dawn
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Post by dawn on Nov 5, 2015 12:03:25 GMT
Link requested by Dawn. dawn, the way you link things is to type [ url= ]type in your url here] the text you want, for instance "Link requested by Dawn"[ / url ] without the spaces in the "url" square brackets (which I put in to stop it turning into a link). Alternatively, and perhaps more easily, you can copy paste the URL you want and then click on the link button, the one that looks like a globe with a piece of paper in front of it. Thank you registerme - very helpful - there is always something new to learn I have also worked out how to link a reply to a specific post - possible enough new skills for one day
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dawn
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Post by dawn on Nov 5, 2015 10:56:41 GMT
My Account page
1) again everything is very spread out - I would prefer it to be less so - eg Personal details page - it is very easy and clear to get all of that information on one screen without needing to scroll at all - currently lots of scrolling. Same sort of thing for security details, password, etc
2) Transactions statement - first thank you for keeping this in the same order - my (RobberBaron's) spreadsheet relies on that and I'd prefer not to have to redo it - however please remove the amount from the loan part detail column - this information is in the previous column anyway and my spreadsheet searches the transactions spreadsheet for the name of the loan so that I can combine everything for that loan. Having the amount included there is not necessary and will stop my spreadsheet working (see other thread about using Excel to track things - I am not sure how to link to another thread, but if anyone else can, please feel free).
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dawn
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Post by dawn on Nov 5, 2015 10:43:17 GMT
Selling loan part page
1) more info could be included rather than just piccy and name - eg time remaining, etc. I am unlikely to be selling lots at any one time but others may be so the large picture will cause the same problems identified elsewhere re scrolling. 2) info about the test sale I put up said start day today, end day today, interest 0.00, etc - this should have said start 14/9, days held 52 etc, plus amount of interest paid so far (and amount accrued to be paid at the end of the month would be nice).
Overall I would like the appearance of the four pages (live, repaid, selling and sold) to be consistent so I appreciate that things that are very useful on one page may be less so on one of the others. However all four have lots of space that could be better utilized and the large picture - it would be nice to have the choice of turning it off to help scrolling, etc
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dawn
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Post by dawn on Nov 5, 2015 10:13:22 GMT
I agree with the comments so far re layout, spacing, white space, etc. Also don't need large pictures and would love to have pending interest (the old system gives us the grand total for each part - all we need is that minus whatever has been paid out so far - I do this manually in a spreadsheet but it would be nicer to have it as part of the dashboard).
I assume the fact that amounts are available to buy on the repaid loans page is just for testing - obviously you can buy one normally. Also the writing is now huge - I do need reading glasses normally but not on this site - I can read it from across the room.
My Loans - Live loans page / repaid / selling / sold
edited - I have removed my suggestion for re-ordering the headline box and drop-down boxes because it wouldn't work if you have more than one part - I like the fact that multiple parts can be seen under each loan - big improvement.
1) I don't see the need for the rate box (all the loans are 12%) - could replace this with a link to relevant documents instead 2) the piccy could be included in the drop-down box which would improve spacing (and reduce scrolling) when only headline boxes are being viewed. 3) only 6 pieces of information in the headline box and the drop-down box - more could be included, eg interest accrued, etc 4) space above and below text in the boxes could be reduced - too much space for the size of the text
On the sold loanparts page it would be useful to have some of the information from the live loans page if the loan is still live - just in case I may want to buy some back (eg if its term has been extended) - so info like time remaining. Likewise if the whole loan has been repaid it would useful for it to say that
For info - I normally work on a 15" screen laptop. I rarely use a tablet and never use my phone for the internet (although I am told it can do that).
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dawn
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Post by dawn on Nov 2, 2015 10:35:46 GMT
Clarity is very important to build trust and confidence (thank you registerme - that was what I was saying). So we now know that from now on the 1st interest payment will be 4 weeks from drawdown, ie interest will start to accrue once the borrower has the money. The next point that needed clarity was how long after the end of an auction before a borrower draws down. I emailed Lending Crowd about that and their reply is
"The Borrower has 5 working days to accept the offer, in exceptional circumstances we will extend this on the basis that there has been a lot of effort by the Borrower and the Investor to fully fund the loan. Once this is accepted the paperwork is issued and in accordance with our Terms and Conditions (8.2) they have 14 days to return the paperwork. This period of time covers any possible holidays and any legal advice that may be required, they are obviously not going to arrange a meeting with a solicitor if they are sure they are proceeding with the loan. In most cases the paperwork is returned in a couple of days, and we accept scanned copies pending receipt of the original paperwork in the post."
That also is now very clear, although potentially nearly 3 weeks if a borrower takes their fully allotted time, however most don't. I am now much, much clearer on how Lending Crowd work and this is rebuilding my trust in them. Balancing investors and borrowers needs in a practical way to keep all sides happy cannot be easy and I think Lending Crowd have reacted quickly and positively to sorting this problem, for which they should be commended. Their solution may not please everyone, but we are now clear on how this works.
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dawn
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Post by dawn on Nov 2, 2015 0:29:55 GMT
Updated spreadsheet with new names of loans - either copy and paste your transactions into this one or copy the summary sheet into your existing one (or just rows 10 onwards from the summary sheet)
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dawn
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Post by dawn on Oct 29, 2015 21:40:14 GMT
I am yet to receive my email detailing LC's proposals. However, in the meantime, my view is that accruing interest from the point of bidding is great but only available in a few places. For all the others interest should either be accrued from the end of the auction period (or date of drawdown if before end of auction period) to help speed up the slow processes on some lending sites such as LC OR from the date the borrower actually takes the money. However in the case of the latter the time allowed after the end of the auction period has to be very clear and strictly adhered to (be it 5 days, 7 days, 10 days or whatever - that is for LC to decide). Currently this appears to be a vague wishy-washy period which is not good for lenders or borrowers.
One of the big problems with how this loan was handled was the lack of clarity and communication - I have not been with LC long so please forgive me if this was spelt out clearly in the past and I missed it. Lenders and borrowers alike should know ahead of any auction exactly how it is going to work. Loan auction will last X days, after it ends there will be Y days for the borrower to decide whether to collect or not, interest will paid either from end of auction or Y days after auction, but definitely from when the borrower takes the money. Everyone knows where they stand. I don't have a problem with being told that Auction A will last 7 days and the borrower will have up to 5 days to decide and that Auction B will be 14 days and the borrower will have up to 7 days to decide. They don't have to be the same, but it may cause a headache for LC to implement. The point is it is clear and I can decide whether I want to invest in either of the auctions and the borrower is clear what is expected of them.
It is up to LC which way they go, but please, please, please make it very clear and up front for everyone to see. It will benefit borrowers and lenders alike - we don't like being kept in the dark or feeling that some-one is trying to pull a fast one on us (borrowers or lenders). Sneaking through a month's interest-free loan for this borrower was an example of that.
Bottom line - once the borrower has the money they should be paying interest on it.
Lastly this wasn't an attack on this particular borrower (who happens to be not too far away from where I live - one of the reasons I invested), but on the principle of how the loan was handled. I am hopeful that future loans will be handled and communicated better.
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dawn
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Post by dawn on Oct 29, 2015 13:55:12 GMT
On a positive note - I can now download Transactions Statements again. I've spent the last week getting "you have no transactions" messages and having to get FC to manually send my statements to me. However the same thing happened at the end of August and the end of September so I will wait to see if it all works OK at the end of November as well before I celebrate.
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dawn
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Post by dawn on Oct 29, 2015 12:39:05 GMT
I didn't get any reply to the last email I sent on 23rd October so on 27th I sent
"Can you confirm that for the W*** H***** loan investors will not be paid interest from the either the date of the end of auction or from the date they took the money. That interest will only start to accrue from 14th November and the 1st payment will be on 14th December. That is my understanding from below. If I had known that was likely to be the case I would not have invested in this company. I do not like having my money tied up for 3/4/5 weeks earning no interest and where I can't access it. The borrower in this case has managed to wangle nearly a month of interest free loan at the expense of the investors and I am not happy. I do not have much invested with you at present and am now less likely to add more if this is normal procedure."
Their response was
"Normally, the first loan repayment is between 4 and 6 weeks this one is slightly beyond this due to the delay in completing the paperwork. We work with the business to ensure that the repayment date ties in when cash is available in the business so that not all their bills fall due at the same time. This ensures a more successful rate in payments being on time.
We hope that you will continue to invest with us. Investments in the Loan Exchange guarantee that you earn interest from the date that you invest which you may feel is more appropriate."
I understand the need to tie payment dates to when money comes in - I do the same for my normal household bills. However I also accept that to do that the first payment may be slightly larger to cover a slightly longer period. I would not expect the electricity company to give me 2 weeks free electricity just so I could fix my payment date to something that is convenient for me. I don't have much of a problem with a delayed payment date (provided when it comes it covers all of the period up to that date) but I have a major problem with a month of earning no interest with no access to my money and with no idea beforehand that this was even possible. Even their answer above of "first loan repayment is between 4 to 6 weeks" doesn't say that no interest is earned. And whose delay in completing paperwork - Lending Crowd or the borrower - either way why is it the lenders who lose out - we didn't delay any paperwork.
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dawn
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Post by dawn on Oct 27, 2015 22:31:00 GMT
Mine is also ~10% and I am planning on increasing to around ~20%
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dawn
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Funding Circle (FC)
E-Alert!
Oct 26, 2015 19:17:47 GMT
Post by dawn on Oct 26, 2015 19:17:47 GMT
Thank you - the first one I've managed to catch
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dawn
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Post by dawn on Oct 23, 2015 15:43:14 GMT
The auction for this loan finished on 14th October. I was told by Lending Crowd that W*** H***** took their (our) money today (23rd October). Their first repayment is due on 14th December. I queried this with Lending Crowd - who have been very quick and helpful in their replies - it is just that I don't agree with them. They said in reply to my question about the date (shouldn't it be 14th November?)
"Although the loan auction finished on 14 October the funds have actually only been paid out today, therefore it was agreed that the repayment will be in December."
I asked "Can you explain when interest is calculated from? Are we expecting one months interest on 14th December or more? If the former does that mean they effectively have the loan for 3 weeks and pay no interest (and we earn no interest)?"
Their reply - "The repayment will be the same regardless of when the first one falls due. Overall it will not impact if the loan is held until maturity."
This is where we differ - I think it will have an impact - effectively we don't start earning interest until 14th November - a full month after the auction ended plus the time before when money was tied up and not earning. I have now asked (and am waiting for a reply) "Many thanks for explaining that. I disagree about the impact - although the impact will be small. I will need to hold the loan for 60 months and 3 weeks for a 60 month loan and therefore my return will be slightly lower. I also will be delayed in re-investing repayments by 3 weeks each month and the compound effect of that will be much larger. I don't have much of a problem with the company paying one month after they draw down the cash rather than the end of the auction, but giving them an additional 3 weeks interest free period at the expense of the lenders isn't fair on the lenders".
My question is are they right to delay the first repayment for this company in this way? If not, what can be done to persuade them to sort it out / not do it again.
I stress that the lady at Lending Crowd has been very quick and helpful in her replies - just I don't agree with what they have done.
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dawn
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Lendy (L) in Administration
Cashback
Oct 13, 2015 13:14:35 GMT
Post by dawn on Oct 13, 2015 13:14:35 GMT
Cashback for PBL60 is appearing in the transactions report
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dawn
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Post by dawn on Oct 11, 2015 17:31:47 GMT
The numbers were negative in RobberBarons original spreadsheet - as they are on the Transactions report that it is based on. I take negative numbers to be money that has gone out of my account (ie I don't have it at the moment) and positive numbers to be money that has come back in (interest, repayments (not had any yet), etc). This fits with the transaction report. It would be possible to multiple everything by -1 but then interest would appear as a negative number which is counter-intuitive to me. Regarding the colours I used the colour scales option of the conditional formatting tool in Excel. I chose it so that green means no money lent (or very little) through to red being the most lent. Yellow and amber are intermediate amounts. So Excel takes the lowest amount and sets it to green and highest amount and sets it to red and scales all the other figures in between. This means when I look at the spreadsheet I can see at glance which loans I'm not lending to (or only lending a very small amount), which I might want to lend a bit more too and which I have already lent a lot to - just a quick way of highlighting which loans to look out for (provided the 'time left' column to the right of the 'split' column isn't negative or very small ). The colour scales in the splits column work the same way. Does that help?
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dawn
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Post by dawn on Oct 10, 2015 20:20:51 GMT
Sorry Webwiz - I didn't think about that. Here is a 97-2003 format (ie a .xls extension). Hopefully that will work instead.
6/11 - Link removed as requested - see later post with new spreadsheet minus names
The list of loans on the summary sheet isn't created from the transactions sheet as far as I can see. I'll have a look and see if that can be done (easily).
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