This is from last week from a friend of mine:
Quote:
As many of you know In may of last year I was the victim of an Identify theft situation.
what hasn't been told is the cascade affect that this has had on our life.
In due time my bank did return the funds to my account, but in the interim several bills had been rejected for payment, mortgage, electric, water, and insurance. Almost all these companies we're willing to waive late fees and penalties once the received the police report information. One said they would but didn't.
Mortgage, Country Wide (AKA: Bank of America)
We had notified them as to the event that took place, and were advised that they would waive the late fee and penalties, (not true) We made our payment as soon as the funds were available about 12 days late. Within that 12 days they had already sent an inspector to our house to verify that we were still living there, Yes another fee to be assessed against us. We asked them to work with us on this matter as we were playing catch up with everything at that time, they said they would, we were again told the fees would be waived and they would extend our due date so we could get caught up, again not true our next payment was made 3 days late but within the window of the extension that they gave us, and again more late fees and another inspection.
The next phone call was most interesting to say the least, They had no record of any of the previous discussions, agreements, or notes in the account file. This person decided they needed a copy of the police report. I was more than happy to provide them the police report number and fax them an actual copy of the report (about 15 pages). They said that would be fine once they received this they would be able to waive the fees, and penalties, and they would be contacting me within a week, again not true. The phone calls continued in this vein, we have no record of that, we never received the fax, we need additional information. to fulfill their needs I faxed and emailed everything they asked for, I went as far as asking the Maricopa county attorney's office to fax the police report and case documentation to the appropriate people the attorney's office was happy to assist.
Once again the phone call resulted in the same results. No notes, no documentation, and no faxes received.
Then comes the next twist in this matter our homeowners insurance was coming due, and we had to find a new policy as the current company didn't want to insure homes in AZ with evap coolers, (about 50% of the homes in the county) so we made arrangements through Giekco for a new policy and had it submitted, this insurance was rejected as it didn't meet the standards they wanted (it was Identical to the previous policy), They wanted a much lower deductable, of $250 instead of the previous $1000 dollar deductable. But the fun comes with a notice saying they have applied their own insurance to our home, they never notified Giekco or myself of the rejection of the policy. It came in the mail, another phone call actually disclosed the fact that they had no record of the new policy I had taken out or its rejection but they did disclose the new terms, and they stated that they would only lift their policy fee if an acceptable policy was in effect at the date they showed lapsed coverage (over 30 days had passed) I tried to get a retroactive policy with a $250 deductable I couldn't find one that would work any policy at a $250 deductable was going to raise our insurance cost considerably ($550/year previous to $1200/yr) and none were willing to go more than 30 days retroactive Hence a problem. That phone call also revealed that the payments I had been making were being applied directly to penalties, fees, and the balance applied to principal. I t was also disclosed they weren't counted as payments as they weren't the full amounts at the time of payment. To clarify I called in to make the payments over the phone, I paid the payment as instructed by a BoA rep. who assured me the penalties and fees were being waived, It was also revealed to me this phone call that my listed phone number was ********* = Police info they had no record of the home phone or my cell phone, although their automated system had been calling my cell phone with a recorded message every 3 days.
Now we come to the next Financial problem my wife's employer realized they hadn't deducted the funds for her HSA account from her paycheck throughout the year, so they decided to take it all at once, since that wasn't enough they also took half of the next check (no notification before hand). I contacted BofA mortgage and told them of this development, and again no records of any previous conversations or faxes, we again documented what went on with faxes, income, paystubs, and everything they asked, they again "said " they would waive the fees (yeah right). 4 days (12/23/09 Merry **** Xmas) later the foreclosure notices came. We tried for a modification or refi on the current loan and we were declined ( 3 times). With the property value down (according to BOA) below $100k we didn't have enough equity to refi and make too much money to do a loan modification. We also didn't qualify for the hardship modification due to no loss of job, illness etc.
So here we are today we had originally asked for extensions to get past the the damage done, then asked for a deferment, never received an answer. We tried for a modification, but couldn't qualify. We attempted a short sale, the broker couldn't get an answer and dropped the matter as BOA wouldn't cooperate. We have even offered Deed in Lieu, and again no response. With the foreclosure sale pending in just a few short days we had little choice but to make other arrangements , so we found a home not far from here to rent, so effective Monday 3/22/10 our new address will be *******. I've put all this in an email as I really want people to know what happened over the last 10 months without having to tell the events to every person that asks or calls, it's a matter that is painful enough as it is.
My friend was a victim of a crime much as I was in June, he was late on his mortgage – a normal, rational 30 year fixed. This is unusual for him – he normally knows what’s in his account to within $10. He’s that guy. But an ID thief managed to wipe out his account, and he lost a month financially. He’s recovered most of the money, and he’s been caught up with everyone else he has an account with for months now.
Except for Countrywide/BoA.
Countrywide/BoA told him over the phone that everything was fine – that they understood his circumstance – that they would waive the late fees and and just let him make an extra payment. What they did instead was apply his payments to late fees and penalties before applying it to principal, then added more late fees, and then told him again that they were sorry and they would take care of this. This has been going on from last summer – until they foreclosed this week.
So my friend, who had – to my knowledge – sterling credit, is walking away from a mortgage he was comfortably affording, and I spent last Sunday helping him move into a rental.
Could he sue? Sure.
Countrywide/BoA exists to suck as much money out of home mortgages before foreclosing as quickly as possible, so they can be purged from the books of Bank of America – which now owns Countrywide.
Countrywide/Boa doesn’t even own the note. The actual creditor is some investor. CW/BoA simply services the note – a service that does not include receiving financial documents over the fax, or just about any other service one might expect from mortgage professionals. That guy is losing 16 years of interest on a loan that was in good shape. Maybe he’ll sue them.
Do not despair about my friend – he’s unpacking in his rental house now. He is, by my count, at least 8-0 when going to court – even in traffic court – and when his stress symptoms subside, he’ll likely pursue that option.
My friend didn’t walk away from this loan – he was driven away.
He called some media outlets, and they told him his story, while genuinely troublesome, was nothing compared to stories they have on file.
That’s what we have come to: this sort of needless stupidity is no longer news.