My so called friend is claiming my money back from Amigo loans

Spidok

Hi, I was hoping for some advice on this matter since it has become a bit complicated. Basically my friend took out a loan with Amigo for £1200. I agreed to be guarantor for this loan because he has been a long time friend of mine who ended up in a bad situation. Everything was fine with this for the first year because he made the monthly payments but since then he became bankrupt which made me responsible for the £1100 that was still owed to Amigo. As soon as this happened I paid them that amount in full and made an agreement with my friend that he would pay me back whatever he could.

However he has recently informed me that he has been in contact with a company, Sanderson Drake who deal with claims against payday loan companies. After careful study I agree that his claim is legitimate because he had so many other debts at the time of taking out this loan that Amigo overlooked, it was not affordable to him. However I am unhappy that they are fighting to get him compensation (Which I feel should be my compensation since I am the one who actually paid the loan). I am also unhappy that they have not informed me of anything despite me being the guarantor and also that they take 36% of what I consider to be my money for something that I do not want them involved in since I feel that I can fight a good case for this myself against Amigo without third party involvement. 

 Anyway what I want now is to make my own claim against Amigo (Which I was planning to do before my friend involved Sanderson Drake) and stop them from getting involved. How would I go about this? Should I contact Sanderson Drake myself and tell them to keep out of it? 

Thanks

Willing2Learn

Have a read of the article linked below:
How to complain when you are the guarantor for a loan

seatbeltnoob

Some "friend", probaby going to bail on you after getting the money because the payout is in his name. Just like he bailed on you after going bankrupt because the debt was under your name.

jjames1985

i'm not sure what you can legally do to stop him but I strongly suspect that any money the friend tries to reclaim will need to be handed over to the official receiver so it's unlikely he'll see a penny of it.  perhaps telling him that he won't see any of the money will be enough to get him to call it all off?

[Deleted User]

I agree with @jjames1985 any money your friend gets back wouldn't belong to him anyway because of the bankruptcy.  It's easy for people to make a claim themselves instead of using some bottom feeder like Sanderson Drake.  Customers who believe that they were mis-sold an Amigo loan will be able to claim any interest paid plus an additional 8% compensatory interest . This is only on the basis that the individual struggled to pay back or had to use top-ups or subsequent loans to pay off their loan.  Your friend did not pay back the loan, you did, so I do not think he has a basis for his claim to Amigo but I don't know how closely the complaints team will look at this.  You should get your own claim in ASAP.  I don't have high hopes that you'll get anything but I don't have high hopes that this friend will ever repay you for the Amigo payments you made in the first place.

Spidok

I've read all your responses so thank you. The impression I'm getting is that I need to make my own claim ASAP. But in the meantime I'm concerned that he has got Sanderson Drake involved, who from what I've read seem to be as low as Amigo themselves. If I put my own claim in tomorrow, can I override theirs? Or do I need to contact them about the situation and tell them that I'm the one who paid the loan and that I don't want them involved? 

Willing2Learn

Hi Spidok,
In addition to the debtcamel article, I think you also need to have a read of this FOS article linked below:
https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/complaints-deal/consumer-credit/guarantor-loans 


If it were me, and I'm no expert, I would make an official written complaint to Amigo, via Royal Mail.   If you are unhappy with their final response, then you would have the right to escalate the matter to the FOS. 

SuperAllyB

I thought the business model of guarantor loans was that although rhey dress it up differently they actually lend money direct to the guarantor, not the friend.  If that's the case then surely it should only be the guarantor that can make an irresponsible lending claim and likewise the guarantor that has to prove the loan was unaffordable to themself at the time.

sourcrates

How long since your freind went bankrupt ?

Has he been discharged yet ? if yes, he can keep the compensation, well, whats left after the CMC takes their cut, if no, it will be paid to the OR for the benefit of his creditors.

TrickyDicky101

sourcrates said:

How long since your freind went bankrupt ?

Has he been discharged yet ? if yes, he can keep the compensation, well, whats left after the CMC takes their cut, if no, it will be paid to the OR for the benefit of his creditors.

Loan was taken out before the bankruptcy so any compo is a pre-bankruptcy asset surely?  It's only ever going to the OR (and that's all of it - not just what comes after the CMC cut)

MinuteNoodles

sourcrates said:

How long since your freind went bankrupt ?

Has he been discharged yet ? if yes, he can keep the compensation

This is completely and utterly incorrect if the loan was taken out before the bankruptcy. My father was discharged half a decade ago. He won compensation from a payday lender last year, it went straight to the official receiver as in it was paid directly to them with him only receiving a letter confirming the award but as he had subsequently been declared bankrupt since taking out the loan the compensation was the property of the OR.