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Washington Mutual Mortgage Refinancing

Washington Mutual • WaMu Bank • WaMu Mortgage • Refinancings • Home Equity Loans • Construction Loans --- News • WaMu Buys Providian • Class Action Filed

Paul of Shelby Twp. MI (10/01/07)
This is the first time i have done anything like this, but I am at the end of my rope. My complaint is about Washington Mutual who holds our home loan. We have been in our house for 9 years now, and when we first moved in we were fine, had good credit and lived comfortably. We refinanced in order to do some home improvement and we were taken advantage of.   Our payment went up $250, and we were told it would go down.  So we refinanced again, and the company WAMU. We got into an ARM loan, and now we are paying.  We tried to work with WAMU, but they refused because we had gotten behind on payments. about a month behind. We had to resort to living off of credit cards to get by, before we knew it we were deep in debt. Again we tried to work with WAMU and they were completely non-understanding and rude. We tired all we could to catch up and never could. Eventually we had to file bankruptcy. We were told by our lawyer that WAMU would let us re-affirm if we wanted to and we could keep them out of the bankruptcy. So we did that, and NOT once did WAMU contact our lawyer about anything. After our bankruptcy was finalized we tried to contact WAMU, and again and again they have treated us like dead beats. We aren't asking that they take away our payments.  We asked for some help to pay the late fees owed and catch up the one month we are behind. The girl in the loss and litigation dept.tells us that they would negotiate our late fees, and then the next guy says NOPE. They have even told us we should be able to make the payments because we should have more money now since we filed bankruptcy. We have caught them in flat out lies on the phone.  Now they almost laughingly scold us on the phone when we call, and they tell us that they may not help us at all. It's disgusting how we are treated.  We work hard for what little we have and are trying to stay out of foreclosure, but they are making it impossible.

We have had to file bankruptcy and now although only one month behind are facing threats of forecolosure. We send in our payment on time well ahead of the due date and they still post it late, even when we paid by phone. They said this is becasue we are a month behind, and we are lucky to have our house. We tried to pay by phone again recently and they refused..so we mailed it and they accepted it...late.

Paul of Riverton UT (04/16/07)

Our Family is in the process of refinancing our Home Mortgage. Washington Mutual has given our broker incorrect information and documented that in the past, we had a foreclosure. We called Washington Mutual and it took us 3 days to get a return call even with us contacting them on a daily basis. The person we talked to with a conference call with our Broker told us that they are in the process of sending us a correction letter. This was 2 month ago. When we finally received one, it was not the document our broker specifically asks for.

We still have not received a letter for us to close on a deadline date. Our Broker also has indicated that they have been calling them 2 to 3 times a day and all they get is the same answer. We are still waiting for the document that we need to be able to close the loan. I called today and the WM Rep pretty much read the documentation on the computer screen and told us to contact someone else. We have been transferred many times with a minimum of 20 to 45 minute wait. Still no documentation. I have never dealt with a Company with the worse customer service as Washington Mutual.

Veronica of Oakley CA (06/06/06)
Back in March we started to refinance our home. Nathan the loan agent dragged his feet to do everything. I was calling every week to get things going and he never got back to me. Not until I started threatening to go with another company did Nathan bother to get back to me and get things going. This was now mid May. We continued the process, he said he had to charge me over one point in a half for a 30 yr. fixed rate. I told him the point fee was too high because out interest was not low; however, we wanted to get this going and we took the point fee. I then received the complete package in the mail for my husband and I to sign.

As I reviewed it, I noticed corrections needed to be made. I again called Nathan and as usual he did not call me back. I then decided to call Nathan's supervisor Erik Hester. I told him Nathan was not getting back to me to make these corrections etc. He said he would talk to Nathan and call me back. He never called me back either. I then called Nathan and Erik one last time. The customer service lady told me Erik would be in at 2 pm and she would give him the message to call me. I called ant 4 pm and he was gone. I then asked for Erik's managers name and phone so I can call him to inform him of what had happened. After I was given that information, I got a phone call from Nathan indicating to me that Washington Mutual could not offer me a 30 yr fixed rate, I had to take an adjustable.

I didn't know what he was talking about because my initial call was not about the interest rate, it was about corrections needed on the final documents waiting to be signed. I then told him that I would not take an adjustable rate, and that I was still going to file a complaint againt him and the service I got. I have now contacted the main manager in Chicago and I will consult an attorney to see if I have any other options.

My consequences will be that I have not been able to refinance on time before my current loan expires and our home payment will be based on the current adjustable rate. I, may lose my house it I can't make these payments!

Darlene of Mckees Rocks PA (02/06/06)
I refinanced a 20 yr old mortgage to lower the interest rate and the lender made an error and escrowed my hazard insurance. I have never escrowed the insurance the whole time I have had the loan. After notifying them of the error they removed the escrow, but unforunately for me assigned servicing of my account to Washington Mutual who then put it back on.

I have written, called, sent copies of my statements from the original lender all to no avail. I pointed out the original terms of a mortgage are to be honored when it is re-assigned and now they have cleverly gotten around that by sending a waiver that will only be honored if I had no late payments with them in 12 months. I have never had a late payment in 20 years, but this was a new loan and I've only made two payments with Washington Mutual and 3 with the original lender.

They want 12 mos, of history with them. Second, that my balance be 80% of the original loan, once again , it is a new loan. I am single handicapped person and it is very hard for me to come up with the extra funds monthly, but because I do craft shows in the fall, I can pay my insurance then very easily when it was always due. I feel they are making a fool out of me, as they keep asking me to send letters, fill out forms and then keep denying me.

Stephanie of Clinton MD (09/26/05)
I recently wanted to refinace my home from an interest only to a 30 year fixed without taking any cash out, I have been informed that I have been denied due to my credit report, which states that I have had a mortgage within one year, and I was a previous customer with Washington Mutual, so I don't understand, however, I have provided them with the name of my mortgage company, and still no phone calls.

Nothing was ever done, Washington Mutual did not even ask me for my past two pay stubs or my W2, the service was provided to me was unacceptable, what I do know is that Washington Mutual should have contacted my current mortgage company or ask me to provide the information to them which they did not do, also I still have not received a copy of my appraisal report which I paid money for, I have asked questions, and no one wants to answer.

Marie of College Park GA (09/26/05)
I had a loan with Washington Mutual (loan 1). I also had a home equity loan (loan 2)with Washington Mutual. To take advantage of the low interest rates, I refiananced with Washington Mutual. I consolidated both loans. Loan 2 had a penalty for early termination (before 3 years of having the loan). The bank reps told me that since I was in Georgia that this clause was not legal, so, I consolidated both and ending loan 2, seven months earlier than the 3 years. I was penalized $500.00. I have sent letters to them stating that I was given incorrect information causing my actions. I have been ignored.

Keith of Columbia SC (4/15/03):
In September of 2002, I applied for a refinance mortgage with WAMU. I am a current WAMU mortgage customer (at a much higher rate) and figured it would be easier to refi with the same company. I was originally given an estimated closing date of December 26, 2002. This was for a loan that had a 90-day lock on the rate. During this 90 days, the communications from the loan specialist were extremely poor. He would not even return my calls until I called his boss.

As the estimated closing date arrived I continued to call to try to receive a status. He would never tell me when the loan would close, only that it 'should be soon'. When I still had not received a status in February of 2003, I called to see if they would lower my rate to the current rate. This was substantially lower than when I locked. I was initially told that they would not. I then proceeded to call up the chain of command and was eventually given the lower rate. This was after much time and effort on my part. I also uncovered several mistakes that had been made by WAMU.

I was told that I would be closing in 2-3 weeks at the latest. It has been nearly 7 months since I applied for my loan and there has still been no closing date given to me. The latest issue is that another mistake was made by WAMU to cause another delay. Rates have risen but I am still being told that I will get the lower rate. I am not convinced that they will be able to pull this off in a reasonable manner and will probably take my business elsewhere.

The added interest that I have had to pay as a result of this delay has been substantial. WAMU maintains that there is nothing they can do to compensate me for their mistakes and delays. They seem to show little concern that they have made a mess of things. Since I am a current customer, at a higher rate, it seems that they are taking their time processing the refi. I have called the local WAMU office and they have told me they could close in 30 days. They had no idea I was a current customer.

Ronald of North Richland Hills TX (4/12/03):
This is the chronology of my dealings with Washington Mutual (hereafter called WAMU):

• I Contacted WAMU about refinancing when interest rates dropped to 5%; was told that WAMU was not writing any new mortgages in Texas at this time.
• Contacted my credit union (Fort Worth Community Credit Union); refinancing was approved through Colonial Savings DBA CU Members Mortgage ; rate was locked at 5%.
• Closing date was set for 11/21/02 with Stewert Title Co. , who called for a payoff amount. Payoff check was sent 11/26/02.
• WAMU, by their own rules, state that escrow paymentss will be suspended when refinancing, except to prevent late payments. However, they sent a property tax payment to Tarrant County Tax Assessor’s Office on 11/27/02. The taxes weren’t due until 01/01/03, and not overdue until 02/01/03.
• This put my escrow at -$139, and so the payoff check was short, and refused by WAMU.
• I had made two payments to Colonial Savings ( 1st was due 01/01/03), when I was contacted by WAMU I was 3 payments late. After 3 phone calls, and an e-mail, WAMU admitted they had received a payoff check, but it was short. I was also in contact with Colonial Savings and Stewert Title at this time. Stewert Title had sent a tax payment to the tax office 12/01/02; this amount was rolled into my mortgage amount by Colonial Savings. The tax office received the latter check 1st.
• I had to give Stewert Title another $139 and this, and the original payoff amount was resent to WAMU. I was told I would receive a refund from WAMU for the double-payment of the taxes.
• The tax office told me WAMU would have to request a refund form, then return it, before the refund could be sent.
• I had to contact WAMU several times before they requested the refund; contact the tax office several times checking to see if they had requested the form; then to see if they had returned it; then to see if the refund check had been sent them.
• Finally, The tax office informed me the check had been sent them on 02/06/03.
• After giving WAMU a reasonable amount of time, I contacted them about the status of my refund through e-mail. The answer I received on 02/26/03 was that they were still “researching” my tax refund.
• On 04/02/03, I received an answer to another e-mail I sent them that the refund had been deposited into my escrow account on 03/27/03, and that they would be issuing a check to me within 3-4 business days, and that I should allow 7-10 business days for delivery.
• This is 04/12/03, and I finally received the refund check today! Had they not paid the taxes until due, my escrow would have covered the cost, or had they relied on Colonial to pay them, as they did, I would have gotten the escrow refund 3 months ago. As it was to go into my savings account, I lost 3 months interest on this money, had to pay out $139 extra, and had to deal with WAMU’s aggrevation, fustration, and mental anquish.

Larry of Los Gatos CA (3/26/03):
Washington Mutual solicited and agreed to refinance our house in Tigard, Oregon. They have constantly delayed completing the loan agreement for months. The latest delay has been caused by their refusing to accept the appraisal we had them do in October of 2002. This appraisal was requested by us to demonstrate that we had enough equity in the property to drop the PMI insurance. They are now saying that it was not a Washington Mutual appraisal. This is a blatant falsehood.

We originally requested the appraisal in June of 2002, it took them until October because they were completely incapable of following the instructions that we gave them regarding gaining access to the property. We were not notified by Washington Mutual that there was any problem with getting the appraisal completed. When we called to find out the status, they told us that they had canceled the appraisal. We were not notified of the cancellation until we requested the information. After we told them to reinstate the appraisal they still did give our instructions to the appraiser, and if we had not followed up ourselves the appraisal would still not be done. This delay and procrastination on the part of Washington Mutual cost us over $1,000.00.

Now they are delaying the refinance by saying the previous appraisal was not a Washington Mutual Appraisal; this is absurd, we paid them, they selected the appraiser, and they made all the initial arrangements for the appraisal. If it were not for their ineptness at following our instructions we would have not had any contact with the appraiser. This delay in completing the refinance could easily be seen from a third party's point of view as self serving on the part of Washington Mutual, in that, every day this delay makes them additional interest that would be substantially lessened under the new loan agreement.

This delay and lack of response on the part of the employees of Washington Mutual, (calls not returned, vague answers to specific questions, transferring responsibility to departments who's numbers are not available, refusal to identify and give numbers of management superiors, etc. etc.), has cost us substantially, both financially and emotionally.

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