Gina Peppers did everything she needed to do to get the loan, including wiring money to the company, and was promised the money would be in her account.
After a week of waiting, Gina didn't receive the $10,000 loan.
The loan was supposed to be from a company called Second Glance Financial. The California-based company called Gina's husband one day and offered the couple a loan.
"They said our credit score was good enough for a $10,000 loan," Gina said.
The couple did some research and visited Second Glance Financial's website. On its page, the company boasts an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.
Feeling reassured, the Peppers decided to go through with the loan. Gina's husband signed the loan agreement and Gina wired more than $700 to their lender in Canada.
"We needed to wire the down payment and that would be for three months in advance of our payment, and we should receive the money in our account the same day," Gina said she was told.
Gina said they followed through on their end, but kept checking their bank account and nothing was there. When she didn't receive the money she called Second Glance Financial and they asked her to wire even more money.
"He said the insurance company said you're high risk and you have to send another $500," Gina said.
That was $500 that Gina didn't have. When she told the loan officer this, Gina said she was told she could get her money back.
"We'll just refund your money and give you an extra $150 for the inconvenience, and you should receive it by Wednesday in the mail," Gina said she was told.
Wednesday came and went without a refund, and this time Gina could not get a hold of anyone from the company. Then she contacted me.
I did some research and visited Second Glance Financial's website. When I clicked on their A+ BBB rating, it was a click-thru that took me to the BBB website. The company didn't actually have an A+ rating -- instead it was an F.
When I called the company it took me almost an hour to get a hold of someone. When I did, the person on the phone told me he didn't know anything about loans and that he was just a receptionist. He told me he would leave a message for the manager to call me. I never heard back from that manager or anyone else.
I also sent an email but got only an automatic response.
As for Gina, she is out close to $800 and now doesn't know how she'll pay her bills.
"I work so hard for my money," Gina said. "We only have $12.22 left in our account."
The best advice when it comes to getting a loan is to never wire any money to anyone, especially out of the country. It is virtually impossible to track the money once it has been sent.
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