Remedy Group Deceptive and Dirty Newport Beach California

My name is Joe, and I believe I have been mis-lead and have had $3,450 stolen from me.  On or about January 30, 2013, I received a mailer from a firm claiming that I qualified for a home mortgage modification and to contact them for further information.  I contacted the company, Remedy Group (who claim to be a law firm based out of CA, lead by a Pam Gerber), later the same day and spoke to a Charles Cangelosi.  Charles said all the right things and convinced me to send him my mortgage statements, bank statements, credit card statements and pay statements for my wife and myself.  During this time my wife was deployed to Afghanistan in support of our troops, and still is today.  I told Charles I would gather the documents he requested and would email them directly to him.  About 30 mins later Charles called me back and told me from what he saw I would qualify for HARP and could expect to see my interest rate dropped as well as my principle reduced closer to the actual value of my home.  I am $100,000 upside down on my house.  He then told me the fee for his firm’s services would be $3,450.  I told him there was no way I could pay him that much up front and he immediately explained how he could split the fee into three different payments of $1,150 each.  He stated he would be forwarding my file to a junior processor who would contact me within a few days. 

I agreed, and the next day he sent a FEDEX courier to my house with a pre-addressed envelope in which I placed my three post dated checks.  The first check was cashed on or about February 15, the second on or about March 15 and the third on or about May 15 since I was short on funds in April.  Approximately 1 week after talking to Charles, I received a call from a Marissa Fernandez, who stated she was the junior processor assigned to my case.  She requested additional documentation consisting of current pay statements for my wife and I as well as current bank statements and utility bills.  I complied and sent all to her via email.  I also inquired on how my case looked as far as hardship and acceptance by my bank, Wells Fargo.  The hardship I was told to use by Charles was the fact I would be retired from the military on February 1, 2013, and my income would be slightly less than half of what it was while I was active duty.  Marissa stated she thought this was a solid hardship and should be accepted by the bank.  Mind you, this whole time my wife was deployed making good money, which Marissa knew because she had her pay statements.  Additionally, Marissa told me that she couldn’t tell me not to pay my mortgage payments, but what incentive would the bank have to help me if I’m current on my payments.  Well, she made this sound like a no brainer so I started skipping my mortgage payments, for a period of three months.  I had never been behind on my mortgage before and I couldn’t take the fact I was behind now.  I called Marissa back and actually got a hold of her.  I explained my situation to her, and she now stated I should have not gone three months behind because the bank could foreclose on my house.  So, I managed to get caught up and current in May 2013.  About the same time, my “senior” processor, Henry Salazar, finally contacted me.  Henry seemed like a genuine person and explained to me what his next steps would be in the process.  Basically, he was going to arrange a three-way call between Wells Fargo, him and myself.  He contacted me almost a week later and connected himself, Wells Fargo and myself on the phone. 

Almost immediately, the bank representative stated there was nothing that could be done for me because I was current on my mortgage!  Additionally, the representative stated to myself and Henry that my wife made too much money and we would not qualify under the HARP.  My wife’s income was the same when I started this whole process with Remedy, why did Charles not just tell me during the first phone call that we would not qualify based on my wife’s income?  Needless to say, I was extremely frustrated and angry.  Henry dropped the bank off the call and stated to me that he did not know I was current on my mortgage and he should have known that before he called the bank.  I told Henry he needed to communicate with his assistant, Marissa, because she knew everything, and how in the world did we get this far into the process knowing my wife’s income from the start.  Henry could not say anything intelligent at that point and suggested I contact a local Short Sale Broker to see what could be done from that angle.  I made it very clear to Henry that I was not happy with him or his firm and I wanted a refund of my money.  Of course he stated he couldn’t help me with that and I would have to contact their consumer relations department.  Well, there is no such thing at Remedy, and I was told to speak with Henry’s supervisor, who was identified as Matt, nothing else.  I have never been able to get a hold of this Matt person, more than likely because he doesn’t exist.  Well, I got busy with my job search shortly after that and didn’t try to contact Remedy for a month or so. 

Then in July, I had a message on my home phone from a person named “Cedric”, who had taken over Henry’s cases and wanted to talk to me to get an update on my file.  I was livid!  I called Cedric, left a message, and he called me back a few days later.  He explained that Henry was “transferred” to a different department and he was going to contact Wells Fargo to see what options I had.  I told Cedric he was wasting his time, I already knew Wells was not going to approve a modification.  I also told Cedric I was extremely angry and disappointed in his firms business conduct and to put me through to his supervisor.  Cedric tried to sidestep the issue and convince me to give him a chance.  I told him no and to put his supervisor on the phone.  Well, of course he didn’t have that ability and gave me the number to “Matt”.  Again, I have never spoke to this Matt person.   I am a retired veteran and served 24 years.  To be treated like this and taken for a ride is anybody’s worst nightmare, and after serving my country honorably for 24 years it really sucks!  I’m not saying I have no fault in this situation, I do.  I fell for a scam and it is the most embarrassing thing I have ever gone through.  My wish is to see this scam firm shut down so no one else is ripped off, and if possible to get my money back.  The $3,450 is huge to me right now and would make things a lot better if I were to get it all back. 

As I understand it now, the state of CA prohibits any mortgage modification firm, be it a law firm or not, from charging upfront fees for their services, and the CA office is whom I have been dealing with.   It is also worth noting that the Remedy Group has an office located in Orlando.  The address is 618 East South Street, Orlando, FL. 32801.  I would greatly appreciate any and all assistance your office could provide in this matter and stand ready to speak with anyone from your office concerning this complaint.  Thank you in advance.

Joe