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
Jim Bowen says
Can someone help me – I wish to know if my refund amount is correct (I do not trust Amigo!)
Date loan paid out – 18/05/2012
Loan amount – £2200
Term – 24 months
Monthly repayment – £136
No existing amigo loans (loan was paid off after the 24 month and as expected due to fall off my credit file this month).
I decided to pursue a complaint as it was due to fall off and chance my arm. I used a lot of the information on this article so I am so grateful.
The refund amount I am being provided is £2002.44 – just wanted to know if this sounds right
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds fine. A lot of that is 8% interest, that is taxable and Amigo will have taken off 20% tax. If you are a basic rate tax payer you can probably claim up to 3200 tax deducted back, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/
Megan says
Hi Sara,
Was just wondering the chances of me being upheld and getting a refund?
I took a loan out of £3,000 back in March 2017 and have topped it up twice.
From April 2017 I have made over £9,439 worth of payments.
I’ve constantly contacted them regarding help as I’ve been struggling. Will this affect my complaint/refund?
They have sent over my SAR but there’s been a problem with the egress and from seeing more comments, I’m not the only one.
Thanks x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if you said you were struggling they should not have topped the loan up after that!
And if you were struggling right from the start, that is a good indicator that the first loan was unaffordable.
Megan says
Brilliant so does that go in my favour then? I’m really hoping I get some sort of refund as I’m still struggling now. I’m trying to find out how much my top ups etc were so I could ask you if you could maybe work a refund out for me.
Megan says
Hi Sara,
I have spoken to them and they have sent over my statements.
Original loan – £3,000
Interest accrued – £285
I paid – £292.74
Then..
Topped up to £4,250
Payout – £1,257.74
Interest accrued – £256.57
I paid – £293.98
*during this loan I showed first signs of struggling having a DD bounce and having to pay weekly*
Then..
Topped up to £5,000
Pay out – £787.41
Interest accrued – £1,416.68
I paid – £1,531.71
Then..
I topped up to £7,250
Payout was – £2,562.65
Interest accrued/still accruing – £6893.62
I have paid – £6955.08
With these figures, would I be entitled to a refund/or me not having to pay anymore?
For the past year there have been constant complaints of me crying out for help. I sent off a complaint using your template above too on the 21st July 2020.
How long does it take for them to come to a decision?
Thanks!
Joanne says
Hi I sent a complaint to amigo December they never replied so went to financial ombudsman who have agreed with my unaffordability complaint amigo have till 20th to reply is it likely they will reply
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would expect they will accept the decision but I wouldn’t like to guess if they will do it by the 20th.
S G says
Hi Sara,
Is it possible for you to email me directly? I need some advice ASAP
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no sorry – I have changed your name to initials, so you are anonymous, can you write about your query here?
S G says
Hi,
Do you know what happens to the guarantors offer if they decline? Where does that money go?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If they decline, so far as I know, the money they paid remains on the loan account so your refund is larger.
Becqui Lewis says
I have just received my redress offer well Amigo telling me I now owe them 4000 after they are paying my guarantor 10000 as you can guess I declined and the interest from previous loan was just under 3000. I’ve just contacted the FOS and hopefully it’s picked up soon i do have a case reference number now is this a good sign
Ian M says
Hi.
I put a complaint in to Amigo at the middle of June. I sent one e mail detailing why I thought I’d been mis sold and the effects it had on my finances for the duration of the loan.
I received my answer on Saturday and they have upheld my complaint. They have not given me a figure yet but have said it will be any interest paid over the initial loan amount plus 8%.
They have said I will receive confirmation of my redress figure by no later than 28th August. Anyone know what time frame I can expect to wait for payment after I accept their offer?
Cheers.
Ryan says
Ian I got my loan upheld on the 16th July got my redress offer on the 3rd August I accepted the same day they told me 20 working days. Some have been paid sooner than the 20 days though.
Lou says
I got five loans upheld two days ago (and four not upheld) but they said it will take a month to send the redress figure. So I think it’s all different.
Do either of you know about this “unpaid interest” thing. When does it get applied?
Becqui Lewis says
I have had 1 out of 3 upheld and they have added 2700 in unpaid interest for the 2 loans thst were not upheld as they say its the capital and that they borrowed me the money to pay them off so I’m expected to pay it. I have sent the compliant to FOS and I am hoping by doing so that I will get all 3 upheld.
Lou says
Thanks for your reply.
I really don’t understand this. Were all of your loans the same loan? ie. you had one loan that was topped up twice? Surely if you had to pay the interest on them anyway, they should have given you an addittional loan and the whole payout?
Becqui Lewis says
Yes all the same loan its been madness but finally I have a case number . I did say that the only email I have received is to say thankyou your loan is settled in full not that I would have to pay more back if ever it came to it.
Jordan alex says
Honestly what are the doing. My loan complaint went in January and I havent had a decision. Its such a joke.
Kyle says
Same boat, my complaint went in January 4th, still no final response. It’s a shambles. I asked for the SAR information from them, they actually replied and said they would gather it up and send it over. I sent like 3 emails prior to this about different things but they ignored them. We shall see what ye future brings I guess.
A says
Good evening Sara,
I have just had news from FOS with my old Amigo loan and agrees that it was not affordable to me at the time of taking out. Amigo did say to FOS it was OK for this to be looked at before he sent his findings. It is an old one from 2010, just the one loan but had a lot of evidence to back this up, FOS have giving them 2 weeks to respond but do expect it to be longer to hear back. Loan was for £3’300 at £151 a month for 36 months, no missed payment, would I be right of thinking I would get a redress back of around £2’000.
Thanks again for this site and what you are doing for us all.
Angela says
I accepted my offer yesterday and I was told 20 working days for pay out. Although I know some people on here have received payment sooner than they were told and some later so i think probably best not to be too hopeful in case its not paid when youve been told it will be!
RC says
Angela keep checking your amigo Statement when it changed to a minus figure this is an indication you will be getting paid next day. I accepted the 3rd and mines has just changed this evening. Good luck.
Ryan says
Accepted my redress on 3rd August and my balance on my Amigo statement has changed to -£7116 between 6 and 7:30pm so looks like I’m going to be paid tomorrow. I’m so happy this process is coming to an end. The noose that was around my neck has finally been lifted. Thank you Sara your website has not only offered amazing guidance and all things finance but also the people who comment here have often been comforting knowing that we are all on the same boat. I hope everyone gets the outcomes they deserve.
James says
Mine’s Still sitting at Current balance: £0.00
is this where the amounts change?
Ryan says
Yes mate. When you log in look at the statement and where it says current balance it should change from £0.00 mines was at 0 at 5:30pm I checked again at 8pm and it had changed.
Yours might change Tuesday or Wednesday. Fingers crossed for you. My anxiety has been through the roof so I know how your feeling been checking my account over and over
LEE says
Heard from the Ombudsman after escalating at the 8 week mark back in May. Had final response from Amigo in July but want Ombudsman to take a look at the first three loans I had which weren’t upheld and the interest on non upheld loans.
They say it could take up to 4 months for an adjudicator to look at my complaint.
I’ve had 118118 money and Likely Loans both uphold my complaints so getting there slowly
but surely.
Hang in there everyone
Matt says
Hello Sarah,
I got my redress amount from Amigo 2500 my guarantor was similar but they got 8% simple interest and I didn’t, they said its only available if you pay early. This doesn’t seem right, is it?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes and no.
Your guarantor will get 8% on all the payments they made.
Your situation is more complicated. Amigo are doing a weird calculation that no one else does. I don’t know what the Ombudsman would say if you complained about that. So far most people have sighed and decided they will just accept the settlement rather than draw this out further by challenging the 8% calculation.
Simon says
It would appear the team manager at FOS really got the ball rolling. They gave business file 3 days after request and the middle 4 loans were deemed unaffordable and the outcome was pretty damning in terms of how Amigo had come to such conclusions initially. That means all 16 loans from 2009 will now be refunded and the nightmare will be over :) Qne question Sara….What bearing does the date have on the 8%? Obviously some of these are pretty old loans.
Vicki says
Hi Sara
Iv just been looking at this sight it’s fantastic, I received an e mail today saying they will pay redness on 2 out of 4 loans, they will e mail my guarantor as they paid of the balance on one, I went though a 3rd party to do this for me before I saw your sight, do I have to keep with them now as Iv been told they will take most of the money I’m to recive many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do I have to keep with them now
you haven’t said anything to suggest you have a reason to not pay them, if that’s what you are asking?
if you want to make a new affordability complaint to a different lender, that would be different.
Have you actually seen the calculation from Amigo about your redress? Are they deducting money for “unpaid interest”?
Do you think the 2 not upheld loans were really affordable?
Vicki Pringle says
Iv not seen the redress yet they said 5 days after the 24th I will recieve an offer so not sure what that will be, I went through a claims company it’s them that sent me the letter from amigo, I don’t think the other 2 loans they have refused were affordable to me
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, so wait until you get the offer. If there is “unpaid interest” you should be able to accept the offer AND send the issue about the unpaid interest and the other to loans to the ombudsman.
laura says
hiya sara a sent a message other day about rigures but got them wrong could u help me out again a took a 5000 loan out 21/10/14 paid 8 243
then topped up to 5000 aug 2015 got paid 530 then made payments of 309 x 11
then topped up to 7500 june 2016 recieved 4027and payd 365×36
what kimd of payment would i be lookimg at
Sara (Debt Camel) says
(I moved this here from the page about Barclays where you left it!)
Those numbers are very different from the previous ones. On the new ones, you have paid the following interest on each loan:
loan 1 £1,414
loan 2 £1,872
loan 3 £5,640
so if all 3 are refunded that is a total of £8,926
laura says
aw sorry didnt realise yeah a got them to send over contracts i thought it was a 2000 loan but was 5000 and the 10000 was a 7500 is that figure with the 8% added on to i tryd to work it out but was gettin confused thank u very much for ur help its appreciated
i keep reading abiut unoaid interest would i be same as i have topped the loans up
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no there would be about £1500 8% interest on top of that.
Unpaid interest is a problem where you have topped up AND not all your loans are upheld. If they are all upheld, there won’t be a problem with this.
Megan says
Hi Sara,
I have spoken to them and they have sent over my statements.
1) Original loan – £3,000
Interest accrued – £285
I paid – £292.74
2) Topped up to £4,250
Payout – £1,257.74
Interest accrued – £256.57
I paid – £293.98
*during this loan I showed first signs of struggling having a DD bounce and having to pay weekly*
3) Topped up to £5,000
Pay out – £787.41
Interest accrued – £1,416.68
I paid – £1,531.71
4) I topped up to £7,250
Payout was – £2,562.65
Interest accrued/still accruing – £6893.62
I have paid – £6955.08
With these figures, would I be entitled to a refund/or me not having to pay anymore?
For the past year there have been constant complaints of me crying out for help. I sent off a complaint using your template above too on the 21st July 2020.
How long does it take for them to come to a decision?
Thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
On those figures you have paid the following in interest:
loan 1 £285
loan 2 £256
loan 3 £1,219
current loan – still £295 to pay before you have repaid the 7250 borrowed.
If all the loans are refunded, the interest from the first 3 will be used to clear the balance on the last one and you will also get a cash refund of £1465.
If thy don’t refund loans 1 or 2, then you haven’t paid much interest on them so may think it doesn’t matter… but at the moment they are stinging people with a deduction for “unpaid interest” which isn’t right, so look out for this.
A S says
Hi everyone,
I was given the date of the 11th to have redress figures, plus 5 working days. I have phoned them this morning (I’m phoning regularly to be a bit of a nuisance!) and today I was told they have until Tuesday to be within their time frame but that they are experiencing further delays. I first submitted my complaint in January and had to have the FO intervene as I had heard nothing in July. I burst into tears on the phone today as I desperately need the redress. I’m now worrying that they are going to take off unpaid interest as well as this was loan number 3. They seem to be holding all the cards and it’s so frustrating, it’s just made me very upset today. I thought I would be entitled to around £6000 redress but my first loan with them was 2013, topped up in 2014 and again in 2015. They’ve only upheld the third one so I have a feeling the unpaid interest is going to be large. I’m so fed up of it all 😢
Beepop says
So I have accepted my redress offer and will patiently wait for payment although I am nervous with the current goings on at Amigo towers. I doubt they will be here this time next year given their state of affairs.
My question is:
How does the guarantor side of things work in regards to a complaint?
my gurantor never had to make any payments for me – but I do suspect they did not check my guarantor as they should have (no idea how he passed the checks other than being a homeowner).
Would they be entitled to similar redress even if they didn’t make any payments?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no, your guarantor has lost nothing, no cause for redress.
Terry says
And wow just like that sent bank statements to trust two, the reviews the complaint and ha e upheld this time. Loan cleared, removed from credit file and will get 1700 back in the bank. Beats the hell out of laing back the 6k that they reckoned was left once they added the charges on for the payment break during covid 19. Thanks for your help.
Megan says
This is amazing! Did they ask for the bank statements? Sorry I’m just hoping I get a similar result
Sara (Debt Camel) says
don’t wait to be asked, send them your bank statements!
Terry says
No they didn’t uphold the complaint and were very superior about it tbh…. then sent in the bank statements, provident loan numbers and listed all of the debts I had. They then contacted to say that they e would review as they could see from statements that I had no disposable income…. So sent statements a week ago but they asked me to initial my debts as join account so sent initialed ones Tuesday, they contacted to say they would review Wednesday then today they upheld and sent me figures. Money should be sent ASAP they say…. Good luck…
A says
Good evening Sara,
I have just had news from FOS with my old Amigo loan and agrees that it was not affordable to me at the time of taking out. Amigo did say to FOS it was OK for this to be looked at before he sent his findings. It is an old one from 2010, just the one loan but had a lot of evidence to back this up, FOS have giving them 2 weeks to respond but do expect it to be longer to hear back. Loan was for £3’300 at £151 a month for 36 months, no missed payment, would I be right of thinking I would get a redress back of around £2’000. Does this figure look realistic?
Thanks again for this site and what you are doing for us all.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You only had this one loan?
36 payments of £151 is £5436 – so that’s a bit over £2100 in interest.
Plus you would get more then £1000 in 8% interest added on.
A says
Yes, just the one loan. Sara. Thank you.
NeverAgain!! says
I have just had my email for redress. Less than Sara calculated but I’m going to take it and deal with that later. They have given me a link to accept but it just takes me to my statements. Am I being thick??? Haven’t a clue what I’m supposed to be looking for but would like to try and finalise ASAP. Any comments would be appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Were all the loans upheld?
did they take off an amount for “unpaid interest”?
how much 8% interest was there?
NeverAgain!! says
The first one wasn’t. I expected that . It was only for £825. The links they have sent me don’t seem to be working. Can’t accept. Takes me to a 404 page not found.
They took off £31.26 for “unpaid interest” which I’m not going to argue about. The figures are about £1300 short on what you calculated Sara so don’t know what to do. Do I accept then argue about it later or do I reject their offer and hope they don’t go under in the meantime??
There was £1031.60 8% interest and £257.89 taken off for the 20%
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If there is an amount for unpaid interest you should be able to accept it AND send the complaint for the first loan and the unpaid interest to the Ombudsman. Then later you can ask them to explain the calculation. It may be you had the wrong numbers, it may be I typed them in wrong, or Amigo may have made a mistake!
So i suggest you phone them up and say you want to accept but send the complaint about the unpaid interest to the ombudsman.
Lauri says
Hi all
I’m hoping someone can clear this up for me please! You all seem to know a lot more than I do lol!
My complaint has been upheld, I have 7 agreements in total and one still active.
For the past best part of a year, my payments have come from my guarantors card (my cash but their card), how will amigo view this?
Also, we’ve not had any offers yet but IF my guarantor is given a redress offer, what happens to the refund if they were to decline?
Thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Had Amigo asked your guarantor to pay? Or did Amigo just think the payments were from you?
Lauri says
The payments didn’t default, they were just made off a card in the guarantors name rather than my own. This was done on the website on the payment date
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In that case Amigo may not even realise they weren’t made by you. Sorry I don’t know, you will have to wait and see – I would be interested to know what happens?
Lauri says
Thanks Sara, of course, I will update when I know
If anyone else has had an experience with this, please let me know
L says
Yes this will go to your guarantor regardless if you gave them the money.
Angela says
Hi, I had a similar situation. My guarantor paid towards my loan with her card. She was offered redress for the amount she paid. She accepted but no issue because she’s my sister and is giving me the money as I paid her. So if payments have been made with your guarantor’s bank or card details they’ll be refunded that amount plus 8% interest. If your guarantor refuses their offer the money will come straight to you.
Tony says
Hi, this is my situation.
I had loans and top-ups as below. All loans paid off although the last one I defaulted on and Amigo took out a ccj against me and my guarantor (my brother) they threatened to take my brothers house unless we paid which we eventually did. I put in a complaint and Amigo only offered to pay back my brother. They then said that if they paid my brother that amount would still be owing by me. I refused and three weeks ago sent a complaint to the fos.
Any idea how this may now go?
1st loan
06 Apr 2009
£3,300.00
36@£151.19
Top-up 1
23 Apr 2010
£5,000.00
60@£180.66
Top-up 2
17 Aug 2012
£5,500.00
60@£217.39
Top-up 3
13 Apr 2015
£7,000.00
60@£276.67
Sara (Debt Camel) says
First I think it would be useful background for you to know what the refund numbers could look like:
– Can you say how many payments you made to each of the loans? For example the first loan would be 11 (or possibly 10 or 12) payments of £151.
– for all the top up loans, can you say how much you received in cash?
– for the last loan, how much have you paid? and how much has your brother paid?
I assume the last loan has actually been paid off, correct?
Was your brother offered a refund and did he reject this? Or have Amigo only talked to you about it?
Tony says
Hi Sara
Loan1 Payments 11@£151.19
Loan2 payments 26@£180.66
Loan3 payments 35@£217.39
Loan4 payments 12@£276.67 1@£76.67 1@£70.00
This is where I got into trouble and they got my brother to pay although I paid him back
42@£250.00 1@£400.00
Unfortunately I cannot find the amount that I received from the top ups, but I have requested all my statements from Amigo (not holding out much hope on getting them though).
All loans fully paid off.
My brother was offered a refund as below, but they said if they paid him I would then owe the money to Amigo.
Nothing was said about the other loans.
Total of payments made to loan 4 = £3320.01
8% Simple Interest = £717.43
Less 20% Basic Rate Tax Deduction on 8% Simple Interest = £1439.49
Net compensatory interest payable = £573.94
Grand Total: £3893.95
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Has your brother rejected the refund?
Tony says
Yes, as we were told if he accepted then it could not go to the fos.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That was … very unhelpful of Amigo.
Right, if your brother has not already put in a complaint, I suggest he puts one in right now. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/ for a template he can use. he should complain first that the loan was unaffordable for you. he can use the refund offer he was sent as evidence for that. He can also complain if after reading that other page he thinks the loan was unaffordable for him.
The advantage of doing this is that he may get his complaint upheld and paid out in less time than you can get a decision from FOS on your difficult situation.
But you also want FOS to look at upholding your earlier loans – it didn’t sound to me as though they were doing that.
Tony says
Found this on my account with Amigo
From loan 4
13 Apr 2015 Payout £2,750.04
13 Apr 2015 Settlement of loan 3 £4,249.96
Top up £7,000.00
Tony says
Wow! I emailed Amigo last night for them to send me all my loan statements and raise a Data Subject Access Request.
I had 2 emails from them today 1 confirming the Data Subject Access Request has been raised and the 2nd with all my statements from my 4 loans.
How do I get this information to the fos? Or will Amigo already have done that?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have a complaint number from FOS?
Tony says
I know you’re going to hate this but I went through a claims management company, because I didn’t think anything would come of it and I hadn’t heard of your forum or that you could do it yourself. Can I approach the fos personally to submit extra info?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send it to your claims company and tell them to get it added to your FOS complaint.
Nick says
Hi sara
I’m past the 8 week mark now and had an automated response from amigo basically asking for another month just to give me a response…and that I have the right to go to the ombudsman.
Do you think i should go straight to the ombudsman without delay?
Chris says
Send it to them ASAP as it can take 4 or more months to be looked at by an adjudicator. At least you will be in the queue that way.
Phil Huntley says
Hi Sara
I’ve had an email from FOS saying that Amigo have told them they have paid me in July.
But I haven’t received any redress figures let alone any pay out. As I’ve had no figures I’ve had nothing to accept so how can they say I’ve been paid. Even if they have old bank details I still haven’t accepted anything.
I’m just worried they will get away without paying me now as it’s their word against mine.
Any ideas what will happen now
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well there is probably some mix up. Amigo are NOT deliberately lying to FOS. Go back to FOS and say you have not even been told what the redress will be, ask which bank account Amigo have paid it to and on what date.
steve says
Hi Sara, I’ve had 8/9 loans upheld on the 28th of June. I should have had my calculations by the 15th of July but still not heard anything. I’ve rung up a few times and they just said it’s delayed with no time frame of how long they will take. I have also gone through a 3rd party (regrettably) and they have supposed to have chased it up too. I’ve been following the forum for a while now and haven’t seen anyone waiting this long for calculations. Have you any advice of what I can do? Original claim was put in in March. TIA
Sophie says
I’ve been waiting for calculations since 15th June – 9 weeks. Hope you get yours soon :)
Jordan Alex. says
at 24 weeks. Still nothing, amigo said they didn’t receive the emails from ombudsmen in June, they were given until 17th July to give them all the details, they missed this deadline as well. Still not received nothing nor have the ombudsmen yet ombs have said they can’t do anything to chase them further. Its an absolute joke.
Kyle says
When I called amigo they too said they didn’t receive a request from my ombudsmen case worker for information, something’s fishy here. I wonder if you can ask to speak to someone in charge of the ombudsmen side of amigo?
Claire says
I first started my complaint july last year so been over a year waiting.
Honestly I’m so fed up with it all!! Just want an end to it.
My guarantor is also my boss so its getting abit aggie at work….may have to look for a job job soon x
Kerry says
Hi Sara I cancelled the direct debit for amigo loans a few days ago so they wouldn’t take that £50 I offered out but they still took it. Are they allowed to do that.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you cancel the DD in time? Talk to your bank.
Kerry says
Yes cancelled it Thursday I had phone bank to do it cause couldn’t cancel through app
Sara (Debt Camel) says
talk to your bank then.
Nic says
Hello
I think my first message might be lost as i can’t find it so i apologize for reposting if not allowed.
I put my claim in against Amigo on 22nd June 2020 , they denied my claim 26th July 2020 and i sent to FOS and i am waiting to see how it goes.
If i was lucky to get my money back do you no how much i would be looking at please.
Loan 1 14th May 2008 for £3000 paying £137.46 for 18 months no missed payments
Loan 2 26th Nov 2009 for £5000 ( received £3022 as they took £1947.94 of my old loan ) paying £180.66 a month for 60 months
but on the 6th Feb 2014 i borrowed the money from my mum pay the £1188.76 to pay it off in full.
I had already paid 50 lots of £180.66 .
Thank You
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am assuming your mum was not your guarator. If she was, then she would be offered a refund of what she paid which would reduce what you get.
On those numbers you have paid the following in interest:
loan 1 £1,444
loan 2 £5,188
So if both are upheld, that would be a total refund of £6,632 plus about £3500 in 8% interest.
What to look out for – if Amigo onoy uphold the second one, they may add on a charge for 2unpaid interest” on the first loan. This is unfair and if it happens to you, you should ask Amigo if you can accept the offer and still send a complaint to FOS about the unpaid interest. At the moment they are letting people do this.
Nic says
Hello
No i was the borrower and my auntie was the guarantor , my mum only lent me the money as she seen i was struggling .
Thank you for your advice :)
jemma says
HI sorry to jump in on this but I have raised a complaint with amigo loans. They have responded stating they will be upholding the last of 3 loans 1st was principal then 2 after were top-ups final top amount they are upholding was £5000.. £229.02 x36months this was paid back in full November 2013. They have contacted my gaurantor with offer of £3245 including simple interest stating that they will be charging back £2061 to myself. They are claiming that he had paid 9 months of the loan amount however this was not the case as I had myself paid by card. These 9 payments don’t have a name against card payment taken from. Now I’m worried as he has accepted this that instead of being offered a redress amount they will tell me I have an owing balance!!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you have the card or bank statements to prove you made these payments?
Did you guarantor make any payments? Was he ever asked to make payments by Amigo?
What about the first two loans, do you think they were affordable? Are Amigo deducting an amount for “unpaid interest”?
jemma says
Given the time these loans had been taken out I no longer have any statements from bank.. i think I actually used a credit card once or twice. I no longer have any access to these accounts as these were closed also. My guarantor made 2 payments when DD bounced they took payment from him before I had a chance to phone to pay. However I paid money directly to my guarantor on these occasions. They haven’t said anything about unpaid interest to me yet.. i haven’t had any offer for resolution myself just my guarantor.. and when they took payments from guarantor it was done automatically, same day DD bounced..As for 1st 2 loans no i don’t think they were.. maybe the 1st more affordable as was only £91 x36 topped up 15months later then 2nd top up 17months later.. during 2nd loan payments by dd bounced so clearly not affordable.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you go back to the bank and credit card now and see how far back you can get statements. This is a hassle and you may not get anything useful but don’t delay. If you end up trying in 6 months time when there is a case at the o,budsman, that may be even harder.
Lottie says
Hi there,
Trust two were given until the 24th of July to respond to the FOS findings which they over run massively and a week later returned with their settlement offer. This offer was completely wrong as they claimed I had unpaid interest on the first loan. I asked for calculations which were sent straight to the ombudsmen, which I only recieved a week after pestering them for. The calculations showed I paid more than what they borrowed etc which I replied showing exact calculations. I hadn’t heard anything from either of them until today where the adjudicator has told me there is nothing more from their side, all I can do is raise another complaint with trust two. Surely this isn’t correct – they’ve been ignoring me so far so I’m at a loss for what to do next.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
go back to your adjudicator and say you want an Ombudsman to look at this.
Lottie says
They’ve told me I need to make another complaint about the settlement – I’ve already said I want to escalate this if it wasn’t sorted. I replied saying that after the first settlement offer to which I was told they’d reply after they reviewed it but I needed to respond by the 13th. I did that in due time and they didn’t respond to me until today – now saying I can’t do anything but go to trust two and submit another complaint! I’m really annoyed and I feel like they’re working for trust two rather than me here despite both the FOS and trust two agreeing to the adjudicator findings – even submitted my statements to me and FOS which showed all my payments matching the amount I have worked out. They take over a week to reply to me as it is, and trust two haven’t replied at all. Will I even see anything I’m starting to feel like a pest
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s not right – go back to FOS and say you should not have to make a new complaint as your original one was upheld but they haven’t paid out the right amount.
Frogman says
Please anyone recently refunded by Amigo, how many days from when you get redress figure to actually being paid?. I am only one week now, heard some people are getting paid earlier than the 20days Amigo says. My online statement balance hasn’t changed.
Thanks very much
Andrea says
I accepted Monday morning, Tuesday evening after 7pm my account was closed showing – balance. Wednesday at 4pm I got a text from my bank saying my money had been credited.
I had no guarantor involved though.
Lesley says
Hi frogman I got told the same 20 days but was paid out after 5days think I was one of the lucky ones good luck
Lesley says
Hi Sara could you please give me the link to claim tax back on my refund money thank you very much x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/
Sarah says
Not sure if I’m doing this right. I have been offered what I think is a fair amount of redress from amigo.
My loan was paid off in may 2020 after 5 years. My guarantor never made any payments. Can you tell me if they will be told about my complaint or told about any money I am offered back
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If they never paid anything and the last loan has been settled, they should not be told about the complaint at all.
Sarah says
Thank you very much for that. They never made a payment although I did make a few late payments. I have today accepted the redress however they said 20 working days. I don’t suppose you know if these payments are being made sooner or even later than suggested?
vlad says
today i received the email i was waiting from amigo… i put the complaint on 7th July aknowledged on 9th. upheld today. my guarantor will be offered a refund and 8% interest and he will be removed as guarantor. will wait for figures.
i never had any hopes seeing people with complaints since last year but it was worth it. i’m at peace..
i had 3 loans
1 – 7 Oct 2017 £4,000.00 at 36x£195.16
2 – 04 Dec 2017 £4,750.00 at 36 £231.75
3 – 02 Mar 2018 £9,250.00 at 60 £365.61 with oustanding balance of £ 9500
i dont remeber the cash payments after the top up or how many payments i have done..ill be back with updates.
Daniel Pearce says
Amigo have accepted my complaint and awaiting the redress figures on two loans.
Loan 1: Feb 2011 £3000 @ 137.46pm
Topped upto
Loan 2: June 2012 loan topped up too £5500 @ 235.26
All payments on time, balance cleared on top up loan January 2016. 40 payments made @ 235.26 cNt remember final payment number.
Can anyone work out how much my redress payment should be?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
To work out redress, need to know
– how many payments you made to loans 1
– how much you received in cash for the top up
– and what the final payment to loan 2 was.
Daniel Pearce says
I made 17 payments to loan 1,
Balance was topped up by 2100 off the top of my head. And final payment to loan 2 was £1200.
I can’t access the exact figures as I can’t access the account anymore.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
on those numbers I make the interest:
loan 1 £2,729
loan 2 £5,100
so a total of £7,829
Plus at a guess about £3000 in added 8% interest, which will have 20% tax taken off it
Dan says
Is there a set time it should take for guarantors to be paid once both have excepted the offer? Is it paid by a bacs payment or can it appear In your bank at any point in the day?
Angela says
My guarantor was told 20 working days, she accepted on 24th July, no payment yet. She’s hoping to receive it by the end of this week.
Tom says
Not sure if anybody can answer this but feeling a little annoyed but only at myself, amigo didn’t uphold my claim so I sent it to FOS but unfortunately it look like I missed the 6 month deadline by a few weeks they have asked if there were important circumstances regarding why. I was quite poorly during the 6 months with something called sarcoidosis and it also affected my mental health in a big way suffering with depression but the question is would that actually be considered or am I now just going to have to face the fact that amigo have got away with this one
I think I have a great case if they take it on due to some of the bank statements I have leading up to taking out the loan
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Go back and explain about your physical and mental health problem – it’s worth a try!
Sandra says
my eight weeks is up yesterday since I put in my affordability complaint do I send it to the ombudsman’s or wait as I’ve seen different outcomes with people sending it and having to wait ages and others waiting and getting a quicker response?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
And I have seen people wait and not get a good response from Amigo. And others send it to the ombudsman and get a good response soon after from Amigo. All permutations…
It’s up to you, one option is to give them 2 more weeks, but send it to FOS then if you haven’t had a response.
You won’t get a fast response from the Ombudsman because they won’t look at your case until Amigo have responded. The reason to send in sooner to FOS not delay is because it gets you into the FOS queue earlier in case Amigo reject you or make you a poor offer.
Megan says
From people sending in their complaint and asking for SAR, how long was it before you heard back from them? I’m a nervous wreck praying they will uphold my loans. It would sort my life out completely. Keep everything crossed for me please
Angela says
Hi
From date of complaint submission to receiving redress figures it was a total of about 19 weeks. Havent received refund yet, am expecting that around the 9th September. Think if you read through the comments there’s a wide variation on the length of time people have waited for a response. Good luck!
vlad says
6 weeks for me
Becky Jarman says
I submitted my claim in January, claim upheld 22nd July. Redress figures are now overdue and then it’ll be up to 20 working days to receive the money. Some are moving mch quicker though. Good luck.
Catherine says
Hi, I’ve made a complaint with a guarantor company, they’ve spoken to my guarantor and said they’ve accepted my complaint and will clear interest. I specifically asked them not to mention the complaint to my guarantor. The loan is still open, I’m still paying it off, but I’m very unhappy they made my guarantor aware of the complaint. They still haven’t actually spoken to me!
This may sound ridiculous but what are the chances of me getting all interest paid so far back? I’m a single mam, I’m struggling especially with all this going on right now. That money would help me clear my mortgage arrears. Would they do this with the loan being open still? I would obviously set up repayment for the money owed. The interest was £160 a month! I am aware closed accounts get interest and 8% back; but how would this work with an open account?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Who is the lender? How much did you borrow and how much have you repaid so far? Has your guarantor been released from the loan?
chris says
Hi
Amigo didn’t uphold my claim. They have said it was affordable they did check of my income with a third party credit reference to confirm saying i had 2200 a month and checks with the ONS for my out going at 850 leaving over 1000 a month disposable income…i work at the same company and still don’t earn that much a month and the loan was 2017. I was paying and still am rent at 600 a month so how can these be accurate checks as not everybody is the same as the ONS… my income at that time was around 1500 a month after tax and after household bills car food cloths i was left with 190 a month..my guarantor was my partner and i never missed a payment due to her lending me the rest to protect her…i ended up paying off the loan in full by borrowing money from my partners grandmother which i am still paying back to this day. I have sent to the FOS what is think likley outcome as im not that clever to but things in words to them…will the write to me for more info or call
Laura says
Im at the ONS (newport) and AO grade for sure is not £2200 a month ( we wish!) – good luck with your claim
Chris says
Everything in their final response was total lies and incorrect i dont know they can get away with thinking doing appropriate checks based off ONS is acceptable when everybody has different circumstances
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is one of the reasons that Amigo is losing so many cases at the Ombudsman.
For a small payday loan, it’s not reasonable to expect a lender will verify everything in detail. But for a large loan to someone with bad credit like a guarantor loan, FOS is usually saying that the details should have been checked. And if the details would show the loan wasn’t affordable, you should win your complaint.
Chris says
I have currently got bank statements on order and wage slips to correspond so hopfully the FOS will see this but i dont have the greatest of luck so not holding my breath.
They have never sent me my SAR request either the complaint went in on the 29 june and still have not received the data
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Definitely don’t hold your breath, FOS decisions are not speedy! But a large majority of them are being won against guarantor lenders so it’s not a question of “being lucky” – just persevere.
Laura says
Hi Sara
i had 1 loan with amigo( £4000) that i then topped up a few months into the loan (to £7000 receiving about £3400) – at this point i was gambling online with a serious problem ( clean now!) , I had maxed out credit cards , payday loans , loans with speedycash ( the shop) and also maxed out my £900 over draft as well as missed payments – even though this is a guarantor service – if my bank statements and a credit report was checked i would expect them to reject on this basis – when i took the 1st loan i was asked to tick boxes which loans /accounts i would close with the loan – this i did not do and basically gambled alot of the money away – when i took the topup ( 2nd loan) the boxes ticked were identical including the same account numbers – do you think i have a case for this to be upheld , maybe not the 1st but at least the top up ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think £4000 is a large loan. Amigo should have verified your income and expenditure.
Simon says
Depending on which gambling operator it was you could get your deposits and stakes sent to you. All of them do in a SAR but normally in a password format. A breakdown of spend along with bank statements will support your claim. Your income and expenditure will have been completed without the gambling so this will give your case greater weight.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Simon, that is an interesting idea but in practice it seems better to send bank statements with the complaint. Bank statements show how unaffordable a loan was. They may also show the gambling. But if the gambling was in cash or on a credit card, the bank statements will still show the financial affect.
Simon says
I mention the info from the gambling company as that shows the frequency of your gambling and the exact types of spend. The spreadsheet I gave FOS meant Amigo didnt have a leg to stand on as it showed more deposited than annual salary. The more info you provide the better.
Danny says
Hi guys,
Was just wandering if anyone who has had a refund banks with Natwest?
If so, did you have to wait 3-5 working days or was it in your bank the day after your account showed a minus figure on your Amigo Statement?
Thanks
Danny
Sarah says
Hi Danny hope you don’t mind me following this as I too would be interested to know
C says
Mine was in the next day
Nick says
Hi sara I’ve submitted my complaint form with FOS after 8 weeks
I followed that up with a phone call with amigo to ask how long for a final response and asked why it was taking so long for a decision considering there are others receiving responses who have submitted a claim after me.
Is it wise to let amigo know you have submitted your complaint to the FOS? Or do you think that will slow there process down?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I see no point in mentioning it. It won’t speed up how they handle your case, so why bother?
Becky Jarman says
Hi,
Amigo are now over their deadline for providing me with redress figures. Is it worth making a nuisance of myself and ringing every day, or will this make no difference and should I just sit back and wait?
Frogman says
Wait, they will send it. Mine exceeded the timeframe. I don’t think calling makes any difference.
Becky Jarman says
How far over did they go? I’ll wait a few days before chasing I think.
Tom says
I recieved a final response letter from Amigo around September 2018. A few months later I started the complain process through FOS, but due to losing the final repsonse letter I couldn’t reply with the information they needed and subsequently forgot about the claim until fairly recently when I saw an email notification for this website.
I did ring FOS a couple of weeks ago and they said I could reply to the original email as they have a backlog anyway. So with them saying that does this mean they will accept me resurrecting this complaint even those the 6 month limit has passed?
I have now sent them the information they asked for,but Amigo reminded me that I only have 6 months to complain from recieving their final response. Or because I originally emailed within the 6 months will this count since the claim is continuing in the original email thread?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Tell Amigo that you complained to FOS on dd/mm/yy within 6 months and FOS say you can continue with the complaint.
Tel says
So amigo has upheld my complaint…. Still no redress figures for myself or guarentor. The final response was made on July 30th. They keep sending their fictional timeline in response to every email (those they respond too) fob me off on the phone and are generally messing around. My question is the FOS contacted me today as I sent my complaint to them at the 8 week point. So what do I do? Tell them that Amigo have upheld and I’m just Awaiting redress figures? Send the half a million emails I have sent to Amigo and received FROM amigo to them? Will it do any good now or is it just a waiting game?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Tell FOS that you have still not been sent any redress figures 6 weeks after Amigo said they would uphold your complaint and ask FOS if they can help with this.
Jacs says
Just out of interest – has anyone who the following applies to – heard anything back from Amigo or the FOS?
1) If complaint is upheld they still have an amount owing to Amigo once interest has been refunded?
2) Are still making the monthly payments as per the terms of the loan agreement
3) Are looking to have their monthly payments lowered to an affordable amount to pay off only the amount outstanding once interest has been removed.
I have been waiting since January.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
that is a common situation. If it applies to you, your guarantor should be released and you can make a lower monthly payment arrangement.
Jacs says
Hi Sara,
That is what I requested in the complaint letter i sent in January.
Still waiting to find out if this has been upheld so that I can arrange lower repayments.
Has anyone actually managed to do this yet?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes hundreds of people.
Sandra says
I spoke to someone today from amigo they went through everything with me and seen I can’t afford the loans from day dot and then said we can contact your guarantor to make payments if they don’t they will be sent default notices and arrears letters as well and said about their house even that they own could be involved like taking the payments of it etc if they sell it and ccj on me and guarantor to be honest it’s quite scary I have forwarded all info in to the fos has anyone else had this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if you stop paying, they go after your guarantor.
what was your guarantor’s financial position when you took the last top up? Could they really have afforded to make all the loan repayments from their income and still be able to pay all their own bills, debts and living expenses?
Sandra says
Definitely not they put in a complaint the same time as myselve ive always payed on time because of this reason as they couldn’t afford it and neither can I they sent me an email as it’s been over eight weeks to send it to fos which I have done and then I had amigo ring me asking questions about budget sheet explained all amigo stated on phone that it was obvious that I couldn’t afford it with what I have and poor credit file with things I owe to them then started going on about my guarantor and he said even the lowest payment they except I would t be Able afford to make but wouldn’t tell me what it was I said I could afford £50 and they said no it’s a way of what we would expect to be payed the whole thing is completely mad.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so if she can’t afford to pay and had already complained, then the simple thing may be for you both to cancel your DDs to Amigo and let your complaints go through. Amigo should not start legal action against either of you while there is a complaint open at Amigo or at the ombudsman.
Sandra says
Just ignore emails then and letters if they send them while I have my complaint in also cancel direct debits to?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you are saying you can’t afford to pay and neither can your guarantor, what alternative do you have?
Don’t ignore any letter that looks like this https://debtcamel.co.uk/letter-before-claim-ccj/ – that would mean they are serious about court action, but so far Amigo has, correctly, not been sending these while people have complaints outstanding.
Aidan says
Hi Sara
I have had 2 out of 5 loans upheld could you give me advice as my guarantor is my sister and the payments have always come out of her bank. Which I have just transfered her the money the day before the loan is due.
Loan 1 26th June 2015. 3000. 185 per month 24 months.
Loan 2. 9th Dec 2016. 3500. 170 per month 36 months.
Loan 3. Feb 2017. 5000. 243 per month. 36 months.
Loan 4. 22 Aug 2017. 5250. 256 per month 36 months.
Loan 5. 13 Nov 2017. 6250. 36 months.
Loans 4 and 5 are being upheld but the others arnt. She has had a redress off 10,000plus interest so comes to around 11300. She accepted but they have said I will be liable for any outstanding balance on unpaid interest etc but there is only 750 to close the account. Its has only been a week since she accepted I’m due my figures at the end of this month. Thanks for any help you can advise.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is your sister happy to give you all the redress she is given?
Aidan says
Yes as I’ve always paid her the money but do you know how much I would owe back to them as loans 1, 2, 3 have not been upheld am I looking at £s or will I have some left. I was worried that it will go back to the full balance plus interests on the 3 loans so basically they have all that money back and I owe them more than what I actually do now which is 750 ish.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you need to wait and see what the numbers are.
BUT they may also take off a deduction for “unpaid interest” for the first three loans as well. Which is simply unfair. If they do this you can ask Amigo if you can accept their offer and send the dispute about the first three loans to the ombudsman.
Aidan says
So out of the 11300 redress. Will I be looking at about 4000 in credit so pay them back 7000 and have the rest or owing them more or less all of it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I can’t guess. You would have to give a lot more figures ag what payouts you go from the top ups and how many payments were made to each loan.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did she make the payments to loans 1,2 and 3?
Aidan says
No I was making them payments but was struggling and behind so they just started coming out of her bank which is why I don’t understand why they haven’t upheld loan 3 also.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They may be trying to get away with settling complaints as cheaply as possible. When you have all the numbers, including the “unpaid interest” deduction, come back and we can talk about your options.
Aidan says
Loan 1. 3000 17 payments 185
Loan 2. 3500. Received 1900. 2 x 170 payments
Loan 3. 5000. Received 1500. 6 x 243 payments.
Loan 4. 5250. Received 1000. 2 x 256 payments.
Loan 5. 6250. Received 1025. 33 x 304 payments.
I have worked out over all the payments I have made it comes to £15,520. So I have easily payed back my 5 loans plus £10,000 in interest.
Thankyou for your help Sara.
Jonathan Sharp says
My claim
Has been rejected. Paid off in 2014. Essentially said the data they have on me is limited but they are confident they would have asked the right questions. Even sent this for my loan information.
No.
Loan Reference
Date of Payout
Loan Amount
Term (Months)
Monthly Payment
1
WSF2419155
01 Jan 0001
£0.00
0
£0.00
2
WST3944105
01 Jan 0001
£0.00
0
Useless. What should I do now? Tried to post the whole response but am limited to characters.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is the lender? What were the loan dates – 2001 sounds unlikely? Do you know how much you borrowed and what you repaid?
Jonathan Sharp says
Yeah the information they have provided to me is nonsense. If you look at the dates, they are 0001 and not 2001. I borrowed £3k and then £5K. Original loan would have been sort of 2008 and then finished paying in 2014. I have emails from 2013 and 2014 from Amigo pretty much every month chasing for late payments. Unsure what to do now as it looks like they are claiming they have no information on me at all.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
But you have some information on the second loan at least… you know what the monthly payments should have been, and they will match with your statement that you too a top up loan of £5000.
Also look for other evidence about the loans. Might your guarantor have kept emails or other details? have you asked your bank how far back you can details of the payments you made to Amigo?
Jonathan Sharp says
I have the emails and know to the penny how much I paid per month. As for statements, to tell you the truth I cannot even rememeber who I banked with at the time, also no longer in touch with the guarantor. I suppose all I can do is send the emails and what I have to the FOS and hope for the best. I dont belivev Amigo for a split second could find all my agreement numbers but have no actual loan data, that doesnt ring true at all. Why keep agreement numbers and nothing else.
Simon says
My first loan was 2009 and was FLM loans then and they had all the information on that. What did the SAR contain? What sort of company keeps some peoples data and not others?! Actually dont answer that!
Jonathan Sharp says
They never sent me my SAR mate. I have sent everything to the FOS today so will see what happens with that. I am not hopeful to be honest but we shall see, out of my hands now.
O says
Hi Sara
Amigo have issued me with a final response. I had one loan with them for £750 (Still paying it).
They have said they cannot be completely confident the loan was affordable for me and so have offered me the following.
Removal of all interest charges under the loan agreement.
Refund of payments made in excess of the capital amount along with 8% simple interest.
Removal of loan from credit file
Due to their calculations:
Total Interest: £750
Current Balance: £378.38
Balance less redress £208.97
Shall I accept their offer? I’ve made a payment of £77 in the last 28 days as well so that wont be accounted for in those calculations. Would going to the FOS bring me any more benefit?
I have made 7 payments of £77 in total.
All help much appreciated!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then the offer looks a good one to me and you wouldn’t get more by going to FOS. They should have released your guarantor.
You can now make an arrangement to pay off the rest at a lower more affordable rate if you would like .
Paul says
Hi.
I put a claim in got it confirmed and received my payout after 9 working days today. However they have taken nearly 1k off of me for unpaid interest from my first loan which was 3 years ago? Before I made my claim I had paid my loan off early but in full. Can someone explain this or tell me can I claim to get this back? I only accept because of the risk of them going bust and getting nothing.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Go back to Amigo and say you Had assumed they had got the calculation right but now you don’t think this deduction was fair and you want it reimbursed or you want to be able to take the complaint to the Ombudsman.
vlad says
Hi Sara. could you make a short explanations how to calculate the interest paid based on top-ups and the cash outs so it would be easier for some thanks
for example
loan1 £1000 at 24 x £x amount paid y instalmensts
top-up 2 £3000 at 24 instalments at x amount cashout z amount…made x payments
i’ve seen dozens calculations of forum and doesnt make sense to me anymore.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok so for loan 1, you borrowed 1000, have paid x * y in monthly payments. They you settled it with (3000 – z) from loan 2.
So overall in tnterest and charges you have paid ( x * y) + (3000 – z) – 1000 in interest.
For loan 2 you have paid x1 payments of x2 amount so so far you have paid 3000 – (x1 * x2) in interest and charges.
For the current loan if that last number is negative that is the balance owed, but you can then reduce it by the interest on any previous loans.
Clear?
Sarah L says
Hi in 2016 my partner took a loan out with amigo & me the garantour for £5000, it was set at 60 payments of £177.86. It stated that he would pay £10,671.60 which includes interest & other costs.
1) he was on benefits & wasn’t actually in a job like he said as he was desperate for money.
2) I ended up paying the loan at £63 a month at a reduced rate after I rang them to explain
3) I ended up paying the loan off in full early as I had to borrow money from a family member as I was hounded for the payment constantly.
What do you suggest I do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you still with your partner?
So you paid at a reduced amount because you couldn’t afford to pay the full amount, right from the start?
Do you know how much you paid to this loan, in the monthly payments and the settlement?
Angela says
Got a nice wee surprise tonight when I checked my account, redress was paid in :) wasn’t expecting it till 9th September at the earliest so was very pleased. My guarantor received her payout too. Submitted complaint on 31st March so 4.5 months in total. I know people have been waiting a lot longer so feel very lucky. Good luck to everyone waiting on an outcome and payment and thanks for all the advice and support 😀
Sarah says
Hi Angela can you tell me when you accepted the redress and if you’re online account changed to a negative thank you
Angela says
Hi Sarah, I accepted redress on 12th August. Was told 20 working days for payment but received it yesterday. I did try and log in to my account yesterday through the day and it wouldn’t let me so dont know if balance changed to a minus. Ive read lots of comments on here to say that’s what happens though. Hope you get paid out soon.
Sarah says
Thanks Angela. I am a couple of days behind you so hopefully very soon 🤞
James says
I accepted mines on the 7th and i am still waiting…
Hopefully not too long now.
Mike says
Amigo sent me a redress offer for a settled loan that I acted as guarantor for. This was offered and accepted by me on August 10th.
As the guarantor I was forced to pay almost all of the loan due to the borrower defaulting. Amigo have therefore offered to repay me all that I’ve paid plus interest but have said that the borrower will become liable for the initial capital.
I’m certain the borrower won’t accept the offer as they will now become liable for the initial loan. I have no intention of giving them the money as they never repaid me.
Even though I, as guarantor, have accepted the offer, will the borrower declining the offer affect me being paid my redress offer?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Even though I, as guarantor, have accepted the offer, will the borrower declining the offer affect me being paid my redress offer?
I hope not, but if it does, you should immediately send Amigo a complaint yourself. Use the template on the page for guarantors https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/. You can complain the loan was unaffordable for the borrower, as Amigo have already accepted. Also complain it was unaffordable for you too if you think It was after reading that other page.
Laura says
hi Sara im a little confused – how can amigo charge for unpaid interest when there website claimed if you pay the loan early you save on interest – by taking a top up loan you are effectively paying everything back early and starting fresh with the new topup loan ? ( not had any results yet just been reading other posts)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They shouldn’t be doing this. Their argument seems just plain wrong. I think complaints about this to FOS will be won.
Laura says
Quoted from Amigo website it self ” We calculate our interest daily. This means you only pay interest for the time you have the loan.
If you settle your loan after 30 days, you only pay interest on those 30 days. So the sooner you settle, the more money you can save.”
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Indeed. But they are arguing as the top up loan would not have been given the previous loan was never settled so you still owe interest on it. This is poppycock (to use a polite term). Because when you took the top up loan, they retained the money to settle the previous loan, and in the refund accounting for the top up loan you only get a refund of the interest paid not the capital. So you are still expected to repay the full amount borrowed on the top up loan even though you never received the amount of the money they took to settle the first loan. It is a nonsensical argument. And I expect FOS to say that.
DC says
Spoke to Amigo yesterday and the let the chap know mine still has not been looked at and complaint was raised in Jan. he seemed to think they have caught up with their backlog?
Either way, the man put me through to the complaints department and a lady said that the reason i have not received a final response is that i have gone to the ombudsman and they do not need to issue me a final response now they just have to wait for the FOS decision! I did think this was BS as they need the final response to work from. Went back to the ombudsman and they said this is untrue and they need to send this asap.
After going BACK to amigo to explain they have put the case as a high priority (apparently) so hopefully i hear soon.
Thought i would let you guys know that it seems Amigo are just making things up.