Safeguard Properties VAMs-Vendor Management-Brian Lamb, Patrick Bar. Frances Barrick Safeguard Properties losses major contract-then promotes chargebacks against over 2000Contractor to recover losses. Valley View Ohio

I found this article today and I have to say I am completely blown away and shocked by this. I have been a vendor with Safeguard Properties for 7 years now and if any, the chargebacks have been minimal and have been due to the lack of photo documentation. To mention Brian Lamb by name is a complete falsification, and I know this because he was my VAM for over 2 years. If you were issued chargebacks it is probably from your lack of timeframes, sub-quality work, and failure to update. Anyone in the REO business knows it is all about turn around time and by Safeguard losing Fannie Mae in your state, I'm guessing you weren't commited. Now you need a scapegoat and a public forum to place your complaint, well you got it. But when you make accusations you should be a little more to the point, in fact, post a picture of your REO scorecard (you know the one we all get on Mondays), but no, you just go on here and slander a good company and a GREAT GUY. Brian Lamb has always worked closely with us as a vendor and even taken time out of his family vacation to come walk properties with me and introduce himself personally. I am not familiar with the others you mentioned but I can speak personally for Mr. Lamb himself.

If you received chargebacks, there is probably a good reason for it. DO THE WORK OR LOSE THE MONEY. Your little rant on here is meaningless and unwarranted. In working with other companies, I know about the chargebacks and have learned which ones to steer clear of. Safeguard is not that company. They pay on time, give you plenty of work, and assist you when needed. Remember, your scores affect their scores. Safeguard lost your state because of your performance, not Safeguard. As far as S**T Rolling Downhill, welcome to corporate America. If they can't be paid for the work, neither should you (but in this case, I'm sure the vendor who did the work, when you didn't, got paid).

Signed

Concerned Vendor South Carolina

As a vendor for many field service companies I have never had a charge back because a company lost a client.

Chargebacks are done when the vendor does not do their work on time or in the proper manner required  by the company they work for.  All of the timelines and specifications are clear when you sign up as a vendor.

Most companies like Safeguard will reopen the  order to give you the opportunity to correct your mistakes. All of them give you the opportunity to file an arbitration or invoice dispute.

I have worked with Brian Lamb for many years and I have never known him to be unfair. As a representative for Safeguard

he gives 100% to training his vendors, notifies vendors when work orders are approaching due dates; always answers his phone and offers advice on how to execute the orders quickly .  He has always been willing to help with disputes over invoices and reaches out to his colleaques to resolve issues. 

No company in this industry will pay for work that is not done to their client specifications.

Suggestion: Follow your work orders to the letter ; turn your work in on time ; document your cubic yardage; and take pride in the work you do.

To whom it may concern;

After reading your commentary regarding Brian Lamb and Safeguard Properties, i felt compelled to give a different perspective from a contractor who has been successful using Safeguard Properties and Brian Lamb in particular. 

I've been doing business with Safeguard Properties for over 8 years and during that time I had several different Vendor Account Managers. Some were good, some weren't and some i'd prefer not to hear their name again. Brian Lamb stands out as the best VAM i've personally dealt with at Safeguard. He's responsive, quick to help and will do anything to help his vendor network be successful. 

If your experience with Brian was different than that i would have to believe the blame lies squarely on your shoulders. Did you get your work done on time? did you respond to e-mails? Did you get your updates done on time? Did you adequately invest in your business to make sure you had all the tools necessary to be successful? did you ask questions to make sure you understood what was being assigned to you?

There is no way you could have answered yes to all these questions and then turn around and say Brian was your problem. The problem was most likely you were unprepared, unresponsive and didn't pay good enough attention to the details which can make or break you , in this, or any other business. The property preservation business is not a get rich quick scheme. It takes hard work and dedication to make it work. 

In case you think i work for Safeguard - I don't. I'm just a vendor who has personally worked with Brian Lamb and think your comments were way off base and entirely unjustified. Brian helped me make a lot of money and would have been happy to do the same for you. Not answering e-mails and falling behind in work doesn't allow him to help you. The more successful you are the more successful he is. It makes no sense for him to not do everything he can do to help you be successful. 

Also, one last thing: i also lived through Safeguard losing a Fannie Mae Contract in 2010 and i wasn't charged back for anything. I don't believe there is any attempt to make up their losses by charging back the vendors. The more likely scenario is that unresponsive, poor performing vendors completed sub-par work and it had to be fixed. That's why they're being charged back.