The National Consumer Law Center, a Washington based consumer protection organization released a 50 page report sharply criticizing federal, state and local mortgage modification programs for not really pushing mortgage servicers to help homeowners.

"Ultimately, under most of the existing foreclosure mediation programs servicer discretion prevails," the report said in its executive summary. "If the programs continue to demand little or no accountability from servicers, they will likely go the way of other efforts to control foreclosures that relied on voluntary compliance by the lending industry. They will become another piece of imagery the industry uses to support its

claims that voluntary efforts work, that statutory and other government mandates for loan modifications are unnecessary, and that jargon about the benefits of communication can solve the foreclosure crisis."

In order to better the process for consumers, the NCLC recommended forcing mortgage servicers to disclose more about their modification calculations, bargain in good faith and not allow judicial or non-judicial foreclosures to move forward unless the servicer can show it has tried in good faith to modify the mortgage.