The latest outbreak of salmonella illnesses (2000 reports between May and July), traced to contaminated eggs from two major Iowa producers and involving more than half a billion eggs, raises once again the issue of food safety in America. Who’s in charge?

Until recently, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) had exclusive jurisdiction over inspection of egg producing facilities. Once eggs entered the marketplace, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had authority to investigate any problems. That has all changed under new rules, effective July 9, 2010, giving the FDA authority to inspect food production facilities along with the USDA.

On July 9 the FDA issued new regulations, “Prevention of Salmonella Enteritidis in Shell Eggs During Production, Storage and Transportation.” This new “Egg Safety Action Plan” requires increased supervision and inspection of eggs during all stages from production to consumer delivery.

The FDA’s emergency coordinator for its Center for Food Safety claims that had the new rules been in effect before July 9, this particular salmonella outbreak “could have been prevented.”

Let’s take a look at the “new and improved” federal food safety program and, particularly, at the man on top, hand picked by President Obama to be our new “Food Safety Czar.”

The Office of Foods

Last year, the President appointed Michael R. Taylor as special assistant to the FDA Commissioner for food safety, and asked him to help revamp our food safety programs. As a result, the “Office of Foods” was created, with Taylor as head of the new FDA section, which contains three departments:

1. The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition;
2. The Center for Veterinary Medicine; and
3. The Office of Regulatory Affairs (field force).

The goal of the new office is to involve the FDA more directly in food safety and field inspections. Michael Taylor has stated that with this new organization, and with the new rules promulgated to enhance FDA’s authority in this field, America’s food safety should improve.

Who Is Michael Taylor?

MoveOn.org, an activist progressive PAC, lists the appointment of Michael Taylor as “Food Safety Czar” as one of the current “top ten corporate outrages.” (MoveOn.org is no stranger to controversy – remember the outrage over its “General Betray-Us” attack on General Petraeus?). It points out that Michael Taylor was the same FDA official back in the Clinton Administration who approved the use of Monsanto’s genetically engineered Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH) to improve dairy cow milk production, and who then went on to work for Monsanto during the Bush years. As MoveOn.org points out, BGH is “banned in most countries and linked to cancer.”

A closer look at Michael Taylor, however, paints a much more complicated picture. Mr. Taylor is an attorney who has devoted his entire career to food safety policy. He served as an FDA and USDA staff member, as a research professor on food safety policy, and in industry as a vice president at Monsanto, one of the world’s largest agricultural corporations. He served as Administrator of USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), at that time the top agency dealing directly with food safety issues.

It is Mr. Taylor’s connection with Monsanto that has primarily concerned his critics, particularly with regard to concerns about the safety of its product “Posilac,” a synthetic BGH, widely used by many dairy farmers to boost production of milk.  Taylor has also served as a partner in the major law firm, King and Spalding, where Monsanto was one of his clients.

Taylor has testified, however, that based on his prior involvement with Monsanto before working for the government during the Posilac approval process, he recused himself from all discussions of Posilac and “never sought to influence the thrust or content” of the governmental policies implemented.

Posilac, a synthetic Bovine Growth Hormone

Posilac is a genetically engineered hormone, identical to the natural BGH produced by dairy cows. It is referred to as rBGH, to denote it as a “recombinant” (genetic engineering) form of natural BGH. Since its introduction into the market, Posilac has come under severe criticism as having potentially adverse human health impacts such as introduction of increased insulin-like growth factors in humans, possible links to cancer, and the presence of increased antibiotics in milk from cows administered BGH (injection of BGH causes infection problems in cows, thus leading to increased use of antibiotics in such cows). As MoveOn.org points out, many countries ban the use of BGH in milk production.

Citing several scientific studies, Mr. Taylor’s office approved the use of Posilac in 1993, which is still in use in America. After leaving government service in the 90’s, Taylor went on to become Vice President for Public Policy at Monsanto. Posilac was a major product sold by Monsanto in all 50 states. It is currently a brand owned by Elanco USA, a division of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company.

Michael Taylor’s move to Monsanto has been widely cited as an example of the “revolving door” problem in federal government – senior government employees leaving federal service and accepting high paying jobs with the very companies they used to regulate, whether in pharmaceuticals, the military-industrial complex, or energy, to name but a few. Taylor’s employer, Monsanto, went so far as to sue organic dairy farmers who began to advertise that their products were “hormone free” or “synthetic BGH free.” The settlement included new wording on the label of such milk products that no difference has been found between such products and those from BGH-treated cows.

Are Synthetic BGH Criticisms Valid?

There have in fact been several studies showing no significant impact on human health from consumption of milk products from BGH-treated cows. It is true that some increased insulin-like growth factors in humans have been noted, but at levels not considered a danger. Despite this, the American Medical Association is concerned enough that it has recommended that hospitals serve milk from dairies that do not use BGH injections.

What about the links to cancer? No definitive study has demonstrated any such link, and the American Cancer Society has not recommended against its use. It has concluded that no link to cancer has been shown, but that the antibiotic question “remains a concern.”

What about the fact that Posilac has been banned in many countries, including Canada and the members of the European Union? Even this criticism is not as simple as it seems. As it turns out, in the countries where Posilac and synthetic BGH have been banned, milk production and milk prices are heavily regulated or subsidized by the central government, and there is no desire to upset the balance between supply and demand by allowing some farmers to increase production artificially.

Is Michael Taylor the Right Guy?

Given his office’s involvement with the approval of Monsanto’s Posilac, and the controversies surrounding its use in this country, it is certainly understandable that Michael Taylor’s appointment by President Obama has come under some fire.

On the other hand, given Mr. Taylor’s background in law, government administration and regulation, teaching and industry, all of it devoted to food safety policy, he is arguably well qualified to take over a major new government program involved with food safety.

The “revolving door” issue is, frankly, difficult pin down. Certainly, being involved in government decision making that greatly profits a particular company, and then going to work for that same company, is extremely troublesome and raises legitimate questions about the original governmental decisions. It is also true, however, that when someone with a very specialized competence leaves government service, one cannot expect him or her to suddenly switch fields and go to work doing something unrelated to the former specialty.

Food safety is an important function of government. We expect our food to be as safe as possible. Michael Taylor is in the top food safety position in government, and promises better regulations and inspections to help prevent such problems as the current salmonella contamination of eggs from certain producers. Time will tell whether we see the promised improvements.

Using the “produce the note” strategy is something all homeowners facing foreclosure can do. If you believe you’ve been treated unfairly, fight back. We have created templates for a legal request, a letter to your lender and a motion to compel to help you through the process.  Read the step by step “how to” under the videos.

Special note:  In some states, a lender can foreclose on your home without going to court.  These are called non-judicial foreclosure states.  You can still use the “Produce the Note” strategy in these states, but it takes a few more steps on your part.

Produce the Note – Steps To Follow:

WHO OWNS THE NOTE?

Your goal is to make certain the institution suing you is, in fact, the owner of the note (see steps to follow below). There is only one original note for your mortgage that has your signature on it. This is the document that proves you owe the debt.

During the lending boom, most mortgages were flipped and sold to another lender or servicer or sliced up and sold to investors as securitized packages on Wall Street. In the rush to turn these over as fast as possible to make the most money, many of the new lenders did not get the proper paperwork to show they own the note and mortgage. This is the key to the produce the note strategy. Now, many lenders are moving to foreclose on homeowners, resulting in part from problems they created, and don’t have the proper paperwork to prove they have a right to foreclose.

THE HARM

If you don’t challenge your lender, the court will simply allow the foreclosure to proceed. It’s important to hold lenders accountable for their carelessness. This is the biggest asset in your life. It’s just a piece of paper to them, and one they likely either lost or destroyed.

When you get a copy of the foreclosure suit, many lenders now automatically include a count to re-establish the note. It often reads like this: “…the Mortgage note has either been lost or destroyed and the Plaintiff is unable to state the manner in which this occurred.” In other words, they are admitting they don’t have the note that proves they have a right to foreclose.

If the lender is allowed to proceed without that proof, there is a possibility another institution, which may have bought your note along the way, will also try to collect the same debt from you again.

A Tennessee borrower recently had precisely that happen to her. Her lender, Ameriquest, foreclosed on her in July of 2007. About three months later, another bank sent her a default notice for the mortgage on the house she just lost. She called to find out what was going on. After being transferred from place to place and left on hold for lengthy periods of time, no one could explain what happened. They said they would get back to her, but never did. Now, she faces the risk of having her credit continually damaged for a debt she no longer owes.

FIGHT FOR FAIRNESS

This process is not intended to help you get your house for free. The primary goal is to delay the foreclosure and put pressure on the lender to negotiate. Despite all the hype about lenders wanting to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, most borrowers know that’s not the reality.

Too many homeowners have experienced lender resistance to their efforts to work out a payment structure to keep them in their homes. Many lenders bear responsibility for these defaults, because they put borrowers into unfair loans using deceptive, hard-sell practices and then made the problem worse with predatory servicing.

Most homeowners just want these lenders to give them reasonable terms on their mortgages, many of which were predatory to begin with. With the help of judges who see through these predatory practices, lenders will feel the pressure to work with borrowers to keep them in their homes. Don’t forget lenders made incredible amounts of money by using irresponsible practices to issue and service these loans. That greed led to the foreclosure crisis we’re in today. Allowing lenders to continue foreclosing on home after home, destroying our neighborhoods and our economy hurts us all. So, make it hard for your lender to take your home. Make ‘em produce the note!

STEPS TO FOLLOW

A. If your lender has already filed suit to foreclose on your home:

1. Use the first form. It’s a fill-in-the-blank legal request to your lender asking that the original note be produced, before it can proceed with the foreclosure. In some jurisdictions, the courts require the original request to be filed with the clerk of court and a copy of the request to be sent to the attorney representing the lender. To find out the rules where you live, call the Clerk of Court in your jurisdiction.
2. If the lender’s attorney does not respond within 30 days, file a motion to compel with the court and request that the court set a hearing on your motion. That, in effect, asks the judge to order the lender to produce the documents.
3. The judge will issue a ruling at your hearing. Many judges around the country are becoming more sympathetic to homeowners, because of the prevalence of predatory lending and servicing. In the past, many lenders have relied upon using lost note affidavits, but in many cases, that’s no longer enough to satisfy the judge. They are holding the lender to the letter of the law, requiring them to produce evidence that they are the true owners of the note. For example:

• In October 2007, Ohio Federal Court Judge Christopher Boyko dismissed 14 foreclosure cases brought by investors, ruling they failed to prove they owned the properties they were trying to seize.

B. If you are in default, but your lender has not yet filed suit against you:

1. Use the second form. It’s a fill-in-the-blank letter to your lender which also requests they produce the original note, before taking foreclosure action against you.
2. If the lender does not respond and files suit against you to foreclose, follow the steps above.

The number of people dealing with foreclosures reached a record number of nearly 3 million in 2009.  Americans saw that dramatic increase despite efforts, like President Obama’s Making Home Affordable  Program, to reduce foreclosure filings. So, what’s going wrong? Why can’t our country stem the tide of foreclosures? Some state officials are taking a stab at changing the trend.

A group of state Attorneys General and banking regulators have released a proposal urging loan servicing companies to step it up. The report, by the State Foreclosure Prevention Working Group, said current efforts are failing to keep up with the number of borrowers falling behind on their loans.

It found that more than 70% of loan modifications resulted in an increase in the principal amount owed as unpaid interest, fees and other charges were rolled into the loan amount.  Only four in 10 borrowers who are at least two months behind on their payments are involved in any sort of loss-mitigation effort. The report warned that without more aggressive steps, including a focus on principal write-downs, foreclosures will continue to weigh on the economy.

“Despite efforts of servicers, homeowners and the government, the foreclosure crisis continues to worsen. These signs point to more foreclosures in 2010 than in 2009,” the report said.

The states’ report is based on data from 13 mortgage servicing firms.  It offered a stark view of the housing market. Through the end of October, there were 1.7 million mortgages at least two months behind on payments, while the number of loans in the process of foreclosure increased by 52% between October 2008 and October 2009, the report said.

Key recommendations in the report include:

Reduce loan principal: State officials say that servicers should cut the loan balances of homeowners, in addition to reducing interest rates and extending the terms of the loan. This is especially true in places where property values have plummeted. Reducing principal will make it less likely that homeowners will default on their modified loans.

Pay attention to option ARMs: More than 40% of these complex mortgages are delinquent. Even worse, over the next two years, many will adjust, driving up borrowers’ monthly payments. Servicers need to address these loans before they fall into foreclosure.

Limit required paperwork: Many homeowners are not receiving permanent modifications under the president’s plan because they haven’t submitted all their documents. Treasury Department officials should reduce the amount of paperwork borrowers are required to file and speed up the debut of a central portal where homeowners can submit the forms. The portal is currently set to launch at the end of March.

Expand counseling and mediation efforts: State should expand their housing counseling and mediation programs, which require homeowners and servicers to meet before the completion of the foreclosure process.

Suspend foreclosure proceedings: Treasury officials should amend the president’s program so that the entire foreclosure process is halted when a borrower applies for the president’s program. Currently, only the sale is stopped.

Help the unemployed: Treasury officials and servicers should do more to assist the unemployed so they do not fall into foreclosure. A growing number of borrowers with good credit backgrounds are behind in their payments because of the weak economy.

With foreclosures still on the rise, the administration says this is an effort to make sure banks come through on offers to lower payments through mortgage modifications.  Click here to read an article by Reuters on the new effort.

For many homeowners who have been unable to get their mortgage company to work with them, there may still be hope with the “Produce the Note” strategy.  Click here to learn more.

The third quarter of 2009 has been labeled the ‘worst three months of all time‘ for foreclosures. Even though we’re seeing signs of economic recovery, people are still fighting to stay in their homes. Some get the run-around from banks, some are told by their lender they won’t renegotiate the loan, while others fall prey to lenders profiting from their foreclosures.

Using the Produce The Note strategy has proven successful in cases all across the nation as judges are increasingly holding mortgage lenders more responsible for proving their right to foreclose in the first place.

One bankruptcy court in New York has taken that burden of proof to a whole new level – not only stopping the foreclosure dead in its tracks… but THEN entirely waiving the homeowner’s mortgage debt of $461,263.

We certainly find this encouraging and look forward to how this kind of decision impacts the foreclosure crisis as it continues to unfold.

Using the “produce the note” strategy is something all homeowners facing foreclosure can do. If you believe you’ve been treated unfairly, fight back. We have created templates for a legal request, a letter to your lender and a motion to compel to help you through the process.  Read the step by step “how to” under the videos.

Special note:  In some states, a lender can foreclose on your home without going to court.  These are called non-judicial foreclosure states.  You can still use the “Produce the Note” strategy in these states, but it takes a few more steps on your part.

Produce the Note – Steps To Follow:

WHO OWNS THE NOTE?

Your goal is to make certain the institution suing you is, in fact, the owner of the note (see steps to follow below). There is only one original note for your mortgage that has your signature on it. This is the document that proves you owe the debt.

During the lending boom, most mortgages were flipped and sold to another lender or servicer or sliced up and sold to investors as securitized packages on Wall Street. In the rush to turn these over as fast as possible to make the most money, many of the new lenders did not get the proper paperwork to show they own the note and mortgage. This is the key to the produce the note strategy. Now, many lenders are moving to foreclose on homeowners, resulting in part from problems they created, and don’t have the proper paperwork to prove they have a right to foreclose.

THE HARM

If you don’t challenge your lender, the court will simply allow the foreclosure to proceed. It’s important to hold lenders accountable for their carelessness. This is the biggest asset in your life. It’s just a piece of paper to them, and one they likely either lost or destroyed.

When you get a copy of the foreclosure suit, many lenders now automatically include a count to re-establish the note. It often reads like this: “…the Mortgage note has either been lost or destroyed and the Plaintiff is unable to state the manner in which this occurred.” In other words, they are admitting they don’t have the note that proves they have a right to foreclose.

If the lender is allowed to proceed without that proof, there is a possibility another institution, which may have bought your note along the way, will also try to collect the same debt from you again.

A Tennessee borrower recently had precisely that happen to her. Her lender, Ameriquest, foreclosed on her in July of 2007. About three months later, another bank sent her a default notice for the mortgage on the house she just lost. She called to find out what was going on. After being transferred from place to place and left on hold for lengthy periods of time, no one could explain what happened. They said they would get back to her, but never did. Now, she faces the risk of having her credit continually damaged for a debt she no longer owes.

FIGHT FOR FAIRNESS

This process is not intended to help you get your house for free. The primary goal is to delay the foreclosure and put pressure on the lender to negotiate. Despite all the hype about lenders wanting to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, most borrowers know that’s not the reality.

Too many homeowners have experienced lender resistance to their efforts to work out a payment structure to keep them in their homes. Many lenders bear responsibility for these defaults, because they put borrowers into unfair loans using deceptive, hard-sell practices and then made the problem worse with predatory servicing.

Most homeowners just want these lenders to give them reasonable terms on their mortgages, many of which were predatory to begin with. With the help of judges who see through these predatory practices, lenders will feel the pressure to work with borrowers to keep them in their homes. Don’t forget lenders made incredible amounts of money by using irresponsible practices to issue and service these loans. That greed led to the foreclosure crisis we’re in today. Allowing lenders to continue foreclosing on home after home, destroying our neighborhoods and our economy hurts us all. So, make it hard for your lender to take your home. Make ‘em produce the note!

STEPS TO FOLLOW

A. If your lender has already filed suit to foreclose on your home:

1. Use the first form. It’s a fill-in-the-blank legal request to your lender asking that the original note be produced, before it can proceed with the foreclosure. In some jurisdictions, the courts require the original request to be filed with the clerk of court and a copy of the request to be sent to the attorney representing the lender. To find out the rules where you live, call the Clerk of Court in your jurisdiction.
2. If the lender’s attorney does not respond within 30 days, file a motion to compel with the court and request that the court set a hearing on your motion. That, in effect, asks the judge to order the lender to produce the documents.
3. The judge will issue a ruling at your hearing. Many judges around the country are becoming more sympathetic to homeowners, because of the prevalence of predatory lending and servicing. In the past, many lenders have relied upon using lost note affidavits, but in many cases, that’s no longer enough to satisfy the judge. They are holding the lender to the letter of the law, requiring them to produce evidence that they are the true owners of the note. For example:

• In October 2007, Ohio Federal Court Judge Christopher Boyko dismissed 14 foreclosure cases brought by investors, ruling they failed to prove they owned the properties they were trying to seize.

B. If you are in default, but your lender has not yet filed suit against you:

1. Use the second form. It’s a fill-in-the-blank letter to your lender which also requests they produce the original note, before taking foreclosure action against you.
2. If the lender does not respond and files suit against you to foreclose, follow the steps above.

By Angie Moreschi:

This week marks the 2nd anniversary of Consumer Warning Network. Click here for a special behind the scenes look at our team and what we do.

Consumer Warning Network first went online as a voice for consumers on October 25, 2007.  In just two years since our launch, we’ve become a key source for information on consumer issues. With your help, we’ve grown to be ranked in the top 5% of websites around the world. Some of our most popular stories, like “Produce the Note,” have gotten more than a quarter million hits in just a few days.

Click on the video above to get a behind the scenes look at who we are and what we do. Thanks for visiting CWN. We hope you’ll continue sharing your stories and sending information into us about consumer issues you care about. Whether it’s about your experience with foreclosure, consumer debt, health care or any other frustrating consumer issue you want us to know about, we always appreciate hearing from you. We hope you’ll join us in wishing CWN a Happy Birthday!

As part of our 2nd birthday celebration, the Consumer Warning Network created a new fan page on the social-networking site, Facebook. To become a fan, click HERE.

Connect with other CWN fans, share your stories and ideas and get the latest consumer information you need to mange your life. From foreclosure help to consumer products reviews, CWN gives consumers the knowledge big companies don’t want you to have, so you can fight back!

Join the Facebook revolution and connect with our new Consumer Warning Network Facebook page and become a fan.

By: John Newcomer

Most people would rather have a root canal than complain about a defective product, an overcharge, or unsatisfactory service.  Their reluctance is easily understood.  Companies have made it extremely difficult to complain.  How many of us dread the thought of the ever present “phone tree.”  To successfully maneuver through the tedious steps of the phone tree options requires the patience of Job and the cunning strategy of an Army general.

First you must wait the obligatory 10 minutes, because every company seems to be experiencing extremely high call volume.  Then it is “phone tree” time.  All the time you are going through punching numbers, listening to the next instruction, punching in the next number, you know deep down inside that you will either get disconnected or there will be no option for complaining.

If you are lucky, you will finally get to speak to a real person.  Unfortunately, this person has been trained on how to deflect, delay, and defend. By now, steam is coming out of your ears because you just spent 20 minutes of your life that you will never get back just for the privilege of speaking  with this “trained” customer service representative.

You now realize the deck is stacked against you. Anger takes over and you say things that you would never say but for this temporary insanity. Your attempt to resolve your complaint ends badly.  In fact, a recent survey found that 6 out of 10 complaints are rejected.

Emma Parker, a spokesperson for  the FOS, an British organization established to help consumers, says “many customers with perfectly valid complaints fail to make headway, because they get upset and distressed and often fail to lodge the complaint properly.”

The following tips will help to ensure that your complaint gets heard, and more importantly, acted upon so that you end up in the 40% of successful complaints.

WHAT DO YOU WANT?

Be clear about the nature of your complaint and what action you require.  Complaining just to complain is a waste of time.  Know what action you want to correct the problem. Write out the key points and important information, such as an account number, when the account was opened, and on what date the problem occurred.

TALK TO THE COMPANY

Try to resolve the matter by calling the company.  Sometimes this is all that’s required. In most cases, your first point of contact will be a call center or the local branch. Tell the company that you want to complain and ask if there is a manager or a complaint department you can talk to. Be firm and persistent.

If they refuse to transfer you to a manger, calmly explain the problem to that employee and see if they can provide satisfaction.  If they don’t, ask again to speak with a manager.  If they say, “They’ll tell you the same thing I did,” insist anyway.

**Note: If they still won’t transfer you, hang up.  Look up the company online.  Find out who the general manager, owner or president is.  Call back and ask directly for that person. Getting to the top often makes a difference, because that person, responsible for the bottom line, often cares more about  customer satisfaction than the front-line folks.

STICK TO THE POINT

When you reach a manager or supervisor, don’t deviate from the terms of your complaint.  If you feel that you are getting the run around it’s easy to slip into “and another thing…”argument.  This weakens, not strengthens your case.  The more straightforward the complaint the easier it is for the company to resolve it.

KEEP A RECORD

At every stage take a note of whom you talked to, the time and the response.  Don’t accept just a first name, ask for the last name as well. Companies should not have a problem giving this information.  If they do, make a note of it.

BE REASONABLE

Give the company a reasonable period of time to resolve the problem.  If it requires research, several days may be needed.  Nail them down on how long it will take.  If the company says that someone will get back to you, say that you expect a call within 7 days.

KEEP CALM

Anger or sarcasm rarely produces positive results.  Be courteous, yet firm, and the person on the other end should be more willing to help.

STATE HOW YOU WANT THE MATTER RESOLVED

Are you looking for a refund, a replacement good, an apology or compensation?  Be realistic.  Don’t just pluck a demand out of the air.  This will make your claim look far less credible.

FOLLOW UP COMPLAINTS IN WRITING

If the issue is not resolved, send a letter.  Write “Complaint” clearly at the top, and include all relevant details such as your address and account number.  Keep things brief and to the point, setting out the facts in a clear, logical order.  State when and to whom you have spoken at the organization. Enclose copies – not originals-of any documents that back up your case.

GO TO THE TOP

It can’t hurt to copy complaint letters to managing directors and chief officers.  Find out their names (Google or the company’s website are places to start) and address the letter to them personally.

SEND FOR THE REGULATORS

Make it clear that if your complaint is not resolved you will take the matter to whatever governmental agency regulates the company. Just about every company is regulated in some form or fashion by either a local, state or federal agency.

If all efforts fail you can always file either a lawsuit or a demand for arbitration.  However, this option is really only available if your complaint is significant or involves an amount of money that warrants the effort.

Good luck, and remember “don’t get mad get even.”

Edited by Angie Moreschi

By Angie Moreschi:

In a world where big business and big banks always seem to win, a Brooklyn, New York Judge is giving hope to homeowners who face foreclosure, by banging his gavel for the little guy. Click here to read more and watch this CBS News story about the judge Consumer Warning Network has dubbed “The Foreclosure Judge Who Gets It.”

Brooklyn State Supreme Court Judge Arthur Schack is a friend to fairness. He doesn’t just rubber stamp foreclosures when they come through his courtroom, he actually takes a look at the facts.  Too often what he finds are homeowners who’ve been give the royal run-around from lenders that won’t work with them and banks that have been so careless with a borrowers paperwork they can’t prove they have a right to foreclose.

CBS News profiled Judge Shack in the terrific story above, showing how he looks beyond the routine for a chance to help homeowners.  Click on the video to watch the report.

Using the “produce the note” strategy is something all homeowners facing foreclosure can do. If you believe you’ve been treated unfairly, fight back. We have created templates for a legal request, a letter to your lender and a motion to compel to help you through the process.  Read the step by step “how to” under the videos.

Special note:  In some states, a lender can foreclose on your home without going to court.  These are called non-judicial foreclosure states.  You can still use the “Produce the Note” strategy in these states, but it takes a few more steps on your part.

Produce the Note – Steps To Follow:

WHO OWNS THE NOTE?

Your goal is to make certain the institution suing you is, in fact, the owner of the note (see steps to follow below). There is only one original note for your mortgage that has your signature on it. This is the document that proves you owe the debt.

During the lending boom, most mortgages were flipped and sold to another lender or servicer or sliced up and sold to investors as securitized packages on Wall Street. In the rush to turn these over as fast as possible to make the most money, many of the new lenders did not get the proper paperwork to show they own the note and mortgage. This is the key to the produce the note strategy. Now, many lenders are moving to foreclose on homeowners, resulting in part from problems they created, and don’t have the proper paperwork to prove they have a right to foreclose.

THE HARM

If you don’t challenge your lender, the court will simply allow the foreclosure to proceed. It’s important to hold lenders accountable for their carelessness. This is the biggest asset in your life. It’s just a piece of paper to them, and one they likely either lost or destroyed.

When you get a copy of the foreclosure suit, many lenders now automatically include a count to re-establish the note. It often reads like this: “…the Mortgage note has either been lost or destroyed and the Plaintiff is unable to state the manner in which this occurred.” In other words, they are admitting they don’t have the note that proves they have a right to foreclose.

If the lender is allowed to proceed without that proof, there is a possibility another institution, which may have bought your note along the way, will also try to collect the same debt from you again.

A Tennessee borrower recently had precisely that happen to her. Her lender, Ameriquest, foreclosed on her in July of 2007. About three months later, another bank sent her a default notice for the mortgage on the house she just lost. She called to find out what was going on. After being transferred from place to place and left on hold for lengthy periods of time, no one could explain what happened. They said they would get back to her, but never did. Now, she faces the risk of having her credit continually damaged for a debt she no longer owes.

FIGHT FOR FAIRNESS

This process is not intended to help you get your house for free. The primary goal is to delay the foreclosure and put pressure on the lender to negotiate. Despite all the hype about lenders wanting to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, most borrowers know that’s not the reality.

Too many homeowners have experienced lender resistance to their efforts to work out a payment structure to keep them in their homes. Many lenders bear responsibility for these defaults, because they put borrowers into unfair loans using deceptive, hard-sell practices and then made the problem worse with predatory servicing.

Most homeowners just want these lenders to give them reasonable terms on their mortgages, many of which were predatory to begin with. With the help of judges who see through these predatory practices, lenders will feel the pressure to work with borrowers to keep them in their homes. Don’t forget lenders made incredible amounts of money by using irresponsible practices to issue and service these loans. That greed led to the foreclosure crisis we’re in today. Allowing lenders to continue foreclosing on home after home, destroying our neighborhoods and our economy hurts us all. So, make it hard for your lender to take your home. Make ‘em produce the note!

STEPS TO FOLLOW

A. If your lender has already filed suit to foreclose on your home:

1. Use the first form. It’s a fill-in-the-blank legal request to your lender asking that the original note be produced, before it can proceed with the foreclosure. In some jurisdictions, the courts require the original request to be filed with the clerk of court and a copy of the request to be sent to the attorney representing the lender. To find out the rules where you live, call the Clerk of Court in your jurisdiction.
2. If the lender’s attorney does not respond within 30 days, file a motion to compel with the court and request that the court set a hearing on your motion. That, in effect, asks the judge to order the lender to produce the documents.
3. The judge will issue a ruling at your hearing. Many judges around the country are becoming more sympathetic to homeowners, because of the prevalence of predatory lending and servicing. In the past, many lenders have relied upon using lost note affidavits, but in many cases, that’s no longer enough to satisfy the judge. They are holding the lender to the letter of the law, requiring them to produce evidence that they are the true owners of the note. For example:

• In October 2007, Ohio Federal Court Judge Christopher Boyko dismissed 14 foreclosure cases brought by investors, ruling they failed to prove they owned the properties they were trying to seize.

B. If you are in default, but your lender has not yet filed suit against you:

1. Use the second form. It’s a fill-in-the-blank letter to your lender which also requests they produce the original note, before taking foreclosure action against you.
2. If the lender does not respond and files suit against you to foreclose, follow the steps above.