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CB Loans Review of Principal Reduction Scam
Principal Reduction Scam

Principal Reduction Scam review: Principal Reduction Scam 118

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Author of the review
5:23 pm EDT
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If you are working with a company who offers you a principal reduction and ask for upfront fees. Realize that this seems to be the latest Scam for desperate homeowners who are trying to save their homes. The Guardian Group was shut down as they were a scam offering principal reductions. Companies like Atlantic Mutual, Investors Finance Inc, and Principal Reduction Experts are selling the same story. There are many others out there. If they are offering principal reductions for upfront fees, this should be a warning! Proceed with caution!

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Concerned in Arizona
Peoria, US
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Jun 24, 2010 12:49 pm EDT
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There is another company to add to this list as well.It is located in Tampa Florida and is called Addvent Funding and seems to be a duplicate of the Guardian Group scam.As the other poster proclaims these companies seem to be coming out of the woodwork like termites and we all k now the damage they can do.My advise would be to steer clear of any company that ask for upfront fee's to reduce principal balance and or turn your house over to an investor to rent it back to the homeowner which is another scam operation that seems to be prolifrating itself.I know many people that have been ripped off by these type of companies[Guardian Group] and it really sucks that there are ###'s out there willing to pray on people that are down and out.

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Brooke.Errett
ridgewood, US
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Jul 07, 2010 12:18 pm EDT
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I am the managing partner of Atlantic Mutual, LLC. I understand the concerns of those who have been victimized by companies such as Guardian Group; it truly is a shame that some companies take advantage of homeowners in their time of need. Atlantic Mutual is NOT one of these companies.

Along with my business partner, we worked tirelessly doing the necessary research and planning to develop a unique program that no other company offers. I know this because I personally put in the thousands of work hours to develop a program that uses an untapped government program. All the materials in our website were written by me and any company using such materials is in violation of U.S. Copyright law. Please feel free to visit our website at www.atlantic-mutual.com or call our customer service line at [protected] for more details.

As for Guardian Victim, I would ask if you've had any experience with our company. Because, if you have and had a negative experience, I would like to know. Please contact me directly at Brooke@atlantic-mutual.com. We are a completely transparent company and I am available to speak with you at length regarding our program. We have taken on clients in your position pro bono, for free.

As for fees associated with the program, we have worked hard to minimize any costs to our clients. Unfortunately, there are initial costs involved. However, through our subsidization, we have been able to eliminate all other costs involved, such as closing costs. Additionally, we strive to be compliant with all state laws by only accepting clients who are up to date on their mortgages and meet strict income requirements. We also have been happy to refund in full the fee to any clients who felt uncomfortable or were unsatisfied with the program (in addition to refunding those who come across financial strife during the course of the program).

We started this company to help those homeowners who weren't getting the help that they deserved. It is unfortunate that companies have entered our field and tainted the industry. Always do complete research before entering any program, including ours.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.

Best,
Brooke Errett
Founder and Managing Partner

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Concerned in Arizona
Peoria, US
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Jul 07, 2010 2:03 pm EDT
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Brooke
That's all well and good but after people get ripped of they are going to naturally be skeptical of any company that looks even vaugely familiar to the ###s that perpetrated the Guardian Group scam.Having said that how can anyone trust your company?you would have to post all your testimonials and give access to people that wanted to actually talk to those that you have helped and have definetive proof.
In regard to getting a principal reduction done all i can say is Good Luck because very few banks and more importantly investors are going to reduce principal on a loan that is not deliquent and even then they generally still won't play the game.so despite what you say you have no more ability to get it done than anyone else or you would have more business than you could even handle not to mentition getting mega rich from doing so.
I am not saying you are running a scam operation but you should realize what people are going to think when there are so many bad players out there and even the one's that want to be legit can't get done what they advertise because of what i already stated.
The bottomline hear is that being in a business like yours and any of the others is a straight up waste of time and energy and just delays the enevitable even if you have great asperations of making it work because ultimately it ain't gonna happen and you should know this.It is mot rocket science that the Big Banks control the playing field and they only play by there rules; even when the government tries to interfer the Banks still win.

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Stan.The.Man.
Topeka, US
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Jul 07, 2010 6:25 pm EDT

@ Concerned in Arizona

I have been studying this program and many others for a long time. I have investigated all of these companies, as well. I cannot, of course, know for sure if Brooke Errett's company or any other is ultimately a scam or not, but I do know that these principal reductions are possible.

I would encourage you to visit

http://www.financialstability.gov/roadtostability/publicprivatefund.html

This is a link to the Public Private Investment Program, the vehicle through which Principal Reductions are possible. The P-PIP is operating right now. This isn't a make-believe thing, and 'good luck' isn't needed. Banks are able to get practically whatever they want for these loans, and investors don't have to come with hardly any money. The secret sauce is HUGE government subsidy whereby investors can utilize government money to make these purchases.

In the future, if you're going to write without knowing what you're talking about, it's often helpful to at least have proper grammar and syntax. For instance, sentences start with capital letters. Oh and 'aspiration' is spelled with an 'i'.

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Answer me this...
Los Angeles, US
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Jul 07, 2010 8:50 pm EDT
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Ok Brooke Errett. So you claim to be completely transparent as stated above. Answer just one simple question. How many principal reductions has Atlantic Mutual done. And if so as "concerned in Arizona" says, then why aren't there any testimonials? Because you probably haven't done a single one and have collected upfront fees on thousands of clients. If so, place them on your website or have them speak up on this post. Every person who I know that got a loan modification would not shut up about it. If you have actually helped customers reduce their principal. They would be shouting from the roof tops and your business would explode. I am expecting the same thing I have heard from every other principal reduction program company out there. We are working on it. We are close to closing our first pool. blah blah blah! I heard the same thing from the Guardian Group when I first spoke to them over 12 months ago. I had a past employee approach me about another company Addvent and I researched them. The Guardian Group is shut down and in BIG BIG TROUBLE I HEAR... I have been a loan broker for 24 years and still one of the few people out there who still has a mortgage company. I had an old client who called me today and asked me if I ever heard of Atlantic Mutual that does principal reductions. And I stumbled upon this post and many other negative posts about Atlantic Mutual. I must have a few clients a month who ask me about different principal reduction programs. IF YOU HAVE a complete list of any testimonials that I could speak to. I will bring you more business then you can imagine. If not. Refund your customers their money and close up shop before you end up like the Guardian Group. Principal reductions seems to be following suit to that of the loan modification scam.
Actually, I would like to ask you 2 more questions. Who is the Hedge Fund, Private Investor or Bank that you are working with to buy these loans? And finally how many customers do you have? Oh, I am sure that these 2 questions are sensitive information that you can not share at the moment. But please remember be upfront. You claim that your company is an open book and transparent. So answer those 3 simple questions.
If you have not done one single principal reduction. You have over 1000 clients and collected over $1 million already in bs upfront fees? And you don't have close to $2 billion in backing. Then ask yourself. Is this really a scam? Because for you to buy 1000 loans at $200, 000 a piece. You will need at least that. As far as Stan the Man! Stop picking on "concerned in Arizona" and her spelling. You did no research and sound like you are trying to legitimize this company!
I am following what seems to be the newest scam! Principal Reductions Programs! Stan the Man. You probably just work for the Man. And the Man is your boss at Atlantic Mutual who asked you to write this. Stan, tell Toto- your not in Kansas anymore! Your in Florida working with Atlantic Mutual. As far as the PPIP program goes Stan the [censored]! Look at the list. I don't see Atlantic Mutual as approved for this program... Brooke, I hope that you are not a scam. I know that you probably came into this with the best intentions. But if you can't answer these questions and don't have the means to execute. Then pay these poor people back before it is too late. They are already going through hell right now. Good luck, I hope that you are FOR REAL. As I will tell my customer to sign up with you! And if you can answer these simple questions. I am sure we can do business. But until then. I am still skeptical...

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Concerned in Arizona
Peoria, US
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Jul 08, 2010 4:17 pm EDT
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To the Stan the Man and Answer me this: First: to Answer me this;You my friend are spot on when it comes to your assesment of these bogus ### principal recduction companies.All of these proclaimed saviours of the home value collapse and in general the collapse of the financial industry are a frickin joke! I agree with you that if they were[any of them] as successful as the proclaim;they would have more business than they could ever possibly handle.Why? because every homeowner that recieved help would tell there friends and relatives etc and they all would be sending in more loan packages than they could handle.
In regard to whom their investors and hedge funds are;again good luck on finding that out! you have a much more realistic chance of hitting the lottery.In regard to testimonials and solid proof;again good luck with that as well.As you said in your thread they will always tell you they are weeks or days away from getting there first big bundle of loans approved for purchase and then the flood gates will be open.Yea;heard that enough times from Guardian Group Fund[Bryan Prehoda] and the rest of those piece of ### scammers.One good thing with all the mortgage reform these idiots that want to do mortgage mod's and principal reduction will all have to be licensed to be Loan Originators and thus circumventing these ###ed up loser's from running alot of these scams because i doubt these [censored]es could pass the test or do not want to spend the money it takes to get licensed.Not to mention most of them would not pass the background check because of prior criminal records. Lastly; to Answer this question; I am not a girl but thanks for sticking up for me anyway.
Secondly;To Stan the Man: You pretty much are a [censored] if you are sticking up for these Principal Reduction companies and apparently you Drank the Koolaide they were offering if you get what i mean. I do not give a ### what company you think is so great that they can get this done because none of them are credible as far as i can see and none SHOW ANY PROOF or have any credible success stories.As far as my spelling or puncuation i agree it isn't perfect but i am not afraid to admit it.It is still better than believing in these bogus PRP or loan mod companies and putting your head in the sand and ignoring the facts. NUFF SAID

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sanjose_under_water
US
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Jul 10, 2010 10:37 pm EDT

I researched couple of companies and believed in atlantic mutual through their so called honest sales reps. I paid 1k dues in march. After paying, they sent me an email asking for documents. I sent documents as requested. I am sure they have not reviewed my documents at all. I called them several times, most of the time i can not reach customer support. Sometimes they say they will call me back never hear back. I call back the sales guy, he says my file is in under writting. They promised bi-weekly updates, so far NO updates from them at all. I made a mistake by paying them 1k. Please do NOT fall into their trap, they are same as other bogus companies. They are smart as they say process takes a year. Enough time to collect money from lots of people.

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Concerned in Arizona
Peoria, US
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Jul 12, 2010 12:02 pm EDT
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san jose_ under_ water

I feel your pain on this one! It is thourghly amazing that all these Principal Reduction companies are proliferating all over the US and people are still falling for this scam.They all make basically the same bogus promises and then fail to communicate and/or fail to do what they promise--Principal Reduction. In Arizona;California;Nevada;and Florida the Guardian Group Fund scammed thousands out of millions of dollars and these other like companies are now doing the same to unwary people that are looking for releif from underwater mortgages.
The only difference i see in these newer companies; as you stated they are now saying that it takes up to one year to complete the process which gives them more time to make as much money as possible until they either get shutdown by state regulators or make enough money to escape before getting caught.
In the case of the Guardian Group they were shutdown by the Az Dept of Financial Institutes for operating without a license and then pursued by the law and hopefully eventually put in prison.My recomendation to anyone even considering these bogus companies would be to make them produce documentation that shows actual deals they have gotten completed and proof that you can follow up yourself with clients that would recomend there service.In addition to that have them give you the name of there investors/hedgefund group that they profess to have behind them and i guarantee they will not provide any of the above because "IT DOES NOT EXSIST IN THE REAL WORLD OF THERE SCAM"
It is truly a shame that innocent people are being prayed upon by the likes of the Bryan Prehoda's and Luis Belevan's of the world[the aforementioned the masterminds behind the GGF scam] and it will continue until people are better informed and /or these companies are never allowed to open in the first place with there scam operations.Another word of advise would be to immediately call the Attorney General;Corporation Commission;State Banking;and FBI offices in the respective states that these companies operate in and let them know so they can start investigating the principal scammers behind each company and chances are good they will be shutdown with a little dilligence on the part of the good people of these states.

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very very worried
San Diego, US
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Jul 12, 2010 6:01 pm EDT
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Concerned in Arizona and Answer me this. Can you please let me know your experience or knowledge of Investors Finance Inc, IFI or Mr. Mike Monaco. I have found Concerned in Arizona all over the internet blogs talking about the Guardian Group scam. Investors Finance Inc. have a program called HOMR and give their clients Affirmations which is paperwork to reduce their principals. Can you also give your expertise to all of those that are concerned on a thread on this website. You seem to have a lot of experience and knowledge to companies that are offering principal reduction programs. In the search above, type in Investors Finance. Please let all the people that are concerned with Investors Finance your experience. If you have been scammed by the Guardian Group, your insight would be helpful. Can you let us know your thoughts on that thread. Thanks, your posts have been very informative and helpful.

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very very worried
San Diego, US
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Jul 12, 2010 6:07 pm EDT
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Wow! I am learning more and more about these principal reduction scams. Brooke Errett. It seems that answer me this asked you to ask 3 simple questions over 4 days of which you still haven't answered. Why is that?

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very very worried
San Diego, US
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Jul 12, 2010 7:17 pm EDT
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Check this out! Sounds very similar to Atlantic Mutual, Addvent, Investors Finance Inc and many of the other principal reduction companies out there.

http://www.kpho.com/news/23310529/detail.html

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Concerned in Arizona
Peoria, US
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Jul 13, 2010 12:11 pm EDT
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To Very Very Worried!

Once again it comes down to proof of succcess! And i ask where is that proof? i checked out there website[investors finance inc] and while i cannot say with authority that they are a scam i certainly would be very wary of doing business with them.There is not one testimonial or contact info for proof of getting a principal reduction for anyone so once again i become very suspicious of what this company is all about.They also are looking for active investors so this alone makes me wonder if they even have the financial backing they need to buy up bundles of non-performing notes from these purported investors/banks as they claim they can do.
To this point i have not seen any bank or investors that are willing to part with a bundle of notes performing or non-performing at a reduced rate because they just do not play the game that way.In most cases from what i have experienced these banks/investors would rather just shortsale or foreclose on these loans before selling them off.Why this happens is a mistrey to me because they seem to suffer even larger losses when they go this route.
Personally i would not get involved with any of the above mentioned companies offering a principal reduction because none have successful track record and i one did come through with success that company would be inundated with more business than they could ever handle and probably would be backed up for years getting principal reductions not to mention making a semi trailer full of money and be featured on every news report both locally and nationally across the US.
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS HAPPEN YET? NOPE; AND IT IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY YOU WILL.PLAY THE LOTTERY!YOU HAVE A MUCH BETTER CHANCE OF HITTING THAT THAN GETTING A PRINCIPAL REDUCTION.

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Brooke.Errett
ridgewood, US
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Jul 13, 2010 12:26 pm EDT
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To All Concerned Parties,

I apologize for the delay in responding to the above posts, and I will try to do my best to answer all of the pending questions. Please read my entire entry, as I will overcompensate in my answer to alleviate any questions that may still be lingering. (ALL of the above posts are INACCURATE in how our program works and I assume the descriptions are being based off of other companies and clearly not what we do, as you will see after reading my post.)

[Also, as for Stan the Man, I do not know who this party is and do not condone nor adopt any statements made.]

First, regarding completed portfolios: we have NOT completed any portfolios. We are always up front and honest regarding this. Despite disbelief, the process does take quite a time, and we have only brought the underwriting portion of the process in-house since late February. This was done ONLY after I had finished the research and development phase of our process. We are the only company doing principal reductions in this manner. As I previously mentioned, I know this because I personally developed the ability to do the program in this way. I hope that other companies will copy our model, so that the program may be offered to more people. Instead, companies have been copying our materials SAYING that they offer principal reductions, but in actuality, they offer "get rich quick" schemes; we are NOT one of those.

The program works as follows (and the answer to your second question):

STEP 1. Our investor (WJB Capital, LLC, a company that I am the CEO of based out of New York City) works with the capital fund managers of the P-PIP in the purchasing and bidding of targeted mortgage-backed securities through the legacy securities arm of P-PIP. These are often referred to as CMOs or CDOs.

[A little explanation/history about CMOs/CDOS and the P-PIP: CMOs/CDOs are a type of security designed by Lewis Ranieri in the late 1970s/early 1980s for the Salomon Brothers' trading floor. Many people were made extremely wealthy through the 80s and 90s selling and purchasing these securities. This is a large reason why the subprime mortgage crisis occurred. These securities were over valued and under capitalized. They allowed subprime mortgages to be offered to purchasers who otherwise would not be considered creditworthy. So, when these borrowers began to default, whether it be due to adjustable interest rates (making payments too high) or general inability to pay, the values of these securities dropped. (Additionally, it was later found, as in the past six months, that these securities were improperly rated for trading, making the values much lower.) This drop subsequently affected the lenders (i.e., the banks) in mid-2008. Because of the extreme impact of loss of valuation and the inability of insurance companies such as AIG to pay out the lenders for the loss, TARP was created to "bail out" the banks.

TARP's creation allowed the government to loan huge portions of money to lenders to stabilize their books. However, in March 2009, TARP was amended to include a provision regarding the Legacy Loans and Legacy Securities programs, aka P-PIP. The FDIC approved nine capital fund managers to participate in the purchases of these strings of loans and value-depreciated securities. Each of the fund managers oversees many smaller investors who fund the purchases (the category where Atlantic Mutual falls and step 2 begins).]

STEP 2. Once the purchase price has been determined, the purchase is then funded at a six-to-one debt-to-equity ratio. The FDIC then puts up half of the "one", meaning that a purchaser pays one-twelth of the determined purchase price.

Accordingly, these "portfolios" are not purchased at "$200, 000 per loan", as inaccurately reported. In fact, the individual loans have basically nothing to do with the purchase price; only the aggregate securities' value matters. And, as described above, these bonds have become "toxic" or "junk"; their previous valuations were inaccurate, and they are worth very little now (very little as in millions instead of billions of dollars).

As you can probably guess, a purchaser under this financing deal from the government can make extreme amounts of money from purchasing this literal "junk" at incredible financing. The problem was (prior to our company, Atlantic Mutual) that these savings were not being passed on to the homeowners whose loans aggregate to make the security; and, the purchasers through P-PIP do get a heavily financed security, but of a junk bond.

I developed our Principal Reduction Program to address these exact two issues: (1) Pass the savings from the purchases to homeowners and (2) improve the rating and valuation of the toxic security to be retraded on the secondary market at a higher value. Leading us to step 3...

STEP 3. Once purchased, the security is dissolved and broken into its individual parts...homeowner loans.

Because the capital company now owns the security, it can be broken up/dissolved. Now, instead of owning a junk/toxic security, we (the capital company) own a string of loans (both performing and nonperforming). This string is contracted out to Atlantic Mutual to address the homeowner needs.

STEP 4. Atlantic Mutual sifts through the string of loans to assess the individual loans' value and performance.

Because the loans are captured as a security, the individual loans must be evaluated for property value, ability to perform and to determine whether each loan should be included in the eventual resecuritization.

Additionally, through this process AtMu can find new homeowners that previously had not subscribed to the program, but are part of the purchased security. This allows us to help more people that may not have found out previously about our option.

STEP 5. AtMu works with client/homeowner loan to refinance at current market value and improve financial situation of client (both pre-existing and new clients).

Now that the new owner of the loan (the capital company) is willing to lower the principal amount, refinancing is not a problem.

New clients coming in at this point will have mandatory financial planning and programming to improve their value as a borrower. This will ultimately impact the performance of the new security.

STEP 6. The loan portfolio is rescuritized with a major investment banking institution (not allowed to be mentioned) into a performing security that can be traded on the secondary market.

This is where the actual money is made in the process, not from the small amount paid by each homeowner to cover operating costs. The new security is worth drastically more than the original security; it can be sold at full price; and, since the original security had only been purchased using one-twelth of the purchasing price, the earnings are quite large.

However, we haven't completed the first portfolio to this point, meaning no big bucks have been made. Neither my partner nor I have collected any large personal funds through this process. We have slightly over 200 clients (Answer 3!) and have reinvested all monies back into the company. And, if you don't see how that would be operating costs, never run a business! Between the costs for staffing, insurance, accounting, leasing, IT/software, travel, research, etc., I usually am lucky to collect a paycheck of $500/week pre-tax and that is after working 80-90 hours per week. We have made our operating cost one that is affordable (much more affordable than a traditional refinancing) and because of such, do not make much money personally.

TO "San-Jose_Underwater":

I contacted my general manager upon receiving your post. We do not have any clients in San Jose proper. If you are with our company, I assume that you are in the surrounding areas of San Jose. I also apologize if you have been unable to reach anyone. We have a customer service department available from 10am-8pm EST; we also have voice messaging and an answering service in case our lines are busy or it is off hours. Additionally, we have agents returning calls 7 days a week, at all requested hours.

I have not received any calls or e-mails from existing clients regarding this although I provided my personal contact information above. If you have a concern, please contact me directly so that I may put you in touch with someone to address your needs/concerns.

As to status of your file, the backend of our website will be available in August to give up-to-date status at your will. As for now, please contact our Processing Department with any questions that you may have. [protected] x 3.

If you feel uncomfortable with our program, please contact us as well, so that we may remove your file and process a refund.

IN SUM:

I hope that I have addressed all questions regarding our program. Due to my work schedule, I am not able to continually keep up-to-date with blogs, and only respond when I have been made aware that our company has been mentioned. I previously provided my personal contact information (and will again) in case anyone has further inquiries. I will attempt to address additional statements on here in the future when time allows. Lack of response does not mean lack of answer. If you want an answer regarding our program, please call us.

Best wishes,

Brooke Errett

Atlantic Mutual, LLC
Managing Partner
brooke@atlantic-mutual.com
[protected]

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Concerned in Arizona
Peoria, US
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Jul 13, 2010 1:47 pm EDT
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Brooke Errett/Alantic Mutual

More ### rhetoric if you ask me! I heard the same thing from Guardian Group and the others all say the same thing in essence.Unfortunately we have not finished our first portfolio or accquisition yet.Unfortunately the backend system for aquiring accurate info on the process[ie]check on where the loan is;will not be up and running until[pick one month and then come up with another reason for delay]
Yea; i have heard all that many times from Bryan Prehoda and the rest of the GGF scammers during there bold run of scamming Arizona homeowners.The same old stories that put people off and on to another road of failure.All of the companies that have been mentioned on this site including your own are telling the same ### stories and have yet to produced any results.
Until you can breakdown the doors of PRINCIPAL REDUCTION and actually provide proof and testimonials and show credibility do you really expect anyone to believe you? HARDLY! And can you blame those that are skeptical of the Bryan Prehoda's and Luis Belevan's etc of the world of scamming the public.These PR programs are popping up like loan mod companies were for along time and hopefully this also will come to an abrupt end sooner than later for the sake of those that have lost thousands of dollars to these scams.
I suppose you have all required licenses to operate in this industry and can originate loans[per the SAFE act] as required.Finally; you say the loan portfolio is rescuritized with a major banking institution[cannot be mentioned] WELL there you go with your claim of transparency [Kind of like Obama's claim of transparency in government] which of course does not exsist and is just more ### rhetoric from companies that do not want to or cannot possibly tell the truth because the actual truth is that it is all a SCAM.

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Brooke.Errett
ridgewood, US
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Jul 13, 2010 2:19 pm EDT
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Concerned in Arizona,

It is unfortunate that you feel that way. Please feel free to re-read my previous post (in full) at your leisure, and you will surely see your assessment is grossly inaccurate. If you read my post, you will see a completely transparent, in detail, account of what we are doing. This account is not similar in any manner to previous claims or current claims by other companies.

I am sorry that you have been scammed by another company, and I understand your frustration.

If you would like me to explain further how our program works, as it is an incredibly difficult process to understand, or about our credentials, please contact me directly; I have provided my personal information (name and e-mail address) repeatedly on this blog, but have not been contacted by you or any other member.

Due to the lack of information/research based posts on this blog, I will refrain from posting any further. I realize that this blog is more for expressing consumer dissatisfaction with previous experiences with other companies (i.e., Guardian Group), rather than to accumulate new information. I have provided a detailed account and given contact information for those who would like to educate themselves further about the difference in our company. I unfortunately cannot take any more time away from my work to keep up with this blog.

I wish everyone good luck in their process and hope you are recompensed fully for any loss that you may have had. It truly is a shame what has occurred.

Best,
Brooke Errett

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Randy Lewis
Buckeye, US
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Jul 19, 2010 8:12 pm EDT

I am new to all of this PRP stuff, trying to do the research and determine if I think this is a trustworthy program. Like almost everyone on this site, I believe this to be a scam! Several have mentioned the Guardian Group scam and mentioned the fee of almost $1600.00. Today I visited Mortgage Protection Group, License issued to Queen Creek Mortgage, out of Mesa, AZ. After talking with their senior underwriter, (will provide name if requested), informed me I was approved and tried to sell this hard to believe new program. Then he told me about their up front fee of $5500.00. I about fell out of my chair! I just can't believe someone would actually give up this kind of money with no actual guarantee of a refund. What I would really like to know is if anyone out there has heard of this particular company or visited their office? Randy in AZ

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Concerned in Arizona
Peoria, US
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Jul 20, 2010 11:37 am EDT
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Randy
These companies are popping up everywhere and they are all scams from my experince.I personally cannot give you any advise on this one referenced company but i will tell you this it has scam written all over it if they are asking for $5500 upfront.Even the Scam Experts at Guardian Group Fund did not charge that much and you know what pieces of ### these guys were.
My advise would be as i always recomend: Who are the investors/hedge fund; where is the proof testimonials and people you can talk to that have deals completed; Proof of what banks they have done this through etc.I would almost guarantee that you will not be able to get this information from them and if you do? you better check it thourghly so you do not get ripped off.In addition ask for there proof of being licensed and in adddition that they have licenses for all involved in loan origination.
It is really sad that all these companies out there are taking advantage of people in distressed loans with property values so far under water that they cannot even see the bottom of the boat.What goes around comes around and these frickin scammin ###s are going to pay for all they do to take advantage of people.
Lastly also do background checks on the principals of these comapnies and find out if they have any prior criminal convictions and if so obviously avoid them at any cost.

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jdb3939
Glendale, US
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Jul 22, 2010 11:52 pm EDT

Randy Lewis,

I visited Queen Creek Mortgage, also in Mesa AZ about 2 weeks ago. Sounds like you got the same schpiel too. I was told to pay either $5500 up front, or 3k (any payment method) up front, then when all the paper work is finalized and you get on the program in approx 6-8 months, another 3k is due (Must be certified funds now). But we were also told that that fee would be refunded if your principal reduction plan was not completed processed within 12 months. That all sounds kind of sketchy to me. Any one else deal with this group? I have not taken any actions with them, free seems too good to be true and I just can't come up with 6k for this. Anybody have a success story that can be verified?

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Randy Lewis
Buckeye, US
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Jul 25, 2010 11:30 am EDT

To Concerned in Arizona and jdb3939, thank you for your comments and very valuable information about these crooks. I really feel like I made the right decision in getting up and walking out when I found out the real goal of these companies. Of course that is to get as much money out of people with no guarantee of results. If you ever hear of a success story from one of these companies, I would be interested in hearing it because it doesn't sound like they exist at this time.

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Rick of ILL
Richton Park, US
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Aug 01, 2010 1:59 pm EDT

As Randy stated I am new to all of this PRP stuff, trying to do the research and determine if I think this is a trustworthy program. So the bottom line is are there any company out there that are not taking advantage of people that are only trying to stay in there homes? I have read the argument on both sides of the table (some comical) am I to believe that this program (PRP) is just bulls*&%?

Rick of ILL

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webweaver
Fremont, US
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Aug 01, 2010 4:40 pm EDT

I work for IFI since January and I have not seen any of my files closed yet. They do however have proof of one principle reduction completed in Nevada in March 2010, and they have submitted $61 Million submission to purchase to 6 major lenders such BofA, GMAC, Wells Fargo, IndyMac/One West, Chase and another I can't remember.

Since this is a long and tedious process, I too am nervous about ruining my reputation my community, and am anxiously awaiting the completion of this $61M purchase so that I can provide proof to my brokers.

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Concerned in Arizona
Peoria, US
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Aug 02, 2010 12:47 pm EDT
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To All of The Above

You ask are there any companies out there that are legitimate and actually trying to keep people in their homes and get a PRP to work? My answer to this would be possibly! but in reality NO! The reason i say this is two fold. [1] There is not one company out there that can offer uneqivical proof. [2] Lenders/Investors just do not for the most part do PRINCIPAL REDUCTIONS and they are not suddenly going to start doing so.If that were the case they already would have done that to start with.
There was a program last year that the GREAT OBAMA administration devised called "HELP FOR HOMEOWNERS" that was designed to get lenders to establish a new loan at a lower fixed rate and reduce the principal balance where ever possible and basically help people out of their terribly upside down situations and unafordable payments.Well; the lenders viewed this program like the Bubonic Plague and it sunk faster than the Titanic.The last i heard before the program sank to the bottom of the ocean was the success rate was approx 1-2% of all applications.
So IMHO these programs are all just so Bull$*#@ and in addition to that with the new mortgage reform that has taken place with the financial reform just passed it is now illegal for any of these companies to charge any fee up front and they must perform before they can recieve any money from clients.
Personally i would shy away from all of these companies and lets see what happens now that they cannot charge any upfront fee's and if you see any that are report them immediately.Time will tell if they are successful and as i said before if they are everyone will beat a path to there doors and they are going to get mega rich in the process

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Concerned in Arizona
Peoria, US
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Aug 02, 2010 2:19 pm EDT
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Good News
The Guardian Group has been sued by the Arizona Attorney Generals office and they are going after the principal players Bryan Prehoda-Luis Belevan-Jose Carreon and their wives.This story was in the business section of the Arizona Republic on friday 07-30-2010.In addition to that there was a story on KPHO news which can be viewed by going to there website www.kpho.com and checking the video and story out.
From what i hear criminal charges will be brought against these unsavory bunch of ###s in the very near future as well.All of this will hopefully bring refunds for those that were scammed by this company and finally bring to close the continuing saga of the Guardian Group Fund that victimized so many unwary folks in many states.
Lets all hope that they recieve some serious jail time and can never again take advantage of innocent people that were just looking for some help with there homes.In addition to that maybe we will see an end to the many companies that seem to be plying there scams in other states that are currently advertising on the internet and elsewhere.
Those responsible should be whipped daily while in jail just to make a point that what they did was really demeaning and cruel to all involved.Of course given our judicial system this is very unlikely and more importantly we have to hope that the courts and judges decide to set an example that this activity will not be condoned.

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M72Men
Orlando, US
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Aug 03, 2010 2:08 am EDT
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Aug 2, 2010 I was on the phone with a rep from Atlantic Mutual and he ask me for an upfront fee of $995.00. If what you are saying its true, to who do you need to report this practice? Another thing, this rep told me that he manage like 10 calls a day. so if I make the math correctly this means almost 20K a day. and I know that not everyone qualify for the program, but how many reps do they have? Brooke you mentioned in one of your post that your company only have 200 customers, how do you want us to believe you when your reps are saying something different? If anyone out there ever get positive results with any of this companies, please post it here with the company name and telephone number and help a lot of people that are in need and keep them out of these companies that are just scam.

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Concerned in Arizona
Peoria, US
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Aug 03, 2010 11:50 am EDT
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m72men
Call the Department of Financial Institutions and the Attorney Generals office in whatever state you reside in plus the state where Alantic Mutual is located as well.This should get the ball rolling and shut them down with in a short time hopefully.Having said that since i am not a lawyer or involved in law inforcement i am only going off of what i saw here in Arizona regarding the GGF.
Personally; i believe that this Atlantic Mutual along with Brooke Evert are full of BS and are just running another company that will not be able to perform and i feel confident it will go the way of Guardian Group in the long run.You are already getting conflicting answers to questions from what you said in your thread so let that alone be fair warning not to mention they are breaking the law by charging upfront fee's.STEER THE SHIP CLEAR OF THE REEF.

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Bored In Detroit
Detroit, US
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Aug 04, 2010 2:11 pm EDT

Once upon a time there was a water company that produced bad quality water. But they branded their water as "good quality water." They charged lots of people lots of money for their water, even though it was not good water. Many people got sick, and they became angry that the water company was taking their money and selling them bad water. And so the people who bought the bad water got angry. And they screamed and shouted for the government to shut down the water company that was producing bad water. They said they wanted their money back.

Then one day other water companies started to emerge, trying to sell good water. They had a great process in place to purify the water. But before the new companies could even produce the new, good, clean water, some people started screaming for those water companies to be shut down too. "No one can make good, clean water!" the people shouted. "It's impossible!" Plus, these people said they didn't want to pay for their water up front. They said they wanted to pay for the water after they drank it all.

Soon, all the companies attempting to make good, clean water stopped doing it because everyone was saying it couldn't be done. Even though they had an amazing and cheap water purification process in place, the water companies stopped trying to make water because no one would buy the water they were selling.

Eventually no one had water and everyone died of dehydration or Typhoid.

This... all because ONE lone company made bad water...

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Concerned in Arizona
Peoria, US
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Aug 04, 2010 3:12 pm EDT
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No! This is because one bad loan company{GGF} scammed alot of good people and now for whatever reason many new companies are sprouting up trying to run the same scam when they in fact know that it is not feasible to accomplish a PRP but yet see an opportunity to make a ### ton of money illegally.We ain't sellin water here;they are selling scam here all day long.NUFF SAID

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Brooke.Errett
ridgewood, US
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Aug 04, 2010 4:20 pm EDT
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Concerned in Arizona and other readers,

As I have previously mentioned, please e-mail me at brooke@atlantic-mutual.com or call [protected] to reach me or my manager. As of yet, no one in our company has spoken to you (Concerned in Arizona), nor do you claim to have ever had contact with our company. I generally am able to contact any inquirers back within 24 hours of contact and will have my manager speak with you if I am unavailable.

We run a completely transparent operation and love to speak with any concerned parties. I speak only for Atlantic Mutual, LLC, and am in no way affiliated with or offer the same programs as the other companies being discussed.

I will address two questions that arose from other bloggers:

(1) As one mentioned, our financial consultants take approximately 10 calls per day. Ten calls does not equal $10K (and most definitely not $20K!) in profit. It means that we have spoken to ten people that day.

We began taking clients in mid-February when I completed the design of our program. So far, we have only taken slightly over 200 clients, although we have spoken with many more. I have four consultants that work for our company and strong customer service and processing departments to handle any new and existing clients. We grow our company according to demand.

(2) In regards to upfront fees, the law pertains to foreclosure rescue services. We do NOT offer foreclosure rescue, nor do we take clients at risk of foreclosure. The law does not apply to our company.

That being said, we do not ask for exorbitant fees. We charge our costs. Our money is made on the backend at the time of closing. At this time, we are NOT making money off of the company. We cannot offer our services without the small fee that we charge. My primary concern is executing our program and helping homeowners; only then will my company see a pay off.

To further the legality of any fees paid, we offer full refund to any dissatisfied client, even if contractually we are not obligated to do so. We have not rejected a single refund request.

Additionally, our company is fully insured if we were to become insolvent for any reason.

If you are a client of ours and have a question or complaint, contact us directly to have the issue addressed.

Best,

Brooke Ashley Errett
Managing Partner
Atlantic Mutual, LLC

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Concerned in Arizona
Peoria, US
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Aug 05, 2010 12:50 pm EDT
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Brooke
No contact from me is nessecary because i do not want to become a client and from what i read on here it appears that neither do most of the people that have contacted your company.That being said how many huge portfolio's have been completed? Where is the proof and testimonials[that can be verified]? Why are the investors/lenders not listed anywhere? Who is the Hedge Fund if any?
These and many more questions would have to be answered for anybody that i know to move forward with any business dealings with a company that offers PRINCIPAL REDUCTION PROGRAMS! I am not referring to just your company only but all companies that claim they can do this.
As i have stated before and i will say it again "If you or any other company succeeds in getting this done on a consistent basis you are going to get rich beyond your dreams." You will have so many potential clients that you will have to hire so much additional staff and work 24/7 to get it all done. OH; by the way you may want to call Fed Ex and see if they can give you a dedicated truck to deliver all the incoming files that you will recieve from across the US.
Bottomline is this is not the case at present and i seriously doubt it ever will be.Buy lottery tickets instead because you have a better chance of winning on those than you do of convincing lender/investors that you want ot buy a package of notes at 60-75cents on the dollar or whatever you are offering. YEA; GOOD FRICKIN LUCK ON THAT HAPPENING.

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M72Men
Orlando, US
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Aug 05, 2010 6:38 pm EDT
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Brooke let me start explaining you about my personal experience with Atlantic Mutual. First my property is not in foreclosure, not even 1 month of past due payment, but my prorpety have a lot of loss in value and that is why I called Atlantic Mutual, so why the fees? First STOP LYING, because there is not even one single area of your contract that said that Atlantic Mutual will refund the $995.00 to unsatisfied customers. What it does said is ... After twelve months from the mutual signing of this Agreement, Consultant has been unable to perform services for client. Second I dont know how is possible to run a business for a year with only 200 Customers which money wise will represend only 200K (lie number 2 in my opinion) and giving you the benefit of the doubt you will be out of business soon in which case you are not going to be able to refund the rest of your customers. Show results and stop lying to the public about your refund policy. Also your contract said that in order for a customer to be refund it cant be clients fault. What can be consider Client's fault? Could be just not returning a phone call on time?

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Bored In Detroit
Detroit, US
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Aug 05, 2010 9:05 pm EDT

Nothing more refreshing than good ol' fashioned civil, responsible discourse. . .

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CEC CHEF
Torrence, US
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Aug 09, 2010 3:53 am EDT
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I too live in AZ and I bought my home just before the bubble done busted. I'm currently upside down ~$150, 000. I've read the posts as I have been researching Principle Reduction Programs and I have to say, I may just have some confidence in Ms. Errett. I work with many local lawfirms and have done a bit of research on her and her companies. She is in fact the CFO of Atlantic Mutual, LLC (Brian P. Correa, CEO); Not a whole lot of info on the NYC company WJB Capital, LLC. I am looking at it like this.

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nikepablo
Lake Balboa, US
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Aug 09, 2010 10:52 am EDT

The process is too involved, complex, and long. Hello? People in trouble or soon to be in trouble with their mortgage payments need something ASAP: Not a shallow promise of 'maybe, but it takes a long time'. Here's one simple solution for investment companies:
1. Collect fees only if you suceed. It's real simple to do...and the consumers are not STUPID. If you say that the chances are very good that you'll be successful; then YOU take the risk. ALL salespeople take the risk that they may not sell something. YOU ARE SALESPEOPLE; selling a product to the bank.
2. Work out a SHORT SALE with the bank: Then buy the property and sell it back to your client. That is Principle Reduction: Is it not? Sounds like it's much, much easier to negotiate a SHORT SALE than to do whatever the heck it is you are doing (no one understands that gibberish, and if your clients do not understand the salesperson...you'll not be successful in selling the product...you'll get the door slammed in your face most of the time). Don't try to talk OVER or to talk DOWN to your client. Be honest, pleasant and HAVE A GOOD PRODUCT.

Mike

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Concerned in Arizona
Peoria, US
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Aug 09, 2010 12:00 pm EDT
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Mike
What you propose makes alot of since except for the company that resells the house back to the original not e holder.The problem you run into here is that if the lender that sold off the note[shortsale] finds out that they in turn sold it back to the original owner--sh$# is gonna hit the fan.The reason is the original lender does not want the previous owner to benefit from the shortsale and basically you have and arms length transaction which won't fly if they find out.
In terms of making the so called PRP companies provide the service before they charge anything; i agree 100%.Most of these scammin ### want the money upfront because they realize the chances are slim to none they will get it done at during anytime frame.This way the can still make out tlike bandits.I do not know if you are aware of it but there are some out there charging up to $5000 for this alledged service and they are getting it from what i can see.
These companies out there that are charging people for something that is virtually impossible to accomplish makes me sick.Praying upon desperate people is just pathetic and that is why i hope they states can shut these worthless a#@holes down as soon as they open to prevent them from running this scam.

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M72Men
Orlando, US
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Aug 09, 2010 4:47 pm EDT
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CE Chef, If you research Atlantic Mutual, you will find that they are not credited by the BBB and that they are rated B-. If you want to give away 1k so easy, go for it! Let me tell you something about this other group of lyers like I mentioned before there is no clause about refunding unsatisfied customers, which it means that you have to wait the twelve months of contract in order to be entitle to it, offcourse If it is not Client's fault which is not specified in their contract what the hell does that means or cover, my advise is to take that contract to a good lawyer and you will find out the amount of hidden information about it. As you noticed also Ms. Brooke haven't respond about the refund policy for unsatisfied customer which does not exist, because I have the contract, and once again you will have to wait the whole 12 months. One more thing the refund if any is not automatic, you have to fillout a refund form that is not provide it to you on any of the documents that they will email or mail to you depending on your option of correspodance. BROOKE ! I am willing to sigh a contract with your company and pay you twice of the amount that you guys charge right now, but It have to be at the end of the twelve months or earlier depending on how fast you guys can get the results, in other words work my case and when we are ready to sign the new mortgage agreement I will pay your company 2K, I think this way you will get a lot of cases and offcourse twice the money. Now come with new excuses and tell us why it cant be done? Your company need to earn people's trust and I believe that this is a good way to start.

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Concerned in Arizona
Peoria, US
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Aug 10, 2010 12:02 pm EDT
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M72Men
NOT GONNA HAPPEN! They all say the same about refunds as a matter of fact Guardian Group use to claim that they would refund any client that was not satisfied with the program--y0u know by now how that went--yea; very bad to say the least.I only am aware of approx 5 clients who actually recieved a refund and they went through hell and back to get it.
Just let those that are stupid enough to spend $1000 plus dollars on a company like Atlantic Mutual and see what the net result is in 12 months.OH--that is if they still are in business by then.In all probability they will have been closed down by the AG's office and/or flown the coop so to speak with alot of cash.

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M72Men
Orlando, US
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Aug 18, 2010 12:13 am EDT
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Ms. Brooke we are still waiting for your answer about the unsatisfied customers refund policy that does not exist in Atlantic Mutual contract and the clarification of what really means or cover CLIENTS FAULT in order for not to be entitle for the refund or you just noticed that you have a crappy contract and you are making the necesary arragements on it. And last one are you willing to work cases without the $995.00 upfront in order to gain peoples trust? Once again I will pay you double the amount you guys charge now at the end of the twelve months or earlier depending on how quick you guys can get results.

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jboise
Warre, US
Send a message
Aug 19, 2010 1:54 pm EDT

Atlantic Mutual has a listed address of 801 West Bay Drive, Suite 456, Largo, Florida 33770

They have a lease by Ross Properties [protected].

The website is a joomla site, which is cheesy and the address is not listed, but it is listed in the whois info below.

I called Ross and they are a tenant there. That is all they can give.

Registrant:
Atlantic Mutual

801 West Bay Rd.
Largo, Florida 33770
United States

Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: PRINCIPAL-REDUCTION-PROGRAM.COM
Created on: 08-Sep-09
Expires on: 08-Sep-11
Last Updated on: 11-Aug-10

Administrative Contact:
Correa, Brian bcorreatms@gmail.com
Atlantic Mutual
801 West Bay Rd.
Largo, Florida 33770
United States
[protected]

Technical Contact:
Correa, Brian bcorreatms@gmail.com
Atlantic Mutual
801 West Bay Rd.
Largo, Florida 33770
United States
[protected]

Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.SITEGROUND243.COM
NS2.SITEGROUND243.COM

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Concerned in Arizona
Peoria, US
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Aug 19, 2010 2:49 pm EDT
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jboise Thats cool you took the time to find out all you can about these cheatin scammers.If more people including myself would have dug deeper into the Guardian Group LLC both here in AZ and CA as well as other locations we might have saved millions that these ###s[Brain Prehoda-Luis Belevan-Jose Carreon and a host of other swindlers screwed people out of.The only positive spin on these fu#%heads is the AG's office is really gonna stick it to them as well as the FBI from what i understand.In addition to that; many have filed civil lawsuits and claims against these ###s so it should pretty much tie them up and put and end to there lifestyle forever.
I applaud your efforts and would hope that others check any of these potential scammers out thourghly before ever sending them a dime.If they are what they say they are then they should be able to get this done and as a matter of factual eveidence they should have verifiable info listed on their website.As per usual they do not because once again none of these so called PRP's have been accomplished and therefore they are still swattin at flies and spouting out more BS every week trying to convince the unspecting of ther great plan to reduce principal "AIN'T GONNA FRICKIN HAPPEN FOLKS" as most are becoming astute to this scam.

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Johnny7
US
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Aug 20, 2010 9:51 am EDT

Hello every one.
I am currently upside down about 135k on a 5 year arm that has expired.
My question is... Has anyone heard about a company that goes by the name of UDM FINANCIAL SERVICES?
Which for a upfront fee of $2500.00 They will buy my home and sell it back to me at 90% in today's market value at a prime plus 3.
I haven't been able to find much about this company.
Any info will be appreciated.
Thank you.