Been Taken Advantage Of? Get a Refund!

Foreclosure scams are a permanent fixture in the real estate industry. Learn how to fight back if you have been a victim of one.

If you have been taken advantage of by a foreclosure scam company, then you may feel helpless and violated. It is hard to imagine that people would target and steal from homeowners who are losing their homes. Unfortunately, it happens on a daily basis all over the country. Any simple search of news articles will prove this. But there are ways to fight these companies, get back the money and some of the time you have dedicated towards them, and make sure they never take advantage of you or anyone else again

Your first priority should be saving your home, but the money you sent to the scammers can and should be used to help you achieve that. You can not afford to waste hundreds or thousands of dollars on companies who promise to help you and then begin giving you the run-around and stop taking your calls. So if you've found that you sent money to a foreclosure scam, you should request a refund and not give up until they have complied with your request.

The first person you should contact about a refund is the president or owner of the company who stole your money. You can plead your case to him or her, but do not expect to get results. Many owners of these companies are not willing to part with the money they have tricked you into sending to them. However, you should call them with your request so you can inform other agencies of your attempts to resolve the situation. Remember to put your refund request in writing and give the company a set period of time to send your payment back to you.

If the scammers do not send you a refund in the time you have given them, then the next step should be contacting their state and your state attorney general. There is usually a department handing consumer fraud cases, and you should forward your complaint to them. Make sure you also include any documents and correspondence from the company you are complaining about. This means you should send documentation of phone conversations, emails, and a copy of your faxed request for a refund. Also let the attorney general know that the company is targeting homeowners in foreclosure and that you are in more danger of losing your home after dealing with this company than you were before. The attorney general can investigate the company, sue them, shut down their offices, order them to give you a refund, and imprison or fine the owners.

Depending on the type of transaction and the activities the scam company was to perform, you should forward your complaint to a number of other regulatory agencies. Every state has a department that regulates banking, mortgage and real estate transactions. Look them up online and contact them regarding your refund request. They will be able to help you or can forward your concerns to the correct department. Hopefully they will be able to get your refund and shut down the company that took your money. There are also federal agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, FBI, and your local representative of Congress.

While these actions may result in getting your money back, filing a complaint with your attorney general or applicable state and federal regulatory agency will not prevent other homeowners from being taken advantage of, unless they shut down the company and imprison the owners. In order to protect others in your situation, make sure that the company's reputation is affected. This can be done in three ways: complaining to the Better Business Bureau, informing local news stations, and telling your story online in discussion groups and forums.

Filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau can be done either online or in writing. While the Better Business Bureau does not have regulatory oversight over any company, they will review your complaint and forward it to the company. The company will then have to respond to your refund request, and you will be able to tell the Better Business Bureau if their response adequately answered your request. If a number of complaints are received, the BBB can alert state and federal regulatory agencies, deny the company's membership, and list the details of complaints in the company's report.

If you know of other clients who have been taken advantage of by the foreclosure scam, you may want to contact your local network news affiliates (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX ), and tell your story there. They may run a feature on your situation and let their viewers know that the company is tricking people out of their money or homes. News stations may become especially interested in your situation if you have also filed complaints with the attorney general.

The last option for ruining the scam company's reputation involves posting your experiences online. By posting in public forums or starting your own website that exposes the company, your story may be seen by hundreds or thousands of potential customers. In fact, your story may show up right next to the company's official website in search results, warning all visitors that the company is stealing money and is currently under investigation by the attorney general and other agencies. Posting on internet forums is a great way to warn others about scams, and no company likes to see negative information about them online.