One unfortunate practice we often see as consumer lawyers is mortgage companies tricking their customers into allowing their homes to be foreclosed. This usually happens when a customer suffers some sort of financial setback and gets behind on their mortgage payments. Being honest and responsible individuals they usually contact the mortgage servicer to try to work something out. Often the mortgage company offers to help them.

When the customer contacts the mortgage servicer they are usually met with great optimism about the prospects of restructuring the mortgage to help the customer through their difficulties. The customer is lulled into a false sense of security by this and thinks all they have to do to avoid foreclosure is cooperate in the refinancing process. They are told not to worry---just fill out some paperwork and everything will be okay.

Unfortunately, this is often false optimism and, sometimes pure deception.While the innocent customer is busy filling out endless forms and retrieving bank records, pay stubs, tax returns and the like, the foreclosure process is continuing uninterrupted. As the foreclosure date approaches the consumer starts to worry and voices their concern to mortgage servicer, but they are usually reassured that the refinance is just about to come through and promised that, when it does, it will cure everything and stop the foreclosure. Far too often the refinance does not come through and when foreclosure day comes the consumer loses their home.

It's difficult to say whether the lenders and mortgage services intended this result all a long, or were just grossly negligent in handling the refinance. Either way, the consumer loses their most precious asset and suddenly is thrown out on the street. To placate angry homeowners who have to leave their homes, some lenders offer "Cash for Keys."  The lender actually pays the homeowner to leave their homes without a fuss, hoping thereby that they will never be held accountable for their outrageous conduct.