Victims of loan scam get ripped off for lawyers’ fees

A WOMAN who wanted a loan to clear her debt lost more money to alleged scammers working for a cash-loan company.

The alleged scammers claimed to be from Bruma Finance, which is a legitimate company offering loans in Joburg. It promises to help desperate people with loans, but asks them to pay lawyers’ fees to help process the documents.

One of the victims, Mmamosidi Shawe, 49, of Soweto, said she and her husband had financial difficulties when she received a promotional SMS on her cellphone from Bruma Finance.

Shawe called the number and spoke to a woman who identified herself as Amanda, asking for a R40 000 loan to settle all her debts. She was sent the necessary paperwork bearing Bruma Finance’s name, which she filled in. To her surprise, she was told to pay R1 500 before she could get the loan.

“They said they work with lawyers and they would need it to pay them before releasing the money. I thought maybe the lawyers were the ones who had helped me secure the funds. As I did not have money, I asked a friend to lend me R1 500,” Shawe said.

The money was deposited on August 2, but a few days later Shawe received another message requesting a further R900 administration fee before the R40 000 could be released.

The message also indicated that Shawe and her husband would be expected to make a repayment of R1 776.25 a month for two years; that the total repay- ment would be R42 630; and that the total interest they would be charged would be R1 262.90.

Shawe borrowed the R900 and paid, but said she was given the run-around when she was sup- posed to get the loan. “Amanda was rude and seemed annoyed when I called asking about the loan. She kept saying I did not pay even when I sent the proof,” Shawe said.

She and her husband never got the loan. Her brother Richard Nkutha went to Absa to find out who the account belonged to. Nkutha was told that it belonged to a K Mtshazi and had been opened in Butterworth, Eastern Cape.

The Star found others who had taken to the internet to complain. Francois van Rensburg wrote he was told that his loan had been approved but would be made available only after he had paid money into their lawyers’ account.

He never got the loan, despite paying the money. Another victim claims to have paid R1 000 but was asked to pay another R1 500. When he asked why, the phone was put down on him.

The Star called the alleged scammers a few times, and a woman who identified herself as Amanda answered, but hung up.

Bruma Finance did not respond to an email from The Star. The company has a message on its website saying it is aware of the scam and would never “ask consumers to pay exorbitant fees to ensure the loan gets approved”.

Lebogang Selibi of the National Credit Bureau said it was a contravention of the act and that victims can lodge complaints with the bureau at complaints@. ncr.org.za or call 0860 627 627.

She kept saying that I did not pay, even after I sent the proof