Press Releases

Attorney General Warns Of Foreclosure Relief Scams

CONTACT: Elliot Burg, Assistant Attorney General, (802) 828-5507

May 24, 2010

Vermont Attorney General William H. Sorrell is warning local homeowners in financial distress to avoid offers of quick fixes for their mortgage or foreclosure problems. A series of recent consumer complaints to his office have focused attention on out-of-state companies, many of them in California, promising to “reduce your mortgage,” “lower your monthly house payments,” “get past due payments eliminated,” “stop foreclosure,” and similar claims.

In fact, these “foreclosure rescue scams” have collected amounts from consumers in the $1,000-to-$2,500 range but have done nothing to assist homeowners. To make matters worse, it has generally been difficult to recover consumers’ funds, because the companies are often out of business by the time the investigation is begun.

According to Attorney General Sorrell, “It is particularly outrageous to see companies scamming consumers who are already facing economic hardship. Vermonters should know that they have local resources available to help them at no cost.”

Consumers who are having trouble making their mortgage payments, obtaining a loan modification, or dealing with a mortgage foreclosure in the courts should call the Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration’s Mortgage Assistance Program at 1-888-568-4547 (toll-free), or contact the nearest Homeownership Center (there is an online listing of these centers at http://www.vthomeownership.org/#).