Ratesetter

barrooo

MSE Official Insert:

Read more about Ratesetter, Zopa, Funding Circle etc in our Peer-to-peer Lending guide.

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I was thinking about using ratesetter as a lender,but before I do, I wondered if anyone had experience using them?
The reviews on the web seem quite sporadic, and searching on here, the majority of posts are regarding borrowing.
So, can any users can let me know of their experience with ratesetter

ChopperST

barrooo wrote: »

I was thinking about using ratesetter as a lender,but before I do, I wondered if anyone had experience using them?
The reviews on the web seem quite sporadic, and searching on here, the majority of posts are regarding borrowing.
So, can any users can let me know of their experience with ratesetter

Yes very favourable. Also lend on ZOPA. Faster payment in for funding and faster payment out to withdraw your interest. No missed payments and the back up of the provision fund is a good feature compared to ZOPA. You can also lend on a monthly rolling basis which is another feature ZOPA doesn't offer.

Downside is they dont appear on price comparison sites for loans (unlike ZOPA) and rates have dropped over the last 12 months presumably due to the lack of advertising and marketing.

barrooo

Cheers for that, it was the provisional fund that made me think about it in the first place.
Do you know what sort of protection, if any, is in place should the company itself go bankrupt?

raider

I've been with Ratesetter since March as a lender, very happy with their service. Had two small problems in that time, both were sorted out swiftly with a phone call from them both times.

The three things that swung it for me compared to Zopa (had an account for 5 years, never lent a penny) were:
1. The Provision fund
2. Rolling loans (monthly)
3. Ability to lend quickly and not wait

To be honest, with the dislike of traditional banks and low savings rates, I'm surprised P2P lending companies, especially Ratesetter don't get more attention on here.

"Do you know what sort of protection, if any, is in place should the company itself go bankrupt?"

http://www.ratesetter.com/lending/any_questions.aspx#rsfail

"What happens if RateSetter fails?

It is extremely unlikely, but if RateSetter fails, our customers' contracts will not change. Borrowers will have to make payments to lenders as usual. RateSetter will provide for this unlikely eventuality."

There is some more info on this issue, it may be in the T&C's, I will have a gander later.

Just to add, I've had 180+ matched loans on the rolling market and not a single late or missed payment. This is due to the Provision fund being tapped before missed payments happen, Ratesetter then chase missed payments to reimburse the fund.

Hope that helps

Edit: Can't seem to find the additional info on if they fail. It was about the contracts being enforced by a 3rd party company. Will post if I find.

Also to add: While your money is not on loan and within the Ratesetter "Trust" account (Barclays), it's effectively ring-fenced. Betfair do a similar thing with their members accounts.

easteregg_2

ChopperST wrote: »

Yes very favourable. Also lend on ZOPA. Faster payment in for funding and faster payment out to withdraw your interest. No missed payments and the back up of the provision fund is a good feature compared to ZOPA. You can also lend on a monthly rolling basis which is another feature ZOPA doesn't offer.

Downside is they dont appear on price comparison sites for loans (unlike ZOPA) and rates have dropped over the last 12 months presumably due to the lack of advertising and marketing.

The rates for RateSetter, along with Zopa, Funding Circle and YES-secure are detailed on http://www.p2pmoney.co.uk/compare/lend.htm.

I've personally used all of the sites above and I would regard RateSetter as one of the best.

MiserlyMartin

Surprised that MSE Martin Lewis is not well behind this, but I suppose this is a new non traditional way of investing and if everybody did it it would short circuit the traditional banking system. Although if it did bring down the banking system it would serve the BoE right for their stupid low base rate and money printing policy which will do nothing to help the economy.

Ifts

barrooo wrote: »

So, can any users can let me know of their experience with ratesetter

Never used them myself, but I remember reading this article about RateSetter a couple of days ago:

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-2046424/RateSetter-savers-7-9m-peer-peer-firms-year.html

JohnRo

I'm also investing with ratesetter, chose them over ZOPA for the rolling monthly loan feature and simplicity.

They're only a year old and the low profile and lack of advertisement does appear to be restricting their business but it may be a mixed blessing as things seem very sustainable and will continue to be as long as they manage their overheads and maintain what appear to be very effective quality controls on borrowers. Hopefully they won't become greedy or increase the costs in an unsustainable way.

Spoken on the phone to their CEO Rhydian Lewis a couple of times and he came across as a thoroughly decent bloke and seems genuinely in it for the right reasons.

My personal belief is that there are compelling reasons to invest and support this type of venture above and beyond just the attractive interest rates, but for many those alone are the selling point.

That sounds like a bit of a plug but I've been impressed by them so far. Setup was painless and everything seems to be running smoothly and just as described.

easteregg_2

There is a review on RateSetter which I've contributed to on http://www.p2pmoney.co.uk/companies/ratesetter.htm and it has been rated the best P2P provider for lenders.

Babycakes

I lent out some money on Ratesetter last month for one month, just to try it out.

The money was lent out on 1 October for one month but the contract says it is due to be repaid on 2 November? How is that one month? Should the repayment normally be made on 1 November?

JohnRo

quoted directly from the ratesetter website

How the rolling works
On the day of the roll lenders earn interest from their existing contracts, the day after the roll lenders earn interest from the new contract. So, provided that the re-investment rate that the lender has asked for enables them to be matched during the day of the roll interest will be earned every day.