|
Post by marcusponds on Jun 19, 2017 19:55:59 GMT
I joined RS 18 months go, essentially to diversify from Zopa. A different but not so different model, and I've been quite happy until the last few months of miserable rates. I've really not been trying to follow their various diversifications until last week. My daughter signed up for ra new phone contract with GiffGaff. Annoyingly, in the small print is an interest charge, due because she is paying monthly, not annually up front (doesn't everyone)? Guess who receives the interest on her 'loan' - got it in one. Is it just me?.
|
|
ceejay
Posts: 970
Likes: 1,149
|
Post by ceejay on Jun 19, 2017 20:04:15 GMT
I think the issue may be more with not understanding Giffgaff's model [disclosure - I am a long standing customer].
They don't do contracts, never have. They only sell PAYG or monthly packages ("goodybags"). To get around the fact that many people don't have enough spare cash to stump up for a brand new iPhone, they offer loans to buy the phone - using Ratesetter as their loan service provider. Seems fair enough to me...
|
|
|
Post by graham34 on Jun 20, 2017 6:28:38 GMT
They've been doing loan through GiffGaff for at least 18 months, probably quite a bit longer.
|
|
warn
Member of DD Central
Curmudgeon
Posts: 600
Likes: 624
|
Post by warn on Jun 20, 2017 6:42:53 GMT
They've been doing loan through GiffGaff for at least 18 months, probably quite a bit longer. Since November 2013, I believe.
|
|
bg
Member of DD Central
Posts: 1,368
Likes: 1,929
|
Post by bg on Jun 20, 2017 7:03:30 GMT
I joined RS 18 months go, essentially to diversify from Zopa. A different but not so different model, and I've been quite happy until the last few months of miserable rates. I've really not been trying to follow their various diversifications until last week. My daughter signed up for ra new phone contract with GiffGaff. Annoyingly, in the small print is an interest charge, due because she is paying monthly, not annually up front (doesn't everyone)? Guess who receives the interest on her 'loan' - got it in one. Is it just me?. I dont see what the problem is. Surely your daughter signed up to the contract on the basis that it was £x per month and that the £x a month was cheaper than the competition....so does it really matter how giff gaff split those £x ? Any phone that is bought on a pay monthly basis from any provider has an element of interest (and profit) in the price. They're not going to give you a loan for free. RS probably charge a lower interest rate than traditional providers of finace so it seems like a good deal for everyone all round (giff gaff, RS and your daughter). For what its worth I always buy my phone direct from Apple then get a cheap pay only sim deal (from giff gaff as it happens). Works out cheaper and is less hassle.
|
|
|
Post by marcusponds on Jun 20, 2017 11:39:41 GMT
My point isn't about GiffGaff (although I do think the interest charge info was buried rather deep in its literature), it was to question why RS is in this business...
|
|
lend
New Member
Posts: 2
Likes: 3
|
Post by lend on Jun 20, 2017 11:47:33 GMT
My point isn't about GiffGaff (although I do think the interest charge info was buried rather deep in its literature), it was to question why RS is in this business... Why is RS in the business of....lending money?
|
|
ben
Posts: 2,020
Likes: 589
|
Post by ben on Jun 20, 2017 11:54:33 GMT
My point isn't about GiffGaff (although I do think the interest charge info was buried rather deep in its literature), it was to question why RS is in this business... To make money.
|
|
ilmoro
Member of DD Central
'Wondering which of the bu***rs to blame, and watching for pigs on the wing.' - Pink Floyd
Posts: 10,789
Likes: 11,009
|
Post by ilmoro on Jun 20, 2017 12:18:20 GMT
My point isn't about GiffGaff (although I do think the interest charge info was buried rather deep in its literature), it was to question why RS is in this business... A guarenteed source of loan origination? Seems like very astute business given the size of the mobile phone market. They also provide loans to fund rail season ticket purchases, again another solid source of business I suspect and a decent class of borrower.
|
|
adrianc
Member of DD Central
Posts: 8,877
Likes: 4,754
|
Post by adrianc on Jun 20, 2017 14:28:37 GMT
|
|
|
Post by WestonKevTMP on Jun 22, 2017 7:25:06 GMT
giffgaff have been a great partner if RateSetter over the years, it's a fantastic company. Little known fact, more than half of RateSetter loans by volume are giffgaff.
What you will see over the coming years is a lot more partnership between P2P platforms and third party B2B deals. The pool of direct and comparison loan sources is limited and hyper competitive (2.8% APR over five years, with a £50 fee to the broker anyone?). Partnerships are the future, it just so happens this has been a strong point of RateSetter historically. But expect a lot more in the future, for example, LendingWorks tie in with Revolut being one good example.
Kevin.
|
|
angrysaveruk
Member of DD Central
binomial
Posts: 976
Likes: 632
|
Post by angrysaveruk on Jun 22, 2017 11:49:01 GMT
At one time Ratesetter was my largest P2P investment, and I had substantial holdings with Ratesetter between 2013 and 2016. Part of the reason I exited from Ratesetter was the fact that I simply wasnt sure who I was lending to. If I have a substanital amount lent to a third party financial insitution I wanted to know who it is and how much I have lent. I personally think Ratesetter would be a more attractive platform if they were more transparent.
|
|
adrianc
Member of DD Central
Posts: 8,877
Likes: 4,754
|
Post by adrianc on Jun 22, 2017 13:31:30 GMT
Part of the reason I exited from Ratesetter was the fact that I simply wasnt sure who I was lending to. If I have a substanital amount lent to a third party financial insitution I wanted to know who it is and how much I have lent. I personally think Ratesetter would be a more attractive platform if they were more transparent. As soon as you start making borrowers identifiable (even if simply pseudo-identifiable, rather than personally identifiable - which would NOT be on...), then you're into cherry-picking and selective lending. And that's simply a completely different site and model.
|
|
pikestaff
Member of DD Central
Posts: 2,133
Likes: 1,482
|
Post by pikestaff on Jun 23, 2017 7:22:41 GMT
At one time Ratesetter was my largest P2P investment, and I had substantial holdings with Ratesetter between 2013 and 2016. Part of the reason I exited from Ratesetter was the fact that I simply wasnt sure who I was lending to. If I have a substantial amount lent to a third party financial insitution I wanted to know who it is and how much I have lent. I personally think Ratesetter would be a more attractive platform if they were more transparent. AFAIK RS is no longer lending to third party financial institutions. RS is not lending to giffgaff but to their customers. On transparency, I think RS could do better without giving away borrowers' names. I would like visibility through to anonymised contracts, which used to be the case. That would go a long way to dealing with the Ponzi risk raised in another thread. (The other platforms that I use are fully transparent. Only RS is not. When I chose it, it was just transparent enough. That's no longer the case IMO.) I would also like much more detailed info on the composition of the loan book.
|
|
|
Post by WestonKevTMP on Jun 23, 2017 13:29:17 GMT
AFAIK RS is no longer lending to third party financial institutions. RS is not lending to giffgaff but to their customers. RateSetter lenders have always been the direct lender to giffgaff customers, nothing has changed since the beginning. giffgaff was not one of the "wholesale lenders" that has required a change of relationship.
|
|