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
A b says
Hi sorry to jump on this chat but I just wondered how your complaint with tfs loans was going? I have been back and forth with mine for the last year and it’s finally with the financial ombudsman now. I just wondered if you had any luck with tfs or did the reject to? Thanks so much
Km says
Hi Sara, after 8 months of waiting amigo have said they will refund me after upholding both loans, could you please work out what my figure should roughly be please
Loan 1 £3000 received, paid 8x 185.45 then topped up to £5000 loan 1 paid off and received 2713.58 paid 13 x 309.08 then paid 2619.46 to settle in full.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I make the total interest and charges paid to be £2403. When was the last loan settled?
Km says
Thanks for that, loan was settled 28th January 2015
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Plus another £1000 or so in 8% interest.
Rm says
Hello Sara,
I would like some advice if possible, I have submitted my complaint using the template. I already had my DSAR from months ago and upon reviewing it I see that I disclosed my monthly income as £300. My loan was for £3500 over 60 months. I made them aware of the implications and harm it has caused me having to pay out £138.35 on such a small monthly income and how they did not press me further for proof of bank statements which would have in fact shown gambling transactions (I had a problem with gambling around that time but have since stopped).
Do you think I have a good chance of having the loan cancelled? I am only paying interest at this point as I have paid off the loan amount.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you win the complaint the loan isn’t cancelled, the interest is removed from it. Which if you have already paid more than the amount you borrowed will mean you get a refund of the extra. Say if your monthly payments made add up to £4100, you would get a refund of £600 (plus a tiny bit of 8% interest)
Rm says
Thanks for your fast reply, I have already paid back the loan amount and I am currently only paying interest now. So this would be refunded if they accept my case? Also, do you think it’s likely they will allow me to take it to the FOS or should they accept it themselves?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo are settling a lot of complaints, I hope thus includes yours. If not, you can send ut yovFIS, thus is your right, Amigo don’t have to “allow” you to do this.
Rm says
Great. Thanks so much for your help!
staci says
just a quick one – sent my complaint in january
final response received from these leeches saying they only uphold the last one
rejected offer months ago
sent same offer again to ombudsman- still waiting for them to investigate it properly
rejected again
anyone had anything similar and actual eventually won i feel like i am losing hope.
got enough proof to show all werent affordable (as in first and top ups ) missed paayments / defaults / dmp/ expenditure more then income / them not checking properly my credit file and even my income proof.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When was the rejection from Amigo?
staci says
06/07/2020- they then just the other day sent the same offer again ( but worded it differently) to which i explained to them and the ombudsman i have already rejected.
Chris says
Hi Sara,
The FCA are saying prior to 2014 that the office of fair trading were overseeing this lending? Thete has to be some kind of challenge against the borrower winning a complaint and ending up loaded with the money repaid to the guarantor. Who set the regulations that this is how it should be if a complaint was upheld? In this actual instance the borrower has actually paid as much back as what the balance remains at. The FOS dont want to know and the FCA are being rather coy about their responsibility when I mentioned James Benamor openly tells the social media world that the FCA authorised the lending? Borrowers are worse of as a result of winning a complaint!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The FCA are saying prior to 2014 that the office of fair trading were overseeing this lending? FCA are saying prior to 2014 that the office of fair trading were overseeing this lending?
That is correct but I’m not sure why it is relevant? FOS can look at any complaints after April 2007, OFT or FCA regulated, the affordability rules were much the same!
I suggest you ignore Benamor’s comments. The FCA sets rules and authorise a lender but that does mean the lender can’t get things wrong… for a lender to argue that as they are FCA authorised all their lending it fine is like you arguing that as you passed your driving test you should never be fined for breaking a speed limit.
I do agree that it is unfair that a borrower should end up worse off after winning a complaint. But there are a lot of different situations here, not all as clear cut as your friend who has repaid the guarantor in full. This is going to have to wait for a FOS decision, my views here don’t matter.
Chris says
Unfortunately there is nothing the FOS can do about it. We have it in black and white. They dealt with the complaint and dont seem a bit bothered. They advised going to local CAB or getting legal advice.
The total payments made by a borrower appears to go unnoticed when talking about the balance. At what point is a borrower going to take legal action for whomever the regulator was that let this lending commence? Who set the ruling that guarantors should be reimbursed but the amount then be put on the amount the borrower owes? Somebody somewhere is liable….
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The total payments made by a borrower appears to go unnoticed when talking about the balance.
Can you explain this with actual numbers?
DC says
Good News!
I have received my refund from bamboo loans, Amigo have FINALLY agreed was not affordable and are refunding me (says 20 working days but i am guessing it will be longer than this, has anyone had their payment within this timeframe?) and Buddy loans have rejected but FOS have agreed was not affordable so think they are just delaying the process….
thanks to Sara for this website i appreciate what you have done!
the outcomes on these have inspired me to log a complaint against EveryDay loans – has there been much success with these?
i have received my SAR from them and they have all incorrect details – income is way more than i earn, have me down for working at current company for 10 years even though i have been here for 2 years and when i went to get a loan from them originally they rejected me as i had loads of gambling transactions on my account so they said to come back next month with no gambling on there and they can offer me a loan… i still had transactions on there but deposited via paypal so it wouldn’t show…. I have spoke to the Ombudsman about this but do you think it is strong enough and has anyone had dealings with everyday loans?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well done on the guarantor loan victories, fingers crossed for Buddy Loans.
Lots of people have won against Everyday Loans. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-large-high-cost-loans/ which is the best place for comment about them in future. You showed them a bank statement which showed an income which was lower than they had on your income & expenditure? And a LOT of money going to PayPal?
DC says
Hi Sara
Thank you!!
my payslip i showed had commission on for that month which was an extra 500 – the bank statement showed loads of paypal transactions but nothing was asked
I am going to continue to pay them whilst my complaint is in with them and see the outcome
Darren says
Can I ask what kind of timescale can I expect from amigo ?
Do they drag it out the full 8 weeks ?
Many thanks
Becky Jarman says
Have you just started the process?
Darren says
Yeah email sent and acknowledged on 14 SEP
Becky Jarman says
Well my account has gone to minus today!! Does this actually mean they may pay me before we get to a deadline?? I’m scared to keeping my bank as I don’t want to be disappointed 🙈
DC says
hopefully you will receive the money soon Becky!
When did you accept their offer out of curiosity?
Becky Jarman says
Last Thursday. Had to wait from January to 22nd July for them to make a decision though, and then from 22nd July to last Thursday for them to provide redress figures. They’ve breached every time frame by a long way so I was fully expecting another fight with them. I don’t think I’ll believe it until I can see it in my bank account.
Becky Jarman says
It’s in!!! I can’t believe it.
Now to fight them for the £3,100 unpaid interest they deducted. I’m sending that to the FOS tomorrow.
Thanks so much Sara, you are an absolute star x
DC says
Well done Becky and congratulations! :)
I accepted mine two weeks ago now so hopefully it will be in soon.
where about’s on the website did it show account in minus? just on the home screen when logged in?
Becqui Lewis says
I have now had communication from FOS after amigo originally only upheld loan 3 they are now agreeing to uphold loan 2 and 3 I have accepted the offer from FOS just got to wait for figures now from Amigo FOS have said they have a 4 week timescale has anyone actually received the redress figures before the 4 weeks FOS have said if I don’t hear with 4 weeks to contact FOS again to let them know
Maria says
Waiting for my figures too. I’am on a week two now since accepted offer through FOS. Still waiting… fingers crossed… hope it took less that four weeks.
EmX says
Hi Sara
Finally got the refund from amigo but how to I claim the tax back is it a R40 form do i fill that in from the year of the loan or the year now
Many thanks
Darren says
How long did the process take please ?
From submitting your claim to them agreeing to your claim
Many thanks
EmX says
Sent irresponsible lending in June got paid out as guarentour in September
My partner still has to pay £6,000 as I took the redress which I’m paying towards but least there is no interest
Darren says
Thanks alot
I emailed them 10 days ago so was hoping it would hopefully be investigated in full within 8 weeks
Chuffed for you ..well done
EmX says
Yes they do take a while but it’s warmth it in the end it’s been paid off over 2 years but we paid a lot in interest
Just need to sort the other one which is buddy loans and there not budging so it’s been sent to FOS for my partner they didn’t entertain my one as I was guarentour for that too again been paid off in full !! Swines aren’t they paid £13.200 for a £5,000 loan!
Mandy says
Just got £9196 back from Amigo, thank you so much this site is amazing!!!!! Would have been 8 weeks this Monday coming when I sent the first email :)))))))
Luke says
Congrats, I am owed £12.6k which i have been waiting for since last Monday – Did you call and accept or did you get a banner on your account??
Darren says
Hi Luke
I have just accepted an offer of 15k .the link to the website didn’t work
I phoned…gave my bank details and I was told up to 20 days
Although the email I then received says 3-5 days
Luke says
Hmmm – I didnt get an email after i phoned and accepted last Monday…
Darren says
My refund is in my bank now !
I’m gobsmacked that in 10 days I complained…got a decision in my favour ..and the 15k is in my account !!
Miriam says
Hi was wondering how to do it myself? Can you please let me know how thank you I’m advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Miriam – I think Mandy used the template letter in the article above these comments. That looks at what an affordability complaint is, so you can decide if you want to make one, and how to do this.
Darren says
8 days ago I sent an email claiming the loan was unfair .
Today they emailed me and upheld my complaint
£15350 redress !!
Can’t believe how quick that was ..now I have to await the payment
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Wow, just 1 loan?
Darren says
3k one in 2011 rejected
5k Dec 2012
7k Dec 2014
Both upheld
I’m gobsmacked at how quick this has been handled and the amount I received
I have rung them to accept. Now is the payment waiting game.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ah so was there a deduction for unpaid interest? How large? Because you can go to the Ombudsman and complain about that…
Darren says
I will look into that
The money has just hit my account too !!!
10 days from my complaint …it’s been settled
Still in shock here
Steven says
Was this Amigo loans or another company? I’m almost at week 7 since my complaint was sent, hopefully hear something by next Friday. Cheers
Jack says
Hi All
Had a reply from UK CREdit today to say the checks they carried out wasn’t correct so they have sent me a redress figure of 6k, I sent my complaint 8 weeks ago and they have told me I will see my money within 7-10 days.
I am still waiting on Bamboo and Amigo as they also didn’t do the correct checks.
Thank you Sara for all of your advice.
Regards
Jack
EmX says
Hi Sara
I got my refund for guarantor for amigo do I need to send a tax for my refund to HMRC
My partner now has to pay £6000
They have deducted his redress off the loan so he only has to pay £6000
is there anything else we need to do
Buddy loads have now sent the final response not upholding so my partner has sent to FOS will hear back in a few weeks there investigating the complaint
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
See https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/
Jack says
Hi
Does anyone have a contact number so I can actually speak to amigo? I can’t seem to get through to them??
Regards
Jack
Rich says
01202 835170
Amigo complaints direct. Always answer quickly
Emma says
Hi Sara
I just called this number and spoke to a complaint handler who told me that as my guarantor made some of my loan payments- my complaint is on hold indefinitely. Amigo say they are querying paying back payments a guarantor has made with FCA/ Financial Ombudsman and looking at opening a new account for these amounts to be paid back to them. Is this something you are familiar with? I submitted my affordability complaint on 31/07/20 and have just received holding emails to date about how busy they are due to COVID-19 which I understand. Any information you may have would be great!
Thanks
Julie says
Hi
Just to say a massive thank you for this site and the information and help it provides.
I put 3 complaints in
Buddy Loans / Morses & Avant Credit
After just short of a year, everything is near to complete.
Buddy have took details finally today to pay redress of 4300
Morses also today have just took details to pay redress of 7000 (Both after Ombudsman decisions)
Avant was by far the easiest company to deal with who agreed with adjudicator decision and paid redress of 1150 within a week.
Thanks for your help Sara.
Finally will be debt free and able to breathe month to month
anne says
Same as myself.
Got an email saying to go onto their website and if I agreed to offer to click on the link etc.
Nothing more to pay, a weight lifted off my shoulders and I am just waiting on the others to get back to me.
Sandra says
My current progress at the minute complaint sent to amigo on the 24th of June Then on 2nd of September they upheld the last three loans but not the first two, sent to fos on the 26th of August to state the first two were unaffordable also and about the interest to, I rang to see the progress hasn’t been assigned yet to an adjudicator so it’s just waiting now i guess, amigo have been emailing about £1352 that is still
Owed but how does this work when you have a complaint in with the fos, thanks.
Kyle says
Update to my previous post about the FO adjudicator picking up my case then getting ignored three times before dropping my case. I contacted the FO and then another adjudicator said she will pick it up. I then got an email from the manager who aimed why it was taking so long and apologised for the actions of the previous adjudicator. She then said she would make it so this new adjudicator will look into it. So I was happy. She said she has other cases but would look into it and said she would sort it. Guess what, I got an email just now saying she was passing on my case to someone els hahahahaha I swear I’m going insane at this point. :,( this has to be a joke
Gemma says
My guarantor and I accepted at 11.45 today, email from them to say funds had been released and money would be in 3-5 working days, was in 1 1/2 hours later !!
Kelly says
Just wanted to share my experience and timeline on my amigo complaint for affordability as the borrower.
26th July I emailed directly with a letter of complaint and no other evidence
2nd September response received upholding all loans. Guarantor (partner) received offer same day of £4049. Accepted next day.
17th September after few calls chasing guarantors redress due to Financial difficulty and partners wages significantly impacted by Covid I received my offer and called to accept. On same call expressed financial concerns and balance changed and he received the money later that day.
I still have a balance to pay but it’s interest free and massive weight off my shoulder.
Good luck to all, I think I was really lucky with timeline of mine considering other posts I have read whilst following this forum.
Thanks Sara for few questions I’ve asked along the way
Dan says
Hi
I just want to say thank you so much, I heard about the redress and thought oh well give it a shot. Sent my complaint on the 3rd September and today I accepted my redress which has written off my loan and also give me a
Refund. I honestly did not think this would happened. The money is already in my bank! Good luck to all it’s definitely worth giving it ago!
Steph says
Hi Sara,
I have recently received a final settlement from Amigo loans, this is after FOS adjudicator had instructed them to look at my case, However the final settlement is quite confusing, they do not show how they have worked out the interest etc. I have tried numerous times to contact Amigo to see if they can explain this decision to me however I can never seem to get through (odd! when they can bombard with phone calls if you are late with a payment?) I have now sent this back to FOS for some clarity however it seems that I have now started the process again? as if my initial complaint was closed? I expected my case to remain open with FOS until it was settled on both sides. Is there any way you could have a look over this decision letter and make it clearer on their workings out so I have a better idea of were I stand. If Amigo calculations are correct then I am happy to settle immediately.
Many thanks,
Steph
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you copy out the relevant bits here?
Steph says
Having looked at your observations and carefully considered the information available on our systems, we have concluded that Amigo cannot be
completely confident that the loan agreements were affordable for you. In particular we note, for example, that there were a number of apparent
inconsistencies in the information you provided.
Accordingly, Amigo is prepared to offer you redress in respect of the loan agreements shown in the appendix. The redress provided will consist of:
1. The removal of all interest charges under the loan agreements;
2. A refund of any payments you may have made in excess of the capital amount of the loan agreements, along with 8% simple interest; and
3. The removal of any adverse information from your credit file in respect of the loan agreements.
The appendix at the end of this letter sets out how the redress has been calculated. Please note, if you have made payment towards the loan within
the last 28 days, this has likely not been accounted for within our calculation. Your redress will be re-calculated at the point you accept this offer.
This means the refund due to you at the date of calculation (including 8% interest) is expected to come to a
total of £9,516.27, plus any additional interest that accrues prior to you accepting our offer.
Steph says
Loan 1 – Dec 2016 loan amount £2000 – term 36 months – monthly repayment £97.58
Loan 2 – Aug 2017 loan amount £5,250 – term 36 months – monthly repayment £256.14
Loan 3 – Feb 2018 loan amount £6,250 – term 60 months – monthly repayment £247.03
Loan 4 – May 2018 loan amount £7,750 – term 60 months – monthly repayment £306.32
Loan 5 – Oct 2018 loan amount £9,500 – term 60 months – monthly repayment £375.49
Loan 6 – Jul 2019 loan amount £10,000 – term 60 months – monthly repayment £395.25
Total interest = £9,516.27
8% simple interest (after tax) = £0.00
20% basic rate tax deduction on 8% simple interest = £0.00
fees and/or charges = £0.00
current loan balance = £9,516.27
balance less redress = £312.31
cash refund £0.00
Sorry for a long lot of information, hopefully you will be able to make this clearer for me.
Many thanks,
Steph
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Total interest = £9,516.27
current loan balance = £9,516.27
It is vanishingly unlikely that both the interest you have paid AND the current balance are the same number! One of them is VERY likely to be wrong.
Would you like me to work out what the refund should be?
You have said what the loan amounts were. I need to know for each loan:
– if it was a top up, how much cash you received?
– how many monthly payments you made to it. eg 5 lots of £256. Just the cash you paid, not whether this was interest or principal.
Dean says
Hello I made a complaint to amigo and they upheld there decision I have since put a complaint in to FOS and put in a SAR to amigo. They have 5 days left before it runs out and I haven’t heard anything. What can I do if they continue to ignore the SAR ?
Sandra says
So I had three loans out of five upheld I currently have my first two loans and the interest complaint in with fos also amigo have sent me a letter saying that I still owe £217 as I cancelled my direct debit for August as that was the payment but they had sent me my email with the guarantor being realeased and the three loans upheld but not the first two do Not long after this do I still have to pay this £217 as they state in the letter that they safe only requesting that the arrears of £217 are cleared at this time and then they sent me an email this morning saying that it is to paid or it’s action before court letter are they serious these people never give up really making me so fed up of the whole thing, my complaint has been in with the fos now about 5-6 weeks and it says four
Months waiting do I have to pay amigo anything or is this just scare mongering at it’s finest Sara.
KY says
Hi
I recieved my redress 4 weeks ago and was hoping for a payment anyway however I’ve today called up to be told they didn’t look at my claim properly that they overlooked the fact I had 2 different guarentor throughout the 10 years of loans one guarentor declined payment the other was never contacted now there saying my redress offer isn’t correct & they have to look at it again & speak with my second guarentor is this right are they allowed to do this?
Kat says
Bamboo Guarantor Loan Update.
28th Jan 2020 sent off complaint
27th March, got rejected and sent off to FOS
22nd July, acknowledgement from FOS
5th August, Bamboo re got in touch and offered £750, I rejected
6th Sept, FOS said they should payout
18th Sept, Bamboo agreed to pay out within 7 working days
Today, 29th Sept at 5.30pm, paid out £4100.69
Hang in there guys, it can happen! After Wonga, QuickQuid and Sunny I lost hope, but Amigo accepted complaint and now Bamboo, just my credit cards via FOS keep getting rejected…I can’t understand why, but I will keep fighting!
James says
Can you fight your credit cards?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes but these complaints can be harder to win unless they increased your credit limit a LOT when you were only making minimum payments. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/ as these complaints are quite different.
Amanda says
Hi I don’t really understand this my guarantor excepted a redress of 3.500 my loans have been paid off for ages but it’s now saying I owe 2.900 on my account is this right
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is this right
well it’s not some mistake Amigo have made – this is how they do these calculations, they pay your guarantor then they debit your account for the capital contribution the guarantor is being refunded.
But there is an argument to say that it is not fair that you should have won your case and be left owing more money! There are quite a few of these cases being looked at by the Ombudsman at the moment – I suggest you tell Amigo you do not think this is fair and you are taking your complaint to FOS.
Of course if you are on good terms with the guarantor and have already repaid them, then it would be fair if the guarantor just refunded you the money you paid them…
Nick says
Hi I started my complaint in January 2020, didn’t hear back so I sent a complaint to FOS. I have now had my final response from amigo stating that they done everything “correctly” . I have not yet had a response from FOS and I email them the complaint form on 6th MAY 2020, should I contact FOS or can it take this long normally? Thanks guys
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS will have been waiting to see what Amigo said.
Now tell FOS Amigo have rejected your complaint and send FOS a copy of the rejection email.
Also email FOS your TransUnion Statutory Credit Report (https://www.transunionstatreport.co.uk/CreditReport/AboutYou) and your bank statements from 3 months before to 3 months after each loan. (If you don’t have the bank statements still tell FOS about the rejection now and set about trying to get them.)
Nick says
Great thanks I will send FOS an email about the final response. I already have my statements as I sent them with my original complaint to amigo back in January. Just getting worried as in December it will be y months and then its too late right?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Provided you sent it to FOS within 6 months if the Amigo response, that is fine, no problems about the complaint getting too old.
Kyle says
They have a hell of a lot of cases atm, I’m on priority and it’s only now with an adjudicator, I sent it in to the ombudsman roughly March 24th or so. So you could be waiting quite a few months for your case to be picked up, especially during this pandemic thing, they have a huge backlog.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am hoping things will start to move faster at FOS – so far they have been mainly waiting for Amigo to make decisions.
Kyle says
Hey Sara,
Yh Amigo have been doing a lot of procrastinating with regards to sending over the information needed to look into the cases. Still didn’t receive my SAR from them 😄 madness. They turned down the original loan but wanted to give me like £370 for the redress of the second top up only, then lumped on a large amount in unpaid interest that was around £1600 or something like that. Anyone concerned about the unpaid interest, the FO who is looking into my case has said it was handed to her because she wants to look into this “unpaid interest” malarkey. So rest assured they will be looking at how Amigo are handling this conclusion.
Julie says
Has anyone had there loan from-written by George banco after complaining it is unaffordable
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I assume you mean written-off?
Like all guarantor lenders, GB are losing most complaints at the Ombudsman.
If you win a complaint against GB and your loan is repaid, you are refunded the interest you paid. When there is a loan outstanding, interest is removed, so you only have to repay what you borrowed. So it you borrowed £3000 and have so far repaid £4100, the loan is written off send you get a refund of £1100. But if you have only repaid £2400, the balance is reduced to £600.
Julie says
No re-written to an affordable amount I can pay I have been waiting since February they said if I made 3 payments at reduced amount and proved I could pay they would then re-write my loan still waiting now
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What do they mean by “re-write your loan”? Are they still charging interest? This is NOT what you want – you want interest removed from your loan, then your guarantor canbe removed and you can repay at whatever rate is affordable to you, which may change with your circumstances.
Do you mean you complained in February? Have you sent your complaint to the ombudsman?
Julie says
Yes I complained in December they rejected complaint then said I could a reduced amount have been doing so since February and said I would have my loan rewritten x I have received email today to say it will be rewritten but doesn’t say my guarantor will be released X should they be doing this ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes. If they refuse, get your guarantor to send in a complaint asking to be released fro the loan as the loan was unaffordable for you. There is a template they can use here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/ and the evidence that the loan was unaffordable for you is the email from the lender saying this…
Sandra says
Hi Sara I didn’t pay last months payment of £217 to amigo as I had a complaint in with them about affordability I had three loans out of five upheld but I still have £1383 left to pay them I ive sent it to fos about the first two why they weren’t upheld but they sent me a letter saying about the last payment why it’s not being paid and expect it to be etc then sent a a letter before action I really don’t understand this as they have said the loans were unaffordable and now are looking for me to pay £217 even though I’ve a complaint in with fos surely they can’t do this. Any help would be great on this.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
presumably your guarantor has been released?
have you also complained to FOS about “unpaid interest”? How much was deducted?
have you offered a more affordable amount?
what is the rest of your financial situation like – do you have other unaffordable debts?
Sandra says
Yes my guarantor has been released and I still have other bills which I can just about manage with now Not paying anything to amigo even though they insist on me paying money to them I thought when you had a complaint in with fos until you have had a response in what you have sent them you wouldn’t have to pay something towards the remaining balance that I have left with amigo, my unpaid interest in £798.94, I also filled out a budget form which really had nothing left over on it so I could pay them and they have all this information but yet still send me emails about paying them. My complaint has been in now with fos nearly 8 weeks and haven’t heard anything yet just the normal email that they are sorting their way through complaints with a backlog.
They sent a default notice on the 2nd of September
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, that is very fast to send a default Notice and then an LBA.
My guess is that they are just trying to pressure you to start paying and they have no intention of going to court. But just in case, it’s best not to ignore this letter. You have 30 days to reply from the date on the letter. Your reply needs to be back to them by that date but there is no reason to reply quickly. I suggest you work out 21 days from the date of the letter and plan to post the Reply Form back to them then. The aim being to drag things out for as long as possible, giving FOS more chance to look into your complaint.
Of course if you think you might forget to reply that isn’t good! So mark it on your calendar/diary/whatever in red ink!
This article says how to respond https://debtcamel.co.uk/letter-before-claim-ccj/.
Go for Boc C the “I don’t know if I owe this debt” response and ask for a copy of all the doucuments that Amigo has listed in the “Relevant Documents” section of their covering letter. Even if you think you have them, ask Amigo to produce all of them again. They are wasting your time so you may as well waste some of theirs…
Amigo cannot start court action for 30 days after they have sent you those documents. So that will be a couple of months time!
But as I said, I suspect they are just bluffing. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/comment-page-5/#comment-373670 where I wrote a rather long reply to a guarantor who was bing threatened with court – exactly the same points apply to you and ehere Amigo is in an even weaker position as they have already agreed the loan is unaffordable.
Sandra says
Thank you so much Sara for this your such a fantastic help not to just me but everyone else that’s in the same situation so glad I stumbled upon this forum or I’d still be paying extortionate amounts of money every month which I couldn’t afford.
Lisa whelan says
I want too put a compliant in as I took these out on impulse with my mental health and I’m struggling to pay back, my friend who is guarantor hasn’t worked due to COVID and is going to lose her job…. is it worth putting in? And once I’ve emailed submitting this can I cancel my direct debit to pay?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you think the monthly repayments were too much for you? And that anyone who had looked at your credit record and bank statements would have realised you cannot repay that much every month?
When did you take the loan out, how much was it and how much have you paid to them so far?
What is the rest of your financial situation like – do you have other debts you are finding it difficult to pay?
Your friend, what was her financial situation at the time you took the loan out? Could she have really managed to make all the payments to the loan and still pay her other debts, bills and living expenses if Covid hadn’t come along?
Lisa Whelan says
Iv had 5 loans over the years but it’s been topped up twice, I don’t even remember sending proff off anything and my
Friend did it all over the phone and showed them nothing. The payments are £189 a month that’s a lot for a Single mum
Sara (Debt Camel) says
5 loans suggests that the loans may well not have been affordable, and that you were only getting a new one because repaying the current one was difficult.
I suggest you send in a complaint – and send it to the ombudsman if Amigo say No, or only uphold the later loans.
If you cancel the DD, Amigo will go after your friend :( But you could suggest that she too puts in a complaint that the current loan is not affordable for her! There is a seperate template letter for guarantors over here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/.
This way you both help each other. If you win your complaint she is just released as the guarantor. If she wins hers, then there is no guarantor and you can make a lower more affordable payments arrangement.
Lou says
So, at this point Amigo are clearly trying to screw absolutely everyone they can. They are lying continously about figures and are trying to get away with charging interest where it is abundantly clear they are not allowed.
Five loans were upheld (2017 -2019), with one guarantor. All loans, including the original loan upheld. Current balance – £5540. Interest paid – £3546. Yet, despite my total loan only being £5000 (the £540 has since been added on in interest), they are claiming that I owe –
£1,994.21.
I have been battling with them for a month to explicitly explain that £5000 (not interest can be added, so £5000 is all I owe), – £3546 actually equals £1453.
They keep denying this, so now this will have to go to the ombudsman. These people are horrendous.
Today, I got a response saying that apprently the £540 is “unpaid interest” for the first four loans that weren’t upheld. Even though these were taken out between 2009 and 2013 and were paid back in full in 2014. They were also taken out by a different guarantor.
No place have they shown their workings out of unpaid interest.
This has been hell.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you had 4 loans with one guarantor and the last one was repaid on full, not topped up? Amigo has rejected these cases?
Then you had another loan for £5000 with a different guarantor which has been upheld? How much have you paid to this in total? ignore if Amigo say it was interest or now, just how much money have you paid to this loan?
Lou says
Correct.
Original four loans – one guarantor. All paid off 2014. Amigo rejected all.
Five loans – different guarentor. All upheld. Total borrowing – £5000.
Current balance (£5540)
Total paid by me – £3546
Received email today (after sending over 50 emails trying to sort this), saying because “not all loans were upheld” unpaid interest was addded.
This email is from some random guy. No figures have been shown to show where this calculation is, just that interest can be added because the first four were not upheld. It’s beggars belief at this point trying to sort or talk to anyone.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK so for the last loan it looks correct that the balance should be £1453. And the difference is this £540 due to the unpaid interest.
Now I don’t agree with any of Amigo’s “unpaid initerest” charges, but this is the first time i have seen them try to add this on where the previous loans have been repaid in full… normally they only do it where a top-up loan is being refunded.
Have you sent the complaint to FOS anyway? Because you could get the other 4 loans also looked at?
Lou says
Thanks Sara.
I agree, this is ridiculous. So after 40 emails and no replies, two agents wrote about unpaid interest. I gave up emailing and called and the guy said there should be no unpaid interest and that two people had got it wrong. However, what they are saying is that the £3546 is the “redress figure”, not the total amount I’ve paid. Because this has been over years, I actualy don’t have the statements, so I am kind of at their mercy on this – because I’ve not been sent SAR, and don’t have old statements. At this point, I’m drained with all of this and have just accepted. I want it off my credit score and my guarantor’s account closed. They have said I can send it to the FOS, so might do that. Statements would be good, but to get my guarantor is going to be good, so I can’t fight them anmore. I’m too unwell for it.
I sent the first four loans to the ombudsman about eight weeks ago. Hopefully, will get an investigator soon. I actually had FLM Quick loans for four months prior to topping up the last time (on the loans they haven’t upheld), and continued to extend that quick loan for a year (gulp!), before paying it off, as well a million other payday loans, so it is surprising they’ve not upheld the other loans, but so hoping ombudsman upheld it. Fingers crossed!
Lisa says
Hi everyone
How long have people had to wait for Amigo to respond to the adjudicators decision. They sent it over to them on 4th September and chased on 22nd and still no response?
Kyle says
Hey, I’m sure, correct me if I’m wrong but you can take Amigo to court if the FO have said they have to pay you? Maybe call them up and say this is your next step? Dunno if any of this information is helpful or right, maybe Sara can correct me if I’m wrong.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Unfortunately not from an adjudicator decision- only from an Ombudsman decision.
Lisa says
I phoned them today and they said they have until the 2nd October to reply. I thought that the same amount of time as me which was the 19th September. Will wait the extra few days and then post on trust pilot if they dont respond.
Luke says
Hi all,
So my complaint was upheld, yes! However I’m still left with 6k to pay. Normal payments are approx 400pm, will Amigo reduce this if I request? If they don’t reduce it can I put them onto my stepchange account going forward as my guarantor is no longer locked in?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes just get it added into your StepChange DMP – much the easiest thing to do as Amigo can just be awkward to deal with.
How large are the debts in the DMP at the moment? What are you paying to it?
Julie says
I made a payment arrangement with them and they was quite helpful
Luke says
Hi all. Checked my amigo account and it’s gone into minus now what they owe me and account closed. Any ideas the length now?
Kyle says
It’s pot luck really, some get paid very fast and some wait weeks. Others call up and chase it up and get paid within hours, it all depends really. I would say wait a while, maybe half the time they said it would take or all the time if you can. If not call them up and request the money, it’s worked for some people.
Luke says
It’s been 12 working days now and they told me it’s in the next payment batch today and then at about 5 tonight it went into minus on my account
Emma says
I have been following this forum for a while now, after complaining to amigo 11 weeks ago now I got my final response today that they were upholding 3 out of 4 loans and I was due refund of just under 5 grand, I accepted via my online account and the money was in my bank an hour later. So pleased this is over.
Vicki says
After complaining to the FOS, Amigo have now agreed to refund all interest paid, plus 8% statutory interest. This is on one loan for £7,500, taken out in July 2017 and repaid over 36 months.
I have today received an email outlining the redress:
Interest paid to be refunded to you: £5,673.12
8% statutory interest awarded: £233.63
20% tax already deducted from 8%: £58.41
Total interest refund due: £5,906.75
I had calculated the 8% statutory interest to be much, much higher than this. I have emailed Amigo asking them to explain their calculations. Does their statutory interest calculation look correct?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo use a very odd version of the 8% calculation. So far as I know, no one has decided to take their complaint FOS saying this is incorrect. Using their calculation it looks roughly right to me.
Stephen says
I am the guarantor of a 10k loan taken out for my cousin in September last year, at the time my mother was critically ill and I suffer from a mental health condition, I was not thinking clearly due to the personal stress and I was pressured into this loan by my cousin whose business was in financial difficulty. I did not understand the full implications and have been regularly lied to by my cousin. I used your templates and complained they recently rejected My complaint have since complained to FOS Amigo are now threatening CCJ’s can they do this while FOS investigating? I can’t afford legal advice due to loss of income now on universal credit due to Covid I’d appreciate your advice/opinion? Worried and not sleeping with stress this is causing. I have since discovered my cousin has lots of debts and should not have been accepted for this loan
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry lots of questions…
So you complained on what grounds – that the borrower could not afford the loan? that you could not afford the loan?
Has the borrower also complained?
Are Amigo just making threatening noises, or have they sent you a Letter before Action? A court claim?
What were the rest of your finances like, do you have other credit cards or other debts? Are you buying or renting?
Stephen says
Yes I complained on the borrower affordability, as well as being pressured into loan, and not fully understanding implications. Also my income was unpredictable. He also complained but I suspect he has not followed up as he is ignoring everything, burying head in sand, Not received Letter before Action, just threats of CCJ. I have other debt for car and cards Around 18k and currently rent, they say in their rejection of my complaint that my credit was good no missed payments, sufficient money to pay loan etc. I’m self employed and this has all changed and always subject to change
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It can be hard to win a complaint by a guarantor on the grounds the borrower could not afford the loan unless the borrower is co-operating with you.
You should have been sent a SAR with a recording of your phone call(s) with Amigo. Have you listened to this? Does this show you were confused, not listening, no concentrating, that Amigo didn’t explain the loan to you? In other words, could Amigo have told you didn’t understand what you were agreeing to?
Arguing that the loan was unaffordable for you can be a simpler way to win a guarantor complaint is it applies to you. If you were self emplyed, then Amigo should have considerd how much your income varies.
Amigo are trying to push people to pay more than they can afford by threatening court. See this reply to another guarantor https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/comment-page-5/#comment-373670 where I list the reasons they may well just be bluffing and the very long time a case will take to go to a CCJ if you defend it – basically you can ask for it to be put on hold until the Ombudsman considers your case.
I know this must be very stressful for you, but what option do you have apart from continuing? It’s not just that you think it’s unfair you were accepted as guarantor, you have no money to pay them even if you wanted to.
Your priorities at the moment have to be your priority debts and bills – from what you have said these are rent, council tax, gas/electric, car finance. Any payment holidays currently arranged will be ending and there is no sign that new ones will be brought in. I don’t see how at the moment you can afford even a token £1 a month to your unsecured, non priority debts such as your credit cards and this Amigo loan. If you are currently making any payments to non priority debts I suggest you talk to a debt adviser (try National Debtline on 0808 808 4000) about this.
Have you told Amigo you are on Universal Credit and that you cannot afford to make any payments?
PS go back to the borrower and ask how his complaint is progressing. If Amigo takes you to court for a CCJ, they will also sue the borrower at the same time… If his complaint has been rejected, he has 6 months to go to the ombudsman, so being an ostrich could be a very expensive mistake for him if you win your complaint and Amigo just chases him!
Joel says
Tomorrow it will be 8 weeks since I made my complaints. Reading through some of the comments here and people have received a quicker decision so making me worry my complaint won’t be upheld! If I do not hear anything tomorrow should I go straight to the FOS?
Part of my complaint was due to a gambling problem I had at the time of applying for the loan. I had various payday loans at this stage, is the gambling issue worth bringing up if I make complaints?
Thanks for your help!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
people have received a quicker decision so making me worry my complaint won’t be upheld
Did you guarantor make any payments?
is the gambling issue worth bringing up if I make complaints?
are you asking about this Amigo complaint? or about potential complaints to payday lenders? the payday loans, were a lot of them with the same lender? Were these large loans?
Joel says
My guarantor made one payment when I was out of work and they weren’t willing to be flexible.
No sorry, I brought the gambling issue up with Amigo. But I made some other complaints to payday lenders where I did not originally disclose the gambling issue. There were a lot of loans and some were large. Some I’m still paying off by DMP
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I *think* Amigo are now putting all complaints where any payment was made by the guarantor on hold as people are disputing the way they settle these cases when the loans are upheld. So you may be in for a long wait.
On that bases, i suggest you do send this to the ombudsman now and get yourself in the queue.
If your payday loan complaints are still going, send them your bank statements from that time that will show the gambling. IF you have already had a rejection, think about seniding to FOS, again with your bank statements. For payday loan complaints, it’s not worth sending complaints if there were only a couple of loans unless they were large.
Joel says
Thanks for your advice on both counts. Appreciate you taking out the time to respond, very grateful
Joel says
I’ve since had an email from Amigo to say they are still investigating but behind due to the delay with COVID and the large amount of customer queries they are experiencing. They say I can go to FOS but they will respond as soon as possible.
Seems a very generic email but assume it is still best to go to FOS at this stage?
Kelly says
Hi there I am the borrower I took out a loan and I’ve been paying £78 a month for a year I’ve paid off £936 but only £307 has come off my balance? I have another whole year left. I have 4 questions.
Can I claim?
Will the refund come to me in my bank account?
How do I contact amigo? What do I say?
Thank you in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Kelly,
Is this loan “unaffordable” for you? A loan is only affordable if you can pay it and still pay all your other debts, bills and everyday living expenses. If paying this loan has caused you difficulty from the start, meaning you had to borrow more or get behind with bills then it was probably unaffordable.
The article above explains this in more detail and has a template letter you can use to start your complaint.
Any refund is paid to your bank account unless your guarantor has made any payments.
Jack says
Hi
My complaint to Amgio is now 10 weeks old, they are saying they have a backlog and are very sorry its taking this long.
Isit worth sending to FOB? or will they just say wait for a response from Amigo?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo are likely to reply in the next month. It won’t be slower or quicker if you go to FOS. The advantage of going to FOS now is that Amigo seem to be rejecting more complaints so going to FOS now means you get into the FOS queue that bit earlier. Your call.
Matt says
Just out of curiosity, how long have people been waiting for a final ombudsman decision? I had an affordability complaint upheld by the adjudicator in December last year which the guarantor loan company rejected. It was passed to the Ombudsman in January and I am still waiting for a final decision over 9 months later. Thanks in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
which lender is this?
That seems a very long while. I suggest phoning FOS every couple of weeks and asking about progress.
Matt says
It is with TFS Loans.
Claire says
Oh god 9 months. Im in the same position,
upheld by adjudicator and pasted on to ombusman in April…all in all I’ve been waiting 18 months.
The ombusman is now asking amigos for information he/she has already got… because I’ve already sent it to them!!
Honestly it’s a joke!!
I need to put this situation behind me one way or another, WORSE FINANCIAL DISISION OF MY LIFE.
Good luck to those still waiting
Jack says
Hi Sara,
I have had a response today from Bamboo they have rejected my claim as they said they didn’t need to look at my bank statements as I had told them the loan was affordable. My bank statements clearly show I had a gambling issue aswel as other missed payments on credit file and shows me borrowing money from mates and family…..
They however said this at the end
In view of the above, we are unable to uphold your complaint.
However, we are disappointed to note that you feel we should not have lent to you and in an effort to resolve things swiftly and amicably with you, we are prepared to offer you the sum of £450.00 as full and final settlement of your complaint. We do not think we have done anything wrong although have taken a commercial view.
I believe they didn’t follow the right protocol should I take to FOb?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how much interest did you pay them on this loan?
Jack says
Hi Sara
The loan was for 5000 over a 24 month period,
I was supposed to pay 2407 interest but fell behind and added interest was added.
It doesn’t let me see on the account anymore it was back in 2017, I was making payments of 308 on a monthly basis
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s probably worth going back to Bamboo now and pushing for a MUCH better offer – it will help if you know how much interest you paid.
Here are some recent comments about them that you will find interesting:
– https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/comment-page-58/#comment-387836
– https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/comment-page-57/#comment-387207
– https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/comment-page-57/#comment-386512
– https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/comment-page-54/#comment-383104
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK well it’s hard to guess how much interest they added. If you have your banks tatements you can work it out from there.
It sounds likely that including 8% added interst you would get well over 3k back if FOS upholds your claim.
Your options are to:
– accept their offer
– send it straight to FOS
– go back to Bamboo and send them the bank statements if you haven’t already and say the gambling showing makes this a strong case, so if they don’t refund all the interest you will be going to FOS
– go back to Bamboo and send them the bank statements if you haven’t already and say the gambling showing makes this a strong case, you expect to get over £3000 if it goes to FOS but you are prepared to compromise and accept £2000 now in the interest of a quick setlement.
Jack says
Hi,
I have sent them all my bank statements Sara, I have emailed them to say I will settle for 2500 as a compromise, I have also sent to the FOB to get the ball rolling incase they refuse to settle.
Ryan Cunningham says
Hi I got a £4000 loan from amigo on June 2017 and a top up of £1000 November 2017 so was like £5000 loan too pay off the first loan . I was in a DMP and have struggled ever since making my payments of £200 per month many late payments …I worked out I’ve paid back £6000 and still have about £3800 too pay …I had my payments froze because covid and said I will try resume but have made a complaint …so if successful would my loan be finished and amigo owe me some money ? Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you know the total of the payments you made to the first loan?
The exact amount you got in cash from the top up? And how large the top up loan was?
And how much you have paid so far to the current loan?
All these numbers are just the cash payments, don’t make it complicated by trying to work out if this was interest or principal or late payments.
Ryan says
I made £1200 too the first loan and £3800 was put towards it too clear it …says but the loan was only for £4000 then I started with a second loan of £5000 …yes I counted from the new loan I’ve made 30 payments since Nov 2017 hope this helps , many thanks . The late payment was just sometimes id have too pay my monthly payment late but not that late the guarantor had too pay it ….hope that makes sense
received £5100 all in from amigo and paid £6930 in cash payments …my first payment is due this week from my break is it best still to pay this even with a complaint in ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, those are obviously rough figures, but on them I make the interest you have paid as follows:
loan 1 £1,000
loan 2 £1,000
total £2,000
If both loans are upheld, then the last loan would be cleared and you would get a refund of £2000 plus a small amount of extra 8% interest, less than £200.
Can you afford to make the payments when the payment break ends? If you don’t, Amigo will go after your guarantor.
What is your guarantor’s financial positon now? what was it whan you took the top-up loan – could they really have afforded to pay all the loan repayments and aslo pay their own debts, bills and living expenses?
Ryan Cunningham says
Hey didnt know if my reply sent …yes I could afford the payment at the moment I’m currently working but my guarantor isnt , I took the top up because was struggling with Christmas and paying my creditcard ..I had too cancel my DMP . Could I asked for another freeze why my complaint is looked at ? Many thanks sara
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can ask for another payment freeze but unless your finaces have been affected by Covid it isn’t likely amigo will agree to a second freeze.
Obviously your guarantor can’t pay at the moment, but can you think back to the time the of the top up loan – could they really have afforded to pay all the loan repayments and aslo pay their own debts, bills and living expenses?
Andrew beaton says
Hi I’ve just received a email from the ombudsman to say amigo have upheld my complaint and they will be writing to me to issue a final settlement offer. First loan was for £3000 and 2nd was £6000 still a outstanding balance of £3500, I’ve totaled interest on second loan paid and it’s £5490, don’t have access to first loans interest so does anyone have a idea what that could be and how long before I receive my offer then payment.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it’s impossible to guess from those figures.
If you have the Amigo accounts or your bank statements, this is what I need to know:
– How much did you pay in cash to the first loan. Ignore if Amigo says it was interest, just the cash payments you made.
The second loan – if this was a top-up, how much did you receive in cash?
How much have you paid to the second loan so far, again the total of your p[ayments, not whether they are interest.
Andrew beaton says
I only made 9 payments on the first loan of £146, then topped up with a £6000 loan which I actually got £3400 in cash. I’ve made 31 payments of £256 on the second loan and interest on them 2nd payments is roughly £5490.
I don’t know how they calculate redress when you’ve topped up. Adding all payments made to amigo through my bank and I’ve made over £9000 in payments to them since the loans began.
Should I be stopping monthly payments ASAP as if I’ve worked it out correctly my redress should be around the 3k mark.
I’ve contacted amigo for numbers but they have said they are busy working it out and will email me when they have finished the process.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
On those numbers (and assuming the guarantor didn’t make any payments) I make the interest you have paid as:
loan 1 £883
loan 2 £1,936
total £2,819
Plus about £100 in 8% interest. So your estimate of 3k is about right.
You can stop the DD to them. They will complain but tell them to do the numbers!
If they haven’t yet removed your guarantor, you will need to tell the guarantor what is happening as they may be alarmed you have stopped paying.
Andrew says
Hi Sara
As soon as I find out the outcome I’ll post on here. It might help other people in the same situation. Also I’ve made a payment 1st of this month and no interest has been added so I guess they are proceeding with the redress
K says
Hi Sara. Im sorry i know you are very busy but I just wanted some advise. I sent the complaint and heard back exactly 8 weeks later. They have upheld my 5 top ups but not the initial or final loan. My balance was £7k amd they have knocked £2k off with redress so now saying I owe £5k. I have declined this and am getting my claim together to send to FO. I just wondered am i expecting too much? I presumed they would accept fault and say i owe nothing or al owed from them. I have been paying £300 per month for nearly two years. Do they not redress by working out how much I have paid back to them from the amount i borrowed including there extremely high interest? Surely i have paid back much more than i have borrowed already. Hope that makes sense x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds a very odd decision unless the last loan repayments were a lot less than the previous ones? So yes this sounds worth sending to the ombudsman. What do you have to lose by doing this…
If you would like me to look at the numbers to say how much you should get if the first and/or last loans are included, this is what I need to know:
For each loan (did you have 5,6 or 7?):
– how much you borrowed?
– if it was a top up loan, how much cash you received?
– what cash payments you made to it? eg 4 lots of £156
K says
Thank you for coming back to me. Please see full details below:
6 loans in Total
March 2017
£3000
£146.37 per month
July 2017
£3500
£646.69 paid out
£170.76 per month
April 2018
£4000
£800 paid out
£195.16 per month
October 2018
£6250
Not sure on the pay out amount. I will need to ask my guarantor as no details are showing on my statements
£267.35 per month
February 2019
£6750
£592.02 paid out
£288.73 per month
May 2019
£7500
£882.06 paid out
£296.44 per month
Also even though I have declined the offer can i still request them to remove my guarantor? I did request this in my complaint but wasnt sure whether to push for it or leave it until i contact FO.
Thanks again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so which loans were decided to be unaffordable by Amigo?
and can you say how many monthly payments you made to each loan?
K says
2,3,4 and 5 upheld
4x £146.37
8x £170.76
6x £195.16
4x £267.35
3x £288.73
13x £296.44
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So I can’t be sure of the numbers without knowing what you were paid out for that 4 loans.
There are two reasons why the redress they have offered looks so low. the first is that a lot of your payments – £3848 – have been made to the last loan which they have not accepted is unaffordable.
The second is that because they decided the first loan was affordable, they have added in an extra “unpaid interest” charge if you look at the redress email numbers they sent you. They only started doing this a few months ago and there are now a lot of cases piling up at FOS saying this is unfair.
By sending this to FOS I don’t think are expecting too much. the “unpaid interest” charge is unreasonable. And how on earth can they argue that loan 5 was unaffordable and loan 6, where the repayments are more, is affordable?
Because they say the last loan is affordable, they will probably not agree to remove your guarantor I am afraid.
K says
Thats brilliant, thank you for looking into this for me. I shall get all in order to send to FO. Should i give them the basics for them to investigate or would it be better if I give all the details i hold ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would give them the basics, plus a copy of your TransUnion credit record and say you have more details and bank statements if they need them.
Lisa says
Hi Sara
Some advice please. My friend sent off her complaint to Amigo and surprisingly they have replied really quickly. They had not upheld her loan as they are stating that she had income of £2,178, which was mostly benefits, and that after essential bills she had £176 of dissposable income so had a realistic balance to cover the loan payments of £128.33. Does this sound reasonable only having only £47.67 left after the loan payments? She is still waiting for her SAR as it hasnt been 28 days yet. She only had one loan for £3,000.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well a lot depends on whether the essential bills included everything she would really need to spend for the years the loan took to repay. Does she have children, how many? any health problems? a car?
Lisa says
Hopefully the DSAR will show what they class as essential bills. Yes two of her three children were under the age of 18 at the time with the other just turning 18 within months after the loan was issued but all three were living home. She didnt drive for the duration of the loan so was reliant on public transport for school runs etc. She was a single parent when the loan was taken.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well I would send this to FOS straight away, the SARs can take ages to turn up. The food, clothes, mobile bills for one adult and three teens would have been very large!
Lisa says
Thank you, I will keep you updated on progress.
Ingrida says
Hi Sara, hope you can help. I have made a complaint to Amigo back in April, they have upheld it in May, saying that they will remove guarantor, any adverse credit record, will remove all interest and pay 8% on top as nice gesture.
It has now passed 4 months and I still have not received my redress amount. When asked they replied yesterday saying that they need to investigate further before issuing my refund and giving me redress.
I don’t know if they contacted my guarantor as we are not in touch.
Can they decide to do additional checks after they have officially upheld my complaint back in May? Should I now go to FOS?
Many thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have never heard of this happening. Did your guarantor make any payments to the loan? Did you have more than 1 loan with them?
Ingrida says
No just one loan, yes guarantor made some payment towards it, around 500.
In April they said they will contact guarantor to issue the refund to them and if guarantor doesn’t reply it will go toward my redress amount.
See there response below :
“We are currently in discussions with the regulator regarding a particular aspect of complaints such as yours.
In order to ensure you receive a fair outcome we have paused the investigation of your complaint until these discussions are concluded. Please be aware this is of the utmost importance to us and we will endeavour to progress your complaint as soon as possible, I understand that this is frustrating”
What do I do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you reply that they upheld your complaint 4 months ago and if they do not caluate and pay your redress withjin a week you are sending it to FOS.
Is there a balance remaining on this loan?
Htrj says
Is there anywhere I can talk directly to you Sara for some advice, I’ve had my response but I don’t understand it. It mentions they’ll take my father off as guarantor, take the interest off and said only my top up was affordable . But it’s been over 20 days now and they are still sending my father updates and nothing has been amended on my account :/
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No. sorry, can you summarise what is happening here.
Has the guarantor made any payments to these loans?
You had two loans? do you think the first one was unaffordable?
What is your current financial situation – can you make the repayments? do you have other problem debts?
shaun says
hi Sara, i have recently made a complaint to amigo regarding the loans i had, £6000 in june 2019, and then topped up £1500 in july 2019 which left me to pay 365£ a month which is completely unaffordable for me, prior to taking it out the loan i had defaults and struggled with payments as it was, they didnt request any proof of any sorts of income, i have sent the complaint to them from what you have said to do on the website, they com back to say we have completed thorough checks to show it was affordable when it blaitantly wasnt. they said a complaint has bin raised and should get a response in 3-5 days of acknowledgement which i havet heard anything. what do you think ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you sent them your bank statements?
Vanessa Enticknap says
Hi
I dont know of you can help me amigo gave me my refund calculation but they are clearing the balance they say I owe.
I jad a DRO which discharged in February six months ago and amigo was included on ot ,doesnt the balance get wrote off to zero at the end of the DRO ? Many thanks Vanessa
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did your guarantor get her payout?
Vanessa Enticknap says
Shes had her redress figures 40 days ago she accepted same day and everything she rings they say it shoukd be in by 8pm tonight abd if not rung back which she does today sge got yold they were emailing the department straight away to get ot paid out asap
Vanessa Enticknap says
She got her redress figures on 11th August accepted same day got told 35 to 40 days and its now passed rings every day gets told they will be in by 8pm if not ring back rung back today got told they would email the department and ask them to pay it ASAP
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, so how much is your guarantor getting?
and what was Amigo’s refund calulation for you, can you copy out the numbers here?
Vanessa Enticknap says
My guarantor is getting £4100 and my refund is £8295.80
Sara (Debt Camel) says
And the numbers in the Amigo offer of redress? Did they say you had a balance?
Vanessa Enticknap says
Yes of £1,575.33 but when the dro is discharged the bslance should go to zero so I wouldnt owe them any money?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So they said your refund was 8295 and your balance was 1575 and they have only paid your guarantor 4100… so why aren’t they paying you at least some cash?
Vanessa Enticknap says
They haven’t paid guarantor yet she still waiting. They said I owed them 6000 and the fiqure I sent was what was left once they used my refund to pay it off. They saud they didn’t realise I had been discharged now. So am I right in saying they now owe me the refund of 8295?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
when the debt was listed in your DRO, what was the balance?
Vanessa Enticknap says
£5500 we paid back the original loan of 7500 back we had actually paid 11500
Vanessa Enticknap says
My guarantor has been released aswell. My balance on the DRO was £5500
Vanessa Enticknap says
Hi just looked on my order the amount on the order to amigo was £6.694.00
Vanessa Enticknap says
Hi Sara
I need some help amigo have said this
Hey, Vanessa
I have just heard back in regards to the DRO being discharged. When you have successfully completed your DRO, once discharged this removes all obligations for you to make payments. So we can not pursue you for payments, and it will feel like you do not have any debt with us to pay, however the debt is still there, just with no obligation for you to pay, and in the instance of a redress owed to you. We would still look to offset this against your balance and only offer back any redress owed after the balance is paid.
Thank you
George @ Amigo
I am.with.the understanding when a DRO is discharged the balance is cleared to zero?
Also I have paid the initial amount I borrowed back, so reading into the letter about the loan being upheld it said any money owed in interest after the initial balance is cleared so how do they not owe me any abd have took it off the balance I owed them.in interest? Would be grateful for some help many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This may be hard for you to win. You could go back to Amigo and say:
“The Insolvency Act s251 provides that:
Subject as follows, at the end of the moratorium applicable to a debt relief order the debtor is discharged from all the qualifying debts specified in the order (including all interest, penalties and other sums which may have become payable in relation to those debts since the application date).
So I have been discharged from these debts. It is not correct to say the debt is still there. I do not owe this money and you have no right of set-off between the redress owed to me and the amount of the debt that went into my DRO.”
Vanessa Enticknap says
Thankyou for that I thought it was right they had to refund me. I have forwarded that information to them hopefully they play ball .
I cant understand why they think thats ok to do .
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I did explain a year ago that DROs made things very complicated.
At that time you said “Best case scenario for me will be the loan to just be finished” – well that has happened and your guarantor has been refunded. So that’s all good.
I can understand why you want to push to your refund, but I am just saying that you are now in a massively better position than a year ago because the loan has ended and your guarantor has been refunded.
Vanessa Enticknap says
My guarantor is still waiting for hers she keeps getting told different excuses .
I know but that money would change my life tremendously, its just annoying that they owe the interest and that to me .
And put that when.they upheld the second loan I would receive interest etc back. They didn’t uphold the first loan so I accepted that , just thought oh well least they have the second.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, well you may want to rethink this and decide to take your complaint to the Ombudsman about the first loan then.
But it might be better to wait until your guarantor has had her refund so at least that is sorted.
Vanessa Enticknap says
No I’m not going to worry about the first loan it has took a year so far and the ombudsman said it could be that nearly again if I did
HARRY CLIFTON says
Hello i got my complaint upheld have 240£ left to pay, as am off due to covid19 can i set a monthly payment or do they need the full 158£ that i had agreed at the start of loan
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is this Amigo?
Has your guarantor been released?
Do you have other problem debts as well?
HARRY CLIFTON says
Yea amigo I am still on part time hours due to covid, yes guarantor has been released, yea paying other loans off
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, so you can make a lower affordable payment arrangement with Amigo.
Sutty says
I used a claims company, I know I shouldn’t but only found this page after I had, my bad! I claimed on the 17 Aug, the claims company have emailed be back on the 24th sep saying amigo have but the claim on hold as they are taking to the fca, does this seem right? Seems like they aren’t handling it badly or it’s a stalling tactic..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did you guarantor make any payments to the loan(s)?
Sutty says
Yeah they paid about 7000 the loan totals were around 19k
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then that is why your complaint is on hold. Your unhelpful claims company should have explained that all new claims where the guarantor made a payment are on hold while they are being discussed with the FCA and FOS.
Have you repaid your guarantor?
Sutty says
I’m still trying to repay my guarantor, he paid it over a year ago, do you think it will be on hold for a long time? They aren’t really saying much. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry, I can’t really guess. At least you don’t owe them money at the moment!
Simon says
I have been left with a balance of more than £10,000 more than when I complained. My guarantor received a massive redress and that went onto my balance. I have been back and forth with FOS and FCA who were not overly helpful to start off with. I emailed FOS last week to ask them where the ruling or guidance on the guarantor payment being put back on balance is. The response from FOS is they have gone back to Amigo as they are now saying they have look at my case again and Amigo have not done the redress correctly. I made 11 years of payments on 16 loans and these payments surely have to be factored in? Nobody appears to be able to answer how a borrower is left worse off by having a complaint upheld. The borrower doesnt decide on the process and should not be worse off as a result of a business lending irresponsibly. I look forward to the further response from FOS now they have gone back to Amigo…
Ben says
Hello,
Not sure if anyone can help. I currently have a open complaint against Amigo regarding irresponsible lending being looked at by the FO. FO are unsure if I have a strong case because I can’t provide a credit report from 2012. Has anyone else had this problem? or know of anyway to get a credit score from this time?
Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS know you can’t get credit records from back then. Do you have any bank statements from that time? Any other evidence of your finances eg emails?
Ben says
Yeah so I have provided a bank statement but FO are saying ‘ Without any record of their affordability checks and a copy of your credit file for that time, It’s difficult to determine whether their checks were proportionate. Amigo don’t necessarily have to check a consumer’s bank statements as part of their checks‘.
But my pay slips and bank statements from the time clearly show the loan was unaffordable. I have also provided lots of emails from the time from debt companies/ pay day loans etc. I’m confused as to how this isn’t enough!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Go back and explain in detail how what you have provided show that you had a lot of payday loans and other debts, so this should have meant that Amigo looked closely at your complaint and verified your income and expenses.
Shane says
Hi, as someone who has also made a recent complaint but the guarantor has made payments towards the loan, is there any more detail as to why Amigo are talking to the FCA and FOS about these types of complaints? I appreciate that it may delay their response whilst they’re in conversation. Amigo aren’t giving any details, they haven’t even told me about my complaint being on hold, just that it is within the 8 week window.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Until now if a loan is decided to be unaffordable for the borrower but the guarantor made payments, Amigo offers to refund all the money paid to the guarantor and if the guarantor accepts this, then takes off the guarantor’s contributions from the loan accounts. This can leave the borrower owing more money than they did before they complained, despite winning their case. Borrowers and some claims companies have said this is not treating the borrower fairly.
Shane says
Thanks for the explanation. Does this apply to accounts which are settled where the guarantor would have made contributions? And what if the guarantor rejects their refund. I only ask as I have paid back my guarantor.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So far as I know it applies to all new complaints where Amigo has not already made an offer to settle.
Does this apply to accounts which are settled where the guarantor would have made contributions?
yes I think so
I only ask as I have paid back my guarantor.
That is one of the situations that can give the worst problems, where your guarantor now says yes please to Amigo’s offered refund, despite you having paid them back…
Shane says
Thanks for the clarification again, last question for now :)
My guarantor and I are on good terms as we’re family so he’s happy to give me the money in any case. What would happen if hypothetically he rejected and how would that impact my claim?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I can tell you what would have happened under the previous way Amigo settled these cases. But I have no idea if that is going to change so there isn’t much point…
Nikki Mouse 22 says
Sorry i wrote a while back and can’t find my post so i hope you don’t mind me starting this one.
I finally got my redress figures… they didn’t uphold my first loan for 3000 but did uphold my second loan for 5000.These are the figures below that they sent
“You are due a total refund of £7246.61. If you are happy to accept this offer please provide your bank details at your earliest convenience.
However to provide a further breakdown of your refund.
Your total redress £7246.61
Your total interest: £5320.82
Your 8% Simple Interest: £2306.92
Fees and Charges: £30
Unpaid interest from non upheld loans: £411.03
Total redress = Total Interest + 8% Simple Interest (after tax deduction) + Fees and/or charges – Unpaid Interest from non-upheld loans
‘Unpaid Interest from non-upheld loan’ represents the amount of interest that would have been incurred on the non-upheld loan. This interest would have been payable, in any event, had the upheld loan(s) agreement(s) not been entered in to.”
I rang yesterday to accept the offer on the condition that i can appeal the first loan decision and the unpaid interest and was told that was fine. I asked why the 20% tax was not in my calculation and was told that they would send me a new email but still nothing . I rang back about 20 minutes ago and they said they would chase it up and to expect my refund within 20 working days ( not sure why it would take that long)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I rang yesterday to accept the offer on the condition that i can appeal the first loan decision and the unpaid interest and was told that was fine.
Good!
Nikki Mouse 22 says
Any ideas what i should get after tax from the calculations they sent ?
Thank you for all your help :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The problem is they have made a mistake here and I don’t know what sort.
If they did the calculation correctly but just reported it wrongly then Your 8% Simple Interest: £2306.92 should actually read 8% Simple Interest (after tax deduction) and their total is right.
But if they haven’t taken off the tax, then £461 tax should be deducted from the refund they have quoted you.
Nikki Mouse 22 says
I’m still waiting on this updated email they promised since Tuesday :@ not sure why it would take 4 days and still no sign of the email.
Still no refund but again only 4 days and they said it’s taken 20 working days.
Nikki Mouse 22 says
when i rang up to ask about the 20% tax that should of been included in the calculation the guy said he would check and ask the lady who emailed me the figures to send me an updated email because it just confused me. As of today still no email about it just was told my refund would be 20 working days.
A says
Hi Sara,
Just to say thank you as I have had a update from my adjudicator and Amigo have agreed. I had one loan from 2010 for £3000 and in a lot a trouble at the time financial but pleased that’s all behind me now.. I had all evidence from bank statements, copy’s of pay day loans etc which has proven the out come.
I phone Amigo up today and confirmed my bank details and they say they will process the payment in 10 day!!! Believe it when it happens. Thank you for this site as helped not just me but many people.
Figures I was given off Amigo, which I have expected.
We’ve calculated the refund due and I’ve included a breakdown of this below:
Interest paid to be refunded to you : £2,891.05
8% statutory interest awarded : £1,582.27
20% tax already deducted from 8% : £395.57
Refund of fees/charges : £300.00
Total interest refund due : £4,773.32
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Great! You can get up to £200 of the tax deduction back if you are a basic rate taxpayer, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/
A says
Just an update that the funds have hit my account today, thank you again Sara so much and that part of my life has now finished, just waiting on likely loans now..
Thank you once again
staci says
so ombudsman have emailed saying amigo are making another offer after declining their first -where they only accepted last loan as unaffordable instead of all 3. has anyone else had this before? mind you i dont know what they will come back with .
Simon says
It is not unusual for them to make pie in the sky offers. They just want people to accept knowing several people are just desperate for it to be all over. Hang in there and the FOS will make sure they aren’t fobbing you off. Dont be afraid to say you’re unhappy with an offer either.
Good Luck
Jack says
Hi ,
After bamboo not upholding my complaint and offering me £450 I rejected they have come back with an improved offer of £1000 , I believe they owe me in excess off 3000 so have told them if they go to 1500 I am happy to accept or if not will take to the FOB. They surely know they was in the wrong hence the offers? Or am I wrong?
Kyle says
I’d say ask for the full amount of interest you paid mate, don’t let them swindle you. Amigo did that to me also, offered me around £370 or something when I had paid wayy more.
Jack says
Did you get full payment?
Kyle says
FO adjudicator is looking into it now. Due to my being homeless for couple years and still am because of it, and because amigo knew this and still offered me such small amount I turned it down. I asked the FO if I could seek compensation aswell as the interest paid, I’m sure I paid around 3500 Interest if I take into account the first initial loan which they turned down, they only accepted the top up which doesn’t make sense hahaha but I said because the effect it has had on me and them offering me such little I turned it down and now the FO are looking into how they are working out the unpaid interest. It’s nuts, I told amigo that I’m homeless and In debt and they still tried to get out of paying me all the interest back. So I feel I was taken advantage of and they thought I would just accept the 370, coz to me it is a lot and I’m not greedy. So the FO asked me do I have a figure in mind and I said no I would leave it up to their decision if they thought I was owed compensation at all. They have begun looking into it now so not sure what they will come back with tbh. But there was no way I was going to let Amigo try and palm me off with the first offer. So I will update you as and when I get a response from FO. But I would say stand your ground and ask for the full amount. Never know. But if you’re ok with the amount you’re asking for them go for it.
Lisa says
My advice is dont accept a lower offer. Bamboo offered me a lower offer and i turned it down and said if they dont repay me what I am owed then i will not withdraw my complaint from FOS. The next day I got everything I was owed and my loan cleared. If they are wrong, which they clearly are otherwise they wouldnt have made an offer, stick with it.
Clive says
Does anybody know what how quickly UKCredit are to deal with. I borrowed £9900 in November 2017 and I pay £336 a month for which is a massive struggle. At the time of getting the loan I was gambling really really bad and was getting payday Loans left right and centre. Almost 200 of them to be precise.
I complained to uk credit on Tuesday and had a reply straight away asking for bank statements which I sent over.
Anybody know how long they usually take and if I have a chance of winning my case.
Thanks in advance and Sara keep up the good work.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If they say No, send it straight to the Ombudsman!
Clive says
Do you think I have a good chance?
And how long do uk credit usually take to come to decision
Sara (Debt Camel) says
At FOS – yes.
Direct with UK Credit? A few people here have has upholds directly in the last couple of months but we don’t see enough here to tell if this is now common or just random – they used to reject complaints routinely.