Advancis Ltd, trading as Buddy Loans, went into administration on 7 September 2021. Buddy Loans was a small guarantor lender. Its loans were typical of the UK guarantor market - between £1,000 and £10,000 lent on a 1-5 year term at a 49.9% APR. The FCA describes these loans as "high cost". Buddy's slogan was: If you've got a good BUDDY, you can get a loan!" Advancis's last available … [Read more...]
Complaints about guarantor loans
These articles look at what can go wrong with guarantor loans and how to complain about them, if you are the borrower or if you are the guarantor. It is simple to complain and 90% of these complaints are being won at the Ombudsman.
They apply to all guarantor loan lenders. They do not apply to guarantor mortgages, or if you are the guarantor for a business loan or someone's tenancy.
Amigo is much the biggest so many of the examples are about Amigo but the same rules apply to all lenders.
For articles that look at Amigo's own finances, see Amigo Company Archives.
How the borrower of a guarantor loan can complain
UPDATES: (1) Amigo are proposing a Scheme of Arrangement, see Amigo’s scheme rejected - now looking at a new Scheme. 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. (2) Buddy Loans went into administration on 7 September 2021. See Guarantor lender Buddy Loans goes into administration if you are a Buddy … [Read more...]
90% of guarantor loan cases won at Financial Ombusdman
The Financial Ombudsman (FOS) complaint statistics for Oct-Dec 2019 have just been published, see Product Complaints Data. For guarantor loans, FOS decided in favour of the consumer in 90% of cases: this is even higher than the 83% that were won in April-Jun 2019. these figures are a dramatic increase from the uphold rate of only 32% for the 2018 financial year. This … [Read more...]
A partial refund on some of my guarantor loans – what should I do?
In the last few weeks, several readers have been offered a "partial uphold" by Amigo. Here are some examples: Amigo only accepted my complaint about the first and final loans which were both relatively short. [Amigo] have upheld loans 2, 5 and 6. I have had around 6 with [Amigo] including top ups they have rejected the ones I paid off previous to the loan outstanding now This isn't happening … [Read more...]
Can guarantor loans be included in DRO / IVA / bankruptcy ?
A reader asked: I have 5k debts and I’m now on ESA. I'm also a guarantor for my mum's Amigo loan - could that be included in a Debt Relief Order (DRO)? There are three types of personal insolvency in England: bankruptcy, IVAs and DROs. Normally if a debt can be included in one form of insolvency, the same applies to the other two. But for guarantor loans, it's more complicated. So this … [Read more...]
“I have a CCJ for a guarantor loan – is it too late to complain?”
A reader asked: I agreed to be the guarantor for a loan for a friend, but he lied to me and couldn't pay it. Amigo were very difficult, wanting me to stop paying other debts so I could pay them, and got a CCJ. Is it too late for me to complain and ask to be removed as the guarantor? Guarantor lenders have a reputation for being very fast to go to court when a guarantor doesn't pay them. People … [Read more...]
How to complain when you are the guarantor for a loan
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 in, it is now too late to send Amigo one in by email using the template on this page – instead you will be able to make a Claim in the Scheme. If you are a guarantor for a loan you can ask to be removed as the guarantor: if you couldn't … [Read more...]
Why the Ombudsman released a guarantor from a loan
The Financial Ombudsman (FOS) has recently published two important decisions about guarantor loans, one where a borrower complained and one where the guarantor complained. I have covered the borrower case here: Ombudsman – Amigo did not check properly that a borrower could afford the loan. This article looks at the FOS decision about the guarantor for a loan. I have selected points from the … [Read more...]
Ombudsman – Amigo did not check properly that a borrower could afford the loan
The Financial Ombudsman (FOS) has recently published its decision on Miss G's complaint against Amigo. This FOS decision criticised Amigo's inadequate assessment of Miss G's income and expenses. It said her poor credit record meant Amigo should have verified the figures, for example by looking at bank statements. So FOS ordered Amigo to refund all the interest and charges she paid, plus 8% … [Read more...]
Guarantor loans – more refunds being paid!
In May 2019, adjudicators at the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) made several dozen decisions upholding affordabilty complaints by people with Amigo loans. Amigo has accepted all these decisions and has paid out refunds. These adjudicator decisions are not published by FOS but readers have sent me copies of them. This article has some extracts so you can see what FOS is looking at in guarantor loan … [Read more...]