In late May I was looking on-line for a personal loan. Shortly after I was contacted via phone by Steve Hawkins (800-963-2451 x 291) of Milner Financial Group who offered a $5, 000 loan at 7% interest over two years. I was a little skeptical, so I asked him to e-mail a contract to me. He told me that they didn’t do business by e-mail because it’s too easy for documents to be altered, so they prefer faxing. On May 28, 2009, a copy of their contract was faxed to me, and I did a little sleuthing. I called the Oklahoma Secretary of State’s Office and was told by the woman who answered the phone that they were a registered company. (Today—June 22, 2009—when I called to get contact information, I was told they are not registered.) I looked on-line for complaints to the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General’s Office, and I came up with no negative information. I read their website (milnerfinancial.com) and they “looked legitimate.”
So, on June 3, I faxed the contract along with other requested documentation (WA State Driver’s License and Pay Stub) to 800-963-2451 (alternate fax 405-708-4652 was always busy). The contract (see attached) indicated that I needed to send the first four monthly payments ($225.00 for a total of $900.00) to them before the $5, 000 could be released since the loan was unsecured. The original contract date was June 3, but (since I had to borrow the $900) I called and requested a two-day extension which was approved by Steve.
I told Steve that I was concerned about sending the money “up front, ” but he assured me it was perfectly legal, and that I wouldn’t have a payment due until October. I was told to wire the funds to George Stevens in Stayner, Ontario, Canada. When I inquired about sending the funds to Canada rather than Oklahoma, I was told that most of their lenders were in Canada. On June 5, per the contract, I wired the $900.00. It cost me $78.00 to send the wire, and I was told by Steve that if I faxed a copy of the receipt (which I did on June 5), I would be reimbursed for the wire fee when the $5, 000.00 loan was deposited to my account.
When the loan amount was not in my account, I called and was routed to “Tony” the loan officer. Tony (800-963-2451 x719) told me that I would need to send another two months’ payment ($500.00). At that point I asked him if they were running a scam and he told me to not “be ridiculous.” He said if I wanted to stop this process and have them refund my $978.00, he could do that, and I told him that’s exactly what I wanted. Tony told me that my reimbursement check would be sent Fed Ex on Friday, June 19. When I asked why it couldn’t be deposited directly into my account (as the loan money should have been), he told me that couldn’t be done. I then requested that it be sent to my work address since no one would be at home to receive it.
I believe it was on Wednesday June 17 that I called Tony to verify my work address and that my refund check would be sent to my work address. He read my work address to me and assured me that the money would be sent Fed Ex on Friday to work.
When I didn’t receive the check on June 19, I called first thing Monday, June 22. Steve’s extension no longer had a name attached to it, so I called Customer Service and left a voice mail requesting a return call. Tony’s extension went right to voice mail, so I requested that he call me with the Fed Ex tracking number. About an hour later I called the main number again and an automated female voice said, “Goodbye.” Thinking my phone had been blocked, I used my husband’s cell phone, but I received the same message. The next day at work, I used two different phones not assigned to me in any way only to get the same “Goodbye.” That was when I realized they had stolen my money and disappeared.
I am filing complaints with the Oklahoma Secretary of State’s Office, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office and the Better Business Bureau. I will also contact the FBI and I urge everyone to do the same.