Please be aware!

[jheaton]

I think when people post a warning about something it should just be accepted as a heads up for us all to make our own choice(rather than a criticism of you if you've used them)

The main problem i have with crown currency is that you are giving them your cash -often up to a year in advance-with no financial safeguards should they go bust(Remember Farepak anyone?)

Wheras to say we risk buying goods in advance everyday is not the same:-
If you order via credit card and the goods are not supplied you have a valid claim against the credit card company.

So just weigh up the risks-maybe calculate how much interest you would get for 1 year in an online instant access account(at 5%ish)then convert that to Dollars

Each to our own

[lesley1960]

Originally Posted by jheaton

I think when people post a warning about something it should just be accepted as a heads up for us all to make our own choice(rather than a criticism of you if you've used them)

The main problem i have with crown currency is that you are giving them your cash -often up to a year in advance-with no financial safeguards should they go bust(Remember Farepak anyone?)

Wheras to say we risk buying goods in advance everyday is not the same:-
If you order via credit card and the goods are not supplied you have a valid claim against the credit card company.

So just weigh up the risks-maybe calculate how much interest you would get for 1 year in an online instant access account(at 5%ish)then convert that to Dollars

Each to our own

See more...

Good post

tbh I would never have thought that my money would not have been protected somehow , and thats what i think we were trying to point out

[Guest]

Originally Posted by jheaton

I think when people post a warning about something it should just be accepted as a heads up for us all to make our own choice(rather than a criticism of you if you've used them)

Each to our own

See more...

Thanks, you put that better than me

[Guest]

The best rates are for upto a year in advance so there are quite a few people risking there money...

[Guest]

It's not a risk that I would be prepared to take of payingin advance without any protection.

I can't believe the Government allow them to be unregulated and therefore not covered under the normal guarantees you have when dealing with money.

[lesley1960]

Curious as to how they can guarentee their rates , they are quoting 2.1593 for December 2008 , maybe they should be based at 11 Downing street !

If the $ goes higher and stays that way for the next year then they are ok , but if it drops what then?

Not sure if i am allowed to post this but their nett worth at 30/06/06 was
- £ 230,229... yes that is a minus

[Guest]

Originally Posted by lesley1960

Curious as to how they can guarentee their rates , they are quoting 2.1593 for December 2008 , maybe they should be based at 11 Downing street !

If the $ goes higher and stays that way for the next year then they are ok , but if it drops what then?

Not sure if i am allowed to post this but their nett worth at 30/06/06 was
- £ 230,229... yes that is a minus

See more...

Re. How they can guarantee rates, ask any bank about forward rate agreements, they are very common in business circles. Crown are simply exploiting that style of business as a currency broker.

Re. the nett worth, any company that has borrowings in excess of its asset value will show a negative nett worth, its also very common in personal finances as well as business! Ask anybody with a 100% mortgage and other consumer debts such as credit card balances or personal loans!

There are many, many businesses out there who have traded perfectly well at a loss for a number of years, its a very convenient way of not paying taxes!

[lesley1960]

Originally Posted by scotsblood

Re. How they can guarantee rates, ask any bank about forward rate agreements, they are very common in business circles. Crown are simply exploiting that style of business as a currency broker.

Re. the nett worth, any company that has borrowings in excess of its asset value will show a negative nett worth, its also very common in personal finances as well as business! Ask anybody with a 100% mortgage and other consumer debts such as credit card balances or personal loans!

There are many, many businesses out there who have traded perfectly well at a loss for a number of years, its a very convenient way of not paying taxes!

See more...

Because they show only abbreviated accounts its not so clear

but as a company director I dispute the convienience of showing a trading loss every year ...

{Ask anybody with a 100% mortgage and other consumer debts such as credit card balances or personal loans! }... the result of this is shown in the number of house repossesions !


But this is going slightly off course , ... i think the main problem is there is nothing in place to protect your money if something goes wrong, ... the fact is any company is at risk from going under , and if your money is not protected you really have to weigh up the pros and cons

[Guest]

I think if we examined every company we dealt with like this, we would find things that looked out of ordinary or information we didn't understand...but it wouldn't mean they were dodgy.

[Florida virgin]

Everyone here is quoting lack of FSA protection - the FSA govern many things - but in the event of any financial institution collapsing I am not sure what protection if any the FSA would provide.