Iowa’s Attorney General says a judgment was approved in Polk County Wednesday to complete a settlement with Ameriquest Mortgage Company that will pay two-million dollars to Iowans. A-G Tom Miller initially announced the case in January and says it includes sweeping reforms from Ameriquest.
Miller say one of the biggest problems was the company’s policy of “Upselling” when they refinanced home loans. Miller says it’s like going into the furniture store and there’s a one-thousand dollar price tag on a sofa. Miller says the salesperson pulls the price tag off when he sees someone coming, and eventually sells the sofa for 13-hundred dollars.
Miller says the practice isn’t illegal, but he says Ameriquest abused the system. He says, “They had a compensation system for their salespeople, that the more they upsaled, the more they price gouged consumers, the more the salesperson, the account executive, got paid. So, it was a very aggravated situation.” The settlement includes people who got mortgages from Ameriquest between January of 1999 and April of 2003.