Bibby Financial

[LegworkUkLtd]

has anyone had experiences of this company good or bad??

[Richie N]

For factoring? I would avoid, I know quite a few that have experienced problems with these.

[wecandobiz]

Profile for them here (http://www.wecando.biz/profile.php?bid=2362) on our site, but no customer endorsements yet.

That doesn't mean they're bad. It just means no-one has said they are good. ;-)

[BudgetB]

I've used them before for factoring. The salesman was very nice. It was one of the most expensive experiences of my life. :eek: I'm not a fan of factoring anyway, but these guys really confirmed it for me!

To be fair to them though, factoring does tend to be an expensive outing, so maybe other people are comparable on cost. But you just try getting out of that agreement....

[David Griffiths]

One of our suppliers used them, but moved somewhere else. Bad experience or better deal, I don't know.

Then they dumped the new factoring company (after a fairly short period) and went back to Bibby. Conclude that they can't be that bad

[fundingportal]

Personally I'm a fan (but I'm a broker not a user)

Slighly off topic, before entering into any agreement, make absolutely sure you know what you are committing to. Ask lots of 'what if' questions and make sure you understand the answers.

Get any promises supported in writing.

A large portion of the people who fall out with their factoring company have failed to do this, and inevitable misunderstandings occur.
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[Bri]

As above a supplier of ours used them. They were ok with us as long as you kept lines of communication open and made sure you paid them when you said you were going to or theyd be on the phone every day.I too am not a fan of factoring either, but it does help with cash flow as long as all payments are made and collected on time.

[Ian J]

Profile for them here (http://www.wecando.biz/profile.php?bid=2362) on our site, but no customer endorsements yet.

That doesn't mean they're bad. It just means no-one has said they are good. ;-)

It more likely means that not many use your website :grin:

Bibby are the largest independent factoring company with 3,500 customers and with that many you are bound to have one or two disaffected customers and human nature being what it is it's the disaffected that will make more noise than those that are happy.

There is no one best factoring company as they all have their own idiosyncracies and whilst some companies are best suited to Bibby others will get a better allround fit elsewhere

[wecandobiz]

It more likely means that not many use your website :grin:

Well we have 15,000 registered members on the site, and the profile is one that Bibby controls and can easily invite their customers to come and endorse them, so that isn't the case.

As I say, no endorsements doesn't mean they are bad, but if you have more people stepping forward to say bad things than good things (as is the trend in this thread) then you have a problem, regardless of whether that represents the views of the full customer base or not. People's perceptions are based on what they read and hear.

At the very least they need to work on their reputation even if they don't consider their service levels to be in need of review.

[xylen]

Does anyone know how much they charge for factoring?

[Richie N]

Does anyone know how much they charge for factoring?

Too much.
Get a quote from a broker.
Why would you want to after reading comments on here?

[Ian J]

Why would you want to after reading comments on here?

Bibby are the largest independent factoring company and have many thousands of clients so by the law of averages they will have more companies complaining about their services than any other.

You also claim that they charge "too much" which again could be countered by saying that they wouldn't have grown to the size they are in the current market if their pricing wasn't competitive.

In answer to xylen's question about how much they charge I'm afraid the answer will be along the lines of "how long's a piece of string" as their charges will vary from 0.25% to 5% of turnover depending on turnover, workload, credit risk and a number of other factors

[E Storey]

Not a fan of factoring either, but it does seem to depend on the size of your company, turnover and average transaction.

They can make it difficult to make meaningful comparisons but you may find it cheaper and less hassle to employ a part time credit controller [person who issues invoices, records their payments, sends statements and reminders etc].

As a customer I always prefer speaking to a clients finance department directly. I often find factors just add an extra level of confusion to any non-payment issues.

[Richie N]

Bibby are the largest independent factoring company and have many thousands of clients so by the law of averages they will have more companies complaining about their services than any other.

You also claim that they charge "too much" which again could be countered by saying that they wouldn't have grown to the size they are in the current market if their pricing wasn't competitive.

In answer to xylen's question about how much they charge I'm afraid the answer will be along the lines of "how long's a piece of string" as their charges will vary from 0.25% to 5% of turnover depending on turnover, workload, credit risk and a number of other factors

Having experienced Bibby myself, they do charge a bit more than some other factors.
Their service was a joke and luckily we got out of our contract before it even started.
I personally wouldn't go near them again.
If you want some good advice on a good factoring company visit a recruitment forum, they discuss this all the time.

[Ian J]

If you want some good advice on a good factoring company visit a recruitment forum.

You're obviously not talking about UK Recruiter then if you're referring to "good" advice :)

[Anglia Finance]

I agree with Ian in that as they are the second biggest factoring company / largest independent then they'll have more complaints by law of average.

As with all factoring companies the key is getting the agreement correct upfront and knowing what you are signing up to. Headline price is important but more so are termination clauses, personal guarantee levels, minimums, hidden fees etc etc etc.

In my experience Bibby are the right solution in some cases but not all so best to use someone with experience to explain exactly what you are agreeing to.

[Strath]

One of our long term suppliers used to use them. They nearly lost our custom over the bad service that bibbys gave. Thankful to say that the supplier stopped using them and now everyone is happy again.

Their customer service was terrible and no one in the company spoke to each other.

[Richie N]

One of our long term suppliers used to use them. They nearly lost our custom over the bad service that bibbys gave. Thankful to say that the supplier stopped using them and now everyone is happy again.

Their customer service was terrible and no one in the company spoke to each other.

You are right. Same thing goes for New Millennia Payroll, they use Bibby Finance and they have lost so many customers over it.
In fact I know of an agency that's in the process of suing them over losing a big client due to the factoring company's working methods.
My agency also previously sued them.

Of course, brokers recommend their services so they are not going to say a bad word against them.

You get good and bad in every sector though.

[Ian J]

One of our long term suppliers used to use them. They nearly lost our custom over the bad service that bibbys gave.

Interestingly Bibby is structured differently from all other factoring companies as each "office" is actually a self contained limited company with it's own directors and management so there is a strong possibility that service levels will vary from one office to another.

Of course, brokers recommend their services so they are not going to say a bad word against them.


Whilst one major broker is actually owned by Bibby and other IP owned brokers tend to pass enquiries to those factoring companies that give them insolvency work the genuine independent factoring companies deal with a large range of factors and will introduce prospects to whichever factor is most suitable in the circumstances. In many cases that will be Bibby and in others it won't.

Many people will have knowledge of someone who had a bad time with X Factors but in my case I have been broking for eight or nine years and with an average of 200 leads a year my database is now substantial and I talk to each of the contacts regularly to see who is happy and who isn't so I do have a considerable knowledge of which factor performs and which doesn't

[manaboutmoney]

I spoke to bibby, venture and about 3 brokers for invoice finance. I eventually was recommended to speak to a guy called Jeffrey Eow, a factoring broker. He was very nice and no salesy. He works for a factoring broker called The UK Factoring & Invoice Discounting Helpline (http://www.factoringhelpline.co.uk), very nice bloke. Although I am still undecided. I may try and sell 30% of my business too as another option

[Anglia Finance]

If invoice finance works for your business best to look at this route before giving away equity in your company. Yes it may cost you 3% per annum but this is better than giving away 30%!

[tim10000]

They do charge 350 a go if you go over there credit limit