I received an e-mail from First Union Financial Group titles loan documents. I am a single mother of a 12 year old son and over the last several years have experienced several major life changes and it has affected my credit immensely.
When I opened the attachment from this company I discovered I had been approved for a $5000 loan and could have the money direct deposited into my savings account if I paid $616.64, the first four months of payments, first.
I was elated that I had finally been approved for a loan as I was (and now am in an even worse situation) in dire need of the money to take care of several outstanding debts that have potential for legal action to be taken against me.
I was and am in a position that if I could get approved for the loan then I could pay debts on my credit report to begin to rebuild my credit as well as begin to establish a positive payment history.
I foolishly wired the $616.64 by Western Union as I was instructed to do by a woman calling her self Ms. Barnes. I was told to be sure and use the "green form" for quick collect to expedite the process. I was also told that once the money was received I would only have to wait 2 to 4 hours and the $5000 would be transferred into my account.
I felt leary when I was told to make the receiver on the money transfer an individual (Gary Dawkins) but being desperate I ignored my gut feeling and completed the transaction. I was also told that I would be reimbursed the wire charge within two business days.
After 4 hours had passed with my savings account showing no deposits I began calling the business number and spoke to a man identifying himself as "Cromwell". He stated that he showed the money had been transferred and that he was going to research what the problem was and call me back. I never received a call from him and after an hour began frantically calling the number only to be transferred to a message stating there wasn't a rep. Available and to leave a message.By this time it was well after regular business hours so I gave up for the night.
The next morning I began calling the number at exactly 9:00am and did not actually speak to a live person until almost noon. When I did finally get someone to answer (I called non-stop during that time frame) I was greeted by an extremely rude person who told me that "all of the representatives were in a meeting and would not be available for at least another hour". I requested to speak to a supervisor, anyone who could look into my account and was told there was no one. I obviously was really starting to panic. I continued to call for another 2 1/2 hours before a live person answered the phone.
At that time I was told that the reason the money had not been deposited into my account was due to the fact that I was such a high risk it was necessary to obtain the money from an off shore bank and that for me to get the money I would have to pay and an additional $675.00 for the transfer/money wiring fee before I could get the funds. I had not been advised previously that there was even a remote possibility of them requiring more money and when I was starting to panic Ms. Barnes became very rude telling me that I could just get a refund of the money sent to them yesterday and not proceed.
At that time I got all the information to wire the additional funds as I was desperate (still am) and had to have that money. Once I sent that additional $675.00 I literally had only change left in my purse and owed a relative several hundred dollars since I had to be loaned cash to make the transfer. I was assured that the $675.00 would be deposited back into my account within 48 business hours along with the Western Union wire charge.
I wired the money and waited another 2 hours and when I still hadn't had the cash deposited I yet again called First Union only to be told that the money was showing not available from the wire. I called the store I sent the wire from and was told they showed it had went through and that the funds should have been available. They contacted Western Union and within less than 10 minutes I received a telephone call from a Western Union rep. Stating they had put a block on the money because the name I had been told to wire the funds to had been reported as a fraudlent person.
I called yet again First Union and spoke with "Cromwell" and was assured there had been a mistake but in order to get the money sent to me I could use another receiver. I was hysterical at that point and he promised that once the wire had been sent all I had to do was call him and fax the confirmation and he would release the funds and they would be in my account within 15 minutes since my transfer was already waiting in the "pending cue".
I was desperate and I knew when I sent the money the second time I was really making a mistake but I needed the $5000 so badly that I couldn't not take the chance. I sent the money and faxed the papers and immediately called to speak with "Cromwell" only to be told that he had stepped out of the office and wouldn't return for an hour. My bank was going to be closed by then and Ms. Barnes assured me that the transfer would happen within the hour.
The next morning I called for hours and was not able to make contact with anyone until mid-afternoon. I was told that my funds had gotten held up in the Caymans and to call back in an hour. When I did I was told great progress had been made and my money would be available within 2 hours.
All this began on September 18th and as of October 1st 2:09am I have never received my funds. I have not been able to reach "Cromwell" or 'Ms. Barnes" as they have been "out of the office" anytime I managed to make contact with a live person. I have made it very clear that I am willing to proceed with legal action and will not stop until I at least receive the money I originally sent. I have most often spoke with people who immediately resort to stating they will not tolerate my rude behavior, have been hung up on and have been given nothing but a hard time along with a load of lies and inconsistent answers.
I am very angry with myself for falling for this scam and after I began to panic on that second day started researching this fraud and began finding multiple entries confirming they were nothing but a theft operation.
Now, the real deal is, if I have been able to be scammed, I want this group stopped before they are able to take anyone else's money. I should have known better as for nine years I was a police officer on a major metropolitan police department and have knowledge of internet fraud. These people are playing on the desperation of others without conscience knowing most do not have the resources or understanding to take action and shut them down.
After reading several different sites and stories I noticed that this company has used different telephone numbers for the business, different zip codes on the same address and different cities in New York with the same address. The fax I originally received showed my contact person to be a "Joseph Cromwell" but when I spoke to him on the phone he gave me his name as "William Cromwell".
I am willing to join forces with anyone else who has been a victim of this scam and will follow through to the fullest extent possible.
There is definite truth to the old saying that if it looks too good to be true it probably is. I was reduced to sobbing several times stating that without that money I was not able to take care of my child, to even go to the grocery store. It was literally my last cash, at least for a week until my next paycheck, and even then I would not be able to pay rent etc since I would have to pay back the borrowed funds. Murphy's Law unfailingly came my way even more so and the brakes in my vehicle went out while all this was taking place.
It should not be so difficult to locate assistance when I have the means to repay a loan, and want to use the money to get back on track. I have been told that I am being denied loans for the very things I want the money for the pay and begin to re-establish a positive credit history without filing for bankruptcy. I am not seeing a benefit in wanting to take responsiblity for my debts (most being medical bills) and not being able to find help. It appears that it is more acceptable to just file Chapter 7 and I will have an easier time obtaining a loan.incredible!!!
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