Less Complaints Against Mortgage Companies

BBB releases 2005 ranking data
By COCO SALAZAR
3/14/2006

Mortgage companies improved their ranking on the list of the nation's most complained-about businesses and services.

U.S. Better Business Bureaus processed 7,455 complaints submitted against mortgage companies in 2005, making real estate finance the 17th most complained-about industry.

The number of complaints against mortgage companies, however, is lower than in 2004, when the industry ranked 12th with 10,719 complaints, BBB spokeswoman Sheila Adkins said in an e-mailed statement to MortgageDaily.com.

About 80 percent of the mortgage complaints were settled, nearly 19% were not and close to 2% were not able to be pursued, the BBB reported.

Types of complaints against mortgage companies ranged from misrepresentation of services, consumers being asked to pay fees in advance, high-pressure sales tactics that concealed high fees or points, consumers being mislead about terms of their mortgage rates, and deceptive and predatory lending practices, according to Adkins' statement.

In terms of reports requested about companies, the mortgage industry ranked No. 1 with over 1.2 million requests, according to a BBB statistics report.

Escrow services received 293 complaints last year, making it the 372nd most complained-about industry, the report said. In 2004, escrow services received 117 complaints and ranked No. 574, Adkins said.

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