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
Naomi says
Hi I’m wondering if you can help, I am just wondering if it’s an affordability complaint I should be using, I can no longer afford the repayments due to my job being made redundant, I am currently relying on universal credit and was told I have a 3 day grace period to figure out income and expenditure and to get back to them with what we could afford, they have began pestering my guarantor and claiming they have no notification of the 30 day breather but I have the email there as proof (this is trust two)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have the payments so far been a struggle, with your other debts tending to increas4e? If yes, then you should send in an affordability complaint. This may be slow, it may have to go to the ombudsman, and it doesn’t mean you can stop paying, but that is a reason to get this started as soon as possible, not delay.
Have you already had a 6 months covid-19 payment break? If not you should ask for a 3 month payments break now. And another 3 months if you haven’t got another job when the first 3 months ends.
When you are in a conid-19 payment break Trust Two cannot ask your guarantor to pay. the regulator says they arent allowed to. So explain to your guarantor what is happening and tell your guarantor to cancel their direct debit to trust two so they can’t take the money incorrectly and leave your guarantor short.
JR says
Hi Sara
Can you please be so kind to help me work out interest owed on the following please?
Im being made an offer and wish to know how much full repayment would be?
I will update this group once settled.
02/07/2015 – £6500 borrowed – 60mths @ £253.96 a month – paid in full over full term.
How much was paid please with 8% interest?
Thanks so much
JR
Sean says
Hello,
I have just had a complaint upheld from the adj for a case against George banco. The final summary was quite in depth from the adj so I think I’ve got a good case. I will have made 21 payments of circa £400 of a £10k loan by start of feb. They had until today to get back to the adj, I’m a little apprehensive as to what they will come back but even if it goes to the ombudsman do you think I’ve a good chance?
All down to this site thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In 90% of cases the Ombudsman agrees with the adjudicator decision.
Nazia bibi says
Hi Sara,
On your advise previously
I sent my complaint to the ombudsman in july as amigos upheld my first loan but not the top up loan. Iv been ringing the ombudsman every 2 weeks but it still not been picked up by a judicator despite there several requests to amigos, amigos still have not sent my file across to them saying they have a very big back log.
Due to the pandemic my hours have been reduced. I tried to negotiate with amigos but they said they can only hold my account for payment for one week as you already jave had 6 month payment holiday . According to my calculations the total loan is for £10000, £395 is the monthly payment and i have made 48 monthly payments in total. If my complaint gets upheld, they should be refunding the £8000 back to me is this correct? They are still pressuring for the monthly payments, i am only making the payments as they will go after my gurantor who is my sister but shes on furlohgh leave. They are not not sending the file across or pausing the payments. How is this right? Is there nobody to question them how they are dealing with there customers. Any advise and help would be appreciated.
Regards Nazia
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you explain the situation to your sister and suggest that you need to stop paying Amigo as you can’t afford it so she also needs to cancel her direct debit to Amigo? This will NOT affect her credit record – the Amigo loan is not on there. And Amigo is not going to take you to court while there is an open complaint at FOS.
Amigo is trying to set up a Scheme of Arrangement – this will reduce what it pays out. In your case if the second loan is upheld, then the balance will be wiped – but every payment you make from now until the Scheme start – which could be many months – is effectively throwing that money away as you only get back a very small percentage of it in a Scheme.
I suggest you email the FCA complain that Amigo are delaying sending your complaint details to FOS. The FCA won’t look at your individual case but if they get enough of these emails they may tell Amigo they have to treat people more fairly.
To do this, email consumer.queries@fca.org.uk and copy this to nick.beal@amigoloans.net and complaints@amigoloans.co.uk
Subject: Amigo (708284) has delayed sending by case file to FOS and wont let me make reduced payments because my hours have been cut because of covid-19
Give your Amigo reference number, your name and address.
Explain how your complaint was upheld for only the first loan even though the second one was bigger (assuming it was?).
Say you sent the case to FOS in July but Amigo have still not sent over your case file.
Explain you have had a 6 months covid-19 payment break but still have reduced hours and cannot make the payments and that your sister who is guarantor is on furlough.
Say the FCA needs to do something to protect customers with Covid-19 problems and Amigo are being totally unsympathetic.
Also leave them a bad review on Trustpilot https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/amigoloans.co.uk if you haven’t already done this.
Chris says
While you have an open case with the FOS, the lender can’t take you to court. Can they take the guarantor to court?
Does the guarantor need to put in their own complaint to avoid court action or does the fact that my borrower complaint is with FOS mean they can’t do anything to my guarantor either?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
In the last 18 months of seeing these complaints I haven’t seen Amigo start court action against a guarantor when a borrower has an open FOS case. They will threaten it but it hasn’t happened. And now, when they are trying to get a Scheme through, seems an unlikely time for them to start.
But if you are worried, tell her to send in a complaint. There is a template here https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/ and she can use the “The loan was unaffordable for the borrower so you should never have given the loan at all. You did not check properly that the borrower could afford the loan.” option.
Kelsey Clark says
Hello,
I sent an SAR and complaint by the borrower to Amigo Loans on 28/04/2020. I sent the template letter and bank statements as advised. I had not received a reply so I contacted the ombudsman in October 2020 and sent them the information also. I received confirmation of my email and am still awaiting a caseworker. Could Amigo loans dispute the SAR and complaint as I had sent it to their ‘hello@amigoloans.com’ address instead of the ‘complaints@amigoloans.com’ address? Worried I will have to start the process all over again :/ I am still making the correct repayments so far but it is getting harder for each month that goes by :'(
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A lender should accept a complaint sent in my any reasonable means.
Have you phoned Amigo to ask what is happening to this?
Claire says
I paid my loan for the first year of my complaint then I just couldn’t keep it up… so stoped.
Complaint still going on over 2 years now
Mark says
Hi,
I have had an ongoing complaint with UKCredit for over a year now. The FOS took a while to get back to me but finally got back and rejected my complaint, I asked for it to be referred to an ombudsman due to excessive gambling on my statements. The ombudsman upheld the complaint and advised that UKCredit should refund interest paid plus standard 8%; UKCredit then replied saying that they didn’t agree with the decision and asked to see my bank statements to see how the ombudsman come to the decision, I was fine with this however the ombudsman didn’t agree to sending my statements. I then heard nothing from them for a month until I emailed them only to find out it has now be reassigned to another ombudsman for some reason? I thought that once an ombudsman had made a decision it was final? Have you got any advice for me to help speed this up as I am in a little financial difficulty, I have told them this but it hasn’t seemed to have helped.
Thanks,
Mark
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds unusual. Phoning up and asking what is happening and why it is taking so long seems the best idea.
I thought that once an ombudsman had made a decision it was final?
When an Ombudsman takes a decision which is different from the adjudicators, both the customer and the firm are again given the chance to comment and have their points listened to. It is a fair system but not that speedy when the firm drags it out.
Mark says
Finally received an update from the FOS. Apparently the original ombudsman could not continue with my case after providing a provisional decision upholding my complaint. My case has now been looked at by a different ombudsman who does has provided another provisional decision to not uphold my complaint.
To say I’m disappointed after all this is an understatement. I have replied stating that I do not agree with this decision due to several payday loans, missed payments and a lot gambling on my credit report and statements in the 6 months prior to the loan being given. I cannot see the decision being changed though.
Shelley says
Amigo only checked my bank statenent once it was only 3 weeks worth topped up twice more on less money one being on mat leave! Im trying to get it stopped!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Shelley,
have you put in a complaint, if so what stage is it at?
what is your current financial situation, have your household finances been affected by Covid-19?
can you afford the repayments at the moment?
what about your guarantor – could they really have afforded to make all the payments on your current loan and still paid their own bills, debts and living expenses?
Shelley says
Ive conplained yes explained i had poor credit rating at the time and that i had a zero hour contract job too.
Ive not been working for sometime now ive had a baby and im really struggling to the point i now have a next balance of 600 as i needed to clothe my daughter im paying 128 a month purely on universal credit on verge of losing my car and struggling to pay my rent ive had to get other loans to pay things.
My garentour my mum her hours have gone down too they also only looked at 2 payments of her wages.
Amigo pressured me into taking an offer of some of the loan of saying this will all that will be offered and they will not look into my loan again im not the brightest bulb and im very anxious and suffering from depression last 18 months but after some advice i was told i should take it further as they should of not given me a loan i owe 2130 and its still going to take 4 years to pay off and ive been paying since around june 2017.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can I suggest you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 urgently because rent arrears and possibly losing your car is very serious. Of course you know that, but a debt adviser can really help go through all your options with you and see the pros and cons of each of them.
Do you think your mum could have afforded to make all the repayments to the Amigo loan when you took it out? And still paid all her own bills, debts and expenses?
Have your mum’s hours been cut because of Covid-19? If they have, then one option for you and her may be for you to stop paying now – tell Amigo about your priority debts and go through an income & expenditure statement with them so they see you can’t afford this. And for your mum to tell Amigo she needs a three month Covid-19 payment break – then after that three months if her income is still affected she can ask for another one. That 6 month break might let you get back more on top of things?
Do talk to National Debtline about all these options though.
Jax says
I contacted the loan company that has upheld my complaint as they said they would update my credit record when I have repaid the amount outstanding stating my credit file should show the correct amount owed now and not before the interest had been removed. They responded with the same statement, that it would be updated when the outstanding balance has been paid. I replied saying I would contact FOS and ask for their advice and get back to them. The loan company has since called and left a message asking me to ring back. I suspect I will be escalating my complaint to FOS if they don’t agree to correctly apply the interest reduction now and not when I have repaid the remainder of the outstanding balance. I am wondering whether to refer the issue to the ICO too.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well see what they say when you ring them.
Jax says
They have agreed to remove the negative entries from my credit record. Complained at the weekend and received my final response 4 days later. All interest removed and now all negative data is being removed. I’m very happy. Thank you Sara. I now just need to pay off the remaining balance.
Vlad says
Hi, I am new here and have found this forum a huge help. I have complained to Amigo and their response was not favourable to me. They basically declined that I could afford to make the payments and that the checks they’ve done show this. But my situation changed and I’ve had to borrow money to make payments.
I have always paid on time and made all payments up until March of 2020 when I lost my job and have had even worse financial issues since.
They’ve given me an initial 6 months covid payment break, but my situation hasn’t changed since and I now have arrears of over £400 which I cannot afford to pay. They have given me more time to improve my situation, however they haven’t stopped arrears accumulating and are now demanding I start making payment or they will ask my guarantor for payment. My guarantor is in no position to pay either because covid has has impacted his finances severely as well.
I have complained to the FOS today, but I’m writing here for any advice on what to do? This is causing me untold stress and worries and I wish I could make payments but I simply can’t afford to and neither could my guarantor. I really want to mitigate the impact for my guarantor so any advice on what I could do or what next steps to take to make Amigo not take money or court action would be much appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think it would be a good idea for you to take debt advice – my guess is Amigo is not your only problem? I suggest you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000. Or if you want to know if there are more benefits you can claim then talk to Citizens Advice about benefits and your debts.
I have complained to the FOS today
Have you previously complained to Amigo?
Could your guarantor have afforded to make all the payments to the debt before covid-19? And still be able to pay their own bills, debts and living expenses? If not, they too can make an affordability complaint to Amigo – use the template letter for guarantors over here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/.
If your guarantor has been affected by Covid-19, then one option is for you to not pay (well obviously it sounds as though you simply can’t!) and suggest to your guarantor that they cancel their direct debit to Amigo and ask for a Covid-19 break themselves.
Your guarantor’s credit record cannot be affected as this Amigo loan is not on there. Amigo should not go to court with open complaints and although they send threatening emails, texts etc they aren’t actually going to court at the moment.
Vlad says
Thank you so much for taking time to reply to my comment.
I have indeed complained to Amigo loans 1st and after they sent me their response (it was negative and declined my complaint) I have decided to take my complaint to the FOS. The guarantor also made an affordability complaint to Amigo yesterday.
I am already claiming universal credit, but that’s enough to cover my other bills and food, etc and am not left with enough money to also make my Amigo payments. I simply can’t afford it, and I would keep up with payments if I could. I’ve been applying to jobs the whole time but with the pandemic and so unemployed applicants for any job positions it’s very difficult to get a job.
I’m glad to know that Amigo is unlikely to take me to court and affect the guarantor’s credit report, however, I’m still incredibly stressed and worried about what’s to come.
Having only complained to the FOS yesterday, is my case already classed as open? Meaning that Amigo will not be able to take action against me?
Thank you in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You should tell Amigo you have now sent the case to FOS.
I am sorry but this is a very stressful situation for you and there is no simple solution to that.
All I can say is that Amigo are not going to court in this sort of situation.
If your guarantor can get themself into a safe position by cancelling their direct debit and asking for a Covid-19 payment break that may take some of the pressure off you both.
I suggested you should talk to a debt adviser – your guarantor may also want to do this?
Gibran says
Hi, What happens if the company goes into administration and you haven’t put your claim in yet. Can you still put in a claim and do the off-set? Thanks in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you can. You can put in a claim after administration or after a Scheme starts. But honestly why wait? if you think your loan was unaffordable, send in a complaint now.
Are your household finances affected by Covid-19? If yes, have you asked for a pyamnet break?
James says
Hi sara
Wonder if I could have some advice, I have a complaint waiting to be picked up by FOS which has been with them since March 2020 apparently I’m on a priority list but still waiting to be assigned to a adjudicator. Anyway I’ve made a complaint to them now to say it’s just too long to wait and I’m not happy etc
Anyway randomly today the guarantor loan company not amigo, phoned me and said they now want to try and help and finalise the complaint with them direct. It’s been with them also for a year so you can imagine I was quite suprised
Basically the loan I took out with them was for £7500 over 5 years at £279 a month. I have a balance outstanding of £3500. For the last year I’ve been paying £100 a month to then to keep them happy and they have kept to their agreement and not chased my guarantor for the remaining money
Anyway they have phoned and made a offer to wipe the balance and finalise it that way. No further payment to me for any interest etc but I’m not sure if I just take it and run, or do a counter offer back to them?
They know I had gambling and i was on a debt management plan when I did the final top up with them so I’m wondering if their now thinking I could win and the ombudsman request a lot more
What can you recommend I say to them? I make it that I’ve paid around £11k in total to them
Look forward to any help, I wanna go back to them tomorrow with this I think
James
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you talk to FOS again. Say you have just been made this offer and when is your complaint going to be looked at?
I think they must be expecting that you will win.
If you win the case you should get 11000-7500=£3500 refund.
Alternatively you could go back to the lender and say you would be happy to compromise if they wipe the balance and refund you £1500 say? It’s up to you what you would be happy with.
James says
Thank you Sara, yeah I agree the £3500 would be the best result for me, but I just don’t know whether they will do that or not, we will see I guess
I’ve been so disappointed with the length of time FOS have taken to deal with this that I’m almost tempted to just try and walk away from it and accept a settlement from the loan company just to put it all to bed and least the loan will be finished and paid off
I’ll keep you all posted on what happens
James
Mathew says
Hi.
I have a guarantor loan with amigo and I am paying 237.15 a month. I am currently on payment holiday but I really can’t afford the loan as I currently do not work and receive universal credit. I am recovering alcoholic and took the loan out in desperation, however I had ccj’s, other loans and numerous credit cards in arrears and my current account it was paid into was only a couple of months old as well. My guarantor took my word that I could afford it, when I could not. Should I make an affordability complaint now with this scheme going on? If they do go into liquidation what would happen to my loan. I am unsure how to proceed?
Regard
Mathew
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There are three possibilities now – the Scheme may proceed, Amigo may go into administration, or something else may happen…
If Amigo goes into any form of insolvency such as administration, your loan will still legally exist, it isn’t going to disappear.
There is no disadvantage to you sending in a complaint now. It is easy (template on here https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/).
If Amigo go ahead with the Scheme or go into administration your complaint may be accepted as a Claim or Amigo may make you enter a new Claim. But there is no reason to wait for this. Especially as you are going to be unable to pay them when the payments holiday ends – when is that? – putting in a complaint doesn’t solve this problem but it makes things clearer to Amigo what is going on.
What was your guarantor’s financial position when you took the loan? Could they really have afforded to make all the monthly payments and still pay their own debts, bills and living costs? If not, they could put in an affordability complaint too, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/.
What is your guarantor’s current financial position? If they have been affected by Covid-19, then they can ask for a payment break when yours ends and Amigo asks them to pay.
Charlotte says
I am guarantor on a loan for my partner which is a 3 year loan took out april 2019, it was topped up in july 2019 I believe but has been unaffordable and still is! He took a payment holiday last march for 3 months when all the covid 19 stuff came about. This loan was obviously due to end april 2022 but is now pushed back until nov 2022 (all for not paying for 3 months) the repayments are £490 per month, he wants the interest taken off ideally as that would make it affordable as before interest the payments work out around £250 per month. Is it worth putting in a complaint and getting an ombudsman involved as now all of this scheme has come about and taken over or will we lose the case?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I assume this is Amigo.
A very quick top-up is often a sign that the loan was unaffordable.
People can still complaint now. Who knows if the Scheme will go ahead. Or administration. Or something else. There is no point in waiting to find out if you are in trouble now!
If he thinks the loan was unaffordable for him he should complain now.
If it was also unaffordable for you, you too should complain – the template for complaints by a guarantor is here https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/. If you win your complaint at least you are removed as guarantor and he can make an affordable payment arrangement.
He can also ask for another 3 month covid payment break if your finances are still affected. If he wins his case all interest is removed so it doesn’t matter how much is added.
C says
I am one year into a 4 year loan with amigo..I got email from them today about scheme.ive paid all payments on time ..interest is 49.9 per cent ..if i made a claim how would it work.on interest i havent yet paid
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you make a claim the first question is, will it be upheld? The Ombudsman is upholding a massive number of these complaints, well over 80%, because Amigo has not checked that borrowers could afford all the repayments and still be able to pay their other debts, bills and living expenses. But how many will Amigo uphold in the Scheme? We don’t know and from the Scheme there would be no appeal to the ombudsman, just someone Amigo appoints.
So if it is upheld, with an open loan it is changed to you only have to repay the amount you borrowed, no interest. So if you borrowed 3000 and have repaid 12 lots of £128 a month, total £1536, then your balance would be reduced to 3000-1536=£1464, your guarantor would be released and you could make an arrangement to pay the lower balance at a lower more affordable rate.
But there is no need to wait for the Scheme to be set up. If you feel the loan is unaffordable because it leaves you too short each month for all your other expenses, then you can send in a complaint now – read https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/ which has a simple template to use.
Stacey says
Hi Sara, I hope you’re well and thank you for all of your help! Amigo upheld the last of my 4 loans but slapped me with £7000 of unpaid interest. Its with the FOS now but amigo sent them somebody else’s file instead of mine so the process is taking even longer and they aren’t sticking to deadlines, as well as the added GDPR breach now. In the meantime my credit score has hit rock bottom because they are reporting defaults although it’s against unpaid interest I don’t actually know that I owe yet. Are you aware if there is anything I can do about the defaults?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think any defaults should be reported for the last loan which they have agreed to be unaffordable. Whether you can get them to listen to on this though is unlikely.
Stacey says
Thanks you, I’ll raise a dispute with credit union and see if they can help
Nasma says
Hello
I complained to Amigo loans about the unaffordability of my loan in 27th August 2019. However I did not persuade it further as I wasn’t sure how the process works and I did not want my credit score or my guarantor to be affected. However after reading so many stories about people’s successful claims I was wondering whether I may still have a case and could raise a new complaint or whether my guarantor can complain. My loan has been since repaid
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am sorry but there is a 6 month window for you to take a complaint to the ombudsman.
Did your guarantor make any payments?
Nasma says
Hi Sarah
Thanks for your answer. Not from his account unfortunately if I struggled he would send the money to my personal account and I would pay to amigo by myself. I was hoping maybe in light of all these new information about Amigo loans they could reconsider my complaint. I payed them over £8000 on interest and now kicking myself for not taking it further as I thought I can’t win the case
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If he didn’t make the payments, then to Amigo they look like your payments and he can’t now complain.
I think it is incredibly unlikely they will reconsider.
It is possible that if the Scheme does not go ahead and Amigo goes into administration you will be allowed to submit a new claim – this has happened with some payday lender administrations. But this isn’t certain.
Jonathan says
My case investigator at the fos phoned me this morning to tell me that my complaint has been upheld, he also told me that they don’t know why amigo have stopped paying any redress since they have announced the proposal of this scheme of arrangement but there are ongoing discussions at senior level to get this issue resolved. Not sure if the fos will get any answers but at least they are doing something.
Mr F says
Was this upheld by the adjudicator/ombudsman or have amigo agreed with the FOS decision
Jonathan says
It was upheld by the adjudicator, amigo have two weeks to reply to his decision, so not getting to excited.
Claire says
Yeah I woukd get excited just yet. I was in yiur position last April…still ongoing!! Dint give up hope tho.
Hopefully it’ll all be worth it in the end.
Its defo a journey
Lottie says
Hello Sara, I have a complaint going through with FOS against Varooma / TA Greenlight credit. They have asked for a foot of my credit file to confirm that in Aug 2015 I can evidence the CCJ’s and various defaults on my file, in which they should have not loaned the money, as the CCJ’s were not satisfied and I have several Defaults. The problem I have, most of them have dropped off my credit file now, due to the 6 year period. Although I have two CCJ’s still they were registered afterwards. I can show some defaults Still, as they still on there just about coming off. Is there a way to get the information relating to the CCJ’s that I had which have fallen off? As I have no paperwork either. I do have proof of defaults, as I am in a DMP and have letters relating to these. So that’s not a problem. It’s the CCJ – do you know if I can get this from anywhere? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
when you went into the DMP did you at that point get a letter of advice from your DMP firm talking about the whole situation and mentioning the CCJs?
you don’t have any letters or emails from the CCJ creditor? the court paperwork?
Who else did you borrow from at that time or just before?
Lottie says
I did my DMP in Dec 2019 and they mention it, but it does Not prove it was in place in 2015. No I have no paperwork about the CCJ.
I do however have 2 CCJ’s register in April 16 & December which shows that their loan was not affordable – which resulted in me getting further CCJ’s. I have defaults paperwork but nothing on the expired CCJ.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
And no paperwork on your DMP?
Lottie says
No there’s none. As it was a preferred payment in the budget for me to make they didn’t ask for any or request it. So nothing. At the time of my DMP I only had a few payments left to make.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you remember who the creditor was? You could contact the creditor and ask them to confirm it has been paid off and the date of the CCJ.
Stu says
Hi all, not sure if this has already been shared but the FCA sent me a link to more details of Amigo’s proposals of a Scheme of Arrangement regarding payment of compensation plans and a Practice Statement Letter: https://www.amigoscheme.co.uk/
It was in response to an email I sent the FCA with my views about Amigo’s SOA plan.
Thought it might help anyway. I had my Amigo complaint rejected by Amigo so it is currently with the FOS, in the queue for a case handler.
Many thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
See https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-scheme-timetable-approval-how-work/ for my article on this proposed Scheme.
Bernadette says
Hi I have only just become aware of Amigo situation my a txt message received today. I have never made a complaint to date but have good reason to.
My Son took out a loan 10/18 and I was Gaurantor a big mistake, he had very bad credit rating, had a drug problem and made only a few payments and since I have made all repayments. Is it too late to make a complaint, my son still can’t make repayments
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Will your son help by putting in a complaint?
Are the repayments affordable for you now?
How much was borrowed and how much has he paid? Have you paid so far?
Clare says
Has there been any update on the unpaid interest situation?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
None!
So far as I can see, every time FOS looks at a case, it decides that the previous loan should also be upheld, so the unpaid interest vanishes without there being a formal ruling that it is unfair.
#
Donna says
Hello all.
I complained to amigo about my Loan Dec 4th, they sent me a complaint acknowledgement on Dec 8th and said they will be in touch to update or give final response in 8 weeks. Tomorrow feb1st is 8 weeks since I first logged it and they have now stopped replying to my emails (7) under answered now.
What can I do?? I thought they were investigating and acknowledgement my complaint. Now there is this new scheme. As per their own website I shouldn’t fall into this scheme as I already had my complaint acknowledged by them on Dec 8th.
If I now to to Ombudsman’s will it even matter will it be picked up? I still paying £270 a month for a loan at this point I’ve paid back 3 times as much as I borrowed and there is still another year of payment which will
Mean I will have paid them back 4 times what I borrowed.
Am I gonna be stuck continuing to pay this to them when I know they’re gonna go bust and I will get nothing back? Please help this is so stressful. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As per their own website I shouldn’t fall into this scheme as I already had my complaint acknowledged by them on Dec 8th.
This is confusing but all current complaints will be included in the Scheme unless you had a final response from Amigo by Dec 21st (No) or you have a final decision from the Ombudsman by Dec 21st (No) or Amigo accepted a FOS adjudicator decision by Dec 21st (No.)
We don’t know – and won’t for months – whether the Scheme will go ahead but if it does your case will be in it.
I don’t see any downside to sending it to FOS now. It’s easy to do, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/#Taking_a_complaint_to_the_Ombudsman. If the Scheme doesn’t go ahead, who knows what will happen? I could make guesses but there isn’t much point.
If it goes into a Scheme you are likely to get very little back. You would get all the payments you make while the Scheme is in progress refunded. But the percentage of the interest you have already paid is likely to be tiny.
If it went into administration now you would ironically be better off than going into a Scheme in late May as again you would get a refund of the payments made since administration, so that could be 3 or 4 payments extra.
Are the current repayments affordable for you? Have your finances been affected by covid-19?
What are your guarantor’s finances like at the moment? When the loan was taken, would it have been affordable for them to make all the payments and still be able to pay their own debts, bills and living expenses?
Louise says
Hi, I made a redress claim. We made it clear that this was nothing to do with the guarantor as we paid the guarantor the full sum and they paid it off for us early. However, they just went straight to the guarantor and offered them redress of 5k which they accepted. We would only have been entitled to 1k. Now we have received a letter of amigos saying we owe over 3k. This is not with intrest etc it is mostly what they paid the guarantor. Hope that makes sense. We do not have this kind of money. I am just wondering what the next steps we should take. How should we adress this to amigos. We are very worried as its alot of money kind regards louise
Sara (Debt Camel) says
when was this payments to the guarantor?
the loan was repaid at the point you made the complaint?
what sort of terms are you on with the guarantor?
Louise says
Hi Sara, the loan was repayed in full a few years back. The guarantor took out a bank loan for us to repay amigos in full. We found the bank loan was low intrest and more manageable than amigos. The guarantor paid amigos off in full on our behalf with the bank loan, which we then paid the said amounts back per month. Last year we applied for redress and they went straight to the guarantor and gave them back that money they paid in full on our behalf . Guarantor used this to repay our bank loan. (The guarantor did not pay anything out of there pocket, we was repaying the bank loan until we got the redress) we presumed this was what we was owed. Now they want the money they paid the guarantor off us. I think amigos presumed that the guarantor was left out of pocket as they made the repayment to clear the loan originally for us. When really it was just on our behalf. We dont now how to put it to amigos that we do not have 3k and our financial situation is not great for high monthly payments. I just wondered is there a template email I can use to send an email to amigos. I am worried they may send bailiffs? As it is alot of money. Kind regards :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you asked the guarantor to repay you, on the grounds you had already repaid the loan they took out?
Stew says
Hi all,
I submitted an affordability claim today after hearing of there missellings. I know im probably too late but i thought i have nothing to lose. Long story short, got loan in sept 2018 for 5k, an by june 2019 i had increased it to 12.25k. Obv the payments were larger (£484) at the point, an i could afford it just at first till covid hit. I took redundancy at the same time an was gonna pay amigo, but the lack of job meant i couldn’t. Now im in a much less paid job so im struggling. They have agreed a lower figure atm, but obv my issue now is that imo i shouldnt of really been allowed to top up by that extent that quickly, was stupid on my part granted but they were irresponsible surely? I still owe 12.5k now, an i basically wanna know what you guyd think i could have as a best outcome? I dont care about gettin money back tbh, be great if i did but not the end game. My dream outcome is the loan disappears from me, an my mum aint liable anymore (fyi she says they didnt check her finances, meerly just phoned an asked if it was ok)
Thanks all
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you think you mum could really have afforded to make all the payments to this last loan? £484 a month and still been able to pay all her own bills, debts and living expenses?
Frequent top-ups are very often a sign that the borrower is in trouble.
Getting what must be a large balance written off may be unlikely. If you know a lot of the numbers, I could look at this for you?
I need to know for each loan (I am not sure if you only had 2 or there was another top up or two in the middle):
– how much you borrowed
– how much you received in cash if this was a top up?
– how many monthly payments and how large you made? eg 7 lots of £274. For the last loan you may have been paying at several different rates.
Stew sadler says
Hi Sara,
This will all be rough cos i aint looked at properly but might help.
Sept2018 5k (£219pm)
Dec2018 7.75k (so 2.75k top up) (£313pm)
Feb2019 10k( 2.25k top up) (395pm)
June2019 12.25k (2.25k top up) (484pm)
Never missed a payment once, so was paying the whole time. As for my mum, she would of been like me an had to of done alot of overtime to afford it. She agreed to do it as obv im her son so she did what a parent would do, but shes adamant they didnt ask for any proof of income from her which they should of id imagine.
Hope that stuff helps sara!
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you check by looking at your bank statements how many payments you actually made? So for the first loan I cant guess if you made 2,3 or 4 payments.
The last loan in particular, have you never missed a payment or paid at a lower amount?
How much have Amigo agreed to accept? is this affordable for you?
Stew sadler says
Nope never missed one from day one. I can see on my statement that from june 6th 2019 i got 12.25k, which paid off the previous 10k an left me with a payout of £2310. Then on july 2nd i paid £484.18 for 10 months before they offered people the furlough type stuff, so i started paying £100 a month until november 2020, then i agreed to pay £70 a week. I cant look back further on my amigo statement but hopefully that helps….
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So I have made some guesses as to the number of payments you made to previous loans. And you obviously guessed the cash payout numbers for loans 2 & 3. As a result the following numbers could easily be out by a couple of thousand pounds in either direction…
But as an approximation on your numbers you have paid the following interest on the loans:
loan 1 £657
loan 2 £626
loan 3 £1,520
loan 4 not yeat repaid the 12250 borrowed still £6,210 to go.
If all the loans were upheld, the interest from the first three would be used to clear some of the balance leaving you owing £3,407.
BUT that depends on all the loans being upheld. The real problem scenario for you is if in a Scheme Amigo only upholds one or two of the later ones. And it then tries to add on deduction of “unpaid interest” – which it has been doing since August last year, even though the Ombudsman never does,
You could potentially be a lot better off if Amigo went into administration rather than a Scheme if more loans were upheld and there was no unpaid interest deduction.
Stewart sadler says
Ah thanks so much, i had a feeling id be someone who’d be more in favour of them goin bust due to me still owing more. My mum is trying to complain today but is havin issues, so im gonna do it for her later. Do you think im best just seein what happens now ive done my complaint, or are there any other avenues you think i should explore?
Thanks again
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well I suggest waiting for more details about how they will assess complaints, so far there is zip.
I don’t think you can do anything to progress your complaint at the moment.
The only thing to consider is if you need to reduce your payments to Amigo if they are unaffordable. It’s good to be paying something back if possible as on those rough numbers you will still owe money even if all the loans are upheld. But you should not get behind with priority bills and debts…
If your mum makes a complaint would she be comfortable with cancelling her DD and you paying less? She would get hassle from Amigo.
Stewart sadler says
Currently she doesnt pay anythin to them, she actually said to me before they dont have her details ( i think shes wrong but shes adamant) i literally pay the 69 a week, but soon that agreement will end an it’ll go back to 484pm. I kinda wanna just cancel it an let them kick off, but dunno if i should tbh. Just startin to get my credit back up an running
Danielle says
Hi Sara,
Had an email today from Amigo regarding attending a vote on the Scheme of Arrangement for 31st March 2021. Just to check if we should be taking the opportunity to attend and if we should be voting against it.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
See https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-scheme-timetable-approval-how-work/ which says more about this Scheme.
You cannot vote on it now.
The end March is the date for the first court hearing – if that approves the Scheme then it will be possible to vote.
At the moment we hardly know anything about the important points so it’s hard to say what people should do… and the Scheme could be changed.
Danielle says
Thanks for coming back so quickly
AM says
I also had an email about the Scheme but my loan was cleared when they upheld my claim, do I need to do anything
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no you don’t. It won’t affect you.
Michelle B says
Hi Sara ,
So far iv had amigo , mr lender , fernovo , Ferratum and cash4unow uphold all my complains , I have a U.K. credit Loan that I’m a little worried about submitting , they have be very unpleasant to deal with over the years , all these complains were upheld without the need for the FOS , all the loans including the U.K. credit one were all taken out around the same time ,
amigo may, June and august 2018
U.K. credit 2018
Fernovo may June July 2018
Mr lender may august 2018
Cash4unow jan feb March April may 2018
Ferratum jan nov 2018 June July august September nov and dec 2018
If all these company’s agree without the need for the FOS and all complains delt with within 4 weeks of complains have I got a shot with U.K. credit too even though I only took the one loan out with them ?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
One loan guarantor complaints are being won! You may need to go to FOS but that is a reason to just get started with it.
C says
Does anybody have any idea what the current timescale is for an actual Ombudsman to pick up a complaint when a company rejects an adjudicator’s findings?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Who is the lender?
C says
UK Credit.
It’s been in the queue since October. Just wanted a rough idea of how long it would be before an Ombudsman is likely to pick it up. My case was prioritised but I’ve been told that there are a lot of priority cases in the queue
Charlie H says
Mine went to FOS 1 year ago and was referred to the Ombudsman in July. Still waiting. Most recent reply from FOS just said this –
Thank you for your email requesting an update.
This case is currently awaiting review by an ombudsman, who’ll issue a decision on your case.
I’m sorry for the delay. I know you’ve been waiting a long time, but I’m unable to say how long it will take to resolve this case, this is due to the number of people waiting for a decision. We’re working hard to resolve each case as soon as we can.
So frustrating as a year seems a reasonable timescale to get a response to me really and i dont want what happened to Amigo to happen to UK Credit as well (Not saying it is by the way)
C says
I referred my complaint to FOS in December 2019 as UK Credit instantly rejected my complaint due to the loans being over 6 years old. It’s taken 2 adjudicators and an Ombudsman to say they can look at my complaint and the adjudicator ruled in my favour in October but UK Credit still didn’t agree so I’ve got to wait for an Ombudsman to review it now
Claire says
Mine was 8 months
Holly says
hi all hope is well , I am complaining on behalf of a friend of mine to lenders where I can with the amazing help on this site . I just wanted to ask regarding bamboo , she sent them an email asking them for a payment plan back in November they’ve replied asking if they are the only creditor which they aren’t . After that she didn’t reply she’s been diagnosed with a mental health condition and found the whole thing extremely overwhelming it’s been over 8 weeks and she hasn’t replied to this email . Do you advise we go to the ombudsman now for an affordability complaint or try to resolve with bamboo ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You have to send Bamboo the affordability complaint first.
I would add a sentence to it saying she didn’t carry on talking to them late last year because she had mental health problems, which she still does but she is being helped to do this by a friend.
Holly says
Ok thanks a lot
George says
Hi Sara,
Thank you for all of your help with my claims so far – I’m going for a triple threat and have put a claim into UKCredit. I used a loan from UKCredit to consolidate loans, however, had a huge gambling problem. The account with them is active.
The application was only in June 2019 so I’m not sure if their checks had changed by then to cover new laws/guidelines. However, over the statements I sent showing my accounts 3 months prior to the application, there is £990 of gambling transactions over them. As well as lots of dribs and drabs of payments coming in where I had to ask family and friends for money.
Do you think they should have at least queried the gambling transactions and odd amounts of income coming in from different sources other than salary?
I re-sent the 3 statements with my claim and they immediately responded asking for 1 month post pay out also which reflects over £650 of gambling in just the 1 month after receiving the loan. (some of this is prior to receiving the loan amount.)
Where do you think I stand on this? Do they take gambling as a problem when it comes to irresponsible lending?
Thanks again for everything – you really are fantastic.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m not sure if their checks had changed by then to cover new laws/guidelines.
The regulations never really changed!
If they saw significant gambling on your statements they should have declined the loan in my opinion. straight to FOS if they reject the complaint I suggest.
George says
I suppose all it comes down to is what they would consider to be significant – which I imagine will be their basis when they reject it, which I fully expect haha!
Oh I would definitely take this to the FOS. Especially as my bank balance was so low and it is clear that didn’t stop me from trying to gamble.
What is the FOS’ stance on gambling? Do they look at it as a serious reason not to lend to someone? The fact it didn’t come up in conversation with the advisor when they lent to me is what makes me think it’s worth a shot.
Nervous about sending this one though as it’s a live loan.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
FOS isn’t judgmental about gambling – it doesn’t see this as some discretionary expenditure you can stop.
Live loans are the best to complain about as winning the cases reduces the pressure on you so much! If you carry on paying, then there is no effect on the loan or guarantor while it goes through. And if you need a payment arrangement having a complaint in means the lender can’t take you to court. Obviously you need to talk to the guarantor if you need a payment arrangement or to stop paying.
Dnic says
Just wanted to add that I had a huge gambling problem with amigo loan. Fos told me they treat these claims differently and give you more protection when dealing with redress.
Jax says
Hi, I raised a complaint, not with UK Credit, but with another lender. They asked me for bank statements which I sent, all showing significant gambling transactions. They upheld my complaint within a week of raising it and removed all interest and negative information from my credit file. My credit file was amended within a week of accepting their offer. Good luck!
Sarah says
Hi Sara,
I posted on the 21st of January about submitting a complaint to trust two.
I have just received my final offer letter, which I was surprised to receive so quickly.
I originally borrowed £5,400 and then topped up my loan to £6,300.
They have admitted that they can’t find evidence on any of the loans that checks were carried out and confirmed that no responsible checks were carried out.
Total refund £7,671.14 which already deducts the Hmrc amount.
They have said they are deducting £3,417.40 for underpayment on loan one. So refund due £4,253.74 and will remove both loans from my credit file. Do you think this is a fair offer or do you think I should counter offer so I have some money to pay back to my parents for helping me out each month?
Are trust two reasonable I just don’t want them to retract the offer. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so are they refunding both loans?
how have they described this “underpayment”
Sarah says
This is what they wrote.
You borrowed £5,400 therefore we are willing to refund anything you have paid over £5,400. Before topping up your loan you paid £1,982.60 towards the principal sum borrowed. This means you have underpaid loan one by £3,417.40 and will be deducted from any redress due.
I have been unable to find aby evidence to suggest that necessary checks have been carried out therefore I cannot confirm that responsible checks were completed.
You borrowed £6,300 for loan 2 after settling loan one you were advanced £1047.04 therefore we are willing to refund anything you have paid over £1,047.04. Amount paid = £8181.03 so will refund £7,133.99 plus an additional 8%
Sara (Debt Camel) says
that is a very bizarre calculation – but it may or may not produce the right answer!
Before topping up your loan you paid £1,982.60 towards the principal sum borrowed.
do you know how many payments and how large you paid to the first loan? Ignore if they were interest or principal, just cash eg 8 payments of £215
Sarah says
That’s what I thought to be honest I couldn’t make out how they’d come to the calculation!
10 payments and they were £198.26
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok so that bit of it is right, I was concerned that “paid £1,982.60 towards the principal sum borrowed” meant they were disregarding the interest payments you had made, but they aren’t.
So did they say what the 8% amount was and/or the tax deducted?
And what were the dates of these loans?
Sarah says
8 % £671.44 (subject to HMRC 20%) £134.29
I was really surprised to get a response so quickly to be honest, maybe it’s because they know that they’re at fault?
1st loan taken out on the 30/05/2017
2nd top up taken out on 17th April 2018
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ok so the 8% wont be huge as the last loan isnt paid off. I can’t say their number is wrong.
If its right then their offer is fine.
Good result. If they have no checks on file they would lose the case at FOS so better to refund you now and not get a FOS fee.
If you wonder how it can be right, it’s because you can add up and subtract numbers in any different order and get the same result. Their order is weird but it comes to the same as mine which isn’t :)
Holly says
Hi all just some advice please , I have had my complaint rejected by an adjudicator for a loan from buddy £5 paying back 10k . Adjudicator said they done proportionate checks they could see I was in 13k debt and didn’t see it as a problem as I advised I would use some of this money to pay off debts which I did but I am still in a lot of debt especially now I have this loan . I am absolutely gutted and I’m not sure if this is fair for me . Can I escalate this at all ?
The credit report provided shows that Miss L’s outstanding credit balances at the time totalled £13,324. This was shared between several loans, including short-term (payday) loans, a credit card, an overdraft and a mail order agreement. The report did also show that she had recently had problems repaying her credit commitments. A loan account had defaulted in July 2019 and three other loan accounts had entered delinquency between April and October 2019.
I’m so shocked and upset this had happened genuinely am I being like deluded or 😂
Holly says
Sorry can I also add that I was in 13k debt and they gave me a 5k loan paying back 10k in total . Honestly I am gob smacked at the adjudicator’s decision and it dosent make any sense to me
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can ask for the decision to be looked at by an Ombudsman – that is the “second level” at FOS.
I always suggest people follow their instinct – if you know repaying the loan caused you a lot of trouble take the complaint to the next stage.
Were you sent a copy of all your personal data by Buddy? If so, this is the time to read it all, together with what the adjudicator has said. https://debtcamel.co.uk/sar-affordability-complaint/ looks at how this data can help with a complaint. Most people don’t need it, but now you do.
You need to write out an explanation of why your complaint should be upheld, including details from the personal data and pointing out anything in the adjudicator’s report that is wrong.
Send this to your adjudicator and ask for it to be sent to the Ombudsman – don’t wait to be asked.
If you haven’t already provided your credit record and bank statements you also need to do this.
Liam says
Hi Sara,
Hope everyone is well.
You helped me with having both my George Banco and Bamboo complaints upheld and all interest/guarantor being removed.
I agreed with both parties a monthly payment moving forward to clear remaining balance but due to personal circumstances/covid I have fell behind on these. Both parties have reported the late payments top the credit reference agencies despite the complaint stating all late payments would be removed from my credit file?
Can you explain if this is correct and how I get these late payment markers removed.
Regards,
Liam
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send each of them a new complaint. Saying they are being unreasonable in adding late payment markers, when the debt arose from unaffordable lending. Send the complaint to the ombudsman at 8 weeks if they do not agree to remove them.
do you have other problem debts as well?
Holly says
Hi guys has any one had any luck with a rejected Buddy complaint at the ombudsman?
Holly says
Fos believes they done sufficient checks for a 5k with 5 k interest debt consolidation loan so 10 k altogether . I was originally in 13 k debt and paid some off with this I also advised I was going to help my Mum out with this money as she’s disabled not working and looking after my sister . Fos said they didn’t add to my debt my income worked out at the time they worked out wrong from what I can see and they also used data from Office of National Statistics (ONS) which I don’t feel they should have done as I was helping my mum out and paying rent where I lived ontop of that my credit report it shows how many defaults I’ve had how many loans in a short space of time I think one month was £1,200 I borrowed in a month ! I’m honestly gob snacked and really disheartened . I have replied to all their points as to why they didn’t uph So but I’m very nervous at this point
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s normal to be nervous, but you think they haven’t correctly assessed what was going on and you have said why. If the adjudicator doesn’t change their mind, then ask for it to go to an ombudsman – that is what the second level Ombudsman is there for – to look again when an adjudicator may not have got it right.
Holly says
Yes I’m guessing it will go to the next level now as I’ve sent a letter over of my points individually . Buddy have been one of the worst to deal with for me for different reasons and I know it was unaffordable
Holly says
Complaint has been rejected and not upheld by an adjudicator , so I’ll have to take it to next level now fingers crossed 🤞🏽
Mags says
Hello,
I was wondering if I could get an advise. I have raised the affordability complaint with Bamboo and I received their final respndse last week.
They said that they did not find anything that they did incorrect.
I sent them 3 bank statements prior taking the loan and on two of them my overal monthly balance was on minus.
They offered 50% of the interest of the loan to be reduced from overall balance as a gesture of a good will as I currently have a loan with them. I explained further that I was on many occasions on unaranged overdraft as seen on payslip and that I should not be given the loan. They also only referred to the expenditure form I filled in when trying to get the loan and I explained that I changed the amounts on it slightly to be able to get the loan. They also said that the loan is also secured by the guarantor so they felt confident when giving me that loan and upheld my complaint.
Also they mentioned that onany occasions this type of request were raised with FOS and were upheld therefore they believe that 50% of the interest in fair and in situation that the complain will be upheld by FOS that amount will not be available.
I am not sure what to do. Would you take their offer?
Mags
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So in this situation if you go to the Ombudsman and have your case upheld, your balance would be reduced to 3500 borrowed – (6*216 paid) = c £1700.
Your balance at the moment will probably be very high as Bamboo are likely to have added an extra 6 months interest during the covid-19 payment breaks.
“They also said that the loan is also secured by the guarantor so they felt confident when giving me that loan “
That has NOTHING to do with whether the loan is affordable for you. The FCA’s rules say they should asses the affordability for the buyer not taking into account the fact there is a guarantor.
As they saw your bank statements, if they show that you couldn’t make the loan repayments they are likely to lose an affordability complaint at the Ombudsman.
So their offer sounds very poor. They are sometimes prepared to negotiate, so do you know what your current balance is? Have they said what it would reduce to under their offer? Also can you afford the repayments at the moment?
What is your guarantor’s financial position at the moment, have they been affected by covid-19? What was their position at the start of the loan – could they really have afforded to make all the loan payments and pay their own bills, debts and living costs?
Mags says
I just logged in to my account and the remaining balance is £4,338.99.
My guarantor had no other loans at that time and was in okay situation finacoally, however, his situation changed since then and he moved outside of the UK and currently has no job.
That is the summary of their response:
“We are however surprised and disappointed to hear that you are unhappy with Bamboo agreeing to lend to you and whilst we are happy that we acted appropriately, there is considerable cost to administering complaints such as this. We also note that you appear to be struggling during this uncertain Covid-19 period.
We are therefore prepared to make a goodwill offer with the intention of helping you repay the outstanding loan faster than scheduled.
The offer, which is made in full and final settlement of this complaint, is to reduce your balance by £842.62. This is equivalent to 50% of the interest on the loan.
If you are happy to accept this offer the please confirm your acceptance by replying to this email, we will then make the relevant adjustments to your account.
Please note that this reduction will not show on your online balance immediately, but we can assure you that your account will be noted to reflect our resolution and once the remaining agreed balance has been repaid, a balance adjustment will be applied to your account and your loan will be closed down earlier than scheduled.”
Thank you very much for your help Sara x
Mags says
I responded to their last email and they replied back:
Dear x,
Thank you for your email and I am sorry to hear that you were dissatisfied with our response.
In regard to your comment relating to the Financial Ombudsman Service, we would welcome their involvement as an impartial party to review the steps we have taken.
Please also note that our gesture of goodwill offer has now been withdrawn.
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Yours sincerely
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, off to the Ombudsman then!
Claire says
Bamboo did the exact same with me first offered me £500 then £1000 I rejected both offers and When the FOS requested my file/information Bamboo then upheld my claim and refunded all interest paid, This might not happen with you but I would seriously consider hanging in there and not accepting there offer.
Laura says
I also had a similar situation, Bamboo rejected my complaint but offered £750, I disputed and they offered £2000 (I paid £7000 in interest). They also said if I refer to FOS their offer will no longer stand.
My complaint went to FOS at the start of January and I’m now in the queue for an investigator.
If this is happening to a few of us it seems to be their MO for complaints handling.
Holly says
Sara , I have found complaints that have been upheld on the ombudsman decisions online that are very very similar to mine , where as mine has not been upheld . Shall I put across these points when it goes to an ombudsman ?
Also these complaints I’ve looked had has been upheld and signed at the bottom for example- Jane Doe OMBUDSMAN . Where as mine has been seen my an investigator ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It normally doesn’t help much unless the situation sounds identical.
But what can help is reading what an Ombudsman has said and working out what points led to the case being upheld. Then you can write about this trying to use the same sort of wording.
Only Ombudsman decisions are published, not ones from an adjudicator/investigator. That’s why they all have the ombudsman name at the bottom.
Holly says
Thanks Sara would you say it’s worth replying with the similarities when it goes to the ombudsman ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
only if its the same lender and they are VERY similar.
If you want an Ombudsman to read something, this is the time to write it and send it in to your investigator, asking for it to be forwarded to the Ombudsman. Don’t wait to be asked later if there is anything more to add, sometimes ombudsman cases go through very quickly if the Ombudsman agrees with the adjudicator.
Holly says
Hi Sara yes same lender and VERY similar circumstances in that same amount of money lent for same reason all stating it has and will leave us in more debt and how the loan wouldn’t have stretched to cover all of them same sort of credit history defaults etc
Vik says
Keep going even when you feel like giving up… 14 months of hell waiting for the FO to agree that my loan was unaffordable, in December they ruled in my favour an hour ago they have finally emailed to remove my guarantor (which was my main issue as it was effecting her badly too) 5k offer on redress via the FO
Without the useful advice I would never have gain the courage to raise a complaint as I felt it was all my fault! Keep going people
Holly says
Buddy loans are awful – an adjudicator agreed part of my case in my favour to £200 compensation for buddy taking trouble the payment they were owed done month then the next two months taking the full payment all when agreeing to a payment plan . Buddy loans have rejected this part of the complaint and want the ombudsman to look at that to what an absolute joke . The adjudicator declined the affordability so this is a new one for me fingers crossed . Seems they are fighting till the end for whatever they can
Buzijs says
Hello. Last 2weeks ago i send complaint to FOS about Amigo Loans. End of january i get year stament and was showing start balance 4000pounds and i been paying 158 pound every months. And end year balance 3956pound. So from 1896 pound i paid off only 54 pound and rest is interest charge. Thats is too much. In weekend i received email from Amigo that i can send them complaint letter and all details. I got question did anybody received something back from them and what u was writing in complaint letter. I been paying amigo allready 3years start balance was 4750.defo i paid all amount what i took it. Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
People here are usually complaining that the Amigo loan was unaffordable – they couldn’t manage to pay it and also pay their other bills, debts and everyday expenses so they have got deeper into debt. Has this happened to you?
Simon Green says
Hi Sara
I’m really hoping you can give me some advice before I reply to an FOS adjudicator who’s recently contacted me to explain that she won’t be upholding my complaint against TFS Loans for a £5000 guarantor loan I took in 2018.
After reading through her response several times it seems her decision is only based on the affordability part of the complaint and although my payslips verified the loan as affordable what she hasn’t seemed to take into account is the irresponsible lending side of the complaint?
My argument is that TFS, who were well aware I already had three guarantor loans and was a regular user of payday loans missed numerous warning signs that I was having financial difficulties and should have completed more in depth checks meaning the loan would never have been given.
Basically I was wondering what my chances are of changing the case handlers mind? Is this something that happens regularly or am I going to have to wait for an Ombudsman to make a final decision?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what would the more in depth checks have shown? Have you sent your banks statements?
Simon Green says
Hi Sara
Yes the adjudicator has my bank statements and they’re horrific to be quite honest, full of payday loans coming in and repayments going out and hundreds of pounds worth of gambling transactions.
Had TFS done a proper evidence of expenditure check they would never have given me the loan.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how large was the loan?
Simon Green says
It was a £5000 loan taken out over 5 years.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I suggest you go back to your adjudicator and piint out that this https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/complaints-deal/consumer-credit/unaffordable-lending says:
“There the other potential factors (such as the borrower losing any security provided, or a guarantee could be called on), it’s far more likely that an affordability assessment will need to be more detailed and contain a greater degree of verification, in order for it to be fair, reasonable and proportionate.”
Si in view of the size of the loan, the fact it was a giarantor loan and the state of your credit record, TFS should have made detailed check and then they would have seen the gambling on your statements and declined to loan.
It is well worth trying to get the adjudicator to change their mind – it does happen. If they won’t then ask for it to go to an ombudsman.
Simon Green says
OK thank you Sara, do you suggest I include that link and the paragraph that follows in my reply?
And should I carefully go through every other concern I have with her decision, for example all the warning signs I think TFS missed that warranted further checks?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes. And yes.
Simon Green says
Brilliant, will do, thanks again.
Lottie says
Hi Sara,
Was just wondering if you have had Many dealings or info on Buddy loans ? I took out a loan in August 2017, over 5 years. They didn’t do a proper affordability assessment, had they done this then they would know I had so much debt, CCJs defaults missed payments, and the income they took was not correct and they never verified any of it. I ha e never missed a payment as I do not want problems for the guarantor. However because I have not missed Payments on this loan I have got in even more and more spiralling debt having to go in a DMP. When I applied for the loan they even got me to take more over a longer period. Do know if FOS have got anywhere with unaffordable claims? Buddy rejected it.was just wondering if its likely or not. Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes a lot of people have won cases against Buddy at FOS. Your story of having to get into more debt sounds like the loan was unaffordable so go to FOS!
Ab says
Hi,
Has anyone had any joy with Tfs loans? I have had an ongoing battle with them over the last year and year. My guarantor is extremely ill which they have seen evidence of, yet they are still hassling them and sending them letters. It was agreed they would deal with myself as I took it to the FInanical ombudsman and they have completely ignored everything. They are really added to my stress levels and I just don’t think their behaviour is acceptable. Does anyone have any experience with TFS? Thanks so much
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did you win your FOS case but TFS have not released your gaurantor?
JR says
I submitted a complaint against TFS, which was upheld by the adjudicator last year. Apparently they have been quite poor communicating & meeting the FOS deadlines and were late on ones my adjudicator set – and needed him to chase – so they aren’t great to be honest. Awaiting Ombudsman decision – will update when I hear more.
ab says
Nope I didn’t win it, as they half sided with tfs and half myself due to time frames etc. I’m still battling with tfs, even though they are fully aware of the FOS suggestions they made. It’s not right my Guarantor is still on there, due to their and their health conditions. I went throw something very traumatic in may and asked for my account to be held and I had to provide evidence off this. They put my account on held, yet still added interest and fees. Their service is terrible and I really felt I had a strong case for affordability and they didn’t get the information back to the FOS in my time frame
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You say you half won it – could you explain?
Ab says
I didn’t win anything as they agreed with both myself and tfs, as tfs never sent any information/ evidence to them in the time frame . So FOS concluded my complaint and left saying if they had further info etc from tfs. So I’m not back to square one because tfs to absolutely ages to go back to them. So I’m not fighting with them with regards to my guarantor being extremely ill and I lost a child at the end of the last year and they been nothing be awful
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m sorry I don’t understand this. FOS will not end a complaint if they are waiting for a lender to supply information.
If you give up on a FOS case you will never get the lender to make you or the guarantor a good offer.
Does your guarantor own a house?
Sam says
Hi Sara,
I need some advise I took a loan out with UK Credit in 2017 for £8,000 Loan over 5 years. Super easy transaction with minimal questions asked about outstanding credit cards etc…Looking back financially I’m paying £280 Per Month alone to UK Credit before even paying off my other credit cards/bank overdraft or any other bills. Interest at the end of this loan will amount up to £15,000 which is extortionate amount I feel like I am drowning in this is loan month by month being furlouged doesn’t help the situation anymore.
What alternatives do I have to get this sorted?
Thank You!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Has your debt been going up since you took this loan? Was it a problem before furlough?
Sam says
Hi Sara…I’m doing best to ensure monthly payments are met however on a couple of occasions now I’ve struggled to make payments to UK Credit. I have discussed this with them however made no difference whatsoever as I was bombarded by phones calls almost instantly about outstanding payments and incurring interest charges to my account even so after I managed to sort the payments out to them. Bully tactics spring to mind?
Yes this has effected me prior to being furlouged I genuinely feel that I’m stuck in a nightmare which I am unable to get myself out of.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As you were having problems before the pandemic, this suggests the loan was unaffordable from the start. The article above looks at how to send them an affordability complaint.
Have you had a covid-19 payment break for this loan?
Sam says
UK Credit sent out a generic email regarding payment breaks if required due to covid-19, Email furthermore mentions that outstanding payments will be added to the end of the loan which is understandable but will incur more interest charges. I feel like I’m better off trying to maintain payments than taking the payment break which will only prolong the loan and get stung with more interest charges. Am I within my rights to send an affordability complaint which you mentioned Sara?
Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes you can make an affordability complaint.
But you don’t have to choose between doing that and taking a Covid-19 payment brea, you can do both. The big advantage of doing both is UK Credit cannot ask your guarantor to pay when you are in a Covid-19 payment break, so that gives more time to get your complaint through.
You have to ask for the COVID-19 payment breaks by the end of March, so you can’t decide no and hope to manage now and then change your mind next month.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
And of course if you win the affordability complaint ALL a interest is removed, so it does matter if they have added any more.
Adam says
Hi Sara, slightly different problem, in brief bamboo
Loans wouldn’t officially uphold my claim but removed £3000 interests and removed my guarantor which I accepted. However I was 2 payments behind . I have since made 6 months payments on time but can’t afford to pay the arrears. I keep asking them for a solution and they constant ask me to prove my income etc which I have. They won’t provide me with a Solution but say they are willing to come to an arrangement ? What are my options here? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What sort if solution do you want?
What other debts do you have at the moment?
Adam says
I was hoping they could either give me a 2 month “holiday” or extend the loan by 2 months so I can get up to date mainly because my credit file is being adversely affected due to this constant missed payment even though I’m making the current payment each month .
I have several debts but after a big struggle am up to date with them all barring bamboo. I don’t have much money spare at the end of each month after paying everything hence not being able to afford to pay the arrears aswel as the monthly payment .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s a shame you didn’t send the complaint to the Ombudsman, if you had won there you wouldn’t now be getting problems with your credit record.
If you are that tight every month then really it would probable best to talk to StepChange about a debt management plan. Because you can’t protect your credit record if you are that short of money for a long while, something will go wrong and you will either have to miss payments or get back into the cycle of bad credit borrowing. Paying down your debts faster in a DMP is a safer way forward even if it isn’t good for your credit record.
A Sal says
A full 7 months after the adjudicator sided with me stating TFS loans had lent irresponsibly; I get an email from the same adjudicator saying the ombudsman may reject my complaint as they would like to see my income and expenditure at the time. I tried to get these from Tesco Bank but they can’t provide me with the bank statements. Any advice on how to approach this. I submitted my wage slips and credit file to show debts at the time, which th adjudicator used to side with me in the first place.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how old was the debt?
A Sal says
Hi Sara
The loan was taken out in Oct 2015
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is less than 6 years ago, why can’t Tesco provide the bank statements?
Did your adjudicator ask for the statements?
Phil R says
I raised a complaint against Buddy Loans for two guarantor loans I had from them. Loan 1 – £3500 / Loan 2 – £5000 and both now fully paid off. Buddy Loans have responded saying they’ve checked them both and say Loan 1 had all the right checks and has not been upheld.
Loan 2 however they have upheld saying it was not affordable when they gave me it, in their email they say I only paid ££5563.60 back so they are only offering to refund me £563.60 and that this is their final response and deem the complaint closed, reply ‘Accept’ to claim the £5563.60 and to send my bank details.
The loan was over two years so I have paid over £7000.00 back, there are also some default fee’s where I struggled on a couple of months to make the payment. They had sent me a statement of the account and I can see all the payments I have made over the loan period which shows I paid a lot more than £5563.60, there are also a couple of other payments showing on there that I did not make and neither did my guarantor and there are also some adjustments they have made that don’t make sense to me.
I have emailed and emailed them to query this and sent them a summary of each of the payments I made but they will not respond and I think that they are using the ‘This is our final response and deem the complaint closed’ to not respond to me.
What can I do now? I think they are just using bullying tactics to try and get me to accept the £563.60.
Kind Regards
Phil
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you happy to just get a refund on the second loan?
If you are then send them another email saying you are prepared to accept a refund on the second loan only in the interest of a speedy settlement. But they have not calculated this correctly. Unless they revisit your complaint and recalculate the refund on loan 2 by the end of the week, you will be sending the complaint to the Ombudsman and asking FOS to look at the affordability of both loans.
Chris says
Are amigo still paying out redress to customers? My complaint with FOS and my adjudicator emailed me saying amigo have made me an offer. If I accept will I be paid out or need to wait till this scheme in operation?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
My assumption is that if Amigo has made you an offer they will pay out now. Can I ask if FOS would have identified you as vulnerable?
Chris says
Yes I believe they have as my case was prioritised.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ah I think Amigo may have agreed to pay out on some priority cases. I don’t know what the criteria are. Glad you got a good result.
Chris says
I’ll be happy when the money in my bank lol
KY says
Yes they are paying out I accepted with amigo on 4 out of 5 loans and sent one for FOS last week amigo paid out just over £1000 so finally got refunded for all :)
Kelly says
Hi Sara,
I just wondered if you could work your magic on some numbers for me (so I know what I’m working with if Amigo respond to the Adjudicators outcome).
Loan 1 – £500 (borrowed and received)
4 x payments of £51.53
Top up loan 2 – £1000 Borrowed
Recieved – £647.14
6 x payments of £61.82
Top up loan 3 – £1750 Borrowed
Received – £926.71
3 x Payments of £85.38
Top up loan 4 – £2750 Borrowed
Received – £1074.42
3 x payments of £108.69
Top up loan 5 – £4750 Borrowed
Received – £2062.52
So far 12 x payments of £187.74
1 missed payment
Balance outstanding – £5416.65
they said the lot were unaffordable – Amigo originally said they agreed with the first two before I escalated it to the FOS
Any help would be massively appreciated.
Thank you 😊
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I make the interest you have paid on each loan as follows:
loan 1 £57
loan 2 £190
loan 3 £181
loan 4 £298
loan 5 paid 2244 so far, so when interest is removed the balance would be reduced to £2,506
So the interest on loans 1-4 will be used to reduce the 2506 balance on the current loan to £1780.
Your guarantor should be released and you can make an arrangement to repay that balance at a more affordable rate.
What are the rest of your finances like at the moment?
Kelly says
Hi Sara,
They’re not great to be honest, the company I worked for has gone into administration and I am not due any redundancy so I’m now on JSA with a small top up from UC. Its so frustrating as I was starting to get back on track after years of struggling.
I have a secured loan from years ago with Coast Financial Solutions (originally from Welcome Finance) and I am still in a DMP for other debts.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so do you have a mortgage too or are you renting?
how large are the debts in your DMP?
Kelly says
Hi Sara,
Yes I have a mortgage but they have been very understanding about my current situation as I am currently looking for work.
I have been doing well on my DMP it has reduced over the years from 15k to now just under 2k although I am going to get Amigo added to this once I have their response which should be by 4th March (fingers crossed).
Thanks
Catherine says
Anyone any recent experience with a upheld ombudsman decision with Buddy loans and how long they take to respond to ombudsman with refund calculation?I know they give 4 weeks at the moment just wondering if anyone had a prompt refund from them.
I contacted Buddy direct to ask if I could cancel the upcoming March direct debit as I’ve already overpaid the principal loan amount and they agreed to cancel that I’m just hoping the refund comes soon as it would really help right now.
Laura S says
Just wanted to update you on the outcome of my complaint.
I complained May last year and then referred my complaint to the FOS as Amigo only upheld the 2nd and 3rd loan I had, not the 1st and 4th.
After hearing about the proposed Amigo Scheme I’d lost hope of the FOS being able to do anything….. Until I had an email today, stating as follows:
The offer will include:
– Amigo refunding the interest that you paid on the loan 1 to 4
– Your refund will include interest as the simple rate of 8% per year (less any tax properly due) until the date of settlement; and
– Amigo removing any negative information that has been recorded on your credit file concerning the loans.
Amigo has given us the details of what your refund will look like, as follows:
Total interest paid: £10,458.55
Interest from previous loans: £1,049.10
Current Balance: £2,412.31
Total Paid: £12,825.73
Plus 8% simple interest: £870.15
less tax at 20%: £217.54
Total settlement due: £9,965.29!!!
So please don’t give up hope if your case is at the FOS everyone.
Thank you Sara for the amazing advice. My husband and I can now clear our credit card debts as well as not having the Amigo Loan freeing up about £600 a month. This will help us out so much as a family
Jax says
What a wonderful outcome. Congratulations that is amazing!
Laura S says
Thank you, literally can’t believe it!!
April says
Can I ask when you heard you first response from an adjudicator ? Was it before the cut off ?
April says
Hello
That’s amazing news !
Was you fos complaint send over before the deadline ?
Laura S says
I emailed the financial ombardsman on 1st July 2020, I rang them in November as I contracted Covid and my finances and mental health really suffered. Today was the 1st response from an adjudicator. I don’t think I’ll actually believe it until the money is in my account to be honest
Stacey says
Hi Sara,
Today, the FOS have found in favour of me on 3 of 4 loans. They have also ‘made comments’ about the unpaid interest and don’t believe it’s fair. Does this mean anything now given what’s going on? I dont even care about redress I just want it all wiped off and off of my credit report.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you likely to be given priority at FOS because of vulnerability?
Is this an adjudicator decision of an Ombudsman decision?
Stacey Goodwin says
Its just the adjudicator decision. I Dont think I’d be given any priority on vulnerability. He said because amigo made their decision prior to the 21dt of December he’d hoped they may work with him on getting it settled but I’m not sure they will do anything to be honest given they aren’t replying to ombudsman decisions even now. I just don’t know it the adjudicator decision will help things go in my favour if they get the scheme or if it doesn’t mean anything now.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, if this is one of the key “unpaid interest” decisions FOS has been looking at then it is possible FOS may push this trhough to a final decision if Amigo don’t reply in a couple of weeks.
Joseph says
Hi Sara
Back in September 20 I made an affordability complaint against amigo for 6 loans totalling 27,500.. As you could imagine the interest on that is a lot, my claim was rejected by amigo on 2nd November last year and was sent straight to FOS marked as priority as my personal circumstances have changed dramatically due to the pandemic. FOS contacted me earlier this week amigo have come back to them with an offer before the adjudicator could even investigate it and have agreed to clear my outstanding loan balance and refund me some interest. Good result for me but more importantly I hope amigos rules and the way they lend change so that nobody else has to fall prey. Thanks for all your advice. Big thumbs up to Sara@DebtCamel!
Jon says
Hi..I Didn’t sent any complaint yet as I don’t know exactly what to says! I’m not working at the moment and I’m struggling to keep up with living.I took a 5000£ loan initially then topped up another 5000£ that covered the initial loan.I made like 4payments of 309£ initially then stopped as I found myself in difficulty to repay.Now is even worse with global pandemic and losing the job was like guillotine.The guarantor was.my sister that at the moment she was having no history in this country as at the time I made the loan she was in UK for less roughly 1 year.Some guidance need it here so thank you so much for your time,God bless!
How I do make a complaint to Amigo?Or should I make a complaint to FOS?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have you had a 6 month payment break from Amigo?
what is your sister’s current financial position?
Jon says
I had more than 6months payment break and sister current financial situation is Universal Credit unfortunately😔.Can you advice me pleased which one will be my next step?Thank you so much
Njw says
Result, just won against TFS loans on a 7.5k loan. Went all the way to ombudsman. Original complaint made in June 2019. Just got to get them to pay now!!
Rich says
Very nice, let us know if they pay out.
I’m waiting for adjudicator to pick mine up. Original complaint in Aug ‘20. Looks like I’m in for a long wait. Just seeing the £200/month as a savings account at the moment. Such a long process.
NICO says
Hello Rich – did you get anywhere with your TFS complaint please?
darren says
hi my guarantor (amigo) sent a email using your template to amigo asking to be taken off being my guarantor i have had a complaint for about a year now about poor lending as using my mother who is 77 years old lives in a council house no money and just a pension the top up was a year ago so she was 76 at the time
she has now had a letter saying going to send a letter before action and if nor resolved may get a county court action against her
i have spoken to them as i have entered a iva and cannot afford to pay
please any advise
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So your mum has made a complaint asking to be removed as guarantor?
Can I check you too have complained to Amigo that the loan was unaffordable for you?
Amigo are just being unpleasant and trying to scare your mum into paying.
They will not go to court when there is a complaint open from your mum. For lots of reasons:
a) the FCA’s CONC rules say they should not go to court when there is a dispute about the debts – and your mum’s complaint is a dispute.
b) going to court is a VERY slow process. Amigo at the moment is trying to get a Scheme approved, if they don’t manage to get the scheme through they are probably going to go bust. One of those is going to happen longe before there would be a hearing for any court case!
c) to start a court case they have to send a Letter before Action, which is what she has been told. A few people have received these Letters but no-one in your mum’s situation has actually been taken to court before her complaint is resolved.
d) if they did go to court (which they are not going to do) your mum could defended the case and say she should never have been accepted as guarantor and ask for the case to be put on hold until her complaint is decided.
e) your mum has no money. Going to court doesn’t change that fact and Amigo would then have wasted the court fees and their legal costs.
If your mum gets a letter before action, come back here.
It sounds like your mum has a very strong complaint – no assets, living on a pension. God knows why Amigo ever thought she could.
I suggest she should continue to refuse to pay them. It doesn’t make any sense to be pushed into paying money now that she can’t afford and get behind with bills. Any money she pays them now, she is likely to only get a tiny amount back of in a Scheme – perhaps c 5%.
Can you reassure her? If she is worried about these threats, it would help her to talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000. They know about affordability complaints.
PS your IVA – how long has it been going? How much do you pay a month? do you have any assets to protect?
Darren says
Yes I have complained around a year ago via resolver and also FCO my mum has complained to amigo and this week to the FCO because of the letter she had
Thank you
Louise says
Hello
May i ask how long amigo took to pay you your refund after being notified that you accepted the offer please?
Thank you
Joseph says
Hi Louise
They have not paid out yet I recieved an email yesterday telling me they had contacted my old guarantor from a previous loan regarding to payments made by her. She is accepting the refund, amigo said they would send me a fully detailed redress figure letter no later than five days after 11/03/21. My guess is they gave my guarantor 14 days to reply to their email.
Louise says
Ok no worries. I was just wondering as i accepted their offer on 23/02/2021 and is waiting on them sending the money to me. Was hoping it a quick thing as company i used is already asking for invoice to be paid by 03/03/2021 lol
Anyway thank you for replying to me