In May Amigo's proposed Scheme of Arrangement was rejected by the court. The FCA told the court the Scheme was not fair to customers, a more fair Scheme could be proposed and it didn't think Amigo would go into administration immediately. The judge concluded by saying: The FCA expects the directors to continue to explore and promote a restructuring which fairly allocates the benefits and losses … [Read more...]
Schemes of Arrangement
These have been proposed, and rejected, by several bad credit lenders.
So far only the Money Shop has had one approved - and that was only because they were heading for liquidation anyway, with no aim to carry on lending. This one will eventually payout c.4% to customers.
In 2021 Amigo and Provident have proposed Schemes.
See What is a Scheme of Arrangement and why do lenders want one? for an overview of what a Scheme is. 
Court rejects Amigo Scheme of Arrangement
On 19 May 2021 the Sanction Hearing was held for Amigo's proposed Scheme of Arrangement. On 24 May, judgment was given and the Scheme was rejected. The Amigo Board says : The Board is reviewing all options including an Appeal. A further update will be given in due course. This article looks at the Scheme, the judgment and what may happen next. The proposed Scheme The Scheme was proposed by … [Read more...]
Provident’s Scheme to cap refunds – the background
UPDATE On 4 August 2021 the Scheme was approved in court. See Provident Scheme – 4 million people can now claim a refund to find out how it will work and how to make a claim. This article gives the background to the Scheme and what happened before voting started. In March 2021 Provident Financial Group (PFG) proposed a Scheme of Arrangement to reduce the refunds it has to pay to … [Read more...]
Will Amigo’s Scheme reject too many claims?
This article relates to Amigo's first Scheme, which was rejected in May 2021. In December, Amigo published details of its proposed new Scheme. See Amigo's new Scheme for the latest news. Surprise, surprise, the new Scheme also gives no details about how many claims may be upheld. In 24 March 2021, Amigo announced some feedback from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on its proposed … [Read more...]
Provident’s Scheme – will customers get less than 2% ?
Provident is proposing a Scheme of Arrangement to limit the refunds it has to pay to customers making affordability complaints about provident doorstep lending and Satsuma payday loans. UPDATE the Scheme was approved in August 2021. See Provident's Refund Scheme for how it works and how a customer can make a claim The £50m the company is putting up to pay refunds is not nearly enough to pay … [Read more...]
Amigo’s 1st Scheme – key points to think about
This article relates to Amigo’s first Scheme, which was rejected in May 2021. See Amigo's second Scheme for the latest news. On 25 January 2021 Amigo announced that it is proceeding with the next stage of its proposed Scheme of Arrangement and published the formal Practice Statement Letter (PSL) that describes the Scheme for the customers affected. This article looks at seven points … [Read more...]
Amigo – many customers may do better in Administration than a Scheme!
This article relates to Amigo’s first Scheme, which was rejected in May 2021. See Amigo's second Scheme for the latest news. When Amigo announced it was proposing a Scheme of Arrangement in December, it said: Amigo continues to explore alternative options but it is likely the alternative options would result in those with Redress Claims receiving considerably lower amounts (if any at … [Read more...]
Is Amigo allowed to delay paying refunds? Does it have a DISP waiver?
This article relates to Amigo’s first Scheme, which was rejected in May 2021. See Amigo’s Second Scheme for the latest news. When Amigo announced in December 2020 that it was seeking a Scheme of Arrangement to cap the amount it has to pay to customers owed refunds for unaffordable lending, it said: To ensure equal treatment of customers with Redress Claims, Amigo will stop the ongoing … [Read more...]
Lessons from Amigo & Provident – FOS needs to be faster
In administration, customers with complaints at the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) have them returned to the administrators to resolve. The same happens in a Scheme of Arrangement which has been proposed by Amigo in December 2020 and by Provident in March - there FOS complaints are returned to the Scheme to be determined. FOS said in January 2021 it had about 13,000 open Amigo cases and about 500 … [Read more...]
Amigo’s Scheme – who’s next? Implications for the bad credit market
UPDATE - the FCA opposed Amigo's first Scheme on the ground that it was not the fairest possible for customers. The Scheme was rejected by the court in May 2021. Amigo proposed a new Scheme in December 2021, see Amigo's Second Scheme for the latest news. If Amigo's proposed first Scheme of Arrangement is allowed to go forward by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), what would be the impact on … [Read more...]