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Funding Circle Reviews By Investors
I have pulled out all the Funding Circle reviews written by investors (lenders) that I can find on TrustPilot and, I don't mind telling you, it took a very long time. Because online Funding Circle reviews are usually written by borrowers and not lenders. I don't know how many hundreds – or was it thousands – of reviews I went through to get the most recent 36 investor reviews, which are below.
Looking at all the reviews as a whole, Funding Circle earns 4.3/5. That's including all the borrowers. Looking at the Funding Circle investor reviews that I identified, I was quite shocked indeed. There was just one reviewer scoring it 5/5, no 4/5s and just one 3/5. There were two 2/5s and an incredible 32 hits for 1/5. (You can't give a score of 0/5 on TrustPilot.)
Funding Circle's customer rating is 1.2/5 overall.
The earliest Funding Circle reviews that I worked back to were from around the middle of March, 2020, so all these reviews are during the pandemic time. When I've re-gathered my strength from this time-consuming task I'll try to pull together a few dozen of the most recent reviews that were just prior to COVID-19. It would be interesting to see the difference.
A large number of the negative Funding Circle reviews are about not being able to sell loans to exit early. I'd just like to point out that, at a general level (without comment on Funding Circle itself), it's a normal part of peer-to-peer money lending. Lenders should expect this to happen at different P2P lending websites from time to time. It might sometimes take many months to get your money back. That's part of the profile of this kind of investment.
Indeed, you might sometimes have to wait until the borrowers repay naturally or until any bad debts can be recovered. If you don't like the sounds of that, peer-to-peer lending probably isn't for you. (Although read 10 Ways To Get Your P2P Lending Money Back!)
There's no doubt about it, the Funding Circle reviews and ratings left by investors on TrustPilot are truly ugly. I don't think I've ever personally, consciously bought a product with a rating of 1.2 from customers before. And still, customer reviews are just one aspect of any research into an investment. After all, Funding Circle has been enabling lenders to lend £1 billion per year and has paid out over £300 million in interest.
When it comes to lending, it's incredibly important to build an understanding for yourself of the risk-reward balance offered, and to develop your own independent opinion. If you feel you're unable to get enough information to confidently do so, don't lend. It's as simple as that for any P2P lending product. (To that end, do check out the 4thWay Funding Circle Review.)
Just as a general comment – and not specifically about Funding Circle – it's not especially unusual in the investing world for a lot of investors to be wrong at the same time. You see this most clearly when lots of people attempt to panic-sell on the stock market – as they simultaneously force prices to crash. Whereas the relatively few people buying at that time go on to make a lot of money.
Incidentally, that sort of crash event is not a common feature of P2P lending at all, precisely because exiting your investments quickly can be difficult. Stability and easy access are opposite sides of a coin. You can read about that in How COVID-19 Shows That P2P Lending Is A Fairer Investment.
Again, not defending Funding Circle's results here, but online reviews can sometimes be misleading for other reasons. I'll write about that separately in August.
Anyway, here's what I found investors are saying in Funding Circle reviews:
2/5 High Default Rates
05/07/2020
Have recently received a small amount of debt recovered money (£90) , however i still have over £6k of bad debt on this platform with no compensation fund it could take year ( if at all ) to get some of my investments back. I am fully aware of the risks of P2P lending but the percentage of bad debt is very high, and this was before COVID-9 so it cant be used as the reason.
1/5 Beware of Funding Circle
01/07/2020
Beware of Funding Circle, I've been an investor for over a year now and I've lost so much. I was told I'll make profits from interests, it is a lie, you will lose your money. Avoid them like plague. I'm happy Replevin Law Group saved me from their claws and got my money back (contact@replevin. co)
2/5 Poor for investors now
01/07/2020
Poor for Investors now I have been an investor for some years now. They used to be good but lately they have become poor for investors. Since the Covid crisis they have frozen accounts so all you can do is withdraw interest. As a result I have been losing money for the last three months. I have accounts with Zopa and Rate Setter and they are looking after investors a lot better than FC during this crisis and that is where my money from here will be heading when I can sell loan parts. I also notice that most good reviews are from borrowers, not investors.
1/5 Terrible ISA investment
01/07/2020
They froze ISA accounts, you can't reinvest them, you can't transfer to another ISA. You can just take the interest out, losing the ISA status on the way. And their customer service ‘will endeavour to get back to you within 10 working days', if you write to them.
1/5 ISA funds stuck in cash drag for years!
01/07/2020
Now they have paused consumer investing, so my ISA is slowly turning from investments back into cash. Currently £3k is cash and £18k is in loans waiting to be repaid. My problem, is that I want to transfer the ISA to another provider so I can get the cash working again. But if I transfer out the £3k of cash, the other £18k LOSES THE ISA WRAPPER FOREVER!! What the hell!!
Funding Circle have removed the option to sell loans so if I want my investment to retain the ISA wrapper the only options is to wait until the whole account balance is in cash before I transfer it out to another ISA provider.
That means an increasing amount of cash drag for YEARS until the loans have all unwound.
This just goes to show funding circle do not give a damn about their consumer investors.
I will be raising a complaint with the financial ombudsman and the FCA. Clearly this falls under their remit of “Consumer detriment”
1/5 Absolutely Poor
29/06/2020
Absolutely poor. More like a scam. I invested with them over the 3/4 years in the classic product. The default rate is more than 50% and the recovery rate of only 6%. This means after their fee the annual return is around 2%, not 6% they claim. Not sure they have any risk assessment team in place when they lending your money to others with such high default rates. FCA may look into this.
1/5 Funding Circle – Short and Sweet
27/06/2020
I'll keep this short. DO NOT invest with Funding Circle (FC). The defaults are out control, which they very rarely seem to recover (I believe these “defaults” go towards marketing and overpaid staff). Once they allow investors to withdraw their money, they will do at break neck speeds and I believe the company knows this and has forecasted to go into administration. So if you want to lose money, invest with FC.
1/5 Investing? DON'T!
Updated 24/06/2020
This sounds good for borrowers but if you are thinking of investing, don’t. I have been waiting for over a year to withdraw my money which I applied for in June 2019. I was getting small amounts but suddenly we were getting told that there would be charges if you wanted to sell your loans which would start in November. I did not get one penny back from the day of this notification in June until the day the charges started and then, oh what a surprise they started again even if it was in really small amounts. Through the virus we have been told now that we can’t sell our loans so my money is stuck there for I dread to think how long. I could really do with the money now and have no way of getting at it and no one from funding circle can give it me. A joke of a business and I wish I had never invested with them I have lost nearly twice as much as I have made in interest in defaults and I don’t hold out any hopes of getting it back anytime soon. I will most probably be left a message saying that it’s a mid to long term investment and that they are being prudent by putting them on pause and if I want to discuss it any further then contact them. I’ve been waiting over a year, I think that’s classed as a mid to long term waiting. When I first started investing with Funding Circle the company and everything about it was great. I even written a review in 2018 praising them. I could get my money out quickly, there weren’t as many defaults, there were no charges. Sadly all this has changed and Funding Circle in my opinion as a investor is not a good place to go if you want to invest. I have learnt the hard way, don’t make the same mistake.
Matt (the writer) here. Funding Circle reviews on TrustPilot often get responses from the company itself. I've included them wherever they have responded. Like this…
Hi Steven
Thank you for posting a review.
We are sorry you have not enjoyed lending through Funding Circle. It should be noted that peer-to-peer lending should be viewed as a mid to long term investment with the secondary market being a feature of our platform. However, accessing funds in this way is not guaranteed as it is contingent on there being investors available to buy loan parts from you.
Prior to the situation with COVID-19 loan parts were selling on the secondary market at a steady rate, however slower than you may have become accustomed to.
As part of our ongoing measures to protect investor returns, we took the decision to pause the secondary market while we continue to evaluate the potential impact of Covid-19. This forms part of a number of measures introduced recently.
As a regulated platform, we also want to ensure that loans bought and sold by investors on the secondary market are priced fairly. This means taking into account the wider economy and how it might impact small businesses. This does not affect your ability to access funds from the monthly repayments you receive from borrowers.
As lending is turned off you will interest and principle from the businesses you've lent to. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and will update you once we are able to resume the secondary market.
If you would like to discuss this with a member of our investor support team please give us a call on 0800 048 2467 or email contactus@fundingcircle.com. The Funding Circle team.
1/5 Worst P2P company for lenders EVER!
24/06/2020
I have been around the P2P market space for many years as a lender. I am a Zopa Founder member and have accounts with RateSetter, Assetz Capital and other reputable P2P lenders, but in terms of dealing with bad debts, Funding Circle are simply the pits, and by a long chalk. Most if not all the positive comments of late here on Funding Circle is from borrowers. Funding Circle are FAMOUS for not updating loan notes as well. Thankfully, I don't have too much with them any more but think very, very carefully if you apply as a lender. Fundamentally remember that your loan will be UNSECURED … and if things go bad you will really, really be in a bad spot. I hope this review will give them a big jolt and they will improve but I have been trying for so long … it's like flogging a dead horse!
1/5 Avoid if you are an investor
21/06/2020
This might be a good source of funds for borrowers but it's a bad platform for lenders.
Wished I had never invested with them. So many defaults from borrowers with little hope of recovery, even on “safe” transactions.
Coupled with charges, it's a poor return and I would advise anyone tempted to invest to avoid.
Even if you try and withdraw your investment it can take years.
Hi Martyn,
Thank you for posting a review.
appreciate that it is concerning to see losses occur on your account, however, credit defaults are intrinsic to any form of lending, especially when lending to small and medium businesses and just to clarify, as we are a risk based platform we can never guarantee returns, but solely project.
Bad debts will be higher to start with and as recoveries come in, this will reflect the bad debt rates for these specific years.
Recoveries are on a case by case basis and are completely dependent on the circumstance of the individual defaulted loan. The recovery process is often a lengthy process. The forecasted recovery rate from bad debt over a 5 year period is 30p/£. In a lot of the cases it can take months to get payment plans set up or if there are legal on-goings, then this can also increase the time taken to receive recoveries.
It also should be noted that peer-to-peer lending should be viewed as a mid to long term investment with the secondary market being a feature of our platform. However, accessing funds in this way is not guaranteed as it is contingent on there being investors available to buy loan parts from you.
If you would like to discuss any of the points raised, or your account in general, please give us a call on 0800 048 2467 or send an email to contactus@fundingcircle.com.
The Funding Circle team.
1/5 Better with a bank account with really bad interest rate
14/06/2020
I have invested money with funding circle for around 3 years. The fees they have charged me over this time are as much as the interest I have gained. It must be 1%
Also it takes forever to withdraw any money invested. I would not recommend. From my experience the expected interest rates are fantasy
Dear Andrew,
Thank you for leaving a review.
We are sorry you have not enjoyed lending through Funding Circle.
I appreciate that it is concerning to see losses occur on your account, however, credit defaults are intrinsic to any form of lending, especially when lending to small and medium businesses and just to clarify, as we are a risk based platform we can never guarantee returns, but solely project.
It should be noted that peer-to-peer lending should be viewed as a mid to long term investment with the secondary market being a feature of our platform. However, accessing funds in this way is not guaranteed as it is contingent on there being investors available to buy loan parts from you.
As a regulated platform we are required to ensure investors are purchasing loan parts at fair prices. This means taking into account the wider economy and how it might impact the businesses you lend to. With the current situation presenting some significant unknowns we are obliged to be prudent and pause the market while we continue to assess the situation.
If you would like to discuss any of the points raised, or your account in general, please give us a call on 0800 048 2467 or send an email to contactus@fundingcircle.com.
The Funding Circle team.
1/5 Can't get my money back
02/06/2020
I'm an investor and have been trying to withdraw my money (sell my loan parts) for a year without any success.
Hi Mrs Hill
Thanks for leaving a review.
It should be noted that peer-to-peer lending should be viewed as a mid to long term investment with the secondary market being a feature of our platform. However, accessing funds in this way is not guaranteed as it is contingent on there being investors available to buy loan parts from you.
Given the current environment we have decided to be prudent and pause all loan part sales on the secondary market. This does not affect your ability to access funds from the monthly repayments you receive from borrowers. You will continue to receive monthly principal and interest repayments back of your outstanding portfolio every month.
As a regulated platform we are required to ensure investors are purchasing loan parts at fair prices. This means taking into account the wider economy and how it might impact the businesses you lend to. With the current situation presenting some significant unknowns we are obliged to be prudent and pause the market while we continue to assess the situation.
Please get in touch with our investor support team if you would like to discuss this in more detail, give them a call on 0800 048 2467 or email contactus@fundingcircle.com
The Funding Circle team.
1/5 I lost money investing in Property Loans with Funding Circle
02/06/2020
I have invested with Funding Circle for several years. I collected a number of bad debts with various business types, retail, farming, legal, so I concentrated on property loans where there was an asset which more than covered the loan amount. Despite this, I have a large number of bad debts which FC take a long time to recover, if at all. When finally, the property has been sold and the loan closed, my recovery is poor, maybe 70% if I am lucky. I think these property loans were sold to investors misleadingly. The asset coverage was exaggerated. FC collected their commissions and investors lost money.
Hi Peter
Thank you for posting a review.
I appreciate that it is concerning to see losses occur on your account, however, credit defaults are intrinsic to any form of lending, especially when lending to small and medium businesses and just to clarify, as we are a risk based platform we can never guarantee returns, but solely project.
Bad debts will be higher to start with and as recoveries come in, this will reflect the bad debt rates for these specific years. For your convenience, I have attached the link to an update from our Chief Risk Officer should you wish further details. https://www.fundingcircle.com/blog/2019/08/chief-risk-officers-update-august-2019/With regards to recoveries, they are on a case by case basis and are completely dependent on the circumstance of the individual defaulted loan. The recovery process is often a lengthy process. The forecasted recovery rate from bad debt over a 5 year period is 30p/£. In a lot of the cases it can take months to get payment plans set up or if there are legal on-goings, then this can also increase the time taken to receive recoveries
We think it would be useful if you get in touch with our investor support team, who will be able to look into your account and provide more in-depth detail on your account.
If you would like to talk to our investor support team about any of the points you have raised please give us a call on 0800 048 2467 or send an email to contactus@fundingcircle.com.
The Funding Circle team.
5/5 FIRST CLASS
20/05/2020
Yes as an Investor I have always found Funding Circle to be first class and very honest they do what they say they will do well done funding circle keep up the great work.
Hi David
Thank you for the kind words.
All the best,
The Funding Circle team.
3/5 My Imagination?
14/05/2020
Is it my imagination or are recent adverse reviews from lenders being filtered out?
1/5 Painful lesson learnt – if it sounds too good…..
02/05/2020
The advertised rates were just not achievable after the first year.
Bot myself and my wife invested 10000 each in funding circle in 2017 with an advertised return of >6%. There is no easy way to see the returns except by downloading a tax statement. This hides the truth unless you go digging.
The returns for the two accounts w
1st year 4% 5%
2nd year 1% 3%
3rd year -0.8% 0.8%
So diminishing returns but worse than that, of the remaining loans, 1/3 are bad debt and, despite their advertised recovery rates, the recoveries have been very close to zero.
And now you cannot sell your loans, you are faced with it just dwindling away…..Lesson learnt.
Hi there
We are sorry to hear about your experience as an investor at Funding Circle.
Predominately the loan cycle is around 5 years, so loans which have defaulted recently i.e. 2018/19 are still in the early stages of default.I appreciate that it is concerning to see losses occur on your account, however, credit defaults are intrinsic to any form of lending, especially when lending to small and medium businesses and just to clarify, as we are a risk based platform we can never guarantee returns, but solely project.
Bad debts will be higher to start with and as recoveries come in, this will reflect the bad debt rates for these specific years. For your convenience, I have attached the link to an update from our Chief Risk Officer should you wish further details. We think it would be beneficial if you get in touch with our investor team who will be able to look into your account in more depth and provide clarification on the position of your accounts.https://www.fundingcircle.com/blog/2019/08/chief-risk-officers-update-august-2019/ We think it would be beneficial if you get in touch with our investor team who will be able to look into your account in more depth and provide clarification on the position of your accounts.
If you would like to talk to our investor support team about any of the points you have raised please give us a call on 0800 048 2467 or send an email to contactus@fundingcircle.com.
The Funding Circle team.
1/5 Poor returns and impossible to sell
Updated 10/06/2020
Poor and diminishing returns. Has taken me over 4 months to sell about 30% of my loans (tried to sell 100%) and now selling of loans has been suspended. So, a very illiquid investment.
App is pretty poor and unintuitive.
Would not recommend as an investor.
Hi Liam,
Thank you for posting a review.
We are sorry you have not enjoyed lending through Funding Circle.
It should be noted that peer-to-peer lending should be viewed as a mid to long term investment with the secondary market being a feature of our platform. However, accessing funds in this way is not guaranteed as it is contingent on there being investors available to buy loan parts from you.
As a regulated platform we are required to ensure investors are purchasing loan parts at fair prices. This means taking into account the wider economy and how it might impact the businesses you lend to. With the current situation presenting some significant unknowns we are obliged to be prudent and pause the market while we continue to assess the situation.
If you would like to discuss any of the points raised, or your account in general, please give us a call on 0800 048 2467 or send an email to contactus@fundingcircle.com.
The Funding Circle team.
1/5 Returns on my investment have been……
01/05/2020
Returns on my investments have been much lower than advertised. Defaults much higher and negligible recoveries. They have now stopped my effort to withdraw funds from the platform to “protect investments” but even more disappointingly from the reviews on here aren't even using MY MONEY that they are refusing me access to to support others. Are funding circle really this determined to protect their own profit regardless of cost to their investors and customers?
Hi Tim
Thank you for leaving a review.
We have a very experienced Credit Assessment team, as well as stringent statistical models to assess businesses we lend to. We closely monitor macro-economic factors, the performance of our current loan book, trends of late payments and defaults, and we regularly update our credit model. We employ an in-house Collections and Recoveries team who are committed to recovering as much money as possible from all defaulted loans, to minimize the impact of defaults on investors.
It is important to note that defaults do not occur evenly over the course of a loan term, with businesses being more likely to default at certain points in the loan cycle. Typically, returns are highest during the first six months of lending; dipping over the next eighteen months as some businesses are unable to repay, then stabilising and increasing as recoveries start to come in.
While it’s impossible to predict exactly how the economy will perform in this fast-moving situation, a key pillar of our risk management function has always been to build a resilient loanbook that is well-positioned to withstand an economic downturn.
We are continuing to monitor the environment closely. While we expect to deliver resilient returns the current situation presents a number of unknowns. As we can’t reflect how these unknowns may impact the businesses you lend when they are sold on the secondary market, we consider it prudent to pause sales.
This will allow us to protect returns while we continue to evaluate COVID-19’s impact on the economy. However, you are still able to withdraw your monthly repayments made by the businesses you’ve lent to. If you would like to talk to our investor support team about any of the points you have raised please give us a call on 0800 048 2467 or send an email to contactus@fundingcircle.com.
Thank you again.
The Funding Circle team.
1/5 Please answer Funding Circle
Updated 01/05/2020
Please answer my questions Funding Circle your answer does not answer any of them
Originally had £160,000 invested all was good till Dec 2018 when it began to take longer and longer to sell loan parts. Managed to sell most early to mid 2019 befor it came inpossible to sell. Now have just over £2000 left invested and around £45000 yes £45000 in defaulted loans with recoveries around £100 a month. I expect it will be many years befor I can close my account.
As funds can no longer be withdrawn until loans are paid off would it not be fare if you made no charges?
How on earth can you be protecting my returns if I can't sell loan parts?
Why keep the loans which are 100% backed by the government to yourself? No answer from the email I sent so just maybe I might get a reply but not holding my breath. Please don't ask me to phone to discuss.
Hi Martin
Thank you for posting your review.
Peer-to peer lending should be viewed as a mid to long term investment with the secondary market being a feature of our platform. However, accessing funds in this way is not guaranteed as it is dependent on there being investors available to buy loan parts from you.
As a regulated platform we are required to ensure investors are purchasing loan parts at fair prices. This means taking into account the wider economy and how it might impact the businesses you lend to.
With the current situation presenting some significant unknowns we are obliged to be prudent and pause the market while we continue to assess the situation. However, you are still able to withdraw your monthly repayments made by the businesses you’ve lent to.
This is part of our ongoing work to protect investor returns as a regulated platform, and while the speed at which loan parts sell has always been subject to supply and demand, our priority has been to ensure that all investors have equitable access to available liquidity.
Apologies if you are yet to receive a reply and would ask if you could please either email again or give us a call should you wish to discuss further. Please give us a call on 0800 048 2467 or send an email to contactus@fundingcircle.com.
The Funding Circle team.
1/5 Don't use if you want to take your money out later
29/04/2020
I was cautious in choosing how much to invest but even so decided to sell my loans starting in Summer 2019.
Getting out has been an incredibly slow, ultimately futile process. I never understood why loans of existing investors weren’t sold first when new money arrived, rather than new loans?
It wouldn’t be that the size of the loan book was more important to FC than investors being able to get their money back???
Now FC has stopped any selling and over half of my original investment is in limbo.
Appalling.
I would not recommend.
Hi there,
Thank you for posting a review.
We are sorry you have not enjoyed your investment with Funding Circle so far. Peer-to peer lending should be viewed as a mid to long term investment with the secondary market being a feature of our platform. However, accessing funds in this way is not guaranteed as it is dependent on there being investors available to buy loan parts from you.
As a regulated platform we are required to ensure investors are purchasing loan parts at fair prices. This means taking into account the wider economy and how it might impact the businesses you lend to.
With the current situation presenting some significant unknowns we are obliged to be prudent and pause the market while we continue to assess the situation. However, you are still able to withdraw your monthly repayments made by the businesses you’ve lent to.
If you would like to discuss any of the points raised, or your account in general, please give us a call on 0800 048 2467 or send an email to contactus@fundingcircle.com.
The Funding Circle team.
1/5 I would not recommend them…..
26/04/2020
Got to be honest I wouldn’t recommend any one invests in this company – it’s nearly a year since I requested a withdraw and I still haven’t got the full amount. It’s true what they say, only invest what you’re prepared to lose because I definitely made a mistake here. If I’m ‘lucky’ at the current rate I’ll get my full investment back in the next 2.5 years… I held off writing this review last year for fear of jeopardising my withdrawal but I’m so over that feeling now!
Hi Emmalene
We are sorry to hear you feel you have not had a good experience lending with us.
It is worth noting that peer-to-peer lending should be viewed as a mid-to-long term investment with the secondary market being a feature of our platfrom and that accessing funds in this way is not guaranteed as it is contingent on there being investors available to buy loan parts from you.
As part of our ongoing measures to protect investor returns, we have taken the decision to pause the secondary market while we continue to evaluate the potential impact of Covid-19.
This forms part of a number of measures introduced recently. As a regulated platform, we also want to ensure that loans bought and sold by investors on the secondary market are priced fairly. This means taking into account the wider economy and how it might impact small businesses.
Given the current environment we have decided to be prudent and pause all loan part sales on the secondary market. This does not affect your ability to access funds from the monthly repayments you receive from borrowers. You will continue to receive monthly principal and interest repayments back of your outstanding portfolio every month.
Please get in touch with our investor support team if you would like to discuss this in more detail, give them a call on 0800 048 2467 or email contactus@fundingcircle.com
The Funding Circle team.
1/5 Been trying to withdraw money for……
22/04/2020
Been trying to withdraw money for nearly a year and have a received fraction back.
The projected interest rates were 7-8% but lower than half that after all the defaults.
Have £15k on the platform still which can’t access.
Also noticed the number of 5* reviews which are from people who have left just the one review.
Hi James
Thank you for posting a review.
We are sorry that you have not had good experience with Funding Circle. As we are not able to comment on your personal account here, we feel it may be beneficial for you to speak with a member of our investor support team.
If you are interested in speaking to someone, please give us a call on 0800 048 2467 or email contactus@fundingcircle.com.
The Funding Circle team.
1/5 Can't wait to get out
20/04/2020
I have been using FC since 2013. Initially, it was a great investment, offering good returns and a functioning secondary market, so you could sell your assets and get access to cash should you need to. Then they changed tact and my funds became impossible to access. This didn't suit my investing needs to put all my loan parts for sale (July 2019), and after 4 months nothing sold, its now April and they still haven't been sold. I have been trying get out of FC way before COVID-19 was an issue, and now I honestly feel like I will never get my money back. The money is still locked up.
Since COVID-19 I have been investigating all my loan parts that have turned into bad debts and I am shocked. There was a loan for a property development and the information on the loan said that planning permission had been granted. But when I went to the council website I can see it was actually rejected. Another was a loan to a company that has previously defaulted on a FC loan, but they had been given an A rating (from my investigation they used their second FC loan to pay off their initial FC loan). There were many examples of things misrepresentation happening.
1/5 Investors avoid!
18/04/2020
Investors avoid!
I had excellent returns initially but then they began to drop. I decided to disinvest a year ago in order to consolidate my investments. I won't go into the saga of selling loan parts which has been well covered in this forum.
I'm now starting to see missed payments for some of my loan parts which FC then place into a ‘no risk band' so they can't be traded. I expect there will be more as the CV-19 crisis continues.
Now I'm unable to list any loan parts for sale as trading on the ‘secondary market' has been suspended by Funding Circle for the time being.
Latest email says they have stopped all new loans other the government Business Interruption loans, and the retail investment marketplace is closed.
Very unhappy with the overall experience over the last 12 months. FC's update comment for loans in default are often out of date or lacking in detail. For at least one loan part it's been the same update copied and pasted 3 times since last May.
All I can do now is extract a small amount of cash each month as the loan repayments come in. My remaining investment is very small so it's just a couple of £ per month and at this rate it will be years before I can close the account.
1/5 Do not invest your hard earned money….
18/04/2020
Do not invest your hard earned money here. They have been given government guarantees on new loans but the retail investor (that's you and me) do not have access to these new loans. They are keeping these to themselves and other shysters while leaving us to mop up the defaults. I see this as a gross misconduct and will report this to the FCA. They see this as a way of increasing their value on the stock exchange but they will be biting of the hand that feeds them.
1/5 Bad! Want my £'s back and can't get it….Furious.com! 🙁
12/04/2020
Bad, bad, bad….Please be careful, I have invested in this for maybe 5 years or so now…All was good at start and decent returns…Which diminished over the longer term and returns became minimal after costs etc…Now, its not to be trusted am afraid..Have been trying to withdraw my funds for what seems like forever…It comes in drips and drabs and now they tell me because of the virus stuff I can not now sell my remaining 1k…
What go on? Its my money! And I can't get it and I want it bad cos' the only reason I started withdrawing funds was the way this business changed over time and I felt your money is not secure here….Well they proving that now!
All I want is my £'s back, even they at loss and I can't get it! Not on…..
Thought was a great concept to enable business's to borrow but now its turned out a bad thing. I want my money back, even though is worth less now but I can't get it….How can anyone be able to withhold your £'s???, no conditions, changes to policy etc should allow that to happen!
Hi Mart,
Thank you for posting a review.
We are sorry you have not enjoyed lending through Funding Circle.
It should be noted that peer-to-peer lending should be viewed as a mid to long term investment with the secondary market being a feature of our platform. However, accessing funds in this way is not guaranteed as it is contingent on there being investors available to buy loan parts from you.
As a regulated platform we are required to ensure investors are purchasing loan parts at fair prices. This means taking into account the wider economy and how it might impact the businesses you lend to. With the current situation presenting some significant unknowns we are obliged to be prudent and pause the market while we continue to assess the situation.
If you would like to discuss any of the points raised, or your account in general, please give us a call on 0800 048 2467 or send an email to contactus@fundingcircle.com.
The Funding Circle team.
1/5 No protection for customer to access their funds
09/04/2020
I would give Funding Circle 0 stars if I could, and strongly recommend people NOT to invest their money here… you will have absolutely no protection and will risk losing access to your funds. I need to access my funds, and have been trying to sell my loan parts since October 2019 with limited success. Sales have been very slow, and I have only managed to sell 33% in 6 months. Additionally, in December, Funding Circle changed their terms & conditions and have introduced new charges for every loan that is re-sold on their secondary market – increasing the cost of doing business with them without giving their customers any choice on the matter. Now I have just been informed that they have stopped all sales in their secondary market for the foreseeable future due to Covid-19, which means I will not be able to access my funds. This is incredibly disappointing and frustrating. I feel like they have me at ransom as there is now nothing I can do to access my money, despite desperately needing it. Do not invest in Funding Circle!
Hi Patricia
Thank you for leaving us a review.
We are sorry that you have not had a good experience lending with us.
It is worth noting that peer-to-peer lending should be viewed as a mid-to-long term investment with the secondary market being a feature of our platform and that accessing funds in this way is not guaranteed as it is contingent on there being investors available to buy loan parts from you.
As part of our ongoing measures to protect investor returns, we have taken the decision to pause the secondary market while we continue to evaluate the potential impact of Covid-19.
This forms part of a number of measures introduced recently. As a regulated platform, we also want to ensure that loans bought and sold by investors on the secondary market are priced fairly. This means taking into account the wider economy and how it might impact small businesses.
Given the current environment we have decided to be prudent and pause all loan part sales on the secondary market. This does not affect your ability to access funds from the monthly repayments you receive from borrowers. If your lending is turned off you will typically receive 3-5% back of your outstanding portfolio every month.
Please get in touch with our investor support team if you would like to discuss this in more detail.
The Funding Circle team.
1/5 DO NOT LEND with Funding Circle
09/04/2020
Just had a message from Funding Circle. They have formally closed the secondary market in loan parts. They are citing the uncertainty around Coronavirus. This is disingenuous to put it mildly.
The secondary market had effectively ground to a halt already. FC lenders are likely to experience hugely increased levels of bad debt in the aftermath of Coronavirus.
If you haven’t got your money out already it’s now too late. You are going to be safer putting new money under the mattress than lending on FC’s platform.
Hi Andrew
Thank you for taking the time to post a review.
Prior to the situation with COVID-19 loan parts were selling on the secondary market at a steady rate, however slower than you may have become accustomed to.
As part of our ongoing measures to protect investor returns, we have taken the decision to pause the secondary market while we continue to evaluate the potential impact of Covid-19.
This forms part of a number of measures introduced recently. As a regulated platform, we also want to ensure that loans bought and sold by investors on the secondary market are priced fairly. This means taking into account the wider economy and how it might impact small businesses.
Given the current environment we have decided to be prudent and pause all loan part sales on the secondary market. This does not affect your ability to access funds from the monthly repayments you receive from borrowers. If your lending is turned off you will typically receive 3-5% back of your outstanding portfolio every month.
As we have more clarity over the coming months, we hope to be in a position to resume the secondary market.
If you would like to discuss this with a member of our investor support team please give us a call on 0800 048 2467 or email contactus@fundingcircle.com.
The Funding Circle team.
1/5 DO NOT INVEST
Updated 09/04/2020
DO NOT INVEST, YOU WILL FIND IT IMPOSSIBLE TO GET MONEY OUT ONCE YOU'VE PUT IT IN!
I put money in because of all their assurances. I have been trying to get my money back for almost 6 months now and have managed to get about 20% of my original investment out!!
In response to your response about speaking to your support team, I tried that first, they told me this is the way it works!!
Hi Dominic,
Thank you for posting a review.
We are sorry that you have not had a good experience with Funding Circle.
We are not able to comment on your personal account here, however we feel it may be beneficial for you to speak with a member of our investor support team.
If you are interested in speaking to someone, please give us a call on 0800 048 2467 or email contactus@fundingcircle.com.
The Funding Circle team.
1/5 Investors, avoid until major changes are made
06/04/2020
Investors in Funding Circle using Trustpilot need to be very aware that the vast majority of good ratings come from people comment how easy it was to borrow money; a big red flag for an investor.
My returns over 2 years have dropped from the c7.5% advertised to 3% or maybe even less. A huge number of defaults. The only way that FC can change this is to 1. put in place far more stringent criteria for lending money and 2. a much more credible and robust way to recover bad debts – BOTH current and historical debt. Only these measures, if they are able to do effectively implement them, will raise returns and give confidence to investors.
Hi Dominic
Thank you for leaving a review.
We have a very experienced Credit Assessment team, as well as stringent statistical models to assess businesses we lend to. We closely monitor macro-economic factors, the performance of our current loan book, trends of late payments and defaults, and we regularly update our credit model. We employ an in-house Collections and Recoveries team who are committed to recovering as much money as possible from all defaulted loans, to minimize the impact of defaults on investors.
It is important to note that defaults do not occur evenly over the course of a loan term, with businesses being more likely to default at certain points in the loan cycle. Typically, returns are highest during the first six months of lending; dipping over the next eighteen months as some businesses are unable to repay, then stabilising and increasing as recoveries start to come in.
If you would like to talk to a member of the team about any of the points you have raised please give us a call on 0800 048 2467 or send an email to contactus@fundingcircle.com.
Thank you again.
The Funding Circle team.
1/5 Wish I had never invested – feels like a scam 🙁
02/04/2020
Wanted to access my funds back in September last year only to be told they were changing the system and would have to wait until 2 December. At that date, everyone wanting to sell entered into a 120 ‘holding' period where nothing seemed to happened. I'm not at the end of that period where nothing seems to have changed at all. Still can't access my funds and I have to enter another 120 days of nothing; all the while my loans are defaulting and no-one seems to care.
They have also suddenly introduced new fees for things without any consultation which I feel is very sneaky.
Wish I had known what I was getting myself into before I started with this company who NEVER answer their phone either.
Hi Tori,
Thank you for leaving a review.
We are sorry you have not enjoyed your investment through Funding Circle.
While we are not able to comment on your personal account here, we thought it important to clarify a couple of things.
Back in December we did indeed make some changes to our secondary market. Previously, loan parts were sold in a que. Once an investor reached the top of the que, all of their loan parts would sell and the next investor would move up the que.
However, as you may have experienced, selling times had increased in 2019 and we brought in the changes on December 2nd. The new selling tool cycles through all investors wishing to sell loan parts as many times as possible within a 120 day period. In each cycle, every investor will sell a small portion of their portfolio or at least one loan part. The cycle will run continuously through all investors currently wishing to sell.
This means every investor selling loan parts will begin to receive some funds back faster and more regularly. The fees you are referring to, is the transfer payment. The 1.25% transfer payment is a fixed amount applied automatically to all loan part sales. It is calculated on the outstanding principal of the loan part at the time of sale. For example, a £20 loan part is sold for £19.75 (and, as with the current tool, the selling investor would also receive any interest owed on that loan part since the last monthly repayment up to the point of sale).
100% of the transfer payment goes to the investor who is buying the loan part. This brings us in line with other lending platforms, although in our case, Funding Circle does not receive any fees from any loan part sale.
We apologise if you have been having trouble getting through to us. Please send an email to contactus@fundingcircle.com and someone will reach out to you if you would like to discuss these changes or anything else to do with your account.
Thank you again.
The Funding Circle team.
1/5 I requested the return of my investment
02/04/2020
I requested the return of my investment back in August,8 months later I have received 35% back and based on what they are now saying will take 2 years before my initial investment is returned.
This company has totally misled and would never recommend any investor to put their money into this company.
Hi Simon,
Thank you for taking the time to post a review.
It is important to note that peer-to-peer lending should be viewed as a mid to long term investment with the secondary market being a feature of the platform. However, accessing funds in this way is not guaranteed as it is contingent on there being investors available to buy loan parts from you.
Being open and honest with our customers is very important to us. If you would like to discuss your account with us in more detail please get in touch with our investor support team on 0800 048 2467 or email contactus@fundingcircle.com.
The Funding Circle team.
1/5 Very hard to get money out
01/04/2020
No doubt very good returns on your money , but I've been trying to sell mine and since October I've managed to sell £1800 and as 120 days are over I'm now reselling again which by the previous sale it will take over a year to get my money out , so not an investment if you need your money out within s reasonable time
Hi Charles
Thank you for posting a review.
We are sorry you have not enjoyed your investment with Funding Circle so far.
Peer-to peer lending should be viewed as a mid to long term investment with the secondary market being a feature of our platform. However, accessing funds in this way is not guaranteed as it is contingent on there being investors available to buy loan parts from you.
While we cannot comment on your account here we feel it may be beneficial for you to speak with a member of our investor support team.
If you would like to speak to them, they can be reached on 0800 048 2467 or by email at contactus@fundingcircle.com.
The Funding Circle team.
1/5 Do not invest
01/04/2020
Funding Circle should be avoided as an investment.
Many many loans are defaulted. I question the due diligence they due when loaning.
I am now in consistently getting negative returns.
Avoid as an investor
Hi Gary,
Thank you for posting a review.
We're sorry to hear you aren't happy with your return.
We expect a certain percentage of businesses to not repay their loans each year and take this into account when calculating the projected returns investors can earn. Whilst your capital is at risk and your actual return may be higher or lower, we have a strong track record of delivering returns to investors.
More information on our up to date projected returns and bad debt rates can be found on our Statistics page. Our performance statistics and projections have been independently verified. If you would like to speak to a member of our investor support team please call us on 0800 048 2467 and we'd be happy to discuss your account with you.
Thank you again.
The Funding Circle team.
1/5 INVESTORS TAKE NOTE Please don't be…….
Updated 27/03/2020
INVESTORS TAKE NOTE Please don't be lead by the returns that Fundingcircle are quoting. I earned £700 over a five year period but after deducting bad debt charges I was left with under £200 pounds and after more than a year I'm still waiting on them to pay me my money back. Best advice I can give is to put your hard earned money in a savings account and get a guaranteed intrest of 1.85% far safer plus better return and you will be able to get your cash when u need it.
STAY WELL CLEAR.
1/5 Think carefully before investing
23/03/2020
As an investor in Funding circle I have seen compound return shrink over past 2 years. Advertised projection of 4.5%-6.5% on their balanced risk loan profile is untrue; you will not make this return; I know. Of interest due on loan parts I am vested in, close to 62% have defaulted and recovery rate on bad debt is less than 10%; in other words, the security accepted against the loan is non-existent. Other thing to be aware of are the costs of withdrawing money. You can stop lending in order to withdraw money but this might take years to unwind as you need to wait for all loan parts to mature. You can sell your loan parts if you are happy to take a 1.75% charge on the value and again, it might take months; if not years to sell. Do not use if you might want access to your money in any kind of hurry. After thinking abut things over the time I have been an investor, I have concluded that the only people Funding Circle serve are themselves.
Hi Mike,
Thank you for taking the time to post a review.
We are sorry to hear that you have not enjoyed your investment with Funding Circle.
It is important to note that peer-to-peer lending should be viewed as a mid to long term investment with the option to sell loan parts on the secondary market a feature of our platform.
Although the credit environment for small businesses remains strong, the outlook for consumer credit in the UK has worsened in recent years. This has impacted a small population of loans in our higher risk bands who can be more susceptible to shifting trends in the consumer credit environment. These headwinds are reflected in the projected returns for loans taken out since 2016, which are now between 4-7% per year.
The 1.25% transfer payment you are referring to is a fixed amount applied automatically to all loan part sales. It is calculated on the outstanding principal of the loan part at the time of sale. For example, a £20 loan part is sold for £19.75 (and, as with the current tool, the selling investor would also receive any interest owed on that loan part since the last monthly repayment up to the point of sale).
100% of the transfer payment goes to the investor who is buying the loan part. This brings us in line with other lending platforms, although in our case, Funding Circle does not receive any fees from any loan part sale.
If you would like to discuss your personal account in more detail, please get in touch with our investor support team on 0800 048 2467 or send an email to contactus@fundingcircle.com.
The Funding Circle team.
See Funding Circle on TrustPilot. The vast majority of the Funding Circle reviews there are written by borrowers, not lenders.
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