Mortgage Brokers Threaten Suit Over Ad

The California Mortgage Brokers Assn. is threatening to sue Huntington Beach-based LoansDirect.com over an advertising campaign it claims unfairly portrays the group’s members as deceptive and dishonest. The 1,600-member association sent a letter to LoansDirect.com President Anthony Hsieh last week asking that the ads be changed or halted. Lloyd E. Messersmith,the association’s executive director, told Hsieh in a letter that the ads imply that mortgage brokers promise a favorable locked-in rate and then change the rate to their advantage at the last minute. Messersmith said the practice is neither common nor legal. “It’s a truth-in-advertising issue, because most of the assertions they make are not true,” Messersmith said in an interview. Hsieh said that LoansDirect.com will decide whether to keep running the ad but said he stands by its contents.

*

Guide to Our Staff: Need to reach Business section reporters or editors? A guide to the section’s staff can be found at: https://www.latimes.com/bizstaff.