Complaint Review: American Residential Law Group - Fort Lauderdale Florida

I hired American Residential Law Group (ARLG) in Feb. 2010 & paid them $1,900 for them to assist me in completing a Loan Modification w/Litton Loan Servicing. I was e-mailed several (supposedly) legal-looking documents and advised to read and execute said documents, then scan and e-mail them back to  my ARLG representative, Brian Brown. One document included was a Power Of Attorney giving them the authority to discuss my case with my mortgage company.  God knows what else it gave them the right to do! 

In early May 2010, I scanned and e-mailed them a copy of the official court notification (the Complaint for Foreclosure) which I received from the Superior Court of New Jersey advising me that my home was officially going into foreclosure. I discussed the Complaints contents with my (new-2nd) ARLG representative and she advised me that she would prepare and forward an Answer on my behalf.  Almost one year later, I was advised that ARLG accepted the Complaint for Foreclosure, but never responded to this Complaint for Foreclosure on my behalf.

Very nervous from the start, I made it a point to maintain continuous contact with them on almost a weekly basis...sometimes 3 times a week.  This contact continued until October 2010 when they simply stopped picking up my calls, returning my phone calls and responding to my e-mails. From October 2010 to January 2011, ARLG has failed to respond to more than 3 dozen phone calls and/or written e-mail requests from me.  In January 2011, I finally reached out to the morgage company on my own. I was advised that Litton Loan Servicing has NOT received any response from ARLG in over 5 months.

Thirteen months later, I am no closer to the finalization of the loan modification with Litton. American Residential Law Group has taken my $1900 and disappeared off the face of the earth.  ARLG has failed to provide the services for which they were paid and, NOW, as a homeowner in dire straits due to 3 consecutive "layoffs due to downsizing", I am in danger of losing my home....something I hired ARLG to help me to avoid. This company has taken complete advantage of my serious financial situation and should be punished severely. I put my trust in this company at a time when I
was in serious financial trouble due to my unemployment status. Now I am losing my home due to ARLG's negligence. ARLG should not only pay me back the $1,900.00 I paid them for their anticipated services, but I would like to file a lawsuit against ARLG for fraud & see ARLG staff members jailed for fraud.

A complaint (Case #90087877) was filed with the Better Business Bureau in February 2011.  Upon reviewing the status of this complaint, it was brought to my attention that the complaint was closed by the BBB in mid-March. I have requested a detailed explanation of WHY this complaint was simply "Closed" without contacting me with any questions or concerns.  I have yet to receive any response from the BBB. The closure of this case/complaint with no response to me suggests that the BBB condones the fraud that this company has committed.

Since putting my complaint in writing to the BBB, I received correspondence from a 2nd attorney in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (The Law Offices of William OToole).  The letter instructed me to call Mr. OToole at (877) 493-5080 regarding my file (which was transferred to his office) and was also advised that this "supposedly legitimate law firm/attorney" will now be handling my modification due to new federal regulations now in place legally barring ARLG from handling my modification.

Furious, I called Mr. OToole's office immediately and requested physical copies of all documentation which this attorney was provided with from ARLG. I was advised that I would HAVE to request copies from the original documents from American Residential Law Group (ARLG). Knowing that the phone numbers I had did not work, I demanded he (the new attorney) provide me with the phone number that this attorney CLAIMS he uses to communicate with ARLG.  Mr. O'Toole's office provided me with 3 numbers. I made it a point to read each number back to him to confirm accuracy.

Upon dialing each number, the first two numbers were disconnected.  The third number was Carnival Cruise Lines! Need I say anymore?  It is clear that this is ONE BIG GIANT SCAM.  I have DEMANDED that the Better Business Bureau do a THOROUGH INVESTIGATION on AMERICAN RESIDENTIAL LAW GROUP. Additionally, I demanded a written response to this complaint from the BBB. Lets see where this request goes. 

Lastly, I am exploring the possibility of filing a Law Suit against American Residential Law Group and the Law Offices of William O'Toole. I will try to keep you posted on that matter as well.


Good luck to all the victims of this scam,
Jeannine