bk
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Post by bk on Aug 30, 2023 14:06:16 GMT
As an AC investor with money in the instant access account which now appears to be tied up for years. I have complained to them about how they have changed the goalposts and the fees they are charging. Along with how the money being paid back has dried up each month. I have had their generic response.
I have made a complaint to them about their actions and was wondering now if there is any point in raising a complaint with the financial ombudsman? Will this help in any way?
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alender
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Post by alender on Aug 30, 2023 15:59:08 GMT
As an AC investor with money in the instant access account which now appears to be tied up for years. I have complained to them about how they have changed the goalposts and the fees they are charging. Along with how the money being paid back has dried up each month. I have had their generic response. I have made a complaint to them about their actions and was wondering now if there is any point in raising a complaint with the financial ombudsman? Will this help in any way? It can't harm except AC will get a charge of £750 for every complaint win or lose, you can also join in the no win no fee claim which is covered in the relevant thread. In both cases AC will be put to expense and it is up to you to decide if AC will put itself into administration because of the costs. IMO AC will do what it likes, brush off investor complaints so if wish to take action you you can do one or both of the above but be aware of the possibility this could cause AC to move into administration, however there is a good case they will anyway once they have drained all they can out of investors which could be why they have front loaded the fees.
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deltron
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Post by deltron on Aug 30, 2023 16:00:11 GMT
The wholesale changes at AC were brought in in mid-December 2022. A complaint that was registered immediately would have given AC 8 weeks to provide a final response which is mid-Feb at the earliest. A referral to the FOS at that point would take 4 months to get their final response if the timeframe I've been given for 2 cases recently also applies to the beginning of this year. So that's mid-June at the very earliest to go through the whole process. I really expected there to be some reports here on the forum by now about people's success or failure with their cases at the FOS. I haven't seen a single thing. Maybe it's all still ongoing. It'll be mid-December before I find out myself.
Is it worth it? You need to convince the FOS that AC have acted unfairly in order to get redress.
The main thrust of my FOS complaint is that AC fundamentally changed the relationship between myself and them without giving me a chance to exit the arrangement (Consumer Law); that they are using my money in a way I have not consented to (funding their shift from loss-making Retail to profitable Institutional lending); and that they are changing the terms of the "membership fee" on an ad hoc basis to suit themselves which I can do nothing about because I'm locked into whatever AC unilaterally decides to do.
Nothing fair about any of that, with a bit of law breaking to boot. I've got a low 5 figures tied up with these cowboys so it's worth it to me. The best of luck to you.
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rscal
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Post by rscal on Aug 30, 2023 16:00:54 GMT
As an AC investor with money in the instant access account which now appears to be tied up for years. I have complained to them about how they have changed the goalposts and the fees they are charging. Along with how the money being paid back has dried up each month. I have had their generic response. I have made a complaint to them about their actions and was wondering now if there is any point in raising a complaint with the financial ombudsman? Will this help in any way? Are you in Access Accounts? See here: p2pindependentforum.com/thread/19781/treated-customer-unfairly-financial-ombudsmanand here: p2pindependentforum.com/thread/20072/legal-action-assetz-capital-winfor relevant discussions of ideas and tactics. Due to backlogs in the organisation, your FOS complaint will take 6 plus months to first reach anyone's eyes but they will consider it eventually. You will note numerous parties have complained, with a narrow focus on the charges being levied [which looks promising] while some others have mentioned the platform closure and loss of access to their investments as a result as motivation. Good luck with whatever action you decide. [ Nil desperandum ]
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ashtondav
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Post by ashtondav on Aug 30, 2023 16:10:52 GMT
£40k
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ashtondav
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Post by ashtondav on Aug 30, 2023 16:13:37 GMT
£40k stuck with the scumbags. £410 returned this month!
I think I’d sell up and take the loss if they offered 85p in the pound. They probably don’t because they’re not worth 85p in the pound. Still surprised institutional investors won’t make a bid for the book.
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Post by bob2010 on Aug 30, 2023 16:16:52 GMT
As an AC investor with money in the instant access account which now appears to be tied up for years. I have complained to them about how they have changed the goalposts and the fees they are charging. Along with how the money being paid back has dried up each month. I have had their generic response. I have made a complaint to them about their actions and was wondering now if there is any point in raising a complaint with the financial ombudsman? Will this help in any way? I can't harm except AC will get a charge of £750 for every complaint win or lose, you can also join in the no win no fee claim which is covered in the relevant thread. In both cases AC will be put to expense and it is up to you to decide if AC will put itself into administration because of the costs. IMO AC will do what it likes, brush off investor complaints so if wish to take action you you can do one or both of the above but be aware of the possibility this could cause AC to move into administration, however there is a good case they will anyway once they have drained all they can out of investors which could be why they have front loaded the fees. I'd suggest avoiding the 'no win no fee' route, as you'll end up paying a significant fee, around 30% or more, to solicitors for a complaint to the FOS (Financial Ombudsman Service) – something you can do yourself for free.
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ashtondav
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Post by ashtondav on Aug 30, 2023 16:21:52 GMT
In fact I still dont understand why they can’t make money from retail.
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Post by bob2010 on Aug 30, 2023 16:58:12 GMT
In fact I still dont understand why they can’t make money from retail. That's the huge flaw with P2P platforms like Assetz Capital when market interest rates increase. Lenders naturally expect their returns to match these rising rates. However, P2P platforms have already locked in certain rates with borrowers for a set period. When lenders demand higher returns in a rising rate environment, the platform can't just increase rates for existing loans, thereby squeezing their margins.
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alender
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Post by alender on Aug 30, 2023 21:41:05 GMT
In fact I still dont understand why they can’t make money from retail. That's the huge flaw with P2P platforms like Assetz Capital when market interest rates increase. Lenders naturally expect their returns to match these rising rates. However, P2P platforms have already locked in certain rates with borrowers for a set period. When lenders demand higher returns in a rising rate environment, the platform can't just increase rates for existing loans, thereby squeezing their margins. This was always the problem for ACs AAs as AC were using the Northern Rock model of short term funds for longer term investments, as we have seen if interest rates increase this makes the AA rates uncompetitive then investors withdraw their funds for better paying investments but of course AC has this money locked up so can't pay out for a time, it was always going to end in tears. AC calls this abnormal market conditions, I call falling, stable and rising interest rates all normal market conditions after all it is an abnormal market where interest rates can only fall or stay at the same level. If I worked this out (before interest rates really started to rise) AC being the professionals should have known the flaw in their AA products (or could have just read my old posts) and this should have been a clearly stated as a serious risk.
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alender
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Post by alender on Aug 30, 2023 23:12:04 GMT
Deltron Your post portrays the similar financial igno of many complainants on this forum who invested in a financial instrument ignorant of the terms and conditions and risks. I expect you, along with the many complainants on this forum, declared your total understanding of your investment while, in reality, you have no or little comprehension. To quote ' consumer law ' this confirms my suspicions. I hope those on this forum who are promoting action against Assetz Capital be it via the Fos or third party ambulance chasers will take full responsibility when AC opt for administration, due to the misjudgement of investors and you lose every penny to administrators, fia case fees, legal fees etc. The ignorant or gullible are being persuaded to follow along the path of other ignorant fools that could end very badly for investments. Best course of action is allowing Assetz Capital to navigate the problems caused by the interest rate financial environment. This is in the best interest of all parties lenders, borrowers and company. There is no other option that dies not risk your total investment. At present, you will receive 100% of your capital back in time. We all risk losing everything through possible stupid complaint procedures. The reason for investors taking action is solely the result of AC actions as otherwise they are helpless, AC must obey the rules like the rest of us no matter how important and powerful they think they are. There is a possibility that action against AC could end in administration, but it might not, nobody knows this outside of AC so do you have insider knowledge? AC may well decide to go into administration once they have sucked all they can out of investors regardless of any action taken, this could well be why they preloaded the fees, get all you can and walk away. It is only an opinion that the best course of action is to leave AC alone allowing them to do what they like in the hope it will all be OK for investors, like it or not there are other opinions available as we all know. IMO AC has treated investors appallingly and will just get worse if not stopped and everyone has the right to go to the FOS or legal action without the threat of administration. AC clearly changed the rules and from the FCA guidance on the Fairness of variation terms in UK financial services consumer contracts • whether the customer will have "freedom to exit", contractually and practically; and • whether the term "strikes a fair balance between the legitimate interests of the firm and the legitimate interests of the consumer". There are risks in taking action and there are risks in not taking action, it is up to each investor to decide what they believe is the best course of action without having their choices being called stupid.
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Post by oliveau on Aug 31, 2023 9:37:59 GMT
I understand that FOS have still to appoint an investigator and it will be some time before thay actually get round to dealing with complaints.
The same thing happened with Thincats, and by the time FOS finally started to issue decisions, TC had seen the red light and went into administration.............
At the moment all my monthly interest payments are being swallowed up in 'Lender Fees'. Not a happy bunny!
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Post by scepticalinvestor on Aug 31, 2023 11:13:42 GMT
The wholesale changes at AC were brought in in mid-December 2022. A complaint that was registered immediately would have given AC 8 weeks to provide a final response which is mid-Feb at the earliest. A referral to the FOS at that point would take 4 months to get their final response if the timeframe I've been given for 2 cases recently also applies to the beginning of this year. So that's mid-June at the very earliest to go through the whole process. I really expected there to be some reports here on the forum by now about people's success or failure with their cases at the FOS. I haven't seen a single thing. Maybe it's all still ongoing. It'll be mid-December before I find out myself. Is it worth it? You need to convince the FOS that AC have acted unfairly in order to get redress. The main thrust of my FOS complaint is that AC fundamentally changed the relationship between myself and them without giving me a chance to exit the arrangement (Consumer Law); that they are using my money in a way I have not consented to (funding their shift from loss-making Retail to profitable Institutional lending); and that they are changing the terms of the "membership fee" on an ad hoc basis to suit themselves which I can do nothing about because I'm locked into whatever AC unilaterally decides to do. Nothing fair about any of that, with a bit of law breaking to boot. I've got a low 5 figures tied up with these cowboys so it's worth it to me. The best of luck to you. Deltron Your post portrays the similar financial igno of many complainants on this forum who invested in a financial instrument ignorant of the terms and conditions and risks. I expect you, along with the many complainants on this forum, declared your total understanding of your investment while, in reality, you have no or little comprehension. To quote ' consumer law ' this confirms my suspicions. I hope those on this forum who are promoting action against Assetz Capital be it via the Fos or third party ambulance chasers will take full responsibility when AC opt for administration, due to the misjudgement of investors and you lose every penny to administrators, fia case fees, legal fees etc. The ignorant or gullible are being persuaded to follow along the path of other ignorant fools that could end very badly for investments. Best course of action is allowing Assetz Capital to navigate the problems caused by the interest rate financial environment. This is in the best interest of all parties lenders, borrowers and company. There is no other option that dies not risk your total investment. At present, you will receive 100% of your capital back in time. We all risk losing everything through possible stupid complaint procedures. Do you really need to resort to juvenile name-calling for a difference in opinion? You call it stupid, ignorant, etc. I'd call your stance as naive in the extreme, given what AC has done to date. To each their own.
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bk
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Post by bk on Aug 31, 2023 12:59:16 GMT
Thanks for all your responses to my post. I'm in for 70k so am seriously displeased. It seems that they will go into administration regardless of what I do. Would it be so bad if they did? I can't imagine the administrators being any harder on us than these thieves. So why lie back and let them rob us blind.
Also after reading the posts it It looks like someone form AC has infiltrated this forum!
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alender
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Post by alender on Aug 31, 2023 13:03:56 GMT
Deltron Your post portrays the similar financial igno of many complainants on this forum who invested in a financial instrument ignorant of the terms and conditions and risks. I expect you, along with the many complainants on this forum, declared your total understanding of your investment while, in reality, you have no or little comprehension. To quote ' consumer law ' this confirms my suspicions. I hope those on this forum who are promoting action against Assetz Capital be it via the Fos or third party ambulance chasers will take full responsibility when AC opt for administration, due to the misjudgement of investors and you lose every penny to administrators, fia case fees, legal fees etc. The ignorant or gullible are being persuaded to follow along the path of other ignorant fools that could end very badly for investments. Best course of action is allowing Assetz Capital to navigate the problems caused by the interest rate financial environment. This is in the best interest of all parties lenders, borrowers and company. There is no other option that dies not risk your total investment. At present, you will receive 100% of your capital back in time. We all risk losing everything through possible stupid complaint procedures. Do you really need to resort to juvenile name-calling for a difference in opinion? You call it stupid, ignorant, etc. I'd call your stance as naive in the extreme, given what AC has done to date. To each their own. It is also amazing how self assured he is right, he profess to know • The many people complaining or taking action are " financial igno" and have "no or little comprehension" without any real information about them except they have different opinions to his. • " AC opt for administration, due to the misjudgement of investors", so if they go into administration it will be solely for 1 reason. • “ The ignorant or gullible are being persuaded to follow along the path of other ignorant fools that could end very badly for investments”, seems to have knowledge about the type of people taking action, again, because they have different opinions to his. • " Best course of action is allowing Assetz Capital to navigate the problems caused by the interest rate financial environment. This is in the best interest of all parties lenders, borrowers and company", so sure of this, how does he know this? • “ There is no other option that dies not risk your total investment. At present, you will receive 100% of your capital back in time” seems so confident there are no other ways to deal with the situation and everyone will receive 100% of the capital back. So no more added fees from AC perhaps on the capital and all loans will be fully repaid without any cost for non performing loans. • “ We all risk losing everything through possible stupid complaint procedures” So it is clear cut do nothing and get everything back or lose everything and no middle ground.
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