I was a victim of advance fee loan fraud. I received a phone call on my cell phone (which should have been my first clue) on May 17th to tell me that I was approved for a loan in the amount of $5000.00. The man who called was Daniel Reed.
The loan had a 6% interest rate and the payments would be $221.44 for 24 months. I checked the company out on the internet via their website and they looked legit. Did not check with the BBB which I should have done.
The same day they faxed me a contract which I signed and faxed back. I was told that I would need to pay 5 months of payments would then not make my first payment due until October. At the time, it all made sense.
I could then either wire or mail the 5 month payment ($1100) plus the fees. The fees would be refunded to me in the loan proceeds. I went and did a money gram and wired the money to Rachel Marks in Alberta Canada. I was then supposed to call Daniel Reed back with the reference number.
I was also told and given a verbal agreement that the funds would be in my bank account no later than 5:00 the next business day.
On May 18th, I checked my bank account throughout the day and did not see a ACH deposit. I called Daniel Reed back who told me that my file was now in the office of Ronald Nelson, who was his supervisor.
Later that day, Ronald Nelson called and told me that the lender needed additional funds in order to process the loan. This is where it should have been very clear to me that this was a rip off. But like others, the loan was very enticing and I thought that I would be getting the money the next day.
I asked Mr. Nelson for a letter stating that the funds would be deposited on May 22nd. I called him several times that day and he told me that he had faxed my request which I never got. I debated and debated about doing another moneygram but in the end I did on May 21st 2007 this time for $1122.
Even when I got to the moneygram place, I noticed this time a sheet on the front of the form that stated "Are you sending money because you were guaranteed a credit card or loan". At that point I should have turned around and left but I didn't. When I gave the gal at moneygram my cash, I did not have enough, another sign but I went and got more.
All the signs were there to stop me but like others, I was needing the money and that was all I was thinking about. I did this on my own without telling my husband which was another big mistake. Had I told my husband about this loan, he would have stopped me before I signed any paperwork.
On May 22nd, I still did not have my deposit and began to panic. I called Mr. Nelson and could not get hold of him and just had to leave voice messages.
At noon, I had a voice mail on my cell phone telling me to call Mr. Nelson which I did. At that point, he informed me that the lender had backed out and that my funds would be refunded to me on June 4th.
I pleaded with him to obtain my funds ASAP but he said his hands were tied. He did tell me that if I wanted to do another loan with additional collateral I could and I said you have got to be kidding.
When I went home at lunch and told my husband, he was furious as you can imagine and called Mr. Nelson and could not get anywhere. I then called and spoke with him several more times but still got the same answer. I then filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission Association and my state's attorney general's office.
I now know that I will never see that money again. The total with the moneygram fees was $2242.90. I learned a valuable and hard lesson. Today the phone number for Firstline is no longer working. You dail the number and a machine picks up saying Good Morning, afternoon etc and then says good-bye.
If anyone has any advice on how I can get my money back, I would love to hear it.
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