Thursday, September 13, 2007

Tennessee Couple Falls For Upfront Fee Foreclosure Rescue Service

A story on the NBC Today Show website reports on the story of a Tennessee couple who lost their home to foreclosure and their experience with an upront fee foreclosure rescue operator, Mortgage Assistance Solutions LLC of Clearwater, Florida. According to the story:
  • [The couple] agreed to pay $1,300 to enroll in the company’s Fresh Start program, which promises to help homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments with "creative" solutions. Mortgage Assistance Solutions said it would take care of everything and told the [couple] not to contact the mortgage company. [The husband] says he got a call from the lender in July warning him that he was about to lose his house. He called Mortgage Assistance Solutions and asked for his money back. The company reduced the fee to $1,000 but would not refund the rest.

For more, see BBB warns of shady foreclosure rescue firms (Companies claim they want to help, but many leave you in worse shape).

For a story of a Massachusetts homeowner in foreclosure who reportedly also lost money paying for a so-called "Fresh Start Program" from Florida, see Woman Falls Victim To 'Mortgage' Program (Resident On Verge Of Losing Home) (WCVB-TV Channel 5 - Boston); or watch the Channel 5 report.

See Ripoff Report for links to other complaints against Mortgage Assistance Solutions.