Washington State AG Settles Suit With Florida-Based Upfront Fee Foreclosure Rescue Operator

The Washington State Attorney General’s Office announced yesterday:

• Approximately 200 Washington consumers who paid for a service that they thought would help save their homes from foreclosure will receive partial refunds under a new settlement announced [yesterday] by the Washington Attorney General’s Office. The homeowners each paid $1,200-$1,500 to Foreclosure Assistance Solutions LLC, of Clearwater, Fla. More than 70 percent of homeowners who signed up with Foreclosure Assistance Solutions ended up losing their homes anyway. The company went out of business in fall 2007. [...] The Attorney General’s Office accused the company of violating the state’s Consumer Protection Act, Credit Services Organization Act and Commercial Telephone Solicitation Act.

***

• Foreclosure Assistance Solutions did not admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement but agreed to pay $78,125 in restitution to Washington consumers, as well as $20,000 in attorneys’ fees. The settlement also includes injunctive provisions limiting how the company does business, should it offer services again in the future, as well as an additional $100,000 in civil penalties for failure to comply with the agreement.

The Washington AG stated that some of the solicitations sent to the homeowners by Foreclosure Assistance Solutions mimicked official government notices. In addition to announcing the settlement in this case, AG Rob McKenna also issued a reminder on the recent passage of legislation, HB 2791, designed to regulate foreclosure rescue operators.

• The Washington Attorney General’s Office introduced legislation this past session to help protect homeowners from foreclosure rescue scams where the “rescuer” agrees to purchase the distressed property then sell or lease it back to the original homeowner. HB 2791 takes effect June 12, 2008. The new law will require that the purchaser prove the homeowner is able to make the payments and provide a written contract with clearly disclosed terms. The new law gives the homeowner the right to cancel the contract within five business days. It also requires that the original homeowner receive at least 82 percent of the difference between the property’s fair market value and the underlying mortgage should the home be sold to a third party.

For more, see Foreclosure rescue company must refund 200 Washington consumers.

To view the cionsent decree and the original lawsuit in this case, see:

• Settlement - State of Washington v. Foreclosure Assistance Solutions LLC,
• Original Complaint - State of Washington v. Foreclosure Assistance Solutions LLC.

Other posts referencing Foreclosure Assistance Solutions.

Go here for a website possibly created by an unsatisfied customer of Foreclosure Assistance Solutions.