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Finance News |
Uproar over broker loans
Thursday, 03 Feb 2005 11:16
pound;Licensees across the UK have been left out of pocket after promised loans have failed to materialise.
Complaints about Gateway Finance.co.uk, which is based in Wimborne, Dorset, have been streaming in to The Publican’s offices since last spring.
Licensees claim they have been promised a loan or mortgage, paid an administration fee of £350 and have not received the deal they have been promised.
Some have even paid arrangement fees of nearly £2,000 while others have paid for a valuation costing up to £1,600 and have still not been provided with the deal they were promised.
We have also heard from licensees who were guaranteed a refund, which failed to arrive. Others claim they have never heard from the company again.
Steve Reed (pictured), licensee of the Miners Arms in Merthyr Tydfil, has been trying to get his £350 back since April 2003 when he was promised a £60,000 loan through Gateway Finance.co.uk. He has a county court judgment against the company but because it has changed address on a number of occasions the court bailiffs have not been able to recoup the debt.
I filled in the documents for Gateway Finance.co.uk with the £350 and sent them back. Then I never heard from it again. Initially when I got hold of them I was promised a refund.”
Richard Steele, licensee of the Welcome Stranger in Crowborough, East Sussex, says he was promised an unsecured mortgage of £100,000 through Gateway Finance.co.uk. In a letter from the company dated January 28, 2004, it states: “We envisage there to be no problem in obtaining the loan amount required.” After paying £1,140 he received a formal letter from the lender offering a loan for just £57,000.
It told us that it could guarantee us the money, that’s why I paid the fees. They promised to refund me £500. I have not heard from them since April.”
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