The Duggars and CollegePlus

[Chebasaz]

Suppose you are falling behind on your mortgage, and unknown to you, your lender files a Notice of Default. A mortgage modification company sees the notice and gets in contact with you. They tell you that for $3,000 they can help save your home, because they have "partner" banks that they work with all the time. All you need to do is speak with one of their "loan advisors" to get the ball rolling. After paying their fee, you are instructed to gather some basic financial information that provides your current income, a reason why your financial situation changed, and what you are doing to get back on your feet. Your mortgage modification company then has you call a loan officer at the bank where you provide them with the information you were instructed to gather. The bank then agrees to modify the loan while you get back on your feet. Or the bank doesn't -- either way the mortgage modification company has done their best to help you. Of course you didn't need the mortgage modification company at all. You could have done everything yourself. Does any of this have a familiar ring?

Lol, it does indeed. I'm getting married soon to a pretty little lady from Ecuador. You just described my exact experience with a lawyer's office in order to file the necessary paperwork for our marriage.

I have to gather and provide everything, and they will be happy to walk me through the process for a fee. Then it's up to the government, but the lawyer has done everything he can.

Now let's take my experience with my accountant last month. I provide all the bank statements, w2's, expenses, and he uses his experience and expertise to point me towards things I may not have found by myself. After that, it's me against the IRS (unless I pay him more).

I'm not making light of your example. It was a good one. My point is merely that we're surrounded by this every day. That's what half of the service-based industries are there for. They do the things that we don't want to learn to do on our own. Add a little advertising in there and you may not even think about doing it on your own. It's may not be "right", but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong going on.