Every individual and household should keep a reserve or emergency fund to meet any unexpected expenses that might come up, like bad weather.
However, keeping a reserve can be very difficult if you are struggling. You have to pay for your expenses, debt, etc., and managing a reserve can be a real job.
Even it can result in compromised credit scores when you fall behind your debt payments.
Despite all the facts, rainy days are always unexpected and uninvited. What would you do with a bad credit score, no reserves, and an emergency knocking at your door?
Deep inside, you know that getting credit from a bank or credit card company will be hard. In such situations, third-party lenders who allow you to take a loan at a high-interest rate are the only choice you get.
FastLoan Advance is a similar platform that claims to have a network of lenders providing loans to needy people.
The platforms look legitimate, but the real problem started when The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions received a complaint against the platform.
In today’s article, we will review everything about FastLoan Advance, the business model, and the legitimacy of the platform.
So let’s get into it.
Complaint To DFI (The Washington State Department Of Financial Institutions)
As earlier mentioned, a complaint was filed with DFI in 2012. The complainant alleged that he had applied for a loan, and the company asked for an advance fee. After payment of the fee, he didn’t receive any loan.
After investigation, it was found that DFI didn’t issue a license to FastAdvance Loan for conducting business as a consumer lender. As a result, the department could not verify the company’s ID and contact information.
It led to chaos, and the company was considered fictitious, illegitimate, and a scam. However, the reality is that the company might be registered in another state of the US.
What is the reality?
We will try to unfold everything.
What Is FastLoan Advance?
FastLoan Advance is an online platform against the domain www.fastloanadvance.com. The company claims to be a service provider that bridges consumers and the lender network.
There is no information about who the lenders are. It just says ‘lenders’ and ‘third-party partners.’
The company’s registered name is TpolTech, Inc. If we have to define it as a service, it is apparently a free lending market to connect consumers with lenders.
It is specifically targeted toward people having bad credit scores. According to the company’s website, it has been registered in Valencia, California.
The company claims to specialize in providing personal loan assistance to consumers who want to get a quick loan for luxury item purchases, vehicle repairs, or any other large purchase.
What Is The Limit Of FastLoan Advance?
Before we talk about the reviews of FastLoan Advance, it will be great to discuss the company’s features and offerings.
So let’s start with the limits of FastLoan Advance. The minimum amount of loan you can apply for is $100, and the maximum amount you can apply for is $35,000.
What Are Eligibility Requirements To Apply For FastLoan Advance?
After knowing about the loan and how easy it is to get, you must be wondering about the eligibility criteria to apply and get approved for FastLoan Advance.
So here are the general criteria an applicant must fulfill to proceed with the application of FastLoan Advance:
- An applicant must be at or above the age of majority, that is, 18 years of age
- Only U.S. Citizens are eligible to apply for the loan. Permanent residents of the US are also eligible to apply for a loan.
- An applicant must have employment or a regular source of income to repay the loan.
- You must have a bank account to receive the funds from the lenders.
- You must apply from a valid IP address in the US.
How Does FastLoan Advance Work?
The real question mark on FastLoan Advance has always been the company’s business model. So let’s get into the working of FastLoan Advance.
According to the company disclaimer, it is not offering any loans to consumers on its behalf. Instead, the company is providing a service to bridge the gap between consumers and lenders.
The company also claims it does not work as an agent, broker, lender, or representative. Any charges or fees charged by lenders are not related to the company or its team.
And here is how the business model works:
- A consumer wants to get a loan approved for an emergency expense.
- He will visit the FastLoan Advance website here and enter the amount of the loan between $100 to $35000. The amount he requests depends on his need for money.
- Once you enter your request, the system will send this information to different lenders on the lender network. Some lenders might provide only short loans, and others might provide big sums of money.
- One thing to be sure about is that application is not a guarantee that you will get approved for the credit you have requested. Although a poor credit score is acceptable for FastLoan Advance, the lender makes the final decision.
- If a lender(financial institution or individual lender) approves your loan request, you will get the amount directly in your bank account.
This is the working model of FastLoan Advance, as advertised. However, the stance of the complainant has been telling another story about the company’s work.
What Is The Cost And Fees Of FastLoan Advance?
The website claims to be a free-of-cost platform for consumers. However, the lender has the right to charge interest and fees. Any fees charged by the lender have nothing to do with the company. At the same time, there is a model analysis of the cost and fee for taking different amounts as loans.
It is an understood fact that when you are taking a loan on a poor credit score, you will pay the cost in the form of higher interest rates.
According to FastLoan Advance, the applied interest rate also comes down as your loan value increases. For comparison, the interest rate on a $1,000 loan is 24% and will b 8% on a $10,000 loan.
The fee of taking a loan will increase with the increasing amount of the loan. For instance, you will pay 3% of the loan value when taking a $1,000 loan and 10% when applying for $10,000.
Repayment Terms And APR
Unlike the belief of many people, FastLoan Advance has nothing to do with repayment of the lent money or APR (Annual Percentage Rate).
The annual Percentage Rate usually refers to the cost of the credit and is written as a nominal yearly rate.
Every lender on the FastLoan Advance network will provide the consumers with a loan agreement. All terms and conditions, including repayment terms, are written in the agreement.
Therefore, any individual applying for a loan must read and understand all clauses of the agreement.
For a general idea, the loan repayment for personal loans can be 91 days at the minimum and 72 months at the maximum. Similarly, an APR starts from 5.99% and can go up to 35.99%.
Reviews Of FastLoan Advance
Now we understand everything about the company and its working model. What do people say about FastLoan Advance?
The company has not had enough reviews present on any online platform. There is only one 3-star review on Trustpilot.com, and it says:
‘Fake
Filled everything out to try getting a personal loan, and all the website did was send me to scale websites pretending to offer loans and leading to ads to try tricking you into thinking you won something.’
Things To Be Cautious About
After understanding everything about FastLoan Advance, here are the things you need to be cautious about:
- It is not a business but just an online platform; you won’t get any traces if the website gets deleted today.
- The company is not taking responsibility for any action of the lender. Whether they ask you for an advance fee or want to charge you high, FastLoan Advance has nothing to do with it.
- There are not enough reviews of FastLoan Advance present on any popular review platform.
- The company is not provided in all states of the US. There is a strong chance that it might not be registered in your state at all.
Is It Legit Or a Scam?
We cannot say with surety that FastLoan Advance is a legit business or a scam. If we look at their disclaimers, it looks like there is nothing to worry about.
However, when we look into business practices, there are a lot of shady practices right there. Therefore, it is better to avoid such shady businesses because, in the end, no one will be able to help you.
The post FastLoan Advance Reviews: Is It Legit Or Scam? appeared first on CFAJournal.