Complaint Review: Transcredit Financial

In April 2004 I was the victim of an Advance Loan Fee Scam and lost over $1700 to a "company" pretending to offer me a loan if I would send them money in advance for insurance. I did it and later found out that the building they were supposedly located in was vacant and shortly thereafter, the fake company shut down its phone number and website.

I recently applied for another loan for law school on Transcredit Financial's website. A few weeks later I received a phone call from John Dias stating that he was going to get some additional information from me, run my credit report, and submit my application to four major banks and private investors.

Of course the banks did not "approve" my loan because of my bad credit but he stated that a private investor was willing to loan me $7000 at 7% interest for five years with a payment of $138.28 per month. The only catch was that I either had to send the first five payments up front ($691) or I had to purchase insurance for $1000. This sounded quite familiar to me and awfully fishy.

I told Mr. Dias about my situation and that I had been scammed before in the same manner. He insisted that his company was not a scam and that they had given companies like his a bad name. I was not going to be swayed. I asked him if I could pay a higher interest rate or make higher monthly payments instead of sending money up front. He said he would ask his coach and get back to me.

A few minutes later, Ted Gibson called me and stated that he was a Mr. Dias' manager. He told me that I must send in money in advance and that his company was totally legitimate. He said I could check them out on the BBB, etc. and that he would even give me a letter guaranteeing I would receive my loan. I told him that wasn't good enough since last time I had a contract and was still scammed.

I checked the BBB website and there was no information because the company had just opened a file with the BBB in July. I checked Washington's Secretary of State website to see if Transcredit was registered to business in the state and guess what! They were not. I also did some internet investigation and found that in the U.S. it is illegal to require money up front for a loan.

I called Mr. Dias back and told him everything I had found. I again asked him to please talk to his supervisor and find out of they could raise my interest rate or make a higher monthly payment. I have left several more messages and have yet to receive a call back.

This is most definitely a scam and watch out for these people!!!

Jennifer
Willoughby, Ohio
U.S.A.

STOP! ..before you think about using the Better Business Bureau (BBB)... CLICK HERE to see how other consumers were victimized by the BBB's false or misleading information. Don't be fooled! It has been reported, when there are thousands of complaints and other investigations underway by authorities, the BBB has no choice but to finally give an UNsatisfactory rating to a BBB member business that is paying the BBB big membership fees every year. When a business is reported that is NOT a BBB member, BBB files WILL more likely show an UNsatisfactory rating, then reportedly shake down that company to become a member of the BBB. One positive thing about the BBB is, either way, if a business has an unsatisfactory rating with the BBB, you can be sure, the business is bad. But what about all those BBB member businesses that had complaints filed against them? Consumers never get to hear about them. What about the BBB advertising to the public? Is this a false and misleading perception they are giving about consumer confidence when dealing with a business? Click here to understand more of what consumers and business alike are saying about the BBB. You decide. ..Remember. The BBB membership is not earned, it's paid for!