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Review 8/24/2010
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The problem here of course is that anyone can write whatever they want whether it is true or not. There is little if anything the firm can do to stop it.
We review every complaint and request for refunds. When justified, we have made numerous refunds. However, most often it is determined that substantial work was completed and the failure to obtain a modification was not an issue with the work conducted by AHPS. The fee was more than justified in light of the quantity and quality of work performed. This is explained to the client and most accept our explanation and move on. Occasionally, clients are not happy with the results or our explanations.
AHPS does not make any guarantees. AHPS is a law firm that charges for work completed, services rendered, time spent. Once we conduct the work we cannot undo it. We cannot refund for work done and paid for. It would be financially impossible to run a business that way. We rely on income to cover expenses and overhead. We are no different from any other industry in this regard.
AHPS processed modification applications for approximately 1000 clients with extremely successful results. The complaints have arisen when customers do not like the result we obtain for them. Clients should understand, as the contract clearly stated, that we will do our best to process your file and negotiate a successful modification, but if the bank refuses to cooperate then there is very little we can do to force their hand. The contract clearly states that the client is paying for services and not for a specific result. No specific result is guaranteed.
My name is James McHenry and I am the owner and managing attorney at AHPS. Complaints posted here and elsewhere have added to the causes for why I have shut down this business. The bank lobby has dictated to the government how the process should work when it should be the other way around. The public perception of the industry is lower than anything I've ever witnessed. This perception is unjustified in most instances. There were and are scams out there, but just because a firm fails to modify a mortgage does not mean that it is a scam. The bank lobby has succeeded in creating a negative image of the industry so that it can continue to dictate the terms of loan modifications. The banks have many high paid lawyers working on these issues, but they don't want the consumers to have any representation whatsoever.
I have been an attorney for over fifteen years with no complaints until I got into this business. I got into modifications to help people save their homes, not to take money for providing nothing. It is a shame that the industry has gone down this path and that the banks have succeeded in making it happen as it did. AHPS is virtually bankrupt. The banks told the public it would take 90 days to process a modification application. We pursued many of our clients' cases for over a year with the banks before getting an answer. A simple mathematical computation shows how the banks bankrupted our business and much of the industry. We cannot afford to process a file for over a year when we budgeted to process it for three to six months at the most.
I am perplexed that the public is so upset with law firms trying to help clients in this arena. Shouldn't we be angry with the banks and the rest of the financial industries that caused America to get into this mess in the first place. The banks make money going into the loan, and again when they take your house away. Not to mention the government programs in place now to compensate the banks for losses they take on distressed mortgages. The criminals are not here where you are looking. The criminals are in the upper echelon of corporate America and the government cronies that they have bought and paid for.
Thank you for considering my position and please don't judge me or my employees based on the limited comments posted here and on other similar websites.
/s/ James McHenry
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