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Unscrupulous Telemarketers

First off, I have to add a disclaimer here.  When I was in the business, I usually found new clients by making what is known as “cold calls.”  (Calling a potential client out of the blue.)  Therefore, I have a soft spot for lenders who actually take the time to make calls. 

I’m not talking about a lender who hires a company with a “boiler room” staffed by hundreds of people making phone calls.  I despise that type of enterprise.  Why?  First off, the people making the phone calls are hired to do that and nothing else.  They know absolutely nothing about the mortgage business so they can’t answer any of your questions.  Talking to them is just a waste of your time. 

Second, these people are usually breaking the National Do Not Call List statutes. 
The National Do Not Call Registry was implemented in October, 2003.  Since then, consumers can place their phone numbers on a national registry that telemarketers must check prior to making phone calls.  If the number they are going to call is registered, they are not allowed to call. 

Since 2003, a lot of lenders have been hiring a telemarketing firms to make their cold calls for them. They believe this will take them off the hook and they won’t be in trouble for the calls.  This is actually true, to a certain extent.  Consumers can make a complaint, but complaints won’t be acted upon.  This is what the registry says regarding complaints, “Do Not Call complaints will be entered into the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel system, a secure, online database available to more than 1,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies.  While the FTC does not resolve individual consumer problems, your complaint will help us investigate the company and could lead to law enforcement action.”

So much for the Do Not Call Registry!

Third, they’re usually foreigners working in either the United States or a foreign country.  This is important because they usually have a heavy accent and it’s hard for the consumer to understand what they’re saying.  The reverse is also true.  These callers usually don’t understand English very well either.  This can be a big problem when trying to discuss something as important as your new home loan. 

I get lots of calls from telemarketers for refinancing.  About 8 years ago I filled out a loan inquiry on the internet because I wanted to see what this “company” was offering.  (I was doing competition research!)  I put in a fake name but my real phone number.  I should never have done that!  Being new to the internet, I didn’t realize that this was a scam.  The ad wasn’t a lender looking for business.  Instead, it was a company that did nothing except gather names and phone numbers of parties who had expressed an interest in a mortgage.  Then the lists were sold…again and again and again and again and well, you get the picture.  To this day, I still get telemarketer calls from that one online application.  How do I know they’re all because of that application?  Because I remember the fake name I used and whenever I get a telemarketing call for a mortgage, that is the person they ask for.  The moral of the story is this:  Beware when filling out an online application!