citi finance

mabski

hi all this is my first post and i hope its in the right place
after applying for a few different loans over the internet i had a phonecall from a firm called citi financial . the woman i spoke to took few details off me then put me on hold while she ran a credit check on me . after a short while she came back on the line and said i was approved for my £5000 loan but i would have to pay an administration charge of £50
is this normal for citi financial or is it another con like yes loans and best for loans?
i did ask her if i would actually get the loan after paying the admin charge and she replied yes.
i have bad credit and i need a new motor so i am really tempted to pay the £50 but i would like to make sure im not getting ripped off again
thanks in advance for any replies

cakinwande

Avoid ANY company you have to pay to get a loan. It defeats the object of them lending you money!

See a list of places to avoid here:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1768857

o_t_e

citi financial is the sub-prime arm of citigroup the US banking group which came close to going under in the recent recession; according to the website they are not offering loans to new customers:

http://www.citibank.co.uk/personal/banking/loans/loans/citifinancial.htm?

I worked for them in the distant past, underwriting loans, and there was no admin charge for loans.

If they are not offering loans (because they haven't got any money) it sounds like it could well be the kind of sharp practice you are trying to avoid.

Ask them to send you out a copy of the proposed loan agreement - If they won't do that without receiving the £50 then you have your answer.

Even if they will supply a copy of the loan agreement read it thoroughly before you consider signing or handing over any money.

Comyface

o_t_e wrote: »

citi financial is the sub-prime arm of citigroup the US banking group which came close to going under in the recent recession; according to the website they are not offering loans to new customers:

http://www.citibank.co.uk/personal/banking/loans/loans/citifinancial.htm?

I worked for them in the distant past, underwriting loans, and there was no admin charge for loans.

If they are not offering loans (because they haven't got any money) it sounds like it could well be the kind of sharp practice you are trying to avoid.

Ask them to send you out a copy of the proposed loan agreement - If they won't do that without receiving the £50 then you have your answer.

Even if they will supply a copy of the loan agreement read it thoroughly before you consider signing or handing over any money.

Cracking advice.

mabski

thanks for the advice guys
they are supposed to be phoning me back tommorow
so i will do as you said and ask them to send me a copy of the loan proposed agreement before handing over the cash

cakinwande

Mabski

Please be careful when dealing with this company! There is a company trading under the same name:
http://www.city-financial.co.uk/
http://www.cityfinancial.co.uk/

I had a call from them too not so long ago and found out they are nothing to do with Citibank. Either way, it is ILLEGAL for loan companies to charge more than £5 for admin so o_t_e is wrong I am afraid.

o_t_e

ehm, I said there was no admin charge when I worked there? Can you expand?

cakinwande

Sorry, what I meant was CitiBank would not charge admin fees still. You should NEVER hand out any money to get a loan. There are so many scam companies out there and this is one of the worst because we think its trading under a well known name.

leehammond

Great advice cakinwande

o_t_e

arh I see, fair point well made. We're coming at the same thing from different directions ie it will turn out to be a scam.

cakinwande

I think case closed o_t_e, job well done! :beer: