You are seriously too jaded to have a decent conversation with.
You need to go read through the info
Perhaps you fail to understand the fatal flaw of P2P lending. Yes, some people do make money but the default rate tends to make it about as profitable as a really good investment but with more risk. In a year when you're on Maria's message board and people are complaining about defaults and if the scheme was properly bonded..... remember today, LOL! Some people are still getting repaid on Prosper.com, do a little investigating and see how they feel.
Who is talking about making money? I'm talking about my choosing to lend it... INTEREST FREE!
I am very well aware of the risks, ...I'm not an idiot. Anytime you lend money there's the risk of it not being repaid.
I recognize that. I'm also not about to lend any more than I'm either willing to, or can afford to lose.
You're pretending to be naive by essentially arguing that Prosper's failure was a management issue or that people who have stiffed everyone else and have crap credit won't repeat past mistakes with new lenders. There's nothing wrong with taking advantage of economically distressed people, P2P lending is just a very risky way of doing it.
You're the only one pretending here, ...and you're pretending to have a clue. I've never cast any aspersions on prosper.com's mgmt team, or presented any theories about the company. All I've said is just because they went out of business, is not a sufficient reason for me to steer away from Kiva. I know nothing about prosper.com, nor do I care to. They have nothing to do with me, and I have nothing to do with them. Furthermore, I'm not looking to take advantage of economically distressed people, ...I'm looking to help them. Providing someone with an interest free loan is hardly my definition of taking advantage of people. You are seriously warped.
People can pretty up their credit reports through disputes, becoming authorized users on better accounts, changing addresses, split files, pay for deletes, get goodwill, bitch on planet feedback, shift debt to spouses, apply for hidden tradelines, balance transfers, IIBs in bankruptcys, etc... Most of these things wouldn't even show up on a decent manual review.
Don't let greed blind you.
I'm well aware of the various tactics people can, will, and do use to hide negative credit history. I don't care.
I'd be pretty surprised to find an entrepreneur who hadn't at some point experienced a cash flow situation.
"Don't let greed blind me?" You're seriously bent!!! The only thing I stand to gain from providing an interest free loan to someone, is the joy of knowing I've somehow helped to make a person's life a little better, or somehow managed to make a difference in someone's life. Don't let greed blind me?
I'm the one who is bearing all the risks.
Sheesh, I'd hate to meet the person who did a number on you. They must have been some piece of work!