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Mark of Ramona CA (05/14/08)
My wife and I lost our home in the Octobers Wildfires. We went through what I felt was the most important negotiation in our lives. Were we going to get enough money from our insurance to rebuild our home and lives? We moved through the entire process and came out the other end and felt like we were going to be OK. Little did we know that our mortgage company (Option One) had a sucker punch waiting for us. Once the insurance checks arrived we saw they needed to be endorsed by the mortgage company in order to cash them. This makes sense to me; they own part of the house too. I sent the checks to the mortgage company thinking they would probably hold on to the money and give it out in increments as the house was built.
This is not at all what happened! Option One Mortgage kept the money, paid us no interest, and is making it all but impossible to get any of the insurance funds. There were no blueprints for our house so we need to hire an architect to make new plans, we need the lot cleared, we need the pad re-compacted, we need to hire a contractor, etc. All of these things cost approximately $175,000. Option One Mortgage refuses to release any of the insurance funds until I can show them blueprints, and building permits for the house. So now they are collecting the interest from my mortgage and the interest from the insurance money! Option One Mortgage has no reason to release the funds!
According to California law the mortgage company can hold our insurance money and give it out when, and how much they want.or not at all! The law does state that the mortgage company must pay 2% interest on the money. Option One Mortgage believes California law does not apply to them; they have refused to pay any interest on the insurance funds on top of NEVER releasing them to me unless I come up with $175,000 to get the blueprints, permits, etc. All fire victims who think they are home free after the insurance company is done making your life a living hell have another thing coming. Corporate America is not done with you yet!
We still have not started to rebuild our house.
Heather of Moorpark CA (05/12/08)
My father received one of those deals where he thought the loan payment would go down but instead it went up. We requested a short sale and offered an eager buyer with great credit and financial status. Our realtor was told the short sale was being reviewed and that the forclosure date was postponed. He was told this same information each time her inquired.
Suddenly, we recieved a note stating someone else now owned the property,and we needed to vacate. Besides the fact that our financial problems began with us both being put on disability which they knew about, and having asmall child residing there, we never recieved a notice of trustee sale nor was anything ever posted on the property. Along with our realtor, we were shocked and feel blindsided.
Our situation was slightly different than the ones I have read about. My father was a business owner with plenty money owed to him- the problem was timely collection from private pay and insurance companies and liens. Collection became such an issue it resulted in my father going on disability with the VA, early retirement and filing with SS. I, a single mom also ended up on disability and payments were inconsistant. Option One was constantly made awareo f our situation and financial inconsistancies. At one point they requested financial information which we suplied fully and they never even responded, and when wefollowed up the people we spoke with had none of the supplied information. It was never even reviewed. The stress and emotional consequences of being lead on by Option One afected our health and ability to productively solve the situation as well as affecting the feeling of a safe secure home for my son. This affected his well being, health and grades.
Sarah of Olathe KS (05/08/08)
I currently have an attorney handling it for me; he's attempting to get my loan modified and if that falls through, then Ch. 13 is our next course of action. I, however, am not sitting back but am taking my fight to a whole new level.
I've suffered a great deal of emotional, mental and physical anguish over this whole thing. I did not buy my house; it was left to me by my mother when she passed away in March 2006 and needless to say, my first experience as a homeowner has been anything but pleasant!!!
Sara of Boulder CO (05/08/08)
I have been trying to get out of my mortgage with Option One since December 2007 and have been not been able to. They do not respond to my emails to the customer advocacy department, they call me and harrass me all the time. The send me letters saying if I don't pay on time they are going to start foreclosure. The are unwilling to work with me, they won't take partial payment. They charge me late fees, fees to do a postdated check, I'm looking at a bill right now and there is a charge on it for $19 that I have no clue what it's for, etc. I ask to speak to someone in the states and they don't transfer me.
THE WORSE is I borrowed against my 401k the maximum I can, and I've struggled and struggled to pay April on time (before the end of the month). I was repeatedly assured that they would report me current to the credit bureaus for the month of May. They haven't. I have not been able to find out why I am still showing past due for over $7600 on my credit reports. This is killing my credit scores. I have a reliable, trustworthy mortgage loan officer ready to work with me and he can't because my scores are so low.
I am under a huge, huge amount of stress and am very, very close to completely losing it. I cry all the time, I can't sleep. I'm trying so hard to get out of this hole and I have no where to turn.
Linda of Oakdale CA (05/07/08)
We fell behind on payments and Option One requested all financial documents in order to work on a loan modification. I continued making one payment each month. They would call everyday demanding I catch up and everyday tell me they were missing a different document. I faxed pay stubs over 10 times! I called on 4/25/08 to let them know I would be making a payment on 5/1/08 and they told me they had put my home in foreclosure and I would have to call back to get the reinstatement amount in 48 hours. I called and they were closed. I called the next day and was told it takes 5-7 days to get the reinstatement amount.
I called on 4/30/08 and they said that I had never asked for a reinstatement. Then on 5/1/08 I get an email with the reinstatement $ amount, call them to make payment and they said I had to pay another months payment plus additional legal fees and they would have to recalculate the reinstatment fee. They have added over $3000 in legal fees to the amount due. I have read on your site online hundreds of similar complaints. Some of the stores and people talked to at Option One are the same situation as mine. I was told the investor has denied my loan modification and was informed of this after they filed the notice of default.
The stress is just to much!
Lester of Manvel TX (05/07/08)
I had my Home financed through Option One Mortgage about four years ago and at first it really seemed to be ok and then I was late on a payment and everything seemed to go downhill from there.I would send a payment and they would send it back and said they needed two I would send two and they would send it back and so on.I ended up filing a Chapter 13 to save my Home and after a year or so of that I converted to a Seven and reaffirmed the debt with Option One and entered into an agreement to do a loan modification.After sending a little over $11,000.00 I was finally approved .I had asked several times for a Settlement Statement showing where all this money was applied and was told that I would not get anything like that and that the funds were applied where they was needed.
I started making my New Monthly Payments of $1913.66 and in April I made my April Payment and then started receiving Phone Calls saying that I had never made Aprils Payment that they had taken all of my Back Payments and my Escrow Account of $1546.00 and applied all of this to Interest.Now I have received a Certified Letter stating that they are going to start Foreclosure Proceedings again even though it shows my Payments when I log in on my Online Account.I have never received anything showing me where my Money went and I never received anything saying that they was going to apply all of my Money to Interest.
When this loan started it was for $144,000 and now it is $192,000 and my Principal keeps going up.I am at whits end and I know that I will end up losing my Home because there is no way I can make two of these large Payments in one month and if I do they will take it and say they put it somewhere else.I have tried to talk to several Attorneys but they just say Refinance and get away from them.I have tride three times to refinance but Option One would never give the Lenders the Payoff therefore stopping the Loan Process.Is there anybody out there taht can help me Please?I do not want to lose my Home.
I have literally sold everything that I own to stay in this House.I have missed several Weeks of work due to Stress and have been in and out of the Hospital and Doctors.I need HELP
Julie of Haledon NJ (05/07/08)
My husband and I refinanced in 2006 and our loan was sold immediately to Option One. Just as all the other complaints I've read, we also had lots of communication difficulties with representatives due to heavy accents. We paid our monthly payments of $3059 (incl. taxes) for two years with no lates. My husband is seasonal and we missed Jan 08 and Feb 08. No notice or message was left for us at home or work that a intent to foreclose existed. We would not have imagined it after only 60 days late!
We found out on March 12 2008 when my husband called to make one payment and was TOLD NOT TO, refused to take the payment, and to wait until the end of the month and make two payments. That was the agreement (verbal unfortunately, but it must be recorded) and when we called at the end of the month, I'll never forget my husband sitting there with checkbook in hand, were THEN told that we went into foreclosure on March 13 2008 -- the day after we called and were told nothing but to wait till the end of the month! Someone else on here said it was almost as if they want you to foreclose and I firmly believe it was unethical, unprofessional and sneaky the way the whole thing went down.
We were in shock because now we were asked to pay $10,000 immediately and over $6,000 for the next two payments. We paid the 10,000 as agreed. We borrowed money from my husbands mom and Monday we paid the $6,043.39 Western Union payments of 5,000 and 1043.39 and they called me the very next morning and left a message on my work voicemail. When we called they immediately went throught the whole, you haven't met your full payment as required... and my husband stopped her and explained he did and has the receipts but not on him and that he is working and is a baseball coach with practice right after and would have to fax the receipts in the morning. She says to him well, if playing baseball is more important than paying your mortgage, then that's your problem
It is 5/07 today and I faxed the receipts and called and another person just said to call tomorrow and they already have the MTCN number anyway. I don't know where these reps. get the idea that they can be so unprofessional and personal. This is business, it's business that is making tons of money off of us and the least they can be is professional. They get away with it because you don't have any record of proving it and they know that. This whole new issue is really leading me to believe they are playing games and looking for any way to sell our home!
Basically, we are being asked to pay about $6,000 in legal fees. Physically, my husband and I are completely stressed, frustrated and filled with anxiety. We have 3 young children and a puppy and both work full time. If we would have just been informed properly of what was going on, we would have found a way to make those payments. We have family that could have helped us. We are determined to make these payments and get out of this and hope to get away from Option One as soon as possible.
Carrie of New Lebanon OH (05/06/08)
We are currently in the beginning stages of foreclosure with Option One. My husband and I bought his family farm after his mother's passing 4 1/2 years ago. This farm has been in their family for 40 some years. We lived in a modest home previously and never experienced a late house payment. We are working in conjunction with a local attorney and hope to participate in a class action lawsuit.
Prior to this experience, I shook my head at those claiming predatory lending practices. I am here to tell you, Option One is a predatory lender. They are rude, aggressive, relentless, and unethical. No one returns phone calls, they have auto dialers calling 24/7 and speaking to our employers regarding our personal affairs, and give out phone numbers that are not in service. I plan to pursue this legally to the fullest extent of the law.
We are losing the family farm due to their lack of communication and follow-up.
Tammy of Morenci AZ (05/06/08)
Due to unexpected major back surgery and husband changing jobs, we fell behind and struggled to continue paying Option one. We called Option One to find a way to resolve late payment problem. Option One would not work with us.
We applied for loan modification (which Option One denied). We put the home up for sale to try to best honor a contract we could no longer honor. Option One took longer than 60 days to approve the short sell for the first buyer. In fact I was lied to! We have 2 mortgages w/Option One. The major loan was approved for short sell and I was told the minor loan was submitted for approval. When I called customer service for update, there were no notes on or about the minor loan.
I had to call the day before the house was set for auction to have the house removed from the auction list even though I was told that the short sell had been approved. Because of Option Ones' mishandling of this short sell we lost the first buyer. The second buyer fell thru (no fault of Option One). The third buyer had the home inspected and found during the time of trying to get the home sold there was hail damage to the roof. The third buyer is willing to pay for the repairs, but his lender is requiring him to have roof repaired AND obtain an extension to the contract for the closing date.
My Realtor could not get thru to Derek Ingram (Option One's appointed negotiator). In-fact, his voice mail is often full where one cannot even leave a message. I have tried to contact Derek Ingram's supervisor, Paul Howard, but he does not return his phone calls either! I then requested to speak to the supervisor of Home Retention for Option One. I spoke w/ a lady named Anu who supposedly e-mailed Derek Ingram to contact my Realtor. I have just received a call from my Realtor that my house is scheduled to go to auction tomorrow, 6 May 2008! We still have not been able to resolve communication issue or the fact if the contract for the closing date is extended, the buyer is willing to invest in the home by repairing the roof.
If the short sell is followed thru, there will be no deficit for us to be responsible for. If the house goes to auction, we will have to pay the difference to pay out the mortgage contract; not to mention how this will affect our credit rating.
Victor of Milwaukie OR (05/05/08)
My Wife an I had a mortage with option one and we fell behind on our payment due to her getting pregnant. I tried working with option one on setting up payments that were lower, and letting them know my situation. We were struggling to make the payment, and every day from the frist time we were late I received harrising calls, and treating us with foreclosure, even after I set up with them on when I would pay, they still called harrising us, sometimes at 09:00 pm or later. I would tell the person on the other line, please look at your notes, I already set up a date to pay, and they would still call me.
They starting calling me at work, making my job very stressful, they would call and ask my co-workers when will I be available, and my co-workers would tell them, to please don't call, he can not take calls at certain hours. They would not leave us alone even after making those arrangments.
I starting catching back up and then got back to being late due to my payment being so high, so the calls continued and treathing calls finnally came to me thinking about filing bankrupcty. After about 6 months of playing catch up, I went ahead and made the call to file bankruptcy, during that time, they continued calling me from India and I told them to please see thier notes, I filed bankruptcy and once that is discharged we will get back on track, they told me I would have to pay an outrages amount to catch up, so I went back to my lawer and had him put the house on the bacnkruptcy. We lost our home and ended up renting from a friend, but the months I spent dealing with OPTION ONE, was the most difficult part of my life, they were very aggresive and threating, I hope someone really looks at thier tactics.
Forced to file bankruptcy and loose home, many sleepless nights, and harrising phone calls after hours, waking baby up and other kids up at night and very rude people.
Monte of Mesquite TX (05/01/08)
I am so glad that I read the reports on option one mortgage. I am currently dealing with them now. My account went late after making numerous paymets for one year ontime and now they are threatening me with a forclosure. I just dealt with this people who are in india today who only want money.
They have told me to fax information to them for a hardship and a loan modification which i DON'T BELIEVE THEY will do. I believe they are going to try and sell my home. But after reading this information I am going to take the necessary steps to get out of this situation and away from this company even if it means to getting a lawyer. Thank you all
Anita of Staten Island NY (04/24/08)
In late January '08 I received a letter from my State Senator Diane J. Savino that Option One was offering a face-to-face workshop to help people who's ARM is scheduled to adjust as well as those who may be behind in payments. The workshop was held at the College of Staten Island on Feb. 24, 2008. I went with my then 1 month old daughter and my 2 step-grandchildren. I met with a Stevie Jade Glowacz whom I explained my situation to. Although we had prior financial problems in the past, before dealing with Option One, we had ontime payments right up until Sept/Oct 2007.
Because of my tenant's untimely rent payments, a $10,000 legal fee, an unexpected increase in my family size(the addition of my 2 step-grandchildren and my own newborn), and the heavy financial burden that came with them, all caused us to fall behind in payments. Ms. Stevie told me that the only thing they could offer me was a loan modification and that I should email her all of my financial documents. She said that the modification would allow them to lower my 10.9 interest rate down 2 points making my paymnets more affordable. I emailed her everything on 2/28/08 except my bank statements which I had to get from my bank. I got an email from her on 2/29/08 that she got my hardship letter but nothing else.
I then faxed these documents to the 800 476-3158 fax number she provided me with. I have not heard from this lady since. I would call her line only to have an answering machine tell me that she was away at a seminar and would return on 3/18, when I called on the 18th, the same message was there, I kept calling and leaving messages but to no avail. Finally, on March 26 I called the main number and go this lady from the same Advocacy & Outreach department who told me that my file was closed due to a lack of financial documents. I asked her, how can my file be closed when no one has contacted me even to tell me that they had received all of my documentation. I told her that I was going to contact my Senator as she was the one who sent me the letter telling me of the workshop. Then the lady tells me that they do not retreive the documents themselves from the fax and that it is possible that SOMEONE did not put all of my papers together and give them to Ms. Stevie and that if I were to fax all of my documents to Stevie again, that she (Stevie) would call me on Tuesday.
Well, Tuesday must have never came becasue I am still waiting to hear from Stevie. Yesterday a lady named Jackie Petropolis from Option One Florida called me to tell me that they received all of my financial papers etc., however, the INVESTOR (whom I never heard of until this point) will not allow them to modify the loan. And that my only solution would be to refinance my loan. I am now 2 months behind on my mortgage and soon will be entering 3 months. No lender is willing to refinance us now.
I cannot find anyone else to refinance me. Previously I was told that only my lender could help me by modifying my loan. Now my ARM is shceduled to adjust June 08 to 13.2%. I don't know what to do. Even if I have to leave my home, when will I go? Renting an apartment or a home is hard because everyone checks your credit. Where will me and my kids go?
Maria of Torrance CA (04/24/08)
Option One Mortgage has devastated my husband and I - they sold our home from right out from under us. We had done numerous refi's (first mistake) and did not read the fine print on the closing docs - we had a wonderful mortgage company, but they sold our mortgage to Option one. In August of 2007 our mortgage had such high interest, and we were not able to make full payments. So we would send in partial payments, all the while, trying to contact them about the situation was impossible at best - I kept getting individauls who were in India, who knew nothing about the company, loan modifications, not even a FICO score - they would not accept partial payments and they would not accept anything but a cashier's check from us because we had bounced a mortgage check (even though we had made good on it) - they wanted the whole amount plus late fees - they just kept saying you need to pay - finally I was able to get in touch with a Manager at the Irvine office, by then we were in arrears thousands of dollars - we were lucky enough to get some gifts from parents, loans from friends and put together enough money to get us caught up -
I drove down to the main office in Irvine with my Mom accompanying me for emotional support - I produced a certified cashier's check for the money - the manager I had been dealing with walked out into the lobby - I asked him once again,now this is gut money; you told me on the phone that you would work with me and my husband on a loan modification to help us get our payments down - if I give you this money - is that still on the table? otherwise I do not want to give you this check. He said no problem- just call me on the first and we will work out something together. I gave him that check, he went and wrote out a receipt that you get in those cheap stationary store receipt books. Days later when I called him on the first, no response, 2nd, no response, 3rd, no response - finally I get in touch with him, only for him to deny he promised me anything! - His response was that he promised me nothing, and if we do not pay up this month we would immediately go back into default - I told him he would force us to file for bankruptcy in order to save our home.
Well we did file for Bankruptcy in December of 2007; The process takes a long time; in March 2008 Option One's attorneys asked our attorney if we would like to discuss a loan modification - she asked us and we said YES - so we had to extricate them from the bankruptcy - (They had already filed with the court to do that) - when we signed off, we assumed that they would work with us, what we did not know is that the foreclosure clock resumes running out. When my attorney tried to contact Option One for us they would not return any of her calls - there was one individual who I was supposed to talk to, and I called him everyday and left him a voice mail message (his out going message said you have to give him your loan number or he will not call back, and you are allowed only one call per day - well I gave him the correct loan number and information and made that one call everyday), literally pleading with him to call me back - he never did - according to the loan servicing company that was supposed to handle the sale on 4/8/08 they said it had been put on hold, so when the 8th passed I was still trying to get in touch with the guy; still no response - finally when I was out of ideas as to what to do, my attorney was out of ideas too, I called a foreclosure service and a staff member graciously did a check for me - I found out that my home was sold on the 8th right out from under me. Option one deceived me twice, this time they lied about wanting to work with us, so we would extricate them out of the BK protection and freeze and then stalled to let the foreclosure clock run out and sold our home.
We were notified by US mail a notice to quit - basically an eviction notice. my house was sold on 4/8/08, I found out from another company on 4/17/08 that the house was sold and the letter gave us three days to move and that deadline had already passed. I called/emailed the attorney handling the eviction to ask for two weeks, which she granted, but when I told her what had occurred and asked who was in charge at Option One, who could I talk to about my situation, she said she only handled evictions and that it was not her job to assist me, yet she could not refer me to someone who could help me. The consequences are that the house was sold for $120,000 under what we owed on it, so we will probably be sued by them for the money; The IRS considers that income so we will be taxed on an additional 120,000 dollars;
We have a BK and a foreclosure eviction on our credit record, so it will be difficult at best to rent a place to live; technically we are homeless and trespassing in our home now; we will probably never be able to buy a home again given what has happened to our credit report FICOs; Lastly, I had planned to live the rest of my life in this house, and I am grieving, and am in complete shock with my prospects of being homeless in two weeks - I am living in abject sadness. What option one did to us was so duplicitous, yet I feel like I have no recourse - all I wanted to do was make good on my payments and stay in my home.
Bonnie of Jackson MI (04/22/08)
We bought our home in 2005 because we have custody of our grandaughter and wanted her to be raised in a house. we had major problems(lost our entire heat system, electrical problems, all appliances went and more) my husband had major health problems and we went several months with no pay. Like everyone else we called option one and after calls from India at all times of the day and night no one there would help us. We filed a chapter 13 bankruptcy. Our payments went up on our bankruptcy to 1,480 amonth. All payments are a automatic payroll deduction. Well option one has pulled our 1st mortgage from the bankruptcy(we have an 80-20 mortgage). Even though all payments have been made we did file taxes in our bankruptcy.
We had no warning they were going to do this 2 weeks ago we got the paperwork we are in foreclosure with a sheriff's sale of May 14. We called immediatly and the same old story. You don't talk to the same person, you are sent to india. We offered to pay the taxes, but the charges are to much for us to pay. They can't do anything they said. We now have a mortgage audit service to go through our loan paperwork under section 6 of RESPA. It seems they are in violation. More money we cannot afford. THey are a predator and need to be stopped. To take our home even though our payments are current, we have a problem paying the taxes because they are in the bankruptcy.
This company it seems is foreclosing excessively and i suspect they are batch collecting homes to make a huge profit on the sales. I would love to bring suit against them. Check your paperwork make sure they are not in violation of RESPA. Hire an Audit firm to help you.
Anita of Greensboro NC (04/12/08)
I am trying to resolve a dispute with Option One Mortgage concerning my mortgage. In Oct. of 06 we were placed on a repayment plan to bring our mortgage current. In Dec of 07 we received a letter stating we had made an over payment and received a refund of 412. Jan 17 we received a letter thanking us for being a valued customer and our payment would now be 767.31. Jan 29 08 we received a letter stating we were delinquent in the amount of 1094.69. We have made numerous phone calls repeatedly trying to resolve this issue. Always getting no answer at the offices of Option One Mortgage. But receive phone calls from their India office requesting additional funds. The only explanation we can get is fluctuating ARM rates. In our investigation of this company we have learned of numerous complaints of the same kind of dubious and unethical practices. Now we are on the verge of foreclosure. I have every receipt for every month since 10/06 there is no way we should be in foreclosure.
Angela of Marshfield MA (04/09/08)
Since August of 2007 we have been diligently trying to work with OOMC to modify our loan.
I send all the paperwork for a loan modification and it was declined because the investor didn't approve it. Come to find out they had all of our financials incorrect. So we resubmitted our request and was denied again saying that we made too much money to modify our loan. Our rate will increase in July of 08 to who knows what. We are currently working with a few different government sponsored companies (NOAH & NACA) to help us, but OOMC has been completely unresponsive to us. We finally got someone who spoke English, but she wouldn't give us her extension so that we could work directly with her. Every time I call we have to go through the entire story again and again they say they have nothing to report. It completely amazes me that with the way things are with the mortgage crises that someone hasn't done something about OOMC. By now I think they have my home, work and cell on caller id and don't answer anymore. They NEVER answer any more always saying our office is now closed??? 24 hours a day they are closed?
It so nerve racking to go through this when all we want to do is work with them to keep our home and our mortgage in good standing. They won't even work with us. Very frustrating.
We are very close to losing our home to foreclosure with a sale date of 6/1/08 and I can't bear to explain this to my children. We make really good money but had a small set back with a sick child. We are back on track now and nobody is helping us!
Doanld of Garland TX (04/07/08)
We signed paperwork with OOMC in 7/2005, and have nothig but problems with this mortagae company, our ARM went up the first time in 8/2007, at the time my husband broke his ankle and had the first of 4 surgeries, We called OOMC at that time to inform them our payments may be late,and that we are aware of late fees that would be due if payment is not received by the 15th of the month, OOMC also paid our property taxes and homeowners insurance at that time and set up a escrow account for us to pay back the fees, we made our payments as scheduled and OOMC would call on the 2nd or 3rd of every month about our payment because it was due on the 1st
You never speak with a person that you can understand, it's always a india representative that has a smart mouth with a ugly attitude, that never want to give you a chance to speak, I would always ask if our account show the time when we called to explain the situation we were having, they would always say no they do not see the notes on our account, when our ARM went up again in 2/2008, we request to see about refinance , we were told this company no longer refinance homeowners property, our option would be to do a loan modification, we sent papers and answered questions and never heard anyhting else from them,
I called and ask the status of our application and was told they did not have any information on our account,and for me to call back in 3-5 more days, I called back and was told they did not have anything showing a request for our account to have modification. We did receive a check from OOMC for the amount of 452.00 for overpayment of the escrow account that they charged to much for, we received this after I asked gow to get our account audited, because they were giving me a payment amount when I would make payments saying this was what is due, and when it was time for the next payment we would have a different payment amount with other fees included,
I have called and completed a application with the Housing Education Program that have been issued by President Bush, the representative there said they would send the papers and application to OOMC, and someone will call us in 7 business days, still have heards nothing form OOMC, it is now 4/1/08, I have called OOMC to make my payment, and I am told I have a escrow amount, which I don't, and other fees,now a supervisor, at OOMC states she will have to put a reserach requset on my account to see why it still shows theses fees, I am so sick of this company not being consistent and robbing me of my money
I am getting a increase in my mortgage every 6 months and have been trying to get my mortgage refinanced or modified , this is putting my home ownership in jeopardy because it will soon be unaffordable, it it is depleting my savings because of this constant ARM
Lisa of Crown City OH (04/05/08)
Option one harasses us on a daily basis by using different phone IDs. We are NOT late on our mortgage and have never been late. After the first of the month they immediately start calling and don't stop. This needs to stop. They have rude people from India working for them, no one speaks clear English. Where are they calling from? There is no way they are calling from the USA. Everyone in the call center has an Indian accent!
I have heart palpitations every time the phone rings.
Kathy of Mesquite TX (03/31/08)
We have been trying to modify our loan to keep our home. For over a year we have called and received the same answer; we are still working on it. I have been dealing with Alica Brown, who has told me many of times the same answer. When I call her phone number it will go straight into mailbox, and she never returns my calls. This has been over 1 yr of not knowing if we are going to keep our house, what type of down payment we will have to send AGAIN. I have sent in all the paper work stating what happen to us financially to us to fall behind on house payments (husband has cancer, under going treatments, unable for him to work). We have filed Bankruptcy (house was included, but due to not being able to make the house payment of $1,295.00 and $1,150.00 bankruptcy payment all in the same month (I bring home only $2,600.00) we fell behind, and Option will not accept any more payments from us, so we are waiting for modification of our loan. We can refi due to the fact that option one has us in negative escrow of $30,000 and our home has a balance of $127,681.50.
We are waiting every day for some word or notice about the house. We are pinching every penny we get, looking for ways to save money. I am having to take the bus to work, husband is done with cancer treatments and now cancer free, but the medical bills are still coming in. Credit is totally ruined. 2 more yrs in Bankruptcy (it will be paid in 2010) but even filing for bankruptcy to save this house has failed and we can still lose it, and be out on the streets. Husband is 62 and I will 53, this was not how I wanted to spend the remaining yrs. Any one filling a Class action suite against Option One, Please Please get in touch with me!
Daniel of Manitowoc WI (03/27/08)
I to have a mortgage with option one. I am going through a divorce and My ex-wife didnt make any mortgage payments for four months. I called them to ask what options I had. That was a mistake they called me everyday sometimes up to five times in one day. Frist they want me to send $6000 to well I dont have that much sitting around. They are relentless. I am currently working with a advocacy group called naca, I was told that they to have had many problems working with option one.I would be willing to join in a class action lawsuit brought forth option one mortgage corp
MY health has been going up and down I have ulcers i take 3 different anxiety medications all from option one
Susan of New Lenox IL (03/27/08)
I never get my monthly statements, and so never know what that company is up to. I call and get the computer and find out as much as I can that way. I wish I knew how to get out of my dealings with them! Once when I fell one month behind the company put me into foreclosure, I called up and told that India guy that it was illegal to do that, and they had better accept my late payment and get me out of foreclosure. I told him I was not properly notified, and that was illegal. Since then I never get statements but sent me a letter saying my monthly payments had went from $2,055 to $2,200 and that I made a short payment. I called them up and said I never got notice of this increase, and it was illegal. The india guy said he'd send me a copy of the increase notice, but he never did. To be on the safe side I'm paying the increase, but all the while know I'm being ripped off.
Ms. of Atlanta GA (03/26/08)
My current mortgage with Option One has presented the worst experience. I am currently suffering from muscle-spasms in my neck that stretch through my head. I had a gut feeling when I refinanced my original mortgages (80/20) I might wind up regretting it, and I do. Option One calls on the 2nd of each month if the monthly payment has not been received by the 1st! Where in the United States does a mortgage company call before the 16th of the month? Every time I would call to speak with a representative, I am never able to speak with English speaking representative. I am actually calling India. I closed my loan in America, not India.
My most recent and distressing incident started in February 2008 when I split my monthly payment and made a $100 payment on the 15th and the remainder of $1,270 on the 29th. Due to financial difficulties, I have been making my monthly mortgage payment at the end of the month rather than the beginning (rolling 30), while gradually paying any accumulated late fees. I later received a letter in the mail from Option One stating my loan was delinquent due to a partial February payment and the only way to cure was to pay my regularly monthly mortgage amount plus all unpaid late fees. They had not applied my February payment properly and now I am now in jeopardy of defaulting on my loan!
I immediately emailed them on 3/13 to explain what happened. I chose to email rather than call because, again, I never can speak with a person that speaks and understands perfect English. On 3/18 I finally received a response via secure messaging stating my request had been received and a response was being prepared. What?! It took 5 days to come back with that? Then, on 3/19 I received another response stating a reply was being sent to me via mail. Huh? I emailed them back on 3/25 requesting a response to my original request to have my account corrected and any 30-day late notices on my credit bureau to be deleted as I had not been 30 days late with my payment. The original default notice I received stated the full $2,200 had to be made by 3/30 and I honestly think these people are trying to make me default. Today is 3/26 and I have yet to receive a response to my request in writing. They keep calling me, but because there is a breakdown in verbal communication I do not answer. I love my home, but this has been a nightmare! They are THE WORST mortgage company, judging from mine and all the other complaints online. They MUST be stopped!
My ARM is due to adjust 10/1 and I have been trying to keep my credit clear of any 30-day late notices so that I would easily qualify to refinance with another mortgage company. I previously had a 30-day late in 2/07 that was due to drop, and I think Option One took advantage of that fact to bind me to this mortgage.
Rita of Coconut Creek FL (03/26/08)
After hurricane Wilma, I called option one about my homeowners ins which they were supposed to carry. I was told they no longer have ins on my home because I have a master policy with my condo. I live in a single family home, not a condo and was never told I had no insurance. Option One then said they would move payments to the end of the loan to help us fix our home, that was fine for awhile, my mortgage payment was auto withdrawn from my acct.
Then all of a sudden I started getting calls from India saying I was months behind on my mortgage and my home is in foreclosure. I have been trying to send a little extra every month and I am now facing late fees and they are escrowing the money and not applying it to the past due payment! I don't think this is legal under the federal disaster act as they were supposed to be helping us under this act but I think they were setting us up to take our home. We still have not been able to fix our house completely. I am freaking out, we have lived in this house for 13 years. We are raising 4 children. I did not really Miss a payment and they were supposed to be helping us in a time of need as we were in a federal disaster area. This cannot be legal. I cannot answer my telephone because of all the harassing calls I get from India, day and night. Option one is pretending that they never said they would help us by changing the payments for us. I need help. I work for the school board and have no way to come up with a lump some like this but I am going to lose my home over a $1600 payment.
I will lose my home over a $1600 payment and late fees they should not be charging us according to the federal disaster act. I want to pay $200 a month on top of my payment until this is caught up they have at least $600 in escrow that I have sent all ready that they can use if they don't add all the late fees and credit the ones I have paid since this started. I should only be behind under $1000. I should not lose a home we have put our lives into because of this this can't be right.
Lori of Lester Prairie MN (03/24/08)
Long story short, I was $15.00 short on a $1,400.00 payment because of a late fee. It was sent western union and then the call came saying they were sending it back. Then a letter came saying the house is in foreclosure with $156,000 needed in 30 days or a sheriff's sale on 4/10/08. Called and talked to several people that you can't understand, faxed some papers to us and HAD to sign, and now have to pay $7,949.00. $3,000 by the 25th broken down to $1,976.00 a month till 1/25/09. We only make $2,200.00 per month. They say we have to pay $22,765.68 to keep our home. Isn't there some type of law against this? When you pay $1,300.00 and 11 cents goes towards the principle? And the harassing phone calls day and night?
I think I have an ulcer over all of this, and to tell the truth, suicide comes to mind on a daily basis.
Melissa of Fredericksburg VA (03/23/08)
Back in May 2007 I got a letter that my ARM would adjust in December 2007, so I started calling OOMC to refi. Months go by with no call. So, I call in October 2007, they tell me to call another number. I call that number, was switched around and hung up on. Then my ARM goes up to 10% and now I am facing a foreclosure because I cannot get them to mod, refi or anything else. I never speak to anyone that is not foreign and they could care less about my situation. I called just this month to let them know finances have changed and if they could modify the the mortgage note, but no call back.
I am currently facing foreclosure because I cannot get OOMC to help, call or talk to me about my mortgage.
Joanne of Chino CA (03/19/08)
I too have my mortgage through Option One. My ARM was scheduled to increase on January 1, 2008 (about a $650 per month increase). I was lucky - so I thought - and was able to get a loan modification before my rate was to go up. At the time, I was told that this would be good for 60 months. I have paid my January, February, and March payments with no problem - at the original interest rate of 6.1% So today, I received a letter (dated March 17, 2008) from Option One, stating:
Congratulations! After careful consideration of your current financial situation, Option One has determined that you are eligible to receive the following benefits relating to the subject loan: 1. Option One will forego a portion of the significant interest rate increase that was to have taken effect with your first interest change date as set forth in your loan documents. In the next several days you will receive a separate ARM adjustment notice that will spell out the exact terms of your reduced, upcoming interest rate increase. 2. Option One will then waive 100% of the three subsequent interest rate increases (as applicable), which means that the rate in effect after your upcoming first interest change date will remain in effect for a full sixty (60) months. Because Option One is waiving a significant amount of the potential interest increases on your loan, this means that you will save hundreds, possibly thousands, of dollars over the life of your loan.
So, I guess, the promise of keeping the rate at 6.1% for 60 months is no longer valid. We'll see in the next few days what the news in the mail will bring.
Osvaldo of Marion NC (03/19/08)
My husband and I relocated states and bought a home on August 2006. Due to many financial and emotional circumstances, our mortgage payments were getting tougher and tougher to pay. In a period of one year, this mortgage has evaporated all of my savings and the profit I made selling my business. It also took my health, my hope and my dreams. All the years of hard work is vanishing before my eyes. To make matters worse, it is an ARM Mortgage with Prepayment penalty. I have tried to call Option one to discuss all the options available. It is unfortunate that in 30 minutes I have been transfered to endless departments; all foreign and with no answers.
We finally applied for a loan modification program. However, after three months of producing documents, information and signatures they needed for the modification application they have yet finalized an answer. We do often get a call from a gentleman in India asking us why we haven't made the payment, and he also suggested to cut down our grocery expenses (Which are below average) so we can make our payment. Option One's solution is to make a mortgage payment and then eat. I cannot believe this is the way they treat people and handle business. I am eager to work something out temporarily with Option One until I get out of this financial mess, I do not want to loose my home. But they are making it impossible to save my home, and that is just poor business.
Bonnie of Redding CA (03/19/08)
We have already submitted our complaint, but are adding more information. In addition to our original complaint, we are filing bankruptcy. We can no longer keep up with the high mortgage rate and other living expenses. We are paying interest only for the most part. Again we have tried to negotiate payment reduction, and we have done every thing they requested us to do. WE were denied, and I think this was due to the fact that we make our monthly payments on time and we are not behind. This means more money in their pockets.
Not only can we not afford our medical needs, our whole life situation has been put on hold. The next time my husband has a heart attack it is bypass time. The President has ordered that these mortgage companies try to work something out with people to avoid foreclosures during these poor economic times, however, Option One refuses to work in any way shape or form with us. We have been trying to negotiate for almost a year now and they refuse to help us. Thank you for your help.
Bonnie of Redding CA (03/19/08)
My husband has had recent medical procedures done. Six heart stints and diabetes and with all of the medical bills piling up we asked for a reduction in our payments. Our payments are $2,348.86 a month and it is all we can do to make these kind of payments with the economy today. I work full time and take care of my 80 year old mom. We have to keep air and heat on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for her, of course this will raise the utilities as well. Now we tried to negotiate a lower payment with them and faxed my check stubs to them, however, they refused to work with us. Their interest rate is outrage and when we signed I understood it was going to be 5% and here it is 8.05% instead so most of our $2,248.86 goes to Option One. I wonder how they can get away with this. We can't ever get any English speaking person to talk to about our account and when we do, it doesn't do us any good. We have not been too late on our payments but they have harassed me on my job a few times when I was late.
We have had major cut backs of usage of food, electric, trips, clothes and I have neglected my own medical/dental care just to be able to make this one payment.
Silvana of Mesa AZ (03/18/08)
We purchased our home in February 2006 with H & R, and our loan was given to Option One within 1 week. As some others mention, yes the payment is due on the 1st of the month; and they start harassing us with phone calls one day after. We receive an average of 4 calls a day. I have caller id, and it lets me know when they call. I just don't answer the phone. Our initial 2 years are up, and we no longer have a prepayment penalty to refi with someone else. However, house prices have dropped so bad that instead accumulating equity, we now owe more than the house is worth. Don't let them fool you: You DO have a 2-week grace period.
On the last call I was in a bad mood and actually picked up the phone. It was the 16th of the month, and he demanded the payment or I could face possible foreclosure. I laughed theatrically loud and told him to go ahead and foreclose. I couldn't care less. I'll walk away and rent a nicer house for less cost. It completely confused him. If you are not 60 days late and pay your mortgage within 30 days after due, there is not a thing they can do.
Two years of emotional trauma from receiving 3 to 4 harasssing phone calls a day left me too scared to answer the phone. I'm at a point now where I just don't care anymore.
Michael of North Myrtle Beach SC (03/18/08)
I have a mortgage with Option One. I was unemployed for the past 3 months and am having health problems on top of that. I was in the process of negotiating a short sale; and as of 3 weeks ago I cannot get anyone on the phone. When I call any of the phone numbers listed on their website, it goes straight to an automated message asking for an extension number. I can't find one anywhere. I have sent 15 emails, and have received identical responses saying that my problem is being looked into. Meanwhile, I have a good offer on my property for $150k with a signed contract and pre-approval letter from the buyer, but will probably lose it. The prices in my neighborhood are dropping. There are several similar properties under contract in the low $130s, and when they close, my property will not appraise for $150k.
The consequence is I will probably have to foreclose on the property. This is the only reasonable offer that I will get. I do not think Option One will accept a smaller offer, and in a few weeks I guarantee I will not be offered $150k again.
James of Nottingham MD (03/18/08)
Our house goes into foreclosure March 21, 2008. Option One is stating we have not paid any mortgage payments since June of 2007--which is a lie. I have all the receipts from sending payments through Western Union. I called and told them; they said nothing. This is not the first time this has happened to us. I can never speak to anyone who speaks English. They never notified us of a foreclosure. Their attorney filed in the courts on March 13, 2008. Not only that, but he filed under an old case number from back in 2006. How can that be legal? When I call to try and get a figure, they always come up with a different one every time. Please, this company has done this to too many people; someone needs to step in and say enough is a enough!
Because of these problems, I have been losing sleep, and my wife is having trouble with chest pains due to stress. She is already on blood pressure medicine.
Marc of Newport RI (03/18/08)
I have been threatened with foreclosure and harassed on a daily basis--and charged for late fees that have been paid! This has caused a high level of stress, and affected my job performance and health.
Laura of Running Springs CA (03/17/08)
Option One is the most unethical company I have ever encountered. They continue to lead people on about repayment plans or modification plans, when in actuality they are just wasting your time so they can continue to snatch your home out from under you. I have found an organiztion called NACA. They are advocates for predatory lenders. I am exhausted right now and can't even think straight. Option One has caused me to lose more sleep then you can imagine. I'm sick, exhausted and broke. They are nothing but liars, and continue to lead homeowners on. Every story I have read describes my own in graphic detail as if I had sat down and written it myself. If everyone would contact NACA, I'm sure that they can get some action going. Go on their website and learn about what they do and have done and the huge corporations they have successfully taken on.
My health is compromised, my mental state of mind is exhausted. Endless phone calls, faxes, etc. I have made to Option One. The call center in India; the relentless arguments of trying to get ANYTHING resolved with them has all been in vain. STOP this company from continuing to destroy peoples lives. Class Action lawsuit? They have taken thousands of dollars of my hard-earned money only to say I never paid anything towards my house payments. I can't stand it anymore. Please, everyone go to NACA website and start making some noise. They will organize a fight against this company.
Rita of Queen Creek AZ (03/17/08)
I cannot believe the amount of complaints and that we all have similar stories. When we got our loan in Aug. 2006, we had gotten what we thought was sound advice and got an ARM with an 80/20. Unfortunately, Option One holds both mortgages. In today's economy and market, we are unable to refinance the full amount as our house is worth--at most, 80% of what we bought it for. Trying to be proactive because our ARM kicks in in October and our payment will go up a MINIMUM of $350, we got approved for our 1st mortgage to be refinanced. Our loan officer said that Option One is notoriously difficult to work with and that there are only a couple of lenders that will even consider giving us a loan if they are the other lien-holder. We had to get OOMC to agree to sub-ordinate the 2nd mortgage so the new loan would be in 1st position. They advised me they do those, and they would send me the paperwork. After a week it didn't show up in the mail, so I called them and they said they do not mail it out, that we had to send a fax requesting it.
So we did; and of course, they never received it. We sent it 3 other times and to 2 different numbers. We were denied. They are not doing any sub-ordinations! Why did they tell me they did to begin with? Mind you, this is after over a month of calling almost daily. One thing I learned: demand to speak to a supervisor in the US. They transfer me immediately every time. The only problem is that I still got the same horrible service/run around. They give me their name and direct extensions, and I call and leave messages; and they do not call back, EVER. So, instead of them risking $50,000 by sub-ordinating the 2nd mortgage, they are risking the full $240,000. That just does not make good business sense to me. We are thinking of just walking away and buying another house for $150,000 down the street...but we are not sure what they will do to come after us for the 2nd mortgage. Arizona has laws where they can't come after us for the 1st.
Luis of Tx TX (03/17/08)
I have a loan with Option One, and it is current at the moment. For the past two months they have charged me $100.08 on late fees and $25 for foreclosure fees. This is the second month they have charged me this money.
I call the company, and they say I have to pay the money again--because that is the way it is in their system. My account is current, and they refuse to explain why they charge me these fees. Please help!
Theresa of Olympia WA (03/16/08)
I am writing on behalf of my brother, who I am helping, with his permission. He lives in Washington and works in the construction industry. In December of 2007 there was massive flooding in the area where he lives and a State of Emergency was declared. Fortunately he lives on higher ground and his house was spared. He jumped in and worked from morning till night 7 days a week for 2 months helping to restore the damaged homes and businesses. Unfortunately he was not paid for any of this for over 2 months and couldn't make the house payments on time.
At the beginning of the third month he sent in the late house payments. Option One SENT THEM BACK saying his house had gone into foreclosure ONE DAY BEFORE the payments had arrived! He is guilty of not calling them enough and conveying what was going on, but frankly, would it have been of any use? I called and called, constantly getting India, asked for Irvine, never got Irvine, got Florida 2X. The conversations went in circles as if they were reading a script. Could not get anything negotiated, accomplished, etc. Used up all my cell phone minutes. I live in southern California, SO I DROVE TO IRVINE, went into the corporate headquarters and asked to speak to someone in person. The person I spoke to was very nice and put everything on hold for a month. But she could not subtract the extra fees caused by putting it into foreclosure, which is what I asked for. She gave us papers to fill out for a loan modification. The loan currently has AN INTEREST RATE OF 11%!! And payments of $1230 on a $97,000 loan!
So I am going back in there on Monday, 3/17/08. I called Hope Now and have some questions to ask Option One about their policies and the time line for putting this house into foreclosure. I'll give them the back payments and the loan modification forms. I'll update this as it goes along. They are a nightmare to work with. YES, OPTION ONE NEEDS A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT brought against them. Just ask my brother. This is the 2nd time they have put his house into foreclosure without the bat of an eye.
Richard of Pearland TX (03/14/08)
Option one is by far the absolutely most impossible organization to deal with. I was laid off from work and contacted them the same day that I was laid off to let them know that I am anticipating payment problems in the future due to the loss of income. (I was current at the time my employment was ended).I spoke with someone (sounded like he was from India) in their home retention department. At this time I was advised that loan modification was an option and they asked me to submit documents to them explaining my hardship. I later obtained employment, but was not able to earn a similar salary due to career transition. I advised them of this. After 4 months of faxes and phone calls, I had to call the corporate office in California, only to be told that they cannot modify my loan because my income was too low! Huh? Isn't the purpose of loan modification is to help those who need to lower payments to avoid foreclosure? Does anyone out there have experience in Real Estate Law? If so, couldn't that be considered a predatory lending practice? Please email me a brief summary of your experience with OOMC. I have corporate office contact informaiton and I will distribute this information to their executives.
Fortunately, I was able to negotiate wiht my 2nd loan provider, and all of my other creditors to lower payments, and I consolidated a few loans. If I was not successful at that, we would have gone through foreclosure or had to sell our home.
Deberah of Dallas TX (03/13/08)
I asked for a loan modification. I was told to send in financial information and also informed that my home is scheduled for foreclosure sale May 6, 2008....
I have been stressed for five years dealing with Option One. I filed bankruptcy in 2000 and completed Chapter 13, only to be informed by Option One that I had not paid them enough. They put me back into foreclosure which made me have to file bankruptcy again to save my home. Now I find out that none of my mortgage payments have been applied to my loan sine June 2006. Where are my payments, and why are they still attempting to set me on the streets? Will somebody please file a class action lawsuit against this crooked company?
Mary of Waterford NY (03/12/08)
I agree with previous posts about OOMC harassing clients if they don't have their payment to them by the first of the month - even though there is a 15-day period before the payment assesses late fees. I have even called to ask a question on the last day of the month and am asked when I am going to pay the following months payment. NOW, they have notified me that they have changed their policy regarding flood insurance coverage. Previously, you were only required to have flood insurance for the amount you owe on your mortgage. They are now requiring you insure for the replacement value of your home listed on your homeowners insurance. They are actually getting 90-day binders for the difference and charging your escrow account. I received no advance notification from them when they changed this policy. In my case it requires me to have a flood insurance policy for $156,000.00 when I only owe approx. $72,000.00 on my mortgage.
I have spoken with FEMA & NIFTA and they referred my to their flood insurance guidelines which mention the lesser of the two: 1. the amount of the mortgage OR 2. the replacement value of the home. This really is unfair for Option One to demand, as this increases my costs sharply when I am obligated to them for less than 1/2 of the replacement value. I understand that Wells Fargo has also taken this stand.
This is a sharp increase in costs to homeowner especially those retired and/or on fixed incomes.
Patricia of Chelmsford MA (03/10/08)
Our story is everyone else's story. It's frightening to think that this company and their practices can be allowed to exist. We fell behind in payment. When we had the money together to catch up, Option One Mortgage, within their own company, couldn't agree on the amount past due. Time goes by, faxes are promised with amounts--that you don't receive. We also had a problem with them stating our homeowners was canceled, and it wasn't. We went through the process of faxing and re-faxing. We NEVER get to speak with the same person. Can be on hold for 45 minutes only to speak with someone we can't understand.
Finally, we agreed to a complete catch-up figure, and sent in payment only to have them apply the payment (meant to remove us from pre-foreclosure status) to the following months! Therefore, we think we might still be in pre-foreclosure status, but no one can tell us. Also, because of the way the amount was applied, technically the amount was overpaid, and now we can't get the difference back.
We are so completely frustrated with the lack of customer service. We feel our hands are tied and that we could possibly lose our home simply because there isn't ANYONE to speak intelligently with or to work out a deal. Only once were we able to talk with a clear English-speaking person in Jacksonville. This is a person who promised to fax info to us. My husband had to call on a daily basis for a week, to say the fax had not come through. The fax number was verified, etc. They stall and drag their feet as additional time passes. We are tired and don't know where to turn. I have heard that many attorneys don't know what to do either. We are going to try a couple of different options, and if they don't work will need to hire an attorney--if for nothing else, sanity and moral support. This company needs to, at the very least, be investigated. They are nothing short of loan sharks. Best of Luck to those of you going through the same thing. We clearly need to stick together, and there should be a class action suit against this company.
Ann of Austin TX (03/10/08)
We took out a mortgage from Option One in February 2007. We made payments on time until October 2007 when a man defaulted on payments to us. This was the money we used to pay our house payments. We started getting phone calls from Option One every day. If you did not answer, they would not leave a message or callback number; but from caller ID I knew it was Option One. My husband was out of the country, and his name was the initial name on the loan although I joined him later. I sent via fax, a copy of my power of attorney for my husband, so I could speak with Option One regarding the loan. I faxed the POA 6 times, and each time I spoke with Option One, they did not have it and could not speak with me. I started faxing them with proposals for a loan workout using payments each month that we could afford while we tried to collect our money from the other individual. I got a rep from India, who when I told her that I had sent a Power of Attorney, she asked me if I had hired the attorney because I was disputing the amount we owed? She did not know what a Power of Attorney was. And this is the person in charge of my loan and my home?
We were posted for the Foreclosure sale on March 4, 2008, and I finally got the funds I needed to work out something with Option One. I called them on February 28th and asked for a forebearance and repayment plan. Of course, I got India and could barely understand what was being said. I was interviewed, and the man came back saying I had to send $3,500 before 5 PM (was 3:30PM when we were talking) and sign a 10-page agreement. I told him that I only had $1,000 cash with me, but I could get the rest the next day and send Western Union. He said that I either made an arrangement on that day or the house would go to the sale. He stated that Option One did not offer forebearance or repayment plans within 72 hours of foreclosure. They are really working to save homes. I went and found the cash I needed and called back to Option One. Got India again and got a guy that said that $3,500 was not enough, that I needed $3,650. Thank goodness I got extra money. I was instructed to sign the 10-page document that was faxed to me, go to MoneyGram (even though the document said to use Western Union), and send the money and to call back to Option One with the receipt number from sending the cash. If I did not do any of these steps, the deal was no good and the house would go to foreclosure.
I did all of the steps and called back to Option One and got another rep in India, a female this time. She took my information and said that she could not tell if my faxed agreement had made it, and that it took 24 hours for that to be noted on my account. She took the Moneygram receipt number and said she did not see that on my account either (although I know that it takes 8-10 seconds for the money to travel and arrive). I got back to Option One and got a US rep on Monday; and he stated that all was in place and OK. In the 10-page agreement I signed, Option One had language that they would use their best efforts to stop the sale. I wasn't really guaranteed anything by the agreement--but a chance. I have got to get away from these folks. It is scary that my home is in their hands.
Alec of Philadelphia PA (03/10/08)
Option One makes phone calls after the 1st of the month to harass the customers about paying their mortgages even though they were never late or skipped a payment. They continues to call and call, month after month--even if you ask them not to call.
I have to take time out of my busy schedule to make money to pay them, and this nuisance activity has caused me to lose money every time they call.
Lonnie of Potosi MO (03/09/08)
I was a victim of Option One Mortgage and the horrible way they do business. I bought my home in June of 2006. By June of 2007 things got tight for me and I was incarcerated for a month and a half. My business suffered for a few months during 2007, and as I tried to get back track it was already too late according to Option One. My mortgage went 2 months unpaid, but once I was released from incarceration I did exactly what their website says and contacted them immediately to try and make arrangements to catch up.
One of their options to catch up on my mortgage is to take out a loan against my homeowner's insurance and work out payment arrangements with them. Well, since I couldn't pay my mortgage, it makes sense that my homeowner's insurance suffered also, so it turns out that wasn't an option. I tried to make arrangements to add my payments on to the back of the mortgage and suffer through the late payments and interest. They told me no. They gave me only 2 options: 1) Either catch up with the payments or 2) Surrender the house.
I tried working with them for two more months to make things right. I called, sent emails and faxed written request for some information on my account. During all this time, I was repeatedly harrassed with phone calls on making payments. I asked them why do they continue to call me when I have been in constant contact with them. Each time we talked (which was almost every other day or so) they acted as if we had NEVER spoke. Once they called and I asked them if they made any notes in my file to refer back to on our previous conversations and they told me that they could not tell me that information. That didn't make any sense to me since it was MY account and I gave them the information they asked for to verify my identification. Just by chance I found out that my sister in California also deals with Option One Mortgage and she has gone through something similar. Needless to say that we both lost our homes recently due to bad business from Option One Mortgage.
Aline of Redondo Beach CA (03/09/08)
Option One is the mortgage company that handles my mortgage payment, and there is a 15 day grace period before late fees are added. For the most part, I pay within the first 15 days. Nonetheless, every month, a representative from Option One begins calling me on the 2nd day of the month demanding the payment. When I remind them that it has been scheduled on their website for payment, they will argue and say that it is unacceptable and that the grace period is no longer valid. They can call up to 3 times in one day with the same spiel. It is beginning to disrupt my day and concentration. In addition, the representatives are nasty in their tone and intimidating as well. They even threatened with foreclosure even though I have never been thirty days late. If the grace period is no longer acceptable, I requested they send me an amendment to the the original loan document and contract. The representatives say they won't do that and that I just have to take their word for it. And, speaking to a supervisor is worse. The supervisor places more threats and uses a bombastic tone. It is unrelenting.
At this point, it the consequences have been gastrointestinal (upset stomach) and hyper alertness whenever the phone rings.
Robin of Covington GA (03/06/08)
IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE TO SAVE US? THE MENTAL ANGUISH THAT HAS OVERCAME our family is devastating. This is the only house my children have known. They fear and ask, "When do we move, Mommy?" You think you are doing the right thing. You had a money issue and you just do not know how it snow balls. I feel I have been harassed month after month by their stating I don't have home owners insurance, when every month my agent sends Option One my policy.
Next month I am going to court again to release me from bankruptcy, for which I am paying back all of their attorney's fees, late fees, and what ever else they come out with. They say they paid my property taxes. I went to the tax place to get a copy of my check to prove I paid it. It goes on and on. I feel helpless, frustrated and insane. Please someone help me. I am supposed to go to court again March 20th. I pray the judge will hear my case and give me mercy
Janice of Newport TN (03/06/08)
I too am a victim of Option One Mortgage Company's tactics to take as many homes as possible. I had a mortgage with this company since 2002; and in 2005, because of two major job changes and a $10.00 hr pay cut, I got behind on my mtg. I called to tell them I was going to be late, and they started calling me every day. I finally called to make a payment, and the lady simply refused to take it and said if I could not tell her when the next payment would be, she would not take this one and that they would start foreclosure. I was floored; so instead of loosing my home, I file Chapter 13 in order to keep it. After two years in bankruptcy, I realized that I could now make the payment as our income had risen, and we were better off to make the payments. We had bankruptcy dismissed on Nov. 6, 2007, and I called Option One in less than a week to make arrangements to start paying them myself instead of the Chapter 13 Trustee. They informed me we were over $6000.00 behind, and I had not made payments in 6 months. (I was in bankruptcy and making payments all along!)
I started trying to find alternative financing. After a month of working with a loan officer who had assured me they would do the loan (by now it is Christmas), they could not write the loan because Option One showed on our credit report that we had been 6 months behind. NEVER in the life of the loan were we! So we started trying to work with the modification department. When that did not work, our attorney sent them a letter showing power of attorney in the matter; and Option One told them it would take at least 7 days for that to take effect. After 7 more days and now into January and foreclosure approaching, we asked for a modification and were told it would take 5-7 days. In 5-7 days they called me and offered to allow me to make $1600.00 payments--double the ones I would be struggling to make in the beginning.
Then I asked the amount of money to reinstate the loan, and it had gone from $6000.00 to $12000.00 in less than a month! It just continued to grow; and they continued to work with me and our attorney less and less, and as everyone else says, hardly ever an English speaking person. Finally on Valentines Day, they foreclosed on my home; and fortunately, my mother bought my home from them. Not everyone is as fortunate, and I am encouraging all to consider calling an attorney and filing a class action suit. I certainly am doing so, and I have also contacted our Consumer Affairs Division in Tennessee, Now I am contacting the Federal Trade Commission. Please flood them with your letters, and let's all stand together to stop them from taking all of these homes. They are robbing the people, and we are allowing them to do it.
Jason of Laurel MS (03/05/08)
Reading these complaints about Option One Mortgage has made me sick to my stomach! Your stories posted on this site are identical to my wife and my self. We are currently experiencing the same problems with loss mitigation and loan modification. We requested our payoff due to a real estate investor wanting to buy our home and they will not give it to us! They said it will take 15 days to process and the home will be foreclosed on by then. We have not spoken to an American since we signed the papers with H&R BLOCK. We had no idea who Option One was when we received our first statement. They were hiding behind the face of H&R BLOCK. The first month our payment was due, we began receiving calls on the 1st! Our payment had not even been due for one day and they were already harassing us! I told them I had already mailed the payment the day before and they requested I pay by phone. My response was, my payment isn't past due until the 16th, why would I do that!? They have began refusing our payments as well and we are hiring an attorney in the attempts to begin a class action law suit. I have found out today that the mortgage company has been shut down, they are no longer accepting applications for loans and I understand they have no true desire to help anyone. They are attempting to wipe their books clean and close. We as well allowed a vehicle to be repo'd in order to save our home and now are at risk of losing home also. I tried to send them $2400.00 which would catch our mortgage up and they said they would return it because the attorney fees and other fees were not included! They refuse to help resolve the situation.
Carmen of Temecula CA (03/03/08)
I wrote in on Feb. 2, 2008 and shared my complaints of Option One. The last time I spoke to someone name Stevie was on Jan. 31.2008. She told me she was going to help us. Well I have not had a call or email or a fax. One month has gone by. I have made several emails and made phone calls but Stevie has her answer machine on. I have been working with HOPENOW and the have been great. They sent me a letter saying that on March 3, 2008 from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM I would have the opportunity to meet with our lender face to face to discuss workout options to avoid foreclosure. The letter also said to bring all relevant income and expense information.
Well my husband and I took the day off. We drove to the Riverside Convention Center. There were lots of lenders. We signed in and they ask who our lender was and I said Option One. They sat us down and said we would be called, it took about 5 min. They walked us to the other side and I see this man from India wanting to greet us. I ask the lady from HOPENOW do they have someone who speaks English and she said oh yes. Well we sat down with this lady. She asks how we can help you. And I just went off on her regarding not having a call from them or email. I told her Stevie was working on our modification. She said Stevie is right here and I said, NO I do not want to deal with her, she has never called or emailed me. I want someone else that will return my calls. She said I will take your loan and I will make sure to call you back.
I am supposed to call her back on Tuesday to see where we are at with our loan modification. I will keep you posted on what happens next. I did say some words to Stevie, I was so upset. For those of you who live in California they will have another two meetings. March 5, 2008 in Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim and on March 7 San Joaquin Fairgrounds, Stockton. Please let people now about this you can see someone face to face from Option One and lots of other Lenders. The web site for HOPENOW is www.hopenow.com, they are great and give you good advice. Don't give up even if they just told you that your home is foreclosed, you have time to save your home.
James of Woodstock GA (03/03/08)
I have had a mortgage with Option One since Dec. 2006, things were fine until I got behind on my payments. I have tried and tried to work out payment plans via forbearance, etc. I have called their attorneys for reinstatement amounts, nothing, the one thing they say is they will call back in 3- 5 business days or 48 to 72 hours, that is their line every time. We sent in everything for a modification, keep getting told to call back in a few more days, then was assigned to someone and told I could not have her phone extension, they were changing everyone's and did not have them. No one existed when you tried to enter it.
Then I called back a few days later, got India and she wanted to know when I was making March's payment. We have received a letter from attorney demanding the money and no letter for foreclosure even though they say they have it ready for foreclosure in thirty days. All I can tell all of you out there is that you have to call the Federal Trade Commission or email them for a complaint. My wife did it on the web and called and got a number for FTC, talked with a lady there who said that they have to be flooded with calls for them to start investigating this company. PLEASE call, look them up on the internet, or go and google them, it will come up.
Diana of Boscawen NH (03/02/08)
We bought our house in May, 2005. We have had the same issues with Option One. We tried the modification 3 times only to be told we don't qualify. I am sick of dealing with these incompetent people. I have cried a lot of tears. Our house is on the market for a short sale. We are currently 8 months behind and have not had any phone calls from Option One since Oct., 2007. I have sent letters via fax and e-mail to no avail. We finally received a letter of intent to foreclose. I even called the attorney that the letter came from--no call beck from her either. This experience has been a nightmare. My husband and I are so stressed out we just want this over with. I am all for a class action law suit, Where do I sign up? Good luck to everyone who is in this position; we will all survive.
We are losing the one thing that we have worked so hard to keep. We have no where to turn--just hope and pray for the best.
Stacey of Florence KY (02/25/08)
My family is going through much of what others on the complaint site have mentioned. We are currently in the foreclosure process but trying to sell the house on a short sell. We just received a letter from HOPE NOW about a possible load modification. I spoke to Option One back in October about a modification and it was denied due to debt to income. Then when they mentioned it again, I couldn't because I was showing no pay because of maternity leave. I just got back to work last week. We are debating on whether or not to try this HOPE NOW program because we are concerned about what people are saying online about modifications and how they are not following through on promises or taking so long. I really don't want to waste my time and what money we have fighting a losing battle. I was wondering if anyone else out there has had any dealings with HOPE NOW with Option One and if so how did it work out for you? If you could share your experience I would greatly appreciate it. We have learned a great deal in this process, like ask a lot of questions, who is the lender? is there any prepayment penalties? These are questions I wish I would have asked. I will investigate every company from here on. Of course, it didn't help that our home declined in value around $15,000 in only 7-8 months. WOW. Good Luck to everyone out there that is going through the same thing. I'm tired of the constant phone calls at home and work. I'm tired of talking to foreign people who can't understand me and I can't understand them. I just wish this nightmare would go away.
Linda of Twin Falls ID (02/25/08)
We have our own painting business and thing got real slow. We got behind on our payments and whenever I called Opt 1 to tell them I was working on it, all I got was someone in India that just repeated what I said to them and said I needed to make a payment now. On the 15th of September I called to make 2 payments and they told me they could not accept them because I was already 3 months behind and they were foreclosing on us. September would have be my 3rd month but it was the 15th and my payment is not late until the 16th. They have attached thousands of dollars of fees. When I call to talk to someone it is so frustrating, I end up in tears. I am selling my house and have got the payoff quote with an unbelievable interest rate attached. They are charging me 11.375% interest for the last 3 months which ends up being over $5,000.00 so even when you try to get out, they gouge you and there is never anyone to talk to about it. The funny thing is when you call it says for English press 1, but all you get is someone reading off a script.
Mary of Woodstock GA (02/24/08)
We are in the same boat as all the entries below. I urge each of you to go online to www.FTC.gov and file a complaint, there was a case you can google Fairbanks Capital Mortgage-2003, same lending practices and there was a class-action lawsuit. Read careful and look at the owners name, he is from India, where all these calls are filtered to, you can demand to speak with Jacksonville or Irvine and sometimes you get lucky but they say the same things as the guys in India do - no help. We all need to write the www.FTC.gov.
Leslie of Friant CA (02/23/08)
We purchased our home in May 2005. In 2006, my husband and I both got sick and were housebound with a disability for a total of 4 months. We obviously were late and behind on payments. In December of 2006 I started receiving multiple phone calls from Option One wanting to set up a payment arrangement to get us back on track. I spoke with an Indian person, who did not speak English well, and who TOLD me what I was going to pay. She set up payments to come out of my checking account every two weeks for six months starting January and ending May 31st. I was told that this would bring us current. I paid $14,000+ during that time and then mailed in my June payment by check on June 15th. It was returned. I called and was told that it could not be accepted because I owed $12,000 in back payments. I asked how this was possible...how could this be? I had just finished paying the $14k and was supposed to be back on track....
Boy am I naive! I was told no payment had been made since December. I explained that payments had come out of my checking account directly to them. I was then told yes, she could see they had received those, but that my home was to be sold in October. I then asked her to send me a statement showing how these payments were applied. I was told she could not do this--that I had to deal with a different Department and could only communicate with them via fax and that I should send my request by fax. I did. I NEVER RECEIVED A RESPONSE--only continuous telephone calls demanding the $12k!
In August the phone calls stopped, and I received a notice of foreclosure. When I called I was told I had to contact them by fax and that there was not a person I could speak directly with. My husband, our kids and myself were left with no choice but to find a place to rent. We moved out October 1, 2007. Our house was foreclosed on and sold in November. In January I received our interest statement saying that we only paid $2k in 2007! AGAIN WHAT HAPPENED TO THE $14000? We now have no home and paid out all that money for what? This company needs to be shut down and destroyed just like it has destroyed so many from living the American Dream of owning a home. It's unbelievable that they have been allowed to do this.
We now have no idea how to proceed tax wise because of this. We have the humiliation of everyone in our community knowing that we lost our home. My husband began having panic attacks and is now taking anti-depressants...Our credit is completely ruined and our hope.....well, we have no hope to ever owning our own home again.
Sandy of Englewood CO (02/21/08)
We are still dealing with Option One. I made a payment on my Forebearance on the 17th, not due until the 20th. Every day there has been at least 2 phone calls regarding my account. Today Rasheed from India calls and wants to know if I can make my payment. I totally lose it with him; I inform him that is against the law to harass me on a bill that's been paid. As far as I know, this company was supposedly sold last Sept., and our loans were to go to a different company.
We have had to sell one car, a scooter (son's ride to work), antiques, and family heirlooms in order to keep this house. On top of every thing we have paid them over $12,000.00 in the past 6 months, and we are still being reported late to the credit bureaus and being charged a monthly late fee. Loan Modification with this company is a joke, no help there; have a talk with LM6--she'll ruin anyone's life. This company is out of control. We need a class action law suit; surely someone knows a lawyer. All of you out there, hang in there!
Bobbi of Midland OH (02/18/08)
We was behind on mortgage payments for Dec, Jan and Feb. I called and tried to make the payment on the 15th of Feb to get all the past months caught up and they said that the account was in Foreclosure, to call back on Feb 19th to see what the total amount needed would be to get the house out of foreclosure and the projected sale date of Aug 3, 2008. How is this company able to do this? The Feb payment wasn't technically late until the 16th. We have tried numerous times to communicate with this company, however, they don't speak much English and they don't want to transfer you to someone who can speak English either. We have another loan with them, and when they told us the big loan was in foreclosure, they kept insisting on us paying the little loan. Why in the world would one of them go into foreclosure status and the other one not? I tried for 3 hours on the phone for them to let me make the payments to get the mortgage caught up and they would NOT allow it. Does any one know how to stop them or what we can do?
Helpless of Rapid City SD (02/15/08)
We have had similar problems with Option One. We knew back in July 07 that the upcoming October Adjustment was going to hit us hard and began communications with them to modify our loan. Of course we qualified because we have been starving for this mortgage from day one. We are still told up until today that our loan modification is in review and we will be contacted and it is in no way a promise of any kind that our loan will change. Our lives are falling apart and we are scraping bottom on all aspects. We also lost our car last week, (one we have had for 3 years) because it was a choice to let go of the car or the house. My husband and I are working like crazy to keep up and we are drowning. We can't keep food on the table, we can't pay our utilities, now we don't have a car and an infant child and an 8 year old in the mix as well.
I hate it when I hear, according to the terms of your loan; this adjustment should be no surprise! If we had ANY idea what this meant the day we sat in the title office signing these loan papers with our Realtor and broker as tears of joy streamed down our faces to finally realize something that seemed to come so easily so unexpectedly, we would've told them to forget the loan papers! We had NO idea this would happen. We were strong-armed into this loan by a Realtor friend and her friend who (was) a mortgage broker. She urged us in the grocery store one day in 2005 to apply for a loan. We said NO WAY! We just filed for bankruptcy and are barely getting back on our feet. She said, (and I quote), "you have to do this...they are giving loans to DEAD people right now." We thought what the hey, let's give it a shot. And it was an absolute WHIRLWIND from that point on and 30 days later we were signing our lives away to Option One.
It is amazing how after 2.5 years BOTH of these people no longer work at their respective businesses. We believed we had angels bless our lives that day. Option One gives us the runaround, and I did try calling the American phone line only to be redirected to the India place. I have called everyone on God's Green Earth for advice and help and no one seems to have an answer. I feel like we are a tiny grain of sand in a huge pile of sand and our voices are not being heard. Yes we did something we should've thought through, yes we shouldn't have signed those papers, yes we were naive and dumb to think the magical 2 year refi would happen, but where do we go from here? Yes we are all financially unstable but we have tried and tried and paid and paid till our eyes bleed and no one cares! My grandfather grilled into our heads, pay for your house first then the rest will be taken care of...and we've done that. On time every month and look where we are.
Sandra of Pasadena Md MD (02/13/08)
Regarding Option One Mortage -- I would never deal with this company again. They service a loan on an investor property for me and when they sent notice of the first payment, the first payment mind you which was not due for another 30 days, they called to welcome me to Option One. And guess who called, their collections division. I felt like Guido was calling.
I have had this loan for nearly 6 years and I always pay on time, payment received 3rd to 4th of the month, and I too get the recorded phone calls around the 5th of the month which to me sound threatening.
For everyone's information, that type of harassment is illegal and I advise everyone to go to the the Director of Financial Regulation for your state and complain. Take the time to do it because it is worth it. It may take six to eight months for an investigation and response, but it needs to be done. This company is out of control and I also get so annoyed with the foreign workforce that does not speak English. And I will never deal with them again, I bypassed them for a loan on another investment property last year because I cannot tolerate their attitude and tactics resembling being approached by a thug.
They are out of control and the place to start is to file that complaint with the state. They are subject to the laws of each respective state in which they do business. That is what the state regulatory agency is there for and it doesn't cost you anything except the time to file. Especially those of you who have paid on time and been illegally contacted and/or harassed by option one. Enough complaints will cause the company officials to take notice and stop hiding behind their foreign call center reps.
Try the state complaint approach, it is effective and it frightens companies that engage in these practices.
Shirley of Rockwall TX (02/04/08)
I never get someone who speaks or understands English enough to understand what I need. They have no problem calling me at 0800 or in the evening, but when I call them I get no one knowledgeable. All I want is the address of the HOME RETENTION CONTACT CENTER to send: a letter authorizing my information, an estimated HUD-1 a Hardship letter. They only want it faxed, but I cannot rely on the faxed information. I am truly SICK and TIRED of trying to deal with this sorry company. Never would I send anyone to them. I hear they are out of the mortgage business which is a VERY GOOD THING FOR UNSUSPECTING POTENTIAL USERS.
I will be foreclosed on. SHAME, SHAME.
Carmen of Temecula CA (02/04/08)
Back in November 2007 we got behind on our mortgage payment. My husband works in construction and jobs he had were postpone due to the fires and floods in California. We called Option One to let them no we were having problems with our payments. We spoke to people from India who answered the phone and they also called at all times. We also ask to speak to a manager who spoke English but they did not understand what we were saying because they kept repeating themselves.
Our payment started at $2500.00 a month. We also told them we had most of the money and they said no, we had to send the total amount. Another time we called and they said they would work with us and offered a plan for the 5 months we would have to send $3000.00 and then we would be caught up. I asked them how can we come up with $3000.00 when we could not come up with $2500.00 and they said if we did not agree we would go into foreclosure. I ask them can't you just put the late payment at the end of the loan they and they said no. I was so afraid to lose our home that we sent the $3000.00. My husband and I lost sleep, argued, etc.
Of course we got behind and the next plan they offered was $3330.00. Again we ask if we could the late payments at the end of the loan and they said no we would go into foreclosure. Again we started paying $3300.00. My husband and I started car pooling to work trying to keep up our utility bills. This $3300.00 payment is to much for us. My husband is tired of calling and no one speaks English. We received a flyer from Option One and it said, "Experiencing a financial hardship Need assistance with making your payments We're here to help." My husband did not want to call as he has given up on Option One. So I called on 1/31/08 and I almost fell of my chair at work. A person who spoke English answered the phone, her name is Stevie Jade Glowacz. I told her my story and also mention why everytime we get a call the person does not understand what I am saying. She did not give me an answer. But she did say she wanted to help us and that Option One did not want to foreclosure on homes. She also mention that we lived in an area were most people were losing their homes. And that they had new loans for families in this situation. I reminded her that I did not want to lose my home. She had me fill out forms (Finacial Analysis for Loss Mitigation Workout). She said that she would be working with us and to fax her the paper work. I asked what should I do about the Feb. payment and she said not to send anything that from here on everything went through her and if I got calls to give them her name. She also said that there were programs that maybe I would qualify for.
While I was doing this my son said that there was a lady taking pictures of my home and looking through my windows. He went out and asked what she wanted she said Option One had send her to deliver a letter to my husband. She left no name. The next day I faxed all the papers to Stevie and emailed her and asked her if she received my papers and also if she knew why they were taking pictures of my house. She said she would look into it and call me next week with some answers but it could take 1 or 2 weeks.
Today is Feb. 3, 2008 and for some reason I went on the web and looked up Option One and found consumer affairs.com. After reading peoples' complaints I am scared to death. I should have gone on the web a long time ago most of the complaints that people have made my husband and I have went through that. I will keep you posted and let you know if I here from Stevie. The letter that we received from that lady that came to our house says that we owe on late paymet is a total of $7,046.31 and it's due 30 days from January 31, 2008. I told my husband that I also notice that no where does it show that we made payments of $3000.00 or $3300.00. We did save our Western Union Quick collect receipts. My husband and I are going to look at other options to see if we can collect $7,046.31 by Feb. 29. I NEVER have worked with a mortgage company like Option One.
Cynthia of Vevay IN (02/03/08)
Due to my husband becoming ill with an incurable disease, he had to take a lower paying job in order to be able to continue to work. Our home is in my name only and I did get behind on the house payment. I made every attempt to catch up on the payment only to find out that my Western Union Quick Collect initial repayment was returned. Customer Service Representatives began calling me and telling me when my foreclosure date was (each CSR gave me a different date) and that there was nothing I could do.
Since the home was in need of a few repairs, I took the money that I had and made the repairs, put the home up for sale only to get a phone call asking me what my intentions were on the home. I explained that when I tried to make payment arrangements I was told that the house was set for foreclosure. They explained that if I could send them $4,500.00 that they could set up payment arrangements. I told them that they were the ones that got me in to this predicament by not accepting my payment in the beginning and the money that I did have was put into repairs. I eventually came up with the downpayment amount only to find out that I now had to sign a document that stated I would pay $1,668.00 for 10 months. I did okay the first two months and am not able to make the third month payment because for some reason my family likes to have food to eat.
This company is the worst company I have ever dealt with in my life. Each person I have spoken with has told me a different story, they harass me at home and at work, they have given private information to other people in my household that aren't even listed on the account and have asked them if they could help with my overdue payment. I thought this was illegal but apparently not because I was told that if they answered the phone, they apparently lived in the home so they could leave information with whomever as long as the information got to me. Needless to say, I would rather go through foreclosure than to deal with this company any longer. The initial mortgage rate was 7.25% and now has jumped to 11.50% which I can no longer afford. I am wondering though, if the mortgage rates have been decreasing why do my payments continue to rise. My credit is in a shambles and we will end up renting but that is okay because a house is just a house, it takes God and a family to make it a home.
Foreclosure is a result of their lack of customer service. We are just waiting on the actual date of when it will occurr. I am facing major depression because of the turmoil this company has caused.
Kathleen of Cape May Court House NJ (02/03/08)
I have an ongoing problem with Option One Mortgage reporting I have been 30 days late on my Mortgage Payment and I have never been 30 days late. This is ongoing since Jan 07 and I noticed in July 07 when I discovered it on my credit report. I have sent certified letters to the BBB, Attorney General, FBI, Department of Banking and Insurance and received a response back from them with an explanation and stating it would be restored. This has not happened. I am being harassed by Option One Mortgage with fifteen telephone calls in one day saying to pay or it will be reported on my credit report and they have authority to forclose my home. I have never been late on a payment.
Harassment with telephone calls at all times of the day even at work causing hardship at my job. Defamation of my Character reporting erronious information on my credit report. Preventing me from buying anything because of this erronious reporting. Stress, anxiety & hardship. Prevented from obtaining a Veteran Administration loan because of this false report and I am a disabled veteran.
Donna of Liberty Hill TX (01/31/08)
I have been a Option One Mortgage customer for 6 years now. I have never had problems until recently. We are refinancing our home because Option One could not give us a better rate. We were closing on our new loan and Option One has been so tough to work with. They will not send payoff info in time. And then when you call one person says 5-7 days and then the next says 3-5 days? Which is it? It seems they are not organized. I feel that if you are a paying customer and you need something right away you should get it. Not days or weeks later. Without us as borrowers they would have no company, nor jobs. I just do not understand why when you call they ask the same questions over and over. Do they not note that in the system when you call? Now I know why I am switching over to a better company. I will never recommend Option One to anyone.
Carol of Huntington Station NY (01/21/08)
Option One Mortgage harasses me daily. I get calls from India, Mexico and now the bank has conveniently lost my payment after 3 years. They claimed I gave them the wrong #'s on my checking acct.
Mr. of Sacramento CA (01/19/08)
During a 2 year time frame of making my mortgage payments to Option One, I only missed/late 2-3 times. This resulted in receiving numerous harrassing calls to me and my relatives who were listed on my loan as references. I felt like this company did nothing to help me to save my home. I tried submitting a loan modification and to my knowledge the representive whom I spoke with was handling my request. Several days past and nothing from Option One-it figures. I truly believe they couldn't understand the English language. I requested to speak with someone who had the power to make decisions numerous times. Again my request was ignored. Suprisingly, one day I was very fortunate to get a call from Option One informing me of my late payments being unsatisfactory to their lending policy. WHAT!!! I tried to explain my situation but it fell on deaf ears! I couldn't believe it. So, Finally I gave up the American Dream of owning a home and tried to seek a way out. A deal was made with Option one to continue to make Interst only payments for 3 months until Option one sold their part of the Interst to FASLO after the property went through foreclosure, but Option One backed out of our agreement to save my home and kept my money. I now have to deal with their sister company FASLO. I now live in an apartment. If this is an American Dream I would prefer a Nightmare.
Missing days from work resulted from sleepness nights of me trying to figure out a way to remedy my foreclosure. I feel like a failure. It could have been solved if I could only communicate with a company whom understood English!
C of Br K NY (01/17/08)
I'm in a legal fight with property co-owner after she stopped paying her mortgage. I called trying to settle default . Option One refused to speak to me, saying I wasn't on the note. My lawyer called and was not given any respect and not connected to the legal department. Finally, after months of calls, they agreed to a payment agreement but sent paper work for co-owner to the wrong address. Again we called and they won't listen, we offer to send proof and they hung up. We got sued by Option One to replace the original loan documents since it appears they are missing. I have tried calling the lawyer with this lawsuit, but no response. They want to replace the original document even though it doesn't have my signiture on the note. The house is in foreclosure status and I don't know what to do. The co-owner is not cooperating.
I will lose my home if I can't get legal help.
Elizabeth of South Windsor CT (01/17/08)
I am repeatedly receiving harrassing phone calls from Option One Mortgage. Generally it has been via a computer person/recording. Despite NEVER being late on my mortgage (have had it for over a year and a half), I get at least 10 phone calls a month regarding payment. On 1/14/08, I received a call from someone in India, demanding payment. When I indicted that I paid my mortgage on time every month since getting the loan, he threatened that unless I paid my mortgage over the phone with him that I would be assessed charges and foreclosure proceedings would begin at the end of the month. I was horrified. Again, I told him that I would not tolerate such harrassement and that my record is clear. No late payments ever. I ended the call. An hour later I received another phone call, the next day 1/15, I recieved two more calls and on 1/16, I received yet another call despite the payment being already submitted. I pay the same time, the same way every month. I have never paid late. I pay online to have an accurate record that they did recieve payments. I had no idea this was a subprime lender. These calls have been going on for several months and despite me telling them not to call me, that I am not ever late, the calls and threats continue.
This abuse over the phone, including when I am at work has caused me extreme undue stress worrying whether they will try an illegal tactic to either add unnecessary fees to my loan or worse yet, set into motion a false foreclosure situation.
Chris of Wesley Chapel FL (01/13/08)
We were prey to this subprime lender. This all started in December of 06 when my wife was put on mandatory bedrest from her doctor. The company my wife works for does not pay for maternity leave unfortunately. We tried to stay current with payments for a couple of months, and got 1 month back, and the calls started...EVERY DAY, every single day someone from Option One would call us asking for payment, even when I told them what day I was paying it (week or 2 later, mind you we were only 5 days past due at this point). I finally had to send a letter to them to stop the phonecalls.
Well, months went on, and we were generally 25-30 days back in the payments, no worries. Then about 4 months ago, the money was running short, so we're now 30 - 45 days back in payments, and the phone calls have started again. I'm not sure what to tell them, if I tell them I'm paying at the end of the week, these Indian individuals will just call up till then. I faxed over a Loan Modification request, I did it quick and apparently forgot some items, nice of them to let me know after about 15 days. I finally had to call and ask what was going on, their 'Home Retention Team' number is actually a direct line to their Debt Collection department, SO USELESS. So I asked the person what happened to my request for loan modification? He says 'Oh, by our records, it's been denied, you have at least $1000 every month extra to spend.' I DO? Well, come to my house and show me where it's at, PLEASE? I apparently didn't include enough information and no one contacted me on that, and the person then proceeded to ask when I am going to make payment? It's funny, you tell them you cannot make a payment at this time, and they must shut off their headphones, and ask the same question AGAIN AND AGAIN. I DO NOT want to go into foreclusure and I'll fight this to the end.
Then on 1/3/08 we get the escrow letter from Option One and they say I owe them $2300 extra in escrow because the projections are wrong! I can see $500 or so, but $2300? Who's doing the projections over there? I'm sure this is another ploy to sneak in a payment to them. I may go to homeassure.com to fight this.
Danielle of North Bend OR (01/12/08)
We submitted short sale paper work, more than 70+ pages that they required from us the end of October. We are almost 90 days from the date we submitted our forms but are no closer to getting an answer. The newest excuse they are using is that the notary signed documents that had our address incorrect and signatures were missing. I have copies of everything that was signed and notarized, and nothing is out of order. They refuse to send me a copy of the documents with the missing information saying that they do not do that, but I am welcome to refax all my documentation to them...as if we can afford to wait another 90 days to get another excuse as to why there are not approving our short sale request. One customer service rep said they will foreclose on our house before a short sale will be approved. The calls are now coming at the least, 10 times a day, beginning at 8:01 am and ending (gratefully) at 8:59pm. We have resolved to losing our home, filing bankruptcy, and starting over. Thanks, Option One.
Jason of Waterford MI (01/12/08)
Predatory Lending.... implying that we were behind 2 months payments. Payments were ALL made through wires from Chase Bank to Mellon Bank, PA ( Wells Fargo ) and called in each time. For 3 weeks Option One refused to accept our power of attorney paperwork for our legal council. After contacting the Mi State Attorney Generals Office and filing a formal complaint (on advice of our attorney--they refused to speak with him) I was also advised to contact the FBI since our payments were not applied and were conducted by wire from bank to bank; and Option One refuses to discuss this or any information relative to bank wires. As a matter of fact, they told us not to do wires, but they cannot be trusted. I spoke to and received correspondence from MI State Attorney General's office, I then get acknowledgment from Option One that they received our paperwork of Power of Attorney which was not until after the the State of Michigan sent them the complaint (with this information in my disposition).
However, they still will not provide any information that is requested by my lawyer and numerous faxes (proof of payments)--the same information faxed over and over again--for them to say it may take up to 6 weeks for us do our investigation, although we will start foreclosure proceedings if you don't do what we say. Option One smugly threatens us on a daily basis of foreclosure when we are paid to date, despite the 7.8% initial interest and the 10.97% they have raised us to since Nov. 2007. I have paid in the year 2007: $28,000.00 in interest and $2,400.00 in principle. This is RACKETEERING ! Option One has harassed us since our loan was acquired by them from Homecomings Financial. They make endless phone calls in the day and night along with weekends and holidays, inappropriate demands for money.
For example: They call and demand $4,000.00; I tell them I am paid to date, John Wayne (the Indian claims that is his name then asks, "Well, can you send $3,000.00?" I iterate that I am paid to date; John Wayne then says they will accept $2,000.00; I tell him NO! John Wayne then threatens foreclosure, and I tell him contact my attorney; John Wayne asks why did I contact an attorney, that is not necessary, all you need to do is call the home retention number. Why do I need to contact home retention when I am paid to date? They have no answer.
On one day they called, and I told them I was recording my phone call for quality assurance. They said they would hang up on me--that it was illegal to tape a conversation with them. I asked then "Why do you?" I simply notified them of my intent, that it was for quality purposes, and the agent said they would not speak to me if I was taping their conversations and hung up on me. They will not provide monthly statements for payments received even when requested, They will not provide any information relative to unfounded fees they are charging. They will not provide access to any person in the United States to speak with on request. They will not provide information relative to proof of insurance (who is the insurance company? etc.). I have called them to confirm payments, and my wife would call them back just to verify the info I had provided only to find out that there was nothing documented relative to the phone call which I had made earlier. I have given you the number which the State Attorney General's agent gave me, for the contact at Option One although she (Laura Ventura) never answers the telephone nor answers VME's. My attorney has advised we get into a Class Action against this company, Wells Fargo Bank, Mellon Bank and the Owner and CEO of Option One Mortgage Corp.
My mortgage payment started out at $1,900.00; it is now $3,092.28. I am a small business owner which happens to be seasonal since my discipline is Swimming Pools and Spas. It's an embarrassment when they call me on my work phone all hours of the day. They speak to me in condescending manner and demand monies comparable to a loan shark.
Amy of Sedro Woolley WA (01/11/08)
I had problems with Option One. I somehow lucked out and managed to get a loan Mod. Almost hidden on their website is a phone number to a Customer Advocate. These people are wonderful and helped me when those in India wouldn't. From the site: Customer Advocacy Option One works hard to provide borrowers with the highest-quality customer service, but we know there are times when borrowers still feel they are not getting what they need. If you feel you have not received appropriate customer service, you can contact the Office of Customer Advocacy at 949.790.3600--then you hold until a live person comes on and ask for Customer Advocacy.
Also, if you ask them, they will give you a fax number of where to fax a letter--only to never have anyone call you. I did that; once you ask, they have to adhere to your request. Also, think of this, H & R Block, the TAX PEOPLE ow |
