Tweet
So after hearing about people getting interest and payments refunded I thought that I would give it a try.*
Appears that because I handled my loan right/borrowed money off a family member to clear it. That I am not entitled to a refund like many others I have seen. To me I don’t think this is fair and just. Why is it that because I handled my loan the way I and everyone else should am I not entitled to something yet people who defaulted more frequent are. Is there any other route for this? below is the final response letter.* We're sorry you've complained
On the 22 October 2019, you contacted us to advise that you were unhappy with our decision to lend to you. A complaint was subsequently raised on your behalf. Our decision
I’m sorry that you felt the need to complain to us. Having considered the information available to me, I’ve been unable to uphold your complaint. This is our final response. Our reasons
You had two loans with Amigo. Your first loan of £3,000 was paid out in March 2015. This loan was then topped up to £3,750 in December 2015.
As part of my investigation, I’ve reviewed the payout process that you completed before the loans were paid out. This included our check on your credit file, your budget plan and other checks we completed.
Your income and expenditure assessment confirmed that the repayments were comfortably affordable to you. The checks that we completed on this information also supported this.
We compared your expenditure figures to national averages. If you budgeted less than expected, we asked you to confirm why, to ensure this was accurate and sustainable. For example, you told us you lived with your mother, and that your rent of £200 a month covered your share of the utility bills.
On your first loan we checked your income against the UK national average for your job role, to ensure the figure you provided was realistic. You also sent us payslips which showed you had in fact been earning more than the income we recorded.
At the time of your top-up loan we verified your income using a check called OI, provided by the credit referencing agency TransUnion UK. OI used a number of data points to assess whether the total expenditure provided, the monthly instalment, and an emergency buffer were affordable for you, based on your income.
Your credit file was also reviewed to ensure that all of your expenditure was accounted for within your budget. This confirmed that you were budgeting towards your existing creditors appropriately.
While you had a number of items in a state of Default, these had been in Default for a significant period of time already. While this may suggest you had experienced financial difficulty in the past, it doesn’t necessarily suggest you were struggling financially at the time of your application. Equally, as our loans are designed for people who may not have a strong credit history, this alone would not necessarily prevent us from lending to you.
You’ve said that we ignored late payments on your first loan when you topped up. However, your first loan was managed perfectly and it was for this reason that you were eligible to apply for a top-up loan.
Based on the information you provided and what we could see on your credit file, I’m satisfied that reasonable and proportionate checks were completed to confirm your affordability. Conclusion
As I explained at the beginning of my letter, your complaint has not been upheld. I hope you agree that this outcome is fair, given what I have explained above. If you have any questions, please let me know. The Financial Ombudsman Service
You have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, free of charge – but you must do so within six months of the date of this letter.
If you don’t refer your complaint in time, the Ombudsman will not have our permission to consider your complaint and so will only be able to do so in very limited circumstances. For example, if the Ombudsman believes that the delay was because of exceptional circumstances.
For further information you can visit their website at*https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.
*
Appears that because I handled my loan right/borrowed money off a family member to clear it. That I am not entitled to a refund like many others I have seen. To me I don’t think this is fair and just. Why is it that because I handled my loan the way I and everyone else should am I not entitled to something yet people who defaulted more frequent are. Is there any other route for this? below is the final response letter.* We're sorry you've complained
On the 22 October 2019, you contacted us to advise that you were unhappy with our decision to lend to you. A complaint was subsequently raised on your behalf. Our decision
I’m sorry that you felt the need to complain to us. Having considered the information available to me, I’ve been unable to uphold your complaint. This is our final response. Our reasons
You had two loans with Amigo. Your first loan of £3,000 was paid out in March 2015. This loan was then topped up to £3,750 in December 2015.
As part of my investigation, I’ve reviewed the payout process that you completed before the loans were paid out. This included our check on your credit file, your budget plan and other checks we completed.
Your income and expenditure assessment confirmed that the repayments were comfortably affordable to you. The checks that we completed on this information also supported this.
We compared your expenditure figures to national averages. If you budgeted less than expected, we asked you to confirm why, to ensure this was accurate and sustainable. For example, you told us you lived with your mother, and that your rent of £200 a month covered your share of the utility bills.
On your first loan we checked your income against the UK national average for your job role, to ensure the figure you provided was realistic. You also sent us payslips which showed you had in fact been earning more than the income we recorded.
At the time of your top-up loan we verified your income using a check called OI, provided by the credit referencing agency TransUnion UK. OI used a number of data points to assess whether the total expenditure provided, the monthly instalment, and an emergency buffer were affordable for you, based on your income.
Your credit file was also reviewed to ensure that all of your expenditure was accounted for within your budget. This confirmed that you were budgeting towards your existing creditors appropriately.
While you had a number of items in a state of Default, these had been in Default for a significant period of time already. While this may suggest you had experienced financial difficulty in the past, it doesn’t necessarily suggest you were struggling financially at the time of your application. Equally, as our loans are designed for people who may not have a strong credit history, this alone would not necessarily prevent us from lending to you.
You’ve said that we ignored late payments on your first loan when you topped up. However, your first loan was managed perfectly and it was for this reason that you were eligible to apply for a top-up loan.
Based on the information you provided and what we could see on your credit file, I’m satisfied that reasonable and proportionate checks were completed to confirm your affordability. Conclusion
As I explained at the beginning of my letter, your complaint has not been upheld. I hope you agree that this outcome is fair, given what I have explained above. If you have any questions, please let me know. The Financial Ombudsman Service
You have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, free of charge – but you must do so within six months of the date of this letter.
If you don’t refer your complaint in time, the Ombudsman will not have our permission to consider your complaint and so will only be able to do so in very limited circumstances. For example, if the Ombudsman believes that the delay was because of exceptional circumstances.
For further information you can visit their website at*https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.
*
Comment