On Oct 2 I got email approval from Pinnacle Finance Group for a debt consolidation loan. The email came from Karen Reeves, Chief Loans Officer.
On Oct 3, Karen Reeves called and left a vm it was very important that she speak with me to finalize the loan. I carefully reviewed the emailed documents & looked the company up on the BBB web site since in Karens e-mail she noted they were registered. At this time the BBB listing showed an A rating although Pinnacle was not accredited. There were 4 complaints but the company response was reasonable. I also did a scam search for Pinnacle Finance Group in North Carolina and found nothing. (Too bad that usacomplaints.com that are currently posted were done after I searched.) Since it seemed legitamit, I decided to move forward. I needed a break.
On Oct 10, I called Karen but did not reach her. I left vm messages and replied to her email to let her know that I was interested in the loan.in 20 min. She emailed and asked me to call her. I did & we discussed the terms of the loan.
She said select the pre-paid insurance plan and sign and fax the 2 signature pages to her along with copies of 2 forms of government issued id, a recent pay stub and a voided check to set up funding. I asked how the loan would be funded and she said it would be direct deposited into my account.
I faxed Karen all the requested documentation on Oct 11. That day, I confirmed by phone she received the fax. She said yes and told me to pay the insurance premium and then the loan could be funded.
She also told me the loan premium is refunded when the loan is paid off. I asked how to make the payment and she told me to make the payment through a MoneyPak. She also said the fee of $4.95 per card is part of the premium returned (I suppose to make it sound really good). The premium was $2,475. I paid on Oct 11. She told me that the loan would be funded later that night and to call her first thing in the morning to confirm.
On Oct 12 there was no deposit. I called & told her the deposit was not there. She checked and now said closing costs of $1999 were needed but she was trying to get that waived and call back later. I called and it was not waived but reduced to $1150. I made those payments on Oct. 12. Karen again indicated that the loan would be funded overnight. Oct 13 was a Saturday and I checked and again it was not there.
On Oct 15 I contacted Karen both via e-mail and VM. Didnt reach her. At this point, I had paid $3625 for this loan with no funding. Because I could not reach her, I started trying other ext. Close to Karens. I did reach two other people. Tracy Kane (x6023) was not helpful and hung up on me. Irene Bennett (x6035) listened and took my name and number and said she would forward it on.
On Oct 17 I tried Karen and got her. She said she had been out of the office and was sorry. The reason the loan had not been funded was that she reduced the closing costs without approval. She knew I was upset and would get me a refund, but to get the loan I just had to pay the closing balance. I needed the loan and paid the additional $849 via MoneyPak that night. Again no deposit was made and I cannot reach Karen.
I have called an unbelievable amount of times, left several vm and e-mail messages. I tried other extensions and reached customer service a few times. She asked for my name and loan type and was helpful until I mentioned that I wanted a refund & was disconnected. I called back said I had been had been disconnected and was disconnected again!
I tried to find other numbers, made inquiries through the web site www.pinnfingroup.com and went back to the BBB listing. A week after I first looked at the listing for Pinnacle Finance LLC the rating went from A to F. Also the local NC phone number listed has been disconnected.
I am convinced that I have been the victim of an elaborate scam. I have filed a BBB complaint and a fraud report with GreenDot Corporation in the hope that I can illicit some response and warn others against doing business with Pinnacle. Next I am going to file a complaint with the District Attorney in Raleigh. No way I am going to let this go. This is WRONG!
I am now out $4,744 that I paid in good faith (however stupidly) PLUS the $4.95 for each of the 8 MoneyPak cards I had to purchase to pay the pre-paid insurance premium and closing costs for the offered loan. I have paid to date $4823.20. Money I could ill afford to lose. DONT do business with these people!
I plan to respond to the reports that have been posted here to try to get folks to work with me to get restitution or get them put out of business. If anyone else is a victim of this crooked company, please respond to my report. Lets get them!!!
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