Diogenes
Averill Park,#2Consumer Comment
Sun, June 07, 2009
Yes, it is indeed illegal for a company to charge money up front for a personal loan, whether they call it insurance, pre-payments or whatever. IT IS A SCAM. And these two bonehead posts on here singing the praises of this scam are nothing but shills. NEVER send money to someone you don't know. IT IS A SCAM !!
Peter
Brighton,#3Consumer Comment
Sat, June 06, 2009
JL. Your were very smart to question this 'company'. As you already know this is a well known scam that takes millions of dollar year from ppl. In all probabilty Todd and Aimee are or at least work for the scammers. They know that this report and others like it are the first thing that comes up when ever anyone googles there site. And being cowardly scammers too weak to make a honest living their trying to save them self before the FBI or RCMP shut the site down. Not that this will stop them saddly they will just make another site to scam people.
Aimme
Bakersfield,#4Consumer Comment
Fri, May 29, 2009
wow, i couldn't remember their website, so I googled them to find it and there i seen this... JL you have a lot of time on your hands. I think that is just evil how yous sit behind the computer and put this company on blast. I was looking for the website to refer my sister to it, and wow!!!! I received my loan on Thursday May 20/09 and I did secure the loan with almost$3600.00 down. I received my loan not a problem. What really got under my skin is if you didnt even move forward with their services but you are real quick to judge! I received my loan which was basically cash cause it was wired into my account. But JL you have a lot of negative things to say and you dont even have a idea of what's what! The investigating you did made me laugh cause you are quite on the defense their to bring this company down! for what reason i dont know. Maybe you should have asked the questions to whom ever you were dealing with. Cause my sister is sitting here with me and she has seen the whole ordeal take place, so she isnt worried, but i taught id waste my precious time to respond back to your nonsense! Did you know that on the website that your talking about (whois.com) or whatever is not precise and they even state that on their website. It varies and it's a bunch of crap. The original website was created 2001 if you really wanna get into the nitty gritty! I cant believe their are people like you who go and preety much slander names. Wow, with all that you had to say, you think you would have had the guts to secure your loan! Anyhow, to anyone reading this iam living proof they do exist, they do keep their word and there's nothing fishy about this company! with everything you do in life you will always get the miserable people being negative which is the BAD and on my end here is the GOOD!
Laurie
Haslet,#5Consumer Comment
Fri, May 29, 2009
AND I GOT THIS INFO FROM THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION WEBSITE ! They are called ADVANCE FEE LOAN SCAMS Advance-Fee Loan Scams: Easy' Cash Offers Teach Hard Lessons http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/telemarketing/tel16.shtm Just When You Thought It Was Safe...Advance-Fee Loan "Sharks" http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt028.shtm If ROR removes this links to the federal trade commission website - just go there and look under CONSUMER PROTECTION/CONSUMER INFORMATION/
John
Califon,#6Consumer Comment
Fri, May 29, 2009
Advance fee loans are illegal and a scam. FACT.
JL
Pleasant View,#7Author of original report
Fri, May 29, 2009
First, I want to admit my mistake for the whole world to see. It is not my intention to slander anyone or any business. I just post facts that I find, so that the reader can make their own determinations and decisions. The private registration company is NOT being run out Iraq. When I orignially searched the address, one website stated it was in Iraq. The private registration is actually in either Denmark or The Netherlands. The address is in The Netherlands. The phone number of the private registration company is in Denmark, which is not The Netherlands, but close enough. I don't care either way. I NEVER stated that Benton Financial Group is in Iraq. In fact, my exact statement was that the website registrant (Benton Financial Group) is a private registration, WHICH MEANS that their company address is NOT listed on the WhoIs database, but the address of the private registration company is listed on WhoIs. Most, not all, but most legitimate businesses use a business registration. This was not a lie, but it was a huge mistake that I am more than happy to correct. I apologize for the error. The rest of my post consisted of facts I found while attempting to find out information on this company. It is a fact that WhoIs.net states, "Domain Name: BENTONFG.COM Creation Date: 24-Mar-2009". If I'm not mistaken, that date is just over 2 months ago. It is a fact that the BBB does not have record of Benton Financial Group or their website, but the BBB does have a record for the toll-free phone number they provided me. As stated in my original post, that this is the information that came up under the PHONE NUMBER, and NOT under the name Benton Financial Group. Just in case anyone missed that, I will repeat it: The BBB has NO record of a business titled Benton Financial Group or it's website. It is a fact that anyone can google the toll-free phone number (and I mean just the phone number) and they will see on the results page a post from a very unhappy man on a website called 800notes. That unhappy man created his post a few days ago (May 26, 2009) and he did name Benton Financial Group. I did not come in contact with this company until two days after that post. They will also see in the search results a report on the ripoff report website for the same toll-free phone number, but it is for a company called Consumer Research & Marketing Solutions. It is possible, that Benton Financial Group was very unfortunate to get stuck with the previous phone number of a not-so-reputtable business. If that is the case, it would be of a huge benefit for them to get a new phone number. It is a fact that per Benton's own letterhead that they are doing business in North Dakota. If anyone is curious about the business license of Benton Financial Group in North Dakota, they can do their own research on nd.gov by performing a business records search. I am glad to hear that you successfully obtained a loan from Benton FG. To answer your questions, no, I have not received a loan. I am not willing to take the chance of losing that much money. I am in need of a consolidation loan and like I said, this kind of loan would be the answer to my prayers, but if it doesn't work out and I lose that money, I will be even in more financial dilema than I already am. Right now, I am barely managing my budget, but I am managing. A loan of this magnitude would take a huge weight off of my shoulders. I do not have bad credit, just a lot of debt. To answer your other question, no, I am not bitter. I dont know why you think I am bitter. How can I be angry about a service I did not receive. And, YES, I absolutely do expect every lender to just hand me a loan without up front payment. It happens ALL the time. That is how a loan works. I sign a promise to re-pay the loan, they put the money in my bank; they send me a payment book or a monthly statement and I begin makin payments on the first due date. Why is it unusual that I expect a lender to hand over funds with out me paying money upfront? I think that is a perfectly normal expectation. If you referred your friend to this company and your friend did not trust you and performed a search to verfiy their legitimacy, then how is that my fault. Even your own friend thought that the loan was too good to be true. That's why he or she tried to find information. I only posted what my research revealed. If you want your friend to believe this company is legitimate, then all you need to do is show him/her your bank statement from November showing the deposit that was posted to your account. Right? You can even show you're friend this post where I take back my statement about Iraq. I am not trying to scare anyone, just inform them. Any one who comes to this site is more than capable of researching any business that is poseted here and drawing their own conclusions. If you truly want the public to email you so you can vouch for this company, then a good place for you to start would be to post your name and email address. Or should people just try to guess who you are? Anyone truly interested in finding out the legitimacy of this business, or any business for that matter, should perform their own research and make their own determination. You should never make your decision based solely on what I, or anyone else has to say about any businesses integrity. I have not engaged in business with Benton Financial Group and therefore do not speak from experience.
JL
Pleasant View,#8Author of original report
Fri, May 29, 2009
First, I want to admit my mistake for the whole world to see. It is not my intention to slander anyone or any business. I just post facts that I find, so that the reader can make their own determinations and decisions. The private registration company is NOT being run out Iraq. When I orignially searched the address, one website stated it was in Iraq. The private registration is actually in either Denmark or The Netherlands. The address is in The Netherlands. The phone number of the private registration company is in Denmark, which is not The Netherlands, but close enough. I don't care either way. I NEVER stated that Benton Financial Group is in Iraq. In fact, my exact statement was that the website registrant (Benton Financial Group) is a private registration, WHICH MEANS that their company address is NOT listed on the WhoIs database, but the address of the private registration company is listed on WhoIs. Most, not all, but most legitimate businesses use a business registration. This was not a lie, but it was a huge mistake that I am more than happy to correct. I apologize for the error. The rest of my post consisted of facts I found while attempting to find out information on this company. It is a fact that WhoIs.net states, "Domain Name: BENTONFG.COM Creation Date: 24-Mar-2009". If I'm not mistaken, that date is just over 2 months ago. It is a fact that the BBB does not have record of Benton Financial Group or their website, but the BBB does have a record for the toll-free phone number they provided me. As stated in my original post, that this is the information that came up under the PHONE NUMBER, and NOT under the name Benton Financial Group. Just in case anyone missed that, I will repeat it: The BBB has NO record of a business titled Benton Financial Group or it's website. It is a fact that anyone can google the toll-free phone number (and I mean just the phone number) and they will see on the results page a post from a very unhappy man on a website called 800notes. That unhappy man created his post a few days ago (May 26, 2009) and he did name Benton Financial Group. I did not come in contact with this company until two days after that post. They will also see in the search results a report on the ripoff report website for the same toll-free phone number, but it is for a company called Consumer Research & Marketing Solutions. It is possible, that Benton Financial Group was very unfortunate to get stuck with the previous phone number of a not-so-reputtable business. If that is the case, it would be of a huge benefit for them to get a new phone number. It is a fact that per Benton's own letterhead that they are doing business in North Dakota. If anyone is curious about the business license of Benton Financial Group in North Dakota, they can do their own research on nd.gov by performing a business records search. I am glad to hear that you successfully obtained a loan from Benton FG. To answer your questions, no, I have not received a loan. I am not willing to take the chance of losing that much money. I am in need of a consolidation loan and like I said, this kind of loan would be the answer to my prayers, but if it doesn't work out and I lose that money, I will be even in more financial dilema than I already am. Right now, I am barely managing my budget, but I am managing. A loan of this magnitude would take a huge weight off of my shoulders. I do not have bad credit, just a lot of debt. To answer your other question, no, I am not bitter. I dont know why you think I am bitter. How can I be angry about a service I did not receive. And, YES, I absolutely do expect every lender to just hand me a loan without up front payment. It happens ALL the time. That is how a loan works. I sign a promise to re-pay the loan, they put the money in my bank; they send me a payment book or a monthly statement and I begin makin payments on the first due date. Why is it unusual that I expect a lender to hand over funds with out me paying money upfront? I think that is a perfectly normal expectation. If you referred your friend to this company and your friend did not trust you and performed a search to verfiy their legitimacy, then how is that my fault. Even your own friend thought that the loan was too good to be true. That's why he or she tried to find information. I only posted what my research revealed. If you want your friend to believe this company is legitimate, then all you need to do is show him/her your bank statement from November showing the deposit that was posted to your account. Right? You can even show you're friend this post where I take back my statement about Iraq. I am not trying to scare anyone, just inform them. Any one who comes to this site is more than capable of researching any business that is poseted here and drawing their own conclusions. If you truly want the public to email you so you can vouch for this company, then a good place for you to start would be to post your name and email address. Or should people just try to guess who you are? Anyone truly interested in finding out the legitimacy of this business, or any business for that matter, should perform their own research and make their own determination. You should never make your decision based solely on what I, or anyone else has to say about any businesses integrity. I have not engaged in business with Benton Financial Group and therefore do not speak from experience.
Todd
McCammon,#9Consumer Comment
Thu, May 28, 2009
It all started November 2008, I had applied online for a personal loan. I received a call 3 days later and to my surprise I was approved! I have poor poor credit and just needed a boost to get my life back on track. Now, I have reffered my friend to this company and this is what has popped up. I have a few questions for you? Have you even received your loan as of yet, or are you bitter cause you have to secure it? How is it too good to be true? I received my loan within 8 hours in my account after puting my first 6 months down of $2025.56. I dont understand how you can be so bitter and react like this. If you have bad credit what really do you expect, for the lender to just give you the $30,000.00? Just like that? WOW...They are in the united states not IRAQ. I received my payment booklet with their return address! Anyhow you probably trying to scare people off from this company, but I will protest against you doing that! Now, I have my friend asking me questions! For anyone who is in denial you can email me and I would be glad to recommend this company. I already referred 4 people here! This company works with high risk people and I would recommend it to my own child! You really shouldn't do things like that, it's unfair and probably makes people worried! Anybody reading this I RECOMMEND BENTON FINANCIAL GROUP TO ANYONE, THEY ARE FOR REAL AND WILL HELP YOU WITH YOUR CREDIT!