I applied for a debt consolidation loan via internet. I had been contacted by several companies stating that I didn't have enough debt. Then I was contacted by a Victor Foley from Patriot Loans Financial stating that my application was approved for 5,000. He read the terms which were that my payments would be only 157.50 monthly. I told him I would discuss it with my husband as I had never borrowed this amount of money. (I only needed 2,000.) My husband said okay. The next day, Victor called again. This time he said he would fax over the "contract" so that I may review it. I noticed that there was a "prepay" amount of 757.50 that he had not previously mentioned. He explained that amount was due to my credit rating and that my first payment of 157.50 would not be due until March. The 757.50 was the first 5 payments.
I let several of my co-workers look at the paperwork and they thought it was legit. I let my husband look at it and he also thought it was legit. I told Victor that I didn't have the money right then and would not have it until 2 more weeks. He said that the lenders will make a decision if in two weeks the offer still stands. 2 days later Victor called me back and stated that the lenders had approved it for 2 weeks but the fee would be higher. I discussed it with my husband and we decided to get a payday loan for the amount since we would just be paying it back within 2 days of receiving the 5,000.
I faxed back the "signed contract" with my banking information on it. He had me fax a copy of my picture ID and last check stub from my employer and something that verifies my adddress. I then went and took out 2 separate payday loans for 600.00 and 400.00 with fees totaling over 200.00. I went to MoneyGram as instructed to wire the money. I started getting suspicious when the lady at the counter asked for the address and name of who I was sending it to. I called Victor and he told me he would input the information into the system for me and gave me a routing number. I gave this number to the agent and when she typed it in she said it would cost me 48.00 to wire the money. Victor was on the phone with me the whole time and heard me say "What?" He then stated that the 48.00 would be refunded to me via a rebate coupon I would receive in the "Welcome packet". It cost me 833.00 total since he only typed in 785.00 instead of 787.50. Then he began asking me distracting questions about my job, career, family and such.
I noticed when the receipt printed "Patrick Simmons" was the recipient. I asked Victor who is Patrick Simmons, he hesitated and said the account manager. I didn't notice it was going to Canada until it was too late. I still had a chance to save my money by not giving him the confirmation number, but alas, I did. I had an uneasy feeling the rest of the day. I wakened in the middle of the night and begin a thorough internet search and realized I would never see that money. I left several "You are going to hell" messages and vomited several times. I knew something was wrong but continued the process anyway. My husband tells me I am too suspicious and this time I should have followed my instincts.
There had not been any reports on the company with the BBB but it showed it was opened in Sept. I am also going to report it to the FTC and FBI. For those of you who were also ripped off, don't feel bad. We were just the first ones to get fooled. As more reports come in, no other consumers will get had and hopefully some lawsuits and jail time with soon follow!
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