Complaint Review: Remax Financial - Chicago Illinois

I completed an application on lending tree and was told by LT that I was not matched with any offers however, I did receive two calls. One from Remax Financial and one from Lakewood Financial. Remax sounded a bit shady but promising. Lakewood sounded very professional although the interest rate was a bit higher. Remax offered 7% on a $5,000 or $10,000 loan, 36-48 month repayment Lakewood offered 9.5% on a 5,000 loan, 36 month repayment I sent both companies my financial information including 07 tax info, pay stub, drivers license and voided check. Luckily, I sent a check from an account that I rarely use. I had planned to receive the deposit and transfer it into my primary account at another bank. Nevertheless, I paid almost $25 receiving and returning faxes to both companies. I big waste of time, money and travel to and from Staples copy center. I am sure that you can follow the story from there. My biggest complaint was that I only wished to borrow $1500 but both companies insisted that loans were in increments of $5000. Both stated that upfront payments for insurance and/or securiety would be needed. With Remax I paid for incoming and outgoing faxes at Staples and returned necessary "financial" information to the rep. Remax stated that I would need to pay for an insurance policy to cover the loan incase of job loss, death or illness. Seemed acceptable considering that I would pay this if I were to purchase a car. The insurance would be equal to five monthly payments. My first payment would be due in July. I debated borrowing $5000 or $10,000 as I had been approved for both. The insurance was going to be difficult pay. I said that while I was intersted in the $10,000 I would not be able to afford the insurance. She said she would speak with her supervisor and call me back. She did return my call at work and stated that the payment would be cut in half. In return I would receive the loan, after my payment, I would be required to send back the remaining half payment within 48hours. If, I failed the loan would fall into default and could be called in. Things appeared to positive and I was onboard to follow up with the insurance payment. The only thing that stopped me from sending the money was that the rep was "out" for almost two days. Each time I called I was told that she was at lunch, break or not in or left for the day. While rep_Amy seemed very professional, the others that would answer the phone seemed impatient. I asked, who I thought was a receptionist, does Amy have email and I will forward my questions to her. The lady said, that Amy did not have a personal email address. Odd to say the least. I have left several messages and have yet to hear from Amy Burke. ____________________________________________________________________ I have all my faxed loan papers, sample reads as follows: Remax Financial Group 10 West Grand Avenue Chicago, IL 60654 1-866-398-3670 (Rep-Amy Burke) 1-866-224-5653 Fax# Re: Personal Loan Thank you for responding to our recent Loan-offer. Congratulations! You have been approved for a Secured Personal Loan. The total amount is payable over 4 years at a fixed interest rate of 7% and a monthly payment of $239 USD per month. Once we have received your Insurance Premium totaling $1,434 your $10,000.00 USD loan will be issued within 6-12 hours. ____________________________________________________________________ Robert Fucilla, Senior Vice President, Remax Financial Group Note: Policy information will be sent with your Welcome Package from InvescolLending. *********************************************************** Basically the same story with Lakewood Financial. I received the loan documents. I was instructed to return the last page that was an insurance page. I declined the insurance options of $1000 or $2000 coverage plans. I sent all of my financal information paystubs, taxes and so on. I spoke several times with lakewood and was instructed to call back when I was prepared to send the "secured funds". The rep stated that he would "walk me through" the payment options. We are scheduled to speak on Friday 1/22, my next payday(I believe). In the meantime, I thought that I would do a research. Much to my dismay, more and more I find that this is a hoax. Lakewood Financial Management 215-5835 Post Rod. East greenwich Ri, 02818 1(877)209-6474 - return fax 1(877)700-6791 x714 -Phone Michael Taylor 1(401)542-8085 Section II. Borrowing amount $5000 Monthly installment $159.74 Initial months required 5 Initial security payment $798.70 Total repayment $5750.64 Length of loan (months) 36 First Payment Date July 14, 2009 Loan Graduation Date February 14, 2012 I plan to contact my bank and place block on the account as well as pull a credit report. I am certain that with my "credit score/history" that they will have a hard time stealing money or applying for credit in my name. It is a bit scary that my drivers license and social security number is out there. Anyone could copy the info and rent a car or property under my name.

This report has been generated as the result of a financial fraud that was committed against me by Avenue Financial Group (AFG) which actually does not exist but the address they provide on their letterhead is 595 Stewart Avenue, Garden City, NY 11530. The telephone number that was used during all communications is 866.403.6662 and the fax number that was used is 516.977.1030. Their website is www.avenuefinancial.net. The names of the two people that I spoke with are Brenda Olsen (x384) and Dennis Crown (x0). On December 5, 2008 I conducted an online search for a long term personal loan. Mind you, I had never applied for a loan in my life with the exception of my two college degrees and my automobile. I immediately recognized that name Lending Tree, LLC at www.lendingtree.com and decided to check further into the process required to obtain a loan. All that was required was that I fill out an application consisting of personal information such as my social security number and address. On December 9, 2008 I was contacted by Brenda Olsen who left a voicemail message stating that I had been approved for a $5,000 loan through Avenue Financial Group based out of New York. After searching for the company name online, I found multiple companies throughout the United States and Canada with the same name, checked the BBB which didn't have any positive or negative information, and researched their website @ www.avenuefinancial.net. I returned Brenda's phone call on December 9, 2008. Brenda congratulated me on being approved for the $5,000 loan. She explained that because this was a secured loan that I would need to provide collateral for insurance purposes as stated in the faxed agreement. The collateral required consisted of and was equal to 5 monthly payments totaling $1,107.20 and since I was making such a large payment upfront that I would not need to begin repaying the loan until June of 2009 for two years at $221.00 per month. I reviewed the documents numerous times. Everything appeared to be completely legitimate. I borrowed money against my 401K account in order to pay for the collateral. On December 15, 2008 I contacted Brenda Olsen to inform her that I had the collateral payment required to secure the loan. Brenda explained that the lender was located in Canada and that I needed to wire the funds directly to them. I asked Brenda how to wire the money since I had zero knowledge or experience wiring money. She told me to go to Walmart and ask for a red and white form called a Money Gram. I was to send the collateral payment to the Canadian lender, Christine Osborne in Thompson, MB, Canada. Since the fee was going to be $22.00 Brenda told me to simply send $1,100 and the remaining monies would be credited to my loan. I followed all of these instructions and contacted Brenda to provide her with the reference number as requested. Brenda stated that the $5,000 loan would be directly deposited into my account on December 16, 2008. On the morning of December 16, 2009 I received a voicemail message from Dennis Crown who identified himself as the customer service manager of AFG. Dennis stated in this message that there had been a slight problem with my loan and needed to contact him immediately. Upon contacting Dennis, I learned that the lender after reassessing my loan needed to purchase an additional $1,100 in insurance to secure the loan. My other option was to receive a full refund but that I would not be able to receive this refund until January 5, 2009. I contacted Brenda Olsen who appeared to be completely unaware of the situation and stated that Dennis was a good man and would take good care of me. Brenda also stated that Dennis needed to speak with me again. I contacted Dennis once again who stated that he had spoken with the lender and that they would work something out with me for an additional $800 instead of the original $1,100 to secure the loan. I wired an additional $800 to Christine Osborne in Thompson, MB, Canada through a Money Gram at Walmart. Because the amount wired was less than $800, I was only required to pay $14.16 for the Money Gram fee. I shared this information with a friend who began to research the company online. She found reports posted by others on www.ripoffreport.com that were identical to my experience with the same exact company as well as similar stories with different companies. These individuals stated that their loans were never deposited into their checking accounts after making two collateral payments. I knew at that point that I had been deceived. I contacted my local police department who filed a report with Financial Crimes. The following day I closed my checking account because they had my checking account number in order to transfer the loan. I also contacted all three credit bureaus to prevent identity theft since these criminals had all of my personal information including my social security number. They also had a faxed copy of my passport that I provided for their requirement to provide a type of government ID. The reason I provided this document as opposed to my driver's license is because I was in my office and it was quicker than getting my wallet out of my purse. Dennis Crown had the nerve to contact me a third time. This time he stated that they would provide me with a $10,000 loan but that I needed to pay an additional 10 monthly payments. I told him no and demanded a refund in the amount of $1,900. I pretended that I wasn't aware that they had deceived me. Dennis informed me that a refund would be made on January 5, 2009 but since the company doesn't exist I know that I will never see this money again unless someone finds these criminals and prosecutes them to the fullest extent possible. This experience has been completely and utterly devastating. I have been severely violated and am in complete distress. The website of Avenue Financial was created on 11.05.08 through SiteTiki.com which is a company based out of Singapore. This information can be obtained through the WHOIS database which I discovered on the BBB website. According to http://www.ripoffreport.com/default.asp, there are a series of companies that are potentially being operated by the same people. This inference was derived as a result of the reports filed by other individuals indicating the exact same scam and strategies utilized. I have documented these and am happy to share them with anyone who can help. In addition, Jason from LA who also went through Lending Tree, LLC (see http://www.ripoffreport.com/default.asp) has contacted an attorney in LA as he was scammed out of more than $5,000 and is seeking to file a civil lawsuit I pray that there is someone out there that can and is willing to assist me and other victims in finding these individuals who are hacking into Lending Tree's website before they violate and take advantage of other innocent people. Please contact me if you have any information as to what I can do to seek justice and to put an end to their criminal practices. Other Fraudulent and Fake Companies all being Operated by the Same Individuals: Accommodative Financial Solutions Altimax Financial America Corporate Financial Group American Community Lending Atlantic Capital Resource Center Brennans Group Brockville Financial Cadex National Capital Trust Alternative Capital Venture Investments First Business Financial Solutions Gretchen Fox and Associates Nationwide Prudential, Inc. New General Financial Pioneer Lending Resources Providence Financial Mason Capital Group Capital Trust Financial Group CityCom Financial Group First Delta Financial Group Incline Financial Group Trenton Financial Group Stanford Financial Group Glendor Financial Group Watson Financial Group Rivercrest Financial Group Beacon Financial Group Fairway Financial Group Bellwood Financial Group National Trust Financial Group Clearview Lending Group Winchester Lending Group Metro Lending Group Hudson Lending Group Charter Lending Group Hudson Lending Group Prevathon Lending Group Prudential Lending Group Moneta Lending Group Invesco Lending Group Oakdale Lending Group Winfield Lending Group Vision Lending Corporation Riverside Lenders Capital Lending Clearview Lending Birchcliff Lending Pioneer Lending Sutherland Lending Parkway Lending Superior Lending First Universal Lending York Land Lending Avalon Lending Services Best West Financial Charter Stone Financial Marrow and Parke Financial NFG Financial Remax Financial PrimeMax Financing McLean and Forrester Equistar Financial Group United Loan Funding Westdale Finance Group Wittman Capital Services World Wide Consulting If you have been a victim please contact your local authorities immediately. In addition, contact all three credit bureaus to protect your identity. You may also need to close your checking account immediately to protect yourself from further damage. Moreover, make sure to file reports with http://www.ftc.gov/index.shtml, http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx, and all other government agencies such as the BBB, attorney general, and FBI as well as any media groups. Please share your story with Fraud Watchers and Scam Warners as well. I'm Jen37 on these sites. Please send me a PM. We need all of the support that we can get.

Well I have some bad news for your roommate. They were a victim of what is known as the Advanced Loan Fee Scam. You NEVER pay any money up front to get a loan. This is not only Red Flag #1 that it is a scam it is illegal. You didn't say how she sent this money, but I bet it was by Western Union MoneyGram to someone in Canada. This is Red Flag #2 that it is a scam. Your roommate is never going to see this loan, and the money that they already sent is gone forever. There is nothing any investigator can really do. First everything these people told you was a lie. From the company name to their names. On top of this they are in a foreign country which makes tracking them down this much tougher.