Complaint resolution service publishes case studies, recall information and consumer news.

Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna, someone we’ve often covered, has again come to the front of the consumer pack and accussed a company of wrongdoing.

McKenna says that United Home Savers, a Florida company, violated multiple Washington regulations and is now out of business.  McKenna charged that the company and owners Stephanie and Darin Dietschy promoted a foreclosure assistance service that

can rescue homeowners from foreclosure. The company charged $1,200 or more up front and promised a refund if their services weren’t successful.

Instead, Washington Assistant Attorney General Jack Zurlini reported that the company did not help consumers and routine failed to refund those who complained.  The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is also investigating the company and others accused of preying on homeowners in danger of foreclosure.

As part of Blog Action Day earlier this week, Consumer Help Web documented a series of pages at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development that provide official federal advice on home mortgages and foreclosures.

Posted under Complaints, Finance

The global economic crisis that first began impacting businesses continues to destroy consumers.  Nest eggs carefully nurtured over decades are significantly down, the percentage of consumer credit being used is up even though consumer spending is down and house prices continue their free fall.

Most alarming is the number of houses with a delinquent mortgage and the record number of houses in formal foreclosure processes.

There are alternatives to foreclosure, but homeowners must be proactive.   One of the most overlooked resources for people to find assistance is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.  You may know the agency’s name as “HUD”.    Of the many agencies battered by this unique crisis in our lifetimes, HUD has shown that it is one of the best in communicating to consumers about their options.

Consumer Help Web is honored to help HUD spread that message during Blog Action Day.

Among the services offered by HUD is a list of housing counseling agencies where consumers can get straight talk about their options.  There is also a great advisory on foreclosure scams everyone should read.  There is even a list and advice about alternatives when a housing lender won’t work with you.

Start at the main HUD Guide To Avoiding Foreclosure and become educated.  Knowledge is power, and seeing a U.S. agency step up timely and helpful information is a welcome sight.

Posted under Finance

Superior Mortgage Corp., a lender with 40 branch offices in 10 states and multiple Web sites, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated federal law by failing to provide reasonable security for sensitive customer data and falsely claiming that it encrypted data submitted online. The settlement bars future deceptive claims and requires the company to establish data security procedures that will be reviewed by independent third-party auditors for 10 years.

The FTC’s Safeguards Rule, enacted under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, requires financial institutions, including lenders like Superior, to implement reasonable policies and procedures to ensure the security and confidentiality of sensitive customer information. Superior maintained customers’ Social Security numbers, credit histories, and credit card numbers, among other sensitive information. The FTC complaint alleges that Superior violated the Safeguards Rule because it:

Failed to assess risks to its customer information until more than a year after the Safeguards Rule took effect;

Failed to implement appropriate password policies to limit access to company systems and documents containing sensitive customer information;

Did not encrypt or otherwise protect sensitive customer information before sending it by e-mail; and

Failed to ensure that its service providers were providing appropriate security for customer information and addressing known security risks in a timely manner.
The FTC also alleged that despite Superior’s claims that sensitive personal information collected at its www.supmort.com Web site was encrypted using secure socket layer technology, the information was only encrypted while it was being transmitted between a visitor’s web browser and the Web site’s server. Once the information was received at the Web site, it was decrypted and e-mailed to Superior’s headquarters and branch offices in clear, readable text. The agency alleged that these claims were deceptive and violated the FTC Act.

The settlement bars Superior from misrepresenting the extent to which it maintains and protects the privacy, confidentiality, or security of any personal information collected from or about consumers, and prohibits violations of the Safeguards Rule. The settlement also requires that Superior hire an independent, third-party auditor to assess its security procedures every two years for the next 10 years, and to certify that these procedures meet or exceed the protections required by the Safeguards Rule. The settlement also contains certain record keeping requirements to allow the FTC to monitor compliance.

Superior Mortgage Corp. is based in Tuckerton, New Jersey. It has offices in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Connecticut, Indiana, and Delaware.

NOTE: Consent agreements are for settlement purposes only and do not constitute an admission by the defendant of a law violation.

Posted under Customer Service

Interest rates on mortgages continue to rise according to data from Freddie Mac, but are expected to remain at record low levels for the remainder of 2005.

The rate for a 30 year mortgage was 5.85% for the week ending March 10, 2005, but Freddie Mac spokesperson Amy Crews Cutts remained positive. “Even with rising mortgage rates over the last four weeks, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates remain an historical bargain,” she said. “To date, contract rates for these mortgages have been below 6 percent for 31 weeks in a row, and we don’t expect these rates will rise very much above 6-1/4 percent by year-end.

Posted under Finance