|
Post by Paul64 on Jan 22, 2018 10:43:03 GMT
Hi all, thanks for all your comments, which are always helpful. In response to the many comments in this thread, we wanted to add some further points to what's already been communicated. We have no plans at the moment to scrap our pre-funding model as, even though few other platforms offer it, we do appreciate that many investors find our feature a very useful facility. To be clear, where there is still availability after we've prioritised those with cash on account, further allocations will be made. Our decision to amend the feature was largely in response to the trend we have seen whereby a growing number of investors are pledging but without then crediting funds in full. We therefore needed to address this to make the pre-funding facility as fair and transparent for all investors. There were a few other comments in the thread, such as requests for faster withdrawals, improving our 'go-live' timelines, and IFISA's, which we are already looking at. Indeed, we are hopeful of being able to offer the IFISA in the 2018/19 tax year, in line with our application for full FCA market authorisation. We will of course, once live, keep the facility under review, to ensure that no investor is disadvantaged by the changes. Regards Lendy Support Hi @paul64, thank you for your response. Can I just ask why you have decided to "disadvantage" all of your lenders who have always settled their pre-funding on time, rather than taking specific action against those who are not funding their accounts? Hi jonno, thanks for your message. Please be assured that is not our intention. We will be monitoring the platform to identify persistent abusers of the feature, to ensure it is fair to all.
|
|
|
Post by Paul64 on Jan 22, 2018 10:15:18 GMT
Hi all, thanks for all your comments, which are always helpful. In response to the many comments in this thread, we wanted to add some further points to what's already been communicated.
We have no plans at the moment to scrap our pre-funding model as, even though few other platforms offer it, we do appreciate that many investors find our feature a very useful facility.
To be clear, where there is still availability after we've prioritised those with cash on account, further allocations will be made.
Our decision to amend the feature was largely in response to the trend we have seen whereby a growing number of investors are pledging but without then crediting funds in full. We therefore needed to address this to make the pre-funding facility as fair and transparent for all investors.
There were a few other comments in the thread, such as requests for faster withdrawals, improving our 'go-live' timelines, and IFISA's, which we are already looking at. Indeed, we are hopeful of being able to offer the IFISA in the 2018/19 tax year, in line with our application for full FCA market authorisation.
We will of course, once live, keep the facility under review, to ensure that no investor is disadvantaged by the changes.
Regards
Lendy Support
|
|
|
Post by Paul64 on Dec 7, 2017 16:36:10 GMT
Hi all, thanks for all your constructive comments over recent days. We'll review them all (and others we get in through other channels) and reflect as many as we can in how we evolve the regular round-ups in early 2018. Please watch this space. Paul Lendy Support
|
|
|
Lendy (L) in Administration
Weekly BS
Dec 5, 2017 12:22:06 GMT
david42 likes this
Post by Paul64 on Dec 5, 2017 12:22:06 GMT
|
|
|
Lendy (L) in Administration
Weekly BS
Dec 5, 2017 11:20:39 GMT
Post by Paul64 on Dec 5, 2017 11:20:39 GMT
Hi d_saver, thanks for the message. Almost without exception (I know it has not always been consistent), all loans are updated fortnightly, and the weekly round-up reminds investors when that is complete. On alternate weeks, we provide a short update on any new loans (if any) that are going into the pipeline. As mentioned above, we will investigate some options on making the main update as accessible as we can. We have no intention to make our loan updates more opaque. Best Paul64
|
|
|
Post by Paul64 on Dec 5, 2017 10:24:47 GMT
Dear @magenta14 (/forum members) We are still assessing the appetite for the bonds, and will be able to confirm in due course whether we will be offering the product and at what rates. We have needed to change our proposition and model over the course of this year, and this has been largely down to us needing to respond to FCA requirements. We are aware however that some of these changes have not had a favourable response from some investors, particularly those who have been with the platform for some time. At times I can concede that their communication could have been clearer. They are however changes that we have needed to make. Lendy does not undertake valuations. This role is performed by independent RICS-registered valuers. We use the same quality of valuer, and legal firm, as the top high street banks. There is property valuation risk, however, which is why we cover it clearly in our risk and Managing Risk statements - lendy.co.uk/managing-risk/property. We believe we take all reasonable steps to ensure property valuations are accurate. On communications, I disagree with you. While there is still a lot to do (we are still a very lean machine), I believe there has been a lot of improvements, particularly if you compare them with this time last year, where, for example, communications were irregular and the website had much less content and it did not have a Help Centre, FAQ or news sections. I also disagree with you about the loan updates. It is of course subjective, but linking to loan updates, with search, and alerts, and not dumping them all in an email is far better and far cleaner in our view. And while it has sparked discussions on the forum, we have had positive feedback. I will though look at some ideas to make them as accessible as possible. With regards the Weekly Round-up, we aim to provide a flavour of the things that we believe should be of interest to people investing via P2P, and in the UK property market in particular. Most of the topics are either news that the P2P media is also picking up (i.e. health of the UK p2p funded property market) or we are being asked to comment on by the media and other sector stakeholders. I will be looking at including a platform route map update at least once a month to avoid too many surprises. We would however like to hear more from our investors, so if you or others on the forum would like to submit ideas, comments etc. I will happily review and look to publish when we have space, as we do do regularly with investor tips. On the matter of unsold loan parts, this again was a regulatory requirement in us not being allowed to provide credit to cover shortfalls. While some might not appreciate how much we do take our responsibilities to lenders seriously, and do our utmost to help them mitigate risk, there will always be a level of risk when it comes to investing, in whatever asset class you choose to invest in. It's for this reason that we have invested heavily in our recovery programme, and have had a lot of success since July this year. Again though, still work to do. Thank you for recognising the work does to date. There has been various discussions on the forum in relation to the Telegraph, and our late reporting of our accounts. The first matter was resolved to our satisfaction, and we have thanked the Telegraph for retrospectively listening to our arguments. The final case file is available here - www.ipso.co.uk/rulings-and-resolution-statements/ruling/?id=19479-17. With regards Companies House, we are a little late with our filing but we have been in communication with CH who have been happy to grant us an extension. We needed to make a change to our auditors to a company that was a more suitable fit to meet current corporate structure, and that coincided with our filing deadlines. The strike off notice should be removed over the next 48-36 hours. I am disappointed that we are losing you as an investor. I do however respect your reasons for moving away. I hope though that over time that we can rebuild your trust and that you do gradually come back. All the best Paul64
|
|
|
Post by Paul64 on Dec 4, 2017 15:34:25 GMT
From discussing with Companies House this morning about an unrelated matter, they have a 7-10 working day turnaround - so it might just be that the correction has yet to be processed Hi withnell, yes that's right. Should be removed by the deadline tomorrow. Lendy Support
|
|
|
Post by Paul64 on Nov 17, 2017 16:37:01 GMT
Dear all,
Since my first post back in January 2017, I have reviewed, monitored, participated, argued, corrected, and supported many of the posts on this very useful forum. And, for the most part, enjoyed doing so.
Of course, by its nature, the forum can get lively, and members can get frustrated - with each other, but also with the platform - and named employees of that platform - when they feel it or they are not listening to them.
My challenge back then was to show over time that we do listen, and that we do respond when we can. And when we are able to do something about it we do. But if P2P was as straightforward as some on this forum suggest, they would all have their own platforms, with 1000s of happy users, making money at little or no risk. Property investing, in whatever form, can be problematic. P2P is no different.
The balance
While we have had some success in this area, the bigger challenge was always going to be balancing the need to maintain good levels of return for our investors, keeping the risk to their capital to an absolute minimum, while growing in a sustainable way, that does not put future profitability, and therefore stability of the platform, at risk. And to ensure we make adjustments to our processes that the regulator requires us to make as part of our application for full authorisation.
This focus has included how we choose to market our business, to continue to build our brand and to attract new borrowers and new investors to the platform.
But, essentially, the good returns on our investments stems from the fact we are still fundamentally a lean operation, without the large teams associated with the high street banks (and some other P2Ps) who say they can deal with every enquiry, every issue, in minute or hours. We are unable to do this.
I have said many times in my updates that we are not perfect. There are many areas that still need improvement. And our prime commitment is to continue to make these improvements, and in particular our levels of transparency, disclosure and communications.
The changes to Recent Updates, despite the suggested motive on the forum, were to improve the experience. I do hope that once you have gotten used to them, that you will agree. All users will continue to have access to all Recent Updates, updated every fortnight. But now they can filter via My Loans, All Loans, search for a loan, and are now alerted when their loan or loans have been updated.
Recoveries
Some members have mentioned this, but as this is a public forum, open to everyone, all platforms do need to be very careful what they publicly disclose, in particular when loans are being recovered. If we are unable to release more information on a particular loan it is normally in order to ensure we do not jeopardise or disrupt a recovery process or any claims we are pursuing against various parties. Our role is to pursue all appropriate recovery options available to ensure the maximum return to our investors, which is why are investing heavily in this area.
Finally, while it is okay to tag Lendy on this forum, the most efficient way is still to raise a ticket through our help centre, as your query is then on the system and will get dealt with.
Please do though send me a personal message about any of the above, or on any topics where you feel Lendy may be ignoring you. That is not our intention.
With kind regards.
Paul, Lendy Ltd
|
|
|
Post by Paul64 on Sept 8, 2017 11:10:33 GMT
Hi fp, we're thinking high level principles here, not detailed, strategic game plans, in much the same way that the personal finance pages of the consumer press cover ideas and tips from professionals and amateurs alike. But by all means keep yours close to your chest if you wish. P
|
|
|
Post by Paul64 on Sept 8, 2017 10:47:03 GMT
An invitation In this week's Lendy Weekly Update we invited investors to share their expert investment knowledge. Peer to peer lending is of course all about the people, with our role as a platform provider to simply match those who want to invest with those who want to borrow. Maintaining the balance and ensuring we grow in a sustainable, profitable way is our concern. But rather than focus on us, we’d like to shine a light on you, and what you do, and why you do it. As more and more P2P investors join Lendy and other platforms, people are looking to their experienced peers for tips and ideas on how to invest. So, over the coming months we’d like to give you a stage to shout about how you pick the best loans on our platform, maximise your returns and minimise your risks. You could record a few minutes of video on your phone and send it to us, in a style similar to Financial Thing, or simply drop us a line at communications@lendy.co.uk with your top tips on how you make P2P work for you. If we use yours in our Weekly Update, we’ll send you a £50 M&S voucher to spend as a thank you. So, whatever your advice, whether it’s to research the opportunities well, to know your appetite for risk, to only invest in 12 percenters, to diversify your loans, or to grow your portfolio gradually, then I’d love to hear from you. Paul64
|
|
|
Post by Paul64 on Sept 4, 2017 13:52:40 GMT
Hi all, this is an ongoing glitch on the platform which we have been working with our third party web company to try and help resolve. We'll raise again, and look to get an update for the forum as soon as we can. Lendy Support
|
|
|
Post by Paul64 on Aug 26, 2017 8:59:36 GMT
Hi all, I am away a few days next week so please do not tag me etc. If you need a response please go via the preferred Lendy Support route. Have good weekends. Paul
|
|
|
Post by Paul64 on Aug 25, 2017 18:48:26 GMT
Hi, it's just an advisory note. The issue is on the rise, so prudent to be aware that's all. Lendy Support
|
|
|
Post by Paul64 on Aug 18, 2017 20:29:22 GMT
All, always good to hear from you. I will be looking over coming weeks for some volunteers for their views on P2P lending and the strategies they follow, so please DM me if you'd like to contribute. Can be either written or Vlog. Have good weekends, Paul64 Lendy Support
|
|
|
Post by Paul64 on Aug 18, 2017 11:49:58 GMT
Dear hazellend , thanks for your comments, which are noted. Every other week we provide an update on the entire loan book, where there has been material change. If you have any specific questions please contact Lendy Support who will be happy to help. There are many factors that affect the health of the property market, which we have started to track in our LPP index, with the next quarterly review out next week. On top of that, investor sentiment also provides some indication to the health of the housing market too. Regards, Lendy Support
|
|