Mortgage Relief Scammers Fined by FTC

According to Walletpop.com, two companies and three related mortgage relief scammers have recently fined $2.2 million by the Federal Trade Commission for scamming homeowners who faced foreclosures. The individuals responsible for these home scams have also been banned from the mortgage relief services business. The scammers have been first targeted in November 2009 as part of “operation stolen hope” when the FTC accused them of misrepresenting themselves and falsely promising homeowners to modify their loans and lower their monthly mortgage payments.

The accused individuals were said to leave phone messages to victims, offering them to approve them for a loan modification. During follow-up calls, they lied to consumers about specific interest rates, monthly payments and their ability to prevent a home foreclosure. The scammers were charging upfront fees of between $299 and $699 to modify mortgages. Allegedly, some consumers received a loan modification offer, but they weren’t actually much more affordable than their existing payment and sometimes they were even higher.

Besides not being able to sell mortgage relief services, the accused individuals are also prohibited from misleading consumers about financial-related goods and services including loans, refund terms, affiliation with any person or government entity or the ability to improve a consumer’s credit history. The FTC settlement states that they can’ sell or disclose customers’ personal information, enforcing contracts with mortgage relief clients and violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule.

The FTC issued the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule in November 2010, banning providers of mortgage foreclosure rescue and loan modification services from collecting fees until homeowners receive an acceptable, written offer from their lender or servicer.

The San Antonio local moving company, All My Sons of San Antonio, reminds you to be careful in all of your transactions regarding your homeownership. Read documents carefully, get advice from real estate professionals, get online and discuss specific real estate topics on forums and get familiar with the rules and regulations surrounding foreclosures and loan modifications. If you’re in the process of moving due to a foreclosure, don’t hesitate to call the San Antonio moving specialists for an easy move across the street or into an entire new neighborhood. Our expert San Antonio movers have plenty of years of experience in the industry, in fact, we’re backed by four generations of movers and have moving offices across the nation. For a stress-free move, call professional movers you can trust, call All My Sons of San Antonio.