Looks too good to be true

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  • ColdIron
    ColdIron Posts: 9,052 Forumite
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    It's not a savings product and you could lose 100% of your capital
  • ChesterDog
    ChesterDog Posts: 1,112 Forumite
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    FCA regulated does not mean FSCS covered.

    Asset-backed and guaranteed are meaningless when push comes to shove.

    A corporate mini-bond is high risk and not easily disposed of or resold.

    The government guarantees income to the sector or company for twenty years (unless it changes its mind), but not to you.

    All your money is at risk.
    I am one of the Dogs of the Index.
  • fwor
    fwor Posts: 6,810 Forumite
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    Have you read the Terms and Conditions on their website? Here's an extract:
    "The information within this site is issued by Bovarius Ltd, Company number: 10336033.

    Bovarius Ltd.
    Cambridge House
    27 Cambridge Park
    London
    E11 2PU

    to Sophisticated and/or High Net Worth individual investors who are professional clients or eligible counterparties under the Rules of the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA")The information within this site is unsuitable for any other party who should exit the Website immediately. If you are unsure as to whether or not you qualify, please contact Cantrell's."
    The text looks very much like it's been copied from the Terms and Conditions of another investment company - Cantrell's. So much so that you can even see that they forgot to edit out Cantrell's name and put in their own!

    It makes you wonder - if they take that much care with their own website, how much care are they going to take with your money?

    The website was also registered less than 6 months ago, the registrant is hidden behind a "privacy service" and the site appears to be operating from a shared server in Germany. None of these are signs that would cause me to entrust any money to them.
  • ColdIron
    ColdIron Posts: 9,052 Forumite
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    I like this extract :)

    In addition by declaring this statement I may lose significant rights and I may have no right to complain to either of the following: the Financial Services Authority; or- the Financial Ombudsman Scheme. I may have no right to seek compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. I understand that I can lose my property and other assets from making investment decisions based on financial promotions
  • fwor
    fwor Posts: 6,810 Forumite
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    edited 16 September 2017 at 8:00PM
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    Is the Feefo 5.0/5 "Independent Review" score at the top of the home page genuine?

    I went onto Feefo's website and checked "Bovarius", "Secured Bonds" and "Securedbonds" in their Money category, and no reviews were found...

    Also, the GlobalSign "SSL secured" stamp on the "Enquire Now" form is irrelevant, because the enquiry form doesn't use SSL!

    It does make you wonder about the TrustPilot 5 star stamp on the same form. Surely they wouldn't ~dare~ to fake one of those???
  • oldwiring
    oldwiring Posts: 2,452 Forumite
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    I wouldn't have touched it. It was odoriferous, but you guys have really shown how worthless (crooked?)review sites like Trustpilot are.
  • Alexland
    Alexland Posts: 9,653 Forumite
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    edited 16 September 2017 at 9:30PM
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    Companies House has several hundred companies based at that 27 Cambridge Park address - must be a big office.

    Frankly if you put money into this scheme there are scientists who would want to examine your brain.

    If it's not a scam then it's trying hard to look like one!
  • binaryuniverse
    binaryuniverse Posts: 906 Forumite
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    oldwiring wrote: »
    I wouldn't have touched it. It was odoriferous, but you guys have really shown how worthless (crooked?)review sites like Trustpilot are.

    Just because there is a picture claiming 5 stars on Trustpilot, doesn't mean it is actually on Trustpilot. Anybody can knock up an image and stick on a website. The fact you can not click on the image and go to the 'reviews' (as they don't exist) speaks volumes. In other words, yes, they have faked it.
  • AnotherJoe
    AnotherJoe Posts: 19,622 Forumite
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    oldwiring wrote: »
    I wouldn't have touched it. It was odoriferous, but you guys have really shown how worthless (crooked?)review sites like Trustpilot are.

    If it's a fake statement and it's not actually on TP, to criticise TP is wholly illogical.
  • Uxb
    Uxb Posts: 1,340 Forumite
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    On TP generally have a read from 2015
    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5197536
    Basically companies managing to get bad reviews removed from TP based on some form of technicalities to make the review "inadmissible"

    About 5 years a aviation forum had a long thread on this very practice about one particular supplier who was doing this on TP: so getting wonderful reviews only posted, the bad ones "vanished" while at the same time singularly failing to deliver the goods. I suppose they never had the brain capacity to think that being a niche sector those outraged would be posting on such forums and word would get around real quick.

    Then there is the problem of reviews posted on all such sites which are actually totally fake.

    No idea whether now TP is any better, but based on what i've read over the last few years I'd not believe a word I saw on the site.
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