Credit offer that’s too good to be true

A COMPANY, ISI Projects finances people for vehicles or property if you have been declined or have a bad credit score.

I completed the form and it was approved, I then had to pay R2 500 as a once-off non-refundable administration fee in November last year.

They then gave me an approval letter which was dated for December 12 to say I may proceed to source a vehicle from that date.

When I sourced a vehicle and sent the info to them, I received an out-of-office reply to say that their offices are closed from December 5 to January 5 and they’ll revert when they re-open.

On January 5 when I contacted them, I was told that they can either refund my administration fee or I can wait until the end of January for them to assist me with the vehicle purchase.

At the end of January, I got another out-of-office reply to say they revert on February 5. When I contacted them yesterday, I was told that their Dubai investor is “unreachable” so they’ll have to refund me as the finances are not available to assist me with the vehicle purchase.

I supplied them with my banking details to enquire how soon I could get the refund and was told as soon as possible.

Today, I was told at month-end which is unacceptable. When I advised him that I’m going to escalate the matter, he said that the refund will be honoured and I must do what I need to.

I’m under the impression that they’re probably doing this to a lot of people and allowing all the administration fees to grow in interest before refunding the people’s administration fees.

Can you make contact with them to arrange for my refund asap? Shoneez (surname withheld) Georgina: Paying an upfront fee to secure funding should have set off alarm bells for the reader. The website lists a cellphone number and a Gmail account, which are further dead giveaways that this is in all likelihood a scam. It seems to be operated by one person, who told the reader her demand for money was causing him a “stress attack”.

“I’m doing the best I can. I had a nervous breakdown last week and still working to deal with our pressure. Do what suits you. You will be refunded and honoured. I cannot break my health for people anymore,” she was told.

Don’t be fooled – you cannot legally obtain credit if you do not qualify for it. The amendments to the National Credit Act also require affordability assessments – if you can’t pay your debt, you can’t afford more credit.