8/13/08, applied for $8000 personal loan through liberty financial advisors online.
8/14/08, received email from "atlantic capital resource center" stating i was approved for $8000 loan, however ph# provided in email was incorrect.
8/14/08, called incorrect ph# in email and obtained correct ph# via customer service rep who answered "0" when touched.
8/15/08, received 2nd email from "atlantic capital resource center" with correct ph# and extension for my assigned loan agent, 'david taylor'.
8/15/08, called & left message on 'david taylor' voicemail requesting call back.
8/18/08, received call back from david taylor, who then proceeded to tell me that in order for me to secure loan, i would be required to pay first 6 months up
front to my 3rd party lender "paul atwood" via moneygram. He emailed me my loan documents with all pertinent info stated in writing.
8/19/08, faxed back all signed & dated loan documents, and sent moneygram 1st 6 payments totally $948.18 (ref# 88568721) to 'paul atwood' in new york, ny. I was charged a total of $1005.48 (including moneygram transfer fee).
I then proceeded to call mr. David taylor to give him ref# and confirm all documents were received. He confirmed and informed me that funds would be released within 24 hours to my checked account on file.
8/21/08, called mr. David taylor to inform him that funds were still not in my account and he said he would "check on it". I then called back
approximately 1 hour later, and he said that the reason was because my loan had incorrectly be classified as a "return borrower" instead of a "new borrower", which meant my interest rate and security payment should have been higher. He said that in order to secure loan i would need to send another $468 via moneygram, but would keep my same interest rate, monthly payment and loan term as originally agreed upon. I asked for a fax and/or email to show this adjustment and he agreed, though it was never sent. I again (foolishly now) sent another moneygram payment to 'paul atwood' for $468 (ref#
80604590) on 8/21/08 for total cost to me of $502.38 (including $34.38 moneygram processing fee).
Immediately following me sending funds, i confirmed with mr. Taylor that it was sent, gave him my ref# and he said that because the error was on their end, that it would be sent into my account within 6 hours.
8/22/08, called mr. Taylor again since funds were still not in my account and left him a message. Called throughout the day with no return call. Called customer
service line and they said he was out of the office but would put a sticky note on his desk to return my call. No luck.
8/25/08, called david taylor again with no avail. Contacted customer service desk and they said that my file had been transferred downstairs to them, and that my
newly assigned rep would call me back as soon as she got off of the phone. 3-4 hours passed before i got a phone call from 'jessica norbit'. She said that my loan was still on hold because my in-house fees were never paid, and mr. David taylor had checked off a box on the computer screen which apparently meant i page 3 of 6
was told about these. I explained to her that i was never told and that i was quite suspicious of their business practices and eagerly waiting to file a
complaint and request a full refund. She then attempted to reassure me that it was a simple error and for another $433 i would have my funds that evening.
Stupidly, i agreed to pay out $433 which i sent to "jessica norbit" (ref# 26026695) for a total of $467.38 (including $34.38 for moneygram processing fees). I called her as soon as i sent the money to confirm that she had the ref# and that the fax copy of the money gram was sent to her. She said that she wasn't able to check the fax at that time, but said that she would call me on my cell ph# as soon as she authorized the bank to release the funds, and that it should be
complete between 9pm and 11pm est on 8/25/08. I asked her for an itemized fax and/or email of the in-house fees, to which she agreed, but still no fax or email
ever sent.
8/26/08, no phone call the previous night, nor any email regarding the status/situation of my loan and/or monies paid out. I called and left several messages on their answering service, ranging from calm to increasingly
agitated throughout the day.
I finally was able to get a "d. Keller" on
the phone around 3pm on 8/26/08. She informed me that since the loan had been on hold for so long, it was returned back to the private lender and that i would
owed a refund. She said that ms. Norbit had made notes in the system regarding her issue the night before, and that it was due to the moneygram system being down and unable to verify faxed moneygram sheet received that she wasn't able to authorize the release. Bull.
She then went on to explain that she would authorize a refund to me in full for all monies paid plus $250 compensation since my situation had reached the critical level, and i was threatening legal action and complaints with federal agencies.initially, she said it would be up to 15 business days before i would receive my money, to which i responded that that scenario was unacceptable, and she then authorized me for a maximum 5-day refund return, with the date of 9/3/08 to be the date in which i would receive a call with my moneygram ref# so that i could pick up my total monies owed/paid
out plus compensation.
9/3/08, no phone call and i have left several messages and called just about every minute between approximately 3pm and 5pm est. I sent an email as well.
I want my money back. That's it. I'm a struggling 25-year old that just wants to be able to afford my bills and not have scam artists like this take me for granted.
If they give me my money back, then i will be pleased.
To date, they owe me $1,975.24 (including all moneygram processing fees) plus $250 compensation. I don't particularly care about whether or not i get the $250
compensation; i just want my original monies paid out returned to me promptly.
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