Profile: frustratedwithbanks
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Welcome to Regulation Room, frustratedwithbanks, and thanks for sharing your story. It sounds like you and your spouse are going through a difficult time. We suggest you contact a HUD approved housing counselor to see if they can help.
The CFPB is proposing in this rule that servicers take “early intervention” steps with borrowers in trouble to provide them with important information about foreclosure and how to get help from the servicer or from outside organizations. Could you read the CFPB’s suggested “early intervention” steps and comment if you think alternative approaches would be more helpful to borrowers?… more »
If someone were available consistently and knew what to do and how to help, it would relieve stress, mental anguish and perhaps solve the problem before needing other intervention. The need for continuity of contact is described exactly in the opening paragraph. I can’t tell you, but have documented the almost daily calls that require me to repeat the same information then am told that someone else from another department will be in touch because the caller is not the right office. There ought to be a law. Continuity of contact is a good start. introductory paragraph
All of these proposals, rules and regulations are futile if there’s nobody enforcing them. I’ve been working with my mortgage loan servicer for 9 months now trying to get a modification. I’ve had 4 different customer relationship managers and have always gotten voice mail every time I called. Occasionally I would get a call back but usually not. And why do they not accept documents electronically? I have faxed and “fed-exed” my documents numerous times and each time they claim they did not receive them, even though I have fax confirmations and tracked the Fed-ex package to make sure it was delivered. I am completely frustrated with the whole process.
Thanks for your comment, exhaustedinfl, and welcome to Regulation Room. The problems you are having with customer relations managers are exactly what CFPB is trying to prevent. Do you think that the proposed regulations forcing servicers to have an accessible, knowledgeable team of customer service representatives would make the modification process easier for you?
Not unless you have an efficient process to enforce those regulations. What would make it easier would be a requirement that the servicers have a system by which files could be uploaded electronically by the consumer through a secure, log-in to use type site. A site where consumers could see a document check-list and view which documents had been received as well as outstanding documents, due dates, messages, etc. Right now I am at the mercy of the customer relations manager. It’s a “he said-she said” battle because I have sent documents, but they say they didn’t get them. Even though I have fax confirmations and fed-ex tracking numbers that show delivery, I can’t prove what documents were delivered.
There is a system by which housing counselors can upload documents electronically to many of the major servicers – that, at least, eliminates one source of frustration. GMAC Mortgage has just started allowing homeowners to upload their own docs. See the website: http://www.homeownerconnects.org . Hopefully, this will expand. Having a Single-Point-of-Contact (SPOC) at the servicer is a step in the right direction, but there is still a quick turn-over (think call-center reps) and often a lack of experience and knowledge on their part.
I have been trying to get my payments lowered and keep sending and resending paperwork now I have been informed that there is nothing that can be done. My partner had to borrow against her 401K plan in order to get our mortgage caught up now we have been informed that our payment will be increased from 2016.26 to 2510, now this just seem very stupid to me since we were having a problem making the lower payment and wanted it lowered so it could be made from one of my paychecks. I feel that mortgages should use net income instead of gross income. That would prevent a lot of problems in my opinion.
We also cannot get the mortgage co. to assist us in any way. We were late in the past due to a significant medical event. The bank nearly foreclosed, then modified, raising our payment. We are now underwater. And the payment is so large, we can barely pay our other creditors. We can’t move, because we can’t pay the deficiency balance on the house in our state of MD. All we are told by the bank is there is nothing available to help us. My spouse, who had the medical issue, is working himself to death to meet the obligation. Its a horrible situation, at 6.25% interest! The bank knows they have us over a barrel, and the government has done nothing (including MD State Govt) to assist. The bank has the control-the government is so weak on this, there is no help for underwater mortgages or excessively high payment mods.
We have been contacted over and over by the customer service person to find out if we plan to “default”. They call so often. We learned from one that we spoke to that they track their “attempts to assist” and report it. Meanwhile, they call and call and just reaffirm that they cann’t assist. Hard to believe they pay someone to be that way with their customers.
You can advise all you want, but without enforcement, nothing will occur. My bank is completely nonaccoutable. They advertise that they are though.
Another case in point. The only way to get them to move toward assisting is to hire an attorney to sue.
We did that with our last home. Our loan was eventually sold to Countrywide. We had no say in the matter.