Complain about a product or service

Beneficial

Kathleen of Lompoc, CA June 16, 2009

We went to Beneficial during a time of financial hardship. We knew we would pay more for this financial bailout but could not get our mortgage company at the time to deal with a refinance. This was around 1999 or beginning 2001 timeframe. They bought our mortgage and the 2nd as well. Over the next couple years, they called us every few months, telling us they could refinance at a lower rate.

The mortgage kept going up and up. If we'd refuse to refinance, they'd continue to call until one of us would agree. They always made it easy to "pull money out" so the base mortgage would be higher. They always told us the house would have to come in at appraisal at a certain amount and were always "sure" it would.

Of course, all this refinancing built to the point where one disaster would topple the house of cards we had built. We are struggling to pay a mortgage that's totally upside down. We take responsibility for being such idiots in the first place but feel Beneficials' "predator lending" tactics surely didn't help.

Mary of Baker, LA June 15, 2009

I did a refinance of my home approximately two years ago. My payments have esclated to 2,000 a month. I have tried to refinance by changing from 15 year mortage to a 30 year. The office in Louisiana has closed; therefore, I have to speak with individuals on the telephone who has told me that Beneficial at present is not doing any type of refinancing or changes. I have never been late on on payments, but am constantly getting calls and statments showing payments due in amounts as 4,000 or more.

The people that you speak with are bascially telephone operators who have no knowledge or direction to tell clients what to do or direct them to individuals who can assit. I have called to get this cleared but to no avail. I recently found out that my payments were increased from 1,796 to 2,000. I have been sending 1,800 and the payments were not posted but are being held. My credit score at this time are low and I cannot find anyone to refinance, and I am struggling to pay this mortage to insure that my family maintains a home.

B of kirksville, MO June 10, 2009

I started out with an original loan of 6,000. I now owe about 8,000 due to high interest and late fees. I talked to 3 different people about catching up on the payments. They all told me if I paid a certain amount I would then be put on a hardship program. I paid what I was told but never received papers,as told I would, being put on the hardship program. I did this 3 times and no one ever followed through. I was willing to pay what I borrowed but not at 29%. I was sending them over 200 per month and 10.00 was going towards the loan. Yes, this company is a ripoff and something needs to be done! I am getting calls daily at work and this is not helping my nor their cause!

FRANK of SOUTH SAN GABRIEL, CA June 10, 2009

The first loan I acquired from Beneficial Lending was a personal loan, under 10,000. I got this loan in Dec. 2005 and seven months later, I applied for larger sum and paid the first loan. The loan closed Sept 2006 and I received my proceeds after all the charges and other creditors Beneficial paid off for me, thru Debt Consolidation. I was paying my monthly payment for more than 12 months, when I realized that on the same month, Sept 2006, Beneficial re-financed the second loan within 10 days. The total monies received and other pay-offs amounted to under 70,000. However, thru the third financing I did not authorized nor applied for, Beneficial recorded an indebtedness of more than 83,300.00 It's now 33 months and my balance is at 83,376.18 with the monthly payment of 831.59. Now the really interesting part, being this is supposed to be a mortgage loan 360 months term, amount being applied toward principal is under 25.00 per monthly payment. I had this matter investigated, and luckily I was able to retrieve documents from Beneficial/HFC a member of HSBC. Upon careful review of such documentations, I now have enough proof that my trust with the loan officers employed by this company, did not lose a wink of sleep betraying me, taking my money before I was handed my loan proceeds, and not quite satisfy yet, for now my hands are tied, every single month I make my payment, not even 100 goes to the principal. I will be on my next life, before monthly payment will even show significant change in my Principal Balance. Beneficial...This is for you to understand, your perseverance which I trusted left me victimized. Elderly person, like myself, may have a tedious life, but I worked very hard for my money in God's honest way--C L E A N! Beneficial, nearly lead me to a Financial ruin, but I am one of the Blessed one. Employed with [their] company have left my Faith in Humanity beaten to the ground. Watch! and I shall prevail.

Linda of Culpeper , VA June 9, 2009

Once again Beneficial Financeis trying to stop people from getting a good loan with a good company. It has been 3 months and I cannot get my payment history from them. It seems like everytime I get to this point they do something to keep me with there company. I am to the point I feel I should get an attourny that they have to pay for and they should not get any more payments. I have tried to get them to lower my payment and interest rate serveral time. How do they think if you pay a higher payment you cannon afford to pay a lesser amount they decline it every time.

Pamela of Trevorton, PA June 9, 2009

My orig. loan was for 32,000.00 @ 14.5 percent interest. I was approved for hardship @ 5.25 percent inerest, loan now is down to 25,000.00. Orig. payment 402.00. hardship payment 301.89. There is not much differ. in payments amount, I did this to keep my home. I called Beneficial, and they cannot tell me why my payment isn't less. I believe the amount owed and original and the interest rates, that there should be a major difference.

Pamela of Trevorton, PA June 9, 2009

I was granted a hardship with Ben. Back in May 2008. ALL payments were made up to and including March 2009 of 290.00. BUT, according to BEN. they only applied a partial payment in June of 2008! ! ! They WILL NOT SEND ME A PRINT OUT OF ALL PAYMENTS RECEIVED.

I stated I have all money order stubs where payments were sent and can also get dates they were cased. They are stating I am past due, because of the partial payment. Which is NOT true. I am receiving harrassing phone calls with no help from them and no solution.

Kathleen of New Bedford, MA June 1, 2009

Reporting on credit report after paid bill in full still holds a late payment from over seven years. Would like to remove from credit report and score if possible. Affecting credit score and ratings. Would like to know how to get them to remove from my credit report.

peggy of bolivar, PA May 6, 2009

I refinced my house in 2007, I took a motgage for 32000.oo. I didnt't want a mortgage I only wanted a home equity loan. I then went to another bank to get a home equity loan in the same amount that would have taken 10 years to pay off not the 30 years that bene. has me paying. Because bene. apraised my houe at more thatn it was worth I now cannot go to another bank to refinaace my loan I am now stuck paying this one.

laurie of Santa Fe, NM May 5, 2009

We financed our home through Beneficial. In December 2006 we sold it. Wells Fargo was the lender to the buyer. At the end of December I called Beneficial to make sure the loan was payed off and closed. They said it was. We bought a home in Santa Fe and put everything we had down. The house was a fixer upper and we used 30,000 worth of credit lines to fix it up with the intent of refinancing. We went to refinance and were turned down because Beneficial had reported us in default for 3 months on the mortgage that had been paid off for 4 months.

I sent emails, letters, talked to them on the phone, filed disputes with credit bureas, and finally after 9 months, I called the closing company (Pitkin Title, Basalt, CO) and they managed to get it corrected, but by that time, I had carried maximum balances for nearly a year and my credit card payments had doubled and in some cases tripled due to a new law.

The housing industry had gone in the dumper, and mortgage companies lifted their credit score requirements from 620 to 720 plus. My great credit was totally trashed as a result of this and I can no longer afford my credit card payments. This is completely Beneficials fault. If they had not made that error on my credit report I would have been able to refinance and would have no credit line debt right now.

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