Lawsuit Seeks Restitution from Loan Modification Company

Home Remedy Center, Newport Beach, California, is the subject of a lawsuit for failure to deliver and failure to provide refunds for its home loan modification service. The lawsuit seeks consumer restitution, injunctive relief, and civil penalties.

Through mail and online ads, Home Remedy Center offered to help consumers avoid foreclosure by working with the consumers’ lenders to negotiate a loan modification or otherwise adjust their debt. After accepting fees typically ranging from $3,500 to $5,000, the business did little or no work to help consumers and failed to provide refunds.

Investigation revealed nine complaints against the business. In one case, a Delaware County consumer paid Home Remedy Center $3,900 and stopped making her mortgage payments, according to the business’ instructions, but she never received a loan modification or a refund. Another Delaware County consumer paid Home Remedy Center $5,000 but never received a modification or a refund.

The Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s lawsuit, filed in the Delaware County Common Pleas Court, charges the business and its owner, Pamela Gressier, Huntington Beach, California, with violating Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act and Debt Adjusters Act.

Consumers who are worried about foreclosure should keep the following in mind:

• Do not pay up-front fees for help avoiding foreclosure or obtaining mortgage relief. Companies may not collect fees for mortgage assistance relief services until consumers receive and accept a loan modification offer from their lenders.

• Research a business before providing any payments or personal information. Check to see if consumers have filed complaints with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and check a company’s reputation with the Better Business Bureau.

• Don’t trust businesses that tell you to stop making your mortgage payments.

• Contact Save the Dream Ohio for foreclosure assistance. Call 888-404-4674 or visit www.savethedream.ohio.gov.

Consumers who believe they have been treated unfairly should file a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office at www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov or by calling 800-282-0515.

“Consumers paid thousands of dollars thinking they would get help adjusting their mortgage loans,” Attorney General DeWine said. “Instead they received essentially nothing in return and lost the money they paid to the business. We won’t stand by when a business targets consumers, takes their money, and provides no real help.”