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From The
Editors Desk
John
White
When you’re Down and
Out...
Remember
the old cartoon that showed a mouse caught in a trap and the
caption read “When you’re down and out every one wants a piece of
you”? Why is it that people seem to come out of the woodwork to
take advantage of those of us who are going through difficult
times?
Illegal
advance fee loan broker scams are back again in Alberta and many of
the victims are truckers. The Fair Trading Act passed in September
1999, bans the charging or collecting of an advance fee prior to a
loan being delivered to a consumer. Advance Fee Loan brokers should
not be confused with mortgage brokers or banks and credit unions.
Loan brokers advertise in newspaper classified ads hoping to
attract consumers or business owners that are having trouble
getting loans with the promise of guaranteed, low interest loans to
consolidate debts and clean up credit records.
These
brokers promise fast money (loans) with few questions asked –
obviously very appealing to anyone reeling from all of the current
issues in the marketplace. The customer of course is required to
pay an up-front fee before the firm provides any service. The
advance fee is generally a fixed dollar amount regardless of the
size of the loan and is non-refundable whether the loan is approved
or not. Of course, often there is no loan. The victim may have a
contract that is full of “legalese” which does not confirm the
loan, but rather promises financial consulting and the preparation
of a business plan. The materials received by the victim are in
fact useless.
Another
hot item is people who take money up front to fix your credit
rating.
Think
about it, this involves changing history which as far I know is
pretty tough for us mortals to do. (If anyone out there can figure
out a way please let me know because there is a house that I should
have bought back in the 70’s that still haunts me. Not to mention a
few retro-active bets I’d like to place)
Then
there are the companies that advertise “Government Programs that
are in place to help you miraculously get rid of your debt” The
secretive Government Programs they speak of are contained in the
Bankruptcy Act. These companies charge you a fee and then often
turn you over to a Bankruptcy Trustee. They tell you that they are
working for you and the Trustee is working for your creditors. In
actual fact the trustee is a licensed professional whose job is
that of a mediator. Trustees often give a free consultation and all
their fees are set by the act.
It all
comes down to what you’ve been told all your life, if it sounds too
good to be true, it probably is.
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