Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/13/2025

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I received a deceptive mort**** solicitation from First Alliance Home Mort****, LLC around March 26, 2025, claiming I had "$33,750 in available funds" and was "pre-selected" for an FHA loan. The language and formatting closely resembled a government notice, with terms like "FHA Program Eligibility" and "Final Notice."
  
  Upon review, I determined the company had accessed my consumer report information under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and mailed a solicitation that did not meet the requirements of a "firm offer of credit" as outlined in FCRA § 604(c). Additionally, the legally required opt-out notice was buried in small font on the reverse side, likely in violation of § 615(d).
  
  This type of misleading marketing preys on consumer confusion, misrepresents pre-qualification, and may cause harm to borrowers who believe the offer is official or guaranteed.
  
  I delivered a certified letter offering to resolve the issue amicably for $2,000 — a figure well within the statutory damages allowed under federal law — but the company has not responded. I am also filing complaints with the CFPB and FTC, and will pursue small claims court if necessary.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/24/2025

  This
  is in response to the complaint filed by **** ********. 
  First, to our knowledge, we have
  not received an application from Mr. ******** and has never been a client of ours. 
  If we had received an application, we are confident based on the
  pre-screening that we could have provided him with a mort**** loan, subject to
  final review, including verification and an appraisal.  As indicated in our interim response, First
  Alliance is reviewing its current practices regarding the mailer and is contemplating
   changes to the text of the marketing  to avoid any further complaints from potential
  borrowers and to avoid any possible  violations. Regarding
  purported violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), we respectfully
  disagree.  First, the opt out clause at
  the bottom of the first page states the following in bold faced type:

  You
  can choose to stop receiving “prescreened” offers of credit from this and other
  companies by calling our toll free number ###-###-####.  See PRESCREEN & OPT-OUT NOTICE on the
  back side for more information …
  We believe
  that this notice meets the “clear and conspicuous” standard referred to in the FCRA.
  Second,
  we do not believe that a pre-screened offering and the “firm offer of credit”
  requirement under the FCRA requires that the offering constitutes a commitment
  to lend.  As stated by the court in Poehl
  v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 
  The statutory definition
  contemplates additional communication between the creditor and the consumer
  that prevents an immediate acceptance of the offer. See § *****(l ). The
  definition provides that the firm offer of credit can be conditioned on the
  consumer meeting additional specific creditworthiness criteria “for the purpose
  of determining whether to extend credit ... pursuant to the offer,” on
  verification that the consumer continues to meet the prescreen criteria and
  that information in the consumer's credit application meets the specific
  criteria for creditworthiness, and on the furnishment of collateral if
  required.  Id.   Because
  FCRA “specifically permits lenders to impose post-offer criteria that would be
  antithetical to the common law understanding of an ‘offer’ as an
  immediately-acceptable set of terms,” reliance on common law notions of an
  “offer” within the statutory definition is misplaced in this statutory scheme. *****, 
  We
  will review this and other cases and regulatory guidance to ensure that the
  prescreened marketing complies with the FCRA.  We appreciate the opportunity to
  respond to the complaint filed by **** ********..