Sylvester Ikwe (not real name), a Benue State-based civil servant, has narrated how he got lured into obtaining a N500,000 loan from LAPO Microfinance Bank.

Ikwe told FIJ in an interview that his journey to obtaining the loan started in November 2023, when he came across a man who introduced himself as a marketing officer for Smooth Loan, a supposed loan agency, on Facebook.

“After coming in contact with the man, who introduced himself as Mr. John, a Smooth Loan officer, he said I could request a loan as high as N500,000 from his financial institution,” Ikwe told FIJ.

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“I told him that I only needed a N300,000 loan. I also told him that I would like the repayment period to span over two years.

“Mr. John then said there was no problem, and we later agreed that N14,000 would be deducted from my salary every month until the amount I borrowed and the interest on it were repaid at the end of two years.

“The agreement we reached meant that I was to pay a total sum of N336,000 by the time the loan repayment period of two years was over.”

After the N300,000 loan agreement was reached, Ikwe said he surprisingly received a N500,000 payment from LAPO MFB in the same month.

“The fact that a N500,000 payment came from LAPO threw me off balance,” said Ikwe.

“Firstly, I had only interacted with the officer, who, I believed, represented Smooth Loan, so I expected the money to come from the institution he represented, not LAPO.

“And secondly, I only requested N300,000. How come LAPO credited me with N500,000?

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“I immediately sensed trouble was looming after I received the money, so I quickly reached out to Mr. John to tell him about how I had received a N500,000 loan payment I did not request.”

‘SYSTEM DOWNTIME RESPONSE’

In response, the agent told Ikwe that Smooth Loan had experienced a system downtime while his N300,000 loan was being processed.

“He then added that he resorted to processing the loan through LAPO to avoid service failure,” said Ikwe.

“When I then asked him why LAPO decided to send N500,000 to me instead of the N300,000 we agreed on, he could not give me a convincing answer.

“His actions further confirmed my suspicion that something was not right, and due to what now clearly looked like Mr. John’s dubious nature, I immediately refunded N200,000 out of the money to a LAPO MFB Access Bank account.

“I also followed up with a call to the MFB’s customer care line, letting them know that I only negotiated a N300,000 loan with the agent with an agreement to pay back over a two-year period.

“The agent I spoke with, however, told me that LAPO’s maximum loan tenure was for 12 months and that N36,000 would be deducted from my salary account as monthly repayment till I repaid my debt in full.

“This was contrary to what Mr. John told me while recommending the loan to me. It is now very clear that the Smart Loan agent lured me into taking the loan despite knowing that I would not be allowed to make a repayment over a two-year-period.

“Last month, LAPO deducted N36,000 from my salary as my first monthly repayment amount. This left me with just a balance of N28,000 from my take-home pay, meaning I would have to take care of myself and my family members in this present economy with N28,000 until the year ends.

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“I was tricked by the dubiousness of the agent and LAPO has chosen not to do anything to help me on this matter. Now, I would have to pay an outrageous N432,000 within one year on the N300,000 I borrowed. Isn’t that crazy? I am currently helpless.”

EMAILS SENT TO LAPO MFB AND SMOOTH LOAN

When FIJ sent emails to LAPO MFB and Smooth Loan for comments on the matter on Wednesday, only a LAPO MFB official, who did not state their name, responded, saying:

“We are very sorry for any inconvenience. Please send us your Full Name, City, State, IPPIS, Phone number, and the total refund amount you expect.”

When the official was provided with the information that was requested, they further wrote:

“Our sincere apologies to the client for the delay. The complaint was forwarded to the Department of the Public Sector pending feedback.”

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Smooth Loan was yet to respond to the mail sent by FIJ at press time.