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
Sam says
Hi Sarah,
I am hoping you can help!
I took out a £5k loan from UK credit back in 2016. My 22 year old friend who was only on 23k at the time was accepted as my guarantor.
At the time I had high apr finance out on a car totally over £9k along with multiple payday loans and overdue credit cards. I was working 4 days per week and was on roughly £24k plus benefits as I was a single parent to 1.
realistically I should never have been given the loan nor should my guarantor have been accepted.
Back in 2019 I paid nearly £2k off the loan thinking it would clear it but I still owe over £3k! I have paid over £10k at this stage and with COVID I have had to take payment breaks which they accepted but have added extortionate interest to.
Do you think I would have a case? It just seems never ending
Sara (Debt Camel) says
From what you have said that loan sounds unaffordable. You can complain using the template on this page. And it may be a good idea for the guarantor to complain that they could not have afforded to make all the payments and still been able to pay their own debts, bills and living expenses – there is a template for that on this other page: https://debtcamel.co.uk/amigo-complaints-by-guarantor/
Also look at affordability complaints about your other problem borrowing at that time.
Sam says
Thank you so much for the quick response. I will get in to it straight away.
Steffy says
Hi Sara
The adjudicator gave TFS until 17th May to respond, and has now informed me that TFS have asked until 21st May? A difference of 4 days… is this how they usually work? Just delaying before it can go in the queue for ombudsment?
Wish they would just reject already so it can move on to the next stage.
NAG says
Yes Steffy, it is. TFS seem to delay at ever single stage. See my experience above.
They know that the queue for the Ombudsman is 6+ months and so even though you may have a perfect case for redress, they will delay it. There’s nothing that you can do because the FOS have to give them the option and the time.
On thing that I’ve found is that their reason for rejecting adjudicator decision in my case was pure rubbish – they have said that whatever my bank statements say is irrelevant because my declared disposable income was enough to cover the loan. Despite me having countless defaults, CCJs etc… when applying for the loan.
Keep faith with the process and it will all come good in the end. It is frustrating and easy to drive yourself mad thinking about it.
Steffy says
Thank you. It’s a pain.
Just read your story above. Hopefully you get the desired outcome. A year and a half Is a long time.
AR says
I’ve had a similar frustrating experience with TFS – my adjudicator at FOS was great though & explained that whatever delaying tactics they try, you go into a queue for Ombudsman from your original complaint- not when it gets escalated, so any delaying on their part shouldn’t affect when yours gets picked up – although they are incredibly busy from what I’ve seen. Stay patient and hopefully it pays off for you
Steffy says
Thank you. I’m not holding out for them to respond and it just be a waiting game.
What was your outcome or are you still waiting?
Dianne Giles says
A few years ago, I acted as guarantor for a friend, with Amigo. She defaulted on the loan, so I paid it off, forgot about, and moved on. Last year she put in an affordability claim, which was upheld. They made me a repayment offer which I accepted, plus the 8%. They were a little slow to pay up, but I finally received the money a couple of weeks ago. I now find that they are trying to recover this money from my friend.
My question is, surely by returning the money to me, they’ve implicitly admitted to an error. Can they really have a genuine case to recover the money from her?
I have requested paperwork/terms and conditions from them to justify this, but have yet to receive anything of this nature back.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What Amigo have probably done with your friend’s account is remove the interest from the debts and deducted any payments she had made to it before defaulting. She no longer has a guarantor so she should be able to make an arrangement to pay at a lower, more affordable rate.
This is what would have happened if she had complained before you settled the debt – she is no worse off because Amigo has refunded you.
If she has other problem debts as well, she could put them all into a debt management plan, including the Amigo one. And if the total is too big to be realistically affordable then she should talk to a debt adviser about her other options, including insolvency.
Wayne says
Ive just had my response from the fos he recomends they uphold my claim so just waiting on the response from buddy loans
Gail says
Hi Sara,
Not sure if you remember but I told you about my adjudicator saying he felt amigo were using stall tactics ect and giving the run around.
You advised me to complain to the fca- I did and they replied, the obviously couldn’t disclose details and I don’t know what happened but it worked! I sent emails from.my adjudicator and also my call and email records showing that the FOS and myself had both tried to accept but amigo had been playing games, after a few emails and amigo embarrassing themselves I finally got a reply from amigo and a telephone number, called up today and redress paid! Thank you so so much, the FCA also asked to be kept updated on how things proceed, I’m glad I raised this!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
excellent!
Amanda Clarke says
Hi Sarah my fos has said i shouldn’t have been given a loan by buddy loans and they have until the end of May to reply now im 26 months into a 5 year term @ £198 per month which is £5000 ish or just over im in a catch 22 do i continue with the payments until they make a decision or stop all payments in case they go into a scheme.
Also if they uphold my claim with they chase my gaurentor for the balance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you have already paid more than you borrowed. If Buddy Loans accept the decision. your balance will be cleared, you will get a tiny refund. There will be no remaining balance to chase your guarantor for – BL have been known to make an error in this situation but they back down when challenged.
IF BL do not accept the decision it will go into the queue for an Ombudsman.
If you cancel your payments, you will need to get your guarantor to cancel their direct debit or continuous payment authority as well.
Your credit record will be harmed, but if you win the case in the end, the negative marks will be removed from your credit record.
Is it causing you hardship to make these payments? Are you having to borrow more elsewhere?
Amanda Clarke says
It just leaves me with hardly any money left each month i just dont wont to keep paying if its going to take another 8 weeks to get a reply if it goes to tbe Ombudsman. If i carry on paying and they enter a scheme i wont get the payment back
pol says
Hi Amanda, hopefully they agree with the adjudicator because they didn’t with my 4 loans and it has been waiting for final decision by ombudsman for 10 months now. Good luck
Amanda Clarke says
Have you still been carrying out payments on the loan or has your finished. Also have you chased the Ombudsman.
pol says
Hi Amanda, it won’t let me reply to your comment below, yes I’ve still carried on paying as I don’t want my guarantor to be affected, I’ve chased the ombudsman every month since September and just get told the same thing that its in a queue and due to high number of complaints its taking longer than usual. I’ve got my fingers crossed they don’t go into a scheme
Ruth says
Hi Sarah,
I went bankrupt back in September 2019, Amigo has been included in bankruptcy and remaining balance being paid by guarantor, but he is one month behind with payments. And Amigo keep reporting to credit reference agencies missing payment to my credit report account.
Is there anything can be done?
Thank you.
Regards,
Ruth
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Your Amigo loan should be marked as defaulted on your credit record, with a default date of the date of your bankruptcy. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/credit-file-after-bankruptcy/ which says what to do – complain to Amigo and then take your complaint to the ICO if Amigo does not correct this.
Is your guarantor going to put in a claim to the Amigo Scheme? They can complain if the loan was unaffordable for them. And also if it was unaffordable for you. If they win the complaint they will be released as guarantor and they will get a small refund of the payments that they have made.
Ruth says
Thank you for reply.
Does it mean they should remove missed payment mark from credit record from bankruptcy date?
Guarantor has made affordability complain, but it’s on hold.
Can he stop to pay?
Thank you very much.
Regards
Ruth
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Does it mean they should remove missed payment mark from credit record from bankruptcy date?
It means they should have marked the loan as defaulted from your bankruptcy date. This is “worse” for your current credit score than missed payments markers but (a) with bankruptcy on your credit record your score is always going to be dreadful and (b) having this default date means the Amigo loan will drop off your credit record 6 years after your bankruptcy date, so at the same time as your bankruptcy, leaving you with a sparkly clear credit record.
Guarantor has made affordability complain, but it’s on hold. Can he stop to pay?
Has he complained the loan is unaffordable for him?
Have you also made a complaint that the loan is unaffordable for you?
Ionut says
Hi, Sara i had an loan with UK Credit the loan has been paid off but i think they didnt check my credit score at all. I had a friend guarantor for me and i think that they took his credit rating
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was the loan affordable? Could you make all the repayments and still be able to pay your other debts, bills and living expenses? Or did your other debts rise because the UK Credit repayments left you too short?
Ionut says
I was struggle had late and missed payments and my credit has gone over the 3 years. At the time i had gambling problems which now are over.
Kind Regards
Ionut
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So do you think if UK Credit had looked at your credit record and your bank statements at the time you applied for the loan they should have turned you down?
These loans are intended for people who have a poor credit rating – no-one else would be foolish enough to take one. But what matters if your credit report when you applied for the loan would have shown a lot of outstanding debt and recent problems.
Ionut says
Yes i just had a look on my old statements and its show i couldnt afford.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I suggest you send UK Credit an affordability complaint. You can use the template letter in the article above. Do attach your bank statements for 3 months before and 3 months after the start date of the loan with your complaint – they are your evidence that it was unaffordable.
Emy says
Hi Sara I have been following this page for a long time now. Atleast 2 years , I had two guarantor loans one with amigos and one with bamboo. After following ur advise and going through the comments I have managed to sort out with amigos, firstly affordability complaint and than financial ombudsman and it was sorted.
I am stuck with the bamboo loan I had done a complain in 2019 and today I got a reply from financial ombudsman which is not as I had expected.
Please if you can advise on it.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is this from an adjudicator? what does it say?
emy says
The reply is from the investigator.
I wish I could forward you the email but because it’s so big it doesn’t allow me to post
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you summarise it?
Emy says
Lone one taken on sept 2018 for an amount of 4500 . At that time I was really badly addicted to gambling and was not even earning half the amount I stated in the application as I was so desperate to get the money I was earning only 700 to 800 at that the me which clearly states in my bank statement also my gambling addiction is clearly visible . She said she thinks reasonable and proportionate checks had been done by bamboo. Bamboo verified my income using their income verification tool.. Bamboo used the Office of National Statistics Data (ons);to check monthly rent.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I suggest you reply that for a loan that large the lender should have made detailed checks and https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/complaints-deal/consumer-credit/unaffordable-lending says that for guarantee loans better verification would be appropriate. Ask her to reconsider and say you would like the case to go to an Ombudsman if she does not change her mind.
Emy says
Loan 2 was a top-up taken in July 2019 for 5200
Same at that the time too . I was so desperate to get the money but only difference was I was working at that time and earning around 1400 , but I was still into gambling than . But I had still given a wrong figure in income which was much higher and unrealistic, I also had another loan from a different company which showed on my credit file.
the investigator came up with the same decision for loan 2 too and said that bamboo doesn’t need to do anything further
Nazia Bibi says
Hi sara it was the court hearing for amigo loans today what was the result of it
Sara (Debt Camel) says
the hearing was on Wednesday. We are still waiting for the judge’s decision.
Cperry says
Hi Sarah,
Have you heard of TFS accepting investigator decision in favour or have they all been rejected?
C says
Hi Sara
I had an actual Ombudsman rule in my favour last week against TFS loans but I’ve noticed on their website today they’re no longer accepting new loan applications. Is this a sign they’re about to go the same way as Amigo do you think?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I haven’t heard anything about this.
ThankYouSara says
Sara, please could you help me with one more situation? UK credit have accepted the ombudsman’s review (the rejected the adjudicator’s), however, they’ve sent an email saying that they have written to my guarantor to ask if they would like the amount the guarantor paid included in my figures? 🥴 this seems like a very sneaky way of not paying what is owed? I’ve written back and said it is for UK Credit to provide figures for my guarantor to accept, or reject, and not for my guarantor to decide before these figures have been sent. Is this correct? Many thanks!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have they said they will be paying your guarantor?
ThankYouSara says
They said:
“We have written to your guarantor and asked them to respond to us within 14 days, letting us know if they are happy for us to include the payments that they have made to your account on your behalf, in our calculations.
Once we have received a response from your guarantor, we will be able to provide you with the details of the amount of the loan amount you originally borrows which you still need to repay, if any, and the basis on which this has been calculated.”
After me saying they needed to send the figures owed to my guarantor before she made a decision, they responded saying once she said replied to the above, only them they will send the figures. This doesn’t not seem right. Ombudsman guidance states the guarantor should be offered everything they paid, plus 8% interest. So it seems odd they want her to respond before seeing any figures.
I’ve said if they disagree, I’ll go back to the ombudsman.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How much has your guarantor paid? have you repaid her for any of this?
What do you want to happen?
ThankYou says
My guarantor paid off the loan and it might be better off her receiving the payout and helping me pay back any principle that is still owed, after she is paid out. But we can’t establish that (or what she paid, cos it was many years ago), until we see the figures.
I thought as a general rule, the guarantor was offered first, and then they could accept or reject, but UK Credit want her to make that decision without seeing any figures?
Thanks, Sara. They’re confusing me now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It generally is better for the guarantor to be and for you two to then sort it out between you. Make sure your guarantor will say the same.
She can ask how much she has paid but I am not sure why that makes a difference to her decision?
TYS says
Thanks. What they’re saying is, they want her to decide whether they include all the payments she made in the figures, or just the amount above the principal amount, before they work out the figures. I find this a bit ridiculous, and surely not what the ombudsman advise?
Could you also let me know why it’s better (money wise) for the guarantor to receive the money and help me pay it back? I’m getting a bit confused.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is normally better for the guarantor to say they want the lot back because they should be paid 8% statutory interest on it all. But the only amounts that should be deducted from your account are the principal amounts… not the 8%.
Say she paid £2000 in principal and £1200 in interest 2 years ago. She should get 3200 + 16% = £3712.
£480 of this is 8% interest on the principal bit.
In the calculations on your account, you do not get the principal bit refunded so you don’t get this 8% on the £2000.
I can’t be sure this is what TFS will do but it is generally the case. I don’t think there is any chance of you getting TFS to show you what the guarantors refund and your account would be in all the different situations (she gets all the money, she gets the amount paid over principal, she rejects it all).
Jojo says
Hi I took out a loan of £700 back in 2019 with the company Loans2go
They made my monthly payment 160£ and I have been paying ever since they texted me that my loan arrears is now £1489.83. I told them i cant make afford £160 I can afford £30 but everytime i pay the £30 the loan arrears goes up because I’m not making the full payment of £160.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Jojo, read https://debtcamel.co.uk/worst-loan-in-britain/ which is a page about these horrible Loans2Go
Andrew says
Hi Sara,
I have two complaints with FOS. They were previously approved and upholder by the investigators but both lenders disagreed. Now both cases are in the FOS que for over 18 months.
I’ve try to push them for a response but they always. Replaying that your car is in the Q.
Would be FCA a good place to complaint about the FOS delay?? Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No, you can’t complain to the FCA – but you can complain to FOS itself. Phone up and ask to speak to a manager and say you want to know the delays are so long and you want to put in a complaint.
L says
Hi Sara, thanks for your explanations. Can I ask how the 8% is figured out? Is it from the date the loan is settled? Because mine was settled 6 and a half years ago, but payments were made as long as 8 years ago, yet the interest added seems nowhere near this.
My guarantor is being refunded 4000, and the loan was settled October 2012. Please could you let me know what you think the interest on this should be?
I work it out to be at least 2080, and that’s only if I work it out from the day it’s settled.
Thank you so much, as always.
L says
Sorry, it was settled October 2014!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then 6.5 years interest is as you say about £2080. They may be deducting 20% tax from this? That would be about £400.
What do they say it is?
The 8% is from when the payments were made. If most/all of the guarantor’s payments were at the end, then that is easy – just use the end date.
L says
Thanks! That could be it – the 20% tax. The bulk of the payments were made eight years ago. Seven years is when things started to go wrong and payments were lessened. But if I’m working it out right, I’ll go through the payments. And try not to confuse myself! Because, actually, I understand what you’re saying – the overpayments and payments made by the guarantor would be at the end.
Thank you Sara! You’re a hero.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
she can claim back £200 of tax deducted if she is a basic rate taxpayer – more if she doesn’t pay tax.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Because mine was settled 6 and a half years ago,
Oct 2012 is 8 and a half years ago?
L says
Sorry, I meant October 2014.
Stacey 1377 says
Hi
So I am not sure what has happened and I am not going to complain, I submitted a com3ro Amigo early last year they of course declined it so I sent it FOS in May 2020 it was picked up by an investigator in December 2020. I did not hear anything back until maybe 2 months ago when the investigator said they won’t be handing the complaint now due to propssed scheme of arrangement, I was gutted to say the least. anyway on Monday 24th out of no where I got an email from FOS say amigo agree I should not of been offered any of the loans and will offer redress I had to call to accept. I called and said I would like to take the redress off which cleared. My current balance and still paided me 3400.00 I was very mind full that Amigo court case was dismissed and have not said what they They ate going to do. Fast forward 1 more day and the money was paid into my account and my account with Amigo is now closed
I am in total shock and can’t believe that I finally somehow have amigo out of my life xx
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How brilliant for you!
Sandra says
That’s fantastic so happy for you my complaint has been with them nearly a year well in July will be a year and with the fos 7 months and they more Aless told me there is nothing they can do till this scheme is sorted, I really won’t be holding my breath I stopped paying back in July also as what I had paid them was 3 times more than I and originally borrowed just madness, love seeing people get the outcome they deserve delighted for you Stacey
Stacey1377 says
Thank you the refund cash payment was a bonus to be honest just the fact that it is gone and I dont ever have to worry about it again 400.00 a month better off xx
Amanda says
Hi sarah im awaiting for buddy loans to reply to the financial Ombudsman services they have until tomorrow. As the financial Ombudsman adviser says i should only have to pay back the “money borrowed and has the use of”
What does have the use of mean…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
it means what you borrowed – because you had the use of that money.
Amanda says
Am i correct in thinking i wont get the 8% interest
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you still owe a balance on this loan? Will removing the interest still mean there is a bit to pay or will Buddy owe you?
Mo says
Hi All. I just got a reply from the FOS about a complaint I made about TrustTwo. The Investigator has agreed that it was unaffordable and instructed them to agree and settle my complaint. They have until the 11th June to respond. I just wanted to know if there is anyone that has been in the same position as me and what had happened or is it still going? I have a feeling they might reject it and then I will have to wait for a final decision. Or they accept it and then drag their feet to settle. Just would likt to know how TrustTwo are going to behave. Thanks all!
Sarah says
I complained in the January had a response quickly and they admitted they didn’t do the correct checks and settled. I received over 4 thousand pound back. Good luck
Mo says
Thanks for replying Sarah. That’s a great result for you, I hope I have the same swift outcome! Fingers-crossed :-)
Mo says
So Trust Two have agreed with the FOS and have sent me their calculation for a refund.
However, I think they have incorrectly calculate my statutory interest of 8%. Here is what the investigator had said: –
Adding up the total amount of money you received as a result of having been given this loan and deducting the amount you paid on each loan so that you only pay back the amount you had use of. Where it is found that you paid more than the amount you borrowed, we will add the statutory interest amount of 8%
And this is what Trustwo have calculated: –
Payments made over £7000: £2,284.03
Interest @ 8%: £335.15 (This is subject to 20% HMRC tax deduction)
Total Refund*: £2,619.18
Refund due: £2,552.15 (£67.03 deduction as per legislation going to HMRC)
Is this correct??? Loan was 1st issued Jan 2018. I have gone back to TT and asked how the calculation was made for interest.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
has the loan been repaid? when? what were the monthly payments?
Mo says
Hi Sara. Loan was repaid on the 20th September 2019. Monthly payment amounts were £512.19. The contract was for 18months, However, due to missed payments it took longer than that.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It looks a bit short but by less than £50. Up to you if you want to argue about this.
Mo says
Thanks Sara. My worry was that they were shorting me quite alot more but if its only £50 short then I will just take what they are offering. Much appreciated for all the help. :-)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if you are a basic rate taxpayer you can claim back the tax deducted, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/
Charlene says
Hi Mo,
I hope you don’t mind me asking. But I’m trying preempt the response from Trust Two, and wondered if your case was anything similar to mine.
I had 4 other Guarantor loans, payday loans and was gambling. I then got into difficulty in paying back the loans, but then my mum helped me clear it early. Can they use my paying it back early against me. UK credit and Bamboo both upheld my complaint. So I have that hope. But they were for smaller amounts.
The adjudicator, has upheld my complaint and told them to settle by refunding the interest and charges and to remove negative entries from my credit file.
He has given them 2 weeks to respond. From what you have said above they seem to have got back to you pretty quickly. I am hoping for a speedy response also.
If anyone can give any re-assurance that would be most appreciated. Many thanks
Charlene says
Hi , I issued a complaint to UK credit last November. They came back in January of this year not upholding my complaint. I then sent the complaint to the FOS who wrote to UK Credit on Monday 24th may on my behalf saying they are complaining /writing on behalf that the loan was unaffordable and that I should have interest refunded and negative marks removed.
UK credit then came back the same day asking for bank statements. I sent these and they showed I had 3 guarantor loans at the time and gambling transactions.
They then came back 2 days later to they were upholding my complaint and refunding the interest paid. The loan is fully paid and completed in 2018.
I accepted this on Thursday 26th May
My question is, do they normally take full 7 to 10 working days to pay.? They have calculated the 8% interest until 10th June so I’m working on the assumption that they will pay then.
Kind regards
Charlene says
I also, complained to TrustTwo who did not uphold my complaint.
The adjudicator has asked for my credit record and bank statements which I have sent.
When speaking with the adjudicator and giving him a run down of my situation at the time I took out the TrustTwo loan I already had 4 guarantor loans and gambling and the loan was for £10k. It is all paid now.
The adjudicator said he could make a decision based on what I have told him that the loan was unaffordable and that appropriate checks were not done. I shouldn’t have been lent to with some much debt and gambling, as well as suffering ill mental health.
If the adjudicator finds in my favour do TrustTwo normally accept the decision and make an offer?
Or am I likely to have to fight this one.
I have successfully claimed from
bamboo
Amigo said my complaint would be dealt with in the scheme.
And I have also referred my GLO loan but due to the proposed provident scheme don’t expect the FOS to do much on this one for a while.
Sorry this was all but long winded. But any help on my queries would be most appreciated.
Kind regards
Charlene says
Hi – In regards to my TrustTwo complaint. The adjudicator has found the loan unaffordable and has given TrustTwo 2 weeks to 25th June to respond. Just hoping for a speedy response and agreement. The loan was £10k and I paid it off early and I remember when I paid it off, I paid them over £9k I was shocked the settlement was so high, as I had already paid them 13 months of £ 401.07. £5,213.91 I couldn’t believe I had made all these payments and the loan hadn’t reduced much.
I will await their response if they agree. Once I hear I will come back with an update.
C says
A further update of my complaint with Trust Two. I had thought I had paid more, but I hadn’t made all contractual payments due to a payment plan being in place before I cleared the loan.
Anyway Trust Two have upheld my complaint. The adjudicator has responded to them with my acceptance and has said that if I don’t hear from them within 4 weeks then I should contact the adjudicator.
I will update once I hear again from Trust Two.
Sam says
I had 2 loans from Amigo ruled as unaffordable and refunded in December and was waiting on the outcome of another from TFS that was taken out in between these. Was fairly confident as the loans either side had already been found to be unaffordable. However the adjudicator looked at only my income and regular outgoings and decided I had close to £300 a month available after my outgoings so said it was affordable
I rejected this and used the response from .y amigo loans as the reason why and he has looked again and found I had just under £30 a month disposable income as he had ‘missed’ things first time round, such as overdraft usage and 2 direct debits and regular payments made to a family member.
Still expect TFS to reject his decision and it to go to Ombudsman but just to make people aware it’s worth not accepting if you dont agree as they can clearly make mistakes too!
Wes says
Has anyone had any luck on trying to receive any kind of acknowledgment or response from 1plus1loans?
I’ve emailed multiple times but had had nothing.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long ago did you complain? Have you tried phoning?
Wes says
I sent my complaint back in late feb/early March. Had even received a generic email to say they’ve received it kind of thing.
Nope ill give that a go this morning. I only had one loan but it was about £2000. My guarantor was the same one as my amigo one, which was running at the same time. All this while still paying off various payday loans.
Steve says
So I’ve heard back from the financial ombudsman in regards to my complaint for irresponsible lending against buddy loans. She has agreed with the adjudicators decision. They now have until July 4th to come up with any more information or it goes legal against buddy. Any idea if they will drag their heels like they have done so far. The final loan payment is due on 28th of this month.
Claire says
Hi Steve how long was you waiting from the adjudicator passing this on I’m still awaiting a final decision 8.5 months after the adjudicator agreed with me but buddy rejected it, Thanks claire
Stephen brown says
Hi Claire it was around 10 months. I then received an email from decision support stating that the ombudsman had agreed with me. And buddy must reply by 4th July
Joe says
Hi – complained about Buddy Loans for irresponsible lending – sent to FOS in July 2020, received adjudicators decision September 2020, Buddy Loans rejected their decision so it needs to be sent to an Ombudsman for final decision.
I’m aware FOS have a lot of complaints to deal with and Covid-19 hasn’t helped but does anybody have a timeline to advise? Essentially, since end of Sept 2020 which is when I was told it would be sent to an Ombudsman to now, I’m still waiting so roughly 8.5 months. I did receive an update early in June 2021 and was told it’s still waiting to be allocated to an Ombudsman. If anybody has a timeline, let me know.
Claire says
Hi mine is the same! exact same time line I’ve been waiting since September after the adjudicator upheld my complaint and buddy loans rejected there decision and it’s still in the queue for a final decision. Hope we hear something soon :)
Joe says
Yeah hope so! I could do with a refund sooner rather than later and despite taking the Covid payment holidays last year for 6 months, I’m really struggling to make payments (although still doing so just about each month) as I do not wish my guarantor (who I no longer have contact with) to get in trouble for my debt.
Waiting game continues – not sure if I can ask Buddy for some breathing space off the payments without guarantor being impacted?
pol says
Hi Joe, mine has been awaiting for final decision for 11 months now, a friend of mine waited 18 month before he heard a final decision 😔
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am hoping that things will start to move faster now the Amigo cases are being removed from the system
Emy says
Hi Sara and everyone . I was wondering if anyone had a similar experience.
I had bamboo loan in 2018 and I had filed an affordability complaint in 2019 to which bamboo didnt agree and I had to go to financial ombudsman. I got a reply from the investigator after nearly 18 months which is the the favour of bamboo based on the ONS and their income verification tool they used . Bamboo didn’t check my payslips or bank statement, should they have checked they would have known my gambling addiction at that time . So I disagreed and my complaints is now with ombudsman. My loan was for about 4000 initially topuped after a year to 5000
Has anyone else been in the same place as me and had a positive reply from the ombudsman??
I am thinking is it even worth the wait and stress ??
I had a amingo loan too and had filed a complain at the same time as bamboo and got a reply within 6 months in my favour.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am thinking is it even worth the wait and stress ??
I think this is worth taking to the Ombudsman. Point out the very large loan size and the need for a top up. Say that 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.
Emy says
Thanks Sara .. I also have another question. When I had complained to bamboo in their reply that had stated
You have stated in your complaint that you would like to continue paying your normal monthly payment so as not so affect your Guarantor. If the normal monthly instalment is no longer affordable for you then we can look to set up a payment arrangement for you, in these circumstances, as long as any arrangement set is adhered to, we can look to stop any request for payment from your Guarantor and limit the affect that it would have on their credit report.
If you would like to discuss this further, please liaise with our Servicing team directly
My loan is now with lanturn UK since January 2021 And since it was taken over my gaurantor has been getting a default on his credit file . As I am doing refused payments
Is it anything I can do ? I spoke to lanturn and explained about the complaint with bamboo . They don’t seem to get it .. they have asked me to get in contact with bamboo and speak to them .
What would you advise me??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so have you been making the normal payments or did you agree a lower payment with Bamboo?
Emy says
Agreed to a lower payment but bamboo wasn’t putting any defaults before since lanturn came into picture they started
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well if you win the FOS case this will all get settled as Bamboo will have to clean up your credit records.
I am not sure what other options you have but to pursue this?
Was the loan affordable for your guarantor when it was taken out?
Emy says
But as they had stated that if I take a payment arrangement than they would limit the effect it has on my guarantors credit file. Can I talk to them on that basis and ask them to remove the default? Because if their credit file would have been effected I would not have gone for arranged payments in the first place . I went for it only as they said that it will not have much effect on guarantors credit file .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes that is a reasonable argument to make.
morgan armstrong says
its definetly worth the wait i was in exactly the same postion, had gambling problems and took loans out with no real checks on income and bank statements, won my case with amigo, won bamboo and now im waiting to hear the final outcome from buddy loans and thats all them smashed.
hang in there it does take a while but well worth taking it further.
Emy says
Well Sara just wanted to update that bamboo has agreed to take off the default from guarantors credit file. Said they will instruct lanturn and that it might take up to 8weeks . First when u had emailed them they said that they will wait for FOS decision and do accordingly but than I emailed them again regarding the The complaint I had made and that told them that I went for the arrangement only because they assured it wouldn’t effect, also sent a copy for previous bamboo email.
This is so much relief to me…
Thanks Sare
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well persevered!
AM says
Hi can anyone tell of their experience with TFS.
They rejected my complaint but yesterday the assessor at FOS upheld it and have written to TFS asking them to put it right.
They have given them 2 weeks to respond. Do you think they are likely to agree or will they make it go to a higher level?
C says
They rejected my complaint at adjudicator level. An Ombudsman upheld my complaint but I haven’t had a redress figure or payment as of yet. The 4 weeks the Ombudsman allow for contact information is up on Tuesday. TFS said I’d have my redress figure by the end of yesterday but I heard nothing. I’m not sure if they have to provide a redress figure and payment within 4 weeks or just the redress figure? Sara – can you clarify this please?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
really they should pay within 28 days.
AM says
Can I ask how long it took from when the assessor upheld and before the ombudsman picked it up and agreed
C says
The adjudicator upheld my complaint on 10th March and the Ombudsman upheld it on the 20th May. TFS have been awkward at every level. I don’t think they provided much information about my loan to the FOS but I provided enough evidence to win the case.
X says
Hiya! I had an adjudicator uphold my complaint in March, TFS delayed this stage but eventually disagreed so I went to an ombudsman queue in May, I got my final decision from ombudsman on Tuesday last week upholding my complaint and TFS have been in touch acknowledging my acceptance & have said they will provide the redress figures and date on payment soon but they don’t pay out until the 28th day. I was not expecting the ombudsman decision to be so fast. My original complaint to FOS was December 2019.
Sam says
Hi just wondering if TFS did infact pay you on the 28th day? After over 2 years with the Ombudsmsn I finally got my decision at the beginning of this month but TFS have still not provided me with a redress figure or expected date that they will. Into day 19 now and just wondering if they are going to drag this stage out like every other!! Thanks
Steffy says
Hi,
I am in a similar position. Adjudicator agreed in April and they delayed, then disagreed so it was put in queue for an ombudsment review last week. I’m not expecting to hear anything until mid next year looking at previous comments and time frames.
Mr original complaint went to ombudsment in November 2020 and I think they place you based on when it was initially lodged even if they delay.
AM says
Can I ask if you should continue to pay while it is in dispute.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
can you afford to pay it is the first question!
AM says
I can pay it but it does leave me short for paying other bills and also I would not want my guarantor to have to pay
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds to me as though you can’t afford to repay it… getting behind with bills is a very bad idea, especially as this may go on for some time if TFS insist on the case going to the Ombudsman. Although as you can see a couple of people recently have had Ombudsman decisions pretty quickly.
You can stop paying, saying you are waiting for your complaint to be settled. Having the adjuidicator decision in your favour is a good indication that you have a strong case that you are likely to win.
You would need to explain this to your guarantor so they can stop their direct debit (and any continuous payment authority over their debit card?) to TFS.
If the complaint is upheld, are you expecting your balance to be cleared?
AM says
As it stands I have £2100 left to pay. I have made 48 payments of £303 as the loan was for £7500. So if upheld then I would hope there was enough rebate to clear the outstanding balance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
on those numbers the balance would definitely be cleared.
(I asked because if there would be a balance remaining, then it is a good idea to be paying what you can each month to chip away at it.)
Thomas says
Update with 1 plus 1 loans. I have had my complaint upheld at aduicator level which they didnt agree with. Now im in the queue for the ombusdman. 1 plus 1 are ruthless to the core. Don’t give up or be put off by there scare tactics….
Me says
I have had 5 guarantor loans, each ranging from £3750-10000 and took them all out with the same guarantor and within a 6 month period to feed a gambling addiction. 3 of the company’s rejected the claim and the adjudicator upheld, they disagreed and they went to the ombudsman who upheld and they paid out, 1 accepted the claim without me needing to take to FOS and the last one 1-plus-1 loans have dug their heels in. Refused the SAR unless I paid for it as they said I was going to use it to complain (which I had not stated) then sent me a final response letter to an affordability complaint I didn’t make, I then made one and they said I’d already complained and it had not been upheld and now it was past the 6 months. The adjudicator disagreed and said I had not complained so they were within their rights to investigate. 1P1 said they wanted to involve the FOS legal team and their lawyers, Adjudicator had to take it to ombudsman and legal team and they said no, this is indeed allowed to be investigated and 1P1 have dug their heels in massively!! Keep going with your complaints, 1P1 are threatening cowboys with no regard for anyone!
C says
I emailed TFS saying the 28 days was up tomorrow. They reckon it’s Thursday so they’ve got a few more days to provide me with a redress figure. I asked does that mean I’ll get paid out on Thursday when the 28 days is up? Can’t get a straight answer from them. Was told the account manager was on annual leave today so I’d get an update tomorrow. Last week I was told I’d get an update by the end of last week. I’ve told them I’ll refer it back to the FOS once the 28 days is up
Stephhy says
Just wondering did they respond within the time frame?
C says
I did finally receive my redress figure but it took several emails and phone calls from me to get it. I haven’t been paid yet though. The 28 days was up yesterday but they said they’re paying me on Monday 28th. We shall see.
X says
Hi, did you get paid your redress when they said they would? I’m being told it should be in my bank on the 28th day but if it’s not to contact them but I’ve already supplied my bank details so I’m hoping I don’t need to chase them for it, it’s frustrating waiting the full 28 days & more
C says
I got my redress on the day they said yes but it was a few days after the 28 days. I’m now trying to get info from them as to how much they have paid HMRC so I can claim some of the tax back. They’ve told me it will be sent through the post within 10 days. They are one of the worst companies I’ve dealt with
C says
Hi Sara,
I wonder if you can help me. Trusttwo have agreed with the FOS and have sent through their calculation. Is the Statutory interest calculated from the date the loan was cleared?
Loan taken out 13th July 2017 – Loan paid 17th August 2018
Repayments were £401.27 but I was in a payment plan before clearing, so didn’t make the full 13 months at £401.27 before clearing.
I paid £ 4,321.72 over £ 10k
Interest @ 8%: £963.67 (This is subject to 20% HMRC tax deduction)
Total Refund: £5,195.39
Refund due: £5,002.66 (£192.73 deduction as per legislation going to HMRC)
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
so your loan was settled with a large settlement amount?
C says
Hi
Yeah it was settled, I paid in total £ 14,321.72 the loan was for £ 10k.
I paid £ 9659.02 to settle
Sara (Debt Camel) says
in that case the 8% will be calculated from the date it was settled.
C says
Ok great. Thank you. Do the figures look about right?
I can only calculate whole years? How do you calculate for part months?
Sorry for all of the questions.
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
in theory the calculations should be done by day – my rough estimate came to £979 so if it was me I wouldn’t quibble at £963.
You can claim back the tax deducted if you are a basic rate tax payer and this is your first claim in the 2021/22 tax year, or if you are a non tax payer. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/ppi-payday-refund-get-back-tax/
Laura says
Just to update on my complaint with bamboo at FOS.
I’ve just heard back from my investigator who said she sent her view a week ago (I have never received this), however, as bamboo didn’t agree it has gone into the queue for an ombudsman review.
You may remember Sara that they initially offered a low amount, then increased it to £2000. I am assuming by the update from the investigator that she found in my favour. I know that in the majority of cases the ombudsman agrees with the investigator but I obviously haven’t seen Bamboos reply/counter argument. I am currently hopeful that this will end with a good result (I’ve worked the figures out to be around £10k).
Does anyone have a rough idea of how long an ombudsman review takes? Or is it a question of how long is a piece of string?
pol says
Hi Laura, mine has been awaiting final decision for 11 months now but if you have a look at comments above, some people are getting them much quicker
Laura says
Thanks. It looks like there isn’t a set logic for decisions being issued. Guess I need to sit tight and wait it out
Andrea says
Hi Sara
Please could you help? With my figures?
My TFS has been upheld 2 out of 3 second and third upheld.
Loan one 2012 – £3000 £124.54 x 6 = £747.24
Loan 2 2013 £4500 I received £2242.25 made 9 x 175.82 = 1582.24
Loan 3 £6000 – I received £3582.38
I paid 72 x 222.35 = £16009.20
He upheld loans 2 and 3 and has written
“ Settlement
To settle Ms H complaint TFS should do the following:
To add up the total amount of money Ms H received as a result of having been given loan two and three. The repayments Ms H made should be deducted from this amount.
a) If this results in Ms Harris having paid more than she received, then any overpayments should be refunded along with 8% simple interest (calculated from the date the overpayments were made until the date of settlement). †
My last payment was feb 2020 when I cleared it off.
The interest part is what I’m struggling with?
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
£6000 – I received £3582.38
are you sure those numbers are right? because it looks from as though you didn’t repay loan 2 fully?
Andrea says
Hi Sara
No I didn’t I
Made 9 payments of of £175.82.
Loan 3 I took out £6000 paid off loan 2 abs I was left with £3582.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no I know you didn’t repay it through the monthly payments. You settled it with some of the money from the third loan. But it doesn’t look to me as though there was enough to settle it…
So I can’t really work out any numbers for you as I am not sure what is going on?
Let me know what the lender calculates this at?
Andrea says
Hi Sara sorry spent the last 2 hours going through all my documents. Out of the £6000 loan 3 I got £1440.64 in cash.
Does this sound right?
Sorry just trying to get an idea of how much I may get back.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes that sounds right!
On those numbers you have paid £1641 interest on loan 2 and 30,009 interest on loan 3. SO there will be a refund of £11,650. Plus over £3000 on 8% interest.
Andrea says
Thank you so much Sara
Cperry says
Hi, Can I ask when your complaint was submitted and the time frames for decisions?
Thank you
Andrea says
Hi I submitted it last March In 2020 they refused on the first day so I sent to the FOS on the 9th March 2020.
They said I was over the 6 year limit. The Ombusman agreed this can go ahead and now I’ve just got my decision.
Hope this helps
Lianne says
I submitted an affordability claim to Bamboo on 5th July. I had a response on 6th asking for 2 months statements prior to the loan and 2 subsequent top ups. By 4pm on 7th, I’d had a final response stating they were upholding my complaint. I’m now just waiting on the account being updated. Amazed how quick this was dealt with!
Andy says
Hi Sarah.
I have made an affordability complaint to UK credit. It was rejected and then I’ve sent the complaint to FOS. The investigator agreed with my complaint however UK Credit did not. This has been passed to Ombudsman for final decision. I held very strong about my case. Today I’ve received a provisional decision from the Ombudsman. They not currently intending to uphold My complaint.
They will now wait a month to see if either party has anything further to add – before making my final decision.
I had lots of debts on my credit report. My income was low. And I had to pay another Guarantor loan and another was in default. I also had a debt collector which shows on my statement provided to them.
Anything that I could do? Please help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What are the Ombudsman’s reasons for rejecting your complaint?
You need to focus on those and explain why they are wrong, perhaps they have not taken account of something important?
If you have a SAR from UKC, you need to go through it in detail. What in there can help your case? Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/sar-affordability-complaint/
Thomas says
Sorry to hear that Andy. When did you go in to que for Ombudsman if you dont mind me asking please?
Andy says
Hi,
My cases were over a year in the Q.
A week ago I’ve sent an email asking the manager to look into them and I complained about the time handling. As originally I sent complaints over a year and a half.
Joe says
Hi – I’m aware that others have been waiting even longer but I have a complaint against a Buddy Loans, adjudicator ruled in my favour Sept last year and was sent to be put in a queue to Ombudsman as Buddy Loans disagreed with their findings.
I’m concerned the longer this gets drawn out, the more chance there is that Buddy Loans will enter into a scheme. and any refund would be minimal. I guess its just a waiting game but wanted to raise it in case others are in a similar position or had any positive response regarding it?
Claire says
I am also in the exact same position mine was also agreed by the adjudicator September :(
pol says
Hi Joe, same position for me with buddy loans but mine has been awaiting ombudsman final decision for exactly 12 months now, phoned them last week trying to move things along just to be told it will be dealt with in due course. I’ve taken the decision to stop paying Buddy as I’ve got other debts and I’m very confident that my complaint will be upheld.
All the best
Joe says
I’d stop paying buddy loans myself but don’t wish my guarantor to cover my lack of payments so that’s annoying as im sure they’d chase guarantor if I stopped.
L says
Sara, I have a question regarding my settlement with Bamboo. The ‘balance’ shows £6199. This includes interest. The interest being cancelled (from current loan and 2 previous) £5660. They have stated today I owe £538. I thought though they should use the total debt on the agreement £8825… then deduct the interest? As the £6199 still includes interest so that doesn’t make sense to me. Am I wrong? As I’ve paid over £5.6k in payments
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you know how large each of the loans were? and how much of this you received in cash?
how much you have paid to each loan in monthly payments?
Lianne Hoult says
The initial loan was 3.5k, 2 further top ups of 1k ish. Total loan value 5034.21. Total amount of payments made by me (over 3 sep loan agreements, but when topped up they clear one loan with the next) 5573.74
Sara (Debt Camel) says
sorry, that is too vague for me to work out the numbers… I need to know for each loan:
– what you borrowed,
– what you received in cash (if it was a top up loan)
– the total of monthly payments made to it
L says
Initial loan 3500
Top up1 1100
Top up 2 1170
Total paid my me 5573.74
Interest paid loan 1 840.89 (advised by bamboo complaints)
Interest paid loan 2 1029.55 (advised by bamboo complaints)
Interest final loan 3790.83
Total to be deducted 5661.27
Total payable on last loan agreement with Interest 8825.00
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry but I can’t tell if the numbers are correct without all the details. For a top up loan, that means how large the luan was and what you were paid in cash. And for all loans how much did you pay to each loan?
If you don’t have the details, you can ask for them now.
Claire says
Hi thought I would update those with a buddy loans complaint where the adjudicator upheld the complaint but buddy rejected this mine as been in the queue for the Fibal decision since September 2020 and today I received an email to say they have upheld it and that decision is now final, good luck to those still waiting like I was and hopefully should be anytime now you receive a decision.
pol says
Brilliant news Claire, hopefully see some movement from the fos now with all the amigo complaints gone
Joe says
Thanks for this – same timeframe to me. Last I heard from my adjudicator was mine was still in a queue to be picked up by an ombudsman, and they would update me whenn this happens. Do you know how long between it being allocated to an ombudsman and receiving decision it was, as in did they contact you when the ombudsman was allocated?
Thanks
Claire says
Hi joe
I never received confirmation that it had been picked up to be worked for the final decision I just received the decision, my adjudicator put it in the queue sept 2020 and then I received my final decision July 2021 I had however chased this up in between with my adjudicator hope this helps, and great news Steve :)
Steve says
Hi Claire. I also received final decision on June 4th. Buddy agreed with this on June 30th, and refund in my account July 9th. Hope this helps
Danielle says
Hi Claire, I am like you and have just been advised that the Ombudsman have made their final decision in my favour. I just wanted to ask if Buddy were compliant after this and if they have been in contact about your refund. Thank you
Joe says
Not sure of your process and have no experience apart from my case was sent to Ombudsman queue and decided on July 22nd by Ombudsman in my favour, although this was a provisional decision and from what I’ve read here from others, their final decision was final rather than provisional so I am a bit concerned about my own case?
Anybody got any insight into this and have others have a final decision or is it always provisional and then is confirmed later on?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think it is up to the ombudsman. If there is ANY change from the adjudicator’s decision then the ombudsman first makes a provisional decision. But some that are identical also get a provisional decision, whereas many go straight to a final decision.
Danielle says
Hi Joe/Sarah,
The adjudicator rejected my complaint so I asked for it to be referred to the Ombudsman for review as I felt not all of the information had been considered. At this stage I have also been given a provisional decision in my favour pending any further information from Buddy’s. I noticed that as part of the Ombudsman’s letter to me they said that Buddy’s were given an opportunity recently to provide further information prior to the provisional decision being made and provided a few additional pieces of evidence so I am hopeful that the provisional decision will be made final unless there is evidence they haven’t previously provided.
Thanks Danielle
Claire says
Hi Danielle, it’s been 2 weeks since they said they received it and they have 4 week to resolve this I will update on here as soon as I hear anything from them. :) good news on you getting the result you deserve.
Danielle says
Thanks Claire and fingers crossed you hear soon
Sarah Evans says
I have my case in the queue for the ombudsman as TFS have rejected the adjudicators decision.
My case has been in since Feb 2020 and it seems a really long time to be waiting. Is there anything I can do to speed it up?
NAG says
Hey Sarah, same for me.
I complained to TFS in Feb 2020 too and initially they wouldn’t investigate as my loan was over 6 years old. Went through adjudicator and an Ombudsman to say they could investigate and when TFS did, they didn’t uphold my complaint. I then went to adjudicator who upheld but TFS disagreed in May 2021 – I’ve been in the queue for an Ombudsman since. I’m ‘priority’ case as well but I’ve still been told 6-8 months. If and when my complaint is upheld, TFS delay further 28 days apparently.
I have the same question – TFS have delayed (and seem to do it for everyone) almost knowing the ombudsman are taking an unreal amount of time. 2 years (in some cases) and longer for a complaint about a financial service is just not acceptable – who regulates the regulators and what can consumers do? The system is broken and TFS are playing it.
Covid and home working can only be used as an excuse so far. What can we do?
Sarah says
Hi, I know it’s completely frustrating. TFS know exactly what they are doing. They are awful.
With no amigo cases to deal with anymore I thought the cases would be moving quicker. I really don’t know how they prioritise cases as on here I see people going into the queue on March and getting a final ombudsman decision in May?? Everytime I call for an update same old story.
Andrea says
Hi guys
Sounds like we are pretty much all the same time frame.
I sent mine to TFS March 7th 2020 they rejected March 8th 2020 as it was past the .6 year rule by one week. Waited till August for the OS finally found in May this year the Ombusman says it can go ahead. The adjudicator went on my favour and we are now waiting on. TFS who asked for a further 10 days 🙈 which is Friday! I already know we will be back on the Queue for the ombudsman.
Surly TFS must realise they are paying loads more in interest for each year they stall?
Sarah says
Hi
My worry is that it will drag on and on and TFS will end up on a scheme and we’ll not get any compensation at all!!
X says
I think the ombudsman decisions go into the queue based on when you first complain to them. My first complaint to ombudsman was December 2019, picked up by adjudicator June 2020 decision in my favour March 2021 then ombudsman queue may 2021 and I was fortunate enough to get my decision June 2021 and my redress from tfs last week. It is an awful long process but will be worth it in the end, TFS do make you wait 28 days from when they receive the ombudsman decision so I recommend emailing TFS as soon as you receive your decision :)
Sarah says
Thank you for that. My original complaint went in Feb 2020. Adjudicator ruled in my favour in March 2021 and I have been in the queue since then. I’m hoping it won’t be too much longer 🤞
Ed says
Have Buddy Loans ever made anyone an offer or upheld a complaint within there final response without having to send it to FOS?
Due a final response from them I’m a couple of days, but can see it being a long process even though I am confident of the complaint being upheld.
Thanks
Ed
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I hope they are soon going to handle complaints a bit better – this week three people have reported winning cases against than at FOS.
Ed says
Hi Sara,
Just to update you on this, they upheld my complaint straight away and have offered a refund of 4.9k which I have accepted.
Just waiting for the funds to clear now.
Thanks for your help!
Ed
A S says
Hi Sara. Both me and my guarantor complained to the ombudsman regarding a loan from tfs loans. I complained because I should never have received the loan as I couldn’t afford it and my guarantor because no checks were done on him on affordability. After 1.5 years my guarantors complaint got dealt first. Final decision he should never have been accepted as a guarantor as his income wasn’t enough to cover the loan if I defaulted. I’m waiting on my verdict now.
My question is the fact my guarantor was proven not to have had any checks done (or not sufficient checks) will this positively impact my decision. The adjudicator found the case in my favor.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You still owe a balance? your guarantor had been released from the loan?
The decision about the loan not being affordable for your guarantor isn’t relevant to your affordability complaint. But when did the adjdicator fins in your favour?
Are you still making payments?
A S says
Hi Sara. The 5 year loan finished Nov 2020. I paid £13500 in total on a £7500 loan but was due to pay £17000 in total.
The guarantor has now been released from the loan.
Adjudicator found in my favour July 2020. Awaiting ombudsman to review the complaint.
pol says
Hooray. Finally after exactly 12 months awaiting final decision and 2.5 years since starting my complaint with Buddy loans, I Finally received my final decision upholding my complaint against Buddy loans. Everyone still waiting, it is frustrating with how long it takes but it does eventually get there
Andew says
Hi all,
Just received the final decision from the ombudsman regarding Buddy loans. They agreed with the adjudicator decision and upheld my complaint.
Originally sent to FOS in January 2020. Then Buddy didn’t agree with the adjudicator. Sent to ombudsman review in September 2020. Final decision today.
Pol says
Hi Andrew, have you heard anything from Buddy yet regarding your redress?
Andrew says
Hi, no not yet … still waiting for them to contact me. They have 4 weeks.
pol says
Thanks for the reply, they’ll probably use the whole 4 weeks as well. Just want it done and dusted, been dragging on far too long
Enty1995@live.co.uk says
Hi Pol,
Have you received your refund as of yet?
I have seen some trust pilot reviews that they aren’t taking loans anymore, my refund is due in 10 days (18 days out of the 28 days has now passed) I have provided them with my bank details etc.
Thanks,
Ed
AM says
Hi can anyone help as I am so stressed out right now. TFS did not uphold my complaint and part of the response letter said that it was fraud to give incorrect information at the time of appplication about my expenses. The assessor has just upheld at FOS and one of the reasons was that the information I had given was not correct. I did not intentionally give wrong information some I had just forgotten at the time, it is difficult to remember everything when you are put on the spot and it was also my intention to pay some off with the loan and I was desperate as well.. Do you think I should drop this now as they may report me for fraud?
So worried
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There are many reasons why a credit application may be inaccurate https://debtcamel.co.uk/payday-lender-says-lied/ apart from fraud.
Several lenders make this statement about reporting fraud. So far as I know, no lender has ever proceeded with this when a complaint has been sent to the Ombudsman. Let alone when a customer has won their FOS case.
If they did – which seems very unlikely – you would probably have a good complaint that you had been unfairly treated by the lender and that they should remove the fraud marker.
Joe says
Received decision from Ombudsman today regarding Buddy Loans complaint. Initially upheld by adjudicator in Sept 2020, sent to be put into Ombudsman queue at that point and heard today on July 22nd with decision.
I will be due a refund as I have paid above the amount that I borrowed – do Buddy Loans refund into my bank or do they try to make things difficult by refunding to guarantor, as I am aware when I had the loan, they put the funds into my guarantors bank?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is the third Buddy Ombudsman decision this week. About time, but good to see them all upholding the complaint.
Joe says
Do you know if any refund due would be to me rather than guarantor (I made all payments, guarantor never stepped in to cover any).
It is good news for those still waiting, it seems positive!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A guarantor can only ever be refunded what they paid, so this would all go to you.
Joe says
Okay – thanks.
Lisa says
I made a complaint about 2 separate TFS Loans. The FOS concluded in my favour but TFS disagreed with this and it was sent to an Ombudsman. The Ombudsman agreed with initial investigator and TFS agreed to repay all interest paid as well as 8% interest.
However I am now in dispute with them over a redress figure. They firstly offered just over £3000, then just over £4000, then £150 and finally £317!
As my guarantor for the second loan made the bulk of the payments a large amount of the interest owed it payable to him. However, I made ALL payments on the first loan and they are not refunding this to me! I have broken down all the payments I have made by going back over old bank statements etc and have send a spreadsheet of my calculations. Surely the two loans were separate financial agreements? The second was not an extension of the first, there was a year long gap between the first ending and the second beginning and I used different guarantors. I am losing sleep over this now!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am sorry but you need to talk to your adjudicator about this.
Lisa says
I spoke to her yesterday and she said that they don’t really get involved in redress payments but she is willing to call them to discuss their calculations
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, did you repay your 2nd guarantor for the payments they made?
Lisa says
I have made some of the repayments but not all, I repay him on a monthly basis
Sara (Debt Camel) says
well he should be refunding you the ones you have made and you won’t need to make any more – so this isn’t an entirely bad result for you.
Lisa says
So does this mean that TFS can use redress owed to me from a previous, and entirely separate loan and give it to him in respect of loan 2?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They aren’t giving “your redress from the first loan” to the guarantor for the second loan. They are giving him the redress he is entitled to because he should never have been accepted as guarantor for the second loan.
Then I am guessing that TFS may argue that they owe you money for the first loan but you owe them money for the second loan and they are setting them off. You need to talk to your adjudicator if you do not feel this is fair.
Lisa says
But no money is owed for the second loan. It was settled in full in 2019. I can’t see where the confusion is. There were 2 separate loans. I have been in touch with the FOS adjudicator and await her response 🤞🏼
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes but if they refund the guarantor, their argument is they should reopen the second loan account, remove the guarantor’s payments and also remove the interest – this may well leave it looking as though you owe them money.
I am not saying I agree with this, I am trying to say what they are doing and that if you do not think it is fair you need to discuss it with your adjudicator.
Liam says
Good morning Sara,
I have had the ombudsman agree with my case against TFS loans on the 14th July just wondering if you could give me a rough idea of how much the redress figure will be:
Loan 1 – £2,500X60 months December 2016 – £97.73 a month total paid £2,638.70
Loan 2 (top up loan) – £3,500X36 months April 2019 £169.41 £2,092 of the £3,500 was used to settle the first loan second loan paid £169 for 14 months then settled the agreement at a cost of £2,597.18
Any help would be appreciated as I just want to make sure I am agreeing to the correct amount
Sara (Debt Camel) says
on those numbers it looks as though you have paid the following in interest
loan 1 2230
loan 2 1463
total £3693
Liam says
Thanks for that worked it out to be that but wasn’t sure how it worked with the top up Loan, is there any chance you would know the rough estimate of the 8% interest I should receive ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A few hundred – it wont be a lot as so much of what you paid was in the last settlement amount
Cperry says
Can I ask what were your timeframes please?
adam says
Hi Sara, i made a complaint to bamboo, they rejected the complaint however agreed to remove my guarantor and 3k worth of interest if i didn’t escalate to the FOS, i deemed this a fair offer and accepted however im not sure if any adverse info on my credit should of been removed. In regards to my bamboo loan i missed 2 payments almost a year ago, I have made every payment since on time, and i also pay an extra £45 to pay off the arrears. On my credit report since i missed those payments they have recorded a missed payment each month for my current month so reads as 12 missed payments in a row, even though iv made those 12 payments. My logic suggests it should read missed payment for the month i have missed only? or am i being naïve? any advice would be appreciated. thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
im not sure if any adverse info on my credit should of been removed
You should have asked for this at the time :(
the missed payments, were they before they removed the interest or after?
How long will it be until the loan is cleared?
adam says
Hi Sara, 1 missed payment was before and 1 was after they removed the interest, there is about 2 years left to run on the loan (£2700 settlement figure) does clearing it have any effect on them removing negative info? also should they record it every month thereafter?
I may however be able to clear soon as i have just had positive news from the FOS in regards to other complaint saying they think Mr lender should give me redress plus 8% simple interest for 3/6 loans, hopefully this would amount to enough to pay off bamboo ,could you advise me how much it should be ?
date repaid 09/15 – amount borrowed – £1000 – 6 x £383
date repaid 04/16 – amount borrowed – £1000 – 6 x £398
date repaid 10/16 – amount borrowed – £450 – 4 x £250
thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Assuming they were all seperate loans, not top ups, it looks as though you have paid £3236 in interest that will be refunded. Plus another £1500 or so in 8% interest (very very roughly).
Settling a loan does not remove negative marks. the loan will drop off 6 years after the settlement date.
BUT I suggest you should ask Bamboo to remove the negative marks when you offer to settle the loan – say it is unreasonable for you to have your credit record affected for payments that were unaffordable. Say you will take this to FOS if they don’t agree. If you are settling the loan, they may well give in.
Pol says
Hi Sara, my complaint has recently been upheld by final decision against Buddy loans, I was just wondering if you could help me with the redress calculation before I Receive it from them?
Loan 1) £1500 may 2016
Paid 105.52 x 1
113.07 x 4
Loan 2 (top up) £2500 Dec 2016
Received £1464.27
Paid 154.54 x 9
Loan 3 (top up) £4000 Nov 2017
Received £2294.81
Paid 195.16 x 6
Loan 4 (top up) £6500 may 2018
Received £2851.16
Paid so far 38 x 256.91
Thanks so.much for all your help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
On those numbers it looks as though you have paid the following in interest:
loan 1 93
loan 2 592
loan 3 819
loan 4 3228
So the current loan will be cleared and you will get a refund of £4732 plus very roughly a couple of hundred in 8% interest.
Margaret says
Hi Sara, I contacted TFS in Feb regarding an affordability complaint. They refused to look at it as it was over 6years old. ( I took it out in 2011) I complained to FOS and last week I got an email saying that the rules state they cannot look at complaints over 6 years and therefore will close my complaint. I have seen posts from people who have won their complaints and can’t undert how FOS work
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you told FOS you have only recently (was it this year? late last year?) found out that a lender had to check that the loan was affordable for the borrower? So before this you didn’t realise the TFS had done anything wrong and you did not n=know you had cause to complain?
Margaret says
Yes I called her to question the decision and the fact I had stated I only knew about complaint late last year but made no difference
Sara (Debt Camel) says
reply that you have complained within 3 years of becoming aware you had cause to complain, so this is within the DISP rules. Ask that this decision is passed to an Ombudsman if she won’t change her mind.
Margaret says
I thought if the case was closed it would be too late
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When was it closed?