markr
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Post by markr on Jul 17, 2014 10:17:59 GMT
Another new (to me) P2P lender has popped up on the boards banner ads - QuidCycle (www.quidcycle.com). I haven't signed up and there's limits to what you can see without logging in, but it seems to be a preachier version of RateSetter (RS's model of market+provision fund, but they offer to cut borrower's credit cards up and "educate" them about eliminating their debt). Is anyone already a member, if not I'll volunteer to create an account and have a look round.
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Investor
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Post by Investor on Jul 17, 2014 10:48:26 GMT
Another new (to me) P2P lender has popped up on the boards banner ads - QuidCycle (www.quidcycle.com). I haven't signed up and there's limits to what you can see without logging in, but it seems to be a preachier version of RateSetter (RS's model of market+provision fund, but they offer to cut borrower's credit cards up and "educate" them about eliminating their debt). Is anyone already a member, if not I'll volunteer to create an account and have a look round. Be interested to get some more information on them if you do Mark. Quite like their 'ethical' slant and would be interested to see how it is actually deployed. Only immediate flag for me which seems to be the default for all start ups is their two borrower testimonials on the website. One loan for £8.3k and one for £10.4k both have fully paid off their debts and both 'because of the lower interest rate from Quidcycle' were able to pay their debts off 6 months early. This would seem to imply that they must have been operating for some time to have had some of the debts fully repaid. Would be interested to see what their total loan book quantity is, when their first loan was made, and what the current loan pipeline looks like.
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Post by easteregg on Jul 17, 2014 11:35:58 GMT
They are, from my records, the 34th peer-to-peer lender to launch in the UK, having gone live in November 2013. They do have a £100 minimum loan amount.
I do find most P2P companies publicise the amount of loans they have arranged, so when a company doesn't display this, it is usually because they have either just launched or that the figure is quite low, but this may not be the case in this instance.
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markr
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Post by markr on Jul 17, 2014 12:18:49 GMT
The signup process was fairly painless, it insisted on having bank details and verifying a mobile number before it would register me though. Security is just email/password, no security questions.
I still can't see much until I've deposited funds, but my bank authorisation code generating widget is at home so I can't do it until later. Minimum deposit is £500, so hope this isn't a dodgy scam!
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markr
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Post by markr on Jul 20, 2014 21:54:00 GMT
Well, I've deposited my £500 and it has appeared in my account. I set up a lending order for 4% min on the 12 month market, and £200 is lent out already as 2 £100 loans at 4.5%.
The main issue I can see with the website is that there is absolutely no information given about the current loan book or the current market. When setting up my lending order, I couldn't see what recent matched rates were, what the market looked like, or even the "market rate" in RS's terms. So I had to totally guess what rate to set my order at, and since my matches so far have been 4.5% I guess I set it low (thankfully it's a minimum rate).
The second issue is that there's no information about the size or coverage of the provision fund. The best I can find is that they aim for the fund to be 1.5% of the size of the loan book, which seems rather low to me (RS's stands at about 4.5% I think at the moment), but no indication if they have achieved their aim. Even the basic default information required by the P2PFA is missing (they don't claim membership but would have a lot of work to do if they wanted it).
Arguably, the most worrying thing is there doesn't seem to be an option to withdraw funds (the instructions under the "Can I withdraw my funds?" FAQ refer to an option that isn't there)!
I have emailed them and made them aware of the existence of this forum, so hopefully someone from QuidCycle will join and interact with us here.
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baz657
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Post by baz657 on Jul 20, 2014 23:58:42 GMT
Arguably, the most worrying thing is there doesn't seem to be an option to withdraw funds (the instructions under the "Can I withdraw my funds?" FAQ refer to an option that isn't there)! No arguments here.
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kermie
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Post by kermie on Jul 21, 2014 18:32:52 GMT
Arrr - interesting to read, markr. But I have to admit to struggle to see any upside c/w RateSetter. Yes, there is an increased level of diversification across platforms, hence theoretically spreading the platform risk....but to be honest, I view RS to be almost on a par with my high street bank in terms of platform risk. |
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markr
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Post by markr on Jul 21, 2014 19:16:30 GMT
I'm inclined to agree, I suppose the only advantage is that I've matched at 4.5% whereas RS's 12 year bond is currently 3%, although I've only lend 200 of my £500, and I have no idea when or whether I can expect to lend the rest. But, this is presumably just a presentation thing, and as the site develops it could show a market display like RS's site. There is also the ethical side, where they attempt to get their borrowers off the debt spiral. Incidentally, I've had a reply to my email requesting a representative to join the group, asking for more info about membership numbers, admin details, etc. I've answered what I can without access to admin info, but elljay it may be worth someone from admin emailing the support address to introduce themselves and the group. |
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Post by parag on Jul 21, 2014 19:24:41 GMT
QuidCycle is run by Frank Mukahana (think I've spelt it right). He recently was voted in as a director at the AGM of the UK Crowdfunding Association (UKCFA). Having heard him speak about his platform and the fact he was allowed to stand for director and get elected, I feel they are a credible platform. Like us, they are also members of the UKCFA which undertake a certain level of due diligence before allowing platforms to join. Hope that helps.
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Post by elljay on Jul 22, 2014 6:32:42 GMT
markr, I've sent you a PM
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Post by elljay on Jul 22, 2014 17:38:17 GMT
Thanks for the details, markr - have just sent a reply to QuidCycle. Hopefully they'll join us! |
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Post by elljay on Jul 26, 2014 7:12:56 GMT
I've had a reply from QuidCycle, who advise their plan is to keep an eye on the forum and dedicate time to it as activity increases.
I've set up a board for QuidCycle and moved this thread to it.
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markr
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Post by markr on Aug 4, 2014 8:46:17 GMT
Further update - nothing to report! Of my £500, still only £200 is lent out the rest is on offer at 4% in the 12 month market but without a nibble and since there's no information about the queues I don't know if or when it may get lent. I see quite a few banner ads for QuidCycle now, but all are aimed at borrowers.
I'll let you know if anything exciting happens, in the mean time move along, nothing to see here.
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Post by geoffrey on Aug 10, 2014 19:55:15 GMT
IIRC, almost all P2P platforms on start-up offered an incentive for lenders to join, whether cashback or a percentage increase on rates. Maybe this one is so well funded with seed capital that they don't need to do this. Or maybe they did start last year, and everyone just missed it. They are advertising a return of 5.5% for lenders, but makr's brave dipping of the toe would seem to suggest that this rate is not consistent. It would be good to have more information from the administrators of QC.
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markr
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Post by markr on Aug 11, 2014 8:35:54 GMT
I should point out that I chose the 12 month market for my experiment as the shortest term available, so I don't know what rates are available on the other markets.
Since still only £200 of my offer is lent, I thought I would move the rest to an offer of 5.5% on the 3 year market to see if the "headline" rate is achievable. I was scuppered because the minimum for a new offer is £500, so I'd have had to transfer in £200 to make a new offer (well, the minimum deposit is £500 as well, so I'd have to withdraw the £300 then top up with £500). I'm not prepared to add more at this stage so I've just put the £300 back into the 12 month offer (you can top up offers with any amount, only new ones have to be £500. But you can't edit the rate on an existing offer so I can't even reduce the rate I'm prepared to accept without adding funds).
The good news is when I had a balance in my holding account, a withdrawal option appeared (on the "add funds" page, oddly enough). I know the golden rule of P2P is test the withdrawal ASAP, and if my £300 isn't lent soon then that's what I'll be doing.
It's a pity QC chose not to interact with the forum despite me and elljay contacting them to invite them, with someone responding here to suggestions I'd feel happier, as it is I don't think I'll be adding funds any time soon.
For anyone reading this who's a RS user, imagine lending on RS if they gave you no information whatsoever about the markets or their loan book. This pretty much sums up the QC experience at the moment, and it's very frustrating.
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