oik
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Post by oik on Feb 19, 2017 12:34:30 GMT
Thanks for all the useful information, the money is solely long term savings and separate from emergency fund etc. Would we be right to assume from that you're already making full use of the various high-interest current accounts in many cases still paying 3-5%. They all have quite low balance limits but still easy enough to get several times your £15k tucked away with full FSCS protection before considering any p2p investments at just 3-4%.
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oik
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Post by oik on Feb 17, 2017 18:03:02 GMT
This is completely barking mad and counter productive. Agreed. I'm more concerned that they're showing just how totally clueless they still are about security than about any inconvenience. As you say, this measure is likely to be counterproductive particularly when they don't enforce the use of reasonably long and secure pws. It will encourage users to use shorter more memorable pws. So what does it say about the standard of security Ratesetter may have elsewhere in the system? I don't have the browser remember my very long pw, unused anywhere else, just the email address. Nor do I use pw managers. For many of their users the address they use to log into Ratesetter will be known by hundreds of people including friends and acquaintances, various companies, web-sites and forums - some less reputable than others. To have an email address known by all and sundry as half of the login process on a financial site is just potty. And then to believe that preventing the email address from being saved significantly adds to security is even pottier. The simplest and most obvous improvement would be to at least have usernames so that users could choose a different one from any used elsewhere. And if Ratesetter's website manager doesn't understand security they should get a decent consultant in to show them. That some other P2P sites may be just as clueless isn't much of an excuse.
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oik
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Post by oik on Feb 1, 2017 20:42:17 GMT
From the replies here I wonder what proportion of Ratesetter lenders won't be aware of the changes. I missed the email because it was titled "Your January 2017 statement" and didn't look because I keep my own tabs on the numbers. Reading the couple of lines about the change of terms they seem to have done their best to make the changes look almost too trivial to mention.
Compare that with one of the banks I use who made it clear on their website they were dropping a variable rate by 0.25% in 2 months time, followed that with a letter then pestered me with two further written reminders just before the change.
Presumably the bank felt it needed to do that much to keep the regulators happy.
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oik
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Post by oik on Dec 10, 2016 12:50:48 GMT
“Are they marketed transparently? We’ve seen firms which say: ‘We’ve got a reserve fund and no one has lost money on our platform.’ But there is no guarantee.” Sounds familiar. "Christine Farnish, who chairs the P2P Finance Association industry group, said she welcomed the FCA’s review if it used evidence to assess the sector." Why would she think an FCA review might not make use of evidence I wonder.
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oik
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Post by oik on Jun 9, 2016 14:19:39 GMT
Lloyds is only good for a few grand. Once you've maxed santander, lloyds Nationwide etc 2% is a good result Unless you're limiting yourself to being fully 100% in cash for some particular reason (if P2P can be considered as cash) then just 2% is a tad unambitious. You may also be underestimating how much cash can be held in "santander, lloyds Nationwide etc" if it's cash you want. I currently hold far more cash than I would usually, with just over £250k in Santander, Lloyds Nationwide and especially "etc". That breaks down to £145k held in high interest current accounts at between 3-5% and £102k held in regular saver accounts at between 2-5%; all in either my or Mrs Oik's name. Not all of them will be currently available to new customers so a bit of research may be needed. It pays to anticipate interest rates and if necessary to open unfunded accounts as the opportunity arises just to reserve the option. Similarly, there's no knowing how long the largesse of banks will last but I've had such accounts going back to 2009 and will happy to accept it for as long as it lasts. Some regular savers allow payments in of over £1k a month but most much less. The whole circus can easily be automated by anyone with the nous to set up a SO and DD and the whole lot is fully protected by the FSCS without relying on a small chocolate teapot "provision fund". They also allow true instant access, not the next day after 5pm stuff, so is instantly available for sizeable investments. If I'm really stuck I might have to use Ratesetter or the like and had to have six figures with them for a while but currently far less. As to why some people will put their cash at risk with some low paying P2P accounts for less than they could get from FSCS banks I've no idea. Possibly due to lack of information or maybe just not too good at basic numbers. What we can count on is that the rates offered by P2P companies are likely to fall as they become more accepted by grannies and orphans and the companies will do all they can to push the rates down. That may also result in increased risk. No good getting upset about it: despite the rhetoric, the P2P companies aren't driven by a sense of public duty but by the desire to maximise profits. Better to be realistic than disappointed.
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oik
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Post by oik on May 6, 2016 12:13:47 GMT
Ton!!! I was referring to a comment aimed at me just spotted here p2pindependentforum.com/thread/3709/market-rates?page=25Whether the comment could be termed "abusive" or just intended to insult is a question of definition but others seemed to regard it as offensive. Either way, I've never known any employee of reputable company speak to customers in those terms so a little surprised.
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oik
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Post by oik on May 6, 2016 11:28:25 GMT
It wasn't even a question, just a crazy comment. How am I supposed to respond? As you say it wasn't a question and certainly not to you. So had it occurred to you that there was no requirement for you to respond, especially if you could only do so with abuse? What sort of outfit is it whose employees are permitted to abuse its customers on the internet, regardless of whether the customers are right or wrong? I'd guess the reason why so many conspiracy theories abound is the complete lack of transparency in the way the company operates. Some would say it's more than just a lack transparency: when Ratesetter refers to "Borrower Offers" when it seems that borrowers haven't directly made those offers then it gives the impression of a deliberate intention to mislead. If people believe they're being misled they're come up with their own theories. With more transparancy and fewer wheezes the conspiracy theories you complain of would disappear
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oik
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Post by oik on May 3, 2016 15:56:15 GMT
Still not had my repayment of capital and peppercorn interest from my monthly that was due today. Always impossible to say whether keeping lenders' money back till late in the day is all part of the strategy to drive down rates or something more innocent. As always, only they know. I see at gone 5pm 6pm they've still got £1.7m of so-called "Borrower Offers" ignoring lender money at 3.4%. No doubt when enough lenders have capitulated and accepted the "lend right now rate" of 3.3% Ratesetter's mysterious 1000+ "Borrowers" will in unison suddenly decide to accept 3.4% after all. Best to think of as a card game where the two bankers running the game make and interpret the rules, deal, and get to see the cards the punters hold.
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oik
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Post by oik on Apr 21, 2016 13:23:54 GMT
Yes, but it's only a name change. Once it was described as "Monthly" only for lenders to find that their money had been lent not for a month but for anything between a couple of days to five weeks or more. Now it's called "Rolling" which seems to be even more completely meaningless as, unless you opt to lend at an unknown rate for an unknown period and instead want to specify the minimum rate you'll accept, then there won't be any "rolling". What's more there now seems to be no indication of the period you're agreeing to lend for. Nothing to say whether your money will be lent for day or for years at that rate. Once lent, despite the much vaunted "sellout" feature, you can, according to Ratesetter, only get your money out earlier "subject to availability of funds" and "at RateSetter's discretion". It seems that Ratesetter are trying to give themselves as many options as they can by making the terms deliberately meaningless. If they want to be trusted, which is probably a good plan if they intend to stick around, then shouldn't they begin to make their terms as clear, transparent and honest as possible? They are currently a very long way from that. At the very least they should make it transparently clear what lending on "Rolling" means and exactly what the minimum and maximum investment terms lenders are being asked to lend for are. Those details are vital and should be clearly presented on the Rolling invest page and not buried amongst all the spiel.
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oik
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Post by oik on Apr 14, 2016 19:43:02 GMT
We blogged, emailed and changed the web site to make this clearly obvious, and included the caveats about liquidity.... We prefer not to nanny state our generally financially sophisticated lenders, especially when a good thing happens. What's with all this blogging? I wasn't aware that to get 3.0% or so (less the gaps) I would need to regularly read someone's bloggs. As for the emails, I noticed several people were unaware of their invitation to the open-evening thing which I gather was in an email about something else. Was it hidden under that I wonder. Certainly makes us more appreciative of the way our banks communicate. Please assume that we don't mind being nannied if it prevents us wondering what the heck is going on. That some of your lenders don't even realise they can put something more than "chicken sh*t" into high interest bank current accounts suggests some are less financially sophisticated than you assume. Some possibly don't even understand what those mysterious "Borrowers offers" that Ratesetter list really are. If you intend Ratesetter to be suited only to the financially sophisticated then perhaps you should slap that across the landing page so we know. PS. I see there's something listed under notices called "Lender terms update" that refers us back to the terms. Is that the blog that was intended to make all clear? I see it's dated today with no time.
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oik
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RateSetter (RS)
Rolling...
Apr 14, 2016 18:37:00 GMT
Post by oik on Apr 14, 2016 18:37:00 GMT
I have managed to get in excess of £48,000 and rising in 3% to 5% in a single name (no joint acounts) all protected by the FSCS, all not time limited and all can be accesed in a few minites to two hours via faster payments, you must be very rich if this is chicken sh*t. Impressive. Where is this marvellous account alender? The best I've managed is 3% with Santander so I would be very happy indeed to find an additional provider at decent rates! alender points out he's got £48k in current accounts and rising and if he wants them he's probably still got plenty of options. With Mrs Oik I'm currently holding exactly £150k in current accounts paying from 3-5%. I've had them a while so you may not be able to open quite so many multiple accounts with some banks now. Look at Nationwide, Lloyds, TSB, BOS, Santander, Tesco... all pay between 3-5% and some pay decent cashback for opening an account. Nationwide pay £100 to both the new account holder and the account holder who introduces them. Halifax are happy to pay you a few quid a month even if you don't keep a penny with them. Plenty of suggestions from the helpful folk at MSE if you want them. That said, unless you aren't in a position to take any risk, then diversified investments in equities, property etc are likely to be a better option over the longer term. Maybe even a few quid in the likes of Ratesetter if you can stand the hassle. The the advantage of current accounts is they give you instant access to decent amounts of cash when opportunities arise and somewhere decent to park your profits. There are plenty of regular savers also still paying 3-5% such as Lloyds, TSB, Nationwide, Leeds etc. but obviously less flexible and more suited to simple saving. If anyone has put seriously money into Ratesetter before maxing out the better options then they're probably missing a trick.
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oik
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RateSetter (RS)
Rolling...
Apr 14, 2016 17:59:58 GMT
Post by oik on Apr 14, 2016 17:59:58 GMT
Nothing significant at all (no impact on returns). My BS accounts constantly open and close accounts, or make them dormant, and give them various spurious names ("Super Saver" = 1.5% for eg). No need for explanation, therefore. Oik, why not just withdraw your money and retreat to the comfort zone of a BS and enjoy your 1.5%. It's so much more enjoyable, especially if you prefer a pint of Mild to a bottle of Moet... The reality is that RS and ZOPA deliver, near as dammit, FTSE100 equity returns with the risk and volatility of less than a bond fund and no one's ever made a loss (yet). I can assure you from my time in the City that there are many Hedge Funds who would lurve the returns ZOPA and RS have delivered over the last 5 - 10 years. That's why they're all investing in this asset class! But you go ahead, Oik. Salivate over the 1.5%you're going to get in that High Street BS. And don't quote Santander 123, Lloyds etc. You can't invest chicken sh*t in those accounts at 3% to 5%. All that's required is a notification and explanation of what the change does or doesn't mean. If you really use a BS that changed the name of an account you had funds in or closed it without ever bothering to clearly inform you then I'd be pleased to learn the details. If they did such a thing then you should certainly have had an explanation. Would you like any help to complain? I'm unclear why anyone sensible would invest solely in the FTSE100. If you do then I'd suggest you need the help of an adviser. If that's how you invest it would explain why you find Zopa and Ratesetter so attractive. As for assessing risk on the basis that no-one has lost money yet that's something else you need assistance with. I'm not sure exactly what you mean by chicken sh*t. If you with a partner haven't been able to place £150k in interest paying current accounts and heading towards a further £100k in regular saving accounts (if you really want that much in cash) then you haven't been paying attention. Another reason to have a word with someone who can help you.
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oik
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RateSetter (RS)
Rolling...
Apr 14, 2016 17:19:10 GMT
Post by oik on Apr 14, 2016 17:19:10 GMT
I'm actually quite surprised you lend with RateSetter, you don't seem to like much of what we do....... A very accurate assumption Kev.
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oik
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RateSetter (RS)
Rolling...
Apr 14, 2016 17:16:22 GMT
Post by oik on Apr 14, 2016 17:16:22 GMT
Nothing has changed really, My post above coughed out before yours appeared. Thanks for the re-assurance but could you clarify what "really" means? And do they realise at Ratesetter Towers that their lack of basic communication skills do more damage than a few canapés can repair?
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oik
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RateSetter (RS)
Rolling...
Apr 14, 2016 17:06:29 GMT
Post by oik on Apr 14, 2016 17:06:29 GMT
If any bank or BS had made a change like this (which they probably wouldn't) they'd have placed a pop-up notification on the login page a month or more before implementation with a tick box to confirm it had been read.
With Ratesetter, lenders suddenly find a potentially significant term has been changed without any notification and with no apparent explanation of what the change means, if anything, or its implications. To find out you need to waste time phoning them or hope for some info from a third-party forum. For a monthly, or is it rolling rate, that barely matches most bank current accounts I could do without the hassle.
Yes, I know they're a small company and all that, though I'm not sure what excuse that provides, but they seem to be the most chaotic outfit I've ever come across with the communication skills of a goldfish. I only hope they've more competence for managing my money.
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