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If you need to borrow money to consolidate credit card debt, make home or auto repairs, or move across country, a personal loan can help cover your expenses.

Most personal loans are unsecured, meaning they don’t require collateral like a house or car, and typically have higher interest rates than secured loans.

The FTC recently filed a lawsuit against Lending Club, a company offering personal loans online. According to the FTC, Lending Club has deceptively marketed loans by promising consumers “no hidden fees” but nevertheless charges a hidden up-front fee. Lending Club has told consumers they will get a loan of a certain amount – say $10,000, for example. But when the loan shows up in the consumer’s bank account, it’s for just $9,500. That’s because Lending Club deducted a $500 up-front fee, even though it promised not to charge hidden fees. The complaint also alleges that Lending Club has told consumers they have been approved for loans when they have not, makes unauthorized withdrawals from consumers’ bank accounts, and failed to properly provide customers with required privacy notices.

If you’re thinking about applying for a personal loan, take the following steps:

  • Shop around. Different lenders may quote you different rates and terms, so you should contact several lenders to make sure you’re getting the best price.
  • Get a list of all fees, including any origination fees. Your loan agreement also could include prepayment penalty fees, late payment fees, bounced check fees, and check processing fees.
  • Check your credit report. Regardless of what some lenders say, your credit rating plays a big role in how much you’ll pay to borrow money. Mistakes could lower your credit scores.

For more information, check out our Credit and Loans page.

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The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.

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Leenahelen88
April 26, 2018
I made a pay day loan approval mistake lost all my bank balance and had to change acct. Numbers
Ana
April 26, 2018
This is so true, I was thinking that it was a fraudulent transaction, but at the time I needed the money really bad for medical bills and overdue accounts so I made a loan now I'm stuck with a loan and they took $500 up front which I have to pay back. It would not be so bad if they had not said, there would be no hidden fees but, because they said this; that make you feel bad after you get the loan. You feel bamboozled.
Bilko
April 26, 2018
great advice!!!!!
Felisa R
April 26, 2018
Thank you for this advice.
Bones
April 26, 2018

All these types are mobsters making $ of the broke and poor. I am deluged with this junk daily. Latest hunting ground for these guys is job boards. The unemployed list too much private info hoping to get a job. Good luck to all and be careful.

CrystalR
April 29, 2018

In reply to by Bones

Good Information. Thanks for the advice. I was considering this loan because of the deluge of ads to my inbox. But thanks to FTC warning and users like yourself. I have deleted all emails from this Lender and another with similar name. Also unsubscribed to their emails and blocked them as junk mail.
tazcubano
April 27, 2018

I went through the same thing. Not only was I not told about hidden fees I was not told about the interest rate they would give me ahead of time. I will never use or recommend the Lending Club ever again.

FTC Staff
April 27, 2018

In reply to by tazcubano

You can report this to the FTC at FTC.gov/complaint. You can explain what happened and give your name and contact information if you choose. The information you give will go into a secure database that the FTC uses for investigations.

rickoshea
April 26, 2018
Now days it is hard to trust anyone, they love it when they can rip someone off.That goes all the way down to cell phones they track your phone then they can grab it and use your phone time to save money on their calls and your air time goes down hill.Or track your phone when you go to work and can tell when you are heading home in the mean time they use it to break into your apt. and search your place.
lucketteloise
April 27, 2018
I GOT A LON ONLINE THEY ALL I HAVE PAY BACK WAS THE AMOUNT WHEN I WENT TO PAY IT BACK I PAY THREE TIME THE LOAN FEE I BORROW $300.00 I PAY BACK $795.00 I NEW THAT WAS TO MUCH INTERSING ON $ 300.00 DOLLAR THEN TEY TOOK ALL MY MONEY I HAVE IN MY BANK ACCOUNT AT bank plus I HAVE CLOSE OUT that account before I close out every time I put money in that account THAT ACCOUNT my money come get miss.
FTC Staff
April 27, 2018

In reply to by lucketteloise

You can report the loan company to the FTC.

Call the FTC at 1-877-382-4357.  The phone number is toll-free.

Investor-Lender
April 27, 2018
More transparency needed if the alleged charges are true. With all the online resources available, people should educate themselves better in order to manage their money. There are too many late payments and defaults on these loans - stealing the money of investor/lenders over and over.
Michelangelo
April 27, 2018
yes all truenot included is the collusion with the bank, wells fargo, and thd misleading official bank records deleted or changes to co er up there actions and tell you that you spend it on something you did buy, but not $2000 worth the products were $165 and inoy o e purchased. There were alledged atm transactions with i didnt make but itnjust so halpens coincidentally to amou t to the exact dollar figures as this Loan Club cartel. The whole lot of it smells like fish!!
GULLIBLE GRANDMA
April 28, 2018
I was scammed in February 2018 for $5000 and feel really stupid for not listening to my inner sole telling me not to go buy the itune cards but the guy on the line was so convincing and did reference a transaction amount that was correct. I have reorted this to my local police,the FTC, my bank, all credit card companies that wee involved and the places where I had bought the itune cards from. Nothing has happened have gotten no help from anyone. Is there no recourse for this kind of situation? Can't App Store & Itunes tell me the details of how, where and who spent the gift cards?
FTC Staff
May 24, 2018

In reply to by GULLIBLE GRANDMA

When you give someone an iTunes card, or the numbers from a card, they take control of the value of the card. They can spend the value immediately.

You helped law enforcement by reporting the details of the scam. Law enforcement agencies use the information people provide to help with investigations.

Hasmin
April 30, 2018
If you ever took out a loan thru Lending Club keep an eye out for your credit report. I took a loan out, (felt forced) to pay it off in full, 2 months later as my second month payment changed/went up. 12 days after my 2nd payment I get a letter stating that due to information in credit file my apr went from 6% to 38%. It gets VERY interesting as tonight as am getting my kids ready for bed,I hear a loud bang on the door, 9:38pm to be exact it was a person asking for me saying they wore hired to serve me COURT PAPERS.AM been sued for the WHOLE Amount stating I only made one payment. Plus tackling on late fees and other charges from a $2500 loan am been sued for $4999.99 yet the speed sheet papers that "show they bought the debt" BILL OF SALE say amount due is $6700 my guess is they kept it under $5000 to be able to sue in small claims court. I do have all my paperwork/letters, from LC and statement showing PAID IN FULL. Am been sued by Porfolio Equities. I will file my answer TOMORROW.
FTC Staff
April 30, 2018

In reply to by Hasmin

You can report this to the FTC at FTC.gov/Complaint. The information you give will go into a secure database that law enforcement uses for investigations. The comments you put here on the blog don’t go into the law enforcement database.

az4meismile
May 02, 2018
Thank you FTC for being a resource for cunsumers! I recommend this website to all my clients who have been taken advantage of.
glendabell
May 03, 2018
We got a loan from them and wished we hadn't.
Hopeful
May 17, 2018
Lender Club contacted me by e-mail said I was approved for a $8,000 loan. But in order to get the loan, I would have to provide them with my banking credentials other than routing and account numbers. They wanted my mobile/online banking username and password. I told them they are not getting them. So obviously I didn't get a loan from them, but from what I have been reading, I'm glad.
Hopeful
May 17, 2018
I think I found another loan company like Lending Club. Their name is Prosper Marketplace Inc. They also sent me an email saying I was approved for a $10,000 loan. They also wanted my mobile/online banking credentials besides routing and account numbers. They also said I had to put up $350 and then I will get the money back when they deposit the $10,000 for a total of $10,350. I think it's a scam. I'm just trying to give the heads up on them as well. I hope the FTC investigate them as well.
Neverends
May 22, 2018
Watch out for credit cards too. Instead of increasing credit limits, especially rebuilding, they offer you and 2nd credit card so now you are paying the credit card companies somewhere up to 60% interest a month. It will never end it only gets worse as it continues to be allowed and legal.
Cheryl
March 24, 2019
My sister got a personal loan through them and then she found out they were depositing fraudulent checks into her account and having her withdraw money and send them money on PayPal cards and Google Play cards they overdrew her bank account by over $3,000 and now she's stuck in debt with her bank. Plus she's being charged for all the overdraft fees for each fraudulent check that they posted into her account they say that it is a loan that when they put the checks into your account they say it's a payday loan from like FedEx and a couple other name brand companies
Iamwill
September 01, 2019
I invested 40 thousand into lending club thinking I will make a nice profit to have a lil extra spending money for my kids. Wrong... I nvested that money and made about 2 thousand dollars off it with in 7 month period and now when I call about getting my money lending club hangs up in my face every single time for the last 4 months.
Sier
October 24, 2019
There should be a limit on how much a company charges interest rates. Most companies out there are charging 30%. And that is greed
Sier
October 24, 2019
It is tough to pay down or off high interest rates loans and credit cards, causing people to file bankruptcy