Victim Location 29016
Total money lost $864
Type of a scam Advance Fee Loan
On Oct 10, 2019 I was contacted by SafeLoans Financials Inc. about being approved for a $14,000 loan that I had applied for on their website. They had me scan a copy of my SC drivers license, a copy of my utility bill that bears my home address and also my banking account information. They then sent me a copy of a 7 page contract that I agreed to and signed. I was then told by my loan officer, Christina Carter that in order for the money to be deposited into my checking acct, that I first had to go to any CVS and get an EBAY gift card and purchase it for the amount of my first payment, where that moneywould be credited to my account and I could use that for my first payment. I was told this had to be done In order to show “good faith” on my part. I questioned it because I told them that it didn’t make sense and that the cashier at the CVS was telling me that it all sounds like a scam and to be weary of it. I actually had Christina on the phone as I was in CVS and she assured me that it wasn’t a scam. I ended up purchasing two EBAY cards that totaled $364.00 because she sounded soooo convincing. After I purchased the cards, while in my car, she had me scan her a copy of the receipt and read off the PIN number on the back of each card. I asked her why did she need the PIN number because I felt they were going to use my money and not put it towards my loan. Anyway, she reassured me again, so I gave her the PIN numbers and she said everything was good and that I should have the money deposited into my account in a hour. About 45 mins after that, I got a call from their “Alleged” accounts department manager named Michael Graham who then informed me that there was an “Interstate Tax Fee” of $500 that I had to clear that had to be paid prior to the money being deposited into my account; however, he told me that I didn’t have to pay it out of pocket and that they were responsible for that; so therefore, he said that they’ve gone ahead and added this $500 fee along with the $364 in gift cards that I’ve purchased already to the amount of my loan, making the loan now $14,864 in which instead of $14,000, I’ll be getting $14,864 deposited into my account and still only paying back the $14,000, because they kept saying the $864.00 is refundable that I will have paid in gift cards. I went ballistic and got my husband involved telling the Safeloans personnel that none of this makes sense and that I’ve never had to pay money in order to get money. (A Loan). They kept telling us that the $500 was the last and final fee that had to be paid and even sent a verification letter stating such. My husband was still skeptical, but I still went ahead and got three more EBAY gift cards that totaled $500 this time. I then scanned them the receipts and read off the PIN numbers. They assured me everything was good and that the $14,864 would now be deposited into my checking account in an hour. Well about an hour after that, I got a call and a PayPal receipt email from Rod Britton who also worked in their financial department stating that I must have had some “defaults” on my “name” because they “tried” to transfer the money to my checking account, but kept getting an error while transferring the funds; so therefore; he said that they were transferring the funds via their SafeLoans Paypal account. He then stated that in order for this transfer to take place, that I had to pay a last and final “PayPal fee” of $350 which is refundable to me, along with the other $864.00 that I’ve already paid. It was at this point that I said to them that this is a scam and that I wanted a refund of my $864.00 and that I wasn’t paying them another cent. I told them that they had better refund my money now and that they had better not use my personal information for identity fraud. I told them that I was calling the police and reporting them to the Better Business Bureau. They then told me that they’re a reputable company and that none of this was a scam and that they were sorry I didn’t want to proceed further. I told them that I didn’t care about all of that and that all
I wanted was my $864.00 that I’ve paid them. They then told me that they couldn’t refund my money until Tuesday, Oct 15, 2019, because it was already at the end of the business day and Monday Oct 14, 2019 was Columbus Day and all of the banks would be closed. I was pissed and argue with them, but had no choice but to wait. Of course on Tuesday, Oct 15, 2019, I tried calling them multiple times and no one answered the phone, my emails nor refunded my money. They lied and scammed me out of $864.00 without giving me the loan the promised. They are a scam and that’s why I’m reporting them. Preying off innocent, hard-working people.