Unfortunately my business failed and I had to shut it down. I secured the loan to my house, which was a dumb move on my part. Once I decided to shut down my business, I immediately informed CEF and they connected me with a retired banker named Bob. Bob apparently is the "loan collector" who deals with business owners who need to restructure their loan payback. At our meeting, he told my husband and I that he had the power to make the loan payback decisions. So, essentially however long we'd need interest only payments would be OKAY. I wish I would have recorded our conversation when we met face to face because 6-months later he DENIED everything.... more below...
At our face to face meeting, he assured me that CEF would work with me until I got my life situated. He told BOTH my husband and I that CEF would do interest only payments for a year, do a re-check after 6-months, then extend interest only for another 6-months if needed. Well, almost 6-months passed and he had ZERO recollection that he told us he'd extend interest only for a year. We were paying $350 per month interest while we got back on our feet. At the 6-month re-check I thought we had at least another 6-months left of interest only payments. Instead, he said we had to start making regular payments ($1200+). This means we would lose our house. He did not care and denied his 1 year promise to us. He lied to our faces and that's NOT okay! He claims none of this was "in his notes..." He said he talked to a lot of people and didn't recall saying anything about interest only for more than 6-months ... another dumb move on my part for not getting that in writing.
Additionally, CEF is incredibly disorganized. They billed me on different dates each month for almost a year and once I paid the loan in full (thanks to a family member stepping in so I wouldn't lose my house), they CONTINUED charging my account without my permission. Now I have to go close the account to make sure they cannot take another dime from my account.
Overall, 2 stars for CEF helping CO start-ups. If you succeed, AWESOME, you don't have to go through the torture that I went through. However, if your business fails then BEWARE of the consequences and get everything in writing! read more