If you are looking to apply for a personal loan, I would urge anybody to think extremely hard about paying any fees upfront.

According to the Citizens Advice Bureau more and more people are being scammed out of money by dishonest loan companies that demand an upfront fee for loans which seldom materialise once the money has been paid to the conmen.

This is becomming more of an occurrence as loans have become less readily available since the credit crunch. The people who are mainly targeted by these dishonest loan companies are the people who can least afford to lose money i.e. People with a bad credit score or people who are on a low income and would struggle to find a loan anywhere else.

The most recent one is a company trading under the website quick247loan.co.uk. They are asking for the applicant to make a months payment in advance demanding the applicant pays money into their bank account before any funds can be released.

These people are using the credentials of a trusted and respectable online loans broker so that they can add credibility to their company. This is being displayed on their website along with their loan agreement form.

This Company is clearly trading without a legitimate consumer Credit Licence or Data Protection; or it would not be publishing the details of one of the most valued loan Brokers on the internet, Interfinancial Limited.

Unfortunately the victims of any such scam find it almost impossible to get their money back once they have sent off their money to the scammers.

Stuart Pike of Interfinancial Limited said “These people are criminals and they are moving in on people that simply cannot afford to be conned out of money. I would strongly advise loan applicants not to pay any fee upfront in order for their loan application to be processed.

Stuart added Tougher penalties need to be brought in and changes to legislation for these people, It would seem that more and more companies are giving themselves names which sound like valued brokers which helps add credibility.

He went on to add “I cannot believe how disinterested the various governing bodies seem to be when anybody tries to report such a scam, and unfortunately until the likes of the Office of Fair Trading, Trading Standards or even the Police start to act this situation is not going to get any better.”

Apply online for a safe loan with a trustworthy broker today!