Canada Drives review: Scam 71

I had gone into the office and signed for a car, but life changes happened and couldn't afford to go through with picking up the car anymore or else sooner or later it would be up for repossession. I called the same night i signed for it leaving a message on their company line as to what had changed, but they conveniently didn't receive that message. Went to the office and told the senior finance guy about what was happening and he told me that he may not be able to reverse it, the bank will have to say what will happen from here. He said if they reverse that I would have to pay a fee of 500-700 for putting them through all that trouble. They said they sent the car to the garage to get a GPS put in and had it registered and certified already. When life hits you with something that changes the way you have to budget, I think they should understand that. I didn't even get the car yet, it was still out of my hands, so I don't know what the big deal is on that. I can't afford it anymore...I can't afford it. I understand exactly what you are saying though. The car i had gone for was a 2007 Buick Allure CX and it was high payments for 5 years. If a car payment is going for 5 years and $349.00 a month, it should be a better year vehicle...should be a newer model. the car was originall 8, 000 and by the time they slapped on 19%, it was showing me 19, 000 and change for a 2007 year car...ridiculous!

My wife was scammed by Canada Drives and Refresh Financial she thought she had a car loan but there was no loan and she owes them now how does that happen i know they tricked her by telling her they were giving her a loan for a car they said they needed her banking info she gave it unfortunately she said i am cancelling right now after the call and there answer was to cancel will cost her $550 WTF now there sending it to collections double WTF biggest con ever i filed with the BBB Canada Canada Drives laughed at me and said we are not affiliated with them well Duh you are now i replied and there still calling and e-mailing so just a friendly warning do not deal with them ...

My friend has also been scammed by these guys...how do we get out of it? They have been taking payments for approx 2 months so far.

I complained to the BBB of Canada it worked they cancelled everything and we now owe nothing give that a try ! easy to do and costs nothing ...

did you also stop payments thru the bank?

Yes i cancelled everything then complained to the BBB

This Company exploited my Son getting him to sign a credit repair agreement . he tried to cancel after making 2 payments and was told there would be a $500 fee ! This company is predatory loan facility Think twice before signing any agreement with them .

Despite best efforts it is true I get weekly calls from this company not to mention every telephone salesperson trying to sell me things I don't need. I know it all comes from Canada Drives as I used an alias and each call sine to my number is looking for the alias I only gave Canada Drives...Keep away! If they do this with information they promised was confidential imagine how honest it is when you hear from the dealer the car was used by a elderly woman and was a one owner 90's mini van..

I agree... This company is nothing but a scam. My husband is going through the same situation. He cancelled credit with Canada drive & refresh. It was such a hassle to cancel. He was transferred to at least 5 different people, one of them being a "manager" the manager was so rude an unprofessional. He humiliated my husband by telling him the reason why he has bad credit is due to him not being able to commit. Uhhh... first of all you the F*** are you to say something like. Second of all my husband has no credit since he's never needed it. These guys are so persistent that they would call him at least 5-6 times a day. Now when they finally got a hold of him, the guys he was dealing with John James promised him there was no cancelation fee. But now that I'm reading all sorts of stories it looks like they do charge a $550 to cancel. We have yet to received a cancelation e-mail. Which is odd since when you first sign up they are on the ball with the e-mails. This company also has Instagram if you look them up @ canadadrives you will see what they really spend the $$$ of the people they ripped off on.

I cannot believe people who sign contracts, then cry when they realize they didn't think their choices through and expect to walk off a contract. What is a contract if anyone just cancel when they want to? Why even have contracts at all then? 1.89% two year fixed term mortgage - doesn't that sound good? Okay, let's sign the papers today. Oh, you know what, the bank changes their mind tomorrow and tell you it's 5% now - they don't give a turd if you signed an agreement. Would you be happy?

You have poor credit and poor repayment history. You're lucky to even have anyone willing to lend money to you. What? You think money should just be handed to you at almost 0% interest because you deserve it? You know who really deserve it? People that worked hard to get to their success and lend it to unreliable people like you. As for a cancellation fee, that's at each dealerships discretion on how they want to run their business.

There are good dealerships and bad dealerships out there, just like there are good and bad customers who don't understand what they are doing then cry about it here.

Make informed decisions, do some research, ask the right questions... but maybe that's why you end up in your credit position in the first place because you're irrational, irresponsible and volatile in decision making skills. Now you're stuck - either no car or getting one at higher interest rates than what prime customers get. Go on... continue to cry wondering why.

Wow thank you poster above for having common sense! These people really have no sense. They max their credit cards and what not and don't pay them back. Then complain why nobody trusts them! If these people took the time to listen (not selective hearing) and asked questions they would understand what the program is. All they hear is 'car' and getting money without listening to all the details. They have no sense of investment, everything has to be right now which is how they got bad credit in the first place.

As you said, there are good and bad dealerships out there, unfortunately Canada Drives doesn't managed their business. But one thing is for certain, it doesn't matter where you go for your vehicle, your credit is bad and YOU need to take responsibility.

Cancellation fees are common everywhere I don't understand why people are so dumbfounded by it. Every cancelled with a cell phone provider? I have and they have cancellation fees. What about if you had a lease that you were renting? They also have a cancellation fee. RRSP's? Yea the bank and government tax you for taking it out before it matures.

If you guys had an attention span for more than a day, a month or 2 months you would be able to take hold of your finances and be responsible. So now you're going to cancel and not pay the fee...then let it go to collections? How's that working for ya? You literally just prove why nobody should ever lend you anything. Stop playing the blame game, clearly it's still not working out for you.

that is all well and fine but don't you think they should be honest and tell you up front the true facts about the so called agreement in entire detail instead of after you sign any papers

I feel like the two people above are just people from Canada Drives trying to defend their company. That's such a shame. Look at the post from "Canada Drives" and the two long ones below that. They sound exactly the same. Shame on you Canada Drives.

If a friend lends you money and then don't payback would you give him a money ever again? No? Well.. Clearly that's just common sense. If companies out there give payday advances from regular pay stubs, mortgages or autos without checking credit history then they are taking the risk and therefore they need to be cover themselves too charging more than regular banks. I don't think the previous comments were from Canada Drives employees but I don't work there and still makes sense.

You may get a person calling you saying they are from Canada Drives when they actually are from a random dealership. Right there is the dealerships integrity out the window and should be a red flag. Do not give any additional information to them until you know who they are exactly and what brand they sell. You should not have to be forced to do business with a eg. Chrysler dealership. The other thing is if your only choice is to work with the dealer, don't buy a car from them that they don't make eg buying a Mazda from a GM dealership. The next scam is the dealership will tell you that the car has no warranty and charge you up the ying yang to get one. My advice is if warranty is an issue for you, buy only reliable cars such as Toyota's, Lexus or anything that is in the Consumers Reports used car guide. Have a reputable trust worthy outside mechanic that specializes in out of dealership brand specific work only eg Honda independent specialist. To be quite honest dealerships are in the business to make money. Once you have no option but to fix something you get shafted left right and center, even worse if you are a woman. Do some checks on the car before signing or agreeing to anything over words or phone. Don't set yourself up for disaster by trapping yourself and saying yes to anything. Last thing is that once you found yourself a reliable car, you may want to look at the resale value because chances are that you may want to sell this vehicle and upgrade to get the most money for it because you may have lost out to high interest rates. Let's face it: Unless the car is special of build or one of or id sentimental value, anyone that says they are going keep the car till it dismantles to the asphalt is lieing to theirselves.

The person above wrote "to be quite honest, dealerships are in the business to make money". Well who goes into business thinking, "I want to pour capital into a business where I don't make money!" LOL, laughable. As for warranty, let's think about it. These customers have bad credit getting an financing at higher than prime interest rates. You want to get a 5 year agreement WITHOUT warranty. Warranty's range from $799 to $2499. Your car breaks down 3 years into your 5 year commitment. You only make $3, 000 before taxes each month and have dependency. Now what? Pay your monthly payments on time but don't have enough to fix the car? Or fix the car but don't make your monthly payments and have it repossessed? The cost to fix is probably $2K. So building a warranty into your deal from the beginning will help you afford a warranty rather than something happening and you need to pay hundreds to thousands up front to repair the car.

By the way, I've worked at new dealerships before and even new dealerships sell brand new cars that come back within a year with problems. What product on the market is made to perfection? There are no such thing. Even if you do all the research in the world on which cars have the least problems, there is still that chance that you might just get unlucky and be the small percent that gets one with issues down the road.

One of these guys call me too, he said he would fix my credit by me paying on for 3 years, I'm to sure what to do after reading all these comment, i just want to know that it does clean up your credit after they are done, my credit is not that bad i just have three old credit cards from when i was in college many years ago over 10 years.

Hi Taurus7,

Yes, auto financing will help rebuild your credit. Here is a good article to read straight from Equifax research: http://www.equifax.com/assets/corp/subprime_auto_economic_commentary.pdf
Look at page 4, figure 3 to see the average increase in credit score for people with auto financing vs no auto financing (and assuming you do not miss payments, file bankruptcy/consumer proposal, stretch your credit, etc).

But you must must must be diligent with paying off your credit cards still, not filing for bankruptcy/consumer proposal, not overstretching yourself in debt left and right. It's all a game of balance. You cannot expect to grow a stronger credit bureau with auto financing alone - be smart with all your debt and make payments on-time.

When I worked with sub-prime customers (generally speaking, customers that have mediocre to very weak credit bureau, beacon score under 630, bad repayment history or overstretched in debt), some were delusional and asked for newer luxury vehicles. DO NOT SPEND OUTSIDE YOUR MEANS! But they were hopeless to convince. I could see on their credit bureau the many dealerships and lending institutions that they tried at and 100% they gave them the say response, DECLINED or approved for a small amount. So they keep on shopping not knowing there are only limited auto lending institutions. If Dealership A applied on your behalf to X lenders, chances are, when you come to me, I apply to the same lenders in which they will already have a record of you applying and give you the same answer or even worse because now they know you just keep trying. And every pull on your credit bureau is a hit to your score making you just that much worse of a candidate for financing.

I loved the customers that were humble and understood their situation and just needed a vehicle to get from Point A to Point B. Customers with bad credit bureau demanding a newer luxury vehicle and mandatory feature A, B and C? I'd try to convince them to be realistic and they'll most likely get approved for $10-$19K. If it didn't work, I'd humor them then just toss their application out once they leave, fully knowing they will keep shopping and their score will get worse and worse until declined across the board.

Spend within your means is the point of this :) And yes, auto financing helps rebuild your credit bureau.

Hahaha people's that are trying to defends Canada drives... They all sounds alike.
This reminds me when I worked for this place and they would ask us to go online and act like customers and talk good things ...but then we all knew it was BS.
So 2 weeks ago I gave try, I have good credit so I tried it myself but gave my first name and an Alias last name... I got a call from Canada drive, made a schedule to go meet the dealer..I got there..the same male I spoke on the phone as Canada drive rep was these me dude as a dealer...since then I've spoken to 2 Canada drive rep and went to meet the dealers and it was the same guys again!
So yes that's a bit fishy when 3 dealers calls you and they all say they are Canada drive.
Cheers

I feel that before anyone signs any kind of contract the homework has to be done. Research the dealerships, research the terms and conditions. If a dealership is willing to "help" there is a good chance that your bank will consider the same with similar terms but less interest. There is no harm in making an appointment and discussing all options.
I am guilty of rushing into purchasing a vehicle with high interest, the only difference was I didn't get to choose the vehicle, I ended up with an older vehicle with relatively low mileage for its age. I was actually doing quite well making my payments and was three months away from the end of the agreement when life threw a curveball and I ended up very sick, I couldn't return to work and had to claim social assistance once my sick benefit ran out. I am a single parent and had three children to take care of and my only option was to return the car and forfeit the agreement. So now I am in the process of rebuilding my credit again, but I will not be rushed into a purchase of a vehicle without weighing up my options. I have a car, it's paid for but I need an SUV, so I might see what terms I can get. Who knows maybe I will finally get the vehicle of my dreams, then again I might not.
What people have to understand is just because I have bad credit doesn't mean I'm lazy and don't pay my bills, it's sometimes, in my case, because of an illness leading to a loss of a job. I still had to be a mom, and pay my rent and utilities but I had to make the decision to find my needs vs my wants, my luxuries had to go and unfortunately those that I once could afford were less important to pay, necessities came first. So it's not laziness not every time, sometimes it's life that gets in the way.

Most sub prime lead providers sell your credit application in bundles to auto dealerships in your area.
They usually charge $5000 for a bundle of 60 leads, sometimes they recycle these leads a couple of times.
That is why you are getting numerous calls from different dealerships.
www.openroadfinancial.ca was created by a former sub prime executive who know how to protect the sub prime customer.
Read their Blog on how these customers are mistreated by the dealerships.
Their biggest advice is to know the sale price of the vehicle before you even fill out an application.
Ensure you are getting the same sales price as everyone else. Just because you have bad credit doesn't mean the sale price is increased.
Your financing terms are higher due to your credit rating but sales price should be the same for everyone.

Not sure about the car buying process but my girlfriend went ahead with their credit rebuilding program and got her credit back up within a few months. They made sure that she's tried every option and at the end of the road this was the last option for my girlfriend. Basically what I see from it is they "lend" you money but you can't touch it at all. You make payments to this on a regular basis which is gonna help you get your credit back up. At the end of the term you get half of that back. It sounded fishy to me at first but the way my girlfriend puts it is that "I'd rather spend this money and have my credit back up than constantly getting rejected for credit cards, anything with a contract, etc." it made sense. She applied now has a credit card for the first time in years. Main point, if you don't need it, don't apply. Don't put something down just because it didn't work for you. There are people out there that it works for and that's what matters.

My husband had a call last night from Canada drives and refresh finacial
It sounded like a scam they wanted him to open up a email from them but he wanted to talk to his bank first. They didn't want that at all. So I looked them up on bbb and confronted guy on phone . He tried to back track so fast saying à pile of excuses .starting with there not affiliated with bbb because they want canada drives and refresh finacial 500 bucks to register on there site. I your a legit business why not do it ? Looking at all these comments thank god we didn't do it

Wow I'm glad I never saw the complaints on this site because I never would have gone on their program. Blessings in disguise! Not sure what this lady is talking about 500 dollars to register but I don't think she really understands much. Anyway I was discouraged when I never got my vehicle after applying but I got really good credit advice from one of their agents and 5 months in I've finally been able to get a credit card and approved for a car as well so something is working.

Wait a minute, you mean that you can find complaints about companies on a website specifically designed to complain? Who'da thunk it? Well no wonder you'll find negative reviews, this site isn't really meant to review anything, just whine haha. All I see here is just a few people ranting about wanting to quit a contract. For anybody reading up on this company or any others on this site, try and have an objective point of view rather than listening to the peanut gallery, they're helpless.

OpenRoad Financial Tips signing a vehicle finance contract after bankruptcy.
1) Know what the advertised sale price of the vehicle is before you sign any documents.
2) You are not obligated by any Lender to take a warranty, Life or Disability Insurance, or GAP (Guaranteed Asset Protection)
3) Do not fall for the " We can get your interest lowered to 9.9% in 12 months" (Just Google "Car buyers say dealerships duped them over TD's costly high interest" and you will see the results. Dealers fail to tell you that you must trade in the vehicle in 12 months and you lose all that interest you paid. If you are unsure tell the dealership to provide this to you in writing or ask them to show you this on the contract. This is also a form of Predatory Lending. BEWARE.
4) Make sure the Lender you are dealing with reports you payment history to the Credit Bureau.
5) Be realistic with your purchase. If you have to pay a higher interest rate, due to a poor credit rating, use common sense and purchase a means of transportation. Don't sign up for a $780 payment over the next 6 years (72 months). Do the math!

This company refresh financial seems like a scam. Where do I start! First I was trying to apply for car dealerships and applying and put my information into a small ad I seen while looking at dealerships. They called me very frequently! I kept telling them to call me back because I already found a dealership and was in the process of getting approved, so I really didn't hear or take the time to listen to what exactly they did. After I was approved for the company I was already working with, they called me a couple more times and I took the time to listen to Marie on the phone. Mary was a little trickster. I know I applied for a car l o a n why is this now Refresh financial? A credit rebuilding company? My credit isn't that bad and I didn't send my information to a credit building company. Anyway at first what she was saying sounded okay. She said I would make a bi weekly payment of $46 and at the end of 3 years I would get back $1750. Basically, I am magically instantly approved for a $2300 l o a n ( I can't send the review without deleting that work funny huh) with them that stays in the bank and can't be touch one bit and I would make those payments and they would report perfect repayments and make my credit score go up 5-25 points a month. Okay...sounded great! But while about to fully sign up my phone died while talking to her and it was already late. The next day after some thinking the girl surprisingly called me back early in the morning to continue the call. Pretty persistent, she had a way of swaying me with her words and she was pretty good. She sent me a text message to log into my online banking so it would automatically tell her my last three digits in my account number. I thought that was not secure at all with my personal information so I told her I'd send the information of my account transit number and checking account number. She told me she doesn't want the numbers she needs actual proof of it, all the while wanting to stay on the phone while looking for all these things to give her. I found that pretty annoying. I wanted time to think since my impression of her sounded kind of caniving. She did not want to come off the phone with me. I hung up because I couldn't bother anymore with the foolishness and she called me back three times and I didn't answer. This is the text her rude ### sent to me...Hey My Name,
Not very sure as to why you wasted my damn time in putting together your application, if you did not want to rebuild your credit you could have just told me you are not interested. If you still want to proceed, we do require your banking we cannot just write down any transit number or account number, we need legitimate documents like a void check that has your name on it other wise we cannot verify that you (My name) have an account with CIBC for all we know we are taking these $46 bi-weekly payments from someone else's account, please respond to this message and let me know where we stand so that I know what to do with your application. Thanks.

Marie
Credit Specialist
[protected]
EXT. 0112

Rude ### little b****! Are you working that hard for your commission?!?! I called to speak to her manager and up until now not one person has answered or called me back. They are a scam and you need to stay very far!

Ok to the last few comments up there you can shut the **** up and not try to back these s****y dealerships and loan companies they told me I was approved for a 1500 loan through refresh finacial what they failed to tell is that I wasn't going to receive any money and that the quote loan was to get my credit on track and when I looked at there site online it actually said won't build credit so I called them up and said so I don't get any money that you said I was being loaned but it shows I made payments payments on ****ing what you never gave me anything then they tell me that if I stick with it and pay off it off I get 40 percent of my money back WTF! ### so unjust giving you guys money that's it

Don't listen to this idiot above who just expects everything to be given to him. He mostly likely expects everything to be handed over to him for simply existing and doesn't ask questions, then is surprised when he realizes the cold hard truth that he doesn't deserve to borrow any money.

But honestly this isn't a dictatorship so it's not reserved for angry trolls. So ask questions, do some research. The internet is a place full of angry people. You can find bad reviews on your favorite restaurant lol.

april 6, 2016. was requested personal banking info. for $92 withdraw from my bank account.

I was contacted by a man from Refresh last December/15 and he explained for a small monthly payment he will give me a loan. They hold the monies Ive paid and then after the 18mths etc of payments they give it back to me and apparently the payments being made are what increases and repairs my credit rating with the Credit Bureau. I signed and after looking into this further I realized I wont be getting any money back and this is not a repayment loan at all. Its a scam.. I put a stop payment on it with the bank so they can no longer take any money. I was told on the phone that I would need to pay back fees of $500-600 to get out of the contract. I also checked with the Credit Bureau and was told they will not be reporting any payments to them, its a SCAM. I continue to receive emails saying I need to bring my account up to date but that I will NOT be doing. Please be careful and dont fall for it.

I deal with canada drives. i have a car through them with 29 % interest. as much as this percentage is biting me in the but I need this car to work. I have horrible credit due to my reckless past but im old now and i need to work but having the car is essential. i live in a rural area. I have had this car for one year now and put on 30 thousands KMs. but in the scheme of things, Canada drives is just like a shady cash store. I just got off the phone with them and they said hey we now deal with personal loans so you are approved. I got duped. they wanted to know all my info AGAIN because they didnt have any info. and actually asked for my SIN number. Wow! of course i didnt give it to them. but at the end they said oh we are sorry we dont deal with your province. I said I got a car from you. they said oh there is no mention you have a car with us. REALLY! I hung up.

Use your brains peeps... No payment info over phone... No personal details... Come on... Common fricken sense... Xoxo

I got called today while I was busy at work and the guy conned me into the refresh financial thing making believe it was actually good for me and my credit. I knew I shouldnt do it but he somehow convinced me, Anyways now I realize how big of a F up this actually was and have many calls and emails in to cancel this. Im waiting to speak to them in the morning but by the sounds of it they are going to charge me $550, I havent given them any money yet and they havent done any thing for me and I just really want to know how to get out of this, if anyone knows or has an idea please let me know. I dont by any means need a loan or to build my credit and am beyond stressed and pissed right now. PLEASE HELP