Stead Law Firm

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. 
Stead Law Firm said this would only take 90 days and that if we were denied for any modification we would get our money back. (3500.00)One year later we were formally denied, stating the type of loan we have does not allow any loan modification. Stead Law Firm should have known this before we paid the money. They stated we were pre-qualified and assured us we would qualify for a loan modification. The Attorney General in Texas says they broke the law by requiring a fee be paid up front. Stead Law Firm preys on desperate homeowners and take what little money they have. They suggest you fall further behind in your payments to make your case look better. They are scam artists and will continue to prey on homeowners.
I have attached the denial letter from mortgage company stating we did not qualify for this "trial period" Stead referenced.

I hired this Law Firm to help save my house from foreclosure. I was told that it will cost $5,200.00 which I sent to this company, I also send all documents that was requested. I was advised to contact the bankruptcy lawyer who told me that it was not a good ideal to file, I was also told to go to the Sheriff department to file for a postponement. Long story short I still lost my house to foreclosure with no help from Stead-Law and no return of any of my monies.

Dear Revdex.com
My case with Stead Law Group LLC as been resolved.
Thank you very much for your help.
Sincerely
Maria Moreira
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com Response.
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We encourage the client to contact our office for resolution.
 
[redacted]
Processing Manager
( [redacted] Ex. [redacted]| Fax: [redacted]| * [redacted]

[redacted] retained Stead Law Firm on July 26, 2013.  Stead Law Firm upheld the terms of the retainer by completing the following:
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·         Firm Prequalification and File Set Up
·         Compilation of Documents and Legal Review and Analysis
·         Audit of Client Financials and Submission of a Mortgage Mitigation Package
·         Negotiate with Lender and Obtain Mitigation Resolution
As a Law Firm we cannot make any promises or guarantees on results.
 
When client retained our firm, she was behind on her homeowners association dues; her HOA office had already started foreclosure proceedings which placed a mediation code on her mortgage account with the lender.
 
Upon final decision from the investor of the loan, the loan was approved for the Recap Modification program.  Modification prevented property from being foreclosed on.
 
We would be happy to discuss this information with borrower again.  If client is no longer able to afford staying in her home, we can look into any available exit options. We encourage borrower to contact us to discuss her current situation in regards to the property. However, keep in mind that with the modification offer obtained from the investor stopped foreclosure and allowing her to stay in her home.
 
Per the terms of the retainer agreement, 100% of the retainer fee has been earned by Stead Law Firm.
 
 
[redacted]
Processing Manager

Stead Law Firm was able to successfully negotiate a resolution with the lender which resulted a monthly savings of $443.39. ...

It was later determined the loan had an escrow shortage of $8,463.80 which would increase the monthly payment by $705.32.  During the probation period of the restructure the investor retracted the offer.  A representative from our firm will be reaching out to the Client to resolve issue with lender.
 
[redacted]
Processing Manager
( 888-664-5348 Ex. [redacted] Fax: [redacted]| * [redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint...

resolved.
Regards,
[redacted]

Review: This company told my husband and self that we would receive support in getting a mortgage reduction. We re dived multiple emails applications information from our current mortgage company as well stating that our file was being reviewed as we believed this was a real company. After working with them for 10 months they determined we were not eligible and could receive our payment/processing fee refund back of $3500. Since March 26, 2015 we have been trying to receive our $3500 back. Every day we will call and cannot get a hold of someone live to talk - if we did they would immediately transfer me to a voicemail. I have left multiple emails to get a hold of someone since our 'processor' was out on medical leave all of a sudden. Well with a baby due in a few months we can certainly use the refunded money that was promised back to us.Desired Settlement: We would like a refund of our processing fee of $3500

Review: Over six months ago,I obtained servics from Steadlaw Firm to assist with a morgage modification,I was assured by [redacted] and other associates that this process will only take 45days, I did have a modification in the past that I requested and obtained myself, however my mortagage comapany, Wells Fargo company did not work with me in as well as I expected. [redacted] convinced me that obtaining legal services was the best way to get qick and satisfactory results, it cost me $3500. My mortgage was not in forclosure at the time I obtained there service. Now over six months later instead of a modification,I'm in active forclosure, I had 3 different processors working on my case; each time I was not notified of any changes, notices from Wells Fargo stating that they were closing my case due to not recieving documents on time and they were unreachable at times, they never responded in timely fashion to me or my mortgage company,nor did they give updates on my case as they should.Desired Settlement: I would like my $3500 returned in full

Business

Response:

Response for [redacted] is below:

[redacted] retained Stead Law Firm on July 12, 2013. Stead Law Firm upheld the terms of the retainer by completing the following:

· Firm Prequalification and File Set Up

· Compilation of Documents and Legal Review and Analysis

· Audit of Client Financials and Submission of a Mortgage Mitigation Package

· Negotiate with Lender and Obtain Mitigation Resolution

Upon final decision from the investor of the loan, the loan was approved for the HAMP modification program. Client’s monthly savings is $441.27.

Stead Law Firm office is located in the California; however has a network of Licensed Attorneys in other states, which includes New York.

Per the terms of the retainer agreement, 100% of the retainer fee has been earned by Stead Law Firm.

Processing Manager

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

I am not satisfied with this response because Steadlaw Firm did comply with the contract instead they are trying to take credit for services they did comply with.

As of 1/10/2014, my modification was not processed due to imcomplete documents, although Stead Law did inform me via email several days before of some of the documents needed, I learned from my mortgage company that I need additional documents and that they had made several attempts to notify Stead law Frim and have not heard back, infact they wanted to close the case. As of 1/10/2014, it was more apparent that this Law firm was not competnet to handle my case. and I assumed Fraudrelent activity on their part. I asked my mortgager not to close the case and requested a list of items needed via telephone conversation.

As 1/13/2014, I faxed over all the documents requested including a letter stating that Stead Law Firm will no longer be representing me, I also faxed and emailed a termination letter to Steadlaw on the same date, I did receive a response from them via E-mail from [redacted] stating her surprise of my decison to terminate services and then a call from [redacted] and another colleage wanting to discuss this matter. I also requested that Steadlaw send a notice to wells Fargo informing them that they are no longer representing me, [redacted] did acknowledge that the firm would do so, however they did not. I made a formal request to Wells Fargo to have Steadlaw removed from account as representer, it was honored and I received a written confirmation from Wells Fargo.

0n 2/4/2014, I received a message from someone named [redacted] from Stead Law firm congradulating me and stating that they were able to get my modification approved, I was appauled because they were no longer representing me at this point. I received a call from [redacted], manager at Wells Fargo alos on 2/4/2014 letting me know that my modification was approved, on 2/5/2014, I contacted wells Fargo, I questioned wells confidentiality policy and confirmed that SteadLaw Frim was not listed as a representer on my account , however [redacted] from Steadlaw did call and was able to obtain information on my account with out authorization.

Since 7/12/13 Stead law Firm contracted with me and took a $3500 fee and did not help me whatsoever, they barely responded to me or the mortgager, they did not followup with any of the documents needed, due to their incompetence more than 1 or 2 modification were requested and or reinstated and lastley my mortgage went into active foreclosure due to their incompentence and the time lapse. Steadlaw Firm did not comply with the contract, they handled business very unprofessional. I would like to have a full refund of my money $3500 and compensation for emotional stress.

Regards,

Business

Response:

Per the last company response, services have been rendered. I have attached a copy of the restructure details.

No refund will be issued.

Processing Manager

Review: My husband & I contacted [redacted] Law Firm in California and spoke with a woman, [redacted], who assured us that, if we paid them $4000, that we were really good candidates for a loan modification and that they would handle everything, 'rest assured'. That was in February of 2014 and this is September 2015. To date we have had nothing but a big, huge runaround from this company. I would be writing all day if I were to include all details but the long & short of it is that we have had no less than 8 people (there's probably more, I've lost count) who we have been passed to in this long process. For the first year, when we would complain to Mr. [redacted] that we are not getting responses and we need to know the status of our process, we would be passed to someone else with the claim that they will take care of us. At one point last year, I contacted our lender directly and was informed that they had not heard from [redacted] Law Firm in several months and that they closed our case due to 'inactivity'. This was despite the fact that I had just submitted a ton of documentation (again) to [redacted] Law Firm and they assured us that this information was needed immediately and would be forwarded to our lender right away as they had a 30 day window to do so. I have always responded within 48 hours, usually much less, to their request for documents (that was in the first 10 months or so, now we don't hear anything at all). In the last 8 months, no one calls us back, no one answers the phone, and no one, including the owner, [redacted], responds to our emails. Maybe 3 times this year I have gotten what appears to be some kind of robo email stating that 'your loan is in review. we will get back with you soon.' and then ... nothing. These people are scammers and we are severing ties and requesting a refund at the least. There may be more action necessary but I would be satisfied with a full refund so we can move on.Desired Settlement: We want our $4000 back, refund in full.

Review: Stead law sent mail to my home at [redacted] in [redacted] stating they can help restructure my mortgage at a lower rate. To make a long story short cause I'd be typing for an hour, they assured me they were legit. That started last July! Their contract states I was guaranteed a full refund if they did not succeed! It's almost a year later and still no mortgage restructure or refund! Dozens of messages by me w no return calls! As of this point I have been robbed of $3500.00Desired Settlement: As the contract I hold in my possession states, the job I paid for was not done successfully and I would like my full $3500.00 refunded to me

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

Review: This company took $4000.00 to help me get a home mortgage modification.Desired Settlement: This company promised me that I would get a mortgage remodification. They took my money upfront and told me I fit the perfect picture for a modification. They led me to believe an attorney would represent me. I was behind in my mortgage because of a catostrophic plumbing issue,and the mortgage company not being willing to accept partial payments. I have a very good job, just got behind because of issues. Then I hired Stead. I went from person to person, each one bailing out, sent them reams of faxes, they drug things on and on. My mortgage was sold during this, and it turns out, after almost a year, I was never able to get a modification. I am now paying more than ever to keep my home. I can only hope to save others from using this company. They are frauds.

Business

Response:

[redacted] retained Stead Law Firm on July 26, 2013. Stead Law Firm upheld the terms of the retainer by completing the following:

· Firm Prequalification and File Set Up

· Compilation of Documents and Legal Review and Analysis

· Audit of Client Financials and Submission of a Mortgage Mitigation Package

· Negotiate with Lender and Obtain Mitigation Resolution

As a Law Firm we cannot make any promises or guarantees on results.

When client retained our firm, she was behind on her homeowners association dues; her HOA office had already started foreclosure proceedings which placed a mediation code on her mortgage account with the lender.

Upon final decision from the investor of the loan, the loan was approved for the Recap Modification program. Modification prevented property from being foreclosed on.

We would be happy to discuss this information with borrower again. If client is no longer able to afford staying in her home, we can look into any available exit options. We encourage borrower to contact us to discuss her current situation in regards to the property. However, keep in mind that with the modification offer obtained from the investor stopped foreclosure and allowing her to stay in her home.

Per the terms of the retainer agreement, 100% of the retainer fee has been earned by Stead Law Firm.

Processing Manager

Review: On May 5, I responded to a program notice I received in the mail indicating it was from E-loan. At the time, my house had been in foreclosure, and had a sale date of May 8, 2015.

I was assured that they could help me, and quoted a $4000. fee for their service, and $1000. was due before they could proceed. With a warning that time was of the essence, I paid the first installment of $1000 immediately. I was advised to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy to stop the sale of my home with a filing fee of $315. I followed their advice, and the sale was temporarily stopped, but now I was required to file additional chapter 7 bankruptcy papers.

I emailed and faxed the letters from the Bankruptcy Court to the Stead Law Firm, and requested additional help on the next step. I stressed that the filing date for the additional information was May 26. I sent emails, faxes and made telephone calls to Stead Law Firm asking who would be handling the case, and what did they need from me. My emails, faxes and telephone calls all went unanswered. There was no response from Stead Law Firm, and the deadline date expired to file for bankruptcy.

On May 28, two days past the filing date, I called I was Stead Law Firm and was told that they never said they would be handling the bankruptcy case. I was also informed that the loan was on hold because they had not received the required paperwork from me. All paperwork had been submitted on May 14. The representative shuffled a few papers, and said oh yes, I have it here. It had been the third time I submitted the same paperwork pertaining to the loan modification. The representative told me that she would submit the paperwork again. She explained it was difficult to read, and may not be unacceptable.

I believe Stead Law Firm misrepresented them as being affiliated with E-Loan. My last conversation with the Stead Law Firm representative on May 28, 2015, confirmed that I wasted $1315.00 precious dollars. And may lose my home.Desired Settlement: Should not be permitted to give legal advise, and not follow up on the case. Should not be permitted to misrepresent their affiliations. Should be fined by the Bar Association.

Review: I inquired about a Loan Modification from an advertisement that was sent to my address. I had no clue that it was actually for a Law Firm. Since I was being denied by all lenders to refinance my home, Stead Law informed me that by going with their services they would represent me when going straight to my Lender. I signed some paperwork and then forked over $4000 along with other required personal information. Eight months later and I am still being told that it is under review.

I have to be honest, I am really beginning to worry that I have been taken advantage of during the initial interview process over the phone back in March. I poured out my heart to STEAD Law Firm that included the exposure of the sudden death of my son. I was assured that I qualified for some type of assistance/modification. With that level of assurance I handed over to STEAD Law Firm $4000.00 that I did not really have at the time, I actually took that money from my son's headstone knowing that once the modification goes through, I would be able to make up that money reasonable quickly. Well this is not the case and my son's headstone sits at a warehouse unfinished due to my failure to pay in full. I am completely heartsick over this whole experience. I placed a call on 10/19/14 and was assured that someone would get back to me in 24 hours, here it is 96 hours later no return call. Now when calling the Firm, absolutely no one picks up the phone it goes right to voice mail. Stead Law did very little follow up on their part, I received maybe 5 update calls that consisted of nothing but "your application is in review".

Stead Law Firm took the death of my son and exploited that situation and let me believe that a modification was possible and then took money from me when my family and I were most vulnerable. Resolution to this matter must consists of either a full reimbursement of monies paid for services or an actual loan modification with my home mortgage lender.Desired Settlement: At this point with Stead Law not responding to any of my messages and or emails, I have to assume that my loan modification is not going to be approved. Resolution to this matter must consist of a full reimbursement. This whole experience has truly added unwanted stress to a very vulnerable situation that my family has experienced. Being taken advantage of during this time has certainly added to our grief. I was told over the phone that I was eligible for a 2%-3% fixed rate vs. my current 7.75% adjustable rate- this was the bill of goods that were sold to me.

Business

Response:

Resolved with Client directly.

Processing Manager

( [redacted] Ex. [redacted]| Fax: [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

Review: Stead Law Firm presented us with an offer to reduce our mortgage interest and not add any additional amount to the principal. At the end of a 2 year process, the end result was an offer for an extension of our current loan from 25 to 40 years and an additional $5000 to the principal loan amount. Though we submitted endless amounts of personal documents & updates primarily by e-mail, they now claim that since a majority of our conversations were over the phone we couldn't prove anything in terms of what was promised or implied. As such, since we did not accept the modification presented by the lender that would have increased the principal by $5k and add 15 years to the loan terms, we were told too bad. They were done with us.

Though our home was never in foreclosure, apparently that was the impression our lender was presented by Stead Law as the lender stated they received a cease and desist order for the publication of loan statements to us and we stopped receiving statements for several months.

We requested a refund of the $3500 deposit they required. which they refuse to honor. Though their attorneys claim we "have no proof", we have over 70 emails and paper files to back our complaint. Also, as of late all contact we have with firms representing themselves as "Stead Law" come across our caller ID as [redacted], Irvine, CA, and Nation One Lending, so we're never really sure who we may be speaking with. I'm certain some are law firms.

The entire experience has cost us not only $3500 from a fairly limited retirement savings, but also a lot of time and a volume of personal information that causes us to be concerned about our identity protection.. We have sent them written notification stating we were going to make a report with the Revdex.com, and never received a response. If you need further information feel free to contact us anytime after 3:30Desired Settlement: We have $3500 invested with a company that was completely unable to deliver on the service they promised.

A complete refund would be the most desirable outcome of course, but realistically, I don't forsee that happening.

At this point a 75-80% refund would be acceptable, though far short of anything a reputable company would offer.

Review: This firm was hired to negotiate a HAMP for me. They sent me information via mail that said they are experts. They claimed that they worked with my lender before and know all the right people to make things move along quickly. They have done absolutely nothing for the $4000.00 I paid them back in Feb 2015. They haven't gotten a HAMP or HARP or anything at all. They won't produce the work product upon demand. I have requested a refund as they haven't done anything in over 7 months. They are no longer returning repeated calls or emails. Their customer service voice mail is completely full so I can't even leave further messages. About a week ago they said they would process a refund (the one time I was able to get a response), however, no one has contacted me since, no refund has been given. This places is a COMPLETE SCAM. The attorney should have his license revoked. They just keep stalling and delaying, trying to blame the lender or Freddie Mac, etc... never once taking responsibility. They prey upon people that are in the most need and take their money that could have been used for other things.Desired Settlement: I want a complete refund of my $4000.00. I want it no later than September 30th.

Review: I received a phone call from [redacted] Law Firm in October of 2014 asking me if I would be interested in a Harp loan. I told the woman on the phone that I did not think my husband and I qualified as we were not delinquent on our mortgage. After a few phone calls and faxes gathering information about us, the woman assured me that we did qualify for a program that would lower our interest rate, because we met the terms that the government program had set for people like us who were in hardship. I was told the process takes 4 - 6 months. After doing some research and finding out that indeed [redacted] Law firm was a legitimate law firm I gave them more than $3k and a whole lot of paperwork to start the process. In April of 2015, I was told my file was in underwriters and I should have a new loan rate by the end of May. By the end of May I was being asked for more paperwork, in fact, every other month through the whole process I was being asked for more paperwork. In May, because it was taking so long I had to resubmit the same paperwork, again in July, more paperwork (bank statements, tax documents, etc) very frustrating but I was told over and over, this is normal, this can take time. Finally in November, this year, [redacted]) called to tell us we did not qualify for any of the interest reduction rate plans. They said because we were not delinquent on any of our payments, we must be able to pay. We did qualify for a forbearance program which lowered our payment for 6 months. I thought that would at least pay us back the money we had given [redacted]. Not true, when I called lender to accept program, I was told we would have to pay every penny back. When I told [redacted], he was surprised, didn't know that, I told him I wanted a refund and he said he would have someone call me, it would take about 8 days. It's been over 3 weeks, no call. We continued to pay our mortgage thinking a lower payment soon, this only drove us further into credit card debt. This was not rightDesired Settlement: I would like a full refund. I was told that we qualified, and that was not true. We didn't qualify. I would have never opted for this direction had I known there was even a chance that we wouldn't qualify. They wouldn't guarantee what the program would be that the lender would choose, but we would qualify according to them. I would have tried for a refinance if they hadn't assured me the way they did, but now because of the time it took (1 year) and because we are even more in debt trying to keep mortgage current, we can't even qualify for a refinance, and we have to sell our home. It is beyond maddening that businesses can take advantage of people in our situation and I will be writing reviews on every site I can regarding our experience.

Review: After receiving their advertisement about a Loan Modification, I worked with them thru the initial process. They did their Due Diligence on my background credit history. After this review, they told me over the phone that I should have no problem getting a modification. After 3 months of trying to get the modification, they told me I was denied by my lender because of a Car Loan I had. Even though they did their due diligence and saw these items, they still told me I was good candidate. I requested a refund on Dec 8th. I did not hear from them until Dec 31st when they told me they were working on my refund. Since then, I have left dozens of emails and voicemails asking the refund rep to explain what is going on with my refund. The two times she has called me back over the past two months I was unable to get to the phone, however when I called back, she was unavailable. They have been sitting on my refund for almost 4 months now, earning interest on it. From what I am gathering, they have a history of telling people they are good candidate knowing that they will be denied and then trying to keep their refund due to the denial. On top of that, they only tell you that you are a good candidate via a phone call, never in writing because they know it would be more damaging to them to have a record and make it harder for them to keep the refund.Desired Settlement: I want my full refund back, $3500.

Consumer

Response:

---------- Forwarded message ----------From: [redacted] <[redacted]>Date: Mon, Mar 30, 2015 at 12:32 PMSubject: Re: Your complaint has been receivedTo: [email protected] do I respond to my complaint after the company responded. Their response is total fabrication. Their rep knew I was calling and emailing constantly, yet they claim that it was going to junk mail.

Review: On 9 29 2014 I retained in the amount of 6 thousand dollars to do 2 loan motivations and they have not met the term of our contract I would like a full refund or got me loan motivationsDesired Settlement: I would love a full refund but I would be happy with something

Review: Stead Law Firm contacted us to inform us that we per-qualify for a loan modification. That if they could not get us a new loan modification (which they highly doubted) we would get our money back less 25% for a "retainer" fee. We have been formally denied a loan modification by our mortgage company and informed Stead about this and they said we would not get our money back (any of it, which was $3500.00) stating they worked too much on our loan to qualify for a refund. We spoke with our loan company and they said they barely even spoke or corresponded with them at all. They have questionable practices which include but are not limited to asking us to fall behind in our payments, sign blank papers stating they would fill them out off of our application, they stated that we would get a client log in on their website steadlawfirm.com where we could log on and see daily updates on our modification. We never could get a logon with them. They said their website is not ready for that but if you go to the website it shows a tab for this.Desired Settlement: Due to their advice in falling behind in our payments we would like 100% of our 3500.00 back. When we brought our account current we had to pay late fees and our credit took a substantial hit.

Business

Response:

Stead Law Firm was able to successfully negotiate a resolution with the lender which resulted a monthly savings of $443.39. It was later determined the loan had an escrow shortage of $8,463.80 which would increase the monthly payment by $705.32. During the probation period of the restructure the investor retracted the offer. A representative from our firm will be reaching out to the Client to resolve issue with lender.

Processing Manager

( 888-664-5348 Ex. [redacted] Fax: [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.

Stead Law Firm said this would only take 90 days and that if we were denied for any modification we would get our money back. (3500.00)One year later we were formally denied, stating the type of loan we have does not allow any loan modification. Stead Law Firm should have known this before we paid the money. They stated we were pre-qualified and assured us we would qualify for a loan modification. The Attorney General in Texas says they broke the law by requiring a fee be paid up front. Stead Law Firm preys on desperate homeowners and take what little money they have. They suggest you fall further behind in your payments to make your case look better. They are scam artists and will continue to prey on homeowners.

I have attached the denial letter from mortgage company stating we did not qualify for this "trial period" Stead referenced.