Asking for a "Loan Fee" is Fraud

There are a handful of companies across the U.S. and in Canada that advertise that they offer a business credit building package, and some that they are ‘verified lenders’.  All but a few of these are legitimate.  In part, the internet has created a breeding ground for scammers to collect money from people looking to start new businesses, and offer no, or very little in exchange.  These scams involve collecting an upfront fee in order to get the business owner the funding or credit service that was advertised.
Loan scams require an upfront fee to pay for alleged insurance on the money since they don’t ask for collateral.  This is a scam tactic.  In some cases, once the consumer pays the fee, the ‘company’ is never heard from again. In other instances, empty promises are made and the ‘company’ drags the process on and eventually stops corresponding with the client.

There is another way.  Strong Business Credit ( www.strongbusinesscredit.com ) is a privately held company that specializes in helping both start-ups and existing companies establish and build business credit and acquire alternative business financing.  Like the ‘scammers’, Strong Business Credit requires an upfront fee for their services.  However, this fee is value based, and covers the time and expenses involved with building the client’s business credit, packaging and underwriting the loan file, and submitting it to private lenders and equity firms for funding.  Only applicants whose application is approved are accepted as clients, and no fee is charged until the approval is granted, and the client chooses to move forward.