Home foreclosures in North Carolina are at an all time high. Some experts blame high risk and deceptive loan practices. As homeowners rush to save their homes, we discovered that too often they are turning to the wrong places for help.

Sitting in a house he no longer owns, on land he just lost to the bank, Thomas Wingler reads the letter he thought would save it all. ”It says they would help set up with the company a repayment plan.”

The letter is from Mortgage Assistance of the Carolinas. He read us a little of what the letter says. “So many plans and options are available with every mortgage company, to work out some plan to resolve your foreclosure.”

Instead of being a saving grace, Wingler tells us it represents a leap a faith that resulted in a financial free fall.

"(They) never did anything for us," Wingler said again and again.

Wingler made his living as a house painter. He owns his own business and says it was successful.

"We had it made,” he said, looking at his wife. “We had all the money we needed. We had plenty of work."

But that changed two years ago. "All of a sudden I got sick and everything went down hill," Wingler said.

Twelve operations in two years, he says during that time, the bills piled up. Wingler got behind in his mortgage payments.

Desperate to save his house and land, when a company called offering to help resolve the problem with his bank, Wingler jumped at the chance.

"They said they would help us talk to the people that we owed the mortgage to, refinance it, start the payments over. They said they were guaranteed they could help us," he said.

So Wingler sent them the fee they asked for: one month's mortgage payment, which came to $840.

In return, Wingler says, he got nothing. "Then, they didn't do a thing, nothing, wouldn't do anything for us, would not even talk to us."

Wingler isn’t the only customer crying foul. After complaints from other consumers, the North Carolina attorney general took action calling Mortgage Assistance of the Carolinas fraudsters and prohibiting the company from asking for upfront fees. The AG’s office is currently suing the company.

After four un-returned phone calls to company owner Alan Steve Seabolt, we paid him a visit at an office, with camera rolling, to ask about the allegations against him and his company. "He is not interested in meeting with anyone,” an officer worker said.

I asked, "Does he have nothing to say about the allegations against him?"

The worker refused to get him or answer our questions, simply repeating "Have a BLESSED DAY!" over and over again.

I asked, “Can you let him know that we are here?" The worker said, “I already have.”

She then attempted to physically escort us out of the office and then asked us to leave. We have yet to hear back from Seabolt.

The Better Business Bureau says other similar companies are popping up. We sat down with the BBB’s Tom Bartholomy to learn more. His predictions about these types of problems were startling. "In 2007, these types of foreclosure scams are going to be the fastest growing in the Carolinas."

We found home foreclosures in our area have shot up over the last decade, as much as 300 percent. Cabarrus County has seen an increase of 326.7 percent, Gaston county an increase of 272.2 percent, and Mecklenburg County a jump of 267.8 percent. Across the state, home foreclosures are at an all time high.

While homeowners and high risk lenders struggle, Bartholomy says one group is making a profit.

"This cottage industry is springing up of foreclosure service prevention companies. For a lot of people that is the exact hope they are looking for," Bartholomy said.

According to Bartholomy, nearly early every time, consumers have the same complaint: they paid for help they never got, while their mortgages got further and further behind.

"They'll guarantee that it's going to work and it’s far from it," Bartholomy said.

As for Thomas Wingler and his wife, 24 hours before we sat down to talk, Thomas lost his home.

"It's been a stress,” he said, “It's been awful."

As we took one of his last walk around the yard, talking about a lifetime of memories in the house, Thomas was most focused on the danger facing other consumers. He left us with this warning for viewers, “Just please God, don't ever go to those people."

Want to protect yourself?

Just a year ago the AG pushed through a law making it illegal now for these companies to ask for upfront fees. If someone asks you for such a fee upfront, report them NCDOJ or BBB

Also, if you are in danger of missing a mortgage payment, experts say the best advice is to call your bank immediately and try to work out a plan. Sometimes, if banks learn you are getting a new job or are making every effort to make those payments, they will work with you and your specific challenges.

If that doesn't work, the attorney general says you might try a reputable, non profit credit counselor for help. Read more of what the AG has to say by clicking here…