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Post by charlata on Feb 28, 2018 20:52:32 GMT
The closest situation I can recall was that of DotComUnity - a credit union, which was subjected to enforcement action by the PRA. It too locked up people's funds (mostly in the form of cash ISAs) and went quiet for a protracted period, although it didn't go to the extreme of wiping out its website! In that case, deposits were covered by the FSCS and eventually it was declared insolvent and depositors got their money back. It’s a shame that P2P funds aren’t covered by the FSCS It would indeed be good if we could get 15% interest and a government-backed guarantee on our capital. Sadly such a scheme would quite quickly bankrupt the government.
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Post by beepbeepimajeep on Feb 28, 2018 20:53:30 GMT
It can't be a stretch to say they misrepresented their status with the FCA to investors? Gaining money by deception.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2018 20:55:22 GMT
I personally got caught up in some of the FX-broker carnage in early 2015 that caused a number of platform failures.
It was very stressful, buts it's important to try and relax and let things unfold (easy to say with hindsight obviously).
If things do turn out badly, there will be plenty of time for pitchforks and recriminations later. Not much point going down that path until there is more information.
For the sake of your own blood pressure, as much as anything.
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Post by richardthe4th on Feb 28, 2018 20:56:22 GMT
It’s a shame that P2P funds aren’t covered by the FSCS It would indeed be good if we could get 15% interest and a government-backed guarantee on our capital. Sadly such a scheme would quite quickly bankrupt the government. I knew that it wasn't covered by the FCCS when I invested, and if I've lost my cash then that's entirely down to me.
What I didn't know, and needs explaining, is that the company I was dealing with is not regulated by the FCA even though they said they were on the website...and before anyone asks I done believe that it was a typo! I was born at night, but not last night!
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withnell
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Post by withnell on Feb 28, 2018 20:56:32 GMT
D/ Some IT catastrophe - but I think we can rule that out based on lack of communication It's possible that the issue is following the upgrade some data corrupted and they're having to rebuild investor records? in this case I can readily understand why no communication would be a preferred option, until they can communicate that the records have all been recovered, as seeing how quickly the post count of "OMG the fraudsters have stolen my money" comments has grown I can imagine the impact of saying some data was lost
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Post by richardthe4th on Feb 28, 2018 20:58:52 GMT
D/ Some IT catastrophe - but I think we can rule that out based on lack of communication It's possible that the issue is following the upgrade some data corrupted and they're having to rebuild investor records? in this case I can readily understand why no communication would be a preferred option, until they can communicate that the records have all been recovered, as seeing how quickly the post count of "OMG the fraudsters have stolen my money" comments has grown I can imagine the impact of saying some data was lost With FCA involvement I tend to discount that theory personally...
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mason
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Post by mason on Feb 28, 2018 21:02:27 GMT
It’s a shame that P2P funds aren’t covered by the FSCS It would indeed be good if we could get 15% interest and a government-backed guarantee on our capital. Sadly such a scheme would quite quickly bankrupt the government. My S&S ISA has FSCS protection. Of course FSCS protection on investments WOULD cover situations like this, but WOULD NOT cover losses from the underlying investments. It does rely on the company not letting its membership lapse though!
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jcb208
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Post by jcb208 on Feb 28, 2018 21:03:50 GMT
I think we can forget the update tonight,will have to see what tomorrow brings
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mary
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Post by mary on Feb 28, 2018 21:09:52 GMT
It's possible that the issue is following the upgrade some data corrupted and they're having to rebuild investor records? in this case I can readily understand why no communication would be a preferred option, until they can communicate that the records have all been recovered, as seeing how quickly the post count of "OMG the fraudsters have stolen my money" comments has grown I can imagine the impact of saying some data was lost With FCA involvement I tend to discount that theory personally... With respect, the FCA are not monitoring every step of every platform, that is not what they do! They check, periodically that their oversight is sufficient, in their view, which may be annually, or even less frequently.
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Post by medelm on Feb 28, 2018 21:13:03 GMT
So aggregating from this thread the most likely scenarios are: A/ FCA told them to stop trading immediately because they are not registered in any capacity B/ They became unable to trade due to insolvency C/ Fraud D/ Some IT catastrophe - but I think we can rule that out based on lack of communication In those cases, what would likely happen next and what would we get back? And what are the likely timescales? C is presumably the worst but even there, money tied up in property loans might have a chance of being recovered? In all other cases all lenders' assets might be recoverable over time ? I have no other information than is provided here so this is 100% conjecture but for me I think its a combination of A and B. For me, the FCA permission lapsing, the high rates, cashback's and you have to remember, them carrying loans prior to drawn down costs a lot as they pay the full interest themselves. I think the 2 together have contributed to a hole they were unsure how to get out of. To explain the other options, I think the current image being displayed on the website is a default error page, as in, they have turned the servers off and thats what gets shown by default. As for fraud, one of the most recent loans was to a borrower who had 4 actions already brought against them, they made this clear in the lending. If I was running a platform for fraud I sure would not put that sort of borrowing forward, whats the point? If I want to run off with the money anyway you would make the loan more attractive, because at the end of the day it doesnt matter! One thing that does worry me the most is the client money segregation and I am interested to see how that plays out. Being interim FCA approved means they must have had client money processes and segregation in January, therefore to undo this segregation they would have had to do work. I can not see them doing that in a month. What will be interesting is if it is in a segregated account will it be considered client money or will it just go into the insolvency pot? The terms and conditions posted seem to be clear it will go in the insolvency pot... if it does I think you have a good case to argue the toss on that one. For me I was invested in Collateral so just as much as all of you I just want some answers. If they are insolvent, they should just let us know, who is stepping in and what the next steps are but I am guessing some lawyer is in control now and he hasn't quite charged enough 6 minute blocks to allow them to release a statement... Again, this is all total conjecture, please wait for an official statement.
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sjg
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Post by sjg on Feb 28, 2018 21:13:13 GMT
I think we can forget the update tonight,will have to see what tomorrow brings Yes there email updates seem as likely at the moment as there servers going back online. 😀
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GeorgeT
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Post by GeorgeT on Feb 28, 2018 21:13:24 GMT
Obviously we are all very worried and that includes me as I had sold out as much as possible from my other two platforms and collateral was the only platform left in which I had a significant sum of cash invested.
We know that the FCA are aware of the situation and we received an email from collateral at 8:44 am this morning on Wednesday. However there has been no follow up email as promised yet and that suggests to me that collateral have been gagged by the FCA or some higher power with legal authority.
Otherwise the email sent at 8:44 this morning would have served no purpose.
I just hope we have not been conned in a massive way and that we did indeed lend our money to specific Borrowers secured against specific assets because if the relevant charges were not filed we are all up the creek without a Paddle.
I have to say the situation does not look good to me because I would have expected a comfort email from collateral if there truly was a massive IT cock up.
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Post by Proptechfish on Feb 28, 2018 21:19:43 GMT
Did everyone get an email at 8:44am this morning saying an update is being prepared and will be emailed to all lenders later today? If so, have i missed the next e-mail or was it not sent? I think i know the answer but just want to be sure I didn't get an email, tried to phone earlier too wouldn't connect but just found out my landline is now down, the weather could be a factor with communication issues
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boundah
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Post by boundah on Feb 28, 2018 21:23:19 GMT
OK, theory no. 72: Gordon aka any other name he poses as is a one-man band. He’s mislaid the little book he keeps his PC and bank passwords in and can’t log on to the PC in the loft (running Windows XP) where he runs the whole show from. All user details are on that PC with no backup. In desperation he borrows his mate’s laptop and puts the notice on the website while he looks for the password book.
Sounds plausible?
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Post by davids on Feb 28, 2018 21:24:14 GMT
Did everyone get an email at 8:44am this morning saying an update is being prepared and will be emailed to all lenders later today? If so, have i missed the next e-mail or was it not sent? I think i know the answer but just want to be sure I didn't get an email, tried to phone earlier too wouldn't connect but just found out my landline is now down, the weather could be a factor with communication issues I use gmail and i found it in my "Promotions" folder for some reason
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