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
Holly says
Hi guys , amigo deemed my complaint unaffordable and I accepted a reduced balance minus £200 I believe , I can’t now take to fos can I ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you just have the one loan? Can you say what you borrowed? How much you had paid to it? What Amigo changed your balance to?
Have Amigo agreed to accept a lower monthly payment?
Holly says
With great difficulty they accepted a lower payment the loan was for £1,500 and they’ve taken £200 off x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That £200 was the amount you paid them? If it was, and if this was your only loan, then this is a “full refund” and I am not sure how you could dispute it.
Jaz says
Hi Sara
I just had a email back from my adjudicator, they have responded back to Amigo now for the 2nd time. This was because Amigo declined the adjudicator 1st complaint they made to my favour, Amigo had sent some lengthy documents to the adjudicator, to why they disagree with their decision. It took a further 4 months to reply back to Amigo because of this. With further investigation the adjudicator reviewed everything to what Amigo had said, and replyed back to them saying their still strongly agree that they don’t think Amigo Loans have acted fairly. The loan was unaffordable for me and that looking into my bank statements it shows clearly. Amigo should’ve realised this if their had asked for my bank statements, and the ccj i had was ignored, and my income was lower than what I stated, plus my outgoing were not realistic to what it showed on my bank statements. Amigo has up to the 9th November to reply back. This has been going on since last year June 2019, I just wanted to know Sara if this still can be declined by Amigo as the adjudicator investigated this twice now and agreed 2nd time on my favour. If the adjudicator has looked into this carefully and carried out further investigation, and now have evidence this was unfordable and given irresponsible by Amigo. What are the chances I still got. It just feels like forever waiting and not getting any where. I really appreciate your time and the help you have given us thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes this can still be declined, in which case it goes to be looked at by an Ombudsman. But if FOS have already replied in detail to all Amigo’s point, they will hopefully accept this decision.
Jaz says
Hi Sara
Thanks for your reply Sara, fingers crossed, I hope their will agree. I had one more question Sara, My loan was £4250 pounds, my guarantor made about 6 payments towards the loan, then after 2 years my guarantor cleared off the loan, as the interest was to high, I then after payed off all the money to my guarantor, and their are ready to confirm this with Amigo. I was wondering will Amigo then pay me all the interest if my guarantor rejects the refund, as iv paid them back.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Settlements involving cases where the guarantor made payments are going very slow. If you can Get your guarantor to write to Amigo saying they have been refunded and don’t want a refund from Amigo, this may help.
Jaz says
Hi Sara
Thank you for your help Sara, I will get my guarantor to write to them and confirm this, thanks again for all the help.
DC says
Hi Sara,
looks like things are picking up with the accounts on hold with Guarantor payments – I got the following email today.
“Following your recent complaint with the Financial Ombudsman Service, we wanted to get back in contact with you today.
The Financial Ombudsman Service have confirmed that you have accepted Amigo’s offer of redress.
Your guarantor, ****, has made a payment towards the account. We have now removed your guarantor’s liability for the loan and have contacted them to ask whether they would like a refund of the payment they made towards the loan agreements. If your guarantor accepts the refund the loan balance will be updated accordingly, and you will be liable for this amount. If your guarantor does not respond within 14 days, we will assume that they do not wish to accept our refund offer and their payments will remain credited to the account.
We will send you a separate letter detailing the breakdown of the redress amount and confirm any outstanding balance or refund amount no later than five working days after 12th November.
Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance.”
I called and they are still going to wait the 14 days either way in case guarantor changes their mind.
Hopefully be getting some money back in the next 4 weeks then.
DC
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Interesting – so that is just back to what they did before.
DC says
They confirmed on the call that once the 14 days have passed they will get figures across (again) and payment will follow 10 days after accepting
Emma says
Can I ask how long from accepting the offer with FOS did Amigo get in touch? I am in the same position accepted the offer on Friday
Dan says
Hi Sara
Just looking for some advice. I made a complaint to bamboo loans as they gave me a loan with my dad as guarantor when I was on benefits and wasn’t able to afford. I paid back £2,500 of the loan and today I have received this from them, I am happy they hve written the loan off but I am wondering should I be able to receive some of the £2,500 back which I have paid? I just don’t want it to mess up them closing the account.
Thank you
RESPONSE
We are very sorry to hear of your circumstances, following a thorough investigation of your complaint, we have identified that there are sufficient grounds to support some of the claims that you have made and so have agreed to uphold your complaint.
We therefore agree to waive all of the £4,744.07 interest due under your current agreement, together with the interest paid on your first agreement of £99.72, a total amount of £4,843.79. To date we have received payments of £2,436.00 against the loan advance of £5,000.00. This means that, after the reduction, there would be a remaining balance of £2,464.28. However, we also agree to waive this remaining balance which means that your account can now be closed.
We also agree to remove your guarantor from this agreement from this point on. This means he will no longer be liable for the obligations as a guarantor.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you had two loans from them, the first one you only paid £99 of interest on. Presumably you topped this loon up very quickly with the current loan?
The second loan you have borrowed £5,000 and paid £2436 towards it. Correct?
The standard Ombudsman offer here would be to remove the interest from the cuurent loan which would leave you owing £2463.
But Bamboo have offered to write that off.
That is a very good offer from them, much more than most complaints would get from the Ombudsman who normally says people should repay the amount they borrowed, in your case £5000.
Unless you think some of their figures are wrong, for example you have repaid a lot more, then I think this is probably the best you can get.
Daniel says
Hi thank you very much for your reply. I will except this offer you don’t understand how good I feel with this lifted of my shoulders and it’s all thanks to you reading your posts thanks again.
James says
Hi Sara,
Firstly thank you in advance, you are really helping people here!
I have been reading the comments and had a question.
I took out a loan of £5,000 on September 2018 making payments of 243.95 pm.
Which is total – 24 x 243.95 = 5,854.8
I also took out a payout of £546.67 last year (when I was unemployed… sigh)
Still have to ‘pay’: £3,851.
I used your missold email layout and requested that amigo remove the interest and release my guarantor. However now that I have (in total) paid off the original amount, should I angle to get the full amount/refund and is that possible (worked for others)?
*have multiple loans and a terrible credit record
NJW says
I’ve just been on the phone to FOS who have told me that my Guarantour loan complaint is on hold as FOS have put on hold some high interest/long term loan complaints whilst they are reviewed at a senior level in order to make sure there is a consistent approach. The lady wouldn’t go into detail nor would she confirm how long this had been happening. This was in response to a service level complaint I had raised about timeliness so not sure how accurate it is
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Has your guarantor made any payments to the loan?
if not, can you say a bit about your case?
Njw says
No, my guarantor didn’t make a single payment, borrowed 7.5k from TFS loans, paid it all back. Raised affordability complaint, adjudicator found in my favour, TFS disagreed now in queue for ombudsman. I mad a service complaint regarding timeframes, it was handled badly they phoned me today and this was what they explained. Not sure that I buy it- she said it was not specifically guarantor loans but high cost loans
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No idea!
Ali says
Hi Sara, hope youre well
I submitted an affordability complaint to Amigo in May and received an email from them in August – where they didnt accept the complaint and it Wasnt upheld
Although I have sent it off to the FOS, and explained the case just as I did to Amigo I am worried I am not expressing myself correctly
I mean, there was Thousands of Pounds of gambling 3 months before and after the date I took out the Loan and the figure i gave Amigo as my income was incorrect as I was desperate, and there was no such income on my statements
Amigo only responded by saying “how could we have known your gambling problems if you didnt tell us” – i mean how can they not uphold when the statement clearly show these gambling transactions, and it has got me worrying that my case isnt strong, will FOS consider this as a strong case in your opinion
Thank you so much!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I wouldn’t worry about whether you have expressed your case as well as you could. You have sent FOS your bank statements and your credit record, so FOS have a good picture of your situation at the time you applied for the loan.
FOS has been upholding a large percentage of Amigo complaints – all those people had a rejection or a poor offer and were worried thus meant they had a poor case.
Andrew says
Hi everyone
Does anyone have a contact email address for a Gary Jenninson?. He’s apparently the new ceo of amigo loans. My redress according to amigo should be paid by next Friday and it it’s not (it won’t be) I’ll be sending a strongly worded Email. If That fails complaint to the FCA then if that fails I’m up a creek without a paddle.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Lots of people have been paid in the end, later than the date Amigo gave.
K R says
Hi I took out a loan in feb 2017 of £2000 made 3 payments of £97 before topping up in June 2017 for £4250 (so an extra £2250). Only made one payment of £207 and then topped up again in July 2017 £5250 (so another £1000) and made two payments of £324 (one of which was late). I then took out another top up of £6750 (so another £1500 extra) I have been paying that off regularly since then until April 2020. From May till now I haven’t been able to pay as I haven’t been working. However I’m starting to make payments again from October onwards. I have struggled with gambling addiction and has many defaults and late payments. Could you please guide me and let me know if I’ll be able to get the balance reduced?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Topping up that much should have shown Amigo that you were in trouble. Well worth a complaint and to send the case to the ombudsman if not upheld.
What is the rest of your financial position like at the moment? Are you getting help with the gambling?
What was your guarantor’s financial position at the time of the last top-up – could they really have afforded to make all the payments and still pay their own bills, debts and living expenses?
K R says
My guarantor is financially stable.. I have got help with gambling and I’ve stopped it now for quite a few months now.. I’m paying my bills off at the moment although some of them are late.. I still owe amigo £7100.. would they be able to reduce the amount and wipe of the interest?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If the last top up loan is upheld, the balance will reduced and your guarantor will be released. All interest is removed so you only have to pay the 6750 less what you have already paid to this last loan, which sounds a lot.
Any of the previous loans being upheld would then fursther reduce this balance. From what you have said you may well get all the top up loans upheld or even all the loans including the first.
If Amigo don’t uphold all the loan, look out for a deduction line which says “unpaid interest” – this is a new deduction Amigo invested a couple of months ago, not used by FOS. You can send the complaint to the Ombudsman and ask for this to be removed and the previous loan upheld as well.
K R says
Original loan: £2000
First top up cash amount: £2250
Second top up cash amount: £1000
Final top up cash amount: £1500
So far I’ve made 29 payments of £266.79
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you had a loan of 2000 and the next loan was 4250, – the amount you would have received in cash is not the difference between these numbers. it could have been say £1874 with all the rest of the 4250 going to settle the previous loan.
I need to know the cash amounts you received.
K R says
Oh sorry.. for the first one I got £2000 then I got £600 and then £1500.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
On those numbers (which look very approximate), you have paid the following interest on each loan so far:
loan 1 £541
loan 2 £607
loan 3 £648
loan 4 £964
So if they are all upheld the last loan will be cleared and you sould get a cash refund of £2,760. Plus a small amount of 8% interest.
K R says
Thanks for the help.. I have emailed amigo.. do I need to do anything else or do I just wait for their reply? Also what sort of time frame am I looking at for a reply?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Just wait for their reply. At 8 weeks you can send the complaint to the ombudsman if Amigo have not replied.
Emma says
Morning Sara,
I just wanted to let you know I have finally received an outcome, after first complaining a year ago! I have a result and I am shaking! This will change my life for the better and I will be debt free! I can’t thank this site and you for your support enough – thank you, you wonderful wonderful lady!
Following your recent complaint with the Financial Ombudsman Service, we wanted to get back in contact with you today.
Your guarantor, Aimee, has confirmed that she does not wish to receive a refund of the payments she made towards the account. Therefore, we have proceeded with your refund.
We’ve calculated the refund due and I’ve included a breakdown of this below:
Interest paid to be refunded to you : £14,527.41
8% statutory interest awarded : £1,758.06
20% tax already deducted from 8% : £439.51
Total interest refund due : £16,285.47
This interest refund will be applied to the current outstanding capital balance on your current loan. This will settle the loan and the remaining amount of £12,373.71 will be paid out to you.
My guarantor had made 2 payments (not asked of by Amigo) and after a conversation with the FOS and an email from Aimee this has moved my complaint along. Hang in there everyone… there is an end in sight!
Andrew says
I had the same email last Saturday, have given bank details yet I’m still waiting to be paid.
Emma says
Have you received your refund yet Andrew?
Amanda says
Hello,
I complained to Amigo about the affordability of my loans, started in 2011 and got 3 top ups with the last being 2016. I have not had my complaint upheld. Am I right in thinking that if I had a CCJ active when I applied for my final top up I should not have been eligible? I paid all loans and did not have any payments made by my guarantor although I don’t feel this is an indication, as they do, that I could manage it is more of an indication that I didn’t want to land my guarantor in debt. I have forwarded onto the ombudsman. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Am I right in thinking that if I had a CCJ active when I applied for my final top up I should not have been eligible?
There is no absolute rule about that. But if you got a CCJ while you had one Amigo loan, then that sounds to me as though they should have noticed your position was getting worse and refused to lend more.
don’t feel this is an indication, as they do, that I could manage it is more of an indication that I didn’t want to land my guarantor in debt.
Exactly. These loans place considerable pressure on the borrowers.
Sutton says
Hi all, I made a complaint through a claims company, my loan was fully paid off, my guarantor has just had confirmation that they are receiving a full refund from amigo, I’ve not had any info from my claim company as yet? I’m now worried that they might chase me for their fee? Anyone had experience with this? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you looked at your claims company documentation to say what the fee is in this situation? It might be different for different claims companies.
Is your account being reopened so you now owe a lot again?
Sutton says
I need to look through it all, I’ve not had any emails from amigo at all, I need to contact them and find out, I thought they would deal with me, didn’t realise they could re open an account from 2 years ago then charge me back for the amount paid off the total loans were about 19k and my guarantor paid 8k final balance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you repaid your guarantor?
Sutton says
No fully, paying them monthly, thay called me and said amigo are refunding them, now they have to give me money back
Lisa says
FOS upheld my complaint on 4th September and gave Amigo until the 18th to respond. No responce received and Amigo were given an extension until 3rd October. Still no response from them. I emailed adjudicator and was advised to give them extra time due to COVID rather than going to Ombudsman just yet. Not sure how long I will give it. Left comments on Trust Pilot and was given the usual excuse of COVID.
Thomas says
Hi Sara,
I got my final responce from Amigo, very long winded, rejected my complaint as they say using third party to check credit files and the national avergage for bills etc and that 6 months prior to me taking the loan out I had no defaults. Which I did. I also had taken out a loan with mobile money on the 30.10.2015 for 1,900. Then they approved and paid out my loan for 7,000 on the 14 december 2015. I already also had another G. Loan with everyday loans(trusttwo) I sent them a reply through resolver saying Thankyou for your letter and bringing to my attention your findings. I then basically said. I would like to bring to their attention that I still hadnt recieved my SAR Request and that I would be sending my complaint to the FOS and outlined the facts I mentioned above. Massive Gambling problem Every bank statement showed this. Whats your thoughts on my chances please and big thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think for a loan that large Amigo should have verified your income and expenses properly, not relying on a third party and national averages.
I suggest you send it to FOS now, no reason to delay. I don’t remember a recent case where Amigo have changed their mind when someone went back with further arguments.
Kyle the tent liver says
Hey, how do you think this new lockdown will affect FO time? My FO said she reviewed amigos information it had on me and then asked for my bank statements, I gave it to her and she said she can reach a final decisions when she receives them. She said she will review them this week and I was wondering if this new lockdown will slow things down or halt stuff? Fingers crossed for me guys.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think it will change it. How is coronavirus and lockdown affecting you?
Kyle the tent liver says
Well a rat has decided to take a shine to my blankets and keeps pooping on them and I have to clean them or buy new ones, so that’s annoying. But I can’t complain really. I spend most my time in cafe Nero writing my novel :) it’s warm and cosy. Thanks for the response.
Claire says
I’m in same situation with ombusman
Been to amigos, adjudicator back to amigos on the financial ombusman waiting list since April.
I had a email last week to ask for more bank statements
Fingers crossed im on the home stretch
Kyle the tent liver says
Fingers crossed for you :)
Mandy says
My guarantor has taken the redress owed to her and the amount she got has been added to my loan, Amigo stated that this was being looked into as people had complained about the money being added to customer loans, does anyone know anything about this?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How much do you now owe Amigo?
How many loans did you have with Amigo and were they all upheld?
Had you paid your guarantor back some or all of the money?
Mandy says
I had 3 loans in total, one still current from 2019, they upheld all 3 loans, the total outstanding on my current loan was £11600, they paid £9136 back to me in interest, paid my guarantor £9374, then added £7342 back onto the remainder of my loan, leaving me owing still over £9000, I discussed this with them and they said the company was in discussions regarding this being unfair to the customer and they should have a decision soon
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can send a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) if you don’t think what Amigo has done is fair. FOS has quite a few of these complaints at the moment, I have no idea how long it will take to get these resolved but it’s probably good to get yourself in the FOS queue straight away.
The good news is that your guarantor has been released so this is now just a normal loan for you and you can get a lower, more affordable payment arrangement.
What are your current finances like? Do you have other problem debts you have payment arrangements with? If you do, very often the easiest way to deal with Amigo is to put all your debts including this Amigo loan into a debt management plan with StepChange. That way you don’t have to negotiate with Amigo, who are not nice, they just have to take what StepChange sends them. If your balance is later reduced because FOS tells Amigo to handle the guarantor payments differently, then the DMP will be paid off sooner.
Have you been affected by coronavirus/lockdowns? If you are, have you taken a payment break with Amigo? Because if you havent yet had 6 months of breaks, new rules are likely to come in this wek or next which will allow you to have more payment breaks.
Chris says
Thought I would give up update on my situation. I have had a total of 9 loans/ tops from amigo from 2014-2019. Should never have been accepted by any due to multiple defaults on payday loans etc. Complsint went to amigo on 25th of August. Received a reply with hours to spare saying they would need more time and will update in a month. Now sent to finical obdusman. All loans were paid off by myself with the exception of 1 payments from my guarantor in 2014 and 1 in 2016. Multiple guarantors used on all loans and top ups applied for within months of new loan majority if the time. Amy idea when I could expect any contact from finical obdusman?. Thanks in advance
Kyle the tent man says
You’re probably looking at at-least 5-6 months I recon.
Derek says
Hi,
I just recieved confirmation from the FOS that Amigo are going to uphold all three loans.
Does anyone have any idea the timescale of when redress figures are received from when you initially accept the offer from FOS.
Cheers
Emma says
Hi Derek, I accepted the offer with FOS on 23rd and had my redress figures on the 29th accepted and confirmed bank details same day and just waiting for the refund now
Dee says
Hi Sara
I hope you are well. The FOS gave a decision beginning of October 2020 and this is Amigos response today –
We are trying to align our decisions with the most recent financial regulations, and so we are reviewing these processes in several areas of the business, to ensure that we reach the fairest outcome for all our customers who would be affected. This is especially important in cases where a refund issued to a guarantor would re-open a loan, and potentially cause the borrower’s financial situation to worsen.
This is not something that has been raised solely in your case. Any case where the guarantor has made repayments on the upheld agreements are currently under review.
We are currently in discussion with the FCA concerning these cases, and so they are under review while we attempt to clarify our position going forward, so that we can improve processes and enhance our customer focus.
Unfortunately there is no time frame for this at the moment, however it will be a case of weeks rather than months.
However we are hoping it will be sorted as soon as possible, as soon as we have an update we will be in contact.
Thank you in advance for your patience
Debbie says
Wondering if you can help
Sent my complaint 7 weeks ago snd got a final response today
They have offered £12484.20
Pay off my existing loan which they say is £8412.54
Leaves cash pay out £4071.66
But when I log in to Amigo online today and spoke to an advisor they all state my balance owed is £5716.22
Do you think they have just made a mistake or can they take back more money then the balance? It’s been referred to correct department so just got to wait again for their response.
Also they upheld 2 loans both from 2013 but rejected the one from 2016. The 2016 one was the one I was complaining about more really and I supplied all the evidence for. I was late paying 4 months running prior to the top up, my bank showed many missed payments and I was on a debt management plan. When I done the top up I just filled a form in online so no evidence was supplied to check.
Can I accept the offer for the 2 upheld ones and then send the rejected one to the FOS?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Leaves cash pay out £4071.66
But when I log in to Amigo online today and spoke to an advisor they all state my balance owed is £5716.22
I have no idea what has happened here – it sounds very wrong.
Also they upheld 2 loans both from 2013 but rejected the one from 2016
Can you have a look at the response with the figures – is there a line labelled “unpaid interest”? How large is it?
Debbie says
I’ve spoke to Amigo and they had by mistake added the guarantors payments made to the balance which is why it was higher. I’ve already paid the guarantor back so he rejected the offer when Amigo called yesterday. Today they got me new offer letter sent out and I accepted. They said payment would be in my account within 10 days. What’s the issue lots keep stating about complaint on hold due to guarantor payments? I was still thinking of sending all the info to FOS for the 3rd loan they rejected.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What’s the issue lots keep stating about complaint on hold due to guarantor payments?
You are unusual in getting a payout. Many people have been told their claims are on hold because of the guarantor payouts.
Did you check to see if there was a deduction for “unpaid interest”?
Debbie says
Fingers crossed I receive it all fine then – they took my bank detail on the phone yesterday and told me to give it 10 working days
Also a lady who I have dealt with for last 8 weeks via email also confirmed it yesterday via email.
Loan interest £10,512.07
8% interest £1,160.68
20% Tax £290.17
Fees and charges £811.45
Unpaid interest in non upheld loan £0.00
Total to pay me £12,484.20
Current loan £ 5,800.48
Guarantor £0.00
Cash to me £6,683.72
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, I wasn’t thinking clearly, there won’t be an unpaid interest charge in your case as the non-upheld loan was AFTER the upheld ones.
Has your guarantor been released?
You can say you want to take the current loan to FOS. If you do, Amigo may decide not to pay you the cash for the other loans until this FOS case is sorted, I don’t know, your situation is quite rare.
Steven Smith says
Hi Sara,
Do you know the general length of time that Amigo are taking just now to make a decision?
On Friday it’ll be 12 weeks since I made my complaint.
I received an email from resolver on behalf of Amigo last week to say things are taking longer due to COVID and influx of complaints.
Cheers.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
hmmm they are supposed to be back to dealing with them within 8 weeks.
Did your guarantor make any payments?
Andrew says
Hi just to let people know My account has been changed and now showing minus 3k. So hopefully few more days and it will be paid out. So from October 2019 to November 2020 this is how long it has taken.
Andrew says
Hi Sara
Funds have hit account today 5.45pm so it’s finally over. Would like to thank you for all your help and will be making a donation to my local cab.
M says
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/nov/03/amigo-loans-complaints-covid-outbreak
FYI… Article today. Interesting read
Ruth says
Latest email from Amigo. 11 weeks since I complained..”As you know, some complaints are more complex and are taking longer to issue a response, however please rest assured this is to ensure the fairest outcome. Your complaint has been assigned and we are working to get this resolved for you as soon as possible. I am sorry I have no further updates at present.
With regards to your Data Subject Access Request, there is a back log, however I can see from your account this is is also being processed.”
M says
Hi, did you have to chase for the email ?
Also when did you raise your complaint?
Ruth says
Hi I raised the complaint 15th August 2020 and I emailed their complaints department asking if the FCA had finished their investigation.
Claire says
I got that email 18 months ago. Fingers crossed yours is quicker x
Ruth says
18 months 😮 have you had a resolution now?
Claire says
Nope still waiting on ombusman!! Joke right !!
Siobhan says
Same, mine has been going on since April 2019! Adjudicator has made decision, Amigo have missed the deadline for response. Never ending and very disheartening
Suzanne says
We’ve been waiting nearly a year for the fo, original complaint went to amigo in October 19, had a no December and straight to fo.
Amigo still haven’t sent the fo the info they need
Sandra says
Hi Sara I received an email about two weeks ago from amigo saying they will send a letter before court action but I did have a complaint with them they didn’t uphold my first two loans but have with the last four now this was about three months ago, I have my complaint with the fos since start of August about the first two loans that they didn’t uphold and the interest also and I do ring them every few weeks for an update, I rang today and the lady said it’s in the right place it’s in the queue waiting for someone to pick it up, I also told the lady from fos about them threatening me with a letter before court action and she said if you receive anything like that send it to us immediately and we will contact amigo and sort it so really just letting people know In case they have the same email from amigo or in a similar place as myself, I don’t know how some of them sleep at night it’s awful sending people emails like this especially in the times we are in.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is what I have been saying to people. In the UNLIKELY event that Amigo decide to go to court (which they shouldn’t) then FOS will gave your case priority.
M says
They’re taking their time. My 8 weeks were up 9 and a half weeks ago, end of this week will be 10 weeks and I am told that I will definitely get a reply, which I don’t believe at all. Especially as they’re looking into guarantor payments where their internal review will also apparently “end” this week too… I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Natasha says
I had to get ombudsmen in before I was even acknowledged. Just had a redress offer that means I still have to pay another 400 and then its done instead of 3450. Theyve offered to remove the interest I’ve already paid to pay my outstanding. I’m awaiting an agent from ombudsmen to advise if I should take it or not. Bit miffed how others have had theres completely refunded and I got this offer. If I say no would I be offered anything or shoot myself in the foot and get nothing?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is the offer upholding all your loans?
Natasha says
It’s the first one plus interest of top up.
They want to use what I’ve paid against remaining. I’ve paid over what I borrowed both times already too.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Would you like to give me the numbers? As they have upheld the first loan and the top up, it’s usually easy to see what a refund should be.
The first loan – how much did you borrow? How much did you pay to the loan eg 13 payments of £173
The top up loan – how large was the loan? how much of this did you receive in cash? How much have you paid to this so far – all the payments, ignore if Amigo say they were interest or principal.
Niall says
Hi Sara,
Would you be able to work out the interest I’ve paid on my amigo loans? I can’t seem to work it out. Thanks so much.
Initial Loan – 10/01/17 £6,000 – Cash received £6,000 – £293 x3 Payments
Top-Up Loan – 04/05/17 £10,000 – Cash received £4,200 – £395 x9 Payments
Top-Up Loan – 06/02/18 £10,000 – Cash received £550 – £395 x14 Payments
Top-Up Loan – 02/05/19 £10,000 – Cash received £550 – £395 x18 Payments
Sara (Debt Camel) says
On those numbers I make the interest paid to date on each loan as:
loan 1 £679
loan 2 £3,005
loan 3 £4,980
current loan – no interest paid as not repaid the 10k borrowed. Still a balance of £2,890 left if interest is removed from this loan.
If all 4 loans are upheld, the interest from the first three will clear the last loan and leave you with a cash refund of £5,774.
Watch out for Amigo not upholding all the loans and stinging you for a line they call “unpaid interest”. You can take a complaint about it to FOS.
niall says
Thanks so much!
I actually forgot to mention I move my payment date from the 2nd of July 2017 to the 22nd of July 2017 as I switched jobs. So an extra 20 days of interest was added. What roughly would that have been?
Also if they do use the “unpaid interest” line what is the best response?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So an extra 20 days of interest was added. What roughly would that have been?
It doesn’t matter. The calculation I use looks just at cash movements so it calculates the refund on “excess” payments you have made, regardless of whether these were interest on the original loan, extra interest added for changing dates (and some of Amigos extra interest charges were huge!), CHAPS fees, broker fees, anything…
TC says
Hi all, recently complained to Amigo and got the generic reply saying “they carried out sufficient checks”…. waiting for further contact, the loan was topped up several times over 3 years and in the end I had to declare myself bankrupt for other debts and my guarantor cleared the debt for Amigo, I am paying the guarantor back separately… the Amigo loan was not included in the Bankruptcy.
I am guessing as the guarantor cleared the debt this complicates things?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
From what you have said, you do NOT want to get paid a refund – if you are it will be claimed by the Official Receiver. The fact the Amigo debt was not in your bankruptcy doesn’t make any difference here, you will not get a refund..
The best option for you is if ALL the refund or as much as possible goes to your guarantor. Then at least you can stop paying them back.
TC says
That’s the plan
Ryan says
Hey I had a redress and wasn’t happy with it , but the balance has came off my total and said my guarantor was being removed , I send my case to the FOS ….who I’m still waiting to hear from , amigo is chasing me for £196 payment a month with I can’t afford I don’t think I should be paying them till my complaint is dealt with , I’ve just had a 6 month payment break , any ideas how I go about this ? How do I know my guarantor is removed ? That’s the main thing I don’t want them chasing them for money . Thanks for any advice .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did Amigo uphold the last loan?
Ryan says
Yes but not the first one . Many thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So they didn’t upheld the first one and you have complained about this to FOS – good.
As they have upheld the current loan , they should have removed your guarantor. I don’t remember a case where they haven’t. the only real way for you to be 100% sure is to ask the guarantor, but unless you have some reason to think they maught not have been released, this probably isnt a problem.
Your options now are to tell Amigo you aren’t paying them until your FOS case is resolved, or offer a lower affordable payment arrangement while the complaint goes through. You will get a lot less hassle from them if you offer some payment, but if you don’t, what can they do? It seems incredibly unlikely they would actually take you to court, and if they did FOS would give your priority.
How much interest did you pay on the first loan? And how much did Amigo deduct for unpaid interest? If you will end up owing money even if the first loan is upheld, then it may well be simpleter to make a payment arrangement now.
Kyle the tent dude says
Hey guys any help with this. I’m a bit nervous because in order to get the amigo loan I think I lied a bit and now the FO asked for my bank statements to see my situation before taking out the loan. Fine tooth comb ahahah just wondering will this affect if I have my case accepted or rejected by the FO investigator?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There are a lot of reasons why an application may have been inaccurate, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-lender-says-lied/.
Often FOS says well you shouldn’t have done that but the lender should have seen from your credit record that you had a lot of problems so they should have verified your income & expenses eh with payslips or your bank statements so the complaint is upheld.
You have to send FOS the bank statements – if you don’t you are very unlikely to win the case.
Joannesville says
hi
can anyone give me some advice? ive recently been awarded a payment from UK Credit for a loan i had with them but this was after the FO got involved and it was actually the FO who suggested we went for a complaint based on affordability. I was delighted as the refund cleared my outstanding loan balance that i had been struggling to pay and a substantial refund due to interest. It has also improved my credit score which im delighted with. On the back of this I am now revisiting all pay day loans and it occurred to me that I had loans with Amigo from 2014-2018 when i settled the balance early (or rather my guarantor did for me) – im nervous about submitting the claim, but i struggled for years to ensure payments were made, sometimes meaning i was skipping payment on rent and other priorities as I didnt want to let my guarantor down. I have a letter ready to go and im just wondering should i mention that i have already had a successful claim with FO – UK Credit contacted me asking me for copies of credit file and bank statements and the following day i had a settlement offer, so i suspect they became aware very quickly that something had not been followed on their behalf – sorry for the lengthy post, im rambling
Sara (Debt Camel) says
i struggled for years to ensure payments were made, sometimes meaning i was skipping payment on rent and other priorities as I didnt want to let my guarantor down.
that sounds like the Amigo loan was unaffordable.
No need to be nervous, the loan has finished so you aren’t under any pressure and you already know that FOS are nice to deal with .
No point in mentioning your other successful FOS claim – Amigo will just look at your situation.
Joannesville says
Thank you Sara and do you recommend making it under a SAR?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you use the template in the article above these comments – change it so it is right for you. That includes asking for a SAR.
Sarah Heydon says
Hi Sara,
So today I finally received my DSAR off Amigo, hopefully it won’t be long and I may have a reply to my complaint. I initially put in on July 1st and they said they hadn’t received it so re submitted on August 1st.
I have noticed on my credit reports that they have my address but ran my credit check in my neighbours address! Which is odd as there is no way I would have been accepted for a loan at an address I have never lived at.
If I sent across the financial details would you be able to have a look at them for me to see what I may expect, I’m expecting to have a balance outstanding but at least my sister will hopefully be removed as guarentor.
I haven’t yet sent to FOS do you think it would be worth me doing that just in case.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Definitely send to FOS. Amigo are not always making ok offers so why not get yourself in the FOS queue now?
if you want me to look at the interest you have paid, I need to know for each loan:
– what you borrowed
– what you got paid in cash if it was a top up loan
– how many payments you made eg 8 payments of £156
– also has your guarantor made any payments?
Sarah heydon says
Initial loan £6500 paid 2 x £256.91
Top up £7500 received 1243.02 paid 3 x £378.12
Top up £10000 received £2612.24 paid 9 x £395.25
Top up £13750 received £3492.14 paid 12 x £588.12
My guarantor has made 3 payments that I have paid her back.
Will send to FOS straight away.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
On those numbers you have paid the following interest:
loan 1 £269
loan 2 £1,022
loan 3 £3,813
current loan – still not repaid the 13750 borrowed – if interest is removed you would have a balance of £6,694
If all loans are upheld then the interest from the earlier loans will clear most of this balance leaving you owing £1,590.
Sarah heydon says
Thank you for that, how likely is it that they remove the interest off previous loans.
I will be happy with either outcome and aslong as my gaurentor can be removed so I can reduce payments would be a live saver in itself.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I can’t really guess how likely, but to me taking a top up after just two payments and then another one after another 3 payments makes it look as though the early loans weren’t affordable.
If the last loan is upheld and your guarantor is released, you can send the case to the Ombudsman to look at the earlier loans. And still make a lower, affordable payment arrangement on the remaining balance.
The payments on the last loan are horrific. How likely is it that your guarantor could have afforded to make all those payments herself and still pay her own debts , bills and living expenses?
Sarah Heydon says
I in all honesty she couldn’t as she has her own mortgage and is foster carer to 3 children with 3 children of her own.
My payments are higher than my monthly rent which has got me into difficulties as I haven’t wanted my sisters home to be put at risk so risked my own. Stupidity on my part all round I know.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, so then one option is for you to ask your sister to put in a complaint saying that she can’t afford the repayments. It doesn’t matter that she isn’t being asked to, what is important is whether she could have made all the payments on the last loan at the time that loan was given. If she can win that complaint she will be removed as guarantor.
It’s just another chance for you to get a good answer more quickly for you – either yours could be upheld by Amigo or hers could. Yours sounds like a good case if it has to go to FOS but that can take a long while.
Even if you don’t want to ask her to do this, you should ask if she will send Amigo an email saying she does not want a refund if your complaint is upheld, as this may slow your complaint down.
Sarah heydon says
She would do this I have spoken to her every step of the way as we have a really good relationship.
Thank you will write an email with her tomorrow.
Should she fill the link out for guarantors that you have on your page
Sara (Debt Camel) says
She can do. Normally I would say wait until you have your decision but as this may be held up because of the problem of payments from guarantors, it may be a good idea to do this now?
Sarah heydon says
Thank you. We will get the ball rolling from her side also.
Really appreciate your help, thank you
Derekk says
Hi, I recieved this the other day:
The offer was to uphold the consumers complaint about our lending decision in full for all 3 loans he has had with Amigo. The offer would be to refunded all accrued interest to borrower, including any 8% interest on any overpayments (if applicable). Any negative information removed from their credit file.
Now awaiting redress figures. Could someone please give me an estimated time in getting these? The whole thing is a long winded process!
Ryan says
Hey my sister is my guarantor and I asked her if she got an email saying she was removed or that she said no …I only made a few payments on the first loan then got my top up , the unpaid interest was about £2200 , if the first loan was upheld amigo would owe me about £2500 I worked out , many thanks .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can phone Amigo and ask if your guarantor has been released?
Ryan says
Got sorted Sara many thanks , yeah my guarantor is released and have set up a payment plan of £20 a month , that will do till I hear from the FOS . Many thanks
Kyle says
Hi, sorry about the bad numbers. I’d used bank statements and credit file so it wasn’t accurate. I finally got statements from Amigo to work it out properly.
17/11/2014 – New loan – £1,250 5 x £128.82
14/04/2015 – Top up – £1,500 – £583.09 payout
5 x £154.59 2 x £100 1 x £150
28/09/2015 – Top up – £1,250 – £643.16 payout 5 x £128.82
23/03/2016 – Guarantor paid full balance – £810.41
17/02/2017 – New loan – £1,250 4 x £60.99
29/06/2017 – Top up – £1,750 – £565.06 payout 2 x £108.18
26/09/2017 – Top up – £2,250 – 545.28 payout 1 x £109.78
13/11/2017 – Top up – £4,750 – £2,488.36 payout 3 x £187.84
20/03/2018 -Top up – £6,500 – £1,628.64 payout 3 x £256.91
16/08/2018 – Top up – £8,250 – £1,426.70 payout 14 x £326.08
17/12/2019 – Guarantor paid full balance – £8,174.39
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So on those numbers if you assume you had made all the payments your guarantor did, then the interest paid on each loan is as follows:
loan 1 £352
loan 2 £263
loan 3 £200
loan 4 £179
loan 5 £171
loan 6 £121
loan 7 £683
loan 8 £1,092
loan 9 £4,488
total £7,549
Maria says
Hi Sara
I have lodged an affordability complaint against Amigo could you have a look at the figures and see if I’m due a refund.
Loan 1 £5000 20 payments @ £243.95 Nov 2014
Loan 2 £5750 payout £2690.88 4 payments @ £245.96 Aug 2016
Loan 3 £7250 payout £1484.42 20 payments @ £286.56 Dec 2016
Loan 4 £7750 payout £1328.34 7 payments @ £306.32 July 2018
Loan 5 £10000 payout £2517.98 14 payments @ £395.25
Thankyou
L says
Hi Sara,
Discovered this site online and thanks for everything you do here!
I have received my complaint settlement offer from Bamboo Loans and just wondering if I should accept this. I raised an affordability complaint back in September in relation to the £2000 guarantor loan I took out. So far £671.02 has been paid and Bamboo have upheld my complaint offering to remove all interest (£1426.22) and adjust the remaining balance to £1328.98.
Complaint was upheld due to severe deterioration in mental health and an ongoing gambling addiction of over 50k. I supplied a formal doctor letter and statements along with a credit report highlighting my difficulties.
Just wondering if this offer is something I should be accepting?
Many thanks,
Liam
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The balance reduction sounds correct. Unless you have evidence that Bamboo were clearly aware of your mental health problem before you took the loan it is VERY unlikely FOS would give you any more as in 99.9% of cases they say you have to repay what you borrowed.
BUT Bamboo should also agree to let you repay this at a more affordable rate and they should release your guarantor. You should ask them to agree both these points
L says
Many thanks Sara, I will reply back to Bamboo and ask for guarantor to be removed and balance adjusted and offer them a more affordable rate to suit my personal circumstances.
Natalie says
Hi Sara, been following your site for a while. Amazing the work you do.
Looking for some advice. I logged a complaint 12 weeks ago to amigo, I had an email at 8 weeks saying they were still looking in to it. My guarantor put a complaint in at the same time and he got a final response at 8 weeks, his was not upheld and they believe it was affordable to him. Do you think it’s likely I could still win mine? Not sure what the hold up is as all my loan info was in my guarantors email.
My guarantor had made payments and I have seen you have said about them emailing to say they do not want it back to speed things up. Would that work in my case him emailing that if he had a complaint refused? (He is family and has offered that if it would help)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The response to your guarantor has nothing to do with whether you will win your complaint. But after 12 weeks, I suggest you should send it to the Ombudsman now, not wait any longer. the article above explains how to do this.
Has he sent his complaint to the Ombudsman? If he really can’t afford it, that is a much better move as it gives you two ways to a good result – if he wins or if you win.
Kyle the tent dude says
Hey guys, does anyone know how much the FO adjudicator takes into account to allow you for what you spend on outings and treats with your wages until they see it as money that could have been used to pay amigo with. If that makes sense. Would they see that as disposable income and therefore would mean the loan was payable with that money? Or would they allow an allowance of that based on your income? Coz I had a month or two were I spent a bit more on treats during depression times and such.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you were borrowing for Amigo for about 20 months? I doubt a month or two when your expenditure was more because of treats will make much difference. I hope you have told FOS about your depression?
Kyle the tent dude says
Hey, Yh I just sent them an email following my information I sent to them explaining that due to my BPD when I got depressed I would over spend but it would be with detriment to food bills and other bills and it is not disposable money, it was always taken from elsewhere. I told them I made impulse decisions because of this and they wasn’t good because it would mean we would struggle a bit with food shopping and such. So fingers crossed it’s enough for her to make a decision in which I win the case and receive compensation too, the nights are getting colder now and someone keeps trashing my tent and making all my clothes wet now :,( and I don’t know why.
M says
Hi Sara,
I’m currently 12 weeks into my complaint with Amigo and it’s on hold due to the whole guarantor making a payment on the account even though I’ve had them confirm they have been paid back.
Each time I contact Amigo, they say they won’t look at the complaint as it’s on hold and they will only look into it once the pause is off.
Is it even worth me sending it to FOS as by the time they look into it, Amigo still won’t look into it because of the same pause?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The thing is, if Amigo look at it in 2 months time, or whenever this pause ends, and then say No, you will wish you had sent the case to FOS now so you are earlier in the FOS queue.
DM says
Hi Sara, chased up again today and honestly believed that I had made all the payments on time myself since 2011 except one in July 2013 which I paid the following day , but following the response below neither my guarantor or I can remember if he paid it and I paid him back, so am gutted to find out now this is on hold for potentially for one payment. Question for you is has anybody you are aware of anybody in the last few weeks that has been able to get their investigation off pause / progressed with the Guarantor e-mailing in to say they are up to date from the borrower and do not wish to make a claim against Amigo or are they just going to keep them on pause to defer making payouts / redress to existing balances?
Thank you for contacting us.
I am sorry our call got disconnected, but I wanted to follow-up with you regarding the complaint.
Following on from our conversation the complaint is currently on pause due to the guarantor having made payments towards at least one of the loans on your account.
Currently we are in discussion with the FCA on how to move forward with circumstances like this.
We have not been given a time frame as to when these discussions will be finalised, but as soon as further guidance has been provided, we’ll proceed with sending an outcome to your complaint as soon as possible.
Thank you for your patience in the meantime.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you saying that Amigo say there was more than one payment?
A couple of people have managed to get their complaint off hold by getting the guarantor to email Amigo and say they do not wish to complain and or get any refund if your complaint is upheld.
DM says
Thanks Sara, was saying that I thought I had paid it so guarantor had not made any, but if my guarantor had made a payment this would’ve been the only one. I have had to request bank statements as they go back further than I can see and thought it would be quicker just to get him to e-mail in.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Get those old bank statements, they will be helpful if the case has to go to the ombudsman.
It’s worth him writing to say he has no interest – it may not work but it’s easy to do.
Simon says
Update on guarantor issue….
Amigo have told me as a goodwill gesture they will revert to my original balance knocking nearly £10,000 off. What they fail to recognise is that if they were made to take off the amount they refunded my guarantor then there would be no balance and they would owe me money. I think they are trying to fob me off in the hope I give up. I cant imagine the FOS has advised them to do this…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So can I be clear…
are they saying they will revert to your original balance, which is 10k less than the “revised” one they calculated?
or are they saying they will take 10k off what your original balance was?
What will the new balance be after this?
Is your guarantor prepared to give you some of the refund they got – I think you said you were on good terms & had repaid them in full?
Simon says
They placed £23,000 back onto my balance to make it just under £30,000. They then took off £13,000 of interest to leave me owing £15,900. They are saying as a goodwill gesture they will go back to the £5,700. That means they are still getting away with placing the refund back onto my account. Surely this can be challenged in a court arena? What right do they have to place that total onto the borrowers when there is no such ruling? If you take off that amount they would have to wipe my balance and refund around £8,000. I have informed them that I do not accept this but waiting to hear from FOS. I will be contacting my MP on Monday to discuss further. If there is no ruling then they cannot saddle the borrower with that amount because they feel the guarantor should be refunded. The FCA have alot to answer for around these cases as they allowed the business to lend in this way. The borrower wins the complaint but the redress has to be paid back by the person who wins the complaint! Not sure a judge would see that as fair…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So your balance before was about 7000 I assume.
What is your current financial position, do you have other debts? Have these defaulted? (These questions are not as irrelevant as they sound.)
Simon says
I have 3 other guarantor loans aswell. 2 of them are nearly finished. I will speak to FOS on Monday and then look at legal action. There is no legal ruling to say they can place balance they chose to pay to guarantor, back on to the borrower. Its scandalous
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“There is no legal ruling to say they can place balance they chose to pay to guarantor, back on to the borrower.”
True – but neither is there any legal ruling I am aware of that says that they can’t.
I make the following general points about deciding to go to court rather than pursue a FOS case:
– court cases take a very long while to come to court. Defended money claims took an average of about 9 months in 2019 and my guess is this is likely to be slower after the pandemic;
– if you lose a FOS case you can go to court. if you lose a court case you will not be able to continue with your existing FOS case;
– Amigo could chose to ask for a stay of the court case pending the FOS decision in your case. It is normally the borrower that asks for this if Amigo sues them;
– I suggest you need some legal advice from a solicitor who has experience in the area of consumer credit litigation (not small claims) before deciding to do this. As your claim is likely to be over 10k you may be able to recover your legal costs if you win so a solicitor may take it on on a no win no fee basis. But it is possible you may have to pay the other side’s legal fees if you lose. You need advice on this before starting a case.
Gail says
Hi Sara,
Been waiting since march, complaint with fo.
Amigo refunded me the gaurentor on loans two and 5 after borrower complained, borrower took to FO and amigo refunded borrower on all other loans apart from loan one, but didn’t refund me my oayments as they did with the other loans.
Have been chasing after complaining in march and got this response.
“We are currently trying to align our decisions with the most recent financial regulations, and so we are reviewing these processes in several areas of the business, to ensure that we reach the fairest outcome for all our customers who would be affected. This is especially important in cases like yours where a refund issued to a guarantor would re-open a loan, and potentially cause the borrower’s financial situation to worsen”
What do they mean by this, I feel that I should be refunded my payments, has legislation or rules changed meaning I now am unlikely to get it? Will the ombudsman help?
Gail
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can I check I have understood…
The borrower complained to Amigo who upheld the complaint about loans 2 and 5.
You are the guarantor and made payments to loans 2 and 5 which were then refunded to you.
The borrower complained about the other loans to FOS.
You also made payments to some of the other loans which were nit refunded. So you complained to Amigo and have sent the complaint to FOS.
Is that all correct?
Did the bit you quoted come from Amigo or from FOS?
Gail Archer says
That’s all correct, on loans 3’4’6 they only refunded the borrower, however I made most the payments.
The quote is a response from amigo to me chasing up the complaint. Do I have anything to be worried about?
And also this has been at the ombudsman maybe 7weeks now, how long are people waiting for them to.pick it up?
Gail Archer says
What would you advise?shall I send what they said to FOS? Do you think what they said affects my case and is there any truth in the changes to advice?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
has the borrower refunded you for any of this?
are you on good terms with the borrower?
Why did you keep guaranteeing loans when you had had to make payments to previous ones?
It is correct that many complaints involving guarantor payments are on hold at the moment.
Gail Archer says
No the borrower hasn’t refunded me and not on good terms.
A lot weren’t new loans but too ups always with the promise to repay, after the 6th I said I wouldn’t anymore as I couldn’t afford it.
Do you know why they are on hold? Am I likely to have a good chance of winning with the FOS considering amigo refunded me on the others?
karen says
I am about to start my claim tomorrow, The bank statements I will be sending are of a joint account with my husband, although we have a joint account we keep our bills separate. Will this cause a problem as it will include my husbands income in the statements. Has anyone come across this before?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It makes your bank accounts more complicated to interpret but your husband Has no legal liability to pay your debts. At a guess Amigo will reject your complaint and it will have to go to the Ombudsman who are better at looking at non simple cases. So send it to the Ombudsman straight at 8 weeks.
Do you still have a balance owing? If so, who is your guarantor?
Karen says
My daughter she has never had to pay any payments to amigo, I just struggled to pay each month and let other things fall behind so it didn’t involve her.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you still have a loan outstanding?
Kat says
Hi Sara.
Amigo rejected my claim at the beginning of the year and I then sent to FOS. In June out of the blue I had an email from Amigo advising that they has revisited my case and upheld against all three loans. I have a balance of just over 3800 left to pay.
They are insisting that as per my contract I still have to pay the £395 a month. I have argued that they themselves have admitted that my contract was invalid as they shouldn’t have lent to me. This month I have had to find £800 to pay them to try and prevent arrears going onto my credit file. There are still missed payments on my file that they haven’t removed. They tell me that they have removed my guarantor however he is still mentioned on letters and on my online statement advising that if I don’t pay they will take from him. It took 3 months to get them to stop charging me interest.
UK credit stopped my account from being “live” and I am paying them back 20 a month with hassle from them whatsoever. How can I get Amigo to do the same? I got so upset with someone on the phone there the other day. I want to pay them less but have no confidence that this will stay off my credit file…they have told me it won’t go on there but they just don’t seem to know what they are doing! What can I do about this? What can I realistically expect from them? Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you have other problem debts?
Kat says
Not priority debts no. My council tax is more as I took a payment break during lockdown but is up to date. I do have other debts but am managing them, just.
The 800 came from a repayment from a payday loan complaint that was upheld if I hadn’t had that I would not have been able to pay them and I am desperate to maintain my slowly improving credit score.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is VERY VERY likely Amigo have released your guarantor. If they haven’t this is an error and they should be asked to do this and they then will. Can you ask your guarantor?
Amigo should accept a reasonable repayment offer from you. If this is less than the monthly payments under the contract, your credit score should NOT be affected as Amigo have admitted that amount was unaffordable. If they mark your credit score put in a complaint, take it to FOS and it is very likely to be removed.
I suggest you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about your whole situation. At a guess – and obviously not knowing anything about your situation! – two options seem likely:
1) you can make all your bill and debt repayments as normal and offer a reduced amount to Amigo. I see no reason why you should pay less yo your other consumer debt and have your credit score affected in order to try to pay more to Amigo. In this case National Debtline can help you draw up a budget sheet showing that £68 (or whatever, I just invented that) is all you can pay to Amigo which you can then send to Amigo. Set up a standing order for that amount and take a complaint to FOS if Amigo carry on objecting.
2) ND say that you really can’t manage all your other debts and a debt management plan would be better. This solution makes the Amigo situation easy, it just goes into the DMP with all your other debts and Amigo will be paid their share by StepChange. It will affect your credit score which you don’t want but if ND think it is your best option then honestly you should go for it as interest is frozen on your other debts and limping along juggling payments every month tends to end in defaults anyway.
chace says
Hi Kat,
if you dont mind me asking how much did you owe to uk credit and how long did it take to get a decision from them.
im currently going through the same thing with them and desperate for them to uphold my claim.
LEE says
Don’t know if this helps but my complaint was partially upheld and I’ve negotiated a payment plan, acknowledging my guarantor was removed from the loan. The payment plan is £115 less than my contractual payments and, as long as I keep to it, they say there won’t be any negative repercussions on my credit file just means it will take longer to pay off the remaining balance (about 14 months at this stage).
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Let’s be clear, if you run into further payment problems there shouldn’t be any problems with getting the £115 reduced. If you are making a reasonable offer given your situation, Amigo should accept it.
LEE says
I know, they’ve been quite obstructive at times and it’s taken a lot of conversation even to get it to that point. Can’t wait to be rid of them
JD says
Hi Sara,
This may seem like a silly question, but if a complaint is upheld due to it being unaffordable. Can compensation be claimed for any mental or health related issues inflicted by it or as a direct result of the “unaffordable loan” (depression etc)?
Kind Ragrds,
JD
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Unless Amigo were aware, or should have been aware, of your mental health problems that may be unlikely. But if you told Amigo you had mental health problem after getting the loan, did they treat you fairly?
J D says
No, I mean in general. I have an ongoing affordably complaint but if it turns out that the loan was unaffordable and is upheld, could compensation be claimed from them if I told them or showed proof that my depression was a direct result of the financial difficulty that they caused me?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A lender does not have a “duty of care” to a borrower. The judge in a recent court case dismissed an attempt to get damages for mental health problems.
And in any case it could be quite hard to show that any mental health problems are caused by a particular loan. After all most people are in a financial mess or they would never have been desperate enough to borrow from the likes of Amigo.
JD says
Thanks for that explanation Sara, it makes a lot of sense now.
Lisa b says
Hi Sarah I stupidly went with a claims company for my amigo sorry just had a email from them saying amigo are sending out forms to be filled in by both parties if a payment has been made by guarantor
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what stage is your complaint at?
what info does this form require?
Lisa b says
I’m on hold as my guarantor made payments
Looks like a few questions will be asked
Are you still in contact with guarantor
Did you pay them back
Lisa b says
As you know, we have had a pause on all our complaints where there had been guarantor (GT) payments made towards the loan/loans in the complaint. This was due to the possibility of the borrower being left in an unfavourable position should the GT accept the redress offered to them (where the complaint is upheld/partially upheld). We have been working with the regulators to find a solution to ensure that all parties involved are dealt with fairly and I am pleased to inform you that we will be trialing a process starting from next week
The proposed new GT redress process seeks to ensure that in cases where a guarantor has made payment towards the Borrower’s loan account, Amigo understands the underlying circumstances in which those payments have been made so as to ensure allocation of redress between borrower and guarantor is fair and reasonable.
Lisa b says
Both Borrower and GT will be provided with a webform link (examples attached) in which they can access and provide various information such as current relationship, was any payments made by the GT reimbursed, would the GT like to accept the redress and other questions that will allow both parties to provide a clearer
image of what happened and their current situation now so that Amigo can ensure the redress is distributed fairly.
The Borrower will have the opportunity to populate the form first, it is then passed to the GT to confirm what the borrower has said is correct or provide further information if not in agreement with the borrower or simply reject the offer all together.
Amigo will accept various forms of proof from both parties if and where required to support statements / disagreements
Once both forms are complete, the redress calculations will automatically start (The decisioning will start at this stage on new complaints and redress on the paused population)
The webform is sent to both parties at the same time and they have 2 weeks to complete it independently.
We will need to have up to date contact details for both parties in order for the webform to be completed accordingly
Vicki Pringle says
Hi Sara my guarantor has has an offer of £9456 he has excepted the offer from them, there saying the account is on hold whilst they speak to the FSA to see if it’s affordable for me to pay it back, they have not contacted me and said the account has to stay on hold, does this mean the guarantor will not be paid out as they said the hold can’t be lifted I’m so confused thanks again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you sent your complaint to the Ombudsman?
Cases where the guarantor has made payments are in a mess at the moment. Lots of complaints about Amigo’s old approach. They seem to be trialling a new one, but I don’t know how many customers are affected.
Have you repaid your guarantor? Are you and your guarantor on good terms?
Vicki Pringle says
Not sent it to the ombudsman, we had a third party involved but as the guarantor excepted the offer they closed the case, there was 4 loans 2 withheld the other two where not, Iv not repaid the guarantor as it’s them that’s been offered the settlement and we are on good terms, I just don’t get why the case is on hold as he has excepted the offer again thanks for your help
L says
Hi Sara,
I have received my Final Response from George Banco (Trust Two) upholding my complaint based around affordability. I took a £3000 loan and have paid £908.45, they have agreed to remove all interest and fees which leaves me with a balance of £2091.55. I am happy to accept the above although George Banco are refusing to remove the guarantor. Any reason why they are refusing and any further advice you can give me?
Many Thanks,
Liam
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think they are just being difficult.
Tell your guarantor to put in a complaint now, saying they should be removed as the loan was unaffordable for you.
Also ask GB if you can make lower, more affordable payments without your guarantor being asked to pay. Do you know how much you could afford? If they say No, then send your complaint to the Ombudsman.
L says
Hi Sara,
Many Thanks! I have asked Twice now with zero success.
If I take complaint to ombudsman does this effect the fact GB have offered to remove interest and fees?
Thanks Liam
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is very very unlikely that you will get less by going to FOS, after all GB have said the loan is unaffordable so FOS probably won’t even look at that!
Have you worked out how much you can afford? what are the rest of your debts like?
L says
Hi Sara,
Thanks! I will contact the FOS and escalate.
I only realised I could raise complaints after discovering this site! Since then 3 complaints upheld in relation to guarantor loans but my financial situation is not great at all but I’m hoping it can improve.
Thanks Liam
Sara (Debt Camel) says
One “easy” way to make a fair offer to GB is to put all of your outstanding debts into a DMP with StepChange, see https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx. Then StepChange divide up what you can afford to pay between all the creditors.
If GB want to argue that they aren’t getting a fair amount from StepChange, they will look pretty silly at the Ombudsman.
Keith says
Hi, I’ve had an amigo loan for about 4 years now, and topped it up about 3 times.
I cannot even remember dates and amounts issued but my balance now stands at 17,000.
I have agreed a reduced payment with them of £250 pm but this will take 8years and 6 months to clear.
I recently noticed on my app that they have now put on details of my credit file.
As yet I haven’t done an affordability complaint.
Do you think I would have a case ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are they asking your guarantor to pay?
Topping up a loan once, let alone several times, is often a sign that the first loan was unaffordable. Do you think the Amigo repayments have caused you problems, so you have had to top up or borrow elsewhere or get behind with bills?
Keith says
No I am paying the reduced amount of 250 pm, it was 550 pm.
I already had 3 ccj’s and numerous other debts when I took the loan out.
They asked me over the phone about incoming and outgoings , but never asked me for any proof.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Having CCJs and other debts is a not reason why Amigo should automatically reject an application from you, BUT it does mean that they should have looked very carefully at your application and verified your income and expenses.
And when you add the top ups, this looks like potentially strong complaint to me.
LEE says
So I’ve contacted the FOS this afternoon and spoke to a helpful person. I was chasing an update regarding my FOS escalation but she asked whether I’d signed anything with AMIGO in terms of their final response as, if I had, then they couldn’t take it forward. I made it clear to AMIGO that I accepted their decision about the latter 3 top ups being unaffordable but that I didn’t agree regarding them not upholding the first three loans nor the unpaid interest of around £2k that was added to my outstanding balance. AMIGO wrote back to FOS in August and stated that I had accepted their offer as final! I had a number of phone calls with them outlining my concerns around the time of the final response and they even said I can escalate to FOS if I wish! ARGH! Nightmare.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
tell FOS this and say FOS can ask for a copy of the Amigo phone calls if Amigo carry on disputing this.
LEE says
Thanks Sara, I have said that to FOS and they’ve emailed AMIGO back this afternoon asking again for my business files. Let’s see if there is any further push back! They even said AMIGO are proving to be slow in responding to most things at the moment.
Danielle says
Does anyone know how long the process is for amigo to payout? Heard from ombudsman on 23rd October to say they have upheld the unaffordability claim after rejecting it before I went to FOS they didn’t send the figures over when they upheld it FOS has went to them twice now in the last couple weeks and never got a response. Anyone experienced this know a rough time scale?
Emma says
I had mine 7 days later directly from Amigo once FOS confirmed to them that I had accepted the offer on 23rd… still waiting for my refund though…
Niall says
Hi Sara,
I’ve received my SAR and have my exact figures. There are still 4 weeks until Amigo’s 8 weeks to respond are up.
Should I wait or raise it now with the FOS?
Also If I did raise it with FOS while the investigation is ongoing the figures (interest) will be increasing. Should I stop paying? or will the redress/refund be amended?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Wait for the 8 weeks.
If you stop paying , Amigo will ask your guarantor to pay.
Emma says
Hi All, 10 working days is up on Friday for to receive my redress payment, rang to check today and been told there is a ‘technical issue’ can’t tell me how long it will take… has anyone had this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Has your guarantor made any payments?
Emma says
Yes but they emailed to say that as she had confirmed she did not want a refund as I had paid her back (amigo didn’t actually ask her to make the payments) they would progress my refund. Sent me the figures I accepted and on the phone they said 10 working days for payment to be made to me
Sara (Debt Camel) says
my guess it is something to do with this.
Emma says
So it appears technical issue was an excuse… money went into my account today at 4.30pm so on the 10th working day
Sandra says
I heard from the fos last Friday I sent them my complaint after amigo only upholding the last three loans and not the first two, obviously they sent me the offer amigo had offered me the middle of August I stated that no I had sent bank statements that states I had payday loans and was gambling and it’s clear to see on my bank statements before loan and during the loans were unaffordable I sent my bank statements also to fos a while back, the fos emailed me back Monday and said they have requested the business file and could take up to two weeks To receive it or abit more, I just have a bad feeling they won’t uphold the first two loans don’t know why even with the bank statements I’ve sent before and during the loan I currently owe them £1238 that with the offer they give me after my complaint but like
I say I declined it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Lots of people have had a “bad feeling” but won their case. You have sent all the info, nothing to do apart from sit back and wait.
Niall says
Just a little update Amigo came back 4 weeks after I raised my complaint.
I’ve had my 10k loan cleared and a cash refund of £2400!
Thanks so much, Sara! You’ve made my life so much better :)