Granite Law

Hi, I am accepting the Granite's offer to the potential resolution of refund However, I feel it's not very sincere as the tone of their response is very condescending If they don't want negative reviews, it's probably a good idea to be a bit more friendly Thank you, [redacted] Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved Regards, *** [redacted]

The client hired us for a very narrow and limited purpose, as set forth in the retainer agreement that he signed on or about September 3, A member of our staff spoke with the client on September 23, and further explained the scope of services for which the client hired our officeAdditionally, one of our staff attorneys contacted the client September 26, to answer any questions he may have hadThe client did not answer, and did not return the call We received a retainer payment from the client in an amount totaling $1,in contemplation of completing all of the services for which we were hiredWe fulfilled all of our obligations under the retainer agreementWe prepared a loan solution package for the client and submitted it to his lender on his behalf on October 16, That is what the client hired us to doThe client did not hire us to “lower [his] mortgage,” as he asserts in his complaint As for the allegation that our office “didn’t keep [our] end of the bargain,” the client is obviously mistakenThe client hired us for the sole specific purpose of preparing and submitting a loan modification request on his behalfIn return, the client agreed to pay a retainer fee in the amount of $1,We completed the service the client hired us for, and earned our feeOur office did request that the client’s lender reduce his monthly payments and his interest rateHowever, the client’s lender is not required to do soIt is up to the lender to make the final determination as to outcomeThis is the only service the client hired our office to performNo other services were promised or contemplated Our office has attempted on several occasions to reach an agreement with the client regarding his dissatisfaction with our servicesWe have even offered, as courtesy to the client, to refund a portion of his retainer feeHowever, after several attempts to contact him, and after leaving several messages for the client, we have not heard back from him

One of our staff attorney’s spoke with the client on July 1, On that day, our office offered a courtesy refund in the amount of $to the clientShe advised our staff attorney that she would need to discuss the offer with her husband, and would get back in touch with herOur staff attorney provided the client her direct contact numberWe have yet to hear back from the clients in regards to the refund offered Our office is willing to work out a resolution with the clients, and will attempt to contact them one more time in order to resolve this issue

We stand by our responseMr [redacted] is entitled to his own opinion but he is not entitled to his own facts Moreover, our refund review process requires a client to submit a refund questionnaire as a condition precedent, to being reviewed for any potential refundMr [redacted] alleges he sent in his refund questionnaireWe have not received oneHowever, to expedite a resolution we will waive this requirement, and review his file for sameHis refund review will take days (business days) from today

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below I do not agree that they did what they said that they would do, it is true that they worked on filling the paperwork out and that they sent both my lender and I a packet but my lender received the letter stating that they no longer represented me before they received the packetwhen I called and talked to [redacted] at Granite Law he informed me that they had to send that letter or my lender could not talk to me about the my caseI would also like to say that I called and talked to [redacted] on several different occasions letting him know that the lender was giving me the run around and that they said that I needed to fill out papers through them for a modification [redacted] told me to keep calling the lender until I found someone that would work with me, after several months the lender finally called and said that I did not qualify for any helpI called [redacted] again and he said that I needed to call and talk to someone in the legal department and gave me the numberI called that number several times and could never get through and I never received a call back or an email from the company after that It is also true that it has been a year since this has happened but I guess it took that long for me to feel that I was scammed out of $and I feel that if I can stop someone else from losing money that they don't have to lose it is time for me to say somethingIt is also true that I quit calling them, but that is only because I wasn't able to get through to anyone and never received a call back Regards, [redacted]

We are surprised to be receiving this complaint, as the clients retained us over a year ago, and our office has not heard from the clients since August However, we would like to reach an amicable conclusion to this matter The clients hired our firm to conduct an analysis of their financial situation and to have a consultation with one of our staff attorneys regarding that analysis, as well as our office contacting the client’s lender in order to advocate for a postponement of the sale date pending on client’s property, as is stated in the retainer agreement that the clients signed on January 4, The clients paid a retainer fee of $on January 4, in contemplation of this serviceThe clients pending sale date was postponed by their lender to March 15, As such, the scheduled attorney consultation did not take place as it was moot However, the clients decided to hire our office to prepare and submit a modification request to their lender, as set forth in the second retainer agreement that they signed on or about January 24, The $ retainer fee that was paid when the clients retained our office for assistance with sale date postponement was credited towards this new retainerWe also received retainer payments in the amount of $on January 31, and $ on February 19, 2013, totaling $in contemplation of completing all of the services for which we were hiredWe fulfilled all of our obligations under the retainer agreementWe prepared a loan solution package for the client and submitted it to the clients’ lender on their behalfThat is what the client hired us to do A member of our staff spoke with the clients on January 31, and on February 18, and further explained the scope of services for which the client hired our officeDuring these calls our staff stressed that time was of the essence because of the pending sale dateOn February 20, our office sent the clients needed to be signed as well as a list of supporting documents required to complete the modification application Again, we stressed that time was of the essenceWe requested the necessary documentation from the clients and repeatedly contacted the clients in regards to returning the documentation On February 25, we received only partial documents from the clientsWe called the clients to advise them that we still needed the rest of the documentation requestedOn February 27, we had still not received all of the documents neededWe called the clients and reminded them that it was crucial to get a complete application to their lender as soon as possible On March 4, we called the clients, having not heard from them and having not received all of the documentation needed, and advised them that all documents needed to be sent to us the same dayAfter receiving this call from us, the clients sent some, but not all, of the requested documentation needed to complete their modification applicationWe then emailed the clients advising that we would send the application package as partially complete as it needed to be sent to the lender within the investor’s timeline for review due to the pending sale date On May 28, a member of our staff spoke with the clients, and they stated that their lender informed them that the application was incomplete and needed certain items on their formsWe advised the client that it was incomplete because the clients did not provide all the documents requested However, as a courtesy to the clients we sent an updated application to the client’s lender on the lender requested forms We did not hear back from the clients until August 1, 2013, when they contacted our office requesting a refundOur policy regarding refunds is to return any unused portion of the retainer fee paid if we have not fully completed the services for which we were hiredIn this case, we fully performed our services as set forth in the retainer agreement that the clients signed However, we take every client’s situation very seriously It is our policy that when a client requests a refund of retainer fees that if no refund is due, that the client completes a refund questionnaire so that our legal and accounting departments can adequately investigate the matterIn this case our office mailed a refund questionnaire to the clients on August 2, We have not heard from the clients since thenWe of course are still interested in reaching an amicable solution to this matter, but cannot move forward until the clients return the completed refund questionnaire

We stand by our responseMr[redacted] is entitled to his own opinion but he is not entitled to his own facts As always we remain willing to resolve this matter in a reasonable manner whenever he seeks to do soWe will gladly take his call and discuss the matter further

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactoryI have received the check and would like to withdraw this complaint at this time.
Regards,
*** ***

Response to Complaint by*** ***
"margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">*** *** retained
our firm for the specific and limited purpose delineated in the Retainer
Agreement signed by him on or about August 26, Pursuant to this agreement
we would assist *** ***o in the preparation of a loan modification request and
application to be submitted to his lenderNo other services were promised or
contemplatedThose services were completed as of
December 13, *** ***o’s comments are not only misguided but completely disingenuous
*** ***o’s
home is being foreclosed upon because he did not make his mortgage payments not
for any other reason*** ***o seems to believe the retainer payment of
$1,he paid for the limited purpose of preparing a loan modification was
in-fact limitlessIt was not*** ***o knows that he was denied the loan modification
based upon a finding by his lender that his state law (Texas) restricts
modification of his type of loan under Article XVI of the Texas Constitution
section 50(a)(6)
*** ***o’s lender alleges *** *** took out an equity line, and equity lines per his investor guidelines,
cannot be modifiedBecause *** ***o claimed he never took out an equity line,
our attorneys assisted him, as a courtesy and went above and beyond, putting in
more than hours into his file, investigating and ordering the “cash-out”
documents demonstrating he in-fact, did take out an equity lineAgain as a
courtesy, and not a service we were retained for, one of our attorney’s
contacted the foreclosure attorney representing the lender and requested a copy
of the security instrument after the denial of the loan modification based upon
50(a)(6)She received it, and sent *** ***o a copy of sameThereafter, he
advised our attorney this note was “forged”Not only did we assist *** ***o
AFTER he was denied the modification, we assisted him with each and every call
to his lender from October to October We placed more than calls
to his lender; a service we were not retained for
Our attorneys fought to have *** *** sale postponed, and were constantly in communication with the lender’s
attorney advocating on his behalf, on the basis of *** ***o’s “forgery” claim
Our firm was able to postpone the sale of his property, because of the alleged
forgery
*** ***o was advised that unfortunately,
we were not retained to pursue a fraud claim against the bank; *** ***o, as is
evident from his complaint here, was not happy with this*** ***o suggested
we should work for free, that his $1,retainer should cover whatever work
he needed us to do, even if it meant another hours of workWe had already
assisted *** ***o with more than hours of free legal service, even despite
his constant defamatory statements, and profanity used against our firm and our
attorneysWe appreciated *** ***o’s service to our country, and because he’s
a Veteran, offered 20+ hours of free legal work and counsel
*** ***o alleges that we are a
“fraud” and doesn’t want “anybody else to go through what he {sic} seen and
experienced”*** ***o knows we prepared and submitted a loan solution package
because we provided him with a copy of sameThis is the only service *** ***o
hired our office to performNo other services were promised or contemplatedIt’s
unconceivable how *** ***o can claim, we somehow defrauded him*** ***o
knows we went above and beyond, he knows we returned every single phone calls,
he knows we fought weekly with his lender to get them to review his loan
modification, he knows we earned our fees, and more
While it is *** ***o’s position he
did not sign his security instrument, and the bank is to blame, this is not an
issue we were retained to litigateEspecially, not for free and especially not
in light of his profanity laced tirades
*** ***o
knows his statements are defamatory, he knows we completed our services, and
knows we have done everything within the scope of our services to assist him;
even going far beyond our scope as a courtesy
As always
we reserve our right to vigorously pursue all of our legal
remedies against anyone who files a and defamatory claim against our firm

A member of our staff spoke with the client regarding this complaintWe had in fact mailed the agreed upon courtesy refund to this client in early June However, the client did not advise us of her change of addressThus, she did not receive the refundWe again spoke to her after
receiving this complaint, and have cleared up the situationThe client advised us that she would be contacting the Revdex.com to withdraw her complaint, as it was filed due to a mere miscommunication.
Our office sent this client a courtesy refund in the agreed upon amountIt was received by her on July 8,

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
I do not accept their refund of $We do not feel their agency did any work for us or very minimal at bestEspecially not $1500, which is the remainder after their proposed refund amount We countered with a refund of $which they denied & countered with their original amount of $This is unacceptable to usWe worked very closely with our lender & we feel our lender was upfront & honestUnlike Granite Law who still feels they reached a modification agreement with our lenderOnce we were informed by our lender the forms were out of date, we worked solely with our lender as we felt Granite Law was not working in our best interestWe reject their refund amount of $250.
Regards,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
 
The allegations that they have tried to reach me without a response from me is totally inaccurate. Furthermore, whenever I have called and asked for a refund it was always denied. I was NEVER offered a partial refund of any amount of the retainer. 
 
Also, regarding the services rendered, what was explained to me did not occur. They promised a lawyer would be handling my case and they did promise me that my mortgage would be modified if I utilized their services. It seems to me that the entire process was not fully disclosed to me and false promises were made. This is not acceptable! 
Regards,
[redacted]

Our office contacted the client directly to resolve this
complaint. The client concedes that the complaint she filed was filed in haste,
due to a miscommunication regarding her final payment.
The client retained our firm to prepare and submit a...

modification
request to her lender. In return, she agreed to pay a retainer fee of $1550.00.
We received a payment of $750.00 but have not received the balance of $800.00.
A staff attorney contacted the client in regards to this
complaint, and the client informed our staff attorney that there was a
miscommunication regarding her final payment. The client advised our staff
attorney that she would be contacting the Revdex.com to retract this complaint. The
client advised us that she wished to move forward in the process, and would be
making her final payment so that we could complete the work that we were
contracted to do, as per the retainer agreement.
As of this date, we have not heard from the client again,
despite our continued attempts to contact her. We would very much like to
assist her, but cannot do so unless she returns our calls.

The client and our office have had several conversations
since the date of this complaint, and have come to an amiable resolution to
this matter. The client advised one of our staff attorneys that he would be
contacting the Revdex.com to retract this complaint, as it was filed by...

him in haste, before
he actually contacted us to discuss the matter.

Hi,
I am accepting the Granite's offer to the potential resolution of refund.  However, I feel it's not very sincere as the tone of their response is very condescending.  If they don't want negative reviews, it's probably a good idea to be a bit more friendly.
Thank you,
[redacted]
 
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
Regards,
[redacted]

We stand by our response. Mr. [redacted] is
entitled to his own opinion but he is not entitled to his own facts.
 Moreover, our refund review process requires a client to submit a refund questionnaire
as a condition precedent, to being reviewed for any potential refund. Mr.
[redacted] alleges he sent in his refund questionnaire. We have not received
one. However, to expedite a resolution we will waive this requirement, and
review his file for same. His refund review will take 30 days (business days) from today.

The client hired us for a very narrow and limited purpose,
as set forth in the retainer agreement that he signed on or about September 3,
2013. A member of our staff spoke with the client on September 23, 2013 and
further explained the scope of services for which the client...

hired our office. Additionally,
one of our staff attorneys contacted the client September 26, 2013 to answer
any questions he may have had. The client did not answer, and did not return
the call.
We received a retainer payment from the client in an amount
totaling $1,550.00 in contemplation of completing all of the services for which
we were hired. We fulfilled all of our obligations under the retainer
agreement. We prepared a loan solution package for the client and submitted it
to his lender on his behalf on October 16, 2013. That is what the client hired
us to do. The client did not hire us to “lower [his] mortgage,” as he asserts
in his complaint.
As for the allegation that our office “didn’t keep [our] end
of the bargain,” the client is obviously mistaken. The client hired us for the
sole specific purpose of preparing and submitting a loan modification request
on his behalf. In return, the client agreed to pay a retainer fee in the amount
of $1,550.00. We completed the service the client hired us for, and earned our
fee. Our office did request that the client’s lender reduce his monthly
payments and his interest rate. However, the client’s lender is not required to
do so. It is up to the lender to make the final determination as to outcome. This
is the only service the client hired our office to perform. No other services
were promised or contemplated.
Our office has attempted on several occasions to reach an
agreement with the client regarding his dissatisfaction with our services. We
have even offered, as courtesy to the client, to refund a portion of his
retainer fee. However, after several attempts to contact him, and after leaving
several messages for the client, we have not heard back from him.

We are surprised to be receiving this complaint, as
the client retained our firm nearly a year ago, and our office has not heard
from the client since November 2013, when we attempted to...

return a call to the client (and
emailed her as well). She did not contact us after that. However, we would like
to reach an amicable conclusion to this matter.
The client hired us for a very narrow and limited
purpose, as set forth in the retainer agreement that he signed on or about August
22, 2013. We received retainer payments in the amount of $1000 on August 22,
2013 and $750 on September 20, 2013, totaling $1750.00 in contemplation of
completing all of the services for which we were hired. We fulfilled all of our
obligations under the retainer agreement. We prepared a loan solution package
for the client and submitted it to the clients’ lender on their behalf. That is
what the client hired us to do.
A member of our staff spoke with the client on September
3, 2013 and further explained the scope of services for which the client hired
our office. On that same day our office sent the client the documents which needed
to be signed as well as a list of supporting documents required to complete the
modification application.
On September 13, 2013 we received only partial documents
from the client. We called the client to advise her that we still needed the
rest of the documentation requested. We received all documentation on September
17, 2013. The client paid her outstanding balance of $750 on September 20,
2013, and on September 26, 2013 our office completed the review of the client’s
loan modification application and faxed the application to the lender, as well
as mailed a copy of it to the client, thus completing the services for which we
were retained.
The client alleges that once she paid her retainer
fee, as contracted for in the retainer agreement that she signed, that our
office “sent a letter to the bank stating that they no longer represented me,
they had me make several calls and do everything myself which resulted in me
being denied a modification or refinance.” This is simply not true. We began
working on the client’s case before receiving her retainer payment AND
continued to work on the client’s case until the work we had been hired to
perform had been fully completed. Our office submitted a third party
authorization to the client’s lender on August 27, 2013, so that we could speak
on her behalf. Our office did not retract the third party authorization until
October 3, 2013, AFTER the modification application was submitted to the
client’s lender, so that the lender could communicate directly with the client,
as contracted.
The client also claims that “Granite Law does
nothing to help so don’t pay them!” This statement is not only false, it is defamatory.
We did exactly what the client retained us to do, which was to prepare and
submit a modification request on her behalf. There is no question that we fully
performed our responsibilities under the retainer agreement.
We take every client’s situation very seriously, and
are surprised that the client did not ever express her concerns directly with
us, this complaint being the first time we were made aware that she was unhappy.
We of course are interested in reaching an amicable solution to this matter,
but cannot move forward unless the client contacts us.

We are surprised to be receiving this complaint, as
the clients retained us over a year ago, and our office has not heard from the
clients since September 2013. However, we of course would...

like to reach an amicable
conclusion to this matter.
The client hired our firm to prepare and submit a
modification request to their lender, as set forth in the retainer agreement
that they signed on or about April 4, 2013. We received retainer payments in
the amount of $1000 on April 4, 2013; $125 on May 2, 2013; $100 on May 23,
2013; $100 on May 30, 2013 and $425 on June 5, 2013, totaling $1750.00 in
contemplation of completing all of the services for which we were hired. We
fulfilled all of our obligations under the retainer agreement. There is no
question that we prepared a loan solution package for the client and submitted
it to the client’s lender on his behalf. That is what the client hired us to
do.
A member of our staff spoke with the clients on April
30, 2013 and on left a message for the client on May 2, 2013 and further
explained the scope of services for which the client hired our office. During
these calls, and in the retainer agreement that the client signed, he was
informed of our no guarantee policy. We are so adamant of informing our clients
of the fact that we cannot ethically guarantee an outcome, that we devote a
separate section of the retainer agreement to this:
DISCLAIMER OF
GUARANTEE.  Nothing in this Agreement and
nothing in any statements by GL or its staff shall be construed as a promise or
guarantee about the outcome of this matter. 
Client acknowledges that GL makes no such promises or guarantees.  There can be no assurance that Client will
profit or benefit, economically or otherwise, in this matter.  GL’s comments about the outcome of this
matter are expressions of opinion only. 
Client’s obligation to pay the fees in full for the services rendered
are not based on Client’s obtaining a particular outcome or result. 
The client further asserts that our representation
is illegal because he claims we cannot charge upfront fees. He cites the
provisions of 16 C.F.R. Part 322, colloquially known as the FTC MARS Rule. As a
law firm providing service to our clients in the normal course of business, the
rule cited is not applicable. The MARS rule states:
“(a) An attorney is
exempt from this part, with the exception of § 1015.5, if the attorney:
(1)
Provides mortgage assistance relief services as part of the practice of law;
(2) Is licensed to
practice law in the state in which the consumer for whom the attorney is
providing mortgage assistance relief services resides or in which the
consumer’s dwelling is located; and
(3)
Complies with state laws and regulations that cover the same type of conduct
the rule requires.
(b) An attorney who is
exempt pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section is also exempt from § 1015.5
if the attorney:
(1) Deposits any funds
received from the consumer prior to performing legal services in a client trust
account; and
(2) Complies with all
state laws and regulations, including licensing regulations, applicable to
client trust accounts.”
Additionally, our firm does not collect fees in
advance of services performed.  All fees
from our clients are placed in our IOLTA attorney/client trust account and paid
to the firm when earned.   Once the
services for which this client hired our firm were concluded the funds were
then transferred from the trust account to our operating account.
Furthermore, California Senate Bill 94 does not
apply, as the client is not a California client and the property is not located
in California.
Additionally, the client requests $5000 for “false
advertisement.” This of course is unrealistic, as our advertising in no way
promises any specific result or guarantee, as noted previously in this
response.  
We take every client’s situation very
seriously.  While we are surprised to be
hearing from the client via this complaint, as our office has not heard from
him directly since September of 2013, we would of course be willing to reach a
conclusion to this matter with him. However, this does require that he contact
us directly.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
I do not agree that they did what they said that they would do, it is true that they worked on filling the paperwork out and that they sent both my lender and I a packet but my lender received the letter stating that they no longer represented me before they received the packet. when I called and talked to [redacted] at Granite Law he informed me that they had to send that letter or my lender could not talk to me about the my case. I would also like to say that I called and talked to [redacted] on several different occasions letting him know that the lender was giving me the run around and that they said that I needed to fill out papers through them for a modification. [redacted] told me to keep calling the lender until I found someone that would work with me, after several months the lender finally called and said that I did not qualify for any help. I called [redacted] again and he said that I needed to call and talk to someone in the legal department and gave me the number. I called that number several times and could never get through and I never received a call back or an email from the company after that.
It is also true that it has been a year since this has happened but I guess it took that long for me to feel that I was scammed out of $1750.00 and I feel that if I can stop someone else from losing money that they don't have to lose it is time for me to say something. It is also true that I quit calling them, but that is only because I wasn't able to get through to anyone and never received a call back.
Regards,
[redacted]