Please, please, please avoid these loan companies..

Kartheiser

Please read this before applying for any loans online. One seemingly ubiquitous loan company that keep appearing on Google Ads is PayDayUK. Allow me to explain why you should not use them.

Over the past few days I have trawled through hundreds and hundreds of comments on sites similar to this one that all have the same problems which have arisen from giving PayDayUK their personal details. The problem is that PayDayUK are giving your details (including your bank details) to very suspect, barely-legal, third-party loan sites. These include, but are not limited to, the following: Discover Finance, Loanfinder, Yes Loans, PayDayIn1Hour, MyCashUK, and various others with similarly generic names.

And this isn't a trivial point. These companies will constantly pester you - harass you, even - on your home phone, mobile and through e-mail. 08448330707 is one such number that has been calling my house several times a day for the past month. (When I ask "who is calling, please?" they promptly hang up. This is Discover Finance; a company so shallow and corrupt that they can't even tell you who they are when asked.)

Not only that, but I can provide at least fifty cases that I've found online of people who have had money taken - stolen is the word I would use - by Loanfinder.co.uk from their bank account without any authorisation or warning. These amounts range from £8.99 to £69.99 -- apparently as a 'service charge' for finding you a loan which you never actually receive.

I use one particular short-term loan site which is fair, safe and reliable (I won't give the name, because I want this post to be impartial, but they are a well-known and respected, UK-based loan company), but all the rest seem to be complete charlatans, often with websites that look as though they were designed by a twelve-year-old.

I would advise all of you to avoid the companies listed above, and always thoroughly research any loan company before providing them with your details. I am hoping that this thread can be used to name and shame the sort of companies discussed thus far, including the telephone numbers they use to harass us with.

James

Post script: I'm obviously a new member and I'm not entirely familiar with the rules of the forum. None of what I have said is based on empirical evidence, but simply educated conjecture and anecdotal evidence. However, I feel it is my duty to warn others of these scam-artists before they get stung themselves.

Enfieldian

Have you any proof that they are selling bank account details?

Jeff_Bridges_hair

Enfieldian wrote: »

Have you any proof that they are selling bank account details?

Yeh - this is quite an accusation as its highly illegal

Kartheiser

Many people I've spoken to, or read comments from (and that number is the best part of one hundred), have one thing in common, which is that they all have been contacted by the same handful of loan companies soon after applying for a PayDayUK loan.

Like I said in the original post, that isn't empirical data that would stand up in court, but I would think it's considerable enough for people to think twice about capriciously handing out their details to them.

Discover Finance IS - whether related to PayDayUK or not - a telephone pest (check: whocallsme dot com - 08448330707). Loanfinder.co.uk DO make withdrawals from people's accounts without significant notice (they've admitted as much on this very forum).

I have no ulterior motive other than to help people avoid getting ripped off and hounded by these bullying, modern-day loan sharks.

Kartheiser

I've edited the original post. I can't prove that they are 'selling' data, but they are certainly passing it on to third-parties.

Edit: forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2733935 - The original poster of this thread has given an example illustrative of my claims against Loanfinder.co.uk. I'm sure a quick search of this forum will provide many more examples.

Enfieldian

Oh come on, this has been done to death so many times on this forum.

People who are desperate for a loan give their bank or card details to a broker online or over the phone, believing that they are needed to verify details or as a processing fee for the "loan" and then their accounts are debited.

Funny thing is, when the loan does not arrive, it is always a big conspiracy or theft as opposed to naivety or stupidity on the part of the applicant.

Kartheiser

I don't quite understand the grammar of your post, but you're sounding like an apologetic for companies which are making the lives of people suffering hardship even bleaker.

I agree people should research brokers and loan companies profusely before submitting any details -- that was essentially the purpose of my post. These sites don't make it clear that they, at some indeterminate point in the future, are going to withdraw money from people's bank accounts. Having some piddling, near-imperceptible small-print hidden amongst pages and pages of conditions isn't being honest and transparent. It's simply a loop-hole that legitimises ripping people off for a service they are unlikely to ever receive. And for the record, this a criticism of loanfinder.co.uk and Yes Loans, and not any of the others mentioned above.

There is also no justification for the propagation of personal bank details to scores of other loan 'companies', particularly when the applicant has checked a box telling them not to do so (in the case of PayDayUK). Or for companies like Discover Finance to jam your telephone number into a looping telephone switchboard, making call after call at ridiculous hours, only for you to listen to silence/office noise for several minutes before some abrupt yob finally answers and starts making demands whilst refusing to first identify themselves.

If you're too smart to get caught up in this sort of thing, well pat yourself on the back and be on your way. However, there are a lot of desperate people suffering financial hardship which have fallen prey to these - for lack of a better word - conmen, who perhaps haven't had the time nor inclination (nor the eyesight, given how small and well-hidden these things are) to scrutinise every term and condition.

Apples2

I agree with your points Karth but it has been done almost to death on here.

We have had simlar posts to yours "loan companies to avoid" springs to mind.

The problem we find though, is VERY few people post on here (or even read) about these companies BEFORE throwing all their details out.
The overwhelming majority only find MSE after the money has gone. In many cases they have paid out to several brokers.

It's all well and good us helping them understand where they went wrong and why the money has gone, but it is scant reward after the event.

How on Earth we can educate people to research these things first is anyones guess, as I say, they only come on here afterwards.

Kartheiser

Yes, you've made some reasonable points, and it is difficult to warn people prior to them making these applications. However, this thread will recieve hundreds of views from people potentially looking to take out a short-term loan in he future, and if my post prevents just one of them from using any of these companies then I think it was worth having my say.

bikerqueen

Do they share BANK details or just phone numbers? cause you've not made it clear.

Kartheiser

The problem is that PayDayUK are giving your details (including your bank details) ...

Name, address, postcode, telephone number, mobile number, e-mail address, income, job title, sort-code, account number, and whatever else they originally asked you for when you filled out the initial application form.