I contacted this office on or about the 15th of April, 2004 in response to a mailer that they sent to us. I was assigned to Christina Rude. I explained to her that I was working with 6 lenders so that I could obtain the best loan for our needs.
She said that she understood that and that she would try and win our business with the best loan offer. On or about the 25th of April I called Christina to tell her that my appraiser was coming out to do our appraisal the next day and I would let her know the results as soon as possible. She told me that I should cancel the appraisal because Ameriquest would pay for my appraisal to be done.
I reminded her that I was dealing with 6 lenders and that I would need my own appraisal if I did not choose to work with Ameriquest. She promised me that I would OWN the appraisal and that I could use it with ANY lender. I was skeptical and clarified what she had just told me several times to insure there were no misunderstandings. She told me that she would put it in writing for me if I wanted her to do that. I believed her (Big Mistake) and did not require it in writing.
On May 3rd, I decided to go with another lender who offered a better loan package. When I contacted Christina, she said that she would call the appraisal company and release the appraisal to my lender. Assured that this was done. We went on vacation for a week. When we returned, the appraisal had not been released.
I called the Ameriquest office and was given to the sales supervisor Shat. I explained to Shat what had transpired and requested that he release the appraisal. He said that they never release appraisals and that I must have misunderstood Christina. I explained again the assurances that I was given and that I felt I was being lied to by Ameriquest to try and lock me into doing business with only them. I explained that Christina had blatantly lied to me and that I wanted Ameriquest to live up to its promise and release the appraisal.
He again told me that they never released appraisals and then he said that they would give me the appraisal but not another lender. I said great! How do I get that? He told me that all I had to do was pay them what they had paid the appraisal company and it was all mine. I was angry to say the least and reiterated how disgusted I was with being lied to and that I would be filing complaints with all of the appropriate organizations. He then had the nerve to try and convince me to do my loan with them and they could look at lowering some of their fees. I explained that I would not do business with a company that blatantly lied to their customers and ended the conversation.
I have finally obtained a new appraisal today, May 18th, 2004 for the sum of $300.00. I have lost several weeks time on closing my loan with the new lender. In speaking to a representative of the Appraisal company, I found out that Ameriquest releases appraisals on a regular basis. I do not know why they chose not to do that for me, but they did. These people are LIARS!!! Do not do business with them.