Description

I received a phone call and email for Shawn Marshall at LightStream. He left a few voicemail messages and I decided to call him back. I spoke to Shawn for approximately 1.5 hours. He explained the process of how on I qualified (pre-approved) for a loan with LightStream. I asked how was I pre-approved for the loan? He explained that based on my previous history with Navy Federal Credit Union and employer that they were able to use that information along with how long I had been at my residence. I asked him to provide the information and all of the information that he had was more than three years old. I told him I was not interested because I had just recently dealt with identify theft and divorce. I told him my credit was not the best and I would not be able to qualify. He stated that he did not need my full social and he was not going to run my credit. After going back and forth about different details, he explained that I would be charged a service fee that I would be reimbursed for the fee. I asked why would I be reimbursed isn't the service usually factored into the amount of the loan? He provided a good explanation at the time and it made sense. I do not recall the details, but it included an explanation about the state taxes for Georgia. Also, he stated that because they did not have all of my information they needed to see where funds were pulled from. The total amount I paid was $175-service fee and $160-processing fee for taxes. I questioned why CashApp was being used along with the names where the money was being sent. Shawn always provided a response. We ended the call so he could verify with his accounting department that the funds were received. He sent me a document to show that I was approved for the loan as well as a copy of the state document with an IRS logo. I became suspicious because the IRS does not send any documents to anyone via email. He called me back the following day and I requested a refund. He claimed that he would speak with his supervisor and accounting department to get me my refund. Since last Friday (8/11/23), I have called every day and a person would identify themselves and state that Shawn was working with another client or speaking with their accounting department and he would have to call me back. They asked how could they help me, but no one was able to give me a refund. As of Monday, August 14th no one answers the phone any longer. Please see the attached supporting documentation. I am writing because I do not want anyone else that is going through financial hardship to get scammed like me.