All,

Many thanks for your interest in CommuterClub. We thought we would respond directly to help clear-up some confusion on below:

1) We are a startup, we are a very innovative new provider that looks to make Annual tickets affordable through a low cost payment plan. While Abellio is one of our partners we are independent of the rail operators, a very important consideration giving us the flexibility to provide a product that starts with the consumer, not a 5 year plan set by the DfT (we actually just won Disruptor of the Year at the Everline Awards http://realbusiness.co.uk/article/29459-disrupting-the-uks-4bn-season-ticket-business-commuterclub-makes-travel-cheaper)

2) Yes, we are crowdfunding on Seedrs at the moment (https://www.seedrs.com/startups/commuterclub?promo_code=FUTJZS5K). We are unique in that all our loans are funded via peer-to-peer with RateSetter and now we want to take this a step further by allowing Londoners to own a part of CommuterClub as well. This is part of our commitment to a new type of transparent loan provider that is owned by its customers.

3) Yes, even including our interest you still receive the equivalent of 1 month free vs. buying Monthlies and of course much more compared to Weeklies (1 Annual costs the same as 40 Weeklies)

4) The replacement fee of £10 is the charge that all rail companies levy on lost / stolen tickets as per the National Rail Conditions of Carriage (www.nationalrail.co.uk/static/documents/content/NRCOC_old_2011.pdf) and as all our tickets are issued by Abellio we pass on this cost onto the consumer (we would have it free if we could). TfL do not charge is replacement fee, but they will not compensate you for travel while your new ticket is being issued. National Rail will. So you are probably better off with us

5) We are a credit provider and of course if you do not make payments on time and we cannot find any way of connecting with you in rare circumstances we can switch off the card. It is important to remember that this is how we can offer by reducing our risk of default and therefore offer a low rate of interest. What is completely unique about our product is that unlike a normal loan, if you cannot pay and decide to cancel you just need to return the ticket and your agreement is concluded (we use the refund on the unused portion of the ticket to payoff the loan in full). This is protection for the consumer and we think is fair.

6) The reason we exist is because millions of people don't get a loan from work. Over 50% of companies in London are SMEs who cannot afford to finance a loan for their staff and whose staff would definitely benefit from cheaper commuting. If you add on contractors and freelancers we found a big market that could benefit with our help. We already help thousands of Londoners and have a simple goal of making commuting a bit cheaper and easier.

Not only do we make the Annual affordable, but we also provide a really convenient payment plan which means commuters can access public transport via a monthly subscription, just like NetFlix.