Fisher and Coleman Financial Solutions *SCAM*SCAM*SCAM*SCAM* Chicago, Illinois

Unfortuanately, we learned this lesson the hard (and expensive) way. After applying on-line for a home improvement loan (the search engine we used sent our info to numerous companies) on May 18, the above company contacted us to advise that they were willing to assist. On the initial phone call, I spoke with Andrew Bailey (ext. 653), who identified himself as the "lending broker", and stated that they had received our information off of the web (which seemed legit since they already had our phone number, name, etc and that's what we had done). He then proceeded to tell me about their company (location, phone number, e-mail) and asked if we would like to continue. After the phone conversation, I looked on-line for any information that contridicted the statements made by the representative. I could NOT find anything that would have led us to believe that this company was antyhing but legitimate.

We were then faxed a copy of the contract complete with loan amount, interest rate, and terms which coincided with the phone conversation. We were asked to look everything over, verify our info, and to send pay stubs (to validate employment) with the signed contract. We were also asked to send a down payment equal to 5 months of payments to "show the lender that we were serious about repaying the loan". It was explained that the monies would be put directly toward the principle of the loan, much like a car loan company expecting a down payment to secure the loan. Again, all of this appeared legitimate and since we had a written binding document in our hand, we thought that who we were working with was on the level. They gave us several options to send the down payment, but the quickest way was to send the money via Western Union (it was told that there would be only a 24-hr turnaround of our loan money being deposited into our checking acct). On May 20, the money ($1,440.00 plus $125 W.U. fee which was to be refunded to us) was sent. I contacted and spoke with Andrew who confirmed the receipt of the funds. He stated that we should expect to see the money in our account by the end of the next business day. He also advised that we would be receiving a call from customer service welcoming us to our company, and also to confirm where to send our monthly payments, etc....

The next day, I got a call from Walter Stanton (ext 759) who explained that unfortunately because of our current financial situation, the lender was now asking us to send an additional 5 months worth of payments up front to secure the loan. I explained that we didn't have that kind of money and wondered why they were not willing to stand by the contract. He stated that on the last page of the contract, it stated that the company had all rights to rescind an offer at any time prior to depositing the money into our account. When I explained that what was faxed to me had nothing in writing indicating that, Walter said that the page must have been inadvertantly forgotten when the other documents were sent. It did not, however, change the outcome. When I then asked for a refund, I was told that the monies set aside for refunds could not be accessed until the 1st Friday of the next month (June 4), but that it would be sent via FedEx in a certified letter.

Subsequent conversations to Walter and Andrew have proved to be beyond frustrating. Walter states that the accounting dept does not accept in-coming phone calls so I have no way of verifying if/when the refund was processed. He also explained that there was nobody above him besides the CEO that I could talk with to voice my concerns. Unfortunately, the CEO Phillip Herman also does not accept in-coming phone calls. In the meantime, we located the building owner at the address that was given by the company. The building owner does not have a lessee by that name in the building and that the suite # provided (503 and later 502) does not exist.

When confronted with this information, Walter transferred me to his secretary to record my complaint (up until this point, this secretary did not exist). Jerrod Oakley answered (whose voice sounded eerily familiar to Walter) and after trying to explain my frustration, he responded with a vulgar and sexually disturbing conversation leading me to demand to speak again with Walter. When Walter picked the phone up, after laughing for a few moments, he explained that Jerrod was not his secretary, but rather the company's janitor and it was unknown why he picked up the phone. He also attempted to apologize on behalf of his company by explaining that Jerrod just had a sex-change operation, so he may have been confused on what his role actually was within the company.

So.... today has come and gone. FedEx never did show up with our check, and calls to the company have now gone unanswered. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE heed this warning. DO NOT make the same (and costly) mistake that I did!