mark123
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Post by mark123 on Nov 1, 2016 17:01:23 GMT
Dear Ratesetter,
I know that many lenders were given confidence to entrust their savings to Ratesetter partly because westonkev regularly posted informal replies on this forum.
People have concerns - some valid and some misunderstandings - which westonkev was able to put into perspective.
Now that he is "no longer in the office" many posts are not responded to.
When issues are raised, such as the provision fund appearing to go below the target range, if we just hear corporate silence we may jump to the conclusion that something is amiss. And even take our savings elsewhere.
Most companies allocate staff to handle social media. So, if westonkev remains unavailable, please ensure that somebody from Ratesetter does respond to issues on this forum.
Many thanks, Mark
p.s. Kev - thanks for all your input and best wishes for the future. M
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jlend
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Post by jlend on Nov 1, 2016 17:19:54 GMT
Dear Ratesetter, I know that many lenders were given confidence to entrust their savings to Ratesetter partly because westonkev regularly posted informal replies on this forum. People have concerns - some valid and some misunderstandings - which westonkev was able to put into perspective. Now that he is "no longer in the office" many posts are not responded to. When issues are raised, such as the provision fund appearing to go below the target range, if we just hear corporate silence we may jump to the conclusion that something is amiss. And even take our savings elsewhere. Most companies allocate staff to handle social media. So, if westonkev remains unavailable, please ensure that somebody from Ratesetter does respond to issues on this forum. Many thanks, Mark p.s. Kev - thanks for all your input and best wishes for the future. M From Ratesettter. They have posted this on their blog page in response to a question I posted there. So I think we have seen the last post from Ratesetter on the P2P forum "Kevin did a great job of representing RateSetter on the P2P independent forum, but this was not actually part of his formal role and we are not planning to create a new position with that responsibility. Our communications with investors will continue to be delivered via this blog, RateSetter Notices, through direct emails and our Customer Services team. As always, queries and comments can be directed to us by contacting our Customer Services at contactus@ratesetter.com or 020 3142 6226 or via the blog's comments section."
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Post by nutfield on Nov 1, 2016 17:22:08 GMT
Hear Hear!
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adrianc
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Post by adrianc on Nov 1, 2016 17:28:11 GMT
From Ratesettter. They have posted this on their blog page in response to a question I posted there. So I think we have seen the last post from Ratesetter on the P2P forum "Kevin did a great job of representing RateSetter on the P2P independent forum, but this was not actually part of his formal role and we are not planning to create a new position with that responsibility. Our communications with investors will continue to be delivered via this blog, RateSetter Notices, through direct emails and our Customer Services team. As always, queries and comments can be directed to us by contacting our Customer Services at contactus@ratesetter.com or 020 3142 6226 or via the blog's comments section." That's a real pity. Not a great surprise, but a real pity. Having a random employee acting as a self-imposed semi-armslength-spokesman was never really sustainable, but it's a pity that nobody's realised the value there is in having an official voice here.
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Post by jackpease on Nov 1, 2016 17:35:03 GMT
Hmmmmm. if Westonkev is not to be replaced here then that affects massively my 'trust' in the platform. Atm i trust it well into five five figures - because Westonkev build a relationship with this forum and gave us a non-robotic insight into the platform.
Ratesetter would do well to replace him although it'd need to be someone with a thick skin to deal with growing negativity on this forum. I have said on the SS forum recently that there is a growing default assumption that platforms are to be mistrusted and if endless questions are not answered in seconds then platforms are covering something up. This happened in early days with Assetz, more recently with Westonkev and I seriously hope that this hasn't made RS join FC ignoring this board.
Jack P
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jlend
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Post by jlend on Nov 1, 2016 18:23:07 GMT
I think as some of the P2P platforms like Ratesetter get more mature, larger and "mainstream" there will be less need for them to engage in the P2P forum to ensure they get a steady stream of investors.
I am sure it was a big help to them early on.
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mark123
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Post by mark123 on Nov 1, 2016 18:23:51 GMT
They have posted this on their blog page in response to a question I posted there. So I think we have seen the last post from Ratesetter on the P2P forum "Kevin did a great job of representing RateSetter on the P2P independent forum, but this was not actually part of his formal role and we are not planning to create a new position with that responsibility. Our communications with investors will continue to be delivered via this blog, RateSetter Notices, through direct emails and our Customer Services team. As always, queries and comments can be directed to us by contacting our Customer Services at contactus@ratesetter.com or 020 3142 6226 or via the blog's comments section." Thanks jlend. You say they posted the text in response to a question you posted in the blog. I can't see where you post a question there. Can you please point me in the right direction? Thanks, Mark
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ashtondav
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Post by ashtondav on Nov 1, 2016 18:30:54 GMT
Its downright pathetic! Why would you not want to engage with the most knowledgeable segment of your customer base? It beggars belief that a company can be so arrogant as to desert such influential, or engaged stakeholders. It's an insult and it's disgraceful, and its commercially stupid, and reveals an arrogance that is beyond comprehension. I shall certainly write to the financial press that RS is now refusing to engage via an important platform. I am sure they will print.
I cannot undersatnd why any commercial entity would cease communications with part of its customer base - where is the commercial logic behind the decision? Where is the marketing or operational advantage? Where is the insight, or value add? Where is the spirit of p2p? I can see why ZOPA has retreated form this space as there is now very little to discuss over there, but that is not the case with RS where punters can still bid for business.
Ratesetter has lost the plot - it needs to engage, NOW! Otherwise there is very little point of this forum, except to spread the poison that is already being drip fed by some of the posters.
RESPOND, COMMUNICATE, REASSURE, ENGAGE. And sack the directors of Marketing, Sales and PR.
Why p*ss off your customers for no reason other than the 30 minutes or so it takes to post on this forum. For God's sake, I bother to post on this forum and I only have £60K at stake. RS have millions.
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jlend
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Post by jlend on Nov 1, 2016 18:35:34 GMT
They have posted this on their blog page in response to a question I posted there. So I think we have seen the last post from Ratesetter on the P2P forum "Kevin did a great job of representing RateSetter on the P2P independent forum, but this was not actually part of his formal role and we are not planning to create a new position with that responsibility. Our communications with investors will continue to be delivered via this blog, RateSetter Notices, through direct emails and our Customer Services team. As always, queries and comments can be directed to us by contacting our Customer Services at contactus@ratesetter.com or 020 3142 6226 or via the blog's comments section." Thanks jlend. You say they posted the text in response to a question you posted in the blog. I can't see where you post a question there. Can you please point me in the right direction? Thanks, Mark On the Ratesetter website Menu - About us - Blog I posted it on the "6-year-anniversary" blog. You can see it at the bottom of the blog.
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Post by jackpease on Nov 1, 2016 18:45:37 GMT
I suspect we'll never know what is going on here but maybe we can have fun and speculate based on my experience with big companies... 1/ Westonkev is smart and does his job well in a small but growing Ratesetter; 2/ Someone needs to engage with this forum so he does, everyone finds he is rather good at it; 3/ Ratesetter (the small, expanding go-ahead and responsive earlier incarnation) sees this is a win win and Westonkev is tacitly supported (he used to get answers from other members of the team); 4/ Ratesetter grows. Systems are put in place. Mission Statements, vision, values and other corporate bollockspeak start to take hold and new managers are brought in; 5/ Some Marketing Dimwit is brought in over Kevin and closes him down citing the need to maintain a tight corporate hold on 'stakeholders' (investors); 6/ A year or two down the road, Ratesetter has all the warmth and investor support of Funding Circle, Dimwit disappears off to screw up another company with bullshit and hopefully, Westonkev has got himself a massive promotion and told RS where to stick it!
Jack P
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kermie
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Post by kermie on Nov 1, 2016 19:42:46 GMT
jackpease I did not realise you worked at the same place as me.
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jo
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Post by jo on Nov 1, 2016 20:13:10 GMT
Asking questions/raising grievances on a company's Twitter feed tends to yield good results.....they really can't control what appears on their timelines.
If sufficient people seem publicly aggrieved about an issue, it gets their attention.
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Post by bluechip on Nov 1, 2016 22:27:21 GMT
I have a relatively large amount with Ratesetter, in fact by far my largest P2P investment. I do know that I would not have 1/3rd of the amount invested had it not been for Westonkev and I think many people like me will be worried about this loss to the community. I also now worry about the general trajectory of this sector, especially the larger players. I have moaned previously in more general terms about retail investors being used/abused by P2P platforms in their hunt for growth, but there has to come a point where we realise exactly where we stand. I have reached that point. I understand why they do it, but it doesn't mean I have to like it or put up with it.
I find it amusing/ironic that once the next crash happens, all these institutions will boycott their peripheral P2P investments quicker than you can say "look out below" and that will leave us retail investors again being sought out and "welcomed back" by the very same platforms. It's funny that the platforms will be treated by their investors how we are now being treated by the platforms! I hope we all remember the lack of respect we are being shown and do the only thing we can do when that time comes. We are investing our own money, we are the ones that care more than anybody else as we have worked for that money and if it is lost it doesn't just mean less of a bonus one year or a telling off from a corporate superior!
Once the dust has settled and the very same platforms come begging, with their constant mail shots, free bonus offers and 'new' representatives on this forum, I will see right through it as I'm sure many will!
Thanks for all your insights Westonkev - I think Ratesetter will realise they have made an error not having a representative on here, and may not realise/admit until it's too late how much confidence you installed in the platform and how much money came their way from the people that typically would be the last ones to bail out in tough times. They all seem to be following this same pattern, for a sector which is seen as 'innovative' it amazes me how they are so quick to mimic poor ideas of market leaders, hopefully some will buck this trend and remember where they came from and who they relied on. This website should be the very first thing P2P platforms deal with, it's a vital non-partisan information gem, the only reason not to have a representative on here is to not be accountable for decisions/actions in my eyes and that is a recipe for problems later down the line.
I only speak for myself of course, but I am making a change now as I can't afford to be seen as chattel.
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upland
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Post by upland on Nov 2, 2016 8:25:45 GMT
I suspect we'll never know what is going on here but maybe we can have fun and speculate based on my experience with big companies... 1/ Westonkev is smart and does his job well in a small but growing Ratesetter; 2/ Someone needs to engage with this forum so he does, everyone finds he is rather good at it; 3/ Ratesetter (the small, expanding go-ahead and responsive earlier incarnation) sees this is a win win and Westonkev is tacitly supported (he used to get answers from other members of the team); 4/ Ratesetter grows. Systems are put in place. Mission Statements, vision, values and other corporate bollockspeak start to take hold and new managers are brought in; 5/ Some Marketing Dimwit is brought in over Kevin and closes him down citing the need to maintain a tight corporate hold on 'stakeholders' (investors); 6/ A year or two down the road, Ratesetter has all the warmth and investor support of Funding Circle, Dimwit disappears off to screw up another company with bullshit and hopefully, Westonkev has got himself a massive promotion and told RS where to stick it! Jack P Very very familiar !
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Post by chris on Nov 2, 2016 9:48:46 GMT
Please note I am posting in a completely personal capacity here.
Some of you may have noticed a similar near complete stoppage of my engagement with this forum and that didn't come from above but was simply because it was creating more negatives than positives. We've never spent the time analysing the tone of posts but to me it felt like hardly anything could be posted without it being challenged in some form or another, taken out of context, or pulled apart as some cynical ploy on AC's behalf. A large proportion of the actions taken by the platform were greeted with automatic and instant scepticism that then took huge effort to explain and turn around which was then even followed by direct personal accusations of us trying to silence criticism or stifle debate.
As an experiment I decided to stop making that personal effort to post - it's not in my job description and has always been in a personal capacity as I care about the company I co-founded. The end result as far as I can tell, again without having conducted a detailed study, is that whilst overall engagement is hugely down it has been a proportionally greater fall in negative posts. Despite sentiment on this forum over the same period we've seen a large increase in on platform engagement and investment, partly within our existing user base but also through the work we do to attract new lenders through other channels.
I want to engage with this forum, I've been a supporter from the start and even after this extended period of silence I'm firmly in the top 10 posters of all time, but the only evidence I have is that it's a lot of work to do properly yet ends up being counter productive. If new lenders come to this forum and find an undercurrent of negativity that the platform is constantly having to battle then that is neither the impression we want to be cultivating nor an accurate reflection of the way our lenders as a whole feel.
I can only presume that other platforms have a similar experience given their similar trajectory in level of engagement.
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