DO NOT USE
My mother, who was a co-borrower on my mortgage, passed away. I didn’t know what I was going to do regarding my mortgage since she had been paying half of it (she lived with me.) In comes Cardinal Branch via Robert Baker. He assured me he could get any illegal fees off my mortgage, lower my mortgage payment, and get me back on track. Laura Garcia was the processor on my case. They asked for 6 checks post dated for $850. They claimed the 1st check bounced so I needed to send them a cashier’s check. I did, trusting all the reviews that this was a legitimate company. Well, it’s been 2 years now and the mortgage company was threatening to foreclose, stating I had not made a payment in a year. I went against Robert and Laura’s advice that I not contact my mortgage company and did contact them. They had never heard of Cardinal Branch, had never received any information that I provided that was supposed to be going to them, but most importantly, they never received a penny for my mortgage. Cardinal Branch even had me send them my mother’s death certificate to give to the mortgage company. Big surprise, the mortgage company never received the death certificate. I’m now back on track with the mortgage company by working directly with them. Since my loan was an FHA loan, I contacted a local HUD representative who filed a complaint with the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. They notified Cardinal Branch and that brought a bevy of texts and phone calls from Robert, Laura, and another guy, Mike Burke. Everything indicated that they wanted to talk to me about my approval from my mortgage company. Never once did they mention financial reimbursement. I was advised to only talk by texts so that I could save my texts from them. I told them that I wasn’t talking to them, period. I would, however, continue to text with them if they were offering a refund of the 6 months of $850. All of a sudden, they claimed that was what they wanted to talk to me about. Could I please call them. I said no, if they needed me to sign something then they could email it to me. They said they really needed to talk to me to get the refund process started. Again, I refused to talk to them. They complained that texting was slowing down the process and making it difficult. They even put that in their response to the CFPB. Then I got a text from the CFPB that I would be receiving a check for $2550. According to my math, that amount was incorrect. I let Mike Burke know that the amount was incorrect. He told me that the first check bounced but was covered by a cashier’s check. Then he said another one bounced, which I had not been notified of this. Then he told me that I asked them not to process the last check which is how they came up with the refund amount. The check came by FedEx the very next day and I deposited that day, a Friday. They said they could make $500 available immediately and put a 2 day hold on the rest of it. The next day I go to the bank and am informed that the bank flagged the check as fake. So we deposited it anyway with an extended 7 day hold to see if it clears. If it doesn’t, I’m being directed to the State Attorney General’s office and the FBI and the bank is going that way as well. Then I want to come after them for everything they have and wipe them off the face of the earth. They done messed with the wrong person!
By Bonnie H.