Assetz is a terrible lending and investing company!
The way Assetz is treating investors is deeply troubling! They've placed the company into run-off, effectively freezing investor funds without warning! Accounts that were supposed to be accessible are now in limbo, with no guarantee of when—or if—investors will recover their money.
Their customer service is practically non-existent. They don't answer phone calls and direct clients to a live chat system that simply doesn't exist. As a result, investors like myself are left with substantial funds trapped in the platform, facing serious financial consequences.
I'm personally facing significant challenges, having to borrow money from friends and potentially losing a critical property purchase due to these funds being locked away. The sheer scale of defaulted loans emerging suggests catastrophically poor risk assessment and potential mis-selling of investment products.
To any institutional investors or potential business partners considering engagement with the 'new' Assetz: proceed with extreme caution. Thousands of investors have already suffered substantial financial harm, and partnering with this organisation could expose you to significant risk.
The Financial Ombudsman's apparent inaction in this matter is equally disappointing. Someone needs to hold this unscrupulous company accountable for its actions.
Reply from Bancroft Property Limited
Dear Kieron,
This is not an active TrustPilot Account and it doesnt relate to Assetz Capital. we have a relationship though and have passed on their response.
We understand your frustration and the distress this situation has caused. The decision to enter run-off of the retail investor platform part of the business was not taken lightly but investors ceased to invest when interest rates at banks rose so we had no choice but to move on to solely institutional investors. We acknowledge that access to funds is challenging for many investors, including yourself, but it is a requirement and term of investment that you signed up to to stay invested in loans until their natural end point and any liquidity through the investment accounts and the secondary market was flagged as potentially not available.
We want to clarify that while we understand the concerns expressed, we do not agree that investors have experienced substantial financial harm at all. the run -off has gone well so far and millions have been returned to investors so far as loans redeem. We are also committed to working with investors in vulnerable situations and encourage you to reach out to discuss any specific difficulties you are facing, so we can explore how and if we may assist in your circumstances.
Regarding the mention of defaulted loans, we must respectfully reject the assertion that there has been a catastrophic level of defaults. We have always taken careful and prudent steps to assess risk and manage our loan portfolio in line with industry standards and the facts in terms of our loan performance data do not reflect your assertion in the slightest. Perhaps you are mistaking the tail end of loan recoveries, after all good loans redeem and repay to investors, meaning that a greater proportion of your remaining loans have challenges to be addressed but that is natural in any loan book run off. We would suggest that you do not make such wild and unfounded comments publicly or we will need to take action to protect our hard earned and well deserved reputation for high quality loan origination and management.
We are actively working on a transparent and structured approach to managing investor assets, aiming to maximize returns for all parties involved during this period. We also apologise for any shortcomings in customer service you've experienced.
If you would like to discuss specific issues or concerns with us, please feel free to contact our Investor Team between 9 am -1 pm or 2 pm - 5 pm, Monday to Friday via Live Chat.
Alternatively, you can send an email to enquiries@assetzcapital.co.uk and if requested, we can arrange for one of our team to call you.
All of the information regarding the closure of the retail platform can be found here: https://retail.assetzcapital.co.uk/blog/an-important-update-regarding-retail-investment-on-assetz-capital
Finally, as you will be aware from public published findings, the Financial Ombudsman is fully supportive of our approach and that it is designed to produce the best financial outcome for investors over the run off period. We do not recognise the reference to their 'inacton' given their extensive work with us and our investors to ensure our approach is fair and correct.
Please do not respond to this response as we will not engage any further on this unofficial channel and do not monitor it and please use the official channels above, thank you.
— Assetz Capital Team