UPDATE: Amigo are proposing a Scheme of Arrangement, see Amigo’s Scheme – how to vote & how it will work. If you haven’t already put in a complaint, it is now too late to send one in by email using the template on this page – you will be able to make a Claim in the Scheme (or in administration if Amigo fails).
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 already 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
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.
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 will 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.
Amigo Scheme – timetable & voting
Will Amigo reject good complaints?
Complaints about large high cost loans
jacqui says
thankyou i will send, has anyone won there case first time round or have they had to take it further with the FOS?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You should expect them to reject your complaint or, if you have more than one loan, to make a poor offer I am afraid.
Emma says
I won on loan 2 but not loan 1.
Went all the way to the ombudsman as buddy disagreed with aducator.
I’m just waiting for them to pay now.
N goss says
How long did process take and did they pay all due?
Mark says
I’ve just had an offer from TrustTwo less than 2 weeks after submitting the complaint. They’ve offered £400 plus 8% on loan one but nothing on loan 2.
Sounds good but they neglected to include the £1700+ taken from of the reloan amount to pay off loan 1 and misquoted information about loan 2 in their final response. So I’ve responded giving them a chance to rectify the mistake themselves and take another look at loan 2, it’s a good start, a lowball offer in the hope I’d snap it up but I should be entitled to about 5 times the amount they’ve offered on one loan, plus I’m hoping I win on loan 2 as well so I can buy a new car without ridiculous finance.
Simon says
Hi Sara
Just wondered if you know of many cases where an Ombudsman has overturned an adjudicators decision in favour of the customer?
I’ve been dealing with a particularly stubborn adjudicator who I believe has missed several key points that the FOS state on their website they will look into during an investigation.
I’ve bought this to her attention and made several other good points but she’s basically ignored all this and is just saying my income made the loan affordable and all I can do is wait for an Ombudsman to make a final decision now.
Obviously I will do this but realistically am I wasting my time? I’ve read that 90% of the time the Ombudsman just agrees with the adjudicator, which makes the whole system pretty pointless if that’s correct. Do you know if this is still usually the case?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The 90% figure is correct across all FOS cases. But in a lot of these cases it is the lender who took it to the Ombudsman, so that isn’t 90% “against the customer”.
People here have won in this situation.
You are a long way through this process, why give up now?
Simon says
OK, well that’s good to know. I won’t give up. Fingers crossed I can get the case looked into more thoroughly by an Ombudsman.
Thanks Sara
C says
Does anybody know how long UK Credit take to pay out redress please?
Elly says
Hi Sara, thanks for this helpful page , iv made a complaint to U.K. credit , the next day the email to say can I send bank statements for 2 months before and 1 month after loans was paid out , iv since had 3 more emails pushing for these statements, I’m concern to send them in as I have loads of gambling transactions on them from around that time as I had a problem ( which is sorted now ) will this effect my complaint ?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Send those statements! They support your claim that the loans were unaffordable.
If you don’t your complaint is MUCH more likely to be rejected.
of course it may be rejected anyway and you will have to send it to the ombudsman, but give the complaint to UK Credit the best shot by sending the statements.
Elly says
Thank you for the reply ,
I may have also told a few porkies about my expenditures and other credit commitments when I first applied as I was desperate at the time , they will see all this from my statements I send as well as the gambling , I’m worried they will report me for being fraudulent?
X
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sometimes lenders threaten this but no one has ever done this.
It’s up to you – I am just saying you are more likely to have UK Credit uphold your complaint if they see the bank statements.
And you will have to send the statements to FOS.
Alex says
Hi, i too sent UK credit an affordability complaint and I did lie about my expenditures, but if they would’ve asked me for bank statements before they gave me the loan, they would’ve seen that I wasn’t being truthful. I had a big gambling problem and I would’ve said anything to get the loan. I sent them the bank statements when I put in the complaint. They upheld my complaint and signed off the remaining of my loan plus sent me what I paid extra. Just thought I’ll tell you my experience.
Elly says
Thank you so much for sharing your experience Alex , I feel much more relaxed about it now , and have now sent over the statements so fingers crossed
Elly says
How long after you send bank statements did you have to wait for a decision Alex ?
Alex says
I sent my bank statements when I sent the complaint and it took less than 5 weeks for their final answer. I thought UK credit are very quick and fair in their offers and answers. I thought they’ve been very good at keeping me updated too. Hope this helps
Laura says
Hi Elly,
Could you assist me with how you worded that to your creditor please? I am in the process of the same thing?
Sarah says
Hi. I have just received a decision from the FOS investigator who has upheld my complaint against TFS loans. However the business has disagreed and asked for a final decision from an Ombudsman. Does you know how long this usually takes?
Andrea says
Mine got sent from the adjudicator to the Ombusman mid October on a TFS decision as of yet not heard a thing!
njw says
For me adjudicator found in my favour July 2020, TFS disagreed but kept failing to respond. So in September 2020 was finally put in the Ombudsman queue and I received the outcome in my favour last week. and mine was a priority case
k says
Has anyone had a response back from FOS regarding unpaid interest and charges? Amigo upheld my second loan and not my first in the summer. I accepted the redress for this loan but sent a complaint to FOS for the first loan’s interest and charges as felt these were unfair as I’d paid interest when I topped up with my second loan. Has anyone managed to get the charges refunded? I’m still waiting for FOS to even look at my case. Been with them since August :-(
Rebecca says
Mines been there since July haven’t heard a thing 😕
LEE says
Not that this offer much assurance at all but I escalated to FOS in May 2020 and haven’t heard anything. Same situation, challenging the unpaid interest and also the first three loans which were not upheld
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi k,
I have just written a new article on this today https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-unpaid-interest-remove-ccjs/. It’s bad news – it looks as though Amigo will be applying the same unfair deduction in the Scheme :(
Laura says
Hi Sara,
I’ve seen you say priority cases might still be paid out by Amigo. As yet, they haven’t responded to FOS, and am guessing they won’t now? Is there a rule they’re following that priority cases are being paid if the decision was past 21st December? Trying to figure out what to do.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have no factual knowledge of what is going on here, I try to piece this together from what people report in the comments.
Several people have reported Amigo accepting FOS decisons or making offers on FOS cases after 21 December. When I have asked, they had all been placed in a priority category by FOS.
But it doesn’t feel as though there are enough of them for Amigo to be settling all FOS prioritised cases.
So my guess is that Amigo has agreed (with FOS? or the FCA?) to settle certain priority cases. But I can’t tell how they were selected, if this was just a few or a lot more and Amigo are working their way through them slowly, or if Amigo hasn’t said it WILL settle these case, just that it will CONSIDER them and they aren’t making offers to all of them.
Sorry, not much help to you.
Your case is that FOS upheld all your loans but Amigo has only made an offer on one of them? Have you provided medical evidence about your health?
Laura says
Thanks, Sara. Totally understand.
Yes, there were nine loans. 1-4 taken out nearly ten years ago and paid off in full. A break of a few year (where I obviously forgot how aggressive they were), and loans 5-9 taken out the last few years. 5-9 were upheld by amigo last year and the balance reduced to 2k – however, they still haven’t removed late marks and continue to add them.
1-4 was upheld my ombudsman this year. Amigo wrote to FOS and over 4K for loan 3 but didn’t mention the others. The only reason I rejected this was because I was so scared I would end up owing them if they applied unpaid interest, that it wasn’t worth the hassle. On loans 1-4 about 12k was paid in interest, so if they said I owed, say, 6k in unpaid fees, I’d be in a worse situation, and that worried me.
From all the comments on here I guess I shouldn’t e pact them to reply to FOS. But right now, that money could help me health a lot and take a lot of stress off.
I haven’t provided any evidence of my illness to amigo. They’ve never asked for it. Do you think this would help? I feel like they’re a wall of silence right now – unless they’re chasing for money.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well it can’t do any harm. But I have no idea if it is likely to help.
njw says
Hi, I have just won against TFS Loans. I contacted them and they said their policy is to make payment to me on the 28th day. I can’t really understand the rationale for this. However, FOS told me they have 28 days from when I accept the ombudsmans decision. TFS didn’t receive a copy of this until 4 days after I had accepted and are calculating the 28 days on this (which takes them over 28 days from my acceptance) I’m now confused as to who is right? Any ideas, Many thanks
njw says
UPDATE – TFS have told me that this is their policy as they draw down the redress from their funders so it takes 28 day to get to them. The only issue with this is that they received my complaint response on 04/03 so said they would pay me 01/04 (28 days later)… This would be fine except today (11/03) they have only just calculated the redress, so how on gods green earth did they draw the money on 4/03 in order to pay me on 01/04…. Unsuprisingly, they haven’t answered this question when I asked!!
Nick says
Surprise surprise
Jemma says
Can I ask how long the process has taken? My complaint was July 22nd the rejected 23rd July. It went to the FO that day and has just been picked up yesterday.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is the lender?
Jemma says
TFS loans. I was a few weeks past the 6 year mark so they wouldn’t look at it. I have confirmed to FO that I was unaware that I could complain.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, then I am afraid this could take a while as it has to go through a separate “over 6 year” check before anyone actually looks at your case at FOS.
Njw says
I had a separate case that failed on rule of 6 at FOS. I challenged it under rule of 3 and felt my case was quite strong, I was unaware of the circumstances due to a learning difficulty, I provided documentary evidence to fos which the average person would have deduced highlighted i only reasonably become aware of it within the last 3 years but fos still threw it out. So I think any challenge you have to the rule of 6/3 needs to be very compelling.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
sorry to hear that – most of these over 6 years cases are being won easily, it’s rare to lose one, the only problem is they take some time going through,
nick says
Hi Sara
I have sent the template to Buddy loans, they have replied saying they have recieved request for the information which can take 30 days,
would this mean that the complaint they will investigate from those 30 days or they will investigate my complaint while they get me the information requested?
Thanks
nick
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you sent the template from the article above, then your complaint has already started and they have to reply to that within 8 weeks.
Nick g says
Thanks should I send them bank statements now?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, good idea.
Nick says
We have up to 8 weeks in order to investigate complaints, and 30 days in which to send information requested under a Subject Access Request.
Please send any documentation you want to provide to us to this email address which is.,,..
They sent me this so nice to get recognition
Peter says
Has anyone had any luck with complains against George banco without needing Fos ?
Thanks
C says
I’ve had an adjudicator rule in my favour against TFS. He had to use my evidence as TFS didn’t even bother to send the business file. I’ll join the queue for an Ombudsman!!
X says
I’m in similar position as you, TFS seem to disagree with all adjudicator decisions. They have until next week to reply to my adjudicator but I’m not hopeful they will as they have delayed at every stage possible, and then when they do I already know I’m going to have to wait on an ombudsman to look at my case lol, been going on now since 2019 as TFS keep stalling.
njw says
Tfs don’t seem to accept at adjudicator, In fact they don’t respond. They delayed mine for 12 weeks at adjudicator then didn’t even send a final response. I won at ombudsman and am now trying to get my money from them (see my earlier post about their redress payments policy) They’re a very small outfit and it’s very apparent from talking to one of their directors that they don’t have a great deal of knowledge as to how these things work. Mine was sent to ombudsman Sept 19, Adjudicator found in my favour July 20, Sent to ombudsman Oct 20 Ombudsman decision Feb 21… Mine was a priority case
Ive taken to emailing the directors and even phoning them daily
Peter says
Hi Sara ,
I was hoping you could help me with my situation,
So In the year 2019 I was struggling in a payday circle , so I took out a amigo , George banco and a buddy loan ( all in the same year 2019) I cleared all my payday loan with these but the payment to all 3 came to more £600 a month so ended up back in the circle , I now have 10 defaults, 23 missed payments and a CCJ 18 months later , I’m now with debt collectors with all of my credit accept for these guarantor loans , the first missed payment is on my credit file one month after taking out the buddy loan , I played down my expenses when applying for these loans and never sent any pay slips or bank statements to any of them , do I have a chance of winning any complaints against them ?
Thanks for you time
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It sounds as thought the loans are unaffordable so it is worth making complaints. Send your bank statements with the complaints.
It may be you are more likely to win the complaint about 2nd and 3rd guarantor loan rather than the first one, but there is no reason second guess this, you know the loans were unaffordable so start off all the complaints and send them to the ombudsman at 8 weeks if you have not had a reply of they are rejected.
This applies to Amigo even though they are likely to ignore your complaint as they are trying to enter a Scheme. You can still get your balance reduced in a Scheme or in administration if they go bust. For you the interesting question is whether you would be better off if Amigo go into administration because adminstrators may be more likely to uphold your complaint than Amigo would be in a Scheme. But we may know more about this in a few weks whed Amigo say more about how they will decide which complaints to uphold.
are you struggling to make repayments?
are your finances currently affected by covid-19? if they are, have you had covid-19 payment breaks with the lenders?
Peter says
Thank you for the reply , if amigo ignore my complaint do I still go to the fos or wait to see what happens with the scheme ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I would send to FOS – why not? It’s very quick to do.
EDIT on 25 March FOS said it wouldn’t be looking at more Amigo complaints.
Michaela Morgan says
I complained to uk credit in August 2018. They refused my claim. I just accepted this at the time as theyd asked lots of questions about finances so i felt i wouldnt stand a chance in winning. Im now kicking myself for not taking it further i probably paid £15k in interest. Is there ANY hope at all of me fighting this now or should i just accept I messed up?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no chance. (Unless their response to you did not tell you you had to go to the ombudsman within 6 months? That would be very unusual – although it applies to all Amigo complaints for that time.)
Michaela says
No problem I thought that might be the case. So frustrating though. Thank you for taking the time to answer
Njw says
Hi,
As I documented before, I won against TFS and they said they would pay me on 01/04 in line with FOS direction. I asked them to expedite it citing financial difficulties ( reduced income due to COVID and vehicle finance arrears)
It was a priority case at FOS. TFS had delayed at adjudicator. So I thought this was a reasonable request
They point blank refused. Is there any point in highlighting this to FCA or is it acceptable for them not to try and support my financial difficulty?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can tell FOS but realistically it isn’t going to get you your money any sooner. Horrible firm.
njw says
Sorry, I meant the FCA. The principles of FCA cite company should work with integrity and priciple 6 refers to working to customer interests. I think my situation shows TFS’s actions are to the contrary
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, you could certainly email the FCA at consumer.queries@fca.org.uk and say you want to tell them about TFS loans (FCA number 724439) and its poor complaint handling of a vulnerable customer. Also copy in louisa.sutton@tfsloans.co.uk.
It won’t get you your money any quicker but it may help others in future.
Laura says
Hi NJW,
Please could I ask, did they give you a figure quickly? It’s been weeks and I haven’t even received my figure yet. I, too, am priority and have highlighted I need this payment for treatment and scans delayed by covid, and they’ve still not given me a figure. I also asked for a timeframe of when they might pay out and have not received a reply, despite repeated requests.
Thank you.
Njw says
Hi Laura
They have given me the figure today having received notification from FOS on 4th March. They will not pay out until 28th day though. They told me this was because they have to draw the money from their finders which takes 28 days. When I pointed out that they can’t do that as they haven’t calculated the figure yet they said they draw down money for all sorts of things and my redress would be included
I pointed out that was complete rubbish for obvious reasons and they won’t discuss it any further. Email Paul.Auger@tfsloans.co.uk he’s the director, he won’t help you but if enough of us start putting pressure on it might make him think
Laura says
Thank you for that. It is bad. They got notification from FOS for mine on 2nd March. First I got told I would get a figure on Monday, and then on Monday got told it would be by this Friday. You’ve got further than me, despite repeated requests, they wouldn’t even give me a timeframe.
I’ve just emailed them and said I will be making a complaint to FCA (thank you, Sara). For me, this is quite urgent now, and I’ve been nothing but polite.
It doesn’t make sense that I was two days ahead of you, and still haven’t received a figure.
Thank you for your help.
Njw says
It doesn’t, in fairness I’ve made a complete nuisance of myself. I’ve contacted all the directors by phone and email and challenged them on everything. They will probably be glad to see the back of me
In fairness, their calculations were spot on first time so that’s something!
IainHL says
Hello Sara,
You say:
If 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.
This is my situation with a guarantor loan from UK Credit. They have found in my favour, and removed the interest, etc.
However my question is what constitutes “an affordable monthly repayment”? I offered to pay the outstanding balance over the remaining term of the loan, however using an I&E I completed for a recent payment holiday they are pushing for an amount about four times that, which would get them their money back a lot sooner (under a year, rather than about three). What they are asking for is technically affordable, but I don’t feel it is fair?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is it really technically affordable? Not just for a month or two but for a whole year? You could talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 and ask them to help you draw up an I&E that covers realistic expenses and then show that to UK Credit.
But also, wouldn’t it be nice to see the back of them?
IainHL says
Hello Sara, thanks for the reply.
Whilst I agree it would be nice to see the back of them, and yes, I could afford it for the whole year, it is just I feel that it is unreasonable of them to expect a repayment amount greater than outstanding balance divided by remaining term on the loan. I suppose I was just wondering if there were any guidelines (FCA or otherwise) about what the company should expect the monthly repayments to be after redress has been applied to a loan that is still outstanding?
Also, apart from them harassing me, what is there to stop me paying them what I decide is fair? It’s not like they are going to report anything to the CRAs!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There are no guidelines in this situation.
Michelle says
Good morning Sarah ,
I just wanted to say with all your help I made my complaint to U.K. credit last week and on your advice sent bank statements, I’m over the moon to tell you today I had my final response ( only 8 days later ) and they upheld my complaint, bye bye U.K. credit , massive thank you to you for all you help , I’m one happy lady xx
JR says
Hi,
I sent an irresponsible lending complaint to TrustTwo/EDL a number of weeks back on a loan and subsequent top-up loan 2/3 years back. They got back to me this morning saying “As a responsible lender, we are obliged to carry out a number of suitability and affordability checks on all loan applicaons. These include credit, employment, affordability and identy checks. I have found evidence that all the necessary checks were carried out when this loan was given to you…. This was verified using Call Credit, meaning no bank statement or payslips were required…. I have also carried out an affordability calculaon, in which we used ONS data (office for naonal stascs) to work out your living expense as approximately £510. Including the financial commitments from your credit file it shows you would have had approximately £170 of disposable income remaining.”
I replied directly to their final response saying they didn’t check my bank statements and had they done that, I doubt I would have been approved for the loans – and attached bank statements from 3 months prior to the first loan being taken.
Just looking for advice on whether I should escalate to FOS, or am I just flogging a dead horse here? What would you do in this case?
Many thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You could email them to say your case goes to FOS in a week if they haven’t reconsidered their decision?
Lottie says
Hey, has anyone had any redress from Buddy loans? I got my FOS decision from the adjudicator who said they were wrong and they need to put it right. Just wondered if anyone was successful or if they passed to ombudsman regardless of FOS decision!
Andrew says
Mine was passed to ombudsmen as buddy did not agreed with the decision. Waiting for review since August 2020.
pol says
Hi lottie, my complaint with Buddy has been ongoing for 2 years now. Adjudicator ruled in my favour in July last year, Buddy rejected it so has gone to ombudsman for final decision. Just hope it gets looked at before they end up in a scheme like amigo have and I get a full refund
Lottie says
Hey Pol, thank you. Yes that’s what I think will happen. The same with one I have on going with loans 2 go. Bet they take at least a year with the ombudsman, by which time they will be either in administration or in a scheme. It’s so wrong and not fair at all. The ombudsman are so behind which completely works in favour to the company in question. Thank you , and I hope you get your claim before this happens. But I don’t think I will get mine in time!
Jacqui says
Did they take the whole 8 weeks to decline your complaint ?
There last day to reply is this Tuesday to me
Laura says
Hi Sara,
I’ve finally got a figure from TFS. It was quite a chore. Because my guarantor paid off the loan for me, TFS have gone to them and offered them the full redress. I know with other companies, they ask the guarantor if they want to accept. TFS haven’t given this option, however, my guarantor has written back and said this has been paid back to them and therefore, the full redress should come to me.
Is this going to be a problem? This whole thing has caused me so much stress, and I really need this money for apts ASAP.
Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think TFS should listen to your guarantor and refund you. But if they don’t, can your guarantor not just send you the money?
Laura says
Yes, they would have no problem doing that, but I get all confused and worried that if they do that, they’ll open up my loan again? Or am I getting confused? It got paid off six years ago. But I’ve seen people, where their guarantor has been refunded, their loan has been opened up again?
I might be getting confused here.
I’m hoping they do listen to her, because it would be odd not to.
Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If they open up the loan, you just repay them from the money your guarantor gets.
This can seem confusing but think of a loan where you borrowed 5000, the principal, and 3000 interest was added by the time it was settled.
If you get the refund, you get the interest back – 3000.
If your guarantor gets the refund, they get back all the money they paid – interest and principal – 8000.
Then the lender reopens your loan and says you owe them the principal 5000.
If the guarantor gives you the 8000, you pay off this 5000 and are left with 3000. So it’s the same as if you get the refund.
(There are some complications around the 8% interest but they are pretty minor.)
This only goes wrong where the guarantor refuses to give you the money back.
Laura says
Okay, thanks for that.
So, they’re not offering the guarantor the principle loan and the interest, only the interest paid plus 8% – which is the same that would come back to me. So, therefore, because the loan was paid off and they’re not offering the principle and interest, I guess there would be no chance of opening up the loan again?
It’s so complicated, isn’t it. Hopefully, they’ll just listen to my guarantor and pay me.
It is odd, because they’ve offered less than my guarantor paid to settle the loan outright, so I guess they’re not doing what other companies are doing in refunding everything the guarantor paid.
Thank you!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
they’re not offering the guarantor the principle loan and the interest, only the interest paid plus 8%
That is absolutely wrong. Are you sure?
In that case it’s best to get the refund paid to you otherwise there could be a lot of arguments ahead.
Laura says
Yes, it’s strange, but I’m absolutely sure.
The amount I paid in interest, with 8% comes to just over 5k, and my guarantor paid £5500 to settle the loan. So all together, if they were offering everything paid and interest, they would be offering her over 10k. Instead, they’re only offering the interest and 8%. Which is why I think it imperative to come back to me.
If there is any problem, I’ll have to point this out to them.
Thanks for your advice!
Daniel says
Morning , anyone know how long bamboo normally take to investigate? Do they take the full 8 weeks , sent bank statements with complaints had confirmation email to say they don’t need anything else from me .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
expect them to come back with a poor offer – but they can often be persuaded to increase it.
Daniel says
Are they normally quite quick at getting back to customers ? Or the ones that just ignore abs end up with fos ?
Jax says
They responded within 5 days of my complaint agreeing it was unaffordable. Sent my bank statements on day 4 as they requested them and got their final response the next day. Removed all interest and default.
Jacquo says
Hi Sara
So I complained to buddy loans 8 weeks ago I was supposed to get a final response yesterday and didn’t so they’ve gone over the 8 weeks what should I do as that’s a breach in there t and c
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you asked them when they will reply?
Jacqui says
Yeah I emailed they told me would be yesterday emailed them yesterday and today and have been ifnored
Sara (Debt Camel) says
phone them! Really this is worth trying to sort out, going to FOS is a slow process. If there is even a 10% chance of a phone call getting them to give you a good offer, it’s worth a try.
Ricky Dewitt says
Hi Jacquo, just to let you know the FOS upheld my complaint against Buddy loans.
They are not the greatest in communication, I am now waiting for my redress email from them.
Good Luck
Jacqui says
Did they take 8 weeks to reject you at first ?
How long did fos take as well.
Ricky Dewitt says
They come back within 5 weeks, rejected it, I then took it to the FOS who took another 3 weeks.
FOS since contacting me have been very quick
Jacqui says
Hi Sara
I called buddy loans as they still haven’t got back to me via my complaint after 8 weeks and I have been told two days running I would get an email back and still haven’t
What should I do
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You could tell them it goes to the Ombudsman on Friday morning if you haven’t had a satisfactory offer by then?
Jacqui says
Hi all
So my buddy loans was accepted didn’t have to go to FOS and they paid out same day refund
Ricky says
That’s great news
Same day refund too. That’s brilliant
Waiting for them to reply to mine now
Michelle says
Good morning ,
So I had a final response from bamboo , they haven’t upheld my compliant but are offering me £150 as a good will , the loan is all paid off last year , the loan was for £3000 over 36 months i paid £3515 in interest , why would they offer £150 if they don’t believe they did anything wrong ?
Yanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
they are trying to buy you off cheap and hope you really need £150 right now?
You can offer to compromise, say you would be prepared to accept say £2000 now to setle the case speedily? It’s up to you what you think is reasonable here. It is likely these cases may go through FOS rather faster than they have been asFOS now isnt working on Amigo cases.
Michelle says
We are however 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 are therefore prepared to offer you £150.00 in full and final settlement of this complaint.
This was their offer , so in other words they don’t want to pay them fos ??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes. £150 is obviously a very poor offer if you feel the loan was unaffordable.
So you can either go to FOS now. Or go back to Bamboo and try to negotiate a much larger settlement amount. Some people have had luck with doing this with Bamaboo, but it is a compromise so if you want the full refund you will have to go to FOS.
Paul says
Hi Michelle, what did you end up doing in this situation? I have just had the same response from them I have paid the £1,000 borrowed and still have another £1,300 interest to pay and they have offered £128 as a full and final settlement. The reasoning for this is that they checked and I did not have a CCJ and that I have not missed a payment yet. any advise on what I can respond to this would be helpful.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I did not have a CCJ and that I have not missed a payment yet.
That is NOT a good reason to reject an affordability complaint. Don’t take from that that you have a weak case.
Bamboo will often negotiate higfher. If you have already repaid the £1000 you borrowed and still have a balance of £1300, you could get all that balance written off at FOS. And it would cost Bamboo over £600 in a FOS fee. So would you be happy to settle for reducing your balance to say £1000? or £750? Don’t offer too low, as they will probably come back and suggest less.
Ann says
Hi Sarah I had a phone call from the adjudicater saying he didn’t think my loans were unaffordable I had ccj and other loans and have been struggling since taking them it has now been passed to the ombudsman in dec 20 and still waiting do you think I have a chance off winning I am still on reduced pay due to covid I’ve had 6mths break but still can’t pay my loan getting desperate.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The decision on affordability is your situation when the loans were taken. You won’t win an affordability complaint because your situation has got worse since.
Who is the lender here? how large were your loans?
what is the situation of your guarantor like?
Nazia Bibi says
Hi sara my complaint is still at fos since last august im struggling with payments with amigos ive already had a 6 month break can my guarantor ask for a payment break now please advise thankyou
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No sorry, not if you have had 6 months break.
At this point if you are struggling you probably need to talk to your guarantor about you stopping paying and your guarantor cancelling their direct debit and continuous payment authority to Amigo. Explain abiout your complaint and putting a claim into the Amigo Scheme which is expected to start mid May.
Amigo has said once the Scheme starts it won’t start legal proceedings if you have a claim into the Scheme until the claim is decided by the Scheme. And there is no time for Amigo to go to court before the Scheme. So Amigo may huff and puff but your guarantor won’t be affected (I am assuming you will win your claim here.)
Nazia Bibi says
Hi sara will my complaint be affected at the fos it is on priority spoke to them today they said will be assigned to a adjudicator in a week or two and also how do i get into the amigo scheme
my complaint is on priority now
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, so customers are now being asked to vote on the Scheme. If it is approved, it will go live for claims late MAY.
At that point FOS will retunr you complaint to AMigo.
FOS have already stopped work on most Amigo complaints, if they are picking up yours as a prioirty it may be they want to try to get it through before the Scheme starts but that is going to be tight. Amigo are accepting and paying out in full on a few complaints that FOS have prioritised. I am sorry I can’t guess how likely this is to happen for you.
Amigo will have discretion within the Scheme to make additional payments outside of the Scheme to customers it considers to be particularly vulnerable. I have no idea if this is at all likely to happen with your case.
There is little you can do now apart from hope FOS progress your case. Then if it has not been settled before the Scheme come back here then?
Handsome be wonderful says
My bamboo loan has been sold to debt collocter, what happens now?
it’s a guarantor loan
i paid one back of £5000 with £3765.18 interest at £243per month, then i top up with £5847.72 with £4403.54 interest, paid £1140 but due to domestic abuse from ex i was not allowed in house or make any payments after the 4 months of £285. default Oct 2020.
ive complained and had final response already
we therefore agree to waive all of the £4,403.54 interest due under your current agreement, together with the interest paid on your first agreement of £1,341.66 and we will also remove any negative information from your credit record. Overall, we will arrange for dca to reduce your outstanding balance by a total of £5,745.20.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK so you now owe the debt collector some balance. You can make a payment arrangement o repay it an affordable rate.
Do you have a lot of other debts?
Handsome be wonderful says
there was no mention of the first loan of £5000 with £3765.18 interest (paid), all my other debts have been write offs or defaults with no court action.
i will decline offer
Sara (Debt Camel) says
But they said “ together with the interest paid on your first agreement of £1,341.66”, are you sure you paid 3765 interest on the first loan? Or was that the interest at the start, but you settled this early with a top up?
Handsome be wonderful says
laons of 8765.18 and 10251.26
Sara (Debt Camel) says
But the first loan was settled early when you took the second loan, so the interest you paid would have been massively reduced..
The Bamboo numbers may be correct. BUT they could be wrong…
Do you know how many payments of £243 you made to the first loan.
The second top up loan., how large was the loan not including the interest they added?
And how much in cash did you get when you took the top up loan,
How much have you paid to it so far?
Handsome be wonderful says
8 payments
£5847.72
£1350
4 months
the loans were taking out in april 2019, in jan 2020 i was taken out of my property due to domestic violence against me and i became homeless. i did not receive any paper work that the debt was defaulted or assigned to a dca. i have now sar bamboo, the dca are chasing me for £9000ish under a Contingent Liability, i cant afford to repay the outstanding balance of £4506 to dca. surely they have to serve me noa they have a legal right under statute or equity , that said they cant claim due to contraventions of section 136 and 196 of the law of property act 1925 and section 82(a) of the cca 1974 (just saying)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, so there are a lot of number there, to check I have understood…
Loan 1 you borrowed 5000, made 8 payments of £243
Loan 2 you borrowed 5847, received 1350 in cash, the rest settled the top up. You then have made 4 payments of £285.
Is everything there correct (ignoring the pennies)?
If it is, on my calculation you should still owe a balance of £3266
But Bamboo say you now owe the debt collector £4506? That does sound wrong.
If I have understood all the numbers right, then I suggest you go back to Bamboo and ask for an explanation about how they calculated the redress as it doesn’t look right. Say the case will go to the ombudsman if they don’t explain in detail.
Handsome be wonderful says
ive settled with bamboo but why are dca still chasing for a debt which was sold for £9,681 under a Contingency Liability. u cant change amounts owed has bamboo accepted under a deed of assignment
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“under a Contingency Liability”
“u cant change amounts owed”
“under a deed of assignment”
this sounds like you have been reading some stuff on the internet which isn’t helpful.
Instead concentrate on the facts – what did Bamboo say would happen to the debt with the debt collector?
Mr f says
Hi Sara
Quick question, do you know how these type of redress payments effect benefits, would they count as capital (I’m assuming they will but any find anything anywhere)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes it’s capital, not income.
For most benefits unless you are retired the limits are under 6k no effect, over 16k no benefit, between 6 and 16k benefit reduced on a sliding scale.
You are allowed to reduce capital by using it to clear debts, bills arrears, make essential purchases (keep receipts!) and of course for everyday living expenses.
Your local Citizens Advice can help advise.
Peter says
Hi Sara ,
I need your advice once again , iv made a complain to George Banco and had my final response this morning , they am not upholding my complaint due to having plenty of disposable income at the time , there response states I had no rent to pay as I was living with parents !! I am 64 years old so that would be unusual lol , I am a private tenant and have been for 15 years at the same address , I checked my SAR they sent me and it clearly states I put down in my application I am a private tenant and how much I pay in rent and how long iv been renting that property for , so don’t know where they for living with parents and paying not rent from , what should I do ?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
haha.
I suggest they may have mixed you up with another customer. I normally tell people to go straight to FOS as George Banco doesn’t negotiate, but in this case as they have clearly made an error, I suggest you try to phone them up and explain and say your case goes to FOS in a week if they haven’t sent you a new decision.
Peter says
Thank you Sara I will do that ,
Just quickly they done some figures in my response to justify there findings
They claim
Wages £1300
Debts and expenses £546
Their payment over 3 years £187.51 per month
= £566 disposable income
Do I sent them a email correcting their figures by added in my rent £550 so in fact my disposable in was £16 a month or let them figure it out on their own ? Ha ha
Sara (Debt Camel) says
are the 1300 and 546 figures correct?
Peter says
The application was 2.5 years ago and they stated that a advisors on their side has verified theses figures so I’m assuming yes they are correct , I haven’t looked at That part of the SAR yet but sounds about right
Peter says
The application was 2.5 years ago and they stated that a advisors on their side has verified theses figures so I’m assuming yes they are correct , I haven’t looked at That part of the SAR yet but sounds about right
Peter says
Just checked , yes they are correct
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I think your suggestion to ” correcting their figures by added in my rent £550 so in fact my disposable in was £16 a month” is a good idea.
Sounds like a good case to go to the ombudsman if they wont refund you.
Lamar says
Hi, I recently (1 week ago) used your template to file a affordability complaint with Bamboo loans (Guarantor).
I applied for a £7000.00 Loan in 2016 which I settled in 2020. I based my complaint on Low income at the time of application, Gambling addiction and not having to provide proof of expenses.
I received a reply today from Bamboo loans stating that they believe to have made a fair lending decision but are disappointed to have received my complaint and therefore are prepared to offer me £300 in full and final settlement for the complaint.
I am happy to take the settlement because I wasn’t expecting anything initially. However, this seems all to quick and easy for me. I may just be in shock that I received a response so quick with a settlement amount. But of me feels like I could get more.
What do you think????
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Bamboo will often negotiate, this is just their first offer. So how much would the max you could get be? and how much should you offer to compromise for?
How much did you pay in total to the debt – the monthly payments plus the settlement?
Was it difficult to repay the loan? Did it mean you took out more debts?
Lamar says
I paid back £14,338.66 for the loan over 48months – monthly instalments of £298.72.
Interest was £7338.66 so I would like to get at least half back. Id ask for £4000 and willing to compromise £1500-3000
I paid on time but the repayments were hard to live with which resulted in taking out extra credit and getting into more debt which lead me to DMP’s
Do you have any advise on how much and how I should counter offer in a email?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t see why you should accept less than 3000! Your suggestion of asking for 4000 seems an ok starting point. In your reply, point out the repayments led to you taking more debt and a DMP.
of course you may well get the lot back if the case goes to the Ombudsman. And I am hoping Ombudsman cases will go through faster with staff being taken off Amigo cases… But it’s your decision what is acceptable for a fast settlement.
Lamar says
Thank you for your quick response.
I will reply with a counter offer of £4000.00 and keep you updated with the response.
kind regards
Lottie says
Hi Sara,
Or anyone else.
Buddy have agreed with FOS findings and said they will put things right to what FOS suggested.
Anyone got any experience with Buddy and how look this stage took ? They only came back to me today FOS to say Buddy will be in touch with me. Typical my DD for my payment into went out today too.
Many thanks
Lottie
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ask if Buddy will be releasing your guarantor. If they say No, get your guarantor to immediately put in a complaint saying the loan. Was unaffordable for you, it should never have been given and they should be released.
Lottie says
Oh my goodness, surly they won’t hold them accountable?
FOS they should pay back any amount over what was originally borrowed, along with 8% interest and any charters. They agreed and said yes. Is it likely that would go to my guarantor for the whole amount? If so pointless in refunding me anything because I can’t let my guarantor be affected by this. Many thanks Lottie
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ah no, if your loan is being cleared by the refund from Buddy, your guarantor has to be released. The only problem is if you are still left owing 1000 or something.
Lottie says
Aww makes sense. Yea I have paid back the capital borrowed, and only had 12 payments Left. So they have to pay back the interest over the original capital borrowed plus 8% – so they owe me. That’s ok – thank you for your help. Lottie
Lottie says
Hi Sara, Buddy have confirmed my guarantor will be released and have said I will get the interest over what I have paid over the original capital which is £5839.00 plus 8% interest. Do you know roughly how much the 8% will work out at? Loan was over 60 payments – starting July 2017 – @ £296.44 a month, and made 45 payments so far. Up to and including 1St April 2021. Not sure how I would work out the 8% on top of the £5839 – do you ? Many thanks Lottie
Sara (Debt Camel) says
WHERE IS YOUR COMMENT?
If you cant see your comment about Amigo here, it is because I am moving them to https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-scheme-timetable-approval-how-work/.
Have a look over there!
Lamar says
Hi Sara,
I sent a counter offer of £4,000.00 to bamboo loans on 01/04/2021 and they replied today offering me £2095.00 out of good will to settle the complaint today. I accepted the offer which is a massive jump from their original £300 good will offer and is more than I could have imagined to receive from a hopeful complaint.
Thank you for everything you do on this site. Your advice has really blessed me.
Laura says
Hi Lamar,
Would you be willing to share with my your response when you declined their initial offer. I am currently in the same position with Bamboo?
Lamar says
Hi Laura,
No problem at all.
My response,
“Good Afternoon Bamboo,
Thank you for your offer. However, I am not satisfied with this offer.
Although I made payments on time, the loan repayments were very hard to maintain which led me to taking out more debt and entering into a DMP.
I paid over £7,000.00 worth of interest on the loan and would like to counter your original offer for a settlement amount of £4,000.00.
Kind regards”
They got back to me after 3 working days.
I hope this helps. Let us know how you get on.
Laura says
That’s great thank you, will let you know how I get on.
Lottie says
Hi Sara, I just wanted to give you an update along with anyone else whom may be looking at a claim against Buddy Loans – FOS upheld my complaint and Buddy agreed with their findings, which was to refund any interest paid over the capital borrowed plus 8% interest. Buddy would owe me around £13k which would be amazing. However …….
buddy have now come back and said: they will pay me, but the guarantor is now liable for any money outstanding, which is the interest over the capital and all remaining payments. They claim FOS didn’t mention the guarantor in their findings, so whilst they have agreed with FOS upheld complaint against myself, there was no evidence it wasn’t affordable to the guarantor therefore they will refund me but pursue the guarantor for all the refund and remaining loan.
The problems is my guarantor will not be involved in making an unaffordable claim as it would of be affordable to them, it will also cause a breakdown in a relationship.
Therefore I just wanted to give you the heads up incase anyone else has this problem, and also ask if you have had this situation happen before?
Any help will be appreciated
Many thanks
Lottie
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have seen Buddy refuse to release the guarantor, which is why I told you to get them to complain, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/comment-page-67/#comment-416459.
But I had only seen it when there was a balance remaining. Not when the balance was cleared.
Tell your guarantor to immediately put in a complaint saying that the loan was unaffordable for you, the loan should never have been made so they should be released as guarantor. And also say that as your loan has been settled they no longer have any obligation to pay anything anyway.
Also tell Buddy you want your refund now. Don’t let them tie all this up in knots for months and risk them going under and you not getting your money.
And tell your adjudicator what is heppening.
Lottie says
Hey Sara,
That’s great advice , thank you so much. Adjudicator has been informed and she said it’s not right and will look into it too.
Thanks for the tip about my refund now, that’s great advice yes you’re right before they go under or in a scheme.
The stress this has caused the guarantor is unreal over the last 5 days and has caused relationship problems – so hopefully once I start doing these steps they may come back with a positive.
I have one of the claims which is £5833 interest and 605 days to claim the 8% at do you know roughly what would be owed? I have worked out the others as I had a breakdown but not on this one I can’t work it out do you know? The 605 days is the days since the capital was paid. Many thanks
Peter says
Hi Sara ,
I wrote to you last week about George banco not upholding my complaint but they had made a mistake saying I lived with parents and paid no rent , when on my SAR it clearer states I private rent , you advised to call them but they apparently they don’t have a direct line to a compliant team has to be email , on your advise I sent a email giving them 1 week to review their decision with the correct information , well the week was up yesterday and had no further communication from them , should I send another email and give it a few more days coz of the bank holidays or sent to fos ? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I see no reason to waste any more time – send it straight to FOS.
Emmanuel says
Hi Sara,
Thank you for all you’re doing via this website. My Amigo History involves a Loan of £1,500 in June 2018, topped up by £1000 in October 2018 and then paid off. A new loan of £1,750 in October 2018 which was paid off in October 2019 and finally a loan that I am still paying off for £4000 which was taken in February 2020. I think I have a case for unaffordability for these loans but I am most concerned about clearing the balance on my current loan. The monthly repayments I have made so far add up to around £2500 so there will still be some of the principal left to pay, but whilst we are not able to make complaints to Amigo what would be the best way of me making a claim that stops interest being added to this loan?
Gail says
How are amigo doing with payouts at the moment? I accepted an offer they gave to my adjudicator 3weeks ago, both me and adjudicator have chased this up but they havnt even replied or asked for my bank info, anyone have similar experiences or timescales on how long they take to pay?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you being treated as a priority case at FOS? What does your adjudicator say?
Gail says
Yes, a priority case. The adjudicator chased them up and advised me to do the same.
They surprisingly made me an offer to refund all payments I made and the adjudicator said they should pay within 28days.
Has anyone actually been paid recently though?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
oh ok, if they have agreed to refund then you will be ok. But there are so few of these still going through that I have no idea how long it will take.
Gail says
It’s a strange one my case say maybe they had to, basically when the borrower complained they refunded me my payments on one loan, the borrower then won with the ombudsman but they never refunded my other payments even though they admitted that they shouldn’t have loaned to the borrower, so this long road was just putting that right
Kyle says
In similar boat at the moment. I called Amigo and they said I wouldn’t be in the scheme as they made an offer and accepted before it. They said that they will be in contact with me soon with figures and such. But I don’t hold my breath.
Stacey1377 says
Hi Sara
I was hoping you could advise me, my complaint has been with FOS and has been getting assessed by an investigator since late last year. I was understanding this was a priority case due to personal circumstances. I have been advised today from the assessor that it is no longer being dealt with due to Amigo and the court application for the scheme. Can FOS do this with a priority open case I am so worried as Amigo rejected the first time hence it going to FOS and the likely hood of them doing it again well we know the outcome that.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m sorry to hear that.
As your mum is on Universal Credit and is renting a Housing Association property, I would hope she would win a claim to be removed as guarantor in either Amigo’s Scheme or administration. You may think this is more likely in administration given the way you have been treated so far, in which case you should both vote against the Scheme.
But if she doesn’t, then once you have stopped paying and she is being asked to pay, she can apply for a debt relief order (DRO) that will wipe out her debt. Obviously she would rather not do this, but is a very simple and final way to remove the problem for her if necessary.
Stacey1377 says
Hi Sarah
Thanks for the reply, but could you let me know if the FOS should still be working with my case as it was priority. They have said they will not continue now due to scheme application by Amigo. I was only days/weeks away from an adjudicator decision
Thanks
Stacey
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think Amigo has said it will not payout on any further FOS adjudicator decisions – so FOS has stopped as it would be pointless. Some priority cases were progressed and paid out but that now seems to have stopped.