Platinum Online Group: Scam Alert

*Scam by definition is a confidence game or other fraudulent scheme done as a trick especially to make a quick profit; swindle. To cheat or defraud.

In the news, plastered all over the Internet and on pages and pages of newspapers you can read about millions of scams that are being done across the globe and learn about new scam alerts that are being found everyday. In fact this form of profit making has become so out of control websites are being designed for consumers and others to come to and keep up to date on all the new scams that are being invented. It seems there is a different scam warning in the media everyday.

Unfortunately no one is immune to the danger of being scammed, myself included.

Recently my family ran into some financial hard times due to some unforeseen medical exspences. But I am not writing this hub about my financial hard times or my medical exspenses. This hub is to warn my fellow hubbers and readers of a payday loan scam my family has had the misfortune of dealing with.

*Payday Loan by definition is a small, short term loan designed to help the customer borrow and pay back a loan by next pay day.

Platinum Online Group

Platinum Online Group is a company on the Internet that claims to help people and families with their financial dilemmas. Just like most payday loan companies the customer is asked for certain personal information including social security number, job and home phone numbers etc.. After you fill in the information and send it to the customer service representative for Platinum Online Group or any other payday loan company you are then instructed to wait for a call back. In some cases they call you back asking for more information so that you can be approved for a short term small money loan. And in some cases you are approved and things go fine or as fine as they can. The interest rate for these small short term loans are outstanding, but that's another story.

In this case with Platinum Online Group we were informed we were approved, we were then asked for our banking account information and told we were being emailed a form to sign and read over explaining all the little details including interest rate, monthly payback information and so on.

While waiting for this information to be emailed to us we decided to sit down and thoroughly think about if this was our best option. We decided it was not. We emailed Platinum Online Group to inform them that we had changed our minds with no responding email. We called the 800 number only to be directed to a live operator whom explained to us we would receive a call back in 1 to 2 business days. We received no call.

Thinking because we did not sign anything we would be fine so we let the incident go, only to find the next day our checking account overdrawn by $144.48. We immediately contacted our banking institution whom quickly and pleasantly revoked the overdraft charges and handed us a copy of the transaction made by Platinum Online Group with a phone number.

Unfortunately the phone number given to us from the bank for Platinum Online Group was the same phone number we already had and no one is able to be reached. We have since had to cancel our checking account and open a new one.

We received a phone call from a representative from Platinum Online Group some days later informing us, more like threatening us, that we had have not paid on our loan and a lawsuit was being filed. I explained to the representative that we did not receive a loan and that we had emailed them saying hat we had changed our minds. The representative then proceeded to threaten me, use foul language and continue to call my work and home four to five times a day. Sometimes they would call 3 or 4 times back to back. I politely asked Platinum Online Group to stop calling and to remove our numbers from their system. I informed them if the harassment did not stop I would go to the media with the situation and alert others to their madness

Thankfully we have had no more calls or any other form of harassment. I am however still going public with this scam here on HubPages. Since this incident has occurred I have done some very in depth research on this so called payday loan company that referred to themselves as Platinum Online Group. Below are some websites filled with complaints about Platinum Online Group and what you can do if you fall prey to Platinum Online Group or any other scam.

http://www.complaintsboard.com/bycompany/platinum-online-group-a196459.html

http://www.ripoffreport.com/loans/platinum-online-grou/platinum-online-group-llc-on-967ff.htm