Mortgage guide mtgguide.com Misleads potential clients, BEWARE of this company. carlsbad, California

In a nutshell, This company over promises and under delivers in their service, expertise, and customer service.  I gave them every chance possible to rectify before posting this.  BE sure you Know you will qualify before using this service because they do not know the protocals and guidelines as mentioned in their sales pitch. You need to know them! They will potentially mislead you in what they can accomplish and what they consider expertise. Once they have your money past the trail period, they do not seem to care about your questions, concerns, or feedback. You will be doing 99.9% of the work yourself, and all they will do is send you a "workbook"  fill out, a few forms, ( same forms you do when you deal with your mortgage company directly) and then have you read it back to them. This service is no different than dealing with your mortgage company directly. IN fact, the info I recieved from Mortgage guide was incorrect more often than not. I told them upfront my situation, they explained they could still help, That they get modifications approved for people with my exact circumstances using the same lender (suntrust) only to find out they could not.  Once they have your money they will eventually stop contact with you. They reference another complaint online ( if you bring it up) and explain it away as a competitor making false accusations and that the complaint was not real. Well, I am real, and these guys are after your fee and that is it.  I dealt with Richard Perillo, Kelly Kostjuk, Ava Polack, and Paul Jacobsen. Each passing the buck to one another until they cease to respond. Do not believe what this company is saying. Especially if you have a renter in the property. Below is the detailed explanation of events that transpired in my case. I will post this on numerous sites until I can find one that will  make my contact info accessible to the public so I can verify personally my experience and that I am in fact real. Please see details below:

I decided to look into Mortgage Guide services after I was denied a loan modification from my mortgage company. (SUNTRUST) I replied to an email that I received within days of my denial. I was contacted and spoke with a sales rep named Richard Perillo. I explained to him in great detail the reasons I was denied by my mortgage company. I explained to him that I sent everything that was requested in the manner Suntrust requested it. I was originally denied because I had a renter in the property ( forced to because I could not afford it) and since I was paid current on the loan, there was nothing I could do in regards to a principle reduction. I also explained that in the near future my income would change and all of these reasons concerned me regarding approval. That I did not want to pay for a service and lose that money too.
Richard Perillo explained to me that that is not the case, that their service would show me how to word and phrase my information in a way that they would accept. He explained that their company has specific people who specialize in each individual mortgage company and know exactly how to navigate through their procedures and guidelines. (I will attach all the email correspondence in the future for evidence of their assurance that their service would work.) We went over all of my personal information and he told me that I could qualify for a loan modification. Although he could not guarantee it, based on the information i gave him, ( the same info I gave Suntrust) that I would qualify. HE said he had clients in my same situation all the time.

I expressed my concern that I was just denied for these same reasons. And he told me not to worry, that my mortgage specialist would be able to help me get it approved. He said they have modified loans with suntrust that were not owner occupied, and that they do it all the time. He told me not to worry and just pay the $1300 so I could get started and they would help me.

So unfortunately I gave him my credit card info. I was then in contact with Kelly Kosjuk. She was supposedly the suntrust expert. I explained to her my current income, the fact I was denied due to the property no being owner occupied and she said no problem. I also explained that my income would increase in the next 6 months and she said we would be able to get it through before then and not to worry.
 Then her service began.  Basically her/ their service is to send you a spiral booklet and you do everything yourself. You can not send to them to review, but read back to them what you wrote, and what you are going to submit. This is the exact same process as your mortgage company goes through, Nothing different except on how how word your hardship letter. And even, that was minimal. Basically a few sentences to add here and there. She grew short over time, seemed aggravated if I had questions and concerns, and toward the end, flat out rude and not prompt in returning my calls. I explained to Richard at the beginning and Kelly during the process that my income would substantially increase in the next 6 months so I wanted to cancel because I doubted that I would be approved and that if I went further and the process would drag out long enough that I may not qualify due to my income.
Again I was reassured to stay the course.  Until I went over my trial period and no longer could get a refund. ( I believe it was 14 days,)

SO I kept going, following all their instructions to the letter. And then went to submit to my mortgage company. Immediately, my contact at Suntrust said " unless there has been a significant change in the information submitted, that I am to expect the same result"  I shared that info with Kelly whose response was basically " thats weird, hmm"  She said to ask for a supervisor at my mtge company and advise I wanted to apply for certain programs. I did as instructed and was told my mtge company does not participate with those programs, and the ones they did, I had to be delinquent in payment of my mortgage, or my property had to be owner occupied. Denied again.  SO much for the  specialist knowing the specific guidelines and rules for each mtge company.

I then began politely asking to speak with someone who had the authority to consider a refund.  Those request fell on deaf ears and rarely would I receive a call back or return email. Finally after badgering her via email, Kelly got me in touch with a woman by the name of Ave Polak. She was polite, kind and seemed concerned. She offered me a few more program names to inquire about. I did as instructed and was told that those programs were only available for people who were delinquent in payment or lived in the property.  ( again, so much for knowing my particular companies protocols and guidelines.)  And again I was to to expect denial. When I expressed my discontent and my alternative to report them to rip off.com, she became short, rude, and forwarded me on to a guy by the name of Paul Jacobson. Paul explained he had the ability to refund but before we did he wanted me to look into a few more options.  Keep in mind, they do not do any of this legwork for you, they tell you a program name such as HAMP, or HARP, and have you research it through your company and on your own time. Every time I went through this process, I was told from the beginning by my mortgage company and various online resources that I would not qualify. Even though I shared all of this information with Mortgage guide form day 1.

Paul finally became harder and harder to reach. Accumulating in 2 stand up phone appts with no courtesy calls, and the last four messages I left went unanswered and I never heard from him again.They promise the moon and stars and brag about their personal 1 on 1 guidance, but as soon as they have your money in house for 14 days, it all goes downhill quickly. They do not care if you are having concerns, they will string you along assuming you will drop it or give up. IF you don't, they will eventually, just stop responding. I know they will not refund my money even though I was gravely mislead on thier services and expertise. But I hope I can potential victims from using this service so you don't lose their hard earned money to an outfit that over promises and waaay under delivers. Hopefully they will lose in new business what they took from me.  I am happy to explain and provide more details to you over the phone or email if you like. They are good at explaining away complaints.  DO not trust this company, especially if you do not live in your property.