I joined stepladder to save and build credit. In my current circle 2 members have 3 hands and 1 of these people has drawn consecutively over 3 months which is really disappointing and not random in my... See more
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I Joined stepladder to get enough funds for a deposit to purchase my first home. I wasn’t sure if it was going to help me in any way. I went ahead anyway as I believe in doing things that are outside... See more
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3rd year with SL. I too had the experience of receiving savings on the last day, however I recently joined a new circle and I was selected for a draw. Step ladder is great for various reasons, sa... See more
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I joined StepLadder last year in December, got drawn 2 months after, what can I say, best concept ever! I am pleased to see that many people already bought their house using Stepladder and I look forw... See more
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Written by the company
We don’t need another finance app - we need each other... Circles 360 is the simplest way to organise group saving without chasing, creating spreadsheets, or awkward messages. Instead of relying on credit or saving in isolation, Circles 360 gives friends, families and communities a simple digital tool to organise structured savings groups. Participants agree on an amount and schedule, track progress transparently, and pay each other directly using their own bank accounts. The platform provides the structure, visibility and accountability that make saving together easier. Saving in groups has existed globally for generations. Circles 360 simply brings this trusted behaviour online.
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I got the contribution when I was…
I got the contribution when I was really in need of money. Great way to save for future.
21 July 2022
Reply from Circles 360 - Powered by StepLadder
Hi Abisoye,
Thank you so much for your review, it is always lovely to hear such positive feedback from our Members – I am so pleased that you ‘got the contribution when you were ‘really in need of money’ and you feel that it is a ‘Great way to save for future’.
We look forward to continuing to support you to reach your financial goals. Let us know if we can help you any further in the future.
Kind regards
Sarah
Sarah Garrett - Operations & Community Manager, StepLadder
Honestly super easy process
Honestly super easy process. I was not sure about it at first, but after committing to it and quick set up, the process is very straight forward. Easy way to save some needed money.
100%
15 July 2022
Reply from Circles 360 - Powered by StepLadder
Hi Kristina,
Thank you so much for your review. We love it when our Members take the time to tell us about their great experience.
We are glad you found it a ‘super easy process’ and ‘very straight forward’. We are so pleased you took the ‘plunge’ and committed to saving your money.
Keep going and please tell all your friends about us!
All the best
Sarah
Sarah Garrett - Operations & Community Manager, StepLadder
Reply from Circles 360 - Powered by StepLadder
Hi Rasheed,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review, it’s always great to hear feedback from our Members.
I am so pleased that you have found your experience with us to be ‘very good and comfortable'.
We look forward to continuing to support you to reach your financial goals. Let us know if we can help you any further in the future.
Kind regards
Sarah
Sarah Garrett - Operations & Community Manager StepLadder
Have been with StepLadder for around 8…
Have been with StepLadder for around 8 months now, have recently been drawn.
Have found the company very efficient and it’s easy to save with them as money is taken by direct debit every month.
Good for people who otherwise find it difficult to save.
24 May 2022
Reply from Circles 360 - Powered by StepLadder
Hi Cilena,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review, it’s always great to hear feedback from our Members.
I am so pleased that you have found your experience with us to be ‘efficient’ and that the way we take the payment by Direct Debit makes the experience ‘easy’ for you.
We look forward to continuing to support you to reach your financial goals. Let us know if we can help you any further in the future.
Kind regards
Sarah
Sarah Garrett - Operations & Community Manager StepLadder
Was ok and easy to save with only…
Was ok and easy to save with only problem was when getting payment would not except card details and driving license picture as requested, sent email and all was sorted by the Tuesday
19 May 2022
Reply from Circles 360 - Powered by StepLadder
Hi Shauna-Lee,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review and I am glad that we were able to resolve your query regarding your ID.
Our Membership Team are always on hand to resolve issues and should you have any further questions, please do reach out to us, we’d be delighted to help.
Kind regards
Sarah
Sarah Garrett - Operations & Community Manager, StepLadder
Reply from Circles 360 - Powered by StepLadder
Hi Prince,
Thank you so much for your review, it was great to meet you on our Draw Day zoom call.
I'm so pleased that you found the 'service was great'. At StepLadder it is our mission to provide excellent customer service and to support people to reach their financial goals, without the ‘hustle’. I am really pleased that you felt we did this, it means a lot to us.
Kind regards
Sarah
Sarah Garrett - Operations & Community Manager, StepLadder
Excellent service by Peter
Excellent service by Peter. Overall excellent company and customer service
12 May 2022
Reply from Circles 360 - Powered by StepLadder
Hi Taner,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review, its always great to hear feedback from our Members.
We aim to provide excellent customer service and we are thrilled that Peter's support was important to you.
We look forward to supporting you as a Member to reach your financial goals.
Kind regards
Sarah
Sarah Garrett - Operations & Community Manager, StepLadder
Excellent customer service
I was doubtful about this service at first and after months of deliberation and looking at reviews . I decided to take the plunge . So far so good. My future is looking much brighter now I know there is an organization such as step ladder . I will get my house deposit in no time . Thank you Step Ladder. I envisage a long future with this company.
12 May 2022
Reply from Circles 360 - Powered by StepLadder
Hi Pauline,
Thank you for your review, I am so pleased that you took 'the plunge' and that you are enjoying the StepLadder journey so far. So great to hear that your future feels brighter after the months of deliberation.
We look forward to continuing to support you into the future, to reach your financial goals.
All the best
Sarah
Sarah Garrett - Operations & Community Manager, StepLadder
A very good and easy way to save
9 April 2022
Reply from Circles 360 - Powered by StepLadder
Hi Rosemary,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We are so pleased that you have found it 'a very good and easy way to save'. Supporting you to reach your financial goals, is what we are here for.
Kind regards
Sarah
Sarah Garrett - Operations & Community Manager, StepLadder
Thank you very much I managed to save…
Thank you very much I managed to save some savings thanks to you !!!
8 April 2022
Reply from Circles 360 - Powered by StepLadder
Hi Claudia,
Thank you so much for your review, its great to hear your feedback, so pleased we are helping you to reach your financial goals.
Kind regards
Sarah
Sarah Garrett - Operations & Community Manager, StepLadder
payments on time
8 April 2022
Reply from Circles 360 - Powered by StepLadder
Hi Nabeel,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review, its always great to hear feedback from our Members.
Kind regards
Sarah
Sarah Garrett - Operations & Community Manager, StepLadder
They don't give you all the info about…
They don't give you all the info about their scheme up front until you've given personal details and not FCSC backed so everyone could lose all their money. There's much better ways to save for a house deposit than this, it's a bit like a lottery and you'd also have to keep paying and also pay the mortgage after you get your house so it's a lot of money to afford a relatively small deposit amount.
What was alarming was they give you a quiz before even explaining the product and still accept you if you put wrong answers. It’s like they get people to do the sign up process before fully explaining what they are it's unregulated Peer to peer lending that doesn't ask you how much deposit you actually need for house you want. They take 5 percent off the top as an admin fee. If you really want a house save 25 to 30 percent of your net salary every month and don't touch it instead of this.
Didn’t see any safeguards in place against them selling services to people who can’t afford it and borrowed money is not eligible for use as a house deposit by many lenders.
Lucy. Be more up front so people can more accurately decide suitability BEFORE giving any details.
10 March 2022
Unprompted review
Reply from Circles 360 - Powered by StepLadder
Hi Ben,
I’m Lucy, one of the Co-Founder of StepLadder. Firstly, I’d just like to say that we’re really sorry you feel you didn’t have all the information. We’ve worked really hard to ensure everybody has all the information they need, and have a very friendly and helpful Membership Team who are always on hand to help answer any questions. We also have a very flexible drop-out policy should anybody decide to join and realise it’s not for them.
I’ve replied briefly to your points below but be more than happy to chat on the phone and certainly welcome your feedback on how we can make the experience clearer.
1) Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)
The FSCS is the UK's statutory compensation fund of last resort for financial firms, sometimes referred to as deposit insurance. StepLadder is not covered by the FSCS because we are a peer-to-peer platform operator, not a savings scheme. If you look at other Peer to Peer lenders you'll see that they are also not covered by the FSCS. We are however an appointed representative of More Lending Solutions Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (reference number: 702503). You can find us on the FCA register. Our firm reference number is 783003.
2) Fees
We charge fees because we are providing a service, and we are very upfront about the fact fees are charged. We use the fees to cover credit bureau costs, risk mitigation for Members, and running the Membership Team. Our philosophy is not to profit from member fees but to cover the cost of delivering a great service to our Members.
We totally understand if you’d rather raise money in a different way, but you can see from our Trustpilot reviews that our Members love the service, and also view the fee as a way of keeping disciplined and on track. A bit like paying a personal trainer to make you exercise!
3) The Quiz
Working with the guidance of the FCA we have put this quiz together to help ensure people understand our service. We have a pass rate of 65%, which is industry standard for this type of quiz. We always provide the correct answers for information if somebody gets a question wrong. As I mentioned at the start, if somebody joins StepLadder and finds it’s not for them then we have a very flexible drop-out policy. We are 100% here to help people, not trip them up with their finances.
Further information can be found on our FAQ page - https://www.joinstepladder.com/faqs.
As Co-Founders of the business, Matthew and I take anybody who is not happy with our service very seriously and always welcome a phone call to discuss how we can make our service better.
Very best wishes,
Lucy
StepLadder Co-Founder
I Joined stepladder to get enough funds…
I Joined stepladder to get enough funds for a deposit to purchase my first home. I wasn’t sure if it was going to help me in any way. I went ahead anyway as I believe in doing things that are outside of one’s comfort zone. 12 months months later I have a full house deposit and ready to purchase my first property. Joining stepladder gave me the confidence to manage my finances better and with a goal in mind and leverage time and group economic to achieve my financial goals much quicker. Go on guys, give it a try, you won’t regret it!
12 January 2022
Reply from Circles 360 - Powered by StepLadder
Hi Sambuadi,
Thank you for your kind review, I am so pleased you have been drawn this month and now have your full house deposit! We can’t wait to support you on the rest of your home buying journey. Hearing that we have helped to give you the confidence to manage your finances better and to achieve your goal quicker, is great because that is why we do, what we do.
Do let us know if we can help you further. If you need a Solicitor or surveyor, we'd love to connect you to try and get you the very best deal. Keep us posted on your journey - we love to know when Members get into their homes.
Kind regards
Sarah
Sarah Garrett - Operations & Community Manager, StepLadder
If your struggling to put money away…
If your struggling to put money away this is a great tool for saving. Although it doesn’t give you any interest back, having a account which your committed to helps build funds and keeps you on track. The team are helpful and friendly and the monthly emails keep you in the loop. I highly recommend it and will be recommending it on to my friends and family
7 December 2021
Reply from Circles 360 - Powered by StepLadder
Hi Jamilla,
It was great to meet you on our call earlier and thank you for leaving us a wonderful review. I’m so pleased that we are helping you commit to building funds and keeping you on track to buying your own home.
We look forward to connecting you to the right people to help you kick start the process. You know where we are if you have any further questions.
We are really looking forward to supporting you on your home buying journey.
Kind regards
Sarah
Sarah Garrett - Operations & Community Manager, StepLadder
Generally very good idea to kickstart the habit of saving...
Generally very good idea to kickstart the habit of saving, however they don't mention that those with bad credit can't be picked until the second half of the year until after you have joined - so do bear that in mind.
I was drawn in month 7 and it was very easy to arrange for the payment to be made, but there is a sales call for future circles. I think it's a great way to save but as I have recently opened a LISA account which offers 25% government bonus I have decided to start saving to that directly instead. I would still recommend this service to encourage more people to save - especially if you're not quite ready to get a house yet.
3 December 2021
Reply from Circles 360 - Powered by StepLadder
Hi Gladys,
Thank you for your review, I’m sorry that you didn’t know about the ‘Credit Builder’, this was something we introduced, as originally, we couldn’t help everyone. It is our way of including more people in the StepLadder journey.
Thank you for recommending us and encouraging others to join StepLadder and reach their financial goals. We really appreciate your comments and support.
Kind regards
Sarah
Sarah Garrett - Operations & Community Manager, StepLadder
Reply from Circles 360 - Powered by StepLadder
Hi Camille,
We are delighted to have you as part of the StepLadder family! Thank you for sharing your kind words with us. It means the world to us and to our entire team!
All the best
Iesha
Iesha James - Member Success Manager, StepLadder
Good customer service!
Good customer service!, and support received from Stepladder team, easy to apply and get my goals.
Professional team, very good company!
Thank you very much!
Stepladder
16 November 2021
Reply from Circles 360 - Powered by StepLadder
Hi Mihai,
Thank you for your wonderful review and for taking the time to share your feedback about StepLadder.
We aim to provide excellent customer service and we are thrilled that our support was important to you and helped you to reach your goals.
All the best
Iesha
Iesha James - Member Success Manager, StepLadder
I have become disciplined and being…
I have become disciplined and being able to save money
9 November 2021
Reply from Circles 360 - Powered by StepLadder
Hi Jessica,
So great to hear that you have been inspired to become more disciplined and able to save money. That’s amazing! Keep going and please tell all your friends about us!
All the best
Sarah
Sarah Garrett - Operations & Community Manager, StepLadder
Allows me to save money without even…
Allows me to save money without even thinking about it and because the money is not physically there in my savings account, it can’t be spent whilst trying to reach my savings goal. I have been drawn twice in my 2 circles and it’s deffo a way to save that I would recommen
9 November 2021
Reply from Circles 360 - Powered by StepLadder
Hi Tammy, Thank you so much for your review, its great to hear your feedback, so pleased we are helping you to reach your financial goals.
Kind regards
Sarah
Sarah Garrett - Operations & Community Manager, StepLadder
I loveee it
I loveee it, got my money in the 7th draw which was exactly when I rli needed it. It’s safe and simple and it really works. I like that it comes out as a direct debit so it feels like a bill I have to pay as opposed to actually just saving which ultimately helps me to save and prevents me from dipping back into it :) x
2 November 2021
Unprompted review
Reply from Circles 360 - Powered by StepLadder
Hi Anna-Pearl,
Thank you so much for your review. We love it when our Members take the time to tell us about their great experience. We are glad you found it ‘safe and simple’ and appreciate your feedback about the Direct Debit process.
It is our mission to help people reach their financial goals and I’m so pleased we could do this for you.
Kind regards
Sarah
Sarah Garrett - Operations & Community Manager, StepLadder
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