I was in need of a $15,000 consolidation loan and had been applying to different companies only to get denied out right or offered a lower dollar amount or slapped with a high interest rate so when Courtney Foster from Novak & Klien Finance Center called me Wednesday July 25 at 8:00pm to say that I was approved for the loan, I became very excited. The loan terms were $272.50 per month for 60 months @9% interest. I thought it was a great deal but something felt too good to be true so when she faxed me the contract the next day, I stared doing my research.
The contract stated that I had to pay a collateral security payment of $545 (2 months payment) upfront before the loan amount would be approved. I had 7 days to look it over, after that the contract would be null and void but if I made the payments, the money would be deposited into my account within an hour or so. She told me that I could have a lawyer look over the documents but I decided to research them via the internet. Lo and behold, I could not find anything on them except their own website, which means nothing.
She called me daily checking to see what I was gonna do but I told her I could not come up with that much money. She told me that she was gonna talk with her supervisor to see what they could do to help me and then she'd call me back. Monday July 30 she called me and said that if I made only one payment of $272.50 the company would take care of the second payment. I told her that I still couldn't come up with that much money and asked her why they couldn't just deduct that amount from the loan because that's usually what loan companies do. She said they use to do that but afterwards they would not hear back from the customer so they changed their procedures. I told her that I did not feel comfortable sending money to them especially since I couldn't find any information on them anywhere. For a company who has been in business since 2005 (says their website) there should be some information out there somewhere.
I called the BBB of Rhode Island - they had no information on them: I called Rhode Island Secretary of State - they had no information about them; I attempted to call Rhode Island City Hall yesterday but they were closed. There is a website I found where people who have been scammed share their stories and even though no one mentioned Novak and Klien, the way those peolple were scammed was similiar to what Courtney was asking me to do - send a payment first. Why do I have to pay first for a loan? I found out that Senator Sheldon Whitehouse operates from the same address as Novak and Klien but from a different suite number so I called to see if someone there could tell me if this company actually exists in the building. The person I spoke with did say there were other businesses in the building but he had to check with others to see if Novak and Klien was actually one of them. I am awaiting his return call as we speak.
I am so happy that that man posted the report on them this morning because now I know for sure that they are a scam. Today is the deadline they gave me to decide on the loan and I am sure Courtney will be calling to see if I am gonna send the money but I'm just gonna tell her to shove it. I am grateful that I dodge a bullet and I hope our reports will help other people to avoid these scam artists who prey on people's vulnerablility.
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