Amigo Loans really are an evil company

Pixie5740

T-G-C wrote: »

In the situation that the OP is in, such as losing a child among other things, it is "hard cheese" and needs to take these consequences on the chin; allow the guarantor to foot the repayments and have that added stress on top rather than try to appease Amigo with a 1-2-1 payment arrangement out of their current budget? It might be protocol but it is wrong and someone in that situation should have more options to clear their own debt rather than "pass the buck" straight to the guarantor. The correct approach should be that guarantors are used as an absolute last resort, where the debtor has refused to repay the debt and is not willing to make any arrangements - not immediately used as collateral damage with no 1-2-1 options if you are struggling and cannot afford the full repayment amount each month.

In the OP's case it would make little difference if Amigo set up a payment plan with her or went after the guarantor since her partner was her guarantor. The payments were coming out of the household budget. Although it does beg the question as to why, if he had such a good credit rating and a decent enough income at the time the money was borrowed she chose to use Amigo at all when he could have probably borrowed money elsewhere.

Many places offer free funerals for children so I'm not exactly sure what the OP had to pay for and what the £7k was spent on.

If a company like Amigo did not exist where else would people like the OP or the others slating Amigo on this thread go to borrow money?

T-G-C

Pixie5740 wrote: »

In the OP's case it would make little difference if Amigo set up a payment plan with her or went after the guarantor since her partner was her guarantor. The payments were coming out of the household budget. Although it does beg the question as to why, if he had such a good credit rating and a decent enough income at the time the money was borrowed she chose to use Amigo at all when he could have probably borrowed money elsewhere.

Many places offer free funerals for children so I'm not exactly sure what the OP had to pay for and what the £7k was spent on.

If a company like Amigo did not exist where else would people like the OP or the others slating Amigo on this thread go to borrow money?

Some parents would prefer not to have their child buried on the ponce and are willing to go to any lengths to ensure their child is buried with the best of the best.

The husband's financial situation deteriorated after the loan was taken out and it was not something he could have foreseen or predicted in advance of the loan being taken out. Yes, in this situation, it is beautifully ironic that Amigo do not have the upper hand, because both names on the loan are in the same household; same income; same situation and therefore won't be getting a penny more than if they arranged a payment plan in the first place, but there are thousands of innocent families in the same situation, who have their lives being tumbled by all this nonsense.

Yes, money is owed and it has to be paid back, I am not suggesting for one second that Amigo should wipe the slate clean, but they could do much better in this area and might even find that their default rates would lower and not need to divert to the guarantor as often. They are a business and for each loan they issue, they take a risk. If they do not like the fact that their product is targeted at the financially vulnerable and encounter these types of cases on a regular basis with no moral protocol in place for it, they should shut down and re-brand as a mainstream lender, where the financially stable clientele will appeal more to their kind nature.

ReadingTim

T-G-C wrote: »

Yes, money is owed and it has to be paid back, I am not suggesting for one second that Amigo should wipe the slate clean, but they could do much better in this area and might even find that their default rates would lower and not need to divert to the guarantor as often. They are a business and for each loan they issue, they take a risk. If they do not like the fact that their product is targeted at the financially vulnerable and encounter these types of cases on a regular basis with no moral protocol in place for it, they should shut down and re-brand as a mainstream lender, where the financially stable clientele will appeal more to their kind nature.

That is wishful thinking at best, and absolute rubbish at worst. Furthermore, it ignores the fact that occasionally, some people lie and cheat if they think they can get out of paying back something they rightfully owe. I'm not suggesting that's the case here, but if it worked, then every chancer under the sun will roll out the same sorry old sob story.

Amigo are a business, and rightly seek to recover their costs. They say what they'll do, and have done it. They've been open, honest, transparent and consistent, yet people seem to have a problem with this. Punters knowing go to those "loan sharks", then complain when (predictably) they get bitten.

You seem to think businesses should act more charitably, yet even the Church of England didn't pursue the suggestion it should buy up Wonga's loan book - presumably because the sums didn't add up. So if even the Church has given up on this type of borrower, what hope or solution is there? Seems to me, the solution is less credit/loans/borrowing, not more leniency. More loans should be refused, as you can't have it both ways.

T-G-C

ReadingTim wrote: »

That is wishful thinking at best, and absolute rubbish at worst. Furthermore, it ignores the fact that occasionally, some people lie and cheat if they think they can get out of paying back something they rightfully owe. I'm not suggesting that's the case here, but if it worked, then every chancer under the sun will roll out the same sorry old sob story.

Amigo are a business, and rightly seek to recover their costs. They say what they'll do, and have done it. They've been open, honest, transparent and consistent, yet people seem to have a problem with this. Punters knowing go to those "loan sharks", then complain when (predictably) they get bitten.

You seem to think businesses should act more charitably, yet even the Church of England didn't pursue the suggestion it should buy up Wonga's loan book - presumably because the sums didn't add up. So if even the Church has given up on this type of borrower, what hope or solution is there? Seems to me, the solution is less credit/loans/borrowing, not more leniency. More loans should be refused, as you can't have it both ways.

I never said that Amigo should be more charitable, I said that customer welfare standards for borrowers who are struggling to afford the repayments should be more robust. Charitable would be writing the debt off, which as I clarified in the last post, are not saying they should do.

I am not sure I agree with your point about people gaming the system. If Amigo allowed people to wipe their debts with a sob story, then of course I would agree that it is open to abuse, however offering more options to borrowers who cannot pay, such as the same types of payment arrangements that non-guarantor lenders would make, should be exercised first before going to the guarantor. People gaming the system would not benefit from this change, because they still have to pay the debt regardless, so they are not getting anything out of it.

I also said previously that Amigo are a business and I agree that they are entitled to be paid what they are owed, but for families like the one described by the OP, their current framework adds unnecessary stress and turmoil into the borrower's life. The point I am making is that their options should be wider with the borrower and not a case of; we do not care, pay us what we asked for and that is that or we chase the guarantor for it. The guarantor stage should be enforced as a last resort measure before going into legal action, with all the other options like payment arrangements etc. coming first before that, giving the borrower an opportunity to sort things out themselves without added pressures.

People do not want to borrow from loan sharks or legal loan sharks like Amigo, but the pressures of life force them into doing it. If it means putting food on the table or in this case, burying their child, then so be it. It comes down to the business and their practices, who they are aimed at etc. rather than the vulnerable borrower. If someone has the moral and ethical attitude of being in a dire financial situation but still wanting to honor their debt with the lender through an agreement, this is much more admirable than someone walking away and discharging the debt to their trustee. The whole industry needs reform, including payday lenders. A business like Amigo is targeted at the desperate and takes full advantage of that.

Fireflyaway

I'm so sorry to hear what you are going through. The debt must be all the harder to handle because it's a constant reminder of a very upsetting event.
I would suggest you write to them. Don't enter into emotional or upsetting phone calls. Explain that due to ill health you now have a reduced income and that although you intend to pay everything back, you can't afford to do it at the rate they require. Send your income and expenditure and offer them what you can afford.
If this doesn't work then I've used payplan before. They are a free service and will contact your creditors on your behalf and make repayment offers. You then make one single payment to payplan and they distribute everything to your creditors.
I know it's frustrating denting your credit score but it's not the end of the world. I had such a low score with defaults and missed payments but managed to get on with life.
Ensure whatever happens that you get clarity regarding your income and expenditure. You need to know the figures and do a written budget so you don't get in further debt.
Things seem had now but it can be sorted. It's just money. You have been through a tough time so allow yourself to heal.

T-G-C

Fireflyaway wrote: »

I'm so sorry to hear what you are going through. The debt must be all the harder to handle because it's a constant reminder of a very upsetting event.
I would suggest you write to them. Don't enter into emotional or upsetting phone calls. Explain that due to ill health you now have a reduced income and that although you intend to pay everything back, you can't afford to do it at the rate they require. Send your income and expenditure and offer them what you can afford.
If this doesn't work then I've used payplan before. They are a free service and will contact your creditors on your behalf and make repayment offers. You then make one single payment to payplan and they distribute everything to your creditors.
I know it's frustrating denting your credit score but it's not the end of the world. I had such a low score with defaults and missed payments but managed to get on with life.
Ensure whatever happens that you get clarity regarding your income and expenditure. You need to know the figures and do a written budget so you don't get in further debt.
Things seem had now but it can be sorted. It's just money. You have been through a tough time so allow yourself to heal.

The most helpful and compassionate post on here, thank you for sharing this information with us today.

dealer_wins

Its all happy clappy when a lender gives you the money, but all evil when they expect it back.

Pixie5740

T-G-C wrote: »

Some parents would prefer not to have their child buried on the ponce and are willing to go to any lengths to ensure their child is buried with the best of the best.

Really? Parents making use of services such as the Co-op's Child Funeral Service are on the ponce?

T-G-C wrote: »

The husband's financial situation deteriorated after the loan was taken out and it was not something he could have foreseen or predicted in advance of the loan being taken out. Yes, in this situation, it is beautifully ironic that Amigo do not have the upper hand, because both names on the loan are in the same household; same income; same situation and therefore won't be getting a penny more than if they arranged a payment plan in the first place, but there are thousands of innocent families in the same situation, who have their lives being tumbled by all this nonsense.

I understand that the husband's financial situation deteriorated after the Amigo loan was taken out. What I don't understand is that if his financial situation was decent enough at the time why a £7k loan at 49.9% APR over 5 years was the best (least bad) option available.

We're not talking about a family that were on the breadline, he was tearing about in a 2 year old Ford Fiesta ST. The OP claims they are hardworking but just never managed to save any money. That's because they spent everything they earned rather than saving some for a rainy day not because the household income only just covered the bare essentials. They are not alone. There are thousands, if not more, families across the UK who don't save for a rainy day. A lot of people get away with it until a life changing event occurs such as a bereavement, illness, redundancy, separation. The Debt Free Wannabe board is littered with such people - reasonable incomes but poor budgeting.

T-G-C wrote: »

Yes, money is owed and it has to be paid back, I am not suggesting for one second that Amigo should wipe the slate clean, but they could do much better in this area and might even find that their default rates would lower and not need to divert to the guarantor as often.

I'm not sure you grasp the concept of a guarantor loan. Why would anyone waste time negotiating a payment plan with an unreliable borrower when there is a guarantor in place?

What kind of payment plan would you propose? One with reduced payments which means that even more interest would be owed. Would you be happy with that as a guarantor? It's bad enough being on the hook for someone else's 49.9% APR loan but it would be even worse if the cost of the loan was allowed to spiral even more due to a payment plan.

T-G-C wrote: »

They are a business and for each loan they issue, they take a risk. If they do not like the fact that their product is targeted at the financially vulnerable and encounter these types of cases on a regular basis with no moral protocol in place for it, they should shut down and re-brand as a mainstream lender, where the financially stable clientele will appeal more to their kind nature.

Amigo has accessed the risk of the borrower that's why the loans are 49.9% APR. It's actually quite a clever business model, sub-prime rates for sub-prime borrowers with a non-sub-prime guarantor.

What do you class as financially vulnerable? The OP and her husband weren't financially vulnerable when she took out the loan. Emotionally vulnerable yes but not financially.

Perhaps the government should take steps to remove companies like Amigo and Wonga from the market. Although this type of lending appears to work for some people for many it just seems to delay the inevitable which is some kind form of insolvency. I wonder how sub-prime borrowers will feel when there is no one left to lend to them.

Pixie5740

T-G-C wrote: »

The most helpful and compassionate post on here, thank you for sharing this information with us today.

Helpful in what way? This thread was started in July and the OP hasn't logged in since August. The OP is long gone and hopefully took the advice to contact one of the debt charities.

Some other disgruntled Amigo customer resurrected the thread earlier this month to warn others about Amigo being evil and then you waded in wanting to make call center staff sob for simply doing their job.

Ilona

People don't make contingency plans these days. They spend spend spend beyond their means and panic when an emergency unfolds. An emotional emergency such as a bereavement can put all senses out of kilter, the focus is on what happened, and not on what to do next. Similar with a redundancy, everything is going along swimmingly well, when bam, it's like a punch in the stomach, and confusion takes over.

How long it takes for people to get over these catastrophe's varies, it could be days, weeks, or even years. When the brain is focused on one particular event which has knocked them sideways, there will be little time for rational thoughts. The wrong decisions will be made.

The OP paid little thought to the consequences of borrowing a high interest loan, it was rushed through without considering other options. The company are a business, they want their money back. Poor decisions on previous spending now contribute to the predicament the OP finds themselves in.

The purpose of MSE is to steer people away from mis-managing their finances, and take more responsibility for their own budgets. Emotional spending can really put someone in a black hole.

What's the answer? Reiterate the need for putting a little bit of money aside to build up an emergency fund to fall back on. Repeat often the mantra of living within your means. Learn the difference between a want and a need. Resist the options of putting all purchases on a card and say you'll deal with it later. Later never comes and you find yourself in a bigger black hole.

My fingers are whizzing across the keyboard as thoughts come into my head. The OP was in an emotional state when they came here, now they are gone. No point in debating who is right and who is wrong. Dish out tea and sympathy if you like, or tell it how it is warts and all. Sometimes straight talking is needed to jolt people into action. But what is done is done. I hope the OP finds a way out of this. I wish them well.

ilona