State files consumer alerts against 3 ‘loan mod’ firms

In the past week, the Washington Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) has received complaints from Washington consumers relating to loan modification services that were to be provided by Summit Alliance Group LLC, Mod Help USA, and Guardian Advocate Group LLC.

Consumers allege that they paid these companies to perform loan modification services. However, services were not provided, the fee was not refunded, and/or the consumer’s inquiries were ignored in most cases.

DFI cautions consumers that these types of operations are often closed under one name and re-opened using a different company name.

DFI strongly recommends that consumers deal only with those lenders that are properly licensed to conduct business. Consumers can determine whether lenders are properly licensed using the “Verify a License” feature on the department’s website at www.dfi.wa.gov.

Other recent consumer alerts, including those against debt collection companies, can be found on the Consumer Alert page.