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
C says
UK Credit rejected my complaint as the loans were quite a few years old so I sent it to FOS who said they could look at my complaint. UK Credit disagreed so it had to go to an actual ombudsman who said they could look at my complaint. Adjuducator found in my favour so waiting on UK Credit now. I predict they will ask for an ombudsman to look at it again though. They don’t make it easy but I’m quite happy to wait.
Andrew beaton says
Hi Sara
Been checking through payments and i noticed that 2 payments of £256 were made with my mams bank card when I didn’t have a direct debit set up or my own bank card. I gave my mam this money to put in her bank at time but totally forgot all about it.
Will this go down as a guarantor payment as my mam is my guarantor too.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Probably.
Andrew beaton says
Hi Sara
So does that mean my complaint will be put on hold then? As I’ve read a lot of comments saying there complaint is on hold due to guarantor making payments. Amigo have already told the fos that they are going to settle.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So far as I know, complaints where an offer has been made are still proceeding. I don’t know what will happen in your case.
James says
Hi there
This forum is been a great help. I have a query about the interest. I had a guarantor loan with Amigo and put in a complaint which the upheld this week.
I still have a balance of £7k owing to them and they have agreed to refund the interest on the loan of £10k (first loan £8.5k then topped up to £10k). The redress amount is £7k and clears all but £135 of the current balance.
When I emailed Amigo regarding the interest not being added (less tax) they replied saying that as my payments were not in excess of the capital I am not eligible for the interest to be refunded. Is this correct? As I would move from owing Amigo money to getting a refund.
Any help or advise would be great
J
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did they agree to refund the first loan? If not, have they deducted a line call “unpaid interest” from your redress?
James says
They have agreed to refund both.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo calculate the 8% interest in a weird way that no one else does. You can take this to the Ombudsman if you want and ask for the 8% calculation to be looked at, but so far as i know everyone else has just decided they care that much and want the whole thing to be bheind them, so they have accepted the offer.
James says
Oh ok thank you. Think I might do the same as ultimately saves me thousands in the long run. Thanks for your help.
honey says
Hi Sara,
Thank you for all your help, this website is really a great help to me. i also share this to some of my friend who are in same position as me
and so far they got all the refunds in their payday and guarantor loans. i accepted the redress offered by Amigo and that bring my balance
of £ 16,740 to £ 5528.00 .i contacted amigo and asked for affordable payment plan since i am paying 595 in my contractual payment.
i manage to set up a proposed payment plan of £158 based on my income and expenditure and they said this will increase as my circumstances improve they also said that because i am on a payment plan my account will be in arrears and they will report this to credit
agency and record in my credit file and since the monthly obligation has not met they will issue a default notice but as long as i manage the payment plan no further action will be taken.
are they right ,the loan will be in arrears if i did not pay the contractual payment,? i can not afford the £595 i thought when they upheld my complaint they will reconstruct my balance into affordable monthly payment without falling into arrears ? and also can i not have a fixed monthly payment until the end of the loan.can you please advice.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No this doesn’t sound fair to me. I suggest you send them a complaint saying that they are being unreasonable in reporting your account as being in arrears because they have accepted the loan repayments were unaffordable.
What is the rest of your financial situation like? Do you have other problem debts?
honey says
Hi Sara,
yes and i am on debt management even before amigo gave me the loan
that is why the loan was really unaffordable .before i accepted the redress offer i queried on
how will i pay the balance and this is their answer :
” If you accept the offer you will then have a balance of £5,528.62, this will never occur interest. If you accept our offer please call collections on 01202 629161, they will have a chat with you about how much you would be able to afford to repay each month”.
but they didn’t mention about falling into arrears if i set up a repayment plan.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok then talk to your DMP firm about including the new lower balance in your DMP. And tell Amigo this is how you will pay them. This is much easier than trying to neotiate a payment with Amigo – from here on StepChange or Payplan can deal with them.
If they insist this will incur arrears then send them a new complaint!
honey says
Hi Sara
yes i wiil do that , Thank you xx
Becqui Lewis says
Hi sara amigo have now agrees with FOS that they will uphold loan 2,3 guarantor received his money back now may account currently sits at 9953 outstanding.
Amigo have 4 weeks to give me redress can you possibly work the figures out for me please.
Loan 1 not uphelp
5,000
Paid 197.63 × 18
Loan 2 upheld
Topped up to 5750
Received 1000 payout
Paid 10× 227.27
Loan 3 topped up to 10000
Payout 4,300
Paid 395.85 × 22
Thankyou Sara
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how much did your guarantor receive?
the Paid 10× 227.27 and Paid 395.85 × 22 does this include the amounts your guarantor paid or is it the amounts you paid?
are you saying FOS said loan 1 should not be upheld? or that Amigo made a new offer to you to include loan 2?
Becqui Lewis says
Fos said amigo had offered loan 2+3 as unaffordable and FOS didn’t say anything about loan 1.
Tbh I just want it over now. My guarantor recieved 10500 with the interest.
All these payments are what I have paid
Should I have asked my adjucator to look at loan 1?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well the problem is, there is likely to be a large deduction for unpaid interest still…
The interest you have paid on these three loans is as follows:
loan 1 £3,296
loan 2 £2,220
loan 3 no interest paid, still £1,310 to go before you have repaid the 10k borrowed
So if all three loans were upheld, that would be the last loan wiped and a refund of £4206.
If the 2nd and 3rd loans are upheld and there is no deduction for unpaid interest, you should have the last loan wiped and a refund of £910.
But I have no idea how large the deduction for unpaid interest will be. You may still owe them money.
Becqui Lewis says
Oh well that just burst my bubble 😔 I have messaged the adjucator to see if they can still look at loan 1.
I would be happy if they didn’t add the unpaid interest but ive paid them more than they have given me. Just with they would be fair with people!
Thankyou for your help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am guessing they will add unpaid interest – you have to wait for the figures to be sure. But most of the interest you paid is in that first loan, so you really want it included.
jack says
Hi,
Does anyone have bamboo complaints number?
Thanks
Jack
Mark says
Good Morning Sara,
The FOS have upheld my complaint with TFS, im sure I read somewhere that TFS have never accepted the adjudicators decision is that still correct?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
We don’t see many TFS complaints. – I hope they agree with yours.
Scott says
I’m the same, adjudicator has ruled in my favour but tfs are trying to delay asking for extra time and then asking the FOS for bank statements etc which I have already supplied. I’ll let you know if I hear anything else but I can see it having to go to the ombudsman
Andrea says
Same here so far adjudicator ruled against the 6 year rule 2 months on still waiting for them to reply, they missed the first deadline, came back and said 25th sept( month after our deadline) and still heard nothing. TFS could give Amigo a ru for there money right now.
Darren Stocks says
Hi Sara, thank you to you and the website, i used the complaint template as a customer for my amigo loan. And i received nearly 6k knocked off my loan, so only 2 more payments and then its finished..
I also did the same template for George Banco and received £1800 cash refund.. so thank you once again,
Reece Evans says
Hi Sara, I have made an affordability complain to Amigo Loans for a loan I took out in 2017 for £10,000, They have decided not to uphold this and I have sent it to the FO, I used your template to also request my data which it has now been 66 days and still nothing – has anyone else had any problems with this? also any advice at all? I have also taken it to the ICO who have a 12 week wait.
Clive says
Hi Sara I have just had an email from uk credit asking me if my Dsar is reliant on wether my complaint is upheld. What does this mean it says simply reply yes or no and we will take care of the rest.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can reply that if your complaint is upheld in full [add for all loans if you had more than 1] and your guarantor is released [ you onll need to add this if you have a current loan] then you will not require the DSAR.
But say you require the DSAR if they reject any part of your complaint.
Sandra says
I rang fos this morning as my complaint has been in with them since start of August they told me it’s just waiting for an adjudicator to pick up and could take up to six months, is anyone in a similar situation I know a lot of people have had long waits but six months seems an awful long time
Kyle says
I’m on priority and I sent mine into them in March I think it was and they only just last week picked it up. So you could be in for a very long wait. I feel bad for them, there are so many cases they have to get through. 6 months sounds about right. Now does anyone know how long it takes after they pick up a case roughly?
Steph Boyden says
I’ve now been waiting on FOS since July 2019 despite my case being a priority. This is with Trust Two not Amigo though
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is this now in a queue for an Ombudsman? When was the adjudicator decision?
DC says
I am still waiting for amigo to clear my balance and refund me and this Friday will be the 20 working days timeframe they gave me… is this usual and has anyone else been waiting for payment from them? Bit worries as I have other commitments and that money is going to help massively
Hayley says
Yep I’m on working day 13 even though they are acting strange when I call and won’t tell me all they say it’s strange you should have got it within 10 days so we will look into it
Claire Ellington says
Hi Sara,
Bamboo Rejected my complaint and it is now under review at the FOS Bamboo have now sent me an email offering me a good Will gesture of £500, has anyone else had this at all?
Thanks
Claire
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes they seem to play these games.
See https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/comment-page-58/#comment-388765
https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/comment-page-58/#comment-387836
and there are a few more as well.
DM says
I had my initial complaint rejected earlier this year and sent to FOS (was already in payment arrangement). Had a generic email from FOS a few weeks later saying it could be a few months before they picked up but the following week had an e-mail from bamboo stating that they had been in contact with FOS (but still believed they had done the appropriate checks) and as good will removed the £6k + interest they had lumped on when passed to lantern debt collection. Then followed up and they agreed to remove the negative marks . I did not get an interim offer but for £500 would suggest you keep going unless you have already paid off the loan and don’t have any other debts a better result could pay off or reduce what they say you currently owe
Claire Ellington says
Thank you, I have already paid my load off, I have decline the offer as I have paid over 6k in interest I will let the FOS decide now, Thanks :)
LEE says
So I’ve yet to hear from Ombudsman and I’ve had breathing space in place with Amigo which ends in December. Already done an income and expenditure form and am moving house so rent and council tax are increasing as a result. Rang them to inform them today and I was told repeatedly they could take action against me if they’re not satisfied with the reduced amount I’m offering to pay and breaching my contractual payments of £365 which was in place before my affordability complaint was partially upheld in July. I’m making a small payment in November but the expectation is I make £365 in December (not happening!) Surely if I’m communicating with them proactively and making an offer of payment they can’t threaten me with potential ‘action’. Bloke I spoke to was rather harsh I thought. Guarantor has been removed therefore I said I’d look to add to my DMP, he then followed up with ‘doesn’t mean we would accept the DMP offer from our end.’ I feel naffed off. Thanks Amigo for culturing some extra
anxiety!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Tell your DMP provider that you want the Amigo loan included and ask them to communicate with Amigo in future.
What are Amigo going to do if they don’t “accept your DMP offer”? This is a bog standard loan now, there is no reason why they should be prioritised over your other creditors. They are just trying to get more money out of you and are in breach of the FCA’s CONC 7 rules.
Cathy says
Hi Sara
Following your advice on this amazing forum my son successfully had his guarantor complaint upheld with the FOS. Despite the FOS delivering their decision on 15 July 2020. The deadline for Amigo to accept the decision came and went, it took the adjudicator at FOS to intervene again for Amigo to review and get accept the FOS findings. Amigo sent him an email on 19 August 2020 removing his liability as a guarantor and making him an offer to refund all the payments he had make. He called them the next day to accept their offer and confirm his bank details. He has made several phone calls to ask about the refund only to be told it takes 35 working days ( yes 7 weeks) to process the refund. I am not sure why it takes so long, after all the redress had been calculated, his bank account had not changed form the account they paid the original loan into, additionally he has confirmed his bank account details at least 3 times since August.
Today he had a different conversation, he was told by Amigo the the FCA has given them permission to pause all guarantor loan refunds and to await further information.
Can you shed any light on this? He has it in writing that his liability as guarantor has been removed. Can Amigo rescind that and reinstated his liability?
Any advise would be gratefully received.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I was under the impression they had only paused case where they had not already made an offer to settle. I suggest you talk to FOS about this.
Steven Smith says
Hi Sarah,
Is this just FOC cases that have been paused?
It’s 8 weeks tomorrow since I made my claim so I’m expecting word, is it these cases that are paused or FOC cases?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think it is all of them.
Simon says
FCA are saying there are no rules around refund to guarantor being made and then balance being piled back onto the borrowers. The FOS have now told me mine was calculated incorrectly and they have contacted Amigo about this. As a business they acted irresponsibly, they should have to foot the cost of that refund and if it means they still owe the borrower money then they should be paying it. I will be commencing with court action if not as they have been deemed to have acted irresponsibly but I’m now stuck with a balance £10,000 higher through winning a complaint. Amigo are not losing out much if they are dumping guarantor payout back onto the person who won the complaint.
Nikki Mouse 22 says
Hello i message on here last week , i finally got my figures with the 20% included , does this look right to you Sara?
They said they are looking to have my refund in my account tomorrow so fingers crossed they do.
I am appealing the first loan and unpaid interest at the FOS still.
Thank you for all the help you give i couldn’t of done this without you and the help of this page.
“I can confirm that your total redress amount is broken down as follows:
Total Interest: £ 5,320.82
8% Simple Interest (After Tax Deduction): £ 2,306.82
20% basic rate tax deduction on 8% simple interest: £ 576.70
Fees and / or charges: £ 30.00
Unpaid Interest from non-upheld loans: £ 411.03
Total Redress Payable: £7,246.61”
Nikki Mouse 22 says
I phoned this afternoon and a lovely lady who was very helpful managed to get me my payment into the bank today at 5:30pm.
So that’s £7,246.61 better off and a lesson learned.
I have contacted FOS to update them and to still appeal the first loan and unpaid interest of £411.03 i was charged.
Thank You so much for all your help and Good Luck everyone.
Hayley says
Hi who did you speak to and do you have the number you called? I’m awaiting my payment and could really do with it to clear rent arrears as facing eviction. They told me 10 working days and it’s now 13 and no one is helping me :(
Ky says
Hi Sara
I’d just like to thank you & this site for all your help I submitted an affordability complaint in August and today my 10k loan has been wiped & I’ve received just under 7k In my account tonight honest feel like a massive weights been lifted after paying these loans since 2010 never again will I ever be so stupid x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is Amigo?
Are you going to query the unpaid interest deduction?
KY says
Yes this was Amigo, yes I will be definitely trying to get the unpaid interest back plus the original loan that wasn’t upheld.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good! Nice to be able to that from a position of safety.
Ryan says
Hey wondering if you can help , amigo got back too me ..saying I could afford my first loan £4000 in June 2017 which I paid £195 a month , but I got a top up of £5000 in Nov 207 which wasn’t actually another £5000 was like £1100 because the rest was used too pay of the first loan …the second loan the payments were £197 which has been upheld …they have offered me a redress of £2500 , but saying I will still owe a balance of £1300 surely this can’t be right if there wiping all interested …if all In amigo gave me about £5000 and I’ve gave them about £7000 back in payments ? Any thoughts …thanks in advance Sara.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In the numbers they have given you, is there a line which says”unpaid interest”?
Ryan says
Yes it says £2200 on that bit .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, this is a deduction that Amigo are making – Amigo are saying as they shouldn’t have given you the top up, you still owe them interst for the first loan!!!
i think is unfair. there are quite a few complaints at the the Ombudsman about it.
I assume Amigo have released your guarantor?
Do you think the first loan actually was affordable?
Ryan says
Yeah they released the guarantor , at the time I was in a DMP and bad with gambling . Do you think I should be happy with what they offer or continue with my complaint ? Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then it sounds as though the first was unaffordable.
i suggest you tell Amigo that you think the first loan was unaffordable and the unpaid interest deduction is unfair and you will be sending your complaint to the finacial Ombudsman,
What is the rest of your financial situation like at the moment? do you have other problem debts?
Ryan says
Yes I owe alot of payday loans money and stuff
Emma says
Hi Sara
I have had the following from Amigo:
02/12/2011 £1,100 36 Months
07/05/2014 £3,500 60 Months
06/01/2016 £4,000 60 Months
08/04/2017 £6,750 48 Months
02/06/2017 £9,000 60 Months
22/08/2017 £10,000 6 Months
I cleared the £10,000 balance in March 2019 via a loan my guarantor agreed to take out via Barclays which I repay monthly still and I’ve also entered into an IVA. The 8 weeks have passed with Amigo and no redress offer. They have advised when I called to chase that guarantor payments are under review and my complaint is on hold until Amigo has reached a resolve with FCA. Is this something you are aware of?
Thanks
Emma
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, Amigo seems to have put a hold on all cases where the guarantor made a payment as some people have objected to the process.
But can I ask about your IVA? How large are your debts? How much are you paying the IVA each month? When did this start? Does your IVA firm know you are repaying your guarantor for the Barclays loan?
Any refund is highly likely to be sent to your IVA firm and not to you. It would have been much better if you had not complained to Amigo at all but your guarantor had.
Emma says
Thank you. I was thinking of a amigo paying this into my guarantors account if this is an option? To settle the majority of the loan as it’s a over a year in already. The IVA totals at £14K and started 31/07/2019 and they are aware of the repayments yes. My IVA is £311 every month and I’m over a year into that too.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is a great pity that your guarantor did not make the complaint, not you.
At the moment it is uncertain what Amigo will do if your complaint is upheld.
I also do not know what will happen to your IVA if the refund goes to you or indeed of it goes to your guarantor.
Can you suggest that your guarantor lodges a complaint now? See https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/. they can complain that the loan was unaffordable for you, the borrower. And if they could not have paid the repayments themselves out of their income and still paid their own debts, bills and expenses, they can complain the loan was unaffordable for them.
Steven says
Hi Sara,
I put in a claim to Amigo loans 8 weeks today. I nudged them with an email last week and they replied that some cases are more complex than other but should it run over the advised 8 weeks then I would Receive an email advising me of this.
Should I be calling them today or give them more time to respond?
Thanks, Steven.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would wait until tomorrow!
Has your guarantor made any payments?
Mr Chris Hill says
Hi Sara,
Thank for all your great advice on this page. I have just had an email from the FOS saying 3 of my loans are being upheld, so all the interest plus 8% is to be removed/paid back. Is there any way you could work out what that might be from these figures?
Thanks again,
Chris.
24/09/2018 – £2k
In September 2018, you approved Mr Hill for a loan of £2,000, over 12 months with monthly repayments of £206.12
22/03/2019 – £3434
In March 2019, you approved Mr Hill for a loan of £5,000, over 24 months with monthly repayments of £309.08
07/10/2020 – £4262
In October 2019, you approved Mr Hill for a loan of £8.750, over 36 months with monthly repayments of £426.91.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is the lender?
what are these figures:
– 22/03/2019 – £3434
– 07/10/2020 – £4262
how many monthly payments have you made to each of the loans?
Mr Chris Hill says
Sorry, those figures were what I received after paying off the remainder of the previous loans.
I made 7 payments on the first loan, and 7 on the second.
and I’ve made 10 payments on loan 3.
And the lender is Amigo
Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then on those numbers Your have paid the following interest:
loan 1 £1,008
loan 2 £1,651
loan 3 no interest paid so far, still £4,490 to pay until loan repaid.
If all three loans are upheld, the interest from the first two would be used to reduce the balance owing on the last one to £1,831.
Sean says
Had my claim rejected by amigo about 2)3 months ago so sent off to the ombudsman and still they haven’t picked case up are most people waiting 2/3 months for them to pick there case up aswell
Andrea says
Was about 5-6 months before mine was picked up
Becky says
Please can I ask anybody who has had their case prioritised.. once you were issued a case handler, how long did it take before you got a decision?
Thank you.
Kyle says
I’m wanting the same answer too hahah :) apparently according to google, and not based on priority, normally takes 90 days, but can be more, so maybe it’s around that time.
Sandra says
I send my complaint to
Fos the 17th of August they told me it can take 6 months before anyone would pick it up, I rang the other day they do say ring every two weeks and they told me on the phone that it’s waiting for a handler to pick it up, I then had a email two days ago to say they have my case and that are waiting for it to picked up, so it’s juts a waiting game I put my complaint in with amigo the 24th of June.
Lynsey says
Thanks for all your advice. I have received over £13,000 after paying off my existing loan. I have now paid off all my debts… what a great feeling! 😊
Stacey says
Hi,
I recieved my Redress offer from Amigo on 6th October, i accepted the offer on the 7th October. My loan is going to be wiped and i am due a cash refund of 3094.00. They advised my refund would be processed on 10 days. Just wondered if this time scale was normal? Has anyone been told this then been paid before the 10 days were up?
Vicki says
I accepted my redress offer on 30th September. I was informed the refund would take 10 working days…the money was in my account at 6.01pm on 7th October.
Stacey says
You didn’t have to wait to long then..
Im hoping i will recieve mine next week as im really struggling at the moment and this money will help me out massively!
Vicki says
Keeping everything crossed for you!
Cathy says
Hi Sara
There does appear to be conflicting information. Some people appear to be offered redress and are paid almost immediately, congrats Vicky, i am so please that your nightmare has ended, yet others are caught up in the dispute with FCA and have had their redress payment put on hold. Is there any reason for this, or does it come down to who you talk to in Amigo?
I have emailed my son’s FOS adjudicator to advise that has happened and ask her to look into it. I am waiting on a reply.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is a big random element.
But it seems clear that in the last couple of months Amigo have halted all decisions on cases involving the guarantor having made payments – most cases where a decision had been agreed before the halt are being paid out though.
David says
Hi I needs some advice in March 2014 I took a loan out 3750 and payments were 182.96 made 16 payments then on 8 Aug top it to 4000 in aug 20015 and payments were 195.16 and made 9 payments then top it into 4750 may 2016 and payments were 187.74 and I made 42 payments the first 2 loans I had with them I was in debt with payday loans
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you put in a complaint?
David says
No not yet but thinking about it cause me so much stress and dont want my upset garetuer but he has not made any payments to any loan I took out. I’ve just struggled with it for long time and I didn’t think I could but in unfordable acclaim when I tried to work it I think I’ve paid to much to then and I’ve still got a balance of 2670 my next payment due on the 15 of this month than it goes back to 2456
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Putting in a complaint won’t affect your guarantor if he hasn’t made any payments.
Do you know how much cash you received from each of the two top-up loans? If you do, I can work out how much interest you have paid on each loan.
David says
Amigo
24 march 15 £3750 36m payments 182.96 x15
19 may 16 £4000 36m payments 195.16 x10
Recieved £994.24
24 may 17 £4750 60m payments 187.74 x42
Recieved £1306.96
Sara (Debt Camel) says
On thoase numbers i make the interest you have already paid as follows:
loan 1 £1,986
loan 2 £1,394
loan 3 £3,104
So if all three loans are upheld as unaffordable, then the balance on the current loan would be wiped and you would receive a £6,484 refund (plus some 8% interest but that wont be much.)
You still need to keep paying the current loan after you complain if you don’t want your guarantor to be contacted. These complaints can take a long while to go through if Amigo rejects and it has to go to thye Ombudsman.
laura says
how longs it take for a case to get picked up from fos mines has been in from 26th august anyone any ideas
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think FOS may have received a lot (thousands?) of complaints in August and September. Sorry, we don’t know how long these will take to go through.
Jack says
Hi,
Just had a phone call from amigo to say all loans that the guarantor May of paid any payments towards has been paused due to speaking to the regulators. They are saying if the guarantor made any payments they would speak to them and ask do they want to be refunded if they say yes it would then open up a new loan for the borrower , but if you have paid your guarantor the money and they agree to it it won’t effect your case.
Anyone else had this?
Jack
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Just had a phone call from amigo to say all loans that the guarantor May of paid any payments towards has been paused due to speaking to the regulators.
That seems to be what is happening at the moment.
They are saying if the guarantor made any payments they would speak to them and ask do they want to be refunded if they say yes it would then open up a new loan for the borrower , but if you have paid your guarantor the money and they agree to it it won’t effect your case.
Is this Amigo just trying to explain what the issue being discussed is?
Or were they suggesting some situation in which your case could be looked at now?
Jack says
I think it’s the issue being discussed , my guarantor made about 3 payments which I paid him back, surely they can’t get out of this one….
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is your guarantor prepared to write to Amigo and say now that they have no interest in a refund?
I don’t know if this could speed things up.
Sara
Jack says
Hi,
I got him to email to say any payments he had made I have paid him back in full, let’s see what they come back with.
It’s been 11 weeks and still haven’t had a final answer.
Cheers
Jack
Sam says
Evening all.
Submitted my complaint via Resolver 19th June.
Still not had a final response desite many nudges and emails from me.
Is this normal? Seems awfuly long compared to some.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
this is to Amigo? Have you sent it to the Financial Ombudsman?
Amigo have said they will have “sorted out the backlog” by which i think they mean they will have replied to everyone whose complaint was received more than 8 weeks ago, by the end of October.
Sam says
Hi.
Yeah sent to amigo. And forwarded to FOS as of last week due to time taken to respond. Guessing this isnt the normal wait time? Ive been as paitent as i can but its becoming a joke. Nearly 4 months
kevin gould says
i finished paying my loan 2 years ago and complained about the amount of interest, everything was accepted and my guarantor accepted the offer they came up with and said it will be paid by the 13th, my gurantor called today and they have said that the FCA have put all claims on hold …is this true?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
All claims involving payments to the guarantor have been placed on hold. It’s not clear to me if the FCA asked for this or if it’s Amigo’s idea.
Han says
I am in the process of typing a complaint letter to amigo as I believe loans were mis sold to me due to my poor financial situation, gambling problem, reliance on pay day loans etc. However, my guarantor, (my mum), paid the final balance of the loan – I have had to pay her back in full. I have seen your comments about refunds being halted when guarantors have made payments. How do you suggest I proceed as I have not yet submitted the complaint.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
These complaints are paused while there are discussions about what the refunds should be when the guarantor has made some payments or, as with your mum, paid off the balance.
Was your mum able to pay this off from her savings or did she have to get a loan to do this?
Have you paid her back for this?
Han says
Yes I’ve paid her back. She had to use a credit card to pay it off.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Two questions.
Did you have other Amigo loans before the last one yiur mum paid?
Were the loan repayments unaffordable for her?
Han says
Yes I had 2 amigo loans prior to the one my mum repaid. The final loan was for £5000. I made 29 payments of £244. Then my mum paid the remaining £1397
Yes the loan repayments would have been unaffordable for her however she wasn’t in the same poor financial situation that I was in (spiralling debts and gambling)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK so just fore the last laon, you had paid a couple of thousand in interest even before your mum settled it.
Because Amigo and FOS and the FCA are ina tangle at the moment about how refunds should be handled when there is a guarantor, it’s not possible for me to say which of the three options (you complain, your mum complains, you both complain) will work out best between you.
But it sounds as though you two are getting on OK and just want the best between you? So if you mum got more of a refund and you got less, she would help you out as you have repaid her?
On that basis I think the simple think is for you both to send Amigo a complaint seperately. Your use the template here to say the loan was unaffordable for you. And she can use the template on the guarantor page https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/ to say the loan =was unaffordable for you AND the loan was unaffordable for her.
Han says
Thanks very much, will let you know how I get on
Claire says
I have (had) amigo loans,my guarantor had taken a loan to clear balance,and I unknowingly was paying the same amount to the bank loan, anyway, amigo has paid the guarantor his refund back,I was given a offer which I accepted,but my letter didn’t seem right as it said my guarantor hadn’t accepted his refund we had.i had phoned numerous times for update on payment date and if my letter was correct I was told yes everything right we have new system.then I call today almost 5months of starting my claim to be told my calculation is incorrect and I will have a balance to pay. I feel sick I’m suffering with mental health my medication has bee upped and now this.
I know have to wait however long for a casehandler to relook at my case.any advice would be appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you should tell FOS that in addition to your claim against Amigo for unaffordable lending, you also think you have been put through an unreasonable amount of stress and delay by their complaint handling and you would like some compensation for that.
Claire says
Thank you,it just very unfair way of working,I get they have thousands of complaints they are handling but they should be making sure everyone’s case is correct.
Stacey says
I had my redress offer on the 6th Oct, accepted on the 7th! I logged on my Amigo Account today and my 2500.00 loan has gone to -3100.00! So looks like my loan has now been cleared, hoping it won’t be to long now til i get my Cash Refund. Anyone who experienced the same know how long til refund hits bank once account gone into minus?
Jim says
Hi Stacey, I am in the same boat now my account is closed and gone into minus have you been paid out yet?
Faby says
Hi Sara I’ve had a loan from
Amigo for 7500 and believe I can claim
Back my interest and money I’m the borrower what do I need to do to get the ball rolling
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Faby,
If you read the article above, it explains what an affordability complaint is. £7500 is a large loan and the repayments must have been high… so could you pay them and still pay your other debts, bills and normal expenses? Or has this meant you have had to borrow more/get behind with bills?
If you think the loan was “Unaffordable” and Amigo should have realised this if they had looked in detail at your situation at the start, then the article has a template you can use to send them a complaint.
Cathy says
Hi Sara
Having been told by Amigo Loans on 7 October that all guarantor loan refunds were on hold pending a decision by FCA, my son unexpectedly received his redress on Friday 9 October. No email or letter just a lovely surprise when he accessed his online account. It does appear that Amigo are in total disarray. Our nightmare is over. Good Luck to everybody still going through the process.
I am so glad that I found this amazing website, thank you Sara for all the time and effort you put into steering people through the process.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is surprising, but great news for your son.
Andrew says
Hi Cathy
If you don’t mind could you possibly tell us how many payments you made towards your sons loan(s).
Cathy says
Hi Andrew
Yes, he made 3 payments. He was conned into being a guarantor for a so called ‘friend’. It caused massive problems between them, his friend up and left leaving the debt to my son.
Matt says
Hi Sara !
What do you know about complains that didn’t involved payments from guarantors?
I’ve made a complain on 20th august , I should receive the answer this week and I was wondering if is still a hope to receive an offer.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So far as I know, it’s only the complaints where there are payments from the guarantors that are being held up. Everyone else should get a response within 8 weeks – and by the end of october at the latest. Fingers crossed for you!
David says
Hi Sara
Well I put my affordability complaint in on the 12 of this month to there amigo claim teams so long will they reply to my email will be 30days or 8 weeks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They have 8 weeks to reply.
John says
Hi Sara,
I’ve received an offer from Amigo, it was a £5000 loan over 5 years, not a top up. I paid back £8900 and settled the account due to an unexpected inheritance and they’ve offered to refund me the interest paid with 8% on top for the last two years.
So total interest owed back to me would be c.£4.5k. They sent me the offer which does show that but then they’ve got a large unpaid interest line of £2.9k, meaning I’d only get back £1.6k. Does this seem right? This was only a single loan and not a top up and the loan was settled so how can I not get back the interest I paid?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds as though they have made an error. Go back and point out to them you only had one loan so the £2900 unpaid interest deduction looks like a mistake.
nicola says
Hi,
I received email from FOS to say Amigo would be in touch with a final figure of redress for my 2 loans, they gave time frame of 4 weeks, it’s now 6 weeks and nothing from Amigo, anyone else in the same boat? or have any time scale of redress figure being sent from amigo
Andrew says
Have you contacted your adjudicator? I have the same email from the fos that I should receive a offer by the 28th of October. She said if you haven’t heard from them to email her straight away.
DM84 says
Hi Nicola,
Yes, I was told to get back in touch with the FOS if I have received no figure from Amigo after 6 weeks (its nearly been 6).
I have sent a few emails with no reply and I phone call last week where the customer service rep said she would chase it up.
Haven’t heard back from either. The person on the call said if it went to the FOS it takes longer. I dont know why.
Andrew says
Hi DM84
Why did the fos say 6 weeks? My investigator from the fos stated that all complaints of this type should be dealt with within 28 days as the fos need confirmation they are actually dealing with the matter in hand.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Amigo have been progressing a LOT of cases – like thousands – as fast as possible. Letting them get on with the settlements may well be the fastest way to get as many settled as fast as possible. Annoying for people whose cases seem to be taking longer though.
DM84 says
Hi Andrew,
I received the below:
Amigo has confirmed that they agree with how I think your complaint should be sorted out. I’ve asked Amigo Loans Ltd to contact you directly to settle the complaint in the way we agreed. So I won’t do anything more unless I hear from you.
But if you don’t hear from Amigo Loans Ltd within the next six weeks – or there are any problems – please let me know.
staci says
hi – has anyone had their redress figure and it been in correct?
thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
lots of people!
Emma says
Well after nearly 2 years from my first complaint to George Banco, the ombudsman has NOT upheld my case.
The ombudsman said although he agreed they did not carry out enough checks,from looking at my bank statements he said it wouldn’t have made a difference.
I tried to explain that some bills just weren’t paid and utilities were paid in cash as pay as you go. But the ombudsman still did not agree.
Oh well at least it’s over and I have paid the loan off.
Sophie says
I’ve been waiting 17 weeks for the illusive redress figures. Mine is more complex though as it was so unaffordable it ended up in court, and sold to Intrum being paid at £5 per month. Before that though, I only made 1 of the payments, and my mum paid 23 of the payments back in 2010 so think she should get about £4’500 back. Ive emailed to find out if the new checks on guarantor refund complaints effects mine as they had already offered to refund. Seems never ending… My adjudicator says she can’t do anything. Amigo reply maybe once a week, apparently its with the ‘redress team’ now…
Ruth says
Hi Sara,
I’m also in the queue of people waiting to hear back from Amigo. Recieved a generic email Monday acknowledging they had gone over the 8 week deadline but hoping to get to me a reply soon etc.
My guarantor has made 3 payments which I have paid him back…has anyone had any luck speeding up the process getting the guarantor to contact Amigo? Thankyou
Sara (Debt Camel) says
People are just starting to try this. I can’t see it will do any harm asking.
Kim Winstanley says
Hi sara, I’m still waiting to hear about the unpaid interest with amigo from the FOS has anyone heard anything back yet about this do we know. I’m supposed to start paying amigo again at the end of this month and I’m packicking now as I’ve had my hours cut at work and just had to have 2 weeks off isolating which means SSP for me at the end of the month
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think FOS are looking at some cases for both the unpaid interest and the payments by guarantors issues. I don’t think any decisions have yet been made.
Apart from this Amigo balance, which you wouldn’t owe if it wasn’t for the unpaid interest, what are the rest of your finances like?
Kim Winstanley says
Weve got a credit card and I’ve got 2 catalogues, only small balances though but due to furlough we are now paying more rent and I expect to be contacted about the council tax soon too. I’m earning about £200 a month less than I was before lockdown and paying more rent out
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, so the simplest option would be to talk to StepChange about a debt management plan for the credi card, catalogues and the remaining balance of the Amigo loan. When the Amigo case is resolved, that hopefully will pay off a lot of the DMp speeding up paying out the rest.
Your other options is to either offer Amigo a low payment you can afford or to refuse to pay them anything, in which case you are going to get opushed a lot, but with a complaint open at FOS and them already having admitted the curent loan is unaffordable, there probably isn’t much they can do except write you cross letters and emails.
DC says
Hi Sara,
I am wondering if you can help with this but i am getting really frustrated with Amigo.
my investigator emailed me with an offer from amigo on 11th September to which i accepted and amigo said the funds would be released to my account within 20 working days. the last day was last Friday and shock… no payment received. I called them on Monday this week and the complaints team said that the FOS team within Amigo have to get figures across to me but i have already received these and accepted through my investigator?
It seems like it is getting dragged out for no reason whatsoever seeing as i have had my redress amount from my investigator at the ombudsman?
Can you advise on what i should do?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Phone Amigo everyday and be a nuisance?
Have you left a bad review on Trust Pilot? https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/amigoloans.co.uk?
DC says
Hi Sara,
I am doing and going through to the Complaints department everyday. they just keep saying the same thing “the redress team have come back saying the figures are ready to be sent, they are just waiting for the FOS team their end”
Andrew says
Hi Sara a bit of help please. Amigo told the fos that it was upholding my complaint. I excepted there offer all interest and charges to be refunded. I’ve just spoken to amigo and they have said my redress might be on hold due to the fact I used my mams card twice also my guarantor. They also said that I need to keep making my monthly payments in the mean time while this is sorted.
I spoke to you earlier and my redress should be around the 3k mark. I obviously can’t afford to make these payments £256. So what can I actually do if my complaint is on hold. My guarantor has been released from any responsibility.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
From what you said before, you mum was your guarantor and you paid 2 lots of £256 with her card, but you had already given her the money for this.
It sounds like the maximum reduction in your refund would be £512, so you are never going to end up owing them money even in the worse case. In this case, I suggest you stop paying – what are they going to do if you do? Apart from send cross emails?
Would your mum be prepared to send them an email saying you have already repaid her that money and she doesn’t want any refund from Amigo?
Andrew says
Hi Sara
I’ve received a email from my investigator today and in it she states because my guarantor has been unwound so all payments she made will be refunded to her. Obviously this isn’t a problem on my side but my concern is amigo putting the redress on hold completely.
So the question is if they put it on hold can I say refund my guarantor and take the monies paid to her off my redress or will they not entertain this?.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You are asking me to guess what may happen.
For what it’s worth (and there is NO EXPERIENCE to go on here) my instinct says that it would be easier if your guarantor was to say clearly she had been refunded by you and had no claim over any redress.
Andrew says
Hi Sara
My mam has emailed amigo to state that all payments made by her has been settled directly with me and that she is not owed any monies.
If I completely stop payments to amigo can they take further action ie defaults etc or even ccj if it goes that far. Or because my complaint has been upheld they can’t actually do anything bar put my account in arrears.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“If I completely stop payments to amigo can they take further action ie defaults etc or even ccj if it goes that far. Or because my complaint has been upheld they can’t actually do anything bar put my account in arrears.”
From what you have said, your situation is very simple. Amigo owe you money. Whether it is 3k or 3k less the £512 you mum paid, they still owe you money.
If they put a default on your account send them a new complaint and ask for it to be removed and for compensation. They would have to be insane to go to court – not only is it against FCA rules but if they did they would lose.
Andrew says
Hi Sara
Had word off amigo today that my complaint has been paused. All because of them 2 payments. They have said they are awaiting dialogue from the FCA as how to continue. I’ve contacted the FCA and they have declared they know absolutely nothing of this and have taken My details to conduct there own investigation. The lady I spoke to has forwarded what I said onto her supervisor. So are the FCA actually involved?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Some people at the FCA know something is happening. I am not much clearer than that. This isn’t specifically covered in the FCA rules, so it’s more down to how they will be interpreted by Amigo and by FOS.
NJ says
Hi Andrew I have received the same information from amigo
I’ve been waiting 17 weeks and still no final response and no contact from FOS despite raising it with them at the start of august
Andrew says
Hi nj
I’ve had a response in terms of my complaint and amigo have upheld it and told the fos that they will refund all interest and charges. It just seems mighty strange that they didn’t do any background checks on payments before they actually agreed to settle.
Mikey says
Hi All,
Started following this as I have put a complaint In.
My Loans:
10/12/2016: £5000 @ £197pm 6 Payments: £1182
Topup – 27/06/2017: £6000 @ £256pm 17 Payments: £4352
Topup – 2/11/2018: £6000 @ £256pm 5 Payments: 1280
Topup – 20/05/2019: £8500 @ £335pm 15 Payments: £5025 so far.
I am no in breathing space as of COVID.
Total borrowed: £8500
Total Paid to Amigos: £11839
Balance still owed: £8300
It makes me sick to think over the years I have still only paid £200 of a total lending of £8500.
To my complaint, I have had gambling problems through all the loans and also had around 16 short term Payday loans too as I have struggled financially since having these loans. Also my Guarantor who is now retired and has been for over a year would never be able to pay if for whatever reason I cant. I say I cant and that is because this is a guarantor its the first bill I pay! Lots of other debts taken the hit over the years as they will be able to see on my bank statements.
Do you think I will have a case? Obviously waiting for their findings, but its only now I am getting to grips with my finances as eventually I do want to buy a house. Are my calculations right? If upheld I would more than happy with just getting rid of this awful loan shark and starting to fix my credit history.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That’s a lot of borrowing.
Do you know how much you received in cash from each of the top ups?
Mikey says
1st loan – £5k
Top up 1 – around £1k
Top up 2 – around £1.5k
Top up 3 – around £2.7k
That’s from what I remember. The top ups just paid off the previous loan and gave me a little cash boost at the time 🙈
Will see if I can get the exact amount of bank statements etc when I get them. Emails are very vague back then on what you were getting and you can’t see passed the current loan in the my account section
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So on those figures, I make the interest paid on the first 3 loans as:
loan 1 £1,182
loan 2 £2,852
loan 3 £1,080
on the current loan you still have £3,475 to pay until you have repaid the amount borrowed.
if all the loans are upheld, the interest on the first 3 would clear that balance and give you a refund of £1,639. (plus a tiny bit of 8% interest)
If you have gambling showing on your bank statements, that, combined with the payday loans and all the top ups, makes this seem like a good case. If Amigo reject it, or only offer a refund on the last loan or something, i suggest you send it to the Ombudsman to look at.
You could also suggest that your guarantor could send in a complaint saying they cannot afford the repayments. £335 a month on a pension would be a lot! They have to be able to afford the payments and still pay their oen debts, bills and living ex-penses.
Mikey says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for your input. That’s roughly how I had seen it too. Complaints in now and I shall await the 8 weeks and see where it goes. Will update on here how I get on. Its quite refreshing possibly being debt free with no gambling as its a fresh start from my previous stupidity.
Thanks again
Mike
Steven says
Hi Sarah thank you for your help in getting as far as I’ve got. I received an offer of redress from amigo but I’m not sure I understand the numbers…. Loan was 10k over 60 months at £395.25 monthly, I made 5 payments (possibly 6) before putting my complaint in and stopping furthur payments. They have gave me an interest refund of £4657.42 which they have taken off my current balance of £12,681.17 leaving me a debt of £8023.75. Simply I’m not sure if this is correct as I only borrowed £10,000 and assumed the interest would come off this amount. Could you advise please
DM84 says
Hi Steven,
It is exactly right to the penny.
You still owe them 10k minus any payments already made.
You have made 5 X £395.25 in agreed monthly payments which equals £1976. 25
The remaining balance would be £10,000 – £1976.25 which equals £8,023.75
Hope this makes sense.
Steven says
You explained it better than they did. Thats fine as long as its correct I’m happy. Thank you again for all your help it has made a big difference to me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As DM84 says, the numbers look right.
With an outstanding loan, the interest is removed so you only have to pay the 10k borrowed. You have so far paid 1976 (if you made 5 payments) so that means you still have 8023 to go.
Was this your first loan from Amigo?
What are the rest of your finances like? Your guarantor should have been released?
Clairw says
Hi Sara, so today bamboo have offered me £1000 I have rejected this like I did the £500 they offered me last week ! As anyone else and this and then gone on to bamboo refunding the full amount of interest paid, thanks Claire :)
Ruth says
For anyone in the same situation, a response from Amigo after they missed the 8 week response to my complaint. Note my guarantor has helped with payments a couple of times and loan still outstanding. Sending to FOS in the meantime but yes looks to be another 4 weeks for their response.
“Thank you for your email. We write further to our previous correspondence to let you know that we are continuing with our investigation into your concerns.
As we are currently carrying out a high number of investigations, we have been unable to issue our final response or your DSAR to you. We apologise for the delay and we will write to you again when we have the results of our investigation into your complaint.
We anticipate, based on our current volumes, to be able to respond to your complaint in the next four weeks. However, we will endeavour to respond “sooner.
If you are dissatisfied with our progress you have the right to refer your complaint, free of charge, to the Financial Ombudsman Service
Shannon says
Hi sara,
I had a loan in 2018, one for 1500 then a top up for 5000, my father was garantour and took a bank loan to pay remainder of 2nd loan in one go, lower interest etc. I understand guarantor claims are on hold, but I will be happy for him to receive the payments he paid back rather than me receive any reimbursement. Hes since been taken ill and needs the current loan clearing. Ive seen in previous posts that the payments the G has made have been added onto the borrowers balance, however this loan was paid.in full in 2019 and in September of that year I filed for bankruptcy. Will I still be liable? As all my debts prior to date of bankrupcy are included.
Thanks shannon
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you made a complaint already?
Shannon says
Yes about 2 days ago. One for myself and one for my dad. As I say id rather him recoeve his payments back to clear his bank loan he cleared the amigo one with
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, there was no point in you making any complaint – any refund you get will get to the Official Receiver not you. Not much you can do now but there is no point in pushing this, so if Amigo reject it or are slow, don’t bother to send it to FOS. But
a) you want the Subject Access Request/Personal Information that you asked for if you used my template (did you?), so if that isn’t sent in a month ask them where it is
b) don’t try to cancel the complaint. Who knows what will happen to guarantor complaints, just let this one drift.
To answer your question, if Amigo reopen a loan so you owe money again, this would be included in your bankruptcy.
Your father’s complaint. When you took the loan out, could he have afforded all the repayments then? Could he have paid them all and still paid his normal debts, bills and living expenses? If not, then the loan was unafordable for him and he should complain about that. he should also compolain that the loan was unaffordable for you and this is where you getting the SAR info may help him. You can also supply him with a copy of your credit record (Transunion statutory credit report is best) and bank statements from 3 months before to 3 months after the last loan.
Can you check that he has complained about these two things?
His current financial problems – I’m sorry to hear he is now ill. Can you suggest that he takes debt advice about his options? He mustn’t assume that this Amigo complaint will succeed in the next couple of months, it may take a lot longer if this has to go to the Ombudsman. So he needs to get himself in a safe financial position while this goes through. I suggest he talks to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about his options.
Shannon says
I’ve was discharged from my bankruptcy September 2020, so nothing would be collecting from the official receiver would it? I’ve just received a refund from Another company for over payment i paid during my bankruptcy when payments should have ceased and that hasn’t gone to the official receiver its come to me because the discharge date has passed.
The loan was never affordable for me I was on benefits. £1000 a month, with rent to pay out of that and bills and food etc, had a £2300 credit card, a £500 overdraft and 10 defaults on my credit file from 2017. It was very obvious I was never in a sustainable position.
I sent the guarantor complaint for my father with him, it states I was never in a feasible position to pay the loan, and explained credit file etc. And my father never provided any proof of income and expenditure just an online questionnaire that they took as gospel. No checks were made. And absolutely nothing was checked for him or me when the top up loan was taken out, and the repayments were double the amount.
Hes had a stroke, so he’s off work at minute, hes managing, but obviously having this debt off his back would help, but he is coping at the minute…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Amigo loan was taken out before your bankruptcy. The right to make a Claim against Amigo was an asset you owned when you went bankrupt, even though you didn’t know it at that time. That asset became the property of the Official Receiver when you went bankrupt. Any refund from Amigo to you would go to the Official Receiver.
If Amigo never talked to him about your top up loan that is unusual but it would be. Very strong point in his complaint.
If he is struggling, please encourage him to take debt advice. Most creditors would be very sympathetic in that situation and allow him to make lower payments for a while.
Brandon C says
Anybody had the ombudsman make the decision on their complaint my guarantor had to raise the complaint to get refunded her payments towards the loan that myself had upheld for irresponsible lending it’s been with an adjucator since February they since have said it’s been passed on to another ombudsman for final decision on the findings the original adjucator had found in favour of my guarantor any timescales ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You are the only person I know in your particular odd situation.
Redress for all complaints involving guarantor payments is being paused while some test cases are being looked at. I suspect your complaint is now caught up with this problem.
clare says
Hi Everyone, I just wanted to let Sara know that Amigo upheld my third loan, but defended the first two. In haste I did accept their offer but have since gone to the Ombudsman not only about the first two loans but also the huge unpaid interest charge that was deducted from me. £2300!!
It has been with the ombudsman for a couple of weeks so not expecting anything back from them yet, but I wondered if anyone else has done the same?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think they have quite a few cases piling up about this.
Sandra says
I put mine in with fos
Around the start of August I ring every two weeks just for an update like I did today my guarantor had made no payments towards my loans and I’m still waiting for it to be assigned to an adjudicator, think we are all in for a long wait by the looks of things, to be honest I made all the payments myself even though I couldn’t afford it and it left me with nothing every month so it’s straight forward so I’m sure there must be a big backlog of complaints to still be waiting an adjudicator.
LEE says
Escalated mine in May and have been on the FOS waiting list since then :/
Kyle says
Mine was a huge amount also, my FO adjudicator has been assigned this to look into this “unpaid interest malarkey”, so just waiting for a decision to be made now. I will update you all when I get one, about the rough time scale and such. She started looking into it 3 weeks ago, I’m not sure how long priority cases take when being assessed, we shall see what she says. I, hoping for compensation too. They offered me around £380 back for their first offer and then I can’t remember the unpaid interest they added but it was proper high, I declined it.
Sophie says
With the guarantor refunds. If mine doesn’t want a refund and is happy me for me to have it, is that going to make a difference with them being on hold? I’m starting to tear my hair out, I’m 18 months in to my complaint and it seems to be one thing after another! Are they likely to stop refunding anyone who had a guarantor make payments? That would be totally unfair and just my luck.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have suggested that some people try asking their guarantor to say they do not want a refund. I don’t know if this is likely to work.
This is just a temporary pause until a decision is reached. There is no sign that these refunds are just going to stop.
Cathy says
Hi Sara
As you know my sons nightmare into this particular debacle ended last week when he received his redress. I can now read these post from a different less stressed perspective. Although it continues to make my blood boil how shabbily Amigo treat people. What I cannot understand is why the guarantor refunds have been paused. The issue is not with these payments. The complaint has been won and the guarantors are entitled to their money back. Had Amigo acted responsibly in the first place the guarantor would not have been put in this position, many of which were coerced and threatened. The issue, unless I have totally misunderstood the problem, is that Amigo have been refunding the guarantor and then dumping any payments the guarantor made back onto the borrower. I get that Amigo are probably panicking, after all if they have to foot the bill instead of passing it onto the borrower they may go under (oh what a pity). My point is, the allocation of the redress payments should be parked until a decision is made where it sits either with Amigo or the borrower. The guarantor’s refund should not be paused whilst Amigo and FCA thrash it out.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
My point is, the allocation of the redress payments should be parked until a decision is made where it sits either with Amigo or the borrower.
but what when the borrower can prove that he has repaid the guarantor in full? Should the guarantor still be refunded then by Amigo?
Cathy says
Not in my opinion and everybody is entitled to their own. If the guarantor has been repaid and the borrower can prove it, then they should not be compensated a second time. The majority of guarantor complaints (that have been documented on this forum) are from vulnerable people who should never have been accepted and have been bombarded and bullied by Amigo to make payment. This is usually under the threat of court action if they fail to fulfil a contract they did not fully understand and in many cases were coerced into signing.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well quite. But what if the borrower says they paid and the guarantor denies it? I am not saying this is common but it is just one example of the strange situations these horrible loans give rise to.
Simon says
They absolutely should be on hold. It has taken some of us alot of time to get the FOS and FCA to stand up and listen to what is happening. My guarantor received one of largest redress that Amigo will ever pay out but that then falls back onto me as the borrower. This is not how an upheld complaint should be resolved. There is no ruling to say they should do that. They as a business accepted they were loaning me money irresponsibly. Unfortunately they should take the hit and not put the guarantor repayment onto the borrowers balance. How can you have a balance £10,000 higher through winning an affordability complaint?
Becki says
Hi Sara
Me again! So we have finally received both guarantor and borrower final final offers from Amigo.
My guarantor accepted hers and is due a cash refund. I have accepted mine and consequently owe an outstanding balance to which my guarantor will cover with the refund.
Do you know of anyone who has any experience with regards to complaint about the balance?
It seems silly that they’re then willing to put the borrower back in the ‘worse position’ also I’m sure other borrowers don’t have a good relationship with their guarantor like I do.
Thanks,
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think there are quite a few complaints at the ombudsman about just this – where a borrower is left in a worse position than before they complained.
It’s up to you if you want to get FOS to look at your case. Or just settle things up between the two of you if you are on good terms.