Fluid ISA Bond 1 Limited

masonic

Rob_ronson said:

Thanks for this… you clearly have significant experience in such matters, I feel somewhat reassured and will endeavour to sit it out.
I’ll also pass this info on to a chap with whom I’ve formed something of a mutual support group, he stands to lose considerably more than me so hopefully this will create a bit of light at the end of what is currently a very dark tunnel!!

Yes, I'm currently an investor/creditor in three P2P/P2B lending firms that are at various stages of the insolvency process, ranging from one where there was outright fraud and the directors are currently facing criminal prosecution, through to the other end of the spectrum where it was merely a failure to take sufficient precautions against fraudulent borrowers that took the company down. The money tied up in all three did not exceed 3% of my overall investments, and I understood the loss potential, so while extremely frustrating it was nothing to lose sleep over. While I've mentally written off those sums, I do hope to receive some distribution when each administration/liquidation concludes.

Rob_ronson

Thank you.
I find myself in a similar position amount-wise… 
it’s downright annoying more than anything, especially finding out all this 2 months before my “investment “ was due to mature…but it demonstrates the power of the words “never invest more than you can afford to lose”!

i suppose if I do get anything back, I’ll look at is as a bonus 

jimjames

Unfortunately one of the problems lending money to very small companies that are unregulated is the lack of transparency with what happens to the money you lend. As with Blackmore Bond the money was then lent on to other companies but how they manage their affairs is unknown and out of the control of the bondholders. Hopefully it will be a more positive outcome than for Blackmore but like you say any recovery will be a bonus.

pauline_88

I’ve been reading with interest your comments on this forum. Like many others I have a substantial amount invested in a FluidIsa 1Bond. Checking companies house they are still active?. I too have been approached by C Prompt to complete an application but so far ignored as believe to be a scam? I’ve emailed Fluid but no reply and have rang on several occasions but only get the engaged tone? My investment is due to mature in May this year & for me, at this moment in time, it’s fingers crossed I’ll get my money back. I just wish I’d  moved my investment in August last year when NPI went into liquidation .  I contacted Fluid who assured me my money was safe & they were obtaining permission to obtain the payment data from NPI. I’m trying not to worry it stress over this but it’s difficult when you have made plans for the returned investment. 

jimjames

C Prompt is a scam, the people contacting you are nothing to do with the genuine company of that name. 

Were you made aware of the risks to your capital when you invested your money with them? 

Rob_ronson

I’d be incredibly wary of c prompt… especially if they made first contact.
I have been in touch with a couple of companies whose remit is recovering lost/misadvised investment, so far I’ve been told that they can only act if I’ve lost money through bad advice; unfortunately I acted on my own judgement when I took out the fluid isa.
I also have had zero response to the many emails I’ve sent them since discovering that NPI had gone into liquidation and so all I can do now is hope for a favourable outcome 

pauline_88

I don’t recall being told my money was at risk and if anything being told by money was safe under the FCA Compensation scheme but paperwork says otherwise and Fluid confirming by email to me that it was not covered under FCA Comp Scheme. 

I would be interested to know if any investors have been paid out this year upon maturity of their bond?  

masonic

pauline_88 said:

I don’t recall being told my money was at risk and if anything being told by money was safe under the FCA Compensation scheme but paperwork says otherwise and Fluid confirming by email to me that it was not covered under FCA Comp Scheme.

NPI should have made you sign a declaration similar to the following before you invested: https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/COBS/4/7.html#DES620

It should have included the statement: "I accept that the investments to which the promotions will relate may expose me to a significant risk of losing all of the money or other property invested. I am aware that it is open to me to seek advice from an authorised person who specialises in advising on non-readily realisable securities."

If no such investor declaration was provided to you, then that would constitute a breach of FCA regulations by NPI and might give you an avenue of redress (via the Financial Ombudsman Service). It is unclear whether FSCS compensation could be paid for such a breach when the investments are not eligible for such compensation. The risks should also have been mentioned in the same paperwork you received that stated the investments were not eligible for FSCS compensation.

pauline_88 said:

I would be interested to know if any investors have been paid out this year upon maturity of their bond?  

It seems all investors in this issue of the bonds are in the same boat. Someone mentioned that a previous issue paid out in full. The problems at Fluid started in 2000, probably due to the pandemic and borrowers defaulting on the money that was loaned to them by the lending arm of Fluid.

pauline_88

I’ll check back over my paperwork. I do remember everything was done electronically with the rep on the other end of the phone telling me where to tick boxes and without giving me much time to read what I was ticking. I did get a nice shiny brochure from Fluid which was beautifully put together and a welcome letter from NPI. Everything was going very well till October 21 when they missed my interest deadline. I agree the pandemic had an affect also Brexit maybe? 

jimjames

pauline_88 said:

Everything was going very well till October 21 when they missed my interest deadline. I agree the pandemic had an affect also Brexit maybe? 

Unfortunately I'd just see those as excuses. Fluid was supposedly investing the money you lent to them for property development and the market has been booming during the pandemic so I can't see why that would impact their ability to pay interest.