Consumer Loans
Consumer loans are loans for consumers for many different things including homes and vehicles. There are many banks and lenders around and you must be careful while you choose a loan that suits your needs. Some lenders are not very honest and will try to take advantage of you if you are not careful.
There are ways to check for unscrupulous lenders and you will have to check these places before you get a loan. One way to check is to go to best i test and they will list the best consumer loans for you. You can also check the Better Business Bureau and your state’s attorney general’s office.
This article will tell you more about how to check to see if the consumer loan that you are looking at is a scam or if they are legitimate. There are ways to check, and you do not want to be taken advantage of. You only want the best loans for you and your needs.
Ways to Check Your Lender
- The Lender Guarantees Your Approval
Most legitimate lenders need to see your credit history and your credit score. They also need to see how well you are at paying your bills. They will check the major credit bureaus to see where you stand in that area. If you have a lot of unpaid bills or bad credit history, a legitimate bank will not guarantee you a loan. Even if you have a perfect credit history, most legitimate lenders will not guarantee you a loan.
If the business is not legitimate, or if they are a scam, they will not care about your credit history, or you bill paying history. They will just tell you that you are guaranteed a loan without checking any of that. There are reputable places that give bad credit loans, but they will check your income, employment history, and residence history, and even they will not guarantee you a loan.
- The Lender is Not Registered in Your State
If you are not sure about the lender, you can also check the FTC to see if they are legitimate. The Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, requires banks and lenders to register in the states that they do business in. If a lender is from another state and not your own state, run away from them as fast as you can, they are not legitimate. If you check the website for a list of states that the lender does business in, and it is not listed, they are probably a scam. If they are not listed for your state, they cannot legally give you a loan.
- The Lender Demands a Prepaid Card or Other Form of Payment Upfront
Scammers often demand some form of payment or your banking information upfront. This is a big sign that they are a scammer, especially if they want prepaid cards, gift cards, or other prepaid card for whatever fees that they say they need that information for. Do not pay any fees with any kind of prepaid cards and never give your banking information at the beginning of a transaction. You will be taken advantage and you will not get your loan.
Legitimate lenders will have fees for you to pay, but most often they will add those fees into your loan, and you will not need to pay for them upfront. This is a sign that they are legitimate and that you will likely get a loan without being taken advantage of.
- The Lender Calls, Knocks, or Writes
If you are contacted by a lender by phone call, a knock on your door, or an email or text, and you have not contacted them first, it is most likely a scam. Legitimate lenders will not contact you first, they will wait for you to contact them. According to the FTC, it is illegal for a lender to offer you a loan over the phone and require you to pay upfront fees.
It is legal for lenders to contact you by email, though, and many unscrupulous lenders will do this trying to get information from you and get payment from you. Ignore these emails unless you have contacted the lender first, and even then, be careful.
You also must be careful because some scammers will use legitimate bank names when they call you. If you feel that the call may be a scam, hang up and call the legitimate bank back – and do not use the number they give you.
- The Lender Has No Physical Address
If the lender has no physical address, it is probably a scam. Most reputable lenders will have a physical address for you – if they give you an address, run it through Google Maps or something similar to make sure that it is not a vacant lot. You can also check out the Better Business Bureau to see if their name appears there: https://www.bbb.org/. Many unscrupulous lenders will give you fake addresses so that you will not check it out physically.
Many scammers have no physical address so they can avoid any legal consequences. Make sure that you check out the physical address before you do business with any lenders.
- The Lender Pressures You to Act Immediately
If the lender pressures you and says that you must act immediately because of some sort of deadline or any other reason, hang up immediately. They are trying to scam you and get money from you. If you are feeling pressured, tell the lender that you want to have a day to think it over. A legitimate lender will give you all the time that you need, a scammer will continue to pressure you to act now.
- The Lender is Not Transparent About Fees
If the lender does not give you a list of fees when you ask and they try to hide them, look elsewhere. A legitimate lender will go over all the fees that you need to pay while you are talking about the loan. A scammer will try to hide the fees from you and will ask for you to pay them upfront. The FTC suggests that you walk away from any lender that will not give you the list of fees when you ask for them.
- It Sounds too Good to Be True
If the loan sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true. Trust your gut instincts and not some scammer who is trying to rush you into a loan that you are not sure about. Even if the name of the bank seems legitimate, if they try to pressure you or ask for upfront fees or ask you to pay with some type of prepaid card, avoid them. They are a scammer that you need to avoid.
These are just a few of the tricks that scammers and unscrupulous lenders use. You need to be very careful when trying to find a loan and use only lenders that also have a brick-and-mortar address for you to check out. If they pressure you to sign loan papers, or pay them any money, run the opposite direction as fast as you can, they are a scammer and are trying to steal your money or banking information.
