Amigo Loans - Can anyone please help?

KS1979

Hi all,
I'm new to the forum and seeking advice. I'll try and keep it brief...

A very good friend of mine has acted as guarantor for someone on Amigo Loans, the person has defaulted on payments and the total owed is nearly 5k.

The issue is, when my friend was persuaded to do this he was in the depths of a serious drug addition (crystal meth), I believe he had not slept for days, he was not of sound mind and his mental health was such that he was not fit to make rational decisions. He has thankfully now completed 8 weeks in rehab and is today 97 days clean.

This so called friend of his is also a drug addict and is now contacting him trying to get him to extend the loan, he claims he has been paying it off but we have been in touch with Amigo loans and this is not the case, in fact he has defaulted several times. Needless to say this person has no money at all and is not in a position to pay for anything, likewise my friend has no money either, although he is now working full time in his old job.

We have paperwork from my friends doctor and the rehab people proving he was not of sound mind when he agreed to do this (it happened the day before he went to rehab) and his friend was therefore taking advantage of him. We want to see if we can get him removed as guarantor on this basis.

My friend is in such a fragile state, I really want to help him. If anyone here can please give me any advice I would be so, so, so appreciative.

redux

I have no idea, but it sounds to me like Amigo may have been a bit negligent in accepting a guarantor of no better creditworthiness than the main borrower, and I'd hope an argument along such lines should have chances of success (but I don't know whether it does), together with what you've said about being unwell and vulnerable.

Good luck.

dealer_wins

Amigo go through a pretty decent process to vet guarantors and make sure they understand the implications of being one.

sourcrates

Not Amigo again.....see here :


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5920985


Unfortunately, if you have signed the loan agreement and the loan has been successfully paid out, you cannot stop being someone’s guarantor. So the answer is simply, ‘no.’


The reason that you cannot be removed from the loan agreement is because the person who guarantees a loan plays a huge role in the application process. The individual’s credit history, affordability, employment status, age and location all have an impact in whether the loan is approved, how much is borrowed and how long for – so removing that guarantor and bringing in a new one would put this all out of sink.



If you were replaced with another person, they may not have the same credentials and this would change the risk for the lender.


The most simple way to get out of being someone’s guarantor is for the main borrower to pay off their loan and essentially, terminate the agreement. Pretty much all guarantor lenders allow you to repay a loan early, so even if it lasts for up to 5 years, there’s no reason why it can’t be closed within a couple of months – although you may be charged additional interest for closing the account within a certain period of time.


There are no other real ways to get out of guaranteeing someone’s loan and this really emphasizes why its so important for the borrower and their guarantor to have a good relationship and for there to be trust between the two.

KS1979

Thanks everyone for your replies, I really appreciate you taking the time to read and respond to my post.

Amigo Loans have asked my friend to supply a letter from a medical professional stating why he was incapable of making rational decisions at the time the loan was agreed, so this is the next step.

I have also been approached by someone who has very kindly offered to consult a lawyer friend who does pro bono work on these types of cases, which is amazing.

Fingers crossed.

And thanks again.