Thinking of chucking a few quid in a peer to peer lending platform such as Funding Circle, the house crowd or similar ? Not vast amounts, couple of k.
Does anyone have any experiences with such things ?
Yes. I sent £10k off to Assetz half was invested in a 30 day cash account and half in a "great british business" account targetted at 7% interest.Every few days I get an email about "action required by lenders" which in most cases is a decision on what to do about a borrower who is behind or wants more etc. It reminds you that it isnt a bank account but pooled lending to borrowers who can go bust. Your money is at risk.
For the most part the borrowers seem to be property developers with a lot of Asian names amongst them. Lots of care home and the like.
I'm now down to just £2775 - as loans have been repaid I have taken money back out. I dont like the inflexibility of the system. I want to be able to get all my money when I want it but that isnt compatible with the higher interest rates you go there for.
Its not the answer to a maidens prayer. I have made 9.28% on my shares in the last year without high risk so why bother locking money up in peer to peer?
P.S. For those who say its a gamble - well I suppose it is but since its spread in small amounts to lots of customers the risk isnt that great. You could put it in a bank but that isnt a gamble - its an absolute certainty that in real terms you will lose money.
