THIS BUSINESS IS NOT BBB ACCREDITED

Brian Colombana Attorney at Law

(866) 918-2370 3105 East Guasti Road, Ontario, CA 91761

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Description

This company's business is legal services doing mainly loan modifications.

BBB Accreditation

This business is not BBB Accredited.

Businesses are under no obligation to seek BBB accreditation, and some businesses are not accredited because they have not sought BBB accreditation.

To be accredited by BBB, a business must apply for accreditation and BBB must determine that the business meets BBB accreditation standards, which include a commitment to make a good faith effort to resolve any consumer complaints. BBB Accredited Businesses must pay a fee for accreditation review/monitoring and for support of BBB services to the public.

Reason for Rating

BBB rating is based on 16 factors. Get the details about the factors considered.

Factors that lowered this business's rating include:

Failure to have a required competency license234 complaint(s) filed against businessFailure to respond to 164 complaint(s) filed against business11 complaint(s) filed against business that were not resolved101 serious complaint(s) filed against businessOverall complaint history with BBBGovernment action(s) against business

Customer Complaints Summary

234 complaints closed with BBB in last 3 years | 6 closed in last 12 months
Complaint Type Total Closed Complaints
Advertising / Sales Issues 45
Billing / Collection Issues 6
Problems with Product / Service 173
Delivery Issues 6
Guarantee / Warranty Issues 4
Total Closed Complaints 234

Additional Complaint Information

Complainants allege unfullfilled contracts, and difficulty obtaining refunds for unearned fees. Customers complain they paid large retainer fees for legal services,but the company abandoned their cases or failed to follow through on loan modifications or other legal work. Some complainants allege the company failed to contact their lenders at all. Other customers complain after paying the advance fee, the company failed to communicate with them on the status of their casees. The company responds to some complaints by stating they are working with the customer, or by advising clients that no refunds are, and any fees paid have been earned. In some cases the company contends that modifications were obtained, or that refunds or partial refunds were issued. One or more complaints are unresolved meaning the company failed to properly address the complaint allegations or their response was inadequate.

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  • Government Actions

    Agency: California State BAR
    Description: On June 18, 2010, Brian Colombana was placed on involuntary inactive enrollment by the California State Bar Association. State Bar Court Judge Richard Honn said in his June 17 ruling that the conduct of Mr. Colombana, “poses a substantial threat of harm to his clients or the public.” The Judge cited 13 declarations against Mr. Colombana by clients from California, South Carolina, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Maryland, Utah and New York who paid upfront fees to one of the loan modification companies with which Colombana was affiliated, including Loan Negotiators of America, Housing Law Center and Mortgage Relief Law Center. The Court found that in most cases, clients never even met the attorney, but dealt with non-attorney representatives of the loan modification companies. Through these companies, Colombana convinced numerous cash-strapped homeowners to pay him thousands of dollars in hopes of saving their homes from foreclosure. According to the Courts’ findings, many of these homeowners were worse off after retaining respondent’s services. The Judge noted that many of the homeowners were current with their mortgages but then were advised by Colombana’s affiliates to stop paying. According to the Order, the consumers soon fell behind, were facing foreclosure and received little or no help from Mr. Colombana. In ordering involuntary inactive enrollment, the Judge ruled that Colombana continues to harm clients by failing to refund unearned fees or communicate with them, and demonstrates a pattern of behavior likely to continue to cause substantial harm.




    Date of Action: 6/18/2010

    What government actions does BBB report on?

  • Advertising Review

    BBB has no information regarding advertising review at this time.

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Additional Information

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100078220
BBB file opened: 1/20/2009 Business started: 1/2/2005
Licensing

As of our last verification, on July 7, 2010, this company's principal, Brian Colombana was placed on involuntary inactive status by the State Bar Association, and is prohibited from practicing law in the State of California.

Contact Information
Brian J. Colombana - Attorney
    Charles Shinalo (Mortgage Counselor)Customer Service ()Customer Service ()Yolanda Denton ()
Number of Employees

3

Business Category

Loan Modifications

Alternate Business Names
Brian Colombana Attorney at LawLiberty Law FirmLiberty Legal FirmLiberty Law GroupLaw Offices of Brian J. Colombana, APCMortgage Relief Law Center
Industry Tips
Effective October, 2009 in California, it is illegal to collect any fees, regardless of the form, for negotiating or attempting to negotiate a loan modification for a residential mortgage. All modification services must be fully completed before any money can be collected. It is also illegal to divide fees or services into components for the purpose of avoiding this law.

HUD approved housing counseling agencies are exempt from this law.


On December 15, 2009, the company advised our office that they are no longer taking new business and have shut down all sales and plan to dissolve the corporation at the end of the year. The company has set up an email address to send questions. The email address is status@housinglawcenter.com.