A High River man said he spent hundreds of dollars after applying for a loan online to consolidate his credit card bills.

Robert Patterson went to his bank to try to get a loan, but said it was turned down, so he turned to the online lender Lendworkscredit.com.

He said it was approved for $ 40,000, but there was a problem.

“They told me, ‘For the first three months we need a security deposit,’” Patterson said. “I owed them $ 1,750.”

Patterson said he transferred the money to the lender electronically, but then asked them to pay more.

“She said, ‘Oh, now we need insurance.’ And I was like “What?” And they wanted an additional $ 1,200.

Patterson said he refused to pay and canceled the contract.

He said the company promised its initial deposit, but months later he said he had not received a refund.

“It was email after email, ‘Where’s my money, where’s my money? “, He said.

the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center told Global News that it received four reports on Lendworkscredit.com between August 2019 and September 2019.

“Three of the reports are categorized as casualties involving approximately $ 5,398 in reported losses,” spokesman Jeff Thomson said.

The CAFC could not confirm that Patterson’s case was indeed a loan scam, but he said the loan scams to Global News were not new.

As of August 31, 2019, it had received 515 loan scam reports, of which 327 were categorized as victim reports involving more than $ 780,000 in losses.

He also said loan scams can be hard to spot and it’s important to report them.

“Scammers create fake websites. They are capable of spoofing legitimate websites, ”said Thomson. “As soon as you close one of these websites, they have another one. So it’s very important to point this out – it could be the missing piece of the puzzle. “

He also advised consumers to do their due diligence and know their rights, especially when it comes to paying money up front.

“In most provinces, it is illegal to ask for money up front to get a loan,” said Thomson.

The Better Business Bureau of Ontario confirmed to Global News that on January 2, 2020, it also investigated the business practices of Lendworks Credit.

The BBB said its investigation confirmed the lender was not at its listed address in Ottawa. He also attempted to contact the company by phone but was unable to leave a message because the number was disconnected.

the BBB issued an alert on the company, stating on the basis of this information that it could not confirm the legitimacy of Lendworks Credit.

Global News made several attempts to reach Lendworkscredit.com but did not receive a response to calls or emails.

Patterson’s attempts also went unanswered and he gave up all hope of getting his money back.

“I lost it. Put it down to the learning experience, ”he said.

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