Thursday, March 26, 2009

Foreclosure Assistance Firms Continue Clipping Florida Homeowners For Upfront Fees, Despite Prohibitions In State Law

In Palm Coast, Florida, the Daytona Beach News Journal reports:
  • William Hangan had a gut feeling that something was just not right when a California-based foreclosure consulting company sent him a postcard promising him thousands of dollars to help him move from his Palm Coast home that was being foreclosed. He should have listened to his gut.

  • Hangan, 26, now living in Rhode Island with his wife and daughter, is fighting to get back $1,200 because he has not received a penny in moving expenses from Homeowner Assistance Center.(1) Company officials have cut off communication with Hangan after numerous, frequent and repeated telephone calls and e-mails company president Ken Moorhead has termed "harassing."

For more, see Owners facing foreclosure forced to walk scam tightrope.

(1) Since October 1, 2008, charging up-front fees for loan modification and foreclosure related services violates the Florida Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Prevention Act. The Florida Attorney General's office urges those who believe they have been victimized by mortgage rescue companies to file a complaint at the their Fraud Hotline, 1-866-966-7226, or at their website.