Management share the same address in an office building near John Wayne Airport, as well as the same phone number.
When I called the number, the woman who answered said National Debt Management was “a different department” of the law firm.
The Better Business Bureau gives Mesa a grade of F because the firm fails to respond to complaints and because of “grossly misleading” ads.
Paul Petersen, the head of Mesa Law Group, told me he couldn’t comment on the Hunts’ case because the dispute was ongoing.
But he said complaints are all too common from clients who didn’t see the outcome they’d hoped for. “Unfortunately, when people are not approved for a loan modification, they are not happy about it,” Petersen said.
He said Mesa has helped modify about 700 mortgages but that the firm never promises results. “We agree to process the paperwork and put our best effort in,” Petersen said.
He said National Debt Management used to lease space in his office building but is no longer there. He said National Debt Management “is not affiliated with nor is it any part of Mesa Law Group.”
I asked why the two companies share the same phone number. Petersen said this is because calls for both firms are handled by “a central answering service.”
All I know is that a couple of days after I spoke with Petersen, the Hunts said they got a call from someone at National Debt Management saying the company’s owner had decided to fully refund their money.
Petersen said he had recommended to the firm that it give the Hunts back their money.
A spokesman for National Debt Management, Jacob Meier, said the $2,000 deducted from the escrow account had been to cover fees. He said that money, plus other funds paid to the company by the Hunts, would now be returned to settle the matter.
The couple may not be as fortunate with Mesa Law Group.
If they’d taken a closer look at their contract with Mesa, they’d have seen language saying the firm doesn’t guarantee any results. Perhaps a Mesa representative gave the impression that a loan modification would be a slam dunk, but the contract makes no such promise.
Any business can say it will help with a loan modification or reduce your debt, but all it can actually do is serve as an intermediary. You can apply for assistance from your mortgage lender yourself, just as you can try to negotiate new terms with creditors.
Undeterred by Mesa’s threats, the Hunts did lodge a complaint with the State Bar. A spokeswoman for the agency said she couldn’t comment on whether other such complaints have been received or whether Mesa is currently under investigation.
Petersen said he couldn’t comment on what his firm will now do.
Gary Hunt, for one, is ready to wash his hands of the whole thing.
“We’ll write this off to experience and get on with our lives,” he said.
Probably a wise decision.