Credit card debt is an escalating problem in the US and all over the developed world. More and more people rack up mountains of debt, paying with plastic for things they cannot afford.
Debt resolution firms, such as credit counseling companies and debt settlement operations have been cashing in on the trend. Many of these operations are legitimate and make an honest buck helping debtors.
Ad
 | Best International Crypto Exchange - Buy/Sell BTC & other Cryptocurrencies |
 | Were You SCAMMED Online? Recover Your Money Now! |
 | Crypto Betting Platform (CFDs) |
Others look to cash in on the desperation of people, scamming them and leading them on with too-good-to-be-true offers. Neon Funding seems to be one such operation.
The official site of Neon Funding claims that it offers outstanding debt consolidation loans. To have a better understanding of why these offers are not realistic, you need to understand how debt consolidation loans work.
How do Legitimate Debt Consolidation Loans Work?
A debt consolidation loan pays off all your credit cards. While the approach is one of paying off one debt with another, it makes sense for several reasons.
- Debt consolidation loans offer you better terms and interest rates.
- If you eliminate your credit card debt with a consolidation loan, you will trade several monthly payments with different terms for a single monthly payment.
For debt consolidation to truly make sense, your loan needs to fulfill some requirements.
- It needs to feature better interest rates than your original debt.
- It has to be an unsecured loan, so do not end up putting essential assets, such as your home, on the line through it.
To qualify for a debt consolidation loan with an attractive interest rate, you need to have a good credit score. To qualify for what Neon Funding offers (interest rates in the 3.99 percent range), you would need to have a perfect credit score. Even so, the deal would still sound too good to be true.
Why is Neon Funding Most Likely a Scam?
The Neon Funding scheme ticks off several of the characteristics of a personal loan scam. And as they say: if the shoe fits…
- The Neon Funding website does not provide useful details concerning its offers. Nor does it say anything about the entity behind these offers. People who have dealt with the operation on some level, have noted that the site mentions third parties who would act as the loan providers.
- Neon Funding sends out promotional offers seemingly at random. It does not seem interested in the credit history of those whom it contacts. Every reputable lender runs thorough research on your credit history before committing to giving you a loan.
For scammers, your credit history is not a priority. Quite the contrary: such smooth operators want you to fall behind on your payments and incur all types of penalties.
- The Neon Funding website lacks all credibility. The people they cite in their testimonial section do not exist. They have made it all up. Someone even went through the trouble of disabling right clicks on the pictures, so visitors cannot readily perform image searches on them. Still, Marla’s picture is a ShutterStock stock photo of a “mature businesswoman…with business team working in background”. Such stunts never look good on the credibility-front.
- The business is not registered in your state. According to the testimonials of several people Neon Funding has contacted, the business does not appear to be registered anywhere. The conclusion is that it does not operate legally anywhere in the US.
- The way the lender contacts people is also highly suspicious. Reputable loan providers do not write to you, give you scammy-looking personal codes and tell you that you have been selected due to your outstanding credit history. They only advertise through online and mass media in the “conventional” manner. They will not send their people to knock on your door.
- Many of the entries on the Disclosure page of the official Neon Funding website are suspicious. According to the disclosure, Neon Funding is not a lender. It will share the personal information you provide with “up to” four lenders, who have decided to stay hidden behind the Neon Funding front.
The services Neon Funding provides are strictly administrative. The operation is a paid marketing lead generator, helping shady lenders get their hands on gullible debtors who may fall for these too-good-to-be-true deals.
Ad
| Best International Crypto Exchange - Buy/Sell BTC & other Cryptocurrencies |
| Were You SCAMMED Online? Recover Your Money Now! |
| Crypto Betting Platform (CFDs) |
- Neon Funding is not transparent about the fees it charges or about the fees its lender partners may charge. There is a calculator on the website that showcases the interest-savings you can rack up through the service. As a visitor, you have no idea how it generates the results it shows you. This whole operation is the opposite of transparent. The website does not even make public the list of its loan-providing partners.
- The operation is a very new one. Neon Funding launched its Facebook page on May 26, 2020. That barely makes it one month old. This is a minor red flag compared to the others we have discussed, but it is yet another blow to the credibility of the operation.
- Bad client feedback. There is not much client feedback available on Neon Funding’s service. The few people who decided to communicate their thoughts on the offers are those who received unsolicited letters from the operation. These thoughts are negative almost without exception. One feedback provider says he shredded the letter and threw it in the trash. Another user complains about the way US lawmakers and politicians have allowed predatory lending to flourish in the country.
Conclusion
Neon Funding looks like a front for predatory lending. The website does not offer loans. Rather, it recruits victims for several mysterious lending firms that have gone through a lot of trouble to stay out of the limelight. The transparency rating of this setup would have to be zero out of 100 if we were to rate it in that regard.
The possibility of legitimacy still exists in the Neon Funding equation, on a theoretical level. A proper, reputable lender does not go about its business in this manner, however. There are too many red flags and the offers seem designed to get the gullible to sign up as quickly as possible. Steer clear of Neon Funding.
