There are two reports on this company. But I have no doubt that there are many victims. Note that ConnectNow USA is NOT the only online company doing this. Here are some details you should know аbout:
If you are a long time user of online payday loans, you know the problems with dealing with such companies. Until recently (the past 6 months), users of such services have had no serious concerns about information being shared. Users of such services already have enough problems with such loans. Sometimes, they are offered other offers (debit cards, secured cards, all sorts of other things). But it's always been that you could turn down such offers and not worry beyond that.
However, in the past 6 months, that has changed. And I have been informed of how this has changed, from the company's point of view.
Around November, I felt I needed to apply for a payday loan. I've done it before. I applied to various sites, giving my personal information, turning down alternate offers (why would I want to get deeper in debt when I was looking for financial help), but, in the end, decided not to get the loan.
A week later, an electronic check (an ACH charge) appears on my bank account from, according to the e-check image, "ConnectNow USA". I found the website, and the only contact info there was an email address. No phone numbers. I emailed them and told them I never signed up for their service. I never received a response.
A week later, two other companies debited (by way of ACH debiting) my bank account I was able to contact them. It turns out, those companies that have the other offers are now taking the information provided to the payday loan companies, even if you aren't giving it to those other companies. The two companies I contacted knew in advance that I had applied for payday loans, so they were admitting how they obtained my personal information. But instead of admitting to illegally obtaining my information, they refer to it as "cross selling". They try to confuse the issue by claiming that because I applied for a payday loan, that I was also applying for their services as well.
However, based on the "offers", I would not have knowingly, nor intentionally, signed up for such offers. ConnectNow USA is one such service.
One of the two other services refunded my money entirely. The other only refunded the monthly charge they took but did not refund the larger amount which was a so-called "application fee". ConnectNow USA, as I stated, did not even email me back. I did, however, report the issue to www.ics. Gov. I probably won't see that amount back ever.
I did contact my bank, but as the charge was an ACH debit, they claim such constitues a contract and that I have to contact the companies to get them to stop. I can issue a stop payment on a payment ONLY if I know the date it is going to debit on and I have to place the stop payment about 3 days before it posts.
I don't know if the others who filed reports on ConnectNow USA were also users of payday loans, but it sounds like online companies have found a new way to leech your information and claim it to be legally obtained.
I checked connectnowusa.com before I started writing this and found that the site is closed for "maintenance". I don't know how long this has been that way, whether only today or longer. But it doesn't bode well for recovering those funds.
As unpleasant as payday loans were before, one should be extra careful now.
I used to have ConnectNow USA's email, but I recently reinstalled Windows XP and the old email was in Outlook, which is now lost. Maybe the site will return. Maybe not.
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