Residential Relief Foundation Company is total fraud promise tehy send packages and do it yourself kits. Total scam and ripped me off of over a 1000 dollars baltimore, Maryland

totally a scam, i have a case pening with the ftc. their rating on the bbb is horrible. total scam they ripped me off and they use off shore acounts so you cant refund your money. I left several messages for Mike valenty and Bryan melansin and none of these so called owners return my call. They are a total fraud BEWARE you can do this by yourself do not pay them

My name is Jim Holderness.  I am the attorney and founding owner of Residential Relief Foundation, LLC.  I was more than disappointed to see this posting because the person who posted this complaint never conducted any business with my company.  Anybody reading the posting closely (if you can get past the typographical and grammatical errors) will notice that the complainant doesn’t actually say that they were a customer.  Plus, if you are familiar with my company at all, then you will notice other statements that simply do not relate to my company’s product or service.  I am not aware of any complaints made by any of our customers.  If a customer should have a problem, they are free to call or e-mail.  My e-mail address is Jholderness@rrfusa.org if you have any questions.

Please note that I started this company to help people having a difficult time with their mortgage.  I am uniquely qualified because I’ve been appointed Trustee by lenders to initiate foreclosure in literally thousands of cases since 1997.  I know how the lenders’ default process works and I know that their foreclosure attorneys are very efficient.  Unfortunately, my experience indicates that the vast majority of the borrowers being foreclosed do not know very much at all about the default process.  These borrowers are under a lot of stress and they usually do not know their options.  This is a recipe for bad decision making, or no decision making.  My company wants to help people make the right decision for their situation.  In order to provide the best options, our company regularly reviews each state’s foreclosure laws so that the customer can understand the time constraints.  We consistently update our list of available state resources for people trying to avoid foreclosure.  We constantly communicate with each lender to stay current with their particular options, requirements and important contacts.  I am comfortable that my company will stand up very strong when comparing our product and service to other companies.

Thank you for taking the time to read my response.  I am confident that your reasoned review of this information will lead you to the proper conclusion about the validity of the complaint.  Feel free to send any questions to the e-mail address above.   

 

 

 

I, myself had entered into a loan modification agreement for $1000 with "Residential Relief Foundation" and have many of the same complaints as the gentleman who created the original ripoff report. I have read the rebuttal by the attorney, Mr. Jim Holderness, who is founding owner and speaks on his companies behalf.  After reading his reply, I couldn't disagree more with his explaination. My experience with his company has been very frustrating and lacking any real useful information. I went as far as to email him last week, as he requested in his reply, but have heard nothing from him.  I have received little to no help from his company and have made several phone calls asking for a call back. In most cases these calls are never returned or the person you need to speak with is either on the phone, at lunch, or isn't with the company any longer. 

In conclusion, I could of gathered more information on my own than this company has done for me and been $1000 ahead. Like the original author, I'm also in the process of filing a complaint with my state's Attorney General's office asking them to look into this company. In the meantime, be cautious when dealing with this company or anyone else for that matter and do your research. Also check with the better business bureau in that particular state. If the offering seems to good to be true, then it probably is. Don't fall prey during your time of need. Best of luck!  

While I'm sorry for you all for losing your hard-earned money, I just wanted to say thanks for going public about these scammers. My husband and I were solicited by letter by Residential Relief Foundation and my husband decided to call them this morning. They quoted him $1,495 up-front fees to "help us with our mortgage's interest rate", something that we could do with a simple phone call to our bank for free. While he was on the phone with the scammers, I pulled up report after report of them being sued and investigated by many attorney generals. My hubby asked the scammer "Are ya'll being investigated by an attorney general?" to which the scammer's whole attitude changed to not-so-pleasant realizing he wasn't going to rob us, he responded "NO." very quickly and harshly and then dropped the call!!!

 

My advice to anyone else who might be reading this is NEVER give out money to any of these types of agencies. ALL debt relief agencies and other companies that are like this are nothing more than scams. You can fight out your debt by yourself, you just have to stay in contact with your creditors. If you're ignoring them, then they don't know whats going on with you and can't help you. You have to answer they're calls, as annoying as it is, and deal with them. Eventually you *will* come out of it, a lot faster than you would if you'd been paying additional "fees" and "interest" to some debt relief company.

Thanks to original reporter.  Since I have already been cheated by other companies three times, I don't trust any such mails and check about them on internet.  I checked it and found the truth.  I am not going to contact them.

From the Better Business Bureau website report on this business (http://www.bbb.org/greater-maryland/business-reviews/foreclosure-rescue/residential-relief-foundation-in-halethorpe-md-90168669): "Based on BBB files, this business has a BBB Rating of B+ on a scale from A+ to F."  The sole reason they cite for this rating, which is not bad to begin with, is, "Length of time business has been operating."

Thank you for this information. I have dealt with companies that have A+ rating with the BBB and have found that the record is less than accurate since they are paid by the businesses they are rating. Trying to get out the 21st Century slavery of debt is a really difficult and a constant time consuming process. Imagine if EVERYONE in America stopped everything they are doing for these rouge companies? They stopped all payments and switched banks and agencies? I guess the one thing to take from this is do not go the easy way and research research research...

My husband and I invested 1500 hoping to get a reduction in our mortgage with this company and all we have gotten back in return is "nothing".

We have called and left messages and now we find that some of these numbers listed are now disconnected.

Since the time we sent the money, our mortgage company has not heard from them. We get the run-around when we finally get a "voice" on the other line telling us that "someone will call us"! When someone finally calls us we hear the same thing which is really nothing just that our application is processing lol!!!

Finally I would like to add that this situation has set us back even further in debt and it is a shame that someone who created such a scam has to do such a thing to people. I feel really sorry for this person and payback is a comin!

Tina Cobb (for the owner of this company, feel free to find my application and call me if you have any questions or if you want to give me my money back!)

according to the BBB the rating for this company is C+. the article written by the founder says it's a B+..which is the correct rating?

FORGET about the "BBB" and its bogus ratings!  The BBB is IN BUSINESS to sell memberships and these phoney acreditations to ANYONE WITH THE MONEY!  The BBB is a COMPLETE SCAM.  They are not part of the government, they have zero power other than to collect fees from those who want an "accreditation".  Its alot like buying a phoney college diploma.

Every legitimate and experienced businessman knows exactly what I am saying.  The con-artists know this too.  They pay for their phoney "accreditation" and then tell you they are "proud members" of the BBB. 

No matter what, ALWAYS REMEMBER...

 

THE BBB IS A SCAM!!!

I was a customer of RRF. I admit I had some problems with the company, but none that did not get resolved by a phone call.  My husband and I were going through foreclosure and had tried everything, We got in touch with the RRF they did not contact us first.  We made the decision to let them handle our case, no one forced us to.  We were paid in full and had decided to work directly with our mortgage company.  I called Mr. Jim Holderness and talked to him and explained our situation, He told us he would fully refund our money, and he did.  He refunded the whole amount.  I do not believe that RRF is a Rip off.  The economy we live in today is horrible, and maybe the RRF have to many clients or not enough employees, but I believe they are true and honest to their word.  If I had it to do over I would have let them continue my case, our mortgage company has backed out on all they promised us they would do, so now we are in and we have no help.  I will give a big thumbs up to Mr.  Jim Holderness for his honesty and sticking to his word.

What number did you call to get your money back.

 The government shut these guys down over a year ago.

"According to orders filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (FTC v. Residential Relief Foundation, LLC, D. Md., No. 1:10-cv-3124-JFM, 9/30/11).

The Federal Trade Commission's November 2010 complaint included all the defendants from both operations.
The mortgage relief defendants are: Residential Relief Foundation, LLC; Silver Lining Services, LLC; Mitigation America, LLC; James Holderness; Bryan Melanson; Michael Valenti; and Jillian Melanson.

The debt relief defendants are: Mitigation America, LLC; and its principal, Dennis Strzegowski. Challenged Conduct

The defendants, all operating from the same address, are accused of violating FTC Act §5 and the Telemarketing Sales Rule.
The FTC alleged the mortgage relief defendants misrepresented: that their loan modification program could lead to the waiver of late mortgage payments, late fees, and legal fees; the conversion of adjustable mortgage rates to fixed rates was as low as 1 percent; the amount of reduction for consumers' principal balance; and that they could achieve up to 40 percent lower mortgage payments for consumers. In addition to touting quick results and a high success rate, these defendants allegedly charged consumers a $1,495 up-front fee based on their misrepresentations, urged consumers to stop making mortgage payments, and falsely claimed that reports they created would enable homeowners get the promised results.

The complaint alleged that these defendants also disposed of consumers' information improperly by using unsecured dumpsters. Such conduct was in violation of their own privacy policies.

The debt relief defendants, who allegedly worked with the mortgage relief defendants, marketed credit card debt relief service. The complaint alleged that they misrepresented that consumers could become debt-free in 12 to 36 months, could eliminate late fees and penalties, and could reduce their debts by up to 50 percent. These defendants also were charged with violating their privacy policy by discarding confidential consumer information into unsecured dumpsters.

Settlements
The court enters two separate orders: one for the Residential Relief Foundation (mortgage relief) defendants; and one for the Mitigation America (debt relief) defendants.
The settlements: 
* bar the defendants from working in the mortgage assistance and debt relief business;
* prohibit them from the alleged privacy violations; and
* impose judgments totaling more than $11 million-the amount of consumer harm caused by them.

The Residential Relief Foundation settlement imposes a $10,513,440 judgment. According to the FTC, this is the total amount the defendants made through their deceptive conduct. It includes a joint judgment of $509,306 entered against the Mitigation America defendants.

Although the court has appointed a receiver to recover almost $1 million that the corporate defendants still have from the scheme, the individual defendants will relinquish their frozen assets. The balance of the judgment is suspended due to their inability to pay.

The Mitigation America settlement includes a $509,306 joint judgment with the other defendants. It reflects the total amount they received from their fraudulent debt relief promotions, the commission reported. Strzegowski must pay $5,000; the balance is suspended based on his inability to pay.

The settlements bar all of the defendants from making misrepresentations about any product or service; not just the conduct alleged in the complaint. This provision covers claims about financial products or services, their government affiliation, and implementation of their data security measures.

In the future, the defendants must rely on "competent and reliable evidence to back up key claims about their financial products or services." The orders also prohibit them from violating the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule. Finally, if material misrepresentations about their financial situation are discovered, the full amount of the judgments will become due.
The commission acknowledged assistance received from the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP).

The defendants were not charged with violating the FTC's rule prohibiting mortgage relief programs from charging up-front fees before providing their services. That Rule was issued after this case was filed.

The commission vote approving the proposed settlement orders was 5-0."