The other day I did a story about SC Law Group, here. In that story I discovered that SC Law Group had the same core of lawyers that were associated with another firm, NHT Law Group, that was being sued by a mortgage company for sending out allegedly bogus mailers.
The mortgage company suit said:
At some point in December 2011, various clients of GRI received the notices in the mail marked “Personal and Confidential” (see notices attached as Exhibit A), which included a warning stating “$2,000 Fine or 5 Yrs. Imprisonment Or Both for Any Person Who Interferes With Or Obstructs Delivery of This Letter Or Otherwise Violates – 18 United state Code 1702 Et Seq”, which apparently was meant to lend some seriousness to the information contained in the notice.
The notice contained the following false, misleading and otherwise defamatory statements:
a) Why are you getting this notice? Court records indicate that a recent lawsuit has been filed against Guaranteed Rate Inc, with claims of Foreclosure Fraud, Mortgage Misrepresentation, and Unfair Business Practices. Due to the serious nature of this matter we ask that you respond promptly.
b) What happens if you don’t respond by January 7th: You may be eligible for representation in a case against Guaranteed Rate Inc, don’t delay as only a specific group of people may qualify.
The notices also included a “Summary of Proposed Changes Based On Eligibility” which details a completely fictitious calculation of the borrower’s new payment based upon information which NHT and the marketing company have obtained from an unknown source.
Charles Bachtell, General Counsel for GRI, was able to contact Paul Nguyen of NHT, who stated, in substance, that he was unaware that such notices were being sent by the marketing company and stated that no further notices would be sent. A complete detailing of the communications between GRI and NHT are contained in an affidavit signed by Mr. Bachtell, which is attached as Exhibit B. The relevant emails between Mr. Bachtell and Mr. Nguyen are contained in Exhibit C.
Mr. Nguyen refused to provide the list of all individuals who had received the notices and refused to provide the name of the marketing company which sent out the notices. – Source
The mailer in that case is this one that was included as part of the case.
Paul C. Nguyen, Esq. who is also an attorney with SC Law Group sent an series of emails as part of that case denouncing the mailer. – Source
To me it appears very clear that Nguyen fell on the sword and said the mailer was not acceptable.
As part of that previous story I asked readers, and I have the most amazing readers, to send me a copy of the new SC Law Group mailer. Well I got one.
SC Law Group — Really?
From the mailer I just received at click here it appears NHT Law/SC Law Group did not learn their lesson at all. In fact the new mailer is identical in format and intention for people to call.
I called the number on the mailer, 888-459-7998, and the representative confirmed they were SC Law Group.
I’ll let you compare the mailers and see what you think.
New Alleged SC Law Group Mailer
The mailer claims the recipient “may be eligible for special modification program guidelines in conjunction with the 2009 Home Owner Affordability and Stability Plan.” It states people may be eligible to:
- Modify your existing home loan
- Reduce your monthly mortgage payments
- Receive interest rate reductions
- Freeze your existing interest rate
The front of the mailer has 777469 on it and it says it comes from permit 1958 in zip code 92831.
That just so happens to be the same postal permit that this bogus debt settlement mailer was sent from. I did not have the front of the mailer in the lawsuit against NHT Law Firm to compare the postal permit.
Apparently Paul Nguyen was so outraged that a similar format mailer was sent out again. But this time some of the language was changed from suing your lender to selling mortgage modification.
Granted the new mailer does not make the same claim of a lawsuit being filed against the mortgage holder but it does use the same format to appear as an official notice, without identifying it as legal advertising, to apparently sell the consumer a loan modification program. And according to the previous article, that reader alleged this about SC Law Group, “They are not present for any negotiating with the bank in my behalf, and they want $2000 for putting my paperwork together – Does this sound like a scam?”
Not cool. Not cool.
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Wasted money • an hour ago
DO NOT HIRE SCLAW GROUP for assistance in securing a mortgage modification. I hired SCLaw Group in March of 2012, it is now in November NO MODIFICATION they DO NOT deliver at all. The staff turn over is high and in my case I’ve had three case managers which they don’t contact you weekly as agreed in their agreement. The only thing they do is just fax your bank with your information that you provide them. I was charge one thousand and nine hundred dollars for a service that they don’t provide. They don’t have any influence with the banks in which you have a mortgage with. It’s my opinion it was money wasted which I didn’t have anyway. You will loose your home if you put your home in their hands. You will end up doing all the work by faxing SCLaw Group the information that the bank request and they will fax it to them. So why bother and do the work yourself. AGAIN, if you have money to waste hire SCLaw Group! I plan to make a formal complaint with the BBB and any other website that is associate with filing a complaint.
Steve,
I read your post about me and my firm on your website at getoutofdebt.org. I want to say that you should check your facts carefully before you writeabout any one or any entity.
First, the lawsuit in Illinois is currently being fought vehemently. Asyou so clearly posted on your website, my emails clearly state the mailersthat were sent out under NHT Law Group were NOT approved. Once discovered,a seize and desist letter was issued and no clients were taken in as aresult. Yet, GRI wanted to go on a vigilante hunt to make a point becauseof the Kramer & Kaslow fiascal and decided to sue NHT in federal court inIllinois, an improper jurisdiction. I suggest you read the entire caseand not just the portion you find convenient. A motion to dismiss has beenfiled by NHT and the federal judge is currently taking it intoconsideration. I have attached the Motion to Dismiss for your viewing. Also, in the court transcripts, the federal judge, Judge Grady, evenstated to the other side that plaintiff GRI should actually be pursingtheir action against the marketing company and not NHT (Also attached).You can read the limited role of NHT and myself in that whole picture. NHTwas nothing more than a referral firm and the bad mailers were denouncedand was not acted upon as you so stated on your site.
Secondly, SC Law Group is a firm that currently trying to legitimatelyhelp homeowners through federal loan modification guidelines. It hasnothing to do with lender litigation or that whole issue that took downthe bad firms and lawyers. Making a similar comparison between the badmailer and the one SC Law Group sends out is like comparing apples tooranges. The mailers clearly are NOT the same. SC Law Group is NOTtelling homeowners they have a settlement coming from a lawsuit againsttheir bank or that they are entitled to anything. It simply states thattheir situation may be helped through federal modification programs. There is nothing false or misleading about that.
I demand you either post my email response or a similar one to retract.Before you defame good and ethical lawyers, you need to do more researchand be careful of what you write. Otherwise, what you yourself are doingis tantamount to defamation and libel.
— Paul C. Nguyen, Esq.Attorney / Broker
seize and desist
for a lawyer, this guy is somewhat of an illiterate as the legal term is “cease and desist”. the bottom line is that these folks get paid whether they are successful or not and unfortunately the tendency is to take advantage of desperate folks…
Seems like your comment updates the story.
Feel free to post updates as it proceeds. However, you can’t attach PDF files to it but you can attach images.
You did not state if their was a fact I sourced that was incorrect. What specifically, if anything, did I report that was in error?
Yes, the new mailer has a slightly different message but uses the same official looking format that has been criticized for appearing deceptive.
Has the California Bar approved this mailer? I didn’t see the attorney advertising disclaimer on it.
What is the limit on the number of people that can qualify for your program?
I received an almost identical letter yesterday and she called me that they can do loan modification @2% at current market vakue. The number to call is 1-888-723-1343.
Who sent the mailer to you?
New poster here, did a websearch and was amazed to see the second mailer on your website as I just got the updated mailer for SC Law Group yesterday. I called the number today just to see what they could do for me although I didn’t think it made sense that I was being solicited for this program whatever it was (I’ve been doing more research and really don’t think I qualify), although he told me I qualified for it. Its an extreme drop in my mortgage, but for the life of me I could not see why I qualified (although about a year back I was in a bad situation with my mortgage because of personal issues, but have been current since then), I was curious because the reduced payment would make my life financially easier and every answer I gave him….that was great, even though at times he seemed to be contradicting himself on small details which made me think he didn’t know the real details of what he was talking about. I asked alot of detailed questions, but the telemarketer seemed to be reading from a script and wasn’t someone who knew more then the basics as I kept interrupting him because I wanted more details over a specific item. After cutting him off he gave me more details about who he represented (SG Law Groups….it wasn’t apparent in his opening spiel this was who he represented, but then their name sounds very generic, so I may have missed it as he was talking quickly). He then encouraged me to go to SC Law Groups website for more information to check for legitimacy. He insisted if I decided to authorize a contract with them, as they put the paperwork together that once under contract, I could ignore my current mortgage, even if I was sent foreclosure notices, pay $1000 a month for 3 months, no mortgage, and then start paying the reduced mortgage they offered on the mailer after the 60 – 90 day mark, claiming I was already underwater on the value property by $30K based on area home values off some random website which I was not provided and that they would do some sort of financial audit on my mortgage company on my behalf. After they do what they do, my rate would be at 2% and my mortgage would be about $440 a month which is much less then the $1250 I pay now. I was in parked in my car after work on my cell phone, so I couldn’t provide the documentation such as my tax return to them they wanted to pursue it, and it came off as low pressure, because I don’t think he even asked my phone number and I’m supposed to call him back tomorrow, although after seeing this I will be looking more at conventional refinancing. I’m a bit uncomfortable with the sales technique as I am currently in the military and know disabled vets that are able to refinance their mortgages and get the payments rolled into their refinanced mortgage, so no upfront fees who said I should be able to qualify for that program. Sorry if this was all over the place, but it seems fishy or too good to be true, although I would love for it to be otherwise.
The sales pitch contains some red flags that concern me. Especially telling you once you signup you could then ignore your current mortgage.
If you are looking for some advice on what is available to you, consider contacting one of the HUD housing counselors. They are free to you and government subsidized. See http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm
sc law group is a scam…
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/02/mars.shtm
As of January 31, 2011, companies that offer to help homeowners get
their loans modified or sell them other types of mortgage assistance
relief services are no longer allowed to charge up-front fees. Under
the rule, a mortgage assistance relief company may not collect a fee
until the consumer has signed a written agreement with the lender that
includes the relief obtained by the company. When the company presents
the consumer with that relief, it must inform the consumer, in writing,
that the consumer can reject the offer without obligation and, if the
consumer accepts, the total fee due. Before the consumer agrees to
accept the mortgage relief, the company must also provide a written
notice from the lender or servicer showing how the relief will change
the terms of the consumer’s loan (including any limitations on a trial
loan modification).