Amigo Loans Refund, Complaints & Claims 

Are you worried about your Amigo loan debt? This is the right place for you. Every month, more than 170,000 people visit this site for advice on their debt issues.

In this simple guide, we’ll share:

• What an Amigo loan is and how it works.
• What to do if you can’t afford to pay your Amigo loan.
• How to claim a refund if you think your Amigo loan was mis-sold to you.
• The new laws that Amigo Loans must follow.
• The role of the Financial Conduct Authority in setting prices.

Debt Justice estimates that 10 million people in the UK are struggling with over-indebtedness. This means they’re falling behind on bills, making debt payments a significant financial burden. ¹

If that’s your case, don’t worry. We’re here to help you find a way forward.

You might not have to pay Amigo Loans, and you may be due a refund!

Latest update:

23rd March 2023

Amigo Loans is no longer lending. They are winding down the business and paying off customers who are due a redress with their surplus assets.

The deadline for making a claim has ended, and you can no longer make a claim to Amigo Loans. You should speak to a debt advisor if you have any questions.

‘In due course, Amigo Loans Limited will be liquidated’, a statement said.

On the Amigo Loans website, the company states:

• All outstanding loans remain subject to the existing payment terms agreed with Amigo. Customers should continue to make payments in the usual way.
• Our call centre remains open to customers for continued support. All payment methods and support facilities remain available to customers.

Scheme creditors who are due a redress can expect an initial payment before the end of 2023. Final payments will be delayed until the business enters liquidation, estimated around May 2024.

Latest update:

26th May 2022

Amigo has been in hot water for quite some time now. Most Amigo Loan’s creditors have recently voted in favour of a Revised Scheme of Arrangements.

This was then approved by the court on 23rd May 2022. That means that if you need to make a claim against Amigo, you can now do so through the scheme on their website.

If you’re unsure how to use the site or have specific questions about your claim, like whether you are eligible or the deadline, you can check out their FAQs page.

What will happen to my Amigo Loan?

Amigo Loans is going into liquidation, and they are using the rest of their assets to pay off their customers due a redress.

There is no change to current loans.

If you have a loan with Amigo, you can still clear your balance or get it reduced. Your credit score may be affected if you do not repay them on time.

How Do Their Loans Work?

Customers can make an online loan application. You just need to state how much you need and how long you want to repay.

Amigo will then assess your credit file and reject or accept your application. You will have to agree to the loan and any interest and charges. 

You then make monthly loan repayments over the agreed period until the debt is repaid, plus interest. One of their loan products is available to those with no credit history or bad credit.

What Is an Amigo Guarantor Loan?

Amigo is a guarantor loan provider.

A guarantor loan allows you to borrow money from Amigo if they have the security of getting payments back from someone acting as your guarantor (in the event you don’t pay).

The guarantor is usually a family member who trusts you to pay Amigo back.

The guarantor’s role is to repay any money owed. These loans are currently available for credit between £2,000 and £10, 000 over 36 months or longer.

If you think this loan was accepted too easily, you could make a guarantor loan complaint (more to follow!).

What Is the Interest Rate?

There is an APR rate advertised on the Amigo product pages.

Be aware these rates are representative only, and you may be offered a much higher rate upon application.

Are Amigo Loans in Trouble?

Yes, as of July 2021, Amigo Loans are facing insolvency.

A year previous, Amigo Loans reported a £27 million loss due to customer complaints and compensation. The investigation cost the company over £126.8 million (!) to process last year.

On 23 March 2023, Amigo Loans announced it would stop lending and the business would wind down. Also, they announced that the Scheme of Arrangement would switch to the fallback solution and that they have less money to pay back cash refunds.

What Happens If I Can’t Pay?

If you can’t repay your Amigo loan, you should speak with them to explain your circumstances and discuss a new repayment schedule.

Failing that, you should seek free debt advice from charities and look into the debt solutions available to you. There is also the chance you might be due compensation payouts.

Debt Solutions Comparison

If you find yourself unable to repay your Amigo loan, there are different debt solutions available to help you manage your payments.

I’ve put together this table to help you better understand these solutions and how they may affect your credit score or assets.

Debt Solution	Description	Formality	Debt Type	Debt Range	Legally Binding	Impact on Credit Score	Asset Risk	Monthly Payment	Duration	Creditor Agreement Required
Debt Management Plan (DMP)	Agreement to pay back non-priority debts in one monthly payment.	Informal	Non-priority debts	Any amount	No	Yes	No	Varies	Varies (until debt is paid)	No (but creditors must be informed)
Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)	Agreement to pay back all or part of your debts over a set period.	Formal	All or part of debts	Usually over £10,000	Yes	Yes	Possible	Fixed	Fixed period, usually 5-6 years	Yes (75% by debt value must agree)
Debt Relief Order (DRO)	Freezes debt for a year and be potentially written off.	Formal	Non-priority debts	<£20,000 debt	Yes	Yes	No	None during freeze	12 months	No (court approval needed)
Bankruptcy	Legal status for those who cannot repay debts, potentially writes off debts.	Formal	Unmanageable debts	Any amount, typically high debt	Yes	Yes	High	None during bankruptcy	Usually 12 months, then discharge	No (court process)
Consolidation Loan	Taking out a new loan to pay off all existing debts.	–	Multiple debts	Based on loan amount	Varies	Yes	Depends on loan type	Fixed	Depends on loan terms	No
Payment Holiday	Temporary relief or reduced payments offered by creditors.	–	short-term financial difficulties	Any	No	Yes	Low	Reduced or paused payments	Break of up to 6 or 12 months, depending on circumstances, payment history, and creditor’s policy.	No
Informal Negotiation	Direct negotiation with creditors for reduced payments or extended terms.	–	All debts	Any	No	Possible	No	Negotiable	Until agreement terms are met	No
Statutory Debt Repayment Plan (SDRP)	Plan to repay debts over a reasonable time, with protections from creditor action.	Formal	All debts	Varies	Yes	Yes	No	Fixed	Varies, based on ability to pay	Yes
Equity Release	Homeowners release equity from their home to pay off debts.	–	Debts of homeowners, typically older individuals aged 55+	Varies and depends on property value	Yes	Yes	Asset (home) is used as collateral	Varies	8-10 weeks timeframe from application to fund disbursement. Lifetime; repaid on house sale/death.	No

Will I Need the Help of a Claims Management Company?

You could use a claims management service to apply for an Amigo refund if you think you were mis-sold a loan, but you don’t have to. It is possible to claim compensation independently.

Financial Conduct Authority New Laws

Illegal practices and excessively high-interest rates have been uncovered by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) relating to numerous lenders.

For example, Quickquid was fined £18 million for breaking laws.

One of the unfair practices is not conducting robust affordability checks to ensure customers can repay the loan they take out, and several people have successfully managed to claim compensation.

In the case of loan miss-selling, you might be able to make a complaint and claim a refund too!

Law #1: Is the Amigo Loan Affordable?

The law that has been used the most to get compensation is the affordability check law.

It states that Amigo must carry out extensive affordability checks, i.e. you must be able to afford to pay it back while also paying for essentials. 

Amigo cannot let you sign for a loan when you cannot make the repayments comfortably.

The lender should have looked into your ability to repay in detail. This applies to self-employed loans, credit loans, top-ups and any other type of personal loan. 

If your lender has not considered your ability to make repayments while also paying for rent, food and household bills, then they could be to blame for your debt. 

Did you receive an unaffordable Amigo loan? You should make an affordability complaint and claim a refund.

Affordability complaints have a greater chance of winning compensation. Read this guide to help claim your loan refund.

As you can see, this MoneySavingExpert forum user was a guarantor for their son. They filed an affordability complaint and managed to get a refund.

Law #2: Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Price Cap

This second law can be used to get an Amigo Loans refund, but it is more effective when argued alongside the law above. 

The law relates to interest and fee caps introduced by the FCA. These laws limit what you can be charged in relation to your Amigo loan, namely:

1. A combined interest and fee charge cap of 0.8% per day
2. Default fees are capped at £15 (default interest can be charged but not beyond 0.8% per day) 
3. An overall 100% cost cap, meaning you cannot be asked to pay more than twice what you borrowed

These laws pertain to every UK lender. If you believe that the loan interest calculations are off and Amigo has charged you too much interest, you might be suitable to claim a refund with a strong case!

Law #3: Taking Your Money

A lender typically asks permission to collect repayments with a Continuous Payment Authority (CPA).

This allows Amigo to collect money from your bank, but they must inform you when they will collect each payment. 

If they fail to give notice of when the payment will be collected, and you subsequently fall into a challenging financial position, they are to blame and are breaking this law. 

» TAKE ACTION NOW: Fill out the short debt form

Other rules relating to CPA are:

1. Lenders cannot take any money if they have failed to collect two previous payments
2. Lenders cannot take partial payments. If you cannot pay the full amount, they cannot take less to clear out your bank account (unless you give them permission)

As I see it, if Amigo has broken these laws, it’s time to claim compensation!

I Can’t Afford My Next Payment…

If your Amigo loan was affordable, but you are not in a financial position to repay the money owed, there are still options available. 

Read our key steps to stay protected for full details of what to do.

First, cancel any agreement to repay them through your bank, such as a standing order or direct debit. 

Your bank may tell you to inform the lender that the direct debit is cancelled, but you have no obligation to do this. 

The next thing to do is to negotiate a new repayment plan with Amigo. Explain your situation, including financial hardship, and see if you can get a reduced payment plan. 

Under consumer protection laws and lending standards, every UK lender must treat you fairly and consider the circumstances of the situation.

Want to Claim a Mis Sold Loan Refund?

When it comes to mis-selling allegations, most of these complaints are settled between debtors and their creditors, sometimes resulting in compensation.

For this reason, we do not accurately know how widespread the problem is.

You might be one of the many UK residents who are entitled to make a claim and get compensation. You can get a refund from any lender if they broke the law when providing your loan or collecting money.

You can claim a refund if you already repaid the loan within the last six years.

This includes any interest paid plus fees you had to pay – and possibly some Amigo Loans compensation!

Complaint process

When filing a complaint, you first need to contact the firm to submit details of your complaint and give them a chance to make it right.

If you don’t hear back from them within the right timeframe or are unhappy with their decision, you can use the FOS online complaint checker to see if the FOS can help.

References

1. Debt Justice – The UK’s Household Debt Crisis

CONC 13.1 Application

CONC 2.1 Application

CONC 5.2A Creditworthiness assessment