I have a distressed property and am headed toward folclosure so naturally I get a lot of mailers from companies promising to "save my home." Well this one had the "making home affordable" logo and looked promising so I called and started through the process. The moment they asked for money in a cashiers check or money order, I got a little suspiciouse and did my homework. Thank god I did before I sent them any money. Here is a copy of the email I sent them :
So i have some concerns I need to look at before going through with this process and sending money without anything to show for it.
My concerns are -
1.The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, has a Rule in place to protect homeowners. The Mortgage Assistance Relief Services (MARS) Rule makes it illegal for companies to collect any fees until a homeowner has actually received an offer of relief from his or her lender and accepted it. That means even if you agree to have a company help you, you don't have to pay until it gets you the result you want.
So in essence, asking for money at this time is I believe illegal?
2. Your BBB GRADE IS AN F with the following complaint - "I was very dissatisfied with National Preservation Center. I feel they are a bunch of scammers who make big statements about what they can do for you and charge you a lot of money for doing nothing. They rush you through signing a contract then tell you that you have to rush a payment out by either Western Union or a bank wire to some other business called All Seasons Management. No one knows what is going on after you pay them...you either get no answers or they blatantly lie to you. STAY AWAY FROM THESE CROOKS!!!!"
I should mention, this was posted just last month!!
3.All Seasons Management and National Preservation Center both share the same "physical" address...no big deal accept it's a nothing more than a p.o. box at a UPS store in a strip mall. Searching online. I find no physical address of either business. And there is no upstairs to a p.o. box last I checked? I talked to the police in Tustin and they are going to check the p.o. box and see who's name is actually on the box just to make sure it's legit.
4.Both businesses were started on the same day 306 days ago. Thats not a big deal, but only All Seasons is listed in the state of California as being legal. In fact, the bbb has this on your file for national preservation center:
National Preservation Center Reviews
I have a distressed property and am headed toward folclosure so naturally I get a lot of mailers from companies promising to "save my home." Well this one had the "making home affordable" logo and looked promising so I called and started through the process. The moment they asked for money in a cashiers check or money order, I got a little suspiciouse and did my homework. Thank god I did before I sent them any money. Here is a copy of the email I sent them :
So i have some concerns I need to look at before going through with this process and sending money without anything to show for it.
My concerns are -
1.The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, has a Rule in place to protect homeowners. The Mortgage Assistance Relief Services (MARS) Rule makes it illegal for companies to collect any fees until a homeowner has actually received an offer of relief from his or her lender and accepted it. That means even if you agree to have a company help you, you don't have to pay until it gets you the result you want.
So in essence, asking for money at this time is I believe illegal?
2. Your BBB GRADE IS AN F with the following complaint - "I was very dissatisfied with National Preservation Center. I feel they are a bunch of scammers who make big statements about what they can do for you and charge you a lot of money for doing nothing. They rush you through signing a contract then tell you that you have to rush a payment out by either Western Union or a bank wire to some other business called All Seasons Management. No one knows what is going on after you pay them...you either get no answers or they blatantly lie to you. STAY AWAY FROM THESE CROOKS!!!!"
I should mention, this was posted just last month!!
3.All Seasons Management and National Preservation Center both share the same "physical" address...no big deal accept it's a nothing more than a p.o. box at a UPS store in a strip mall. Searching online. I find no physical address of either business. And there is no upstairs to a p.o. box last I checked? I talked to the police in Tustin and they are going to check the p.o. box and see who's name is actually on the box just to make sure it's legit.
4.Both businesses were started on the same day 306 days ago. Thats not a big deal, but only All Seasons is listed in the state of California as being legal. In fact, the bbb has this on your file for national preservation center: