I applied for a debt consolidation loan on their website. They did not ask for my SSN, just my name, address, income information. Nothing too personal, so I applied.
Helen Ward called me the next day and stated I was approved for a $30,000 loan at 8.5% interest rate for an 11 year term. She told me that the banks had denied my loan, but I was approved through private investors. The investors needed to secure the loan, so all I had to do was pay the first four payments in advance and they would overnight the funds to me. This sounded too good to be true, so I did my homework.
I checked them out on the WhoIS website. I found out that their site was recently created in March. Not a good sign. The registrant is a private registration and is being run out of Iraq. Another bad sign.
I ran the name on the BBB website and came up empy handed. I ran the phone number through the BBB websiteand found out it is for a company called Consumer Research & Marketing Solutions. They'r BBB score? A big fat F. Only open 1 year and already a complaint. The complaint was not resolved due to "Company cannot be located".
I googled the phone number and found a few complaints for similar schemes. One was very just posted a few days ago. I googled the address and found it is a vacant office building.
They emailed the paperwork to me. Very professional and looks legit. Asking for payment upfront does not sound legit. I am too poor to take the chance. This kind of loan would be the answer to my dreams. It would mean that my family could move out of the broken down mobile home we are renting and buy a home of our own. But, if I were to send the money and it turned out to be a scam, it would mean bankruptcy and becoming homeless for my family. $1,300 may not be much to some, but for us it is literally the difference between life and death. I just can't chance it, even as desparate as I am.
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