Law offices of New Horizon charged $7000 for a loan modification and did nothing and won't refund my money Tarzana, California
My family and I met with this company around October 2009. They came to the house, three of them, they only one I remember was one of them named Star. They insisted it would take three months...six months at the most to get an answer back.
Now 18 months later after two three month trial periods...I have to go to another lawyer because they did not do much but beat around the bush. The first time I got the 3 month trial period, I paid it all. The law office contacts me to say that they didn't like the offer they got from the lender...did I hear that offer? No I didn't. In November 2010 another three month trial payment came.
I missed one of the payments. I contacted the lender (BoA) to let them know why and they worked with me. I finally get the loan mod (the new one) from BoA stating that this new loan mod is almost identical to the first one had in the first place. I am working now with BoA to pay this loan and another lawyer to get my money back from New Horizon.
New Horizon calls me after this and tells us that we were wrong to miss a trial payment with BoA (mind you, I've called them and straightened it out). Yes, I was wrong but I worked it out with them...on my own and now New Horizon wants to convince me to do a short sale when the new loan mod they "got me" was the same one I started with. They are a crock. I've paid 7000 to them and they didn't do anything my one year old could have done.
Foga
Long Beach, CA
1 Updates & Rebuttals
L.a. lawyer
La Canada,California,
U.S.A.
Fight Back
#2Consumer Suggestion
Wed, July 06, 2011
As I understand, effective October, 2009 in California, it is illegal to collect any fees, regardless of the form, for negotiating or attempting to negotiate a loan modification for a residential mortgage.
All modification services must be fully completed before any money can be collected. It is also illegal to divide fees or services into components for the purpose of avoiding this law.
It sounds like you may have retained the services of this attorney (John Ribarich -- St. Bar # 183883) at or near the time the law prohibiting advance fees became effective. Either way, file a complaint with the State Bar of California.