When you need assistance with an unfair or illegal situation, these regulators are on your side. The offices are paid for by your taxes, and are in operation to help you. If you believe you were treated unfairly by a real estate agent or a lender, contact a regulator’s or commission’s office and let them know. Here’s how they can come to your defense:
Regulator’s and commission’s offices may differ slightly from state to state, but in general, their purpose is to oversee the regulation and licensure of industries. This can include banks, mortgage lenders, real estate agents, appraisers and other professionals involved in lending and real estate transactions. This means that your real estate agent must comply with the standards of the regulatory office or commission in order to stay in business. If they do not abide by the state regulations, they could pay a fine, or lose their license and be forced to shut their doors.
When you submit a complaint to your state regulatory office or commission, they will investigate the situation, and contact the business you have named. The business wants to keep their good name with the state officials, so in most cases they will try to resolve the issue with you a.s.a.p. For the business, it is easier and cheaper to make you happy than it is to deal with the state authorities.
Here’s an example: If your mortgage broker did not come through on a promise, you can contact the state regulatory office. They will look into the facts. If you are in the right, they will tell the broker that a complaint has been filed against them. In most cases, the broker will make good on his or her promise – because they do not want a complaint on their record.
The following site contains a link to the web site of most of the state’s regulators offices. These web sites list the specific information you need to seek protection as a consumer, provide instructions on how to file a complaint, and offer forms that you can print out.
http://www.osbckansas.org/ConsumerAssistance/Links.html
If the regulatory office for your state in not on the above web site, you can go to visit the website of your state, or call the state office and ask for the regulator’s office. Contact information for every state follows:
