Question:
Dear Steve,
I have just started two jobs and may have another on the weekend. One full and the others are going to be paying me part-time. Right now without commissions (Sales), I make $53,000. this year.
I need $2500. loan to help a friend who is having a personal emergency. I have known her for years and she is this is not a scam.
She needs help ASAP. And I could use half too. I have a 665 TransUnion Credit score. But no credit story and have been denied.
What options do I have for a personal loan? And for a $500-$1000. The balance unsecured credit card, soon? Rates and months don’t concern me. I have had lenders try to scam me.
And I check Trustpilot and the BBB whenever I can.
But my options, because I have no credit and only $650 in debt, seem limited. I am going to building my credit through the “Self’s” program? But I could use help sooner.
Thank you.
Fred
Answer:
Dear Fred,
The scam scale goes from those most desperate with no credit or bad credit to be most taken advantage of to those with great credit that can be selective.
When you are in a desperate situation like you describe you are very attractive to scammers. I’ve seen it all. Between people paying big fees for loans never received to people promised one thing but getting another. There is an endless bucket of tricks to swindle desperate people.
Your ultimate protection is to be a smart consumer.
I would recommend that anyone considering using such a company should read the following free guides.
- The Ultimate Consumer Guide to Checking Out a Debt Relief Company Before You Sign On the Line
- How to Check Out a Business or Company to Avoid Getting Scammed or Ripped Off
The more mainstream the lender is, the less I would be concerned. For example, Capital One takes chances with all sorts of consumers. But they’ve been around a long time and are less likely to take scam chances.
Bob’s EZ-Loan shop that only exists on the internet is much more likely to cut corners.
I’m not a giant fan of Trustpilot. They seem to be easy to scam with fake comments. I’ve covered some of these situations before. You can certainly use them as a guide but I would confirm using a second source of information.
The situation you are facing is one many have. Especially all those folks that listened to advice about how credit is evil and should be avoided. Avoiding credit might be one goal but if building and maintaining a good credit score are important, like in this situation, credit should not be avoided.
There are debt consolidation loan resources but expect to pay a high-interest rate. Interest rates are based on risk and given what you’ve shared, on paper right now you probably don’t look like the best risk.
The resources I would avoid with a vengeance is any easy money lender online, those that promise a personal loan no matter what the credit, or people that say they can help you get a loan for a fee.
If your friend is desperate for money and has to get some right now, she can go to a local payday store and pay a large cost for taking out that loan. But you would not have to get sucked into her misfortune if you let her take out the loan by herself.
Your situation may end differently but the typical outcome of a desperate friend and someone needing a low dollar loan at any cost is typically not good. I’ve seen it result in broken friendships, anger, and resignation when one of the people is just not going to be able to pay.
You are not alone. I'm here to help. There is no need to suffer in silence. We can get through this. Tomorrow can be better than today. Don't give up.
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