your claim
Hollie Lawrence says
Hi Sarah
Does this like right to you?
Total Interest £ 10,851.77
8% Simple Interest (After Tax Deduction) £ 139.70
20% Basic Rate Tax Deduction on 8% Simple Interest £ 34.93
Fees and/or Charges £ 0.00
Unpaid Interest from non-upheld loans £ 0.00
Total Redress Payable £ 10,991.47
Previous Loan Balance £ 7,706.32
Sum of Guarantor Refund £ 0.00
New Balance (after guarantor refund) £ 0.00
New Balance Less Redress £ 0.00
Cash Refund £ 3,285.15
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Its hard for me to say unless you know the details of what you paid to the earlier loans, how much cash you received from the top ups & exactly how many £296 and how many £99 payments you have made to the last one.
If I was to guess it looks a bit low. Both the interest refund and the 8% calculation.
Holly says
Hi guys ,
Buddy are asking for an income and expenditure form AND bank statements , do I HAVE to send bank statements ?
pol says
Hi Holly, no you don’t have to send to buddy but if your complaint goes to fos, I’d recommend sending them to them, good luck on your claim
Holly says
That’s great thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so this is trying to negotiate a lower payment from them? While your case is at FOS?
No you don’t have to send them anything – but they don’t have to agree to accept a lower payment… They are more likely to accept a lower payment if you supply an I&E and bank statements.
If you aren’t sure what to offer, talk it through with National Debtline on 0808 808 4000. They can help you think how to complete an I&E form and what is an amount you can afford given your financial situation.
Holly says
That’s great thank you so much
Terry says
Hi Sara,
Amigo got back to me today with their final response. They have not upheld my first 3 loans but they have upheld my 4th and last loan with them. The cash redress only comes to £1000 on this loan, all my other loans come were for much greater amounts! There is no explanation as to why they have upheld this one other than ”it is reasonable to conclude that your situation changed and Amigo cannot be completely confident that the loan agreement was affordable for you”. My financial situation between all my loans were heavily reliant on payday loans and certainly between loans 3 and 4 my situation got much worse so i’m not sure how they come to this conclusion? If i was to accept their offer of redress, take the £1000, can i still send my complaint to the FOS, i am thinking i can’t? My worry is if i send my complaint to the ombudsmen i could wait weeks or even months and Amigo go bust.
Terry says
Continued:
My first loan in 2014 was for £5000 which i topped up 7 months later. Interest paid on this loan was £2200.
My 3rd loan was for £7500 in 2016 which i made 11 payments before clearing off the balance of £6000 due to getting my redress from Wonga. Interest i paid on this loan was £2800.
My 4th loan was for £2000 in 2018 which i paid off earlier this year, the interest was £1000.
My total interest to Amigo over the years comes to £6000. I feel their offer falls way short of what i can accept. Is it worth me going back to them and arguing my case that loan 3 should also be upheld due to my financial position being the same? There was no mention of the 100s of payday loans i was using during these times, which i proved by sending them bank statements. Sorry for this being long winded Sara, your advice will be greatly appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you should ask Amigo if you can accept and satill ask FOS to look at the earlier loans. If Amigo say no, you have a difficult decision. They have a lot of money in the bank and so seem unlikely to go under very soon, but it’s possible. I don’t have any feel at the moment for how many cases FOS will have to look at so I can’t guess how long it might take to go through.
Terry says
Sara,
Just off the phone to Amigo and they said i can accept the redress offer and still take it to the FOS, can this be correct? I thought that when accepting their offer you couldn’t take it to the FOS, that’s how it was for Wonga and others anyway? So i think i will call them right back and accept but i want proof of them saying that i can still send it to the FOS.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They have said this to other people too – slightly different circumstances (here is one https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/comment-page-52/#comment-380159), but they have said accept and you can go to FOS.
Andrea says
Terry they record all phone calls, your SAR info proves this so if you have them saying accept and go to the Ombusman your covered. I’ve done exactly the same.
I just saud I wasn’t happy as I’d lost out on a further £9000 etc and she said take the £9.5 now and go to the Ombusman for the rest.
Don says
Hi, just another update for everyone. My redress offer was emailed to me on the 6th August, I phoned up that morning and accepted and was told it would take up to 20 working days to be paid. I’ve just checked my bank account and the money has been paid in today. I’m. It sure what time but sometime between 12pm and now.
Just for peoples information I placed my initial complaint in with Amigo in August last year so it’s taken 12 months to get to this stage.
Good luck everyone and stick with it.
Sara you are amazing! Thank you.
Kyle says
A year! :o damn, and I thought I have been waiting long. Congratulations though. Did you keep at them at all? Was this with FO or their complaints department?
Don says
Hey Kyle, I didn’t keep at them to be honest as it’s been with the Ombudsman.
Amigo refused my complaint after the 8 weeks, I asked them to reconsider they said no so I sent it straight to the ombudsman where it sat in the queue until I think it was about March this year. (I did email the ombudsman a few times and got the standard response).
Once it got allocated to an adjudicator Amigo dragged their heels sending stuff then completely out of the blue I received an email The beginning of July from the fos saying Amigo had reconsidered and were upholding my complaint.
Mark says
Hi Sara, I’ve read through all these comments and nothing seems to answer my questions. I was accepted for an unaffordable loan from 2016. My guarantor contacted amigo on 10th June to say all payments made to her i paid to her so I get the full redress amount. And I am still to receive the letter of how much this is. I’ve rang- they can’t tell me – I’ve emailed which has been sent to complaints dept but again heard nothing. Now over 2 months since they said they’d send a letter and I dont know where to go…any idea?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is this currently with the Ombudsman?
Matt says
Hello Sarah,
I am waiting on my redress amount (day 13 after my guarantor received theirs). Is there a chance amigo goes into administration anytime soon and this all gets dragged on another year?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I can’t say it’s impossible but they seem to have a lot of money in the bank at the moment so I have no reason to think it is imminent.
mark says
Please can you keep me updated when you get the letter. My guarantoor recieved their letter 2 months ago….and declined their offer within a week and I’m still to hear anything…
Angela says
My guarantor accepted on 24th July and I got my offer yesterday (12th August). I wasn’t expecting it till at least the 14th August so was pleasantly surprised.
Lou says
Hi Sara,
Thank you for your help so far.
I’ve had a response from Amigo to say that my latest five loans (one, with four top ups) have been upheld, but that the four dating back from 2009 were not because they were following different lending criteria.
I have emailed them back to say that I believe they should be upheld and have given reasons (before I send it to the ombudsman), but will the fact I have pushed back on four stop them upholding the five that they have? And can it cause a delay? Finally, I’m sure they can’t do this, but could they now refuse them all because I have pushed back on the first four?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you get back in contact with them and ask if you can accept their offer and still send the first 4 loans to FOS.
If they say Yes (and so far they have been doing this) it is a no brainer to do that.
Lou says
Thanks Sara,
I said in the response to them that I ACCEPT THE FOUR UPHELD LOANS, however, dispute the rest. I am now worried about this.
I had a moment of total relief yesterday that this would all be over, but now am getting really worried about these “unpaid fees” charges and feeling a bit sick.
Please could you help with the below to see if the four not upheld loans will lead to me actually owing (I couldn’t bear that). Also, if you could help me with what you think I might get back, I’d really appreciate that.
The guarantor who paid the loan off in September 2014 has been paid back, so no issue there for me to receive redress.
Jan 2009 – £3300 paid out 60 months x £119 – this was paid off in full January 2010. – NOT UPHELD
June 2010 – £4000 – 60 months x £144.53 this was topped up – NOT UPHELD
July 2011 – £5000 – 60 months x £180.66 this was topped up – NOT UPHELD
December 2013 – £5000 – 60 months £197.62 – this was settled September 2014. – NOT UPHELD
Sept 2017 – £750 paid out – 12 months x £77.29 this was topped up – UPHELD
March 2018 – 1250 – 24 months x £77.27 this was topped up – UPHELD
November 2018 1750 – 36 months x £85.38 this was topped up – UPHELD
February 2019 – £4000 – 60 months x £158.10 this was topped up – UPHELD
July 2019 – £5000 – 60 months x £197.62 this is still being paid. – UPHELD
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you know how much cash you received on each of the top up loans?
How come your guarantor was repaid for the 4th loan if it was not upheld?
Lou says
Sorry, when I say it was settled, I mean I/they paid the loan off.
So loan 1 – £3300, I paid off a year after getting it.
Loan two was topped up twice and then paid off in Sept 2014.
And loan three was topped up four times and is still active but hopefully will be paid off with the redress.
I think the cash received would have gone something like the following:
Jan 2009 – £3300 paid out 60 months x £119 – this was paid off in full January 2010.
June 2010 – £4000 paid out – this was topped up in July 2011 to £5000 (£900 received), topped up again December 2013 (£1400 received). Paid off Sept 2014.
Sept 2017 – £750 paid out – topped up March 2018 – £1250 (£500 received) – topped up November 2018 – £1750 (£550 received) – topped up February 2019 – £4000 – (2200 – this one is accurate) – topped up July 2019 – £5000 (£750 received – this is accurate).
Sorry they’re not more accurate. Don’t know if this even helps.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I *think* you won’t have a probelm about unapid interest because the the last of the first 4 loans was settled in full by your guarantor, not through a top up. But I can’t guarantee that – after all i don’t think they should EVER be making this deduction.
But there is nothing you can do now except wait for the figures from Amigo.
Are you on good terms with the guarantor? because if you go to FOS and the 4th loans refunded,the refund may be offered to your guarantor, not to you. would your guarantor say No?, because they have already had the momeny back?
Lou says
Thank you so much for your reply!
Since seeing all of the unpaid interest talk I worked out I would have to pay back 25k and my balance now is only 5k. And I’ve been very worried. I only made a complaint about the five, but they included the four (which actually I think should be refunded too, and will send to the FOS once Amigo confirm I can).
Yes, we are on good terms and the money has been paid back to them, so no problem there.
I shall wait with bated breath.
If you get a moment to be able to work out my figures, I would be very grateful. But not to worry if not, you’ve been so much help.
Thank you!
Kerry says
Good morning Sara this the reply I had just come through from amigo.
Dear Kerry,
As each loan is a different credit agreement any interest for a loan where the complaint has not been upheld will be owed.
I understand that you have spoken to a colleague on the 11th August who advised when the account will be updated, and that you originally accepted the redress. Is this still the case?
I’m also sorry for the delay with your DSAR, this will be with you as soon as possible.
What should i say when I reply back to them and should I mention its been sent to the ombudsman. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As each loan is a different credit agreement any interest for a loan where the complaint has not been upheld will be owed.
This is gobbledegook – ignore it. I would be completely astonished if FOS thinks these “unpaid interest” deductions are fair.
I suggest you reply that on the 11th you were unaware what the “unpaid interst” was and now you don’t thinkl it’s fair so you would like to send that part of the decision to the ombudsman.
Ant c says
Hi Sara I’m kerrys husband since she had this loan I’ve been making the payments from my bank using my pip money because she had to put her carers money at the time towards the income support to pay for the other bills. So the question is would this show that it was unaffordable for her because I was paying it.
Kind regards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Not directly. But the fact she was receiving carers allowance means her income must have been very small so that makes it very likely the loan was unaffordable!