
Bank of America Mortgage Reviews
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About Bank of America Mortgage
Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bank of America is one of the largest banks in the U.S. and offers a range of banking products, such as checking and savings accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs). Customers can also use Bank of America for financing through various cash-back credit cards, personal loans and home and auto loans.
- Competitive rates
- 100% online application
- Discounts and perks for current customers
- Online and in-person loan specialists
- Best rates available only to Preferred Rewards members
- No rate check without a hard credit inquiry
Bank of America Mortgage Reviews
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Reviewed Nov. 6, 2009
I had a FHA mortgage with Taylor, Bean and Whitaker that was handed over to Bank of America when TBW went belly up. I just received notice from my insurance company that I have been dropped because they have not received payments from mortgage escrow in over 60 days. On the same day, I received a check from my mortgage escrow balance that should have gone to my insurance premium but didn't. To reinstate my insurance, it will cost me much more out of pocket because of the lapse of coverage caused by BOA.
When I contacted BOA, I stated that the phone conversation was being recorded and they said they wouldn't talk to me. I asked if they were recording the conversation and they said yes, but I wasn't allowed to record them and they hung up on me! Big red flag! My home has been uninsured for 2 months now and I didn't even know it until now! I am now looking for a good lawyer.
Reviewed Nov. 5, 2009
TBW had my mortgage. They filed bankruptcy and are "locked down" by the Feds. Bank of America took my loan. It is now November 5. I have made numerous phone calls regarding the fact that I couldn't get statements sent to me regarding my mortgage. I have never been late on a payment nor have I ever missed a payment. I tried again yesterday, November 4, to find out why I can't get a monthly billing statement and the breakdown of how my payments have been applied since I have an escrow account.
I sent my first payment to BOA to some address in CA, which some person at BOA told me to do, even without coupons and an account number. So, I resorted to copying my last TBW statement in hopes that my payment would be correctly applied. It's the same thing with my October payment. I called again, and they gave me an address in TX to now send my payment to and a BOA account number. However, yesterday, when I made another call to BOA regarding the fact that I am still not getting statements, I was informed that I was late on two payments, July and August. These payments were made to TBW.
I have now faxed copies of statements showing I made these payments to TBW, but BOA said the records received from TBW regarding my account does not reflect these payments. I do not have extra money to pay these two months payments again nor do I wish to when they've already been made. I have done everything possible to keep my payments current, even as far as sending payments without statements. It seems BOA has no clue as to who owes what or how much on the loans they picked up from TBW. I am not behind. I want monthly statements from BOA reflecting my payments, how the payment is applied; i.e., principal, interest, and escrow. I have no idea what to do now or where to turn for help.
Reviewed Nov. 4, 2009
I have actually been approved for a loan modification. However, Bank of America is reporting me delinquent on my mortgage. They say Freddie Mac has not funded my loan and they will continue to report me delinquent until the paperwork is processed. I have been told on numerous occasions since July of 2009 that it would only take a few more weeks. It's is now November and nothing has been resolved. I am now experiencing anxiety attacks, chest pains, muscle aches and mood swings. This is having a negative effect on my relationship with my children. I have been losing sleep and am very afraid this is going to have a lasting effect on my health. My blood pressure has gone up since I have been dealing with them.
Reviewed Nov. 2, 2009
I started the process of refinancing our home in April 2009. I was told by "Rob" that they would be taking care of all the creditors now. Not! I was told that we would be closing in June. No one ever called to give us a closing date. I was told again in July that we would be closing, but we never did. I was told and guaranteed a closing date in the middle of August, but we had no such luck! I was told that we would definitely be closing in October, and we had the closing date set up and signed all the papers, only to have them call the next day and say that the paperwork was wrong. We had a closing date set up again for November 2 at 5pm. No one showed up. And now, it is scheduled again for Wednesday at 5pm. But it's not going to happen!
Reviewed Oct. 31, 2009
In July 2009, I contacted my existing lender, Bank of America, about a home mortgage cash out 15 year fixed rate refinance. I'm told yes, pending on the appraised value of my house. At this point, they say that it could take up to 90 to 120 days to process the loan but they will lock the rate until the loan completes. Since the rate was good and I wasn't going to use the money till the fall, it was fine.
Now, I'm past the 90 days. The loan consultant now says he told me 120 days was the minimum it would take. Too bad he left me a voice mail shortly after the application, restating the terms of the refinance, even worse for him that I kept the recording. Since he was no longer dealing with me in an honest manner, I asked to speak to his boss. It took several attempts to get a call back from him. He said there’s nothing they can do and I should contact the supervisor of the loan processor.
I've called her repeatedly and there's never a response. I called her supervisor and of course, the silence is deafening. Now, I'm out the money for the appraisal, the application fee and my credit score is lower from the application and no credit extended. I was going to use the money to pay the tuition for my son's school. It has been compounding interest and I don't have the money to pay it. If I can't come up with it, he will be put on suspension because he is already taking the max loan amount on his student loans.
Reviewed Oct. 31, 2009
We bought a home in February of 2006. Recently, Bank of America bought our loan from Taylor, Bean, and Whitaker. We have been trying for the past year to get the loan modification that the President of the US has been telling people about on the television. For the past year, we have been told over and over again that we do qualify for this modification loan. Now, we were told that Bank of America bought it out. I was given the number to call for the service we were requesting. When I finally got through to a live "person" on the other end of the phone line, I was told we do not qualify, and they do not do loan modifications. We were also told in order to keep our home, we needed to send them $14,000.00 plus other fees. If we did not do this, our home will be auctioned off.
My husband has worked for the same business for the past 30 years. When the recession hit, he lost all holiday pay, and bonuses. Then he went down to 3 to 8 days per month for working hours. This year, he had to take a 15% wage cut! He is still working there, but our income for now, has been literally cut in half! They say that the recession is over, but it will take time to get everybody up and running at a normal pace again. Now, our septic system caved in completely. We were told by the county health department that the home will be condemned if it does not get a new septic system in the next month or so.
I have tried several times to talk with someone at Bank of America about this. No one ever calls us back, or offers any help. This bank is so huge, and yet there are no names of anyone who are readily available to talk to homeowners in distress. I did however hear on the television that Bank of America is going to give out billions of dollars in bonuses, even though there are no funds offered to help out their customers! My husband is 60 and I am 57, with disabilities. My blood pressure has been sky high from frustration, and my husband’s health is beginning to suffer also. We need answers ASAP!
Who in this huge banking industry is available to help people in our situation? We are now living in a home where we have a portable potty outside of our back door. We cannot run water for showers or dishes. Winter is coming, we need answers now. We cannot live like this through a Wisconsin winter. Where is the person to person communication? We were told if we leave before we get permission, we would be responsible for anything the bank wants to toss at us. But if the house is condemned, we have no choice. Can anyone suggest who to call to actually talk to someone? By the way, we "do" want to be able to keep our home.
Reviewed Oct. 30, 2009
I have tried to do an FHA Streamline Refinance, and the process took forever. So, I decided to take my business elsewhere. My new company loan officer told me I had to contact BOA and tell them to release the FHA case so they can process my loan. BOA gave me the biggest runaround. They have been unresponsive and basically ignorant of me. I believe that they wanted to keep me at 6%, so they can continue stealing interest from me. So they basically held me hostage. As of today, I am still battling them to release the FHA case with no headway.
Reviewed Oct. 28, 2009
I graduated from school in May 2009. I had been subsidized with school loans until graduation. Since I worked 2 jobs prior to attending school and while in school worked one full-time job, I knew I would need a loan to tide me over during the transition from one career to another. I had mortgage with Countrywide. The loan was taken over by Bank of America and they sent out flyers with bills to call them for refinance options. I did so in June or early July, and was told by the loan application taker in their TX office that I didn't qualify for a refinance because my student loans were counting against me in my debt-income ratio. Several weeks later, Kyle **, Ft. Mitchell, KY office, initiated a call to me out of the blue and said the application taker in TX didn't know the rules as well as he did and that the student loans didn't count in the debt-income ratio because they were farther than a year out from being due.
He said Bank of America could do an FHA loan and he locked me in with a 30-year fixed at 4.85%. The appraisal came back at $10K over the taxed value and the amount was perfect according to Kyle. He told me for at least 6 weeks straight that every Friday of that week, we would be closing. His only instructions were, "Don't fall behind on your mortgage payments." All requested documents were sent to him within a business day of request. I told him in August that another person in the office where I work had applied for a loan with them within 3 days of my loan application date and had already closed on her loan. I was told her loan probably didn't have subordination issues like mine did ($10K to Fifth Third Bank), so I accepted that as an excuse.
Week after week went by and still no loan closing with excuses given like, "We have had 1 permanent loan processor in this office all summer and she has 300 loans she must close alone, so we shipped all of our files to Cincinnati office and they are going to process the loan" or the appraiser hadn't sent their report yet, etc. I was driving a clunker that really scared me to drive because it was unsafe and I, admittedly my mistake, bought a car in mid-September and Kyle reassured me the loan would take care of purchasing the car. Not to worry. The loan was supposed to pay off all of my creditors and I was told I would still have money left over because I had over $100K equity in my home. All along I told Kyle that creditors were calling me wanting money, so he knew I was falling behind in credit card payments (2 months).
Meanwhile, my A/C went out in mid-August and I had to borrow from my 401(k) to get that fixed and I used what little was left over to apply on my bills. The week of 10/19, I initiated calls to Kyle daily and I didn't reach him until the evening of 10/22 at 4:30PM (we were supposed to close 10/23), at which time he told me my credit score had slipped to below the acceptable credit score to qualify for FHA loan. He told me he had been trying to email me and I work full-time, so I thought he had sent the emails to my work. Not until Saturday, 10/24, did I check my emails at home and there were Kyle's emails to me. One was dated Tuesday, 10/20, that told me to be sure and send in the papers for my car so he could pay that loan off.
The next day, 10/21, I received a Dear John email from him, which told me he couldn't close on my loan and he was sorry about the "bind" I was in. My loan was denied. He was so cowardly, he didn't call me at work or at home to tell me this. When I spoke with him on 10/22, he refused to take any responsibility for BOA delaying the closing so long that it placed a huge hardship on me to keep up my payments on all of my credit cards. He told me he didn't tell me not to pay on my credit cards and I told him I didn't say he did. He never got the point or acted as if he did. What I did want him to take responsibility for was I started the process qualifying for the FHA loan and now I didn't. I was in worse shape after getting tangled up with Bank of America than I was going into this and he led me on for weeks.
He even suggested I take bankruptcy, which he said his in-laws had done. I told him I would pay off my bills and didn't believe in taking bankruptcy if there was a way to repay. In the past, when I refinanced, One Credit Report was done and we closed within 30 days. Kyle told me this wasn't the way it was anymore. He was telling me my loan was OK while obviously, using the initial June/July credit report that had a 650 score. What Kyle didn't tell me was I had to maintain the credit score I had when I first applied for the loan and he would be running at least 2 credit reports and it would take 4 months to close. Then maybe I could have made better decisions and started working a second job because I knew where I stood.
Reviewed Oct. 28, 2009
Bank of America screwed me today, too. I applied for a loan on 3-22-09 on a new property that I had paid cash for just a few days prior to applying for the loan. All this time, BofA has assured me that I qualify for the loan and it would be funded within a couple of weeks. Over six months later, today, I received a call from BofA telling me I could not get the mortgage because the time between purchasing and applying for the loan was too short. I was welcome to apply again, but the rates and fees had increased in the interim. BofA was well aware when I applied that the time between the close of escrow on my cash purchase and the application date was only a few days. It was discussed, and I was told I would have to accept a smaller loan due to the short time. I accepted those terms.
I was told today that I am qualified for the loan in every way, except the application date. Talk about bait and switch! BofA is the biggest banking disappointment I've had, and tomorrow, I will remove the $20k I have in checking and savings at BofA. BofA will not get another penny from me! I have also filed a complaint with BofA's regulator, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (800-613-6743). I would suggest all others being ripped off by BofA to complain by phone or at helpwithmybank website.
Reviewed Oct. 27, 2009
My home was appraised against comps two comps from my neighborhood, one being a foreclosure. The other three comps 50% of the comparison came from a less desirable neighborhood. There were several recent sales of significantly higher value in my neighborhood that were not included in the appraisal. The appraisal did not take into account any home upgrades ($30,000), which the appraisal was intentionally prepared to show my property at a below market value. I incurred a $400 charge for this appraisal and am seeking a refund. Greg mentioned not being able to get to all the refinance requests so he tries to close the easiest ones possible. Bank of America pays the appraiser $300 and keeps the rest charged. Bank of America consciously makes money on loans it does not intend to fund.
Reviewed Oct. 27, 2009
We applied to BOA for a mortgage loan on September 2. Before we went house hunting, we were pre-approved through them. Everything seemed smooth sailing until exactly five days before closing, they said because of a business deduction my husband took, the loan was going to be declined. Wow is all I could say. So, I asked if we could submit document from my husband's employer stating that this was no longer an expense. Tashma said yes and back to the underwriter it went. That was on a Monday. Then all of a sudden, questions I had couldn't get answered. We were given the runaround, not to mention we were to close in just 4 days. Tuesday came and I told them I needed to know if they could close the loan today by 4pm.
They called back and said they couldn't do it by then so I told them to withdraw the loan. We almost lost $475. Luckily, another bank that could close on the loan allowed us to use the appraisal from BOA. I was upset because even though we closed in 4 days, she never called and said we are still working on it. I almost always initiated the contact. It's funny because a broker and two real estate agents said BOA had a habit of not approving your loan and would tell you a few days before closing. I didn't listen. I read stories about how banks would tell the buyer at the last minute that they wouldn't be approved but we never thought it would be us.
Also, the very deduction that caused the loan to decline was noticed initially by Tashma, but because of her lack of experience, she didn't think it would be a big deal. I would not advise anyone to deal with BOA. You will be making a mistake. Talk with your loan officer. Ask of their experience so your time won't be wasted like ours. We will also be changing our checking and savings account to the bank that did get us approved.
Reviewed Oct. 27, 2009
On 5-15-09, I called Bank of America inquiring about refinancing. I was told by Brian ** that we were approved and in order to lock in at the current rate, I needed to put down $520.00 for the appraisal. So, I did and he said a loan specialist will get a hold of me. I got a package in the mail with papers that needed to be filled out and faxed back to Doris, the loan specialist. I had everything faxed back before the end of May. I hadn't heard back from anybody for at least 1 month. I called Doris several times and left messages. I then called and emailed Brian several times. Brian emailed me back and told me he would do what he could do to escalate our loan.
We were strung along by both of these people and on October 16th, we were told that they had to cancel our refinance because we were late a few times on our 3rd mortgage. They refused to give our appraisal money back. They are very difficult to work with and wouldn't recommend this company to anybody! Our current mortgage went up an extra $600.00 a month and we were financially strapped. Now Bank of America ripped off $520.00 from us and we can't seem to be able to do anything about it!
Reviewed Oct. 27, 2009
In August 2009, Bank of America took over my home loan from Taylor Bean after they went under. The takeover happened on August 9. I had always made my house payments on the 15th of the month. So what happened was that I could not make a payment by the 15th because no one knew who I was or what my account number was. I was told not to worry and that my payment would not be considered late due to the takeover and the time it would take to transport all of the files.
The first time I received a phone call from BOA, it was a debt collector. I was told that I was in default, even though the BOA representative I talked to said that I needed to wait until I got the welcome letter with my new account number (which had not yet arrived). BOA charges a fee to make payments online if you do so after the 1st of the month. So, I began using my credit union's bill-pay system. I entered the information and they sent a check for me from my checking account. Since this time, I have been called no less than half a dozen times by BOA debt collectors. My payment has never been late.
Reviewed Oct. 26, 2009
We bought our home, and Countrywide bought the mortgage. Anyway, all was fine. We, the owner, finance with Rob, who was paying Countrywide in our behalf. We moved and did give our new address to Countrywide. In June, my husband saw that the new owner got sick. Well, we paid for that month and thought all was fine. We received no notice from Countrywide stating the bills were not paid by the new OCC. We found out by checking our credit.
So, we contacted Countrywide and found out that Bank of America took over. We wanted to pay what was owed. We informed and asked why they didn't contact us about the new OCC and the delinquent amount. We got a notice that they charged attorney fees and blah, blah, which was almost $3000.00 more than what was really owed. This hurt our credit, since we couldn't come up with $6000.00 now. Since my husband is deployed, we are screwed. We lost the house and our credit is damaged, all because they couldn't let us know and the mistake that Countrywide didn't update our address like was requested.
Reviewed Oct. 26, 2009
My clients, Brian ** and Jacklin **, placed an offer on 3653 Tully Court, San Jose, CA. 95148 on June 24, 2009. The offer was placed with agent Pete ** at 408-568-5880 or 408-558-3600; fax# 408-559-5679. His correct email **. As I have noticed, his email is incorrect on the original offer. The owner of the property is David A **, Ln#**. We were given from Mr. ** the approval on the first mortgage dated September 28, 2009 with an expiration date of 10/28/2009, and was told that we would be receiving the approval on the second within 6 weeks. To date, we have not received the approval on the second. The expiration date is near approaching.
I realize the workload facing your industry and mind during these critical times. Mr. ** does not have an answer and I do not have authorization on this loan. Therefore, I had no alternative but to try and write you directly in hope of getting some resolve. As it is my fiduciary duty to my client, as the buyer's agent. Would you be so kind as to check into this matter? Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Reviewed Oct. 24, 2009
On August 31, I received a notice from BofA saying that I had to pay them $760.77 before September 1. I had been making my Taylor, Bean and Whitaker mortgage payments via ACH transfer every two weeks. Three payments were transferred in July, and two payments were transferred in August. So, on August 31 (when I received the BofA notice), both August and September payments were current. BofA does not recognize these payments and has required me to pay additional August and September payments to them. To me, this is extortion, since they threatened me with, among other things, foreclosure. BofA has two mortgage payments that were wrongfully collected, and I want my money back. There does not seem to be anyone at BofA who is in a position of responsibility in this matter.
Reviewed Oct. 23, 2009
Throughout the past 6 months, I have been receiving debt collection calls for the gentleman, a Mr. Michael, who had my cell phone number before it was assigned to me. The most egregious has been Bank of America Home Loans. I have told this company on numerous occasions that I am not the person they are looking for, to stop calling me, and remove me from their list. When I spoke to someone in August about it, he assured me that the request had been entered and the calls would stop within 30 days. That was about 2 months ago. I got another call today, and not only was the foreigner who handled it rude to me, but he couldn't guarantee the calls would stop. I've threatened criminal harassment charges. I have blocked their phone numbers on my cell phone account. I've been on the do-not-call list since I got the phone number more than a year ago. It has to stop!
Reviewed Oct. 23, 2009
I qualified for the HOPE Program of BofA. I called for 9 months once a week to stay in our home. They sent me a modification of $120 per month. I rejected it then I was told I qualified for a 40-year loan and the paperwork will be sent out on Wed. and to sign it and you are all done. Well today, I was told that I was never told this, "So you need to make your three payments or your house will go into foreclosure." This was today, 10/23/2009. The man at BofA is Mike ** at 1-805-520-5726. This man says yes or no on all loans. Ring his phone off the wall. Also, pull all your money out of all national banks and put it in a credit union. They are on a different regulation than the banks. Let's break the national banks.
Reviewed Oct. 23, 2009
We.org purchased our home through Countrywide. We had problems with them every month. No matter what they claimed, our monthly bill was different every time. We paid them hundreds of dollars, and every time, they stated the monthly would go back to normal range. But it was always a lie. Next thing we knew, Bank of America was our mortgage lender without notices or fair decision. Now, they are pulling the same stunt. They keep hiking the monthly fees up. This is unfair, and they should be in violation. They asked my wife what her check is monthly. Then next thing we know, the fees are now different. I would like the amount to stay the same. They are cheating us out of fair money and causing stress related to owning our home.
Reviewed Oct. 22, 2009
Thank you.
Reviewed Oct. 21, 2009
In 2001, my husband and I took out a home equity loan and paid it back in full on August 21, 2003. I have a letter stating that Bank of America received the payoff funds and that release documents would be mailed to the County Clerk's office. A recent title search shows that Bank of America still holds a lien against our property. There was never a release of lien or satisfaction of mortgage sent to our County Clerk's Office. This is now affecting a real estate purchase we are currently involved in. If this is not cleared up immediately, we are going to lose $3000 earnest money and lose land, which we were trying to purchase to retire to. I began contacting Bank of America through their customer service telephone numbers and got nowhere. I found a contact number on the internet for the president/CEO's office and have tried working with Noah. We are nearing our closing date, and nothing has happened!
Reviewed Oct. 21, 2009
My husband had gotten laid off from his job. We contacted our lender (BofA). We were not behind, and they said to wait until we've fallen behind. In January 2009, we contacted BofA again and applied for a loan modification. They said it would be 60-90 days before a decision would be made and not to make any payment. In March 2009, my husband had found employment. We received a FedEx package from our lender with documents that we need to sign and sent back. We had been approved for the loan modification and the new payment info. Our first payment was due April 2009, and we promptly sent the amount to BofA. Approximately one month later, we received a letter stating we had been denied the loan modification and with no explanation of why it was denied.
We again contacted our lender and were told that there was nothing they could do for us. But the monthly statements still came in, and we submitted payment in May 2009. And again, we submitted payment in June 2009. However, this time, our payment was sent back to us. We then contacted our lender to find out what happened. They stated that we needed to send them a certified check or money order. Then, we resubmitted the payment by money orders, and again, they were sent back.
I contacted our lender again, and they stated this time that it was not the full amount that was submitted. Our lenders asked for an updated financial status, and they needed it within 48 hours. I called the next day to ask a question about a tax form that was needed. I was told that they denied my financial info and there was nothing they could do to help us. We were told to do a short sale. We would like to save our home, but at this point, I think we are losing this fight. Our home is not in foreclosure, but I understand it is near. We did contact the HUD counseling agency and left a message to talk with a counselor. However, no one has contacted us.
Reviewed Oct. 21, 2009
I have also been working with Bank of America to get a loan modification after they took over Countrywide. I was denied the initial loan modification last November because of a lack of signature; that is because I am divorced and my ex-husband is no longer on the loan. I was asked to provide that divorce decree which I did to the fax number that was given to me. They again tried another modification and had me to not make another payment until April 1, 2009 at a reduced rate, only to later find out that the modification did not go through because of the lack of signature, even though I did fax the paperwork that they had asked of me.
I then called at least twice weekly and assured that they were trying to work on the loan. In the meantime, I am behind on my mortgage because I did what they told me to do. I am now in November and still no modification and the last that I was told I am no longer eligible even though my income is greater and my debt is decreased more than it was six months ago when I was told no problem getting a loan modification. I have been given reasons such as I did not give them the paperwork that they asked for; "you must have sent that to another department"; "I'm not sure what the person before told you but...", so on and so on. I am so frustrated with the whole process. I never received the same information twice. I did not want to lose my home, but feel that it may be the only option for me now.
Reviewed Oct. 21, 2009
I spoke with Tommy over the phone on August 24, 2009 about refinancing my existing loan that was initially financed by Countrywide in November 2005 and since has been taken over by Bank of America this year. I received the new finance terms, as agreed with Tommy on the 24th, and all paperwork to refinance at my residence on the 27th of August 2009. I mailed the entire refinance documents back to Tommy on the 28th of August and have not heard back from him since. Today's date is the 21st of October 2009.
I have received a letter from Bank of America last week stating the "Intent to Accelerate," a foreclosure proceeding on my property. Obviously to my surprise, this refinance was not supposed to proceed this way and all my emails, faxes, and direct mailings since my initial contact with/to Mr. Tommy have not been successful. I have been ignored by representatives of Bank of America, which took over my loan by Countrywide; and I am now, from letters received from Bank of America, proceeding into a foreclosure not of my making. A simple request on my behalf towards the bank on the 24th of August has turned into a nightmare!
I feel I have been grossly mishandled by representatives of Bank of America to the point of being ignored and have been processed by them as a foreclosure candidate. Please, if there is any help that this company can provide me with from a legal standpoint, please inform me or at least let me know what I can do about my situation now! I feel I have just been engulfed by a Bank of America "black hole."
Reviewed Oct. 21, 2009
My husband and I bought our home 2 1/2 years ago. The economy was strong, and my husband and I were financially stable. Our broker took us through Countrywide Home Loans for our mortgage. He promised us an interest rate, for which we agreed. However at closing, the interest rate was higher than we were told; but we were reassured that in 2 months, we would refinance and get the lower interest rate. Two months later, the economy reared its ugly head and our house was now depreciating in value. There's no refinance in sight.
But for 2 years, we made our payments religiously and were never late. Then came the worst day of our lives, May 5, 2009, when my husband lost his job. Our mortgage was too much, and we had to choose between food on the table or the roof over our head. Feeding our children was more important. My husband was denied unemployment from his company, and we were left with only my income. Being a nurse aide cannot support a family of 4 with a huge mortgage.
I called the bank 2 weeks after he lost his job. I was told they could not help me until I was delinquent. They could not refinance or modify, because my husband was unemployed. After 30 days of being late on our mortgage and my husband still desperately searching for a job, we put our house up for sale. I called the bank and told them the house was up for sale and I was sure it was going to be a short sale because of the slumping house values. They assured me that they would do everything possible to approve the short sale to avoid foreclosure.
One week after the house was on the market (July 14, 2009 to be exact), an offer came in - $25,000 below asking price - but we knew it probably wasn't much far off the appraised value. We accepted and sent it off to the bank, along with our "packet" that they requested. My realtor (god bless him) dealt with my bank for 3 months, constantly calling and refaxing my packet a million times because they "misplaced" something. The bank even sent another broker to my house for a BPO, only to misplace that somewhere and deny later that they ever even ordered one. My buyers, getting frustrated with every month that passed, backed out of the short sale and moved on to another property.
My husband, after being out of work nearly 4 months, accepted a job 8 hours from our current home. With $84.00 left in our checking, we had to pick up and move away. Not long after the buyers backed out, we received a letter from a lawyer stating we were behind the mortgage plus late fees, etc. I would like to know why this bank took 3 months dragging their feet on making a decision on our short sale and constantly "losing" our paperwork but was quick to point out how much we owe them (in detail, I might add) one week after the short sale fell through.
I called the Home Loan Servicing Department (the company that is supposed to help you retain your home) and tried to explain that all the bank had to do was take a $25,000 loss. But it wouldn't. And now, we have to start this process all over again. I was told that they never had any documentation of my short sale and "When you become 5 months behind on your mortgage, what do you expect to happen?" I replied that "Obviously with no help from your company or the bank, that foreclosure was your solution." He was so rude; he didn't care that my husband who had lost his job, had took a $20,000 a year pay cut, and that I was now trying to find a job in our new town. He's a very nasty man. He said he would make a note of the house still being up for sale and that was all he could do for me, unless I could come up with about $10,000 to bring my mortgage current.
If I had that kind of money, do you think I would be in this situation? I have become a statistic, one of the people that I would watch on the news 6 months ago and think, God, please don't ever put me in that position. I now realize why the house market has slumped and this economy is in one hell of a mess. Thank you to all the greedy people, the same ones who will benefit from all of these foreclosed homes. The programs and bailout money given to all these banks only made the rich richer and the poor poorer. It's capitalism at its finest.
Reviewed Oct. 21, 2009
Beginning in the first of August, our mortgage company went under and was sold to Bank of America. We noticed our monthly mortgage payment never posted to our account and was worried why that was. It always clears by the 7th of the month. We found out more than a week later it was sold to Bank of America. We contacted them for a week trying to find out what to do with our mortgage payment as we did not want to become in default or have any late charges to our account or posted to our credit history as we have worked so hard to clean it up. We were finally told to send our payment to an acquisition department where they would handle the payment. Our payment was cleared on the 24th or the 26th of August.
The next month's payment for September was just a week away so we needed to find out how to get enrolled in automatic withdrawal of the payment. We were informed that we had to sign a consent letter and would be mailed the information to have that set up. On the same phone call, the representative told us that the payment that was just cleared would be counted as September's payment and the previous month's payment would be considered an administrative month and we would not have to worry about that payment. It would be just extended one more month on our mortgage. We were completely fine with this and so we did not save our payment in our checking account of $690.19 that would have come out that pay period. We received a letter in the mail on September 2 showing that we were current on our payment and our payment stub to mail in for October's payment.
On September 8, we received another letter saying our automatic withdrawal payments were scheduled and included a list of payment dates. I immediately called Bank of America as the first payment withdrawal was going to occur on September 5, which was 3 days prior to receiving the letter. I was extremely upset as we did not have that money in our account and we also did not receive the authorization papers to be set up for automatic withdrawal of our mortgage payment. The representative, Jenna, tried to correct the problem that day. It took 3 days for us to receive our $690.19 back; however, because Bank of America got into our checking account and took that payment out of our checking account, it caused us to overdraw a total of 4 times of fees, totaling $156.
Because this was not our bank's error, our bank informed us that Bank of America is responsible for the repayment of these fees. We then called Bank of America back on September 10th and they informed us they needed the proof that they were the cause of us to overdraw. We faxed them our bank's summary and our checking account balance and then told us it would take up to 72 hours for them to process this payment. On September 15th, we called again as we have not heard anything back and we were told that their payment research department just received it on the 14th and it would take up to a week to know anything. The following week, we called back to be told it would take up to three weeks from the 14th. On October 5th, we called again and were informed it would take up to 30 days to be processed. We finally received a letter in the mail about the October 5th's conversation and said it would take another 20 days to process putting us at October 25th, a Sunday and almost two months since they got into our checking account and took money out without permission from us.
On Monday, October 19th, we received another letter in the mail from Bank of America informing us that they were going to increase our monthly payment by $17.56 because Federal Law allows them to add a cushion to our escrow payment for incidentals such as insurance going higher or taxes going higher, without our payments actually rising. What happens to that cushion at the end of the year if we do not need that cushion? We called and asked them the question and informed us they could not answer any questions concerning mortgages as their computers were down. We have absolutely had it with this company and want out.
Reviewed Oct. 21, 2009
On July 20, 2009, my husband and I closed on refinance of our mortgage for a lower interest rate. Later in August 2009, we received a letter in the mail stating that Bank of America now had our mortgage. The problem is that Taylor, Bean & Whitaker transferred our old mortgage account with the higher interest rate. Per a rep with Taylor, Bean & Whitaker, this account should have been coded as closed. When I asked a rep from Bank of America when they had taken over our mortgage, I was told August 25, 2009, a full month after our closing date, and when the original account should have been closed.
We are getting letters in the mail weekly from Bank of America stating "foreclosure." I have kept up to date on my payments per what our new mortgage account should be. I have been on the phone weekly with Bank of America to check if they have gotten our account straight and have even faxed paperwork from the lawyer's office with our refinance closing. I have also called HUD and spoke with a gentleman, who put and gave a number for another gentleman, whom I cannot get to return my calls.
We are also still getting billing statements from Taylor, Bean & Whitaker for the new mortgage with the new lower interest rate. I get mixed messages from everyone I talk to. Bank of America said I should be paying them (on an account that should be closed as of July 20, 2009), and Taylor, Bean & Whitaker said they still have our mortgage at the lower rate.
Long story short, I want this mess taken care of. I want to know who has my mortgage and whom to give my money to. I worked too hard to get my house to begin with, and I will not go down easily. I want to quit getting threatening letters in the mail. I am at my wit's end, and I am not sure if I need to seek legal counsel to help in straightening this matter up.
Reviewed Oct. 21, 2009
I called on July 1, 2009 and asked for help with reduction of our mortgage payments and current interest rate. I was told of a new program, "Obama's HOPE" program. I was told to send in a letter of hardship (notarized), a current itemized monthly budget, monthly income statement, and verification of income. I sent it via fax as recommended. They claimed it came to them too late (4th of July holiday weekend), so I sent it again. I have yet to receive any information, declined or approved. We have waited for their documents. However, we have never received anything through the mail. I mentioned our income had declined due to the economy from $125,000.00 a year to less than $26,000.00 so far in 2009. I begged them to help us. We had a perfect payment history and were never behind in our payments.
Reviewed Oct. 20, 2009
My husband and I live in Pioche, Nevada. We had refinanced our house about a year ago from Chase to Countrywide (right before Bank of America bought it). Our payment was set at $758.46 a month. Our interest was set at 5.750%. We had to pay a PMI also of $53.94 each month (which was included in the $758.46). My mother-in-law has the same mortgage company, and she noticed with her October payment that BofA was going to raise her payment. She told me to check mine. Our October bill stated that due to "projected" activity (our homeowners insurance, property taxes), we would have to pay $783.63 starting in November.
I got a printout from our court house on the tax billing and payment history, which stated that our property taxes for 2009 are $499.28. They also stated that our taxes one year prior were $485.87 (a difference of only $13.41). This is for the year, not monthly. I then checked with my insurance company (Allstate) to see if our rates had gone up. From 2007 to 2009, our rate went from $632.00 to $670.00, a difference of $48.00 jump in two years. This is also for a year, not monthly.
If Bank of America Home Loans (Countrywide) jumps our payments from $758.46 to $783.63 to cover their "projected" escrow account, they will receive roughly $300.00 from us for what amounts to only $63.00 for the year. And that is, if our taxes go up and our insurance rates go up, which from the respective companies I called, should not happen. What are they doing? My mother-in-law talked with them, and it was found that they were going to raise hers by about $60 a month. By the time she got it all straightened out, they dropped her monthly payments and owed her $200.
Reviewed Oct. 20, 2009
When they took over our home loan from Taylor, Bean and Whitaker, they said that we didn't pay the August payment; but we have. I even sent a copy showing that we have paid it. But the calls keep coming as well as the letters; they just don't care. They just want more money, and that is not right. And we're never late on any of our payments.
Reviewed Oct. 19, 2009
We tried to refinance our house, but our application was denied, which was fine with us. Our complaint is that why it took Bank of America 6 whole months to review and review our loan. We started the application process way back in April 2009. They kept asking us for documents that we had already faxed way back in June. In October, Ms. ** even asked if we were ready to close, and then the next day, she e-mailed us to tell us that our loan had been transferred to another loan processor. The new processor called and told us that our loan had been denied.
We understand it can take a bank a couple of months to process, but not 6 whole months and with promises that we were going to qualify. Our complaint is not the denial, but the length of time, the false promises, the unanswered phone calls, and the $400.00 they charged, when initially Mr. Juan from Bank of America here in San Antonio had told us there would be no fee and that if there were fees, they were going to be added to the loan. Bank of America withdrew the $400.00 from our checking account without our knowledge.
Reviewed Oct. 19, 2009
Long story short, my home has been on the market for sale for several months now and we have received two very good offers for a short sale. My original loan was with Countrywide, and now, it is in the hands of Bank of America. And what a nightmare! My realtor has submitted all of the required paperwork to BofA regarding our two short sale offers. The two BPOs have been done for months now. Everything is in order and ready to be processed. The problem is my self and my realtor call BofA every day of the week, and every time, we get told a different tale. We were told back in the beginning of June that a negotiator would be assigned in 10-14 days.
Finally a negotiator was assigned on 08-07-09. Nothing ever got done with our file. Then, another negotiator was assigned on 09-21-09, and still, nothing has been done we are still being told 10-14 days, 30 days all the way up to it could be 6 months. We were told on October 14 that the negotiator would have an update in 48 hours. I called this morning (October 19), and still, there's no update. They refused to let me speak to a supervisor once again. I find this to be extremely ridiculous and unacceptable
We have two very good offers submitted to them, and supposedly this has been escalated several times now, which we have come to find out means absolutely nothing. My realtor and I have both submitted letters to the CEO and the CFO of BofA. Of course, we have heard nothing from them either. We now have a potential foreclosure date set for Nov. 3rd. Every time that myself or my realtor call BofA we ask to speak to a supervisor, and every time, we were told that we are not allowed to talk to a supervisor. Okay, so the government has given BofA all this money for such purposes as ours, and absolutely, no one will contact us. We have emailed the negotiator 4 and 5 times per day, and we have still heard nothing! Thanks in advance for your assistance!
Reviewed Oct. 18, 2009
Last February 1, 2009, two people (Shamika and Lazaar) came into our home and advised us that they worked for Bank of America and were helping people expedite loan modifications. We had to pay $2500.00 upfront, as there were "millions of homeowners doing the same thing." And if we wanted our loan modification expedited, we would have to pay these "attorneys" representing Bank of America to get it done. That was 8.5 months ago. We repeatedly asked for the names of the attorneys and were told "There were a lot of them in the same office working on all the loan modifications" so it would be hard to provide any given name.
We eventually found out the $2500.00 went to a company called Foreclosure Shield USA. Owner is David Banks. Bottom line is we never got the house loan remodified and we are being told we need to be out by 11-10-09. We called BofA literally over a hundred times ourselves and asked what was taking so long as we were told the process would take 45 days (hence the reason for the $2500.00) and that since we were upside down $420,000.00 in the house, it would be appraised (which was at $300.00) by a BofA employee Shamika and our payment would go from $5300.00 monthly to $2300.00. This has not happened; instead, we are now being asked to blindly pay $3012.00 a month for 3 months to get this (Are you sitting down?), so we will be showing good faith and be showing we are responsible in making the payments!
Give me a break, BofA. What Countrywide and now you have done to us, hardworking Americans, is criminal; and you belong in Federal prison if you ask me. You are malingering on people's loans and asking us to blindly sign these good faith papers and start making payments on something we don't even know what the bottom line is. We don't know what the $3012.00 is going towards or how much, if any of the principal was knocked down...like we were told would be since the house was overinflated unbeknownst to us when we bought it.
When we bought the house, we were told one thing. The next thing you know, we are told we are $420,000.00 upside down in it. Would you stay? We've been lied to so much by this bank. And I can't believe the charming president is letting it go down. I thought he was for main street. Who is monitoring BofA? BofA now wants me to agree to a short sale on my home, so someone else can buy it for $300.00. No way! Why don't they just sell it back to me for the $300.00. They need the money, not the house. I need the house. Why pay on that extra money and hassle for a foreclosure when we would be willing to sign papers tomorrow if they were upfront.
They want us to blindly start paying $3012.00 a month for 3 months to show good faith. Then, they will send papers out to the house, explaining what kind of modification we received. We were actually told by a BofA employee over the phone that they weren't reducing any principal; they are tacking the delinquent payments on the tail end of the loan plus any late fees and adjusting the interest rate so it escalates over 5 years. Now our $300,000.00 has now become over $800,000.00. Are you kidding me? We were told to stop making payments in February, so they "could calculate the dollars and cents."
Now, we are almost 9 months delinquent. We're out $2500.00 that we will be filing a complaint with the attorney-general. Also, it ruined our credit (about which we were told our credit would not be affected while undergoing the modification. It's a huge lie there.) We owe over $420,000.00 on a house that appraises at just under $300,000.00 and can't even get legitimate papers signed by BofA.
The whole mortgage bailout thing placed taxpayers' dollars at risk and truly has not helped out anyone I know in our neighborhood. 1 out of 8 Americans is losing their home right now. BofA is the largest lender; Wells Fargo is second for homes. How did this help me? Did it help you? How about your neighbors? Where is the president's promise that he was going to keep Americans in their homes by making them affordable? I'll survive, but how do the CEOs of BofA and the other banks in predatory lending practices sleep at night. President Obama, open your eyes and really take a look at main street and make a difference, not just fancy lip service.
Reviewed Oct. 16, 2009
I have been with TBW for 1.5 year and never once been late. I logged into my TBW online account on 08-05-09 to make my payment to find it was shut off. They directed to a 1-800 number to make the payment, which we did. I called back on 08-10-09 to confirm it was received to find out that my loan had been transferred to BofA and that they would handle my loan. They gave me a new 1-800 number, so we called BofA. BofA did have the loan with a new loan number, but no August payment. They said it would be updated by the end of the month.
On 09-01-09, we called BofA and they still did not have the payment. I started to panic and went to my bank to get a copy of the draft, so I could prove the payment. BofA would not take my September payment, saying we were behind and had to go through the "home retention" department. On 09-08-09, we received our first notice of foreclosure. We called again, and they told us that was automated, not to worry, and to make our September payment. Since they let us make it, we did and faxed in a copy of our August payment. We have since received to this day (30 days later) 25 letters for foreclosure, and 2 people have come by my house to assess it for resale. Also, there were numerous calls.
I called weekly to see if my August payment has been put in the system, and they said no and that it could take up to 6 months but in the meantime, they are reporting me late and actually told me I was overreacting. They let me make my October payment finally on 10-15-09 to tell me again that I was 60 days behind. I had to explain my situation again, and they said to disregard the notices. I have faxed my August proof of payment to BofA four times, and they still don't have. They are also trying to force me into homeowners insurance, stating I do not have any; but they continue to take my escrow payments out. I am really scared, and BofA will do nothing to help. This is harassment, plain and simple!
Reviewed Oct. 16, 2009
I refinanced my mortgage with Bank of America. After 9 months, I was given a letter by BOA stating there was an escrow short fall of about $4,300. After speaking with many people, I was told that there was a clerical issue and they put the wrong amount for my property taxes. This was never flagged during processing, and went unnoticed. I then called the processing department in Jacksonville, FL and was told that they didn't make a mistake. They then blamed it on the closing attorney. In the end, Bank of America made a huge mistake and they should be held responsible for their mistakes. I now have to pay $4,300, and my mortgage payment has gone up by an additional $400 a month.
Reviewed Oct. 16, 2009
Our mortgage was originally held by Taylor, Bean and Whitaker. The FDIC apparently took over Taylor, Bean and Whitaker and gave the loan to Bank of America. My wife has contacted Bank of America on 15 occasions trying to make mortgage payments. Twice now, she set up electronic transfer with them and they have not used the complete account number so our credit union refused payment.
Today, I issued an electronic check for the balance and they told me there would be a late fee which I am not including and am not paying. This bank is way too large and very incapable of handling any more mortgage business. I personally got involved today because my wife is totally frustrated now with the process, and by the way, they told us they would report us to the credit bureau as being late as well. Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated. By the way, my credit union told me this is the ninth mortgage this week where they have had these problems. Thank you for your help.
Reviewed Oct. 16, 2009
This is in regards to a property that Bank of America took over from Countrywide Mortgage that has resulted in the property being sold and we have been attempting to get a short sale approved since March 9, 2009. It is now October 16, 2009 and we are not any closer to getting this accomplished as we were on March 9th, 2009 that I can see. I have 9 1/2 pages of notes showing all phone calls and paperwork sent to Bank of America trying to get this short sale approved.
One agent, Lynn **, in our office spent from March 9th until August 31, 2009 trying to get this approved. She sent all information to the negotiator, Vanessa **, as requested each time she requested additional information from the seller of the home. Once the negotiator had received everything which was the first part of June, she told Lynn that it had to go to committee for approval. From the 1st of June until August 30th, Lynn made repeated email requests to Vanessa requesting updates on where we stood with approval. Vanessa never got back to her.
On August 31st, I decided to take over the file since Lynn had moved out of the area we felt maybe I could get something accomplished. So, on August 31st, 2009, I emailed Vanessa and requested an update. At this same time, I sent an overnight packet with all the information to her along with a letter.
Beginning on September 1, 2009, I began making phone calls. At 9:10 am, I made 1st phone call to Vanessa ** inquiring what I needed to do to discuss Nosek short sale with her and whether she had received my overnight package. At 10:33 am, I made a call to Bank of America to Annette **. I asked her to call me back to see if I needed to contact someone else at Bank of America. At 10:38 am, I received confirmation from UPS that package to Vanessa ** was delivered.
On 9-2-09 at 3:00 pm, I made second phone call to Vanessa ** to discuss approval of short sale. I got an answering machine and left another message. At 3:05 pm, I called Annette **, Bank of America again and reached her voice mail. I left a detailed message of what I was calling about and asked her to please call me.
On 9-4-09, Annette finally called me back said I would need an authorization letter signed by Sonja ** for them to discuss the property with me. Same day, Sonja signed an authorization letter for myself, R. Scott **, listing and selling agent and Patty **, closing agent. I faxed it at 9:30 am to Bank of America at 805-520-5019. I called back Bank of America and was told it would take 2-3 days for it to be assigned a negotiator. I waited until 9/9/09 and called at 10:00 am. I was told that Sonya was 11 months behind on her payments and that supposedly property had gone into foreclosure. At this point, they transferred me to the Short Sale Dept. at 866-880-1232. They told me I needed to call back next Wednesday, September 16th, 2009. They said it takes 10 business days for authorization to be uploaded.
On 9-16-09, I called Bank of America and talked with Jennifer in the Short Sale Dept. We discussed what was needed for approval. She told me they needed 2 months most recent bank statements and 2 most recent pay stubs for Sonya. I reached Sonya and at 4:00 pm on 9-16-09, I faxed all additional information requested. On 9-18-09 at 3:00 pm, I called to check on and I spoke with Brian who told me that Fannie Mae takes longer, that negotiators do not take telephone calls that I would have to email Vanessa **. He suggested I call daily and said it would take 10 days for Vanessa to receive new information. I did email Vanessa but got no response.
On 9-21-09 at 1:00 pm, I emailed Vanessa **, negotiator, to see if I could get an update on whether she had gotten information faxed on 9-16-09. I did not receive response. On 9-22-09 at 4:15 pm, I called Bank of America and spoke with Erica to see where we stood. I was told that the file had been closed out with Vanessa ** and that a new negotiator would be assigned. Erica said for me to call back on Friday, September 25th to see if it had been assigned. On 9-25-09 at 9:00 am, I called Bank of America and spoke with Christopher. He told me that no updates have been posted and they are a little behind in their posting but that a negotiator had not been assigned yet. I left on vacation from 9-28-09 through 10-12-09.
Upon my return, Monday, October 13th, I called at 9:00 am and spoke with Jacquala of Bank of America. I was told that as of October 6, 2009, it was pending but a negotiator still needed to be assigned and that someone should be contacting us within 7-10 days to do an appraisal since it was a Fannie Mae loan. On 10-16-09 at 8:25 am, I talked with Nick at Bank of America. I asked why they needed another appraisal since one had just been done within last 6 months. He told me he would need to transfer me to the short sale dept. He attempted to transfer me and my call came back to him. He then asked me to hold while he attempted to send me through to them another way. He came back on the line and told me the company was having some issues and that he couldn't get me through to that department today. He took my name and number and told me he would get back to me first thing Monday, October 19th.
As of today, October 16th, 2009, this is where we are and I finally decided it was time to file a complaint on behalf of Sonja ** and the new buyer, Darlene **.
Reviewed Oct. 16, 2009
Like many others, my mortgage was transferred from Taylor, Bean and Whitaker to BofA. I received notice in early September. I have always paid my mortgage a month early, so my September payment was made to TB&W. When I called BofA to confirm that my account was still in good standing, they told me that they never received my September payment from TB&W. The rep told me that I could make the payment and continue to contact them to see if they received the payment from TB&W. I explained to the rep that I did not have an additional $1000 to give them. I offered to send proof of payment. My offer was rejected.
I contacted my bank, which sent all tracking and confirmation information to BofA. When I called to confirm, I was told that there was nothing that they could do about it. I have made my payment for November already. BofA is still showing that I am delinquent. They would rather coerce me into refinancing than to look at the documentation and credit my account. It has been 2 months since BofA took over. I spoke to a rep yesterday (Yes, I do call 3 times a week, because every time, someone tells me something different.) and was told to get my bank to refund the money. Why would my bank do that when the money has already been taken from my account? I am currently trying to sell the house. I would rather burn it to the ground than to continue to deal with the incompetence of Bank of America.
Reviewed Oct. 16, 2009
My husband and I are in the process of finalizing a loan modification with Bank of America. The loan was originated by Countrywide. We've received an offer of a 5-yr modification, which we accepted. The modification documents have been notarized and returned to Bank of America for processing. During this entire negotiation process, we have not missed a payment on either the 1st or 2nd mortgage. Today, I received notification from a credit alert agency that Bank of America has reported us late on our mortgage payment for September '09. We have a checking account with B of A so the payments are made directly from that account.
I spoke with Eileen, who is a Customer Service Representative (CSR) with B of A about the reporting error. She placed me on hold and later returned to inform me that they had received our payment; however, they are only applying part of the payment towards our mortgage and holding the remainder in an escrow account. Because their accounting system does not accept partial payment, they are showing a delinquency on our account and reporting this information to the credit reporting agencies.
I asked to speak with a supervisor and was transferred to Eric. After explaining my situation to Eric, he informed me that they would continue to only apply a partial amount towards my monthly payments until the processing of the loan modification paperwork was complete which would take approximately 30-60 days. I attempted to explain to Eric how this was adversely affecting our credit scores, to which he replied that is their process. I told Eric that they were providing false information to the credit reporting bureaus. I asked him if the only way we would be granted a loan modification was to miss our payments. His reply was, "you haven't missed a payment and you're being given a modification".
Is there something that can be done about this process? This is the 2nd incident in which B of A has misappropriated funds intended to pay our mortgage, then reported us late. These reported late payments have a negative effect on our credit card accounts (they usually get cancelled without recourse). If not cancelled, our credit limits are reduced to what is owed on the accounts, which again adversely affects our credit scores.
Reviewed Oct. 15, 2009
Bank of America will not deal with me or even a making home affordable rep to get me a modification or refinance on my loan. I do not know how much longer I can pay this mortgage.
Reviewed Oct. 15, 2009
I am experiencing a financial hardship. I lost my job in March, and am going through a difficult divorce. I have 2 minor children and an ailing father. I contacted the mortgage co. per a women's place to try and work something out. Raul took my financial information, after 1/2 hour of going through the information, abruptly said I do not qualify for any programs and would not tell me why. I requested in writing the result of their determination, but they have refused to answer. I tried making a payment today, Oct 15, as I have received unemployment benefits, and Bank of America will not allow me to make payment online, on the telephone, etc. Today is the last day before I incur an $80 late fee. I owe for Sept. & Oct. I'm trying to make Sept payment, but they will not accept it. I do not know what to do. Their refusal to accept payment is mind boggling. I have called a women's advocate lawyer. I am awaiting a return call.
Reviewed Oct. 15, 2009
I have been trying to purchase a house that Bank of America holds the mortgage to since June 2009. I have already been approved for the funds and have all of my i's dotted and t's crossed. My real estate agent is telling me since the bank isn't hurting for money, they have no incentive to sell the house. Since this was going to be my first home, I was eligible for the government tax credit. I thought that 5 months would be more than enough time for the bank to make a decision on selling the home. I am a firefighter with a very stable department and would have no problems with mortgage payments. It just makes me so angry that Bank of America received $56 billion from the government to help with the housing problem, yet I am still waiting after 5 months and I will not be able to take advantage of the government tax credit for first time home buyers because it takes at least 30 to 45 days to close and the tax credit ends Nov. 30th.
Reviewed Oct. 14, 2009
Recently, I did a refi with Taylor Bean to lower my payments and was approved, and had paid Taylor Bean for the month of September 2009. Now, Bank of America tells me that I am about to go into foreclosure. I have made over 50 calls to both Bank of America and Taylor Bean. I never get to speak to the same person. No one is willing to call or email about my situation. Now, I have two loans because Taylor Bean gave Bank of America the original loan and did not send them the payoff. They tell me to keep paying them (Taylor Bean) until they come out of bankruptcy court. In the meantime, Bank of America is threatening to put me out of my home!
Every day now, I have to spend hours on the phone with both Bank of America and Taylor Bean and everyone tells me not to worry. But what would you do if you got a letter telling you that you have 20 days to write to HUD asking if you can live in your own home while they foreclose, knowing that someone could stop this with one phone call or email?
Reviewed Oct. 10, 2009
I have been trying to get the Making Home Affordable help for my mortgage. I have never missed a payment in 15 years, but last year took a 50% pay cut due to my company outsourcing my job. I have been trying to get help since 2/09. I faxed in my financials several times, called, wrote and emailed every single week. I still get the runaround every time I call. This company apparently wants me to default on my loan because they certainly don't care. Their customer service department gives out incorrect and misleading info such as, go ahead and refinance, you will still be eligible to apply for the Making Home Affordable program (wrong), or your mortgage must be less than 31% of your income to qualify (wrong). These idiots have been rude, not helpful and clueless! I may lose my home because I can no longer keep up with these payments. I had great credit.
Reviewed Oct. 9, 2009
In March 2009, my mother-in-law got the bid on the house next door to us. We thought this would be perfect as we could help her take care of it. The owners had separated and up and left. Immediate possession was part of the deal. Wrong, Bank of America holds the loan. The realtor was in contact with them weekly from March to September trying to get BOA to get this through. BOA threatened the realtor several times about pulling the property and selling it which is exactly what BOA has now done, even though BOA has a purchase contract from the realtor.
The realtor has now hired an attorney to try and get BOA to sell as per the contract. And on top of this, I have learned that this is BOA's standard method of operation nationwide. BOA feels that the property could sell above the $136k sold price, regardless of a few costly repair issues. Thank God my mother-in-law did not sell her property back in March as BOA would have made her homeless and from what I have learned about BOA, they couldn't have cared less. I wouldn't do business with BOA, period.
Reviewed Oct. 8, 2009
I, like many others, had a home loan with Taylor, Bean & Whitaker. I had no problems, made all my payments, and was never late. Then I made August's payment, thought it was strange that I did not receive a payment coupon from them. On August 28, I received a payment coupon and a notice of assignment of my loan to Bank of America. I mailed them September's payment, and basically since they have taken over my loan, the nightmare has started. I only received notice 2 days before September's payment was due. They were now servicing my loan. As those of many others, September's payment was made to Bank of America; TB&W of course has my August payment, which no one at Bank of America could seem to find.
I also got collections calls from India and everywhere else. I also received nasty letters in the mail indicating that they don't have my August payment. After many weeks of fighting with Bank of America and talking to supervisors, they finally stopped the collection calls. I have called consistently for the last month and a 1/2 to find out where my August payment was if it was posted and all I got was a song and dance about them not having all of TB&W financial information, they have sent all payment records from that time frame, etc., etc. I was told the matter would be cleared by mid-September.
Now today is October 8. I'm told that hopefully by the end of year, they're working on it. I even went as far as getting a copy of the cash/cancelled check from TB&W which shows in black and white that they have my August payment. They cashed it, but Bank of America said that they have that information but couldn't post the payment to our account until TB&W got them all the information.
In my opinion, I don't think Bank of America is going to get it, especially since TB&W filed bankruptcy. Who knows my mission is nag and nag Bank of America until they do the right thing and post my payment. I am refinancing to get rid of them altogether as my lender. I think they are handling this situation poorly; they have poor customer service and will be glad to be rid of them. I will fight to the end to get my payment posted because that will be owed as money to me because that payment is not going to post till after the loan is paid off. If anyone out there is considering doing business with them, think long and hard.
Reviewed Oct. 8, 2009
My loan is being modified. I was told it was deferred and would not affect my credit. Recently, one of our credit cards was declined and another has its limit reduced. The company that declined the card sent us a letter stating TrustUnion gave them a poor credit rating recently, so they cancelled our account. To make matters worse, even though the loan is deferred, we continued making payments because we didn't want to hurt our credit. Bank of America accepted all our payments, but it reported us delinquent to the 3 major creditors. I have been trying for 3 days to get in touch with my loan negotiator Travis, but he will not call me back. I have already disputed this with the 3 major credit agencies. Is there anything else I can do? Any help would be appreciated.
Reviewed Oct. 7, 2009
My wife and I got pre-approved online because we wanted to have an approval letter on hand when we made an offer for a house. The pre-approval process was easy enough. I was then contacted by a BofA rep. He took all the basic info over the phone. My original intention was to get pre-approved online and then go to a local banking center. BofA sent me my mortgage application via FedEx without ever telling me that was the way that they do things. I was a little disturbed when I came home from work one day to find the application sitting outside my apartment door!
When I opened it, everything (like mine and my wife’s SSN's) was already filled out. So, I was a little un-nerved at that, but I was thankful nothing happened. I spoke with my "processor", Rose, then filled out the application and gathered the necessary documents. Rose and I had spoken on September 4 and by September 9, I had given BofA everything Rose told me I needed. She said it was going to be tight but that we could probably meet the closing date of September 18. The appraisal was done on September 9. The underwriter reviewed it on September 10 or 11 and said that the appraiser had listed that his appraisal was "subject to repairs".
I didn't know what was on the report because it wasn't given to me until September 29. So despite getting the repairs that the appraiser required fixed before the original close date, we missed our first close. Rose said on September 18 that we would be able to close on September 22 and that we need to get an addendum extending close for that date signed by the seller. We did so promptly. Then, the underwriter decided she wanted our personally attained inspection report, which BofA maintained is very standard.
I spoke with several realtors and another mortgage specialist that even with FHA requirements that this was virtually unheard of. I gave it to them reluctantly because it listed two or three repairs that I was planning on doing myself once we were in the house. Of course, they wanted the repairs made, so we got the sellers contractor to make the repairs. It is now October 7 and we still have not closed. The worst part of the whole experience has been not being able to get in contact with anyone, no one returning phone calls or emails, the incompetence of the processor and the slow response time of the underwriter. This by far has been the worst experience of my life! Use a local mortgage company to get your mortgage!
We have been living out of boxes since September 14 or 15 because we wanted to be prepared to move. We have had to cancel and re-schedule the moving truck several times. (They finally told us to just call 24 hours in advance.) We have been living in a state of dire stress because of the situation. We have also had to extend our lease at our apartment. Luckily, they had not got anyone lined up to move in or we would be out on the street!
Reviewed Oct. 7, 2009
I used to have my mortgage with Countrywide but it changed over to Bank of America. My homeowner's insurance was not included in my mortgage. I paid it separately. For a while, I had no income because of health issues so my homeowner's insurance had lapsed. I was recently declared disabled in July and was awarded SSI. My lawyer is still fighting to get me disability.
Right about the same time that I started receiving SSI, I got a letter from BOA saying that they noticed that my homeowner's insurance had lapsed and that if I did not get my own insurance by such and such date in September '09, that they were going to be putting their insurance on my bill every month which would cost $810 per year. I received this letter from them in July. I immediately called the insurance co. that I had with my car, since I have AARP, and set up the new homeowner's insurance with them, which was around $879 per year and it included Wind and Hail.
The insurance company sent me paperwork to sign, which I did, and I also called BOA, to tell them that I was sending them the paperwork for my new insurance and letting them know over the phone that I had it in place. While I was on the phone with BOA about this matter, I told them that I noticed that the figure that they quoted me, for the insurance that they would start charging me for if I did not get my own insurance, was cheaper than the new insurance I was calling them to let them know I was getting. They informed me that their insurance did not include Wind and Hail. So, I said, "forget it, since my new insurance does." Then, after everything was supposedly going okay, I got a call from my new insurance company saying, "Oops! We made a mistake! We do not cover you for Wind and Hail in your Area. So, the quote that we gave you is wrong and we do not cover Wind and Hail in your area at all."
So, here I go again, immediately looking for insurance. I ended up going back to the original Insurance agent that I used to have before my insurance had lapsed and she found me homeowner's insurance, including Wind and Hail for around $600. I was thrilled with that price. It was cheaper than all of them so, of course, I signed up. While sitting in the agent's office that day, she called BOA to make sure that everything was okay with the new insurance and she also faxed the paperwork to BOA. This was in the beginning of August, still within the time frame that BOA gave me to have my own insurance by a date in September. So now everything is okay, I thought. The next thing you know, I got a letter in the mail from BOA telling me that they were going to bill me $1803.97 for their own insurance that they were going to start billing me for because I had not gotten insurance yet!
I called BOA and talked to one of their insurance people. He looked up my account and told me that, "yes, I was correct, that I did have my own insurance." He apologized to me and told me he would take care of the error. Well, once again, just today I got yet another big important letter from BOA, telling me that they are billing me $1803.97 for their insurance. They were going to be tacking it onto my monthly mortgage bill. I called them immediately and I was on the phone for an hour and a half, being put on hold for long periods of time.
After talking to this guy, he informed me that they were going to be taking off the $1803.97 but still were going to bill me $88 for the two months of June and July that I did not have insurance! Omg! I was furious! I said to him, "what the heck are you talking about?" In their own letter that they sent me, it said that I had until September of '09 to get my own private insurance or in September, if I did not have my own private insurance, they were going to bill me for theirs. He kept insisting that they were still going to bill me for June and July, even though that is not what the letter says.
Finally, after yelling at this guy, after literally crying, because I was so frustrated, he told me, after putting me on hold again for a long time, that he spoke to his manager, and that BOA was going to be sending me a check for $88. Because, they are billing my mortgage splitting up the $88 for the next 12 months. So, because finally I guess they are saying they are doing me some big favor, they are going to send me a check for $88 to pay for this bill, that I should not be billed for to begin with. I asked him, "Why can't you just delete this bill from my account? If you are going to send me the check, then you are admitting that it is wrong to bill me this, so just delete it."
He told me that they can't for some unknown stupid reason. I cannot believe what BOA has been putting me through. I have been with them for many years and I also have a credit card with them. I plan on remortgaging my home in the upcoming months. When I do, I am getting rid of the credit card bill that I owe them and I am cancelling it. I will never do business again in my lifetime with BOA.
Also, I do not believe for one single second that they are going to be sending me that check for $88. I am giving it one week to see if this happens. It just seems like BOA, for some strange reason, just wants to bill me for things for no reason. Also, mind you, when I was with Countrywide, right before BOA took over, I had done a mortgage modification. I have been reading all kinds of things about BOA and these mortgage modifications that Countrywide did before BOA took over. It is scaring me. I just have a feeling that they are targeting me for this reason. Please, someone tell me what to do! I feel so insecure now with this criminal rip off company.
Reviewed Oct. 7, 2009
My husband and I had an FHA loan through Taylor Bean and Whitaker. We were never late on a payment. Our payment for August was taken directly out of our bank account. Bank of America is continually sending us late notices but when I called them about it, they said that we were fine and had up to 60 days for Taylor Bean and Whitaker to send them the payment. They are still sending us these late notices and are now reporting us as late. I don't know what to do. I don't know where our money is?! Bank of America should be more organized with former Taylor Bean and Whitaker customers. Their customer service is rude and they always say that they don't have any record of talking to us before.
Reviewed Oct. 6, 2009
My husband and I are trying to get help getting our house payment lowered. We’ve been in this house for 3 years and my husband’s hours were cut. Daycare is too expensive for 2 children so I can’t afford to go back to work especially when there isn’t much out there. Well around August 2009, we were late on our payment. We couldn’t pay it due to my husband’s hours being cut. We received a letter in the mail from Taylor Bean and Whitaker whom held our mortgage but sold our mortgage to Bank of America with no warning, no letter, and no nothing.
Two days after we sent in the paper work to get help from Taylor Bean and Whitaker, we received a letter saying that Bank of America has taken over our loan. My husband and I looked over the paper work and we aren’t happy. Our original balance was at $67,000 and we got a statement saying we owed $69,100 on the house. That’s $2,000.00 more than what we owed. They took our mortgage back to what we started out paying when we bought the house.
We called Bank of America and tried to ask for help with our mortgage payment because we just don’t have the money to pay it. The response we got was that I should get off my butt and get a job, or my husband should pick up a second and third job to pay for the house we purchased. I was very upset. My husband wasn’t very happy either. Well, on September 1st, 2009, I got a bill in the mail from Bank of America for $615 which was how much my payment was and it was due by the 8th of September.
Okay, then I got another bill on the 2nd of September, saying that the total due was $803.00 and that was my new payment and it was due in 6 days. September 3rd I got another bill from Bank of America saying that I owe $2,000.00 and that foreclosure proceedings will be taken if I do not pay it in 5 days. First of all, who has $4,000.00 just sitting around; second of all, what is up with all of the bills; third of all, why don’t they make up their minds on what it is they want; and 4th of all, didn’t they receive bailout money, so shouldn’t they be helping Americans. They are Bank of America! I am so fed up. I am trying to get help with the payment through local services.
It has put strain on my family and on my husband’s job. He keeps worrying about the house instead of focusing on the job and he could end up getting hurt. It was rude the way they talked to me and my husband like we weren’t people at all. We are considering filing bankruptcy just to keep our home. We had all this settled when we bought the house and now no one wants to help us. Bank of America refuses to help us! Why are they there just to try to take everyone’s homes? The value of my home dropped tremendously and it’s just not right that they think not helping customers save money, will make them more. What a bunch of scammers!
Reviewed Oct. 6, 2009
I started a refinance in June 2009. It took until middle of September to go through but the terms changed from what I agreed upon. They said that the branch computer calculated differently from their mortgage office. I decided to decline since they were not the agreed upon terms. I paid a $400 application fee that I requested to be refunded. This was 2-3 weeks ago. I only pulled out because the agreements were not what I signed off on originally.
Reviewed Oct. 5, 2009
On August 2, we begin the process for a refinance of a mortgage BOA had "inherited" from Countrywide. We had been receiving letter after letter from BOA telling us they wanted to refinance our mortgage "for a lower rate" and "get money for home improvements or whatever we needed!" We had some bills coming due and a few improvements we wanted to make to our home. David ** (BOA loan officer) indicated that it might take up to two months for the refinance but that "everything was going along very well," and our credit ratings are high, our condo appraised at higher than we thought, and our employment data was right on target. We continually called David to check on our refinance. Last Monday (9/28), we called David who indicated that we were "just waiting for a closing date."
On Friday, 10/2, I emailed Melody ** (the BOA employee who was compiling all of our data). Melody emailed us back and said that our loan had been denied and that she had told David ** that three weeks earlier. Of course, David denied ever receiving this information from Melody, two BOA employees each blaming each other. In the meantime, on the assurances of our loan officer that our loan had been approved and we were just waiting to close, we committed funds to various projects. Some of them we put on our credit card with the intention of paying it off once we closed. Some of these funds were committed after BOA had denied our loan, but before we had been notified.
I understand that the federal government had instituted guidelines earlier this year for condominium financing. One of the guidelines was that no more than 10% of a condo project should be owned by a single entity. Our condo is part of a 6-unit (three duplexes) project. One individual owns one of the duplexes (2 units). This fact would exclude us from Fannie Mae's guidelines. According to the guidelines, however, this recommendation could be waived. Bank of America would not waive that recommendation and thus, our loan was denied.
On the assurances of our loan officer, we committed funds (proceeds from the refinance) to various projects. Some of the commitments were put on our credit card (ironically, also Bank of America) which carries a high interest rate (since we were going to "close any day"). I did not think the interest rate would be that consequential. Unfortunately it will be. Some of the commitments came out of our savings account which we would have replenished since we were going to "close any day." We are currently looking at other venues to refinance our mortgage. We will then pay off the Bank of America mortgage, which I never wanted in the first place (it being a mortgage that BOA inherited when they bought out Countrywide).
Reviewed Oct. 5, 2009
I applied for a mortgage to purchase a home in Matawan, NJ. The purchase price is $422,500 and I was planning a deposit of $150,000 and finance the balance. My credit report score was 785 and my liquid assets are over $1,200,000. The communication from this mortgage person was poor and he has two other associates, Alon and Alex. They take turns calling for more information and signatures. We did the appraisal, survey, and home inspection with a closing date a week away I was told that the underwriters "did not like the loan". There were two or three "excuses", then a denial. Thanks a lot. Consequences: almost lost the house.
Reviewed Oct. 5, 2009
I had an online account with Countrywide that was taken over by Bank of America. One of the reasons for establishing the online account was to get a higher rate of return on my money. Recently, I called BofA to find out when the account transfer would be finalized. I spoke with a wonderful young lady who worked to make sure that I knew what was happening with my money.
She told me that although Countrywide only required $1,000 to avoid the service charge, BofA was requiring a balance on $5,000. In addition, BofA was moving my account to a money market account and they would send me a check card and checks. In addition, my rate was going to go from 1.37% to .9%. She then told me that if I decided to transfer my money out of the account before it reached the final destination at Bank of America, I would get charged a service charge by Bank of America because my balance was under $5,000.
When I finished talking with the young lady, I made a point of going back over what she had said with her. She kind of chuckled when I told her I was getting screwed. Her chuckle was one of agreement with me not laughing at my situation. For anyone out there that had a Countrywide online account that has been taken over by Bank of America, please take all your money out of BofA as soon as you confirm the switch.
Also, make sure you call them about the checks and the check card. Mine was supposed to be sent three weeks ago. I did not know this until I called them on 10/3/09 to find out if the change was finalized. That is when they told me the checks had been sent. I never got anything. There will be a decrease in my rate of return from 1.37% to .9% which will highly affect the rate of growth of my savings account.
Reviewed Oct. 3, 2009
When the interest rates went down, I applied for a refinance in May 2009. I actually have equity in my house and have a pension for the rest of my life. I wanted to cash out $5,000 - $7,000 for landscape repair. After doing the initial paperwork and appraisal, I didn't hear from BofA for months. Calls were answered with, "You have to wait as we're backed up."
Finally, after they kept transferring me to different people, they started asking for paperwork, etc. I sent in whatever they asked and they kept asking for proof that I live in my home. My daughter gets all my mail and does my finances as I have memory problems. I very definitely live in my own home with 2 dogs and 2 cats. They said they did not believe me and kept transferring my loan to different underwriters. I have proof that I live here and have never had any problem like this in the past. It's just a refinance for a lower interest rate, not a modification. It has been another month without any contact at all or any explanation.
Reviewed Oct. 3, 2009
I have been a Bank of America customer since 1991 and had always been a happy customer. Until I had to deal with what is now Bank of America's home loan division. This is the first time I feel that Bank of America failed me and I am ready to take my business elsewhere.
In March 2009, I received an offer from CountryWide Home Loans to refinance my mortgage. I called back and it took 2 weeks of missed calls, failed promises by the loan officer (Mr. **) to call on a certain day and at a certain time. But he finally called me and got me on my cell phone, not at the best of time for me. About 45 minutes later, having provided all kinds of information and totally exhausted, I asked to review terms and conditions in writing before I commit to the loan terms over the phone, but was told that I was supposed to receive all the paperwork later. Meanwhile, I had to give my credit card number and commit to a rate lock fee of $450 while on the phone; otherwise, CountryWide could not handle the transaction. With uneasy heart, I did what I was told to do.
Well, within days, I realized that I misunderstood the terms and was not really eligible for the terms of the loan. The issue is rather complex and has something to do with the definition of primary residence and my personal situation - as I lost my previous job and my new job is far away from my house. I immediately emailed Mr. ** and asked him to suspend all the activities on the loan. I also left a message for him but never heard back.
Instead, I was bombarded by phone calls from appraiser, loan processors, etc. After two months, I finally got Mr. **'s attention and was told that since it was my own misunderstanding of the terms, rate lock fee could not be refunded. Moreover, I was accused of providing false information to Mr. **. I requested to speak to his supervisor and was given contact information for Mr. **. I tried to contact Mr. ** in writing and over the phone but he has been ignoring me. I have never heard from him. I started sending daily reminders, but still no response.
I feel that not only I did not receive a level of customer service that I have been accustomed to over the years as a BofA customer, I was also insulted by Mr. ** who accused me of falsifying my work address and mailing address. I also not imagine how a request to speak to a supervisor can be so blatantly ignored. In addition, I believe that CountryWide Home Loans, despite all the previous criticism, is staying true to its well-known unfair practices. I did not receive enough consultation and had to commit to the terms over the phone, without any time to read and understand.
I am asking you to investigate the matter. I have and will provide all the necessary details and multiple documents that support my points. As a customer of BofA of 18 years, I feel betrayed by the business that I have been loyal to. I submitted my complaint on the BofA Web site, was given a message that I would be contacted in 48 hours, but I did not receive any response. BofA does not post any information about complaint line or it is just well concealed on their Web site.
Reviewed Oct. 3, 2009
We had a home loan with Taylor, Bean & Whitaker for almost three years. We were never late on a payment. For four days, we tried to pay our August payment online. It wouldn't let us, so we mailed it. Then, we get a notice that our loan is being taken over by Bank of America (whom we don't want) and so we were trying to get refinanced elsewhere. We find out that it's not only on our credit report that we missed a payment, but Bank America said we didn't pay our August payment. When we checked with our bank, our check has not gone through. Where is our check? Bank of America just said stop payment on it and write them another one.
Reviewed Sept. 30, 2009
The second week of July, I applied for refinancing my mortgage via Bank of America. On July 23rd, they withdrew $400 application fee from my debit card. I received a packet of papers the last week of July, dated July 24, with no contact information listed. The processor emailed me notifying me she didn't have a phone? I faxed and emailed as much information as possible to get the gears in motion. My daughter was getting married on October 10th and I wanted to get the lower interest rate and take cash out of the equity of my home. I was quoted 5.375% with a cash out figure of $23,000 to help me pay off all my debt and help my daughter with her wedding.
When I finally heard from Tunisia ** via email on August 4th, she had a phone number. She called me on August 5th. She told me that my debt ratio didn't allow a cash out of $23,000 but $11,000 would be the amount and that if anything was missing in my paperwork, she would let me know. I'd asked that on the cover sheet of the faxes I sent. Okay, I agreed to go forward. That would pay off my debt and I'd be able to put at least $5,000 towards the wedding. I asked for some paperwork that documented a cash out amount due me. Nothing was ever sent. She set my closing date for September 21st and I scheduled an appraisal. I had the appraisal and waited to hear from my processor to find out what was happening. She repeatedly told me the mortgage process had changed; this was why it was taking so long to complete the process.
On September 8th, I received an email stating she would call me on September 9th to review my loan and my closing. I called her on the 11th. She stated she needed about 15 more pages of documentation to continue. I called her back on September 11th. She was reviewing my fax and would get back to me. On September 16th, she said, after I called her again, that she needed more papers signed and faxed and my closing would be moved out to September 23rd. On September 17th, when I called, I was advised my loan was in audit review and my closing would be 9/23 at 6:30 pm and the cash out amount changed to $6,500, not even enough to pay off half my debt.
I canceled all arrangements I had for Wednesday, September 23rd and rushed home to take care of my dog before the person showed up with the papers and a check. At 7 pm, I started calling Bank of America. No answer, direct to voice mail. I left her three messages. At 8:30 pm, I called the direct mortgage number to try to get a warm body to answer a question or two and give me a phone number to reach a manager. The gentleman gave me the number of Harold **, VP-Support Processing. I got voice mail.
At 9:30, I got a call from Angela **. She didn't say her position but made me think she was a supervisor or manager. She told me Ms. ** had been let go the previous Friday, September 18th. She couldn't tell me why but said that she could expedite my mortgage and I could close as soon as October 2nd. I asked if she could verify the interest rate, cash out and the mortgage amount? She said the interest rate would be 5.375% and there was no cash coming to me. Oh, and my closing costs were going to run me $4,411. I freaked. She couldn't understand why I was upset. I'd just been told I would have $23K, then $11K then $6.5K and that I wouldn't have a mortgage payment until November 1st. I'd paid off two credit cards with my savings, knowing I would be getting a check on the 23rd. With no money coming to me and all my savings gone, my daughter's wedding was in jeopardy, at least, where she had booked and put down a large deposit.
Angela's advice to me was to open a Bank of America credit card to pay for the wedding. She said she'd call me before noon on September 25th. I got a call at 6:30 pm on September 25th. At this point, I realized, I was taking out a mortgage and paying $4411 to save less than $70 a month. Oh, the amount was almost $200 a month in savings with Ms. ** was absolutely ridiculous. I asked for my application fee to be returned to my debit account immediately. One of the reasons for the fee to be returned was: "The Bank cannot approve my loan application on the original terms I requested and I do not accept the alternative terms the Bank has offered me."
Ms. ** said,"Okay, your loan is denied and I'll submit the paperwork for a return to be processed." I requested that denial not be put anywhere on the paperwork and that I expected the $400 to be returned by the following work day.
So, today is September 30th. Last night, after 5 calls to BofA, I finally got a voice mail to my home phone - before I got home - telling me the return was processed and if I hadn't received it yet, I should check with my bank. I called my bank and there wasn't any money returned to my debit account. My bank told me to find out how the money was returned since they heard a check is usually cut and mailed, giving the bank a few more days to hold onto my money.
You probably think I'm a ranting mad woman, but had I known the bank would have messed my life up this bad, left me without any funds for a wedding 9 days away (because I thought it was a go), I could have held off paying my two creditors in full. The fact that no one called me to let me know of Ms. **'s departure and when I asked them what they were going to do to make things right, they told me it wasn't their fault she gave me the wrong figures and didn't do her job. Doesn't an employer have to take some responsibility for their employees when dealing with our money? I feel, as a citizen, we all own part of the banking system.
Reviewed Sept. 30, 2009
On 9/17/09, a double mortgage payment was taken out of my checking account. One was via phone payment and the other was from their Web site that booted me off before I finished entering information. I have spent an entire week trying to get the one payment reversed. I have talked to numerous people from many different physical locations (you can never talk to the same customer service people and ditto for their payment research people). At the end of the first week, I did talk to a manager of payment research. She assured me that she would make sure my account was corrected. I asked her for her phone and extension number as well as her boss' so in case I needed to follow up, I could call her. I even repeated the numbers back to her to make sure I had them correctly.
Of course, I had to follow up because my account had not been corrected and alas, no voice mail for her and the number she gave me for her boss' extension belonged to a different person who is not even in the payment research department! It is going on two weeks now. My account now shows the reversal of the overpayment but the same person who made that correction put in three more payments for September, October and November. I'm still trying to get them to get my account correct. My mortgage broker has called a rep who knows the inside of B of A. Hopefully, she can do something for me.
Reviewed Sept. 30, 2009
I had a mortgage through Taylor, Bean & Whitaker. On September, first, we received a letter from Bank of America that they bought our mortgage due to TBW going out of business. About two days later, we received a call from Bank of America's collection department stating that our account was past due for August and that we needed to make a double mortgage payment. I explained to the lady that I just received my bank statement and the mortgage payment cleared with Taylor Bean. She then stated, "That does not concern us. You need to pay the August payment to Bank of America."
I told her I couldn't afford it and that I would go to a branch and speak to a manager. My wife drove to Phoenix (approximately 2 hours from our home) to speak to a manager at a branch. Before she went in, she went to our bank and got copies of our checks that cleared and a bank statement showing that our mortgage went through.
She then went into the bank and the bank manager told her that "he would not speak to any Taylor, Bean & Whitaker mortgage holders!" My wife then asked him to just look at our documentation in which he refused to look at. He then stated that if we did not pay in full, they would start foreclosure on us. Then, to make things better, he escorted her out of the bank! What can we do? I know we aren't the only ones out there. We have several friends that are going through the exact same problems. I am disgusted at Bank of America! Did they forget that our tax dollars bailed them out? I am at a loss. Do we just hire a lawyer?
Reviewed Sept. 29, 2009
I cannot refinance my mortgage with BofA under the Home Affordable Refinance Program because the bank claims that I have PMI attached to the loan where the bank pays for it. The paperwork that I received at the closing date didn't make reference to any type of mortgage insurance and nothing was disclosed either prior to the closing date of after that. It was a No Fee Mortgage where the bank pays for all closing costs. Recently, I had sent a letter on 6/15 to the bank explaining my views and asking for some disclosures concerning my mortgage, but the 2 page documents that I received did not fully answer all my questions leaving behind some doubts about the validity of this mortgage.
Bank of America should be liable for not disclosing all LPMI resources and obligations under the terms of the Truth in Lending Act and the contract should be voided for failing to disclose this pertinent information about my mortgage which impacted with great harm my ability to refinance, reducing my monthly payments and interest, meeting my loan obligations, and jeopardizing my commitment to keep my house.
Reviewed Sept. 29, 2009
Bank of America closed our credit line due to decline in home value, then charged overdraft fees as result! We found out that our HELOC card was blocked when we tried to use it while on vacation on 8/23. Ideally, we would have appreciated a letter or call from our BofA mortgage broker to discuss rather than be embarrassed and inconvenienced at a retailer when we returned.
Our property was completed in 12/07 and appraised by BofA a year and a half ago for $840,000. Upon finding out our card was unusable, I visited the nearest BofA. I was told to call the HELOC Department via phone. A HELOC representative told us that our property value had decreased $354,000. Therefore, our HELOC was taken away. It's hard to believe our property value has decreased that much in less than a year and a half, plus without an actual walk through appraisal. The overall loan is $565k. Our broker and I have a hard time believing the house is worth $486k when data and the market comparisons state differently. Our property is a custom home on a private road, view and with all the amenities and features of a luxury home, including new landscaping and water features valued at over $8,000.
The HELOC agent told us they used software to determine the value of our home by pulling random properties in our area and comparing the value; while the letter from BofA says that you have specific data related to our property. This is completely contradictory to what I was told from the agent on the phone. Where is this specific data? As result of our HELOC being closed, which was tied to our checking for overdraft protection, BofA also charged us almost $200 in overdraft fees. If we would have known about the closure of the account via letter or phone, we would have not used the card.
Reviewed Sept. 29, 2009
Our mortgage was originally with Countrywide Financial. We refinanced with Countrywide prior to the housing collapse. Shortly thereafter, they were purchased by Bank of America. We have paid on our mortgage consistently for over 12 years, never missing a payment or being late. Unfortunately, my wife had a couple of medical situations that insurance did not cover completely. The first was a necessary hip replacement and a year later, a heart attack that necessitated a stint. Needless to say, she was unable to work while rehabilitating. We found it necessary to cash out two small 401Ks and I also borrowed monies from a life insurance policy in order to make mortgage payments. It was also necessary to use some credit cards to cover other expenses for the household and some of the costs of rehabilitation.
My wife attempted to speak with someone regarding a mortgage modification and was told we didn't qualify because we were not behind on payments. I then lost my job due to a store closure. I have worked in the automotive, RV and motorcycle service industry for 30 years so I don't have to say what the job market is like. We have since been working with a mortgage modification lawfirm and it has taken several months to put together a file and for them to obtain authorization to speak with Bank of America.
In the meantime, they have called repeatedly regarding payments and have even outsourced to another company to send a representative to my house on a Sunday afternoon in a 103-degree heat. I don't understand how a company that received millions of dollars in bailout monies and then granted authorization from the federal government to purchase another company can be so insensitive to the needs of their customers. I have also seen and heard of many more issues from consumers and long time customers of Bank of America regarding their lack of concern.
Reviewed Sept. 27, 2009
I am so frustrated and fed up with BOA. I applied for a refinance loan back in May; I was told then that they have up to 120 days to go to closing. No problem, I understood that a lot of folks are taking advantage of lower rates and that they are backed up. I paid my $400.00 processing fee and submitted all my paperwork on time. By September, I received a letter stating my loan was "approved" and we can close on the 18th of September.
On the 17th of September, a Thursday, Ms. ** calls and tells me that we can't close on the 18th (Friday) because they just received verification of my employment. So now, we can close that Monday, the 21st. The reason why they requested for a verification only after four months is beyond me, but nevertheless, two more days after this long, no problem. Again, Ms. ** calls on Friday, the 18th, and tells me that we can't close that Monday, the 21st, because my "credit report" has expired and I have to apply again. So now, it means that if I want the loan, I would have to wait again and possibly pay another $400 fee. To top it off, BOA sends me a letter saying that if I am unable to close by the 9th of October according to some new title and appraisal product, "requirements may result in a higher cost to close."
They have lost their minds if they think that I will give them another dime just so they can send me through all this again and do the same thing in the end. BOA is collecting these fees knowing that they have no intentions of loaning if they can help it. I don't know if what they did is legal, but I know for sure that it's not fair. This practice really needs to be investigated.
Reviewed Sept. 27, 2009
I paid my August mortgage payment directly from my bank to Taylor Bean via electronic payment. I was later informed that Bank of America had taken over my loan due to shut down. I started getting collection calls from BOA via India. I finally told them to cease all phone calls since I already made my mortgage payment. They continued to contact me and finally spoke with a supervisor last week who said that they would put a mark in my file not to contact me.
I am also getting letters in the mail regarding my delinquency. When you go on the website, it prompts me to answer when I will be making my mortgage payment due to the lateness. They want a "promise to pay." It also indicates that this is "for debt collection." I keep telling them I made my payment and do they want proof of the payment. They keep telling me they don't want proof and are hoping to get the money from Taylor Bean.
They mark in my file the date I told them I made my payment. I was also informed I have 60 days from the day they got my mortgage (August 25) not to report me to the Credit Bureau. Why does Bank of America continue to harass Taylor Bean customers who made their payments in August and September? There should be a separate area set for only Taylor Bean customers where we do not get calls from India. The executives who sit at their desks don't care about the average person who has never been late in a mortgage payment. Someone needs to step in and help Taylor Bean customers.
Reviewed Sept. 27, 2009
I am trying to short sale my home with Bank of America. I have a home equity line of credit and they are being completely unreasonable. They have all my financial information, but they will not negotiate any of the terms until 6 weeks after the closing of my home. At that point, I will be stuck with any terms they come up with. I think this is unreasonable because BOA has all my financial information and would not approve my home sale if I did not have the inability to pay back the loans. This is the only thing I get from BOA.
The recovery department would contact Ms. ** about 6 weeks after closing. After review of her hardship, and financials, they may require promissory note at 0% for the difference on balance of 2nd mtg. If she cannot afford to do a promissory note, a 1099-C would be sent to IRS as taxable income. There will be no changes to the 2nd letter. If she fails to sign both letters, short sale will be denied.
I think it is unreasonable to not tell me what I will be required to pay before the home sale is complete. Consequences: credit damage, perhaps bankruptcy and the inability to know what the requirements of repayment are going to be. They may have unreasonable terms I cannot possibly afford. Additionally, they have all the financial information available to make their decision now instead of in 6 weeks.
Reviewed Sept. 26, 2009
I have been trying to contact Countrywide/Bank of America about a mortgage modification since March 2009. I have written their customer service department through their website, and the people writing to me refuse to supply me with a name or phone number, so I never know who I am writing to. There is an extensive paper trial of all my emails and replies from Bank of America, and they have done nothing more than apologize for my experience. I have asked them for a supervisor to speak to, but I never get one or even a name of the person writing to me on their emails. They have repeatedly told me to call one of the toll-free phone tree hell numbers.
I must have called 5 different toll-free numbers, have talked to reps from India who I couldn't understand, have suffered through disconnects after waiting for hours, and endless rounds of phone tree hell. I faxed in my paperwork as suggested but they have never acknowledged receipt of the paperwork, even though it contains my tax returns and other sensitive data. I have no idea who that fax actually went to. This is consumer torture. After calling and emailing for 6 months, on Sept. 11, 2009, I finally got a representative, Maverick **, who told me I qualified for the trial modification program and that I could make three reduced payments, and then maybe I would get a modification package. He said my credit score could take a hit because of the reduced payments. How can that be if this is what the bank has agreed to?
I called back on Sept. 14, and got a different person, and was told that I did qualify for reduced payments, which I should start with my October payment. After 2 weeks, I still have not received any paperwork or verification from them about this trial modification. So, I called again on Friday, and spoke to someone who said not to make the trial payments until I received a letter from the bank stating that I was in the trial program. They have my life in their hands with their control over my financial and physical destiny. They took my money with one of their bad loan products, the 5/1 Adjustable rate mortgage.
I have been trying since 2008 to get one customer service representative. They don't care, or are too incompetent to do anything but take our money. Are not banks subject to state regulations about codes of conduct and ethics for mortgage companies? After we signed the mortgage papers, we are done for. They forgot to tell us that we would never be able to have one bank representative take our case. They didn't tell us we would have to speak to a customer service rep from India, and they didn't tell me that I would get phone-tree hell every time I called! Calling this bank takes hours and one must not work outside the home, or you won't have time to make your phone calls.
I would like to see this bank sanctioned and fined because of not providing service to their good customers, like me, with a good credit score and not in default of my mortgage. There is no excuse for this shabby treatment of customers. I would have never gotten a mortgage through this company knowing that I would be in for this kind of service. Their advertising is false and deceptive. I have been asking for one person to help me through the loan modification process, but I have been unable to get one person.
I want one person to act as my loan representative and want to be able to call that person and workout the modification details. I would like this person's name, phone, and email address. This is absolutely the worst bank customer service that I have ever experienced! What are they doing with my tax money that they used for their bailouts? They give their CEO's and executives bonuses for what? How can anyone at this institution get a bonus with this kind of service?
Reviewed Sept. 26, 2009
I have a home loan that is part of the re-modification loan process and now they have filed in district court to foreclose on my home. I have worked with them everyday faxing them papers and filing out forms and still they do this to me. My mother left me this house when she died. I made payments on time for three year with Coldwell Bank and because of probate court, I had to refinance the house. My loan was sold to Countrywide Home Loan.
One of their employees sold my personal information to who knows who. I have a letter from them stating this. I was working with Countrywide when the Bank of America took over the Countrywide Bank. I started working with the Bank of America. I talk with them weekly and I thought things were going well. Then, I was served with paper that were filed in district court that says that they are foreclosing. I don't understand what is going on. This is my home and I take care of my daughter and her three-year old. What happened to them working with people like the President said, Bank Of America?
Reviewed Sept. 25, 2009
Has anyone had the displeasure of the Taylor, Bean & Whitaker mortgage takeover by BOA? Well, all I can say is that BOA are freaking retards. They purchased all mortgages from Taylor Bean, they say it was in a bankruptcy sale, and they don't have the records of the updated sale yet. I paid my August mortgage loan payment to Taylor Bean, provided BOA the information three times and these ** at BOA keep calling and harassing me for being late. I am not late.
They then finally read the note and realized that I have torn someone's face off on about four occasions for calling me and stressing me out about my mortgage. So, to make a long story short, BOA doesn't know its ** from a hole in the ground. They are trying to get people to make double payments on a mortgage they already have made timely payments on, and will most likely screw everyone's credit over - that were Taylor Bean customers.
I hate BOA. I hate them with a passion. I used to be a customer of BOA years ago and the way their system is set up is to screw the customer and profit from bogus fees and overdrafts that their system is set up to create. I would rather get hit by a bus than be stuck with BOA holding my mortgage.
Reviewed Sept. 23, 2009
Back in January of 2009, I received a letter from BOA stating my mortgage was behind when my statements were showing I was current. When I called the customer service rep, they treated me like a loser and told me I have been behind since June of 2008. I said that is not possible. I talked to another rep the following day and asked for them to send me my account history. She told me I have been behind since '07, and that she would send me my history.
Five days later, still not receiving my history, I called a supervisor stating that I have not received my history that I need it today so if I am behind, I need to send 2 payments in today so I am not charged late fees for another month. I was told yet a different story that I have been behind since February ‘06. When I compared my BOA history with my bank statements I see that in January ’06, I sent in a payment at the beginning of the month and then another at the end of the month to pay for February of ‘06. They didn’t apply that payment to my February payment which posted on January 28th and applied it to principal which I no way told them to do.
So from 06-09, I accrued a lot of late charges and wasn’t notified until January of 2009. I was assured many of times that this would be resolved and they sent me a letter apologizing and would correct my credit report. Then while all this was going on, I received my annual escrow account disclosure for my 1st mtg stating I need to send them $164.15 for my shortage. Okay, so I did that. Now here in September, I receive my annual escrow account disclosure stating I need to send them $201 for my escrow shortage. My homeowners and taxes only went up $100 this year. The customer service representative stated that they changed their dates for their annual escrow checkups and so that is why I received 2 in one year. He was rude and there was no way that BOA messed up once again, that this is my fault and I need to take care of it.
After hanging up on him because obviously I wasn’t getting anywhere, I pulled out my 1 inch stack of papers from earlier this year and my bank statements since Feb ‘09 and guess what. Yet again, they posted my escrow payment of $164.15 to late charges which was supposed to be corrected and removed from their 1st mistake. The rep told me that she would make sure that it is corrected and yet again remove all late fees.
Now again, my statements show no late fee balance and my payment due is the amount that they stated it would be after I paid that $164.15. How is this possible that their statements show one thing and yet I get letters from them stating something totally different? I have spent hours upon hours fixing their mistakes. They mentally exhaust me and I am sick to my stomach worrying about my credit, worrying about losing my house and besides losing time with my kids, trying to show them their mistakes. Not only that, they reported this to 2 out of the 3 credit reporting companies. I am a single mom that just got my hours cut because of our economy and I am getting letters stating my mortgage is going up $200 a month? I hate Bank of America!
Reviewed Sept. 23, 2009
We tried to get our mortgage re-modified. They worked out this plan to make five payments. Then they worked on changing our mortgage. It started out good. But then B of A sent us back our July payment. I called B of A. I was told to "Western Union" the payment. They sent payment back because it was not certified funds; it was my personal check. I "Western Union" the payment that very day. I "Western Union" the August payment like I was told to do. They denied both payments and now they are carrying through with the foreclosure. It's funny that this is a VA loan and guaranteed.
Why would they help us if my land tax and the value of the loan has dropped by more than $50,000? B of A would still get the original loan amount. They would not have to take a loss on this loan. So what to them, if they uproot a family and kick them to the streets? As long as they get the God ole might dollar. So, run people, don't do business with B of A. They will tell you lie after lie. This has been happening since 2008 for over a year now. I'm told we are working on it. Yeah, they were working on getting our home. I hope they can sleep at night. I know we are not the only ones who are having trouble. I just pray that it all works out for everybody who has some terrible story to tell. Thank you.
Reviewed Sept. 22, 2009
We purchased our home in 2000. We refinanced it a couple of years later and signed up with Countrywide. In all the years we were with them, whenever we had a glitch in our lives, they were always extremely helpful and understanding with our circumstances and they always helped us. When we learned that Countrywide was in trouble and that Bank of America was taking over our mortgage, we were very concerned. We had heard about some of the negative things that Countrywide did but we had heard many more bad things about Bank of America so we were slightly concerned.
Well, wouldn't you know it? Unfortunately our intuition was right on the money. In the short 6 months they have been in charge of our mortgage, we've had 4 major problems with them and have spent so much time on the phone with them trying to straighten things out. Even when they acknowledge their own mistakes, they offer no apology, just more grief. In one of my more recent conversations with the customer service person in India, after they had acknowledged, which was rare, their mistake and said sorry, then they tried to hit us with a fee. I couldn't believe it.
These people clearly don't care about their customers and I have told many people my story. If you're thinking of buying a home and want to sleep knowing you financed your home with good people, don't finance with these guys. You'll probably sleep better!
Reviewed Sept. 22, 2009
Starting the first week of September, we began receiving phone calls from a collection agency for Bank of America. On calling the number, 18006696654, we talked with the agent and we were informed that we were late in our payments. We informed them that they were incorrect and that we had made all payments, if they would please stop calling.
Background info: BofA bought our loan from another lender the first week of August. BofA did not inform us that we should send checks to them until late August and we sent them our September payment. Of course, we had sent our August payment to the previous owner of the loan. Both checks cleared in a timely manner, well before the grace period was reached.
We continued to receive phone calls, almost daily, and usually after business hours so that we could not talk to a person. I was finally able to get a person and requested that I be transferred to a management. I talked with Jerome on 9/16. BofA continues to accuse us of missing our August payment. After 15+ minutes of listening to this supposed manager talk in circles, I was able to get the phone calls to cease, for 10 days. This period will end on 9/25 but BofA continues to tell me that we are in arrears. They refuse to acknowledge that we made our August payment to Taylor Whitaker and Bean, and demand that we send them a check to clear our account.
On 9/19, I received a letter dated 9/8 stating that if we do not clear our account, they will foreclose our account. I was able to contact them on the 20th and talked with Michael. I informed him that I do not understand how a company can foreclose an account on someone that has made every payment, on time, I might add, due to what appears to me to be poor record keeping on their end. Again, I have proof that we have made every payment and they refuse to even make a record of said proof. They do not offer a fax number or email address that we could send them proof. They just demand more money from me.
Haven't they already taken enough of my tax dollars in bail out money? They seem to care more for their overpaid executives than they do for the client that pays their salaries.
Reviewed Sept. 21, 2009
Bank of America made a deal with me to fix my credit and deed which they determined was their error. Upon payment, my credit was not fixed and my deed is still not under my name. My insurance check is still with them and they have even failed to pay that. I stopped paying monthly charges since they would not heed to my repeated requests. Even now, they will not refinance my loan under President Obama's plan citing loan difficulties. I need help desperately.
Reviewed Sept. 21, 2009
Sept 2009. I have bank statements that show the exact amount of the home loan payment for each month from March 2009 forward. I am being harassed daily, even last night, Sunday evening(!) at my home(!) by Bank of America for no reason. BofA does not even know why they are harassing me. Ignorance of BofA is incomprehensible!
It is a 15+ yr Countrywide home loan, no problems. BofA took over Countrywide. As of March 2009, Countrywide billed by invoice, as usual each month. House payment was paid to Countrywide, no problems. BofA took over in April 2009. Since April 2009, I have been harassed, people at my front door, letters, notices posted on my house.
Last night, Sunday night, a girl was outside my house, taking pictures of it. I went outside and asked what she was doing. She said Bank of America sent her. I inquired for what reason? She wouldn't say. She later admitted she is employed by Titanium. I inquired, "What does that company do?" She said, "BofA sends us out when they do not want to go out, like on a Sunday." I asked if she is with a contractor, she said yes. She still could not tell me why she was invading my home on a Sunday night.
She got BofA on the phone. Go figure, a telephone # that answers on a Sunday night? The Indian speaking person said, "You are behind 5 payments for Aug. and Sept. 2009." I asked, "how so?" Mind you, we are in Sept., He said that I owe Aug & Sept., but owe for five months? This harassment has been ongoing for six (6) months straight. My neighbors have complained that there are people posting envelopes on my door when I am not home.
What the ** is going on with these inept ignorant people? The girl shows up and does not even know why she is at my house on Sunday night? This is abuse from Bank of America. My Sept payment was paid 1.5 weeks ago. I do not owe anything to BofA until the house payment is due for October 2009. Someone needs to stop these abusers. BofA will not return my calls, only floods me with letters, notices, deliveries, for me to do a modification. I am employed, pay my bills and have no delinquencies. Why the abuse?
Reviewed Sept. 21, 2009
They won't answer emails, letters, phone calls, sent bad check too, Safeco insurance (my home owners ins.), kept $4700 of escrow money owed me, etc., etc., etc. Please advise. Sue? What is my recourse?
Reviewed Sept. 18, 2009
We have our mortgage through Bank of America, and not by choice. BOA bought our mortgage from Countrywide. We pay our monthly mortgage payment from two separate checking accounts. It is hard to believe that you can only pay your BOA mortgage from one checking account online. Because of this, we are forced to mail our two checks. Since our mortgage was transferred, it has been nothing but issues every single month. I've spent hundreds or cells phone minutes and hours from work trying because every month the claim that they have lost our checks. Usually after 6 or so phone calls, the checks magically appear. We argue that we are not paying a late fee, and we eventually win the horrible, drawn-out battle.
Two months ago, I started adding delivery confirmation to the package in which our checks are sent. It hasn’t helped. This month, they said again that the package never arrived. We had to track down the courier service that brought the package from the post office to the BOA processing center. It was a horrible, laborious exercise. I had a BOA rep tell me that even if the package did get delivered, they can't be sure that we sent the checks in the package! What else would I send them! I asked the rep. how long does it take them to process the payment after a package is received. He said same day. So, I assumed that the checks are lost. I told them that I would be putting a stop payment order on the checks and would call in the payment the next day. (He said he would waive the $20 pay by phone fee.) The next day, I called my bank (not BOA, thank goodness) to put a stop order on the check and I found out that the check cleared that morning! Magically the package and the checks appeared.
If they did in fact lose the checks, we were told that we would have to pay the late fee and would have to pay to have a stop payment put on the two checks ($35 each check). The rep said that the chances of us getting that money back are slim to none because it goes though corporate. Thank goodness they realized they were messing with the wrong person and finally cashed the checks. We know that they held the checks just to get us to pay the late fee. A warning to all, do not bank with BOA. Do whatever you can not to have your mortgage though BOA. If you unfortunately do, make your payments online if you can. And finally, if you do have to mail it, be sure to pay the extra for delivery confirmation.
They cannot be trusted. Oh! I forgot the best part of the story. Since our mortgage used to be with Countrywide, I have to call BOA and then get a special # to call someone to discuss our account. So, on Tuesday, I called and got the phone #. I called the # that I was given and it was a dirty sex line! I was horrified. I called the number again to be sure that I punched it in right and I got the same thing. So, I called back and said that I was given the wrong phone #. The BOA rep apologized and gave me another number to call.
So, I called that number and it was a dead line! I called BOA back again. I told them that they need to send out a memo so that BOA operators stop giving out incorrect phone numbers to customers. She said no and tried to give me another phone number! I asked for a supervisor. I waited for 16 minutes. Finally, a woman answered the phone. She was not a supervisor. She was just another phone rep. If I could have my mortgage transferred without refinancing, I would. It sickens me that such a crappy company was given government tax dollars. They are a very, very poorly run company and it’s a shame that they are still in business.
Reviewed Sept. 17, 2009
On March 15, 2009, I made an offer on a short sale property. 75 days later, the listing agent emailed Bank of America (who held the property) that the process was taking a long time as they had gotten the property finally released from bankruptcy in June 2009 and we wanted to proceed with negotiations. BofA negotiated a price for the property, and I accepted the price. I signed the agreement of sale, and BofA accepted the agreement of sale.
In late August 2009, I was informed that the short sale agreement would expire on 8/31. We were still in the process of completing the mortgage approval process, so we were able to get an extension from BofA. Ultimately, we agreed to close on the property on 9/15. When we got to the closing table, the title company was informed by the bankruptcy court that the property being sold was part of their assets and had not been released for sale. Bank of America had had supposedly had the property released from bankruptcy 3-4 months ago. They (BofA) have insisted that the property falls under their jurisdiction to sell.
They are now going through the motions to approve whether to petition to get the property release from bankruptcy. They are unable to give any time frame. They have had this non-performing asset on their books for over a year and had a serious buyer in the waiting for 7 months. Meanwhile, they have failed to do their due diligence to sell the property.
Reviewed Sept. 16, 2009
In July, I contacted BofA that my payment would be made by the end of the month and would include the late fee. "No problem," they said. After the 16th, they called constantly every 2 hours and hanging up. I called the number back, and it said it's a debt collection call. I was furious, and I gave the rep a piece of my mind. I told him I had never been treated this way by any mortgage company that I had ever done business with.
On September 14, they called with their automated message telling me they are a debt collection agency and when I would be making my payment. I sent them an email letting them know that it wasn't even due until the 16th and to quit harassing me with the phone calls. I told them I haven't missed a payment yet, and Lord willing, I don't intend to. If I'm 45-60 days late and you don't hear from me, start worrying. Today, the 16th, I got a call at work wanting to know when I'm going to make my payment. I gave her another piece of my mind. I am currently looking for another mortgage company that truly wants my business and won't call me when I'm 20 minutes late with my payment. Don't waste your time with Bank of America!
Reviewed Sept. 16, 2009
In April 2009, I began a refinancing process with Bank of America (formerly Countrywide) and have yet to close the loan. In the course of action, I have repeatedly faxed unnecessary documents to BofA. A Verification of Employment (VOE) was presented to BofA, but nine days later, I was asked to resubmit another VOE because it had expired.
Another prolonging procedure I encountered with BOA is their failure to collectively send all required documentation for signatures. Instead, I received individual emails from BofA in an attempt to lengthen the process. If BofA had informed me it would take 5 months or longer to process, I would have definitely chosen another lender. However, a BofA representative assured me the loan would close in 30 to 90 days. After becoming frustrated, I decided to do some extensive research on BofA and discovered an alarming trend. Many BofA customers also experienced the same delaying process. This appears to be an unethical and misleading practice.
Reviewed Sept. 15, 2009
This is a complaint about BofA's insane lending practices. I presently have a $75,000 1st TD, which I was going to increase to $90,000 (The 1st is with BofA.) to pay some credit cards. BofA denied the loan despite the fact that:
2. My income is more than $100,000 per year.
3. I have approximately $400,000 in equity in my home.
4. The loan would actually decrease my payments.
5. My existing payments to BofA have never been late.
6. I received underwriting approval of the loan from BofA.
What was the reason given for denial? Because one of my assets is a deed of trust on a commercial building (for $600,000) due in October. They said, "How do we know you're not just going to take the money and spend it." Under their analysis, if you had the money of Bill Gates in the bank and stocks, your billions wouldn't qualify you for a $20,000 loan.
Reviewed Sept. 12, 2009
We are having financial difficulties due to loss of income and an elderly relative in need of our care, which has put us behind in mortgage payments. We have been trying for several months to make a good faith effort to catch up. Today, a rather gruff, unfeeling woman named Ethel in the BofA collections department came on the phone when we asked for assistance in catching up with our mortgage payment. We have fallen behind temporarily due to a partial loss in income and the increased care of an elderly relative. Rather than helping us, as promised on BofA's website and our lovely taxpayer bailout that we are paying for, Ethel informed me that BofA was sending out a foreclosure notice to us (even though our loan was not more than 30 days late). She also informed me that our credit rating was more or less ruined.
I wasn't asking for anything special. I explained that my husband is paid twice a month. (Ethel delighted in informing me of the difference between biweekly and bimonthly, as if I were an idiot who happens to have a master's.) I asked if she could help us get on track to pay twice a month to correspond with my husband's pay periods. She said not until we are completely current. I explained that's like a dog chasing its tail and the difficulty we were having. I then agreed to pay the full balance for Aug. (I learned the $1200 I had already paid went to late fees and Escrow), and hoped that would put her in a more cooperative mood to allow the bimonthly payments. No dice.
Then to add insult to injury, she told me that my payment by phone would cost me $20. Had I known that, I would have used my online bill pay, since we're late anyway and according to Ethel, our credit was ruined anyway. It was some "help" BofA provided me. Let's see. My attempts to catch up went to paying late fees, excess escrow, and a $20 check processing fee.
Then, the lovely Ethel has the nerve to ask if I want to pay my September balance by phone. Oh yeah, so I could pay BofA another $20 check processing fee and help them get their money faster. Where's the taxpayer relief my tax dollars is paying for to bail the banks out? Why aren't banks like BofA helping us out when we're making a reasonable proposal to catch up? All we're asking is to pay twice monthly (This is our third consecutive month asking for this help.), and what we're getting hit with is a blunt "no" and astronomical late fees, not to mention the $20 for the pleasure of Ethel's company (I guess).
I can't wait to call my local congressional rep about this as well as post on several internet forums. Meanwhile, I am asking BofA for the "help" they're promising on every page of their website. I want bimonthly payments, a waiver of late fees that wouldn't have accrued had they worked with me in the first place 3 months ago, and a refund of the $20 that the unlovely Ethel cost me to take my payment. Ethel should pay me for having to put up with her miserable company. Meanwhile, there's a real disconnection between BofA's marketing team and its "service" team that BofA ought to reconcile.
Meanwhile, if Obama and his crew want any more support from folks like us in the next election, he better get on the banks and credit card companies that he's bailing out, which in turn are screwing the American public.
Reviewed Sept. 11, 2009
We did a loan modification on first mortgage with paperwork returned to Bank of America on April 6th, 2009. This was a Freddie Mac loan. The house is in Las Vegas, NV; reduced interest rate by 1%; reducing payments by ~$300/mo. I paid ~$5,300 in points, added to principal. The house appraised by them at $420,000 then. The value is now valued at ~$190,000. The Workout Department is still working on the loan, causing negative reporting against my ex-husband's credit report and mine.
Apparently, the payments are in a suspension account (no payment has been late), and our credit reports show six months late mortgage payments. We have been denied credit, and my ex-husband is trying to refinance his high interest mortgage on his own home, but is unable to do so with the negative credit report. This is costing him lots of money in higher payments each month. Also, we each have been denied other credit and our credit cards are lowering our limits substantially. I have been on the phone with Bank of America at least every other week since at least June trying to get them to fix our credit reports. They say the negative credit reporting will reverse itself once the loan has completed its processing. They have been telling me since June that they are escalating our work to the Workout Department.
I have spoken to at least 25 different people in Customer Service, Home Retention, Modification departments, and three supervisors without any satisfaction. The supervisors won't call me back and I've left a message for a manager who hasn't called me back. When I asked to speak to a supervisor or manager, they strongly resisted forwarding me, but finally gave me a voice mail. They just told me to be patient, and that they understand my frustration. I keep asking them to connect me with the department that is holding up the progress, and they won't. I explained to each person that this is costing my ex-husband lots of money each month in higher mortgage payments on his house and that our credit has been shot to **. They again just told me to be patient. I have no more patience. I need help getting this processed, as well as advice how to proceed in the future. This loan adjustment has not helped enough to keep us afloat financially. We need to know our other options.
Reviewed Sept. 10, 2009
I had my loan originally with Countrywide. I made all my payments on time. Actually, I made $14.00 more every month. I was in the ARM mortgage. Then Bank of America took over. Last week, I received a letter saying that my minimum payment has gone up $300 and despite the increase I'll be on negative ARM. Then, I was told that this increase is due to reduction of funds in my escrow account, which doesn't make sense! Because I have been making all my payments on time and my taxes have not gone up! I am still waiting to hear back from the escrow department. I will update you as soon as I hear more info.
Reviewed Sept. 8, 2009
First of all. I have never been late or ever missed a mortgage payment for any loan, this one or any other prior to this loan. I was preapproved for a refinance from Bank of America in May. After doing everything they asked for and a home appraisal, they told me it would be 60 days, then I would close. After 60 days, they said they were waiting on the funds. I gave it another month and still heard nothing. I called on September 8th and they said. "Oh, Mr. **, we restructured the loan and the underwriting turned it down." I said, "I thought I was already approved." They said, "you were." So I said," I've been turned down. I started the loan in May and I'm just now hearing about it in September." He said, "yea" and hung up.
Now, I have to start the process all over with another company and at a different rate. B of A told us several times that they were not staffed enough to handle the refinancing that was going on. My problem is the lack of communication and the restructuring of my loan without my knowledge. The first loan was approved and the restructure was not and then no one tells us.
After reading about the them online, I realized I'm not alone with these problems with B of A. I have an adjustable high rate loan now and only went through them based on the info and approval they gave me and they dragged their feet for 5 months and I'm the only one who has to suffer from all this. We were expecting to save over $400 per month for the last 5 months and getting out of a high rate adj. mortgage. Now, we have to start all over and wait several more months. Isn't there any protection for the consumer from these business practices? Is there no consequence for B of A for their actions?
Reviewed Sept. 8, 2009
Bank of America fraudulently sold us a refinance on an existing mortgage when interest rates were in the 4.5 to 5.35% range earlier in 2009. We were negotiating with several banks who were upfront and honest and let us know of their backlog and they couldn't lock in the rate. BOA claimed they could originate, underwrite, process the loan in a little over two weeks. This turned out to be "sales-speak" and since April 15, our mortgage has not been underwritten. We were also told that no loans had been processed and they were working through a stack. We feel that we were discriminated against because we were able to lock in a low interest rate and BOA did not want to service the loan when the rates climbed back up through the summer.
Reviewed Sept. 7, 2009
I applied for a loan modification through a loan modification company. Bank of America has locked me out of my account to pay my mortgage. This has been going on now for about six months. At first they told the loan modification company that I did not qualify. I was locked out for 3 months. Every month, I called to make a payment. Because of not getting any statements and not allowed to go online to pay, they said that they would take my payment over the phone for a $30.00 fee. I told them that this was not my fault and that Bank of America had never sent me a statement from the time they took over Countrywide and had locked me out of my account.
I requested for a supervisor. They took my payment over the phone for a $6.00 fee. A month later, I was still locked out. I called the 1-800-669-6607 number and a recording came on said that my loan mod had been approved and not to speak with anyone or else the loan mod would be cancelled. I needed to make a payment, the same thing all over again. The person (didn't get the name) took my payment over the phone for a $5.00 fee. He said the package for the loan mod info would be going out August 15, 2009. I should receive it by the beginning of September 2009. I still have not received anything.
I can't believe that Bank of America acts in this manner. BofA has never been a bank I trust. I was told if I don't receive any information to contact BofA. Contact them for what? Bank of America received all this bail out money and bought Countrywide but has only issued 4% of its bail out money. They received millions and have made millions in interest on that money. President Obama needs to get his ** off TV and start dealing with the problems these banks are causing. I have no other choice now, but to contact an attorney and take them to court for obstruction of my account.
Reviewed Sept. 7, 2009
I started the refinance process in April 09 and had a 60-day rate lock. Well, around July, they called me up and asked if I still want to refinance. I told them I thought it should be closed by now. Well, she said the original loan officer lost my paperwork when Countrywide changed to BOA. They said in July they would put me on the fast-track to close since it was their fault it was lost. Well, I am still waiting. They keep asking for updated info, etc. which I have provided them and they keep telling me that it will close soon. Well, I can't get anyone to call me, especially a supervisor. When you call them, you just get voice mails. It is very frustrating dealing with them. I will never, ever do business again with them.
Reviewed Sept. 6, 2009
I financed my house with Bank of America in February 2007. I had a credit score of around 688 at the time. It's not too bad and not great either. They gave me an 80/20 loan, so I would not have to pay any PMI. Things were fine, until the next year when they sent me letters telling me that since they had not figured any money into my payments for my escrow account, I would have to make up the nearly $3400 worth of taxes for 2007 and also pay into the account so there would be money for taxes in 2008. That raised my payments by $600 a month.
I struggled along, but I fell behind, trying to make the higher payments. They meant all of my other bills went unpaid, and my credit was ruined. Bank of America was less than sympathetic or helpful. Finally, they sent my house into foreclosure and I went to see a bankruptcy attorney. I dug in my heels and decided to try to find a way not to go into bankruptcy. I hired a third party (Oceanview Investment) to try to work out some sort of plan with Bank of America. All in all, it cost me over $4000 to Oceanview and Bank of America.
The bank agreed to a loan modification, and I sent all the paperwork and did everything they asked. They sent me the paperwork and told me to start making payments in the approximate amount of $939.00. That is what I was paying when they weren't taking money for escrow, and that's what started all of this. I called Ms. ** and was told she was no longer working there. I spoke to another lady whose name escapes me. I told her the problem, and she said that Ms. ** had done everything all wrong and they would have to do it over. She gave me a new amount to pay to include the money for escrow. I asked repeatedly for an accounting of the money I had already sent in as to how it was applied. I was told that I could not have that.
For months, I have been sending the payments and waiting. In July, I got a letter congratulating me and telling me that my loan modification was now complete. It included two temporary payment coupons for May and June showing payments due of $0.00 for both of those months. Bear in mind this was July 29, and I had already paid the payment for those two months. I stupidly assumed that since they said I didn't owe anything for those two months (but I had already paid it), I could just skip sending the payments for August and September and that would catch me up. I should have called them right away, but I was very sick at the time, and just yesterday, I got well enough to get up and talk to anyone.
I also received a letter from the bank pertaining to the second mortgage thanking me for my inquiry regarding the application of my payment and that they have made the necessary adjustments. I never called them about this loan! I do not know whom they think they talked to, but it wasn't me. Then today, Bank of America sent a man to my house! He handed me a letter that said since I had not responded to their request for payment, they had authorized the delivery of this communication directly to me and they will charge me for this service. The letter says they understand that I am concerned about meeting my financial obligations and they feel they may be able to assist me if I will just contact them. Assist me? They have assisted me so much that I probably have no choice but to give them back the house and file bankruptcy.
I am a 61-year-old widow whose trying to make it on my own for the first time ever. My husband always handled all of this, and I thought I could too. But thanks to BofA's "help." I am in deeper now than a year ago. Please don't ever do business with this bunch of idiots!
Reviewed Sept. 5, 2009
I applied for my refinance more than 140 days ago and still haven't heard anything useful. The funny thing is, they sent out the appraiser 45 days ago and he never called me like he promised. So, I called Bank of America. They told me the appraisal and I was floored. I called a friend who is also an appraiser and wanted to pay him to do another appraisal but he informed me he couldn't do appraisals that would be accepted by Bank of America. He told me that Bank of America made their appraisers sign a document that the values they appraise won't go any lower in 5 years. It seems Bank of America either has psychic appraisers or low ballers and my bet is on the latter. The County just did their appraisal and came out $12,000 higher than Bank of America. They seem to be purposefully lowering property values and this is unfair. They called the other day and wanted to do another credit check since the first has expired. They know the loan can't go through because of the property value they put on my property, but I guess they want to ruin my credit also?
Reviewed Sept. 5, 2009
In June of 2009, we received a FedEx from BofA stating we were eligible for a home loan modification due to the fact we were late on a few payments. After sending in the required information, my wife was told by a representative of BofA that we would receive another FedEx within 6 to 8 weeks with a solution for our modification. We never received that FedEx. We ended up receiving foreclosure paperwork from a company called Trot & Trot. When my wife called BofA the next day wondering what was going on, the BofA rep finally realized after a good amount of time on the phone with my wife that the information my wife sent in to the original BofA rep never got inputted into their system.
The second BofA rep my wife talked to did the modification right there over the phone with my wife. We had to make 3 trial period payments before the modification took effect. Our first payment was made on time and I called BofA the day before just to see if our check had arrived and was told, "Yes, it is here." Yesterday, 9-4-09, I received our check back from BofA in the mail. When I called to find out what was going on, I was told that the check was sent back because it was not a cashier's check; it was a personal check, and it had to be a cashier's check. I argued that we were never told it had to be a cashier's check. Our savings and checking accounts are with BofA and we have to send our mortgage payments to BofA. In the letter that was sent home with the returned check, it stated it was not enough to cover the balance of the loan.
The amount of the check we sent was the amount BofA gave us for the 3 trial modification payments. These people are not here to help like they say they are. At the end of 2007, when our mortgage was still under Countrywide, our monthly payment kept increasing. We were on a 30-year fixed, not an ARM. When I confronted Countrywide about it, they told me that they were legally allowed to pad the payment for taxes. We eventually had to pay taxes separate from the monthly mortgage payment. This was no little increase. It ended up being around an extra $400 a month. We could not afford that. Every time I talk to a rep at BofA, I ask them to read back the notes from our conversation we just had. The next time I talk to a rep, I always ask them to review the notes from my previous conversation and it always seems that those notes are no longer there, surprise.
This is a huge corporation that seems to lack in communication with each other. My wife and I did not ask to lose our jobs and have to take lesser paying ones. It feels like we are getting punished for BofA's lack of communication with each other and us. When a payment is late, they do not have a problem blowing up our phones, but when it is the other way around, it seems like they are hiding from our calls.
Reviewed Sept. 4, 2009
I, like thousands of other Americans, have a story to tell about the horrible and unethical business practices of Countrywide Home Loans (now known as Bank of America Home Loans). First, may I say that I have been an honest, hardworking, and taxpaying American for over 27 years from the first job I have ever held until the one I currently have. I have also served my country in the military. Though I did not see any combat while serving my country, today I find my self having to do battle with my current mortgage lender.
I am married and have two adopted children. I had been married over 10 years before my wife and I were able to purchase our first home. This is the home which our adopted children have been able to call their own after never having a stable environment. So, this is more than just a house to us. It is our home and our foundation.
I originally got involved with Countrywide when they purchased my mortgage (unknown to me) from Citizens Home Loans. At this time, I had never even been late with a house payment. After almost a year or so with Countrywide, I realized that the ARM mortgage I had presently had was about to adjust. I also experienced a substantial loss of income when my business failed, and I was forced to close down in the summer of 2007. In December 2007, I came to the conclusion that I needed a loan modification to ensure that I would be able to continue my excellent payment record with my lender. I contacted Countrywide's home retention team. They requested a hardship letter and current earning statements, which I provided.
Initially, I was told that the modification would take up to 4 weeks to get processed. I waited 2 months before I contacted Countrywide, and this was mid-February 2008. I was told that the process was still being processed. Please note that my mortgage was due to adjust in May 2008, and I had contacted Countrywide 6 months prior. The horror begins in early March 2008 when I am told (during one of my regular "every two weeks" call asking about the status of my modification) that they had no financial information submitted by me. Of course, I was caught completely off guard, because I had sent them my information over 3 months earlier. There I was, at work, with no privacy.
I immediately asked the representative agent what was going on. She told me that they had not received the information, and she took some information from me via telephone. I re-sent my financial information via fax. She assured me that she had received my information and assured me there would surely be a resolution. In early May after I had not heard from Countrywide and I contacted the same and inquired about the status of my modification, I was told that the modification was denied on April 29, 2008. How convenient, right? It's 2 days before it was scheduled to adjust to a higher rate.
Now I felt that I was given the runaround. My modification was held up for months, so that it would adjust to the higher rate. I felt at this time I had no other choice but to start tape recording every conversation I would have with any representative of Countrywide. I contacted Countrywide and had a conversation with a female representative (Please note that this conversation was recorded.) who told me that I was denied because I had a surplus of money every month. (Please keep the last statement in mind for I'll explain briefly.)
I immediately began to question the inaccurate information. After a brief conversation, the female representative had me give her a verbal overview of my financial situation and she also did another financial intake of my earnings and bills. The female representative told me she was going to email someone to have them look at the information I had just submitted.
After a brief on-hold time, the female representative informed me that she had heard from whomever she had emailed, and the reason I was denied was because they wanted 30% down and I didn't have it. That's why I was denied. (Note that I was never asked at any time for any 30%). I informed the female representative that no member of Countrywide had ever mentioned 30% of the past due in order to modify my loan. I had a conversation at that time stating the reasons why I would have never agreed with any amount down. (Please note the last statement is also vital and will be explained why briefly.) The conversation was terminated with that representative, and I contacted the HOPE line (which completely useless), explained the situation, and requested assistance with my lender because of the deception and predatory lending practices.
I contacted the State of Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation and filed a complaint. During the time the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation was conducting their investigation, Countrywide mysteriously came up with a modification. I had asked Countrywide to lower my payment and fix my rate for 30 years, but they refused and would only fix it for 3 years. I figured I could refinance with another lender before this time was up. Being bewildered, rushed, and not being mortgage-smart, I signed under duress!
I felt it was as close to extortion as you can get. Please note at no time did Countrywide ever express to me during this process or after (until I asked after receiving my first statement) that this would be interest only for the 3 years. There is nothing in the original documentation that states it's interest only. The cost breakdown states interest and principal for the payment.
Once I received my first statement, I had seen that it was interest only. I am an honest and trusting Christian man, who would never have thought something like this would happen to me. I was wrong! I immediately went to the phone and began calling Countrywide. Once I was able to speak to a live person and not a recording device, I informed the representative the terms of my modification were incorrect and were not the terms I had agreed to. I expressed my disgust with the entire process and requested a supervisor and to be redirected to the office of the president.
I briefly got to spoke to the representative from their Office of the President, who told me that they however came up with the payment that was calculated with interest only. I asked the representative to explain how they came up with interest only and nowhere in the explanation or breakdown does it state interest only and even their own writing in the modification document failed to state anywhere that this was an interest only modification. The modification document even states the payment is an interest and principal payment.
After a lengthy conversation and the representative being unable to justify the interest only, I was told that I needed to resend my financial information and they would work on it. Guess what? I never heard from them again! Note that I never heard from the Office of the President, but I continue to receive collection calls and with almost a year passing. No one knows anything about the modification when I inquired about it.
When Countrywide contacted the Michigan office of Financial and Insurance Regulation in relation to the complaint I filed, Countrywide sent a response. On the third page, they included a summary of my phone contact. Countrywide supplied false information to the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation. Countrywide stated on April 29, 2008 that I was denied a modification because I failed to supply 30% of the past due. Countrywide also referred to a conversation that I had with them about the reasons I could not supply the 30%. Countrywide never mentioned 30% until I called in on May 6, 2008. I have complete recordings of the May 6, 2008 conversation, and the account of the incident given by Countrywide does not replicate the audio recording. In fact, Countrywide had given me three different reasons why I was denied.
They stated I made too much money, and they stated they needed the 30%. And even after I confronted them on this, a representative from the Office of the President stated a third and different reason that I didn't make enough money to qualify for a modification. The recording of the entire May 6, 2008 conversation is more than adequate proof that I have been subjected to false and misleading promises, I have been treated unfairly and unjust, and an attempt to take advantage of my situation to force me into entering a agreement that will ultimately cause me to lose my home. They outright lied to me, and they are on audio recording. It is undisputable evidence, along with the copy of the correspondence sent to the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation. I was told that my missed payments would be placed at the end of the loan. I was told there were no fees involved in a re-modification also.
Remember the promise about no fees? What false advertising that was! Not to mention, don't you think they should have advised me of the interest only. I was not notified ahead of time about any of this and was under duress! The only way I had left to save my home was to take advantage of the 3-year fixed rate. Had I been aware of the interest only, I would have never agreed!
I asked all kinds of questions and was told someone would call me and explain everything to me. That never happened! I persistently called them, only to be passed around from one person to another, never getting to talk to the same person twice! I called them on many occasions. Never did they even have the courtesy to explain anything to me! Is this how you run an honest business? To take advantage of people and not have any respect or customer service? If they had done nothing wrong, why didn't they address the situation? Why did Countrywide send documentation to the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation stating that this was an interest only loan but failed to notify me?
And if I hadn't received the documentation in mid-October (two months after the fact), I would have never known that Countrywide was attempting to backdoor me with the Michigan office of Financial and Insurance Regulation and make it look like they had communicated the fact the modification was interest only, knowing that it was never communicated to me before I discovered it after the fact when I received my statement in September 2008.
I felt I was taken advantage of, promised one thing, and given another. I did sign the papers, but again, under duress! Also, I was not being informed it was an interest only modification. And when I discovered it was interest only, I immediately sought explanations and help from them. But I got nowhere! Now that I hear of all of the sub-prime mortgage mess, I am sure I was a victim of predatory lending! Every time I called Countrywide, I never got to talk to the same person twice; I kept getting passed around, having to repeat my story over and over and only to be told to call another phone number, etc. And I have proof of many calls. I was given the runaround with the right hand not knowing what the left was doing.
I have called Countrywide several times to explain in effort to be able to work something out, only to be treated with total disrespect! So, they are going to try to foreclose on me! Now, they said that Bank of America was the note holder of my mortgage? So were they also a victim of Countrywide's illegal practices, or were they too part of the scheme of things? On several occasions, I spoke with representatives from BofA, who told me they have no record of any conversation I have had with them.
I talked with a representative from the Hope line, who agreed that my modification sounds misleading and incorrect. He tried to contact Countrywide, but I also found that he understood my frustration as there is no possibility of continuity and no specific person with whom to work with. He also talked to a representative who told him my mortgage was not in the system as an interest only but later recanted and said it was.
I was so distraught that I was going to lose our home. I went to a private attorney. He agreed that I was definitely a victim of predatory lending and consumer fraud. But being a trusting person, I felt sure this type of thing didn't happen in our great country! I was completely under the assumption that the conversations I had at the time were what would take place. Had I known I would be misled and lied to, I would have not gone through with it. They knew what they were doing. This way, they caught me off guard and promised me one thing; then they switched, not informing me!
They should have sent me a revised modification document explaining everything ahead of time to look over. They chose not to do so, because they knew if I had known about the outrageous fees and interest only rates, I would have changed my mind! They knew exactly what they were doing, and it was not the first time they did this to an honest consumer.
Call after call, not once did they respond! Why? Because they knew they were involved in predatory lending practices! I will not accept this as a legitimate or legal reason. And if our government agrees that they did right by me, then I will be very disappointed in what our country stands for. We the people, for the people? Which people, just the wealthy corporate giants? And the hardworking taxpayers are nothing?
After searching on the internet, I have found tens of thousands of dissatisfied Countrywide/BofA customers with more horror stories very similar to mine and many exactly the same! There is actually a website (countrywidehomeloansucks.com). Read some of the stories of not only their predatory lending practices, but stories from employees who admitted they were expected to do wrong by their customers. There are even mortgage brokers with stories about how they (Countrywide) were dishonest, padded finance fees, and have an invincible approach to business; and they don't care or are not concerned about how they treat their customers with disrespect.
Even Barack Obama has a poor opinion of Countrywide. It was stated that all across this country, we've seen how it's becoming harder and harder for working families to make ends meet. For too long, the rules in our economy have been written to benefit Wall Street at the expense of Main Street. We saw this again today when we learned that two executives at Countrywide are set to walk away with $2 million in payouts. This is an outrage. Top mortgage lenders spend $185 million in recent years lobbying Washington to look the other way, while they tricked American families forcing millions of Americans to face foreclosure and pushing our economy into a recession. We should be reprimanding them, not rewarding them (March 30, 2008).
I was under the impression that our governing bodies were here to protect us as consumers. Apparently, I was wrong. They keep a blind eye on these illegal actions, while hardworking American taxpayers can't make ends meet. Like me, most people can't afford to hire a private attorney. This large corporate giant is tearing down American families and the American dream one at a time. I can't believe our judicial system would allow this to continue. Countrywide is the Enron of the real estate industry! !
A study released last year commissioned by the banking department concluded that predatory lending practices were the major reason that Michigan had one of the highest rates of home foreclosures in the country.
I cannot tell you how disappointed I am that the MI Attorney General's Office, with whom I had the utmost respect, can do nothing to help me? I could file a lawsuit on my own, but unfortunately, I can't afford one! But I am ready to start one on my own, defend my self, and show other Americans I expected the same laws that would prevent and prosecute me from stealing. I would also use my tax dollars to pursue the companies stealing from the consumers. I know had I stolen, I would expect to make restitution to my victim as well as pay the penalty of the crime. Not only by the law that was created to protect me, but also by my God, who is the final judge.
I do not feel what Countrywide did was right. They misled me with false promises and outright lies. They should be held accountable! I can't believe their defense is that I signed the papers. Yes, I did, but under duress! This too is common practice for Countrywide. Many states have class action suits against them. I do not intend to let this drop. I have had several local attorneys and bankers tell me that I was definitely a victim of predatory lending! I just can't afford to hire a private attorney! But I can fight for what's right and show others that the people have the power.
I intend to forward this letter to our states representatives, The Hud office of Inspector General in Washington, DC, the Bureau of Consumer Affairs, the US Attorneys Office, MI statewide task force on predatory lending, The National Consumer Law Center, National Consumer Advocates, National Association of Mortgage Brokers, The American Bar Association, MI Department of Banking, and National Conference of State Legislatures - everyone I can find who will take the time and interest in just one honest person's right to the American dream that's being taken away from him and his family.
Countrywide should receive cease and desist orders and pay back monies owed to each and every individual they cheated. Is it true they pay lawmakers to take a back seat and turn the other way? I, myself, being a proud, hardworking American citizen, can't believe that. I refuse to believe that all of our lawmakers and departments will sit back and allow this to continue. Do they realize how hard it is to be the major support for your family, living from paycheck to paycheck, paid taxes for over 27 years, and now can't afford to give my children the stability they need due to his only savings and equity being stolen by a corrupt corp.giant?
My credit is ruined; my money is gone. What would you do? As a Christian, I always was taught to turn the other cheek, but not in a case like this. I also believe in the Constitution and the American dream of hard work, paying taxes, and being a law-abiding citizen. I hope and pray that someone whom I contact will find it in good conscience to do what is right and look into this. If someone would, put your self in my position, what would you do?
As of now, I can only continue to forward this letter to anyone and everyone who will listen. As I stated earlier, I have all of the documentation and audio evidence to support my claim. It is with sincere thanks and respect that someone will respond to my plea for help. I'm not losing trust in my government.
Reviewed Sept. 1, 2009
I qualify for a refinance and I have my existing loan with them. I have had 3 or 4 closing dates and now I have another. They have everything they requested and I still don't have a closing date. It is now 4 months into the refinance. They don't return calls or emails. My lock-in rate is about to expire. What can I do?
Reviewed Sept. 1, 2009
Being a victim of a failing economy as an auto sales consultant, my employer decided to take away approximately 1/2 of my income. With a stay-home wife and four young children, I was thankful that I'd just recently refinanced my mortgage in August 2008 with a lender that subsequently sold the servicing to Countrywide then to BofA. Due to slumping auto sales and a poor job market, I was blessed to hold back most of the money that I received as "cash out" from the refinancing initiated in August 2008. The August refinance took us from a previous predatory lender with a rate of 8.75% to our new lender at 6% with great credit and no late payments.
Seeing the auto sales writing on the wall, I proactively contacted (then) Countrywide in February 2008 to possibly modify our loan under the government modification program, only to be told that the provisions has yet to be finalized and to call back in 30 days. After the first 30 days lapsed, I contacted BofA and was told that the government program provision was still not made available and to call back in another 30 days from that date (March 2009). I called BofA (new servicer) in March 2009 regarding a possible mortgage modification under the government program, and I was told that we did not qualify because the program was only available to persons past 30 days late. (Our account was current.)
Long story short, as time progressed and auto sales plummeted and I'm now 30 days past due for May 2009, I made another call to BofA in early June 2009 for mortgage modification help. I was told to fax in documents (including notarized hardship letter) and our account review should be complete within 45 days from receipt of these docs. After a few days past after faxing the required docs, I called BofA back to confirm receipt of the docs and the rep confirmed receipt but stated that each document should have contained my name, address, and account number (I wasn't aware of this fact.). So, I had to re-fax all docs.
On July 2, I made another call to BofA to get the status of the possible modification and the rep conducted a quick phone review of the docs that I previously faxed and stated that I had approximately $7K monthly income (versus the $3,500 on my spreadsheet) and that I had approximately $3,500 in child support and spousal maintenance going out each month! Huh? My wife and four children reside here in the home that we're trying to preserve! When I asked where that info come from, the rep simply glazed over the info and proceeded to update the records by what I was telling here during the phone conversation.
After the phone conversation, she stated that it would take approximately 45 days from the date of that conversation before our account would be reviewed. When I asked why 45 days from this particular date versus 45 days from when I faxed over the docs, the rep stated it would be 45 days from the phone conversation date because she of the records update that she performed!
Additionally, this rep stated that I would have to be 90 days past due in order to take advantage of the government program. (What happened to 30 days past due?) Now this is making me very nervous. This rep stated that I would be 90 days past due on August 1, 2009 (Saturday) and that I should call in at that time to get a status update. I called on August 1, 2009 (Saturday), and after dialing approximately 5 different contact numbers, I only received the recording that the office was closed!
I placed another call on the following Monday (August 3) for the status and also advised the rep that I received an "Intent to Accelerate" foreclosure letter, if May and June 2009 payments were not made by August 5 (in two days). Please be mindful of the fact that the rep whom I'd spoken with in June 2009 stated that I should call back on August 15 (10 days past the start of the foreclosure date) to get an update. Nevertheless, after pulling some big favors, I was able to come up with the May/June payments to avoid foreclosure proceedings.
Based on the previous reps' advice, I called back on August 23, 2009 to advise the rep that our monthly expenditures has dropped $1,500 and wanted to know the status of our possible mortgage modification. The rep stated that I should call back at the end of August 2009 for status and to see if a negotiator had been assigned to our account.
Well, I called today (August 31, 2009), and the new rep advised me that she did not see any current activity on our account? I asked for interpretation of what that meant, and she stated, "There is no mortgage modification being conducted on our account." Again, huh? She proceeded with saying that we did not have any new "financials" to report on our account! I then revisited the fact that our monthly expenditures (as previously mentioned in this phone conversation) was dropped by approximately $1,500? She stated, "Sorry, but we do not have any program that you would qualify for" and that if we wanted them to re-review our account for a possible mortgage modification, we would have to start over by sending via fax the docs (including another notarized hardship letter). I promptly hung up on her! As a taxpayer, I cannot believe that I've spent my money (under the TARP plan) to pay for a bank to take our home! It's totally unreal.
Reviewed Sept. 1, 2009
We purchased our home in October of 2008. Our original mortgage was with a local lender, but was assigned to Countrywide. Countrywide was sending the statements/payment coupons to the physical address of the house, which has no mailbox. All of our loan papers have our mailing address listed with our post office box. Long story short, by the time we straightened the whole mail issue out, we were 3 months behind (not knowing who/where to send payments). Our loan was modified, but increased by $400. By this time, the new payment was due in February of 2009. My husband and I both work in the real estate market and of course, we don't have to explain our situation with that.
Now we are in working with the loss mitigation department of Bank of America trying to keep our home out of foreclosure. We have been told that our loan is in review. We have been told this for three months now. We have received a notice of foreclosure with our home to go for auction on Sept. 30th. We contacted BOA to demand that they contact their attorney to let them know they are reviewing our loan and are trying to work with us. We were told 2 weeks ago that we would be receiving a FedEx package from them, but we still have not received anything and have no idea what "surprise" awaits us in that FedEx. Unfortunately, as Sept. 30 approaches, we are in limbo and have no idea what we are going to do and where we go from here.
Reviewed Aug. 31, 2009
I applied to refinance my 2nd home with Bank of America. They now service the current loan. I applied to refinance since they had rates which were lower. I was accepted under certain conditions. The conditions were of course income verification and appraisal. They sent out their appraiser, who did an inaccurate report. Not only did he not use current sales, he used a sale in a building 10 blocks away and falsified a reported sale. Therefore, my appraisal came in less than it should have. The bank offered me the loan with a reduced amount. I had sent them the corrected information and provided proof of a unit, exactly like mine, which was sold $120K higher than the appraisal. They refused to review the information and therefore denied my loan. How could they do this knowing they are deciding on false information? Are they denying the refinance because they quoted me a low rate? Unfortunately, it is the consumer who is suffering again.
Reviewed Aug. 28, 2009
My house mortgage was bought out by Bank of America late 2008. Since then, this bank has been pushing for my business in banking, savings, auto loans, etc. I have been considering working with them until today. I noticed a late fee on my account. After calling customer service, I found it was from March 2009. I was late on my payment. A fee of $133 just surfaced. The date in which I will receive a penalty is the 17th. My Suntrust Bank (which is excellent) automatically sends the payment on the 15th electronically. Now it happened to fall on a weekend. When this evidence was provided to a supervisor at Bank of America, I was told "Saturdays count as a business day." Saturdays? They stood behind it and as a result of not helping me, they are going to lose a $325,000 mortgage, a new auto loan, banking accounts and more. All is lost over $133. This is Bank of America's stand in my interactions with their customer service department. Beware.
Reviewed Aug. 28, 2009
I am writing because I need immediate assistance with serious issues related to the refinancing of my home. From the beginning, this refinance has been a nightmare in terms of: (1) administrative competency and organization, (2) timeliness, (3) customer service, (4) follow-through, and (5) ethical misconduct.
On April 3, 2009, I talked with a salesperson who processed my information regarding refinancing options for my primary home and a rental property. Unbeknownst to me, immediately upon hanging up the phone, my credit card was charged $900 for application fees. The problem was that I never signed any documents authorizing these charges. Two weeks later, I was sent the materials about the loan options and the form to authorize the charges. After reading the materials, I opted to go with B of A for my San Francisco home's refinance. However, I opted not to go with the refinance for my Oakland rental property and instead went through my credit union. This decision was mostly due to poor customer service by B of A. The documents were received about the same time that they expired, so I had to make numerous calls to figure out what this expiration meant.
That was when I discovered that I had already been charged the application fees. I spent the next month working with B of A and my credit card company to remove one of the $450 charges. The woman whose name and phone number was attached to the billing, Mirna **, at first tried to blow me off but after I persisted, she tried really hard to assist me. She gave me the name and number of Jaime ** who never returned my calls/emails nor the calls/emails from her. Eventually, she recommended that I put a dispute on the $450 charge which I did. Eventually, B of A removed the $450 bogus charge. Customers should not have to go through weeks and months of wrangling when hit with bogus charges.
Because of poor internal documentation and controls, I then had to deal with numerous B of A people calling me repeatedly about the loan I opted to not accept. This went on and on and on. In the meantime, I never really heard from anyone regarding the refinance for my home. I would call into B of A to see what was happening and was always told the same thing - I would be contacted by a loan officer.
About two months ago, I was finally contacted by a Sheila **, who has been in charge of processing my refinance. Working with Ms. ** has been one of the worst customer service experiences I have ever had. Six months later, we are no closer to closing in spite of my daily calls.
In the last few weeks, Ms. ** has asked for the same documents to be sent in again, some for the third time. Days and weeks will go by without any contact. I will put in calls and never hear back. Outrageously, she will ask for documents, which I fax in, email her that I faxed them in, and then she calls me the next day to see if I faxed it in. I have to suggest to her to go check the fax machine. She then says they have everything, to then get another email that they need more of this or that. Documents have expired because of how long this refinance is taking, so we have to do them again (credit checks) or I have to send them in again (more pay stubs). I was asked to send in my tax documents. I didn't hear anything for a week. I then was asked to fax them in again. And then was asked for them again the very next day.
I have talked with a supervisor, Cindy **, who said she has never seen a loan take so long. I had expected that Ms. ** would step in more aggressively but she has not. In the last few months, I have financed three other homes elsewhere that have all closed within 40 days with no problems, great customer service, daily contact with my loan officer, rates that have been equal or better to B of A, and with less closing costs. As you can imagine, I regret going with B of A. I am furious about this whole experience. The only property that I really wanted to refinance - my San Francisco home a property that has a lot of equity - is the only refinance that is outstanding. This situation is ridiculous.
Today, I got another email from Sheila ** (inspite of me directly telling her numerous times that I wanted to talk with her directly from now on) saying that: (1) She needed yet more documents, and (2) B of A could not offer me the rate they had promised six months ago but they could offer me a higher rate! When does B of A stand by their quotes? Her email stated that if I didn't like the terms, I could get a refund on my $450, something I asked for 5 months ago when I started to get a flavor for what it would be like to work with B of A and was told a refund was not possible.
As you can imagine I am livid. Rates have gone up and I am now stuck. I was offered 4.378% six months ago by B of A. I expect that B of A will honor this rate and close on this refinance asap.
It is a mystery why B of A has had no such luck in refinancing me when other institutions have gladly provided me loans. I have a credit score in the 780s. I have 15 years of work experience at the same institution, and I have regular monthly income coming in addition to my employment at the university. I resent being treated so poorly. Mostly, I want to be done dealing with your staff's incompetence and B of A's poor customer services. Enough is enough. Six months is plenty of time to process a refinance. I plan to file a complaint and write Senators Boxer and Feinstein who have been collecting information regarding the banking industry. This experience has been super aggravating.
Reviewed Aug. 27, 2009
They blackballed me as minority to participate in a homeowner's program. Talked personal finances with the home builder and going back and forth, arguing with the builder, questioning me about family members, threatening to have me investigated, stated that black people don't have good credit. I must have money somewhere else. The loan for the new home sat on her desk. She accused me of being fraudulent to the realtor Harris County to prevent me from getting down payment assistance from a home.
Reviewed Aug. 27, 2009
After being a bank customer of 15 years at Bank of America, I hesitantly had my husband apply for a mortgage loan. With perfect credit, a plentiful income, a clean loan, we have had numerous issues. It's pretty bad when they are jerking you around to be difficult, down to going back and getting an "excise tax bill" from the sale of a car - after already providing the bill of sale and the purchase of a new one at the same time.
The way of the world is different nowadays, and we understood getting a loan would have stricter provisions. However, when you're dealing with a loan advisor that is not all there, it reflects poorly on the bank. Literally, she would be fired for what happened, but she sent us a string of emails saying the additional 10 things the underwriter wanted before they would give the commit to close packet (above and beyond all the other crazy stuff they required/made us redo and tailor to their specifications, etc), and she mistakenly trashed us in it!
She literally emailed the underwriter and said this: "The turkey went and hired a moving van for Thursday, when I repeatedly told him we would not be closing that day. Some borrowers are pushy, nice, but very pushy." Well, we saw this! I'm so disgusted by how this piece of ** bank treats people. After we, as the American taxpayers, had to bail out their bank, they turn around and bonus out the CEOs.
Within the next month, I'm refinancing with Bank North whom my family business does all their "relationship banking" through. Bank North VPs were laughing at what BOA did to us. My husband is a very high ranking corporate member of one of the largest companies in Massachusetts that banks through BOA. They are worth 2 billion dollars. I guarantee through word of mouth, when his company chooses to renew banks - BOA will be out and Bank North in. And I hope our loan advisor gets fired.
Additionally, in depositing all the money for our down payment, BOA will not cash their own checks. They will not deposit cashier's checks drawn on their own banks as instant cash, and they put 24-hour holds on anything over $10k in cash deposit.
Reviewed Aug. 26, 2009
I am writing about my recent attempt to refinance my mortgage with Bank of America. The process was deeply flawed and the failure to disclose the full costs of the loan in a timely fashion resulted in a waste of my time and money. Initially, I spoke to loan officer Michael **, who encouraged me to start the process quickly. I was going to wait and decide, but he told me that I could opt out of the process with no penalty and that if the loan failed to clear for any reason, any fees, including the appraisal, would be refunded. He quoted to me closing costs of $3,796 and told me I would have to pay the escrow upfront (but that my escrow from the previous loan would be kicked back to me). We also discussed monthly mortgage insurance of $62.37.
I understood that the numbers might change slightly based on circumstances. What he never told me was that the loan would include over $2,300 in an initial mortgage insurance charge. I only discovered this later in the process when I was working with another loan officer, Karen **. I would never have gone forward with any of this had I known about this extra charge. It makes the refinance a bad idea by commonly accepted standards. In addition, Bank of America failed to send me loan documents in a timely fashion. This nearly resulted in charges for the appraisal that Karen ** later told me were in no way refundable (and amount to roughly $450). Because this charge was not disclosed in a timely fashion, I paid $100 for an FHA survey that I would never have requested to had I known about the actual cost of the loan.
Karen **'s response when I spoke to her on the phone to the fact that this additional charge shocked me was to say that I shouldn't worry because I wouldn't pay these directly. The costs would be folded into the loan. This is equally shocking to me since such a business practice guarantees more interest from my transaction, which seems the real motive here. As an American and a taxpayer, I am shocked that Bank of America engages in such dishonest behavior in the midst of a huge financial crisis brought on by bad loans and a failure to disclose the real cost of credit. Be very careful about this company.
Reviewed Aug. 26, 2009
I have been trying for almost a year to obtain a loan modification from Bank of America. I have lost significant income and have been having a very difficult time making my mortgage payment. I have sent in the required information at least three times. I was given the runaround. I was put on hold for 40 minutes, only to be told I needed to be transferred or the call was dropped. I was told back in March that I should do a re-finance. I kept explaining that I did not have any cash for closings and that I really needed a modification. I was told that no one was really getting modifications by a rep at BofA The rep told me a better option for me was a re-finance. I was pushed into it.
I locked in a 5% interest rate, which would reduce my principal significantly, allowing me to include property taxes and insurance. I pay them separately, and with the loss of income, I cannot keep up. I was also told that I could get $2000.00 cash out to pay the back taxes that are owed on my home. The application fee was $400. I paid the $400 and signed the contract. That was in mid-March 2009. The closing was to take place within 60 days. The loan rep Kevin from the Texas office BofA called to delay twice.
Finally at the end of July, I realized that they had no intention of closing. The Fastrac Loan that they had offered me has a "no cash out" guideline. I knew I would not be able to keep making my payments; the delays were pushing me into a deeper financial crisis. In hindsight, the re-finance was predatory - closing costs were $11,000 (with $2000 cash out for someone who was seeking a loan modification). On July 28, I cancelled. That was a month ago. They still have not returned the $400, saying they keep it for 30-45 days before returning it in case I change my mind.
After going through all that, I decided to pursue the loan modification further. When I checked with the Loan Modification Department to see if they had made a decision on my case, I discovered that back in February, someone had forgotten to take a certain code off my information. It hadn't even been looked at. BofA has given me nothing but the runaround. No matter what I try to do to keep my home, it has been met with unfair and deceptive practices that border on being illegal.
Reviewed Aug. 25, 2009
Someone. please help me! Long story short: I was divorced in Dec. '06. I signed a Special Warranty Deed. My decree states that I am not to be held liable for the loan on the property. The Special Warranty Deed states that I still have interest in the house until it is assumed by the ex. Ex was supposed to refi within 15 days. He was denied. Then he had 30 days to submit with two other lenders. He waited four months then was denied on both accounts. X did not comply with divorce petition as he accumulated an enormous amount of debt within the year. Since then, he has claimed Chapter 7. My credit is crap now that he has defaulted on the loan by 10 months!
Now, he has applied for a loan modification with BOA. The rep. said that I would have to sign the docs in order for it to go through. There is no way that I would so the house would foreclose. At least, I would finally be free from the ex and bad credit for only seven years or so. However, BOA accepted the docs without my signature! They said they didn't need my signature since the ex included the decree showing I gave him the house. Then, I found out that he never submitted the Special Warranty Deed. Instead, he waited a year, brought the decree to the Dallas county clerk and obtained a Warranty Deed for him and his wife.
BOA says I have no rights to make any decisions on the loan even though I submitted a 50-page fax supporting my case. They refuse to release me and refuse any decisions I wish to make on the loan. I pleaded for them to stop the modification and to take it to foreclosure. They would not and the last person I spoke to actually hung up on me! This is not just and this should be illegal. I wish to sue my lawyer that left my butt exposed and hung out to dry, my ex-husband for contempt of the decree and BOA for stripping my rights and allowing my ex's wife to be authorized on the loan. Someone please help me. I can be reached at **. Thank you!
Reviewed Aug. 25, 2009
BOA assumed my loan from Countrywide without notification and although I changed nothing in my payments, began racking up late charges which I discovered in a statement 6 months later. Although I had been doing electronic payments exactly as before, BOA has been sitting on the money - removed from my account prior to the due date and taking 3-5 days to process an electronic transfer of funds - after they have the money. They have charged me over $200 in late fees in 6 months after years of zero late fees using the same payment plan. They refused to reconsider. I have changed when I schedule the funds, but I resent that they charge me late fees for money that they have since it is out of my account.
Reviewed Aug. 25, 2009
My home loan was with Countrywide, which is now Bank of America. The account is in my name and my sister's name. We have paid our mortgage on time every month for 18 years. My sister sends her half of the payment electronically via Wells Fargo and I send my half of the payment electronically via Bank of America. We coordinate the payments to arrive on the same day. For some reason, Bank of America can't figure out how to apply two separate payments so they apply one to the loan and one to the principal, then send us late notices and harass us over the phone. Each time, I have had to deal with one of their reps, usually quite polite but some are very rude and unprofessional. No acknowledgement was ever made that they made the mistake. In fact, I was told the mistake is our fault because we send two payments that equal the monthly amount (actually, the payment exceeds the amount due each month) and they are looking for one check or electronic payment for the full amount.
According to Bank of America, the method of sending two payments is not acceptable. The last person with whom I spoke implied we were in breach of our contract because we promised to pay our loan in full every month on time, which we do and have done for 18 years. They, on the other hand, do not have the capacity to figure out that the account is in two names and the payments were sent by both parties. After at least 45 minutes on the phone each time this happens, the misapplied payment is moved to the loan amount due and we are okay for that month. This is becoming a monthly pattern and it is very inconvenient and annoying. This payment method was not a problem with Countrywide. I believe one time there was a mix-up, but it was rectified quickly and Countrywide flagged the account to ensure that both payments were applied appropriately.
Bank of America stated they have no way to flag the account. It is very difficult to do business with Bank of America. I am tired of dealing with them and their incompetence and must now consider refinancing with another lender to get away from them. Until then, we must send one payment for the full amount in order to ensure that the payment is correctly applied. This means that one of us has to write the other a check for our half and alternate every other month so we can write off our half of the payment. With Bank of America, they will hold my sister's check that I deposited for 14 days, even though there is more than enough money in my checking account to cover her check. Bank of America is ridiculous.
Reviewed Aug. 24, 2009
Here is my story: In July 2007, we re-financed with Countrywide in order to get out of an ARM that was about to go up astronomically. In order to get the loan through, the value of our home was appraised over what it was really worth. In addition, only my husband's name was put on the loan since the credit cards are in my name. The loan is an interest only ARM that does not include taxes and insurance. The payment is $3,407 and my husband takes home $1,300 per week. I am a stay at home mom with two young children. In September of 2008, we were struggling to pay our bills. The value of our home was plummeting. We weren't behind yet, but we're about to be. We pro-actively contacted Countrywide in October 2008 and asked for help.
Here is a time-line of events:
In October 2008, I sent Countrywide a hardship letter. Husband withdraws $25K from his retirement fund to pay bills. This money must be repaid quarterly - $1000. In December 2008, Countrywide refuses loan mod without a reason. In March 2009, Obama plan was underway. I contacted Countrywide again. They say they can't help because we make too much money, because they added husband's net income to his gross income and used that figure! I requested that they re-open our case. In May 2009, I told by Bank of America rep., John **, that they will not help us since it is not their fault. We are over-extended.
In July 2009, I contacted Bank of America's Barbara ** to request a loan mod. I cannot pay August mortgage payment. I faxed new hardship letter and required documents. In August 2009, I was assigned a Bank of America negotiator, Melissa **. In August 21, 2009, BOA Melissa ** called to inform me that our request is being denied. She informed that we meet all of the requirements under President Obama's HAMP program; however, because my husband borrowed money from his retirement plan (which is depleted and we are still repaying), we do not qualify for a loan modification. She said that we are current on credit cards and car payments and therefore do not fall under the guidelines for assistance.
This is outright fraud. The HAMP stipulates that retirement accounts cannot be used to determine financial status and in addition, being behind on anything (credit cards, mortgage, etc.) is not a HAMP requirement. Think I am only one person? Wrong, go out to Loansafe.org and read the thousands of horror stories. The lenders' feet must be held to the fire. Where will the United States be if we continue to let the banks do this?
Reviewed Aug. 23, 2009
I applied for refinancing with Bank of America (BofA) on March 30th. It has been more than 4 months (120 days) and the bank cannot close/finish for refinancing yet. Whenever I called the customer service, they asked me the documents that were faxed twice long time ago. When asked, they said they did not receive the faxes or they lost the documents. Nobody could tell me what had happened. Besides, they just said the application volume is high, so they cannot finish on time (even 120 days; more than 4 months). Sometimes some representatives gave me some closing dates, and closing never happened on those dates. What a mess or very incompetent service. I do not want to do business with this bank again.
Reviewed Aug. 22, 2009
I have been trying to refinance my home loan for 6 months to no avail. I have received almost notices of possible foreclosure after being given the advice of making a half-payment (from the Home Office) on my loan for two months due to financial hardship. All my credit scores and credit lines have all been significantly reduced and limited. I have attempted to redeem my credit by paying back delinquencies for the two months, as well as paying on time and consistently. I am currently up to date on my mortgage payments. I have called the mortgage/loan contact person on numerous occasions and never had my phone calls returned. I have even contacted the national office. Today, I received a notice from Scottsdale Insurance Company that my Homeowner's Insurance is being cancelled at the end of this month. I was not informed previously and know no reason why. I am considering a lawsuit if this matter is not immediately resolved. I would appreciate being contacted by an attorney.
Reviewed Aug. 21, 2009
I was contacted by a BofA employee who stated the call was a collection call to find out why I had not paid my mortgage payment and that I needed to make it immediately to avoid a bad report to the credit bureau. I was aghast and told him did he not realize I was a TBW customer and had not even received my welcome letter and had no idea what my BofA account number was and secondly, I had no past due amount with TBW since my payment was only due on 8/15/09 with TBW and that we were supposed to have up to 60 days for this transition.
I told him I was willing to make a payment but that I wanted to speak with a supervisor to complain before I did anything. He put me on hold, yet after 20 minutes, no one ever came on the line. I hung up and called BofA back to complain. I had already spoken twice in the last week to BofA and had instructions to wait for my welcome letter to make my payment. I explained to a new employee what had happened. She apologized for the earlier call. She did say that she could see that a collection call had been made, but that the individual that made it was incorrect in everything he had told me and that I was to continue to wait for my letter. How did this happen? How could I get a collection call from a company that was only just taking over my mortgage which was not past due? Something is very wrong here. I am so angry with TBW, BofA and this whole mess.
Reviewed Aug. 21, 2009
I am purchasing a home from Jerry and Tina **, who had their loan with Taylor Bean Whittaker. Taylor Bean was shut down by the feds and is transferring their loans to Bank of America. I cannot close on my house located at ** until my closing company can obtain the payoff. Bank of America daily keeps telling them that it has not been entered into their system yet. Pretty soon, I will be homeless if I cannot close on my new house. Please help me! I will not have a place to live if I cannot close the loan on my new house by the end of September.
Reviewed Aug. 21, 2009
On August 21st, 2009, after 4 months of waiting for our mortgage refinancing to be completed with BOA, I was delighted to receive a call that our loan was ready to be closed. When going over the final details over the phone, I was asked to confirm that our total mortgage monthly payment included our escrow. I told the mortgage officer that it was not right. I had spoken to 2 different agents months back who had confirmed with me at that time that we chose to pay our taxes and home owners insurance separately, as we have always done.
Our closer informed us that it would cost us an additional 1/4 percent if we choose this payment route (telling me this 3 days before we close). I was like - since when? No one had ever informed us via phone or mail of any policy change or new regulations. I told him that this is our third refinancing and that we have always chosen to pay this way and without any charge (as far as we knew).
I have not been able to find any documentation on this matter. After numerous requests for the supervisor to call me, and after making myself perfectly clear that I would not pay an extra cent to them for paying our taxes and insurance separately, I received a call back stating BOA would eat the charge for us! Watch out for the obvious hidden fees! This loan officer was completely lost and unorganized throughout our entire loan process.
Reviewed Aug. 21, 2009
I had to re-enroll into my pay plan for my mortgage and now they want to charge me a $4-fee per transaction if I continue my 26 biweekly payments. This is a fee for paying off my mortgage early and specifically stated in my mortgage contract. I have a right to pay off my mortgage early without penalty. To me, this is breaking my mortgage contract signed in 2007.
Reviewed Aug. 21, 2009
Upon Obama's announcement of a home modification program to assist in lowering mortgage payments to those struggling to keep their homes, I applied for the program with B of A on April 17, 2009. A loan processor was not assigned to my loan for over two months and once done, I was not contacted by the LP. 30 days later, I made a call to the loan processor who had not done anything with my loan. My closing date was originally set for May 17th. Each month, it was being pushed back. Now the closing date is set at Sept. 30th. My FICO score is 810 and my current mortgage is with B of A in excellent standing. There is no reason not to close this loan.
Reviewed Aug. 21, 2009
On February 19, 2009, I received a letter from Bank of America Mortgage stating they would like to assist us with home ownership retention. On March 3, 2009, I faxed to BOA a request for a loan modification explaining that I had just been permanently laid off from my job and that my husband was experiencing increased furlough days by the state. He works for Caltrans in landscaping. I included everything they asked for including my unemployment stubs, tax documents, debt verification, etc. I followed the Bank of America's instructions for home ownership retention for our Freddie Mac loan. On March 12, 2009, we received a letter that they had received the info and they were working on our request. We received an identical letter dated April 3, 2009.
On April 30, 2009, I called to get status and was given no info except that John ** was assigned to our request. I tried to contact him numerous times, but was told he was not available. In June 2009, I called again and spoke to two different men who treated me extremely rudely. They basically said if I wasn't in foreclosure, they would not be helping me. I told them I am trying to avoid foreclosure and that is why I am requesting a loan modification as I am struggling to meet my responsibility. Both men were argumentative and very rude! I called again on August 3, 2009 and spoke to a women named Tosha, who would not answer my questions. Again, very rude. She said she wasn't in customer service, that she was in the collections department and she hung up on me!
I had to call back to get the name and address to send a formal complaint. The next woman I spoke to was very kind. I have faxed and mailed letters of complaint and still have no response from Bank of America. I cc-ed copies to The White House and my Senator Aanestad requesting a full investigation concerning this matter. No response as of yet. What can I do? Five months have now passed with no assistance regarding this matter.
Reviewed Aug. 20, 2009
My husband lost his job in January of 2009. He could not find another job where our home was located. We have two mortgages on the house and I knew we would not be able to make the payments any longer. He found a job in another state. I put the house up for sale in March and moved to where he was working. We received a good purchase contract on the house in May of 2009. My realtor immediately presented the contract to both my mortgage lenders. Bank of America holds the large mortgage (previously with Countrywide Mortgage). It is now August 20th and the buyer has pulled the purchase contract because Bank of America has still not reviewed the contract. The contract would have paid Bank of America off in full! The house is now in foreclosure and will be sold at a public auction on September 8th, thanks to the idiots and incompetence at Bank of America! If I had the money, I would file a suit against them because they have screwed up my life.
Reviewed Aug. 15, 2009
In 2003, I filed Chapter 7 due to high medical bills. I never let the bills go past due, always paying the minimum but knew I could never pay them off due to my declining health and small income from disability. The judge let me keep my house and I always paid the payment on time. As my health got worse, I decided to sell my house and move in with a relative. I sold my house and Bank of America, was paid in full for my mortgage.
As I said before even when I was filing Chapter 7, I always continued to make payments on all my bills including my house payment which was always paid on time. But Bank of America refuses to correct my credit bur. stating my mortgage was included in the bankruptcy and was not satisfied. I have gone around and around with the mortgage department and they claim they cannot find any records of me ever having a mortgage with them and I ask then why are they reporting a negative rating. I never get an answer. I contacted the executive office and get no help at all.
Bank of America is the only negative rating on my credit report. It is incorrect and needs to be deleted from my report. Even my chapter 7 did not hurt my credit every much because my report shows that I am always paying a bill on time. As I said before, the mortgage was paid in full and it was not a foreclosure. My mortgage was never past due.
Reviewed Aug. 14, 2009
I have been attempting to resolve a request for assistance on my mortgage and I have not received any reply whatsoever form BofA. I have spoken to several people and sent emails on the company webpage. No one has attempted to assist me. I am currently unemployed and have been for approximately 8 months. All I want is to understand what options I have available to me so that I don't lose my home.
Reviewed Aug. 13, 2009
I contacted BofA in May 2009 regarding the Making Home Affordable Program for FNMA owned mortgages. I was connected to loan counselor, Amanda **, and she helped me complete the application for the program. After reviewing my financial information, she told me I was approved for the program, and that it would take 60-90 days to close. To my surprise, I received a non-approval letter in August, citing there was insufficient income for the refinancing. When I called Amanda to get more details, she told me the loan was not approved due to a "back-door lender paid Private mortgage insurance" arrangement on my loan. Amanda misled me from the very beginning when she told me I fit the criteria for the program. She approved my loan, and locked me in at 4.875% in early June. I was charged $400 for locking in the approval. Now, all of a sudden, I find myself without a loan refinance, and interest rates have increased from 4.875% to 5.41%.
Reviewed Aug. 12, 2009
In April 2009, I applied for home loan refinance from Countrywide. I faxed all the required paperwork and paid the $400 lock-in fee. I received, completed and returned all lock in agreement documentation. On May 14, 2009, per request from Bank of America rep, I re-faxed financial documents. On June 17, 2009, per request from Bank of America rep, I once again re-faxed the financial documents. On August 12, 2009, I was informed I had a new loan rep. She requested I re-fax my financial documents.
Issues: Since May 2009, Bank of America has held $400 of my money for which I have received no return. I have spent almost $50 in fax fees sending documents. With good credit and no late house payments, it has been over four months since I first applied to refinance. I am now being requested to re-fax documents I have faxed three times in the past four months. Re-faxing documents will cost me another $15.
Conclusion: After $25B+ in TARP money, Bank of America still cannot complete a simple refinance request. I can only conclude Bank of America is incompetent. I have no desire to have my home loan with an incompetent corporation. Bank of American has basically ripped me off of $450. I will refinance. But be assured I will not refinance, or have any further financial dealings, with Bank of America.
Reviewed Aug. 11, 2009
I started with Countrywide in May 2007 and have since been trying to get them to correct their mistake on my loan. I always got the runaround and tried again, since BA took over. After all, they get the problems with the purchase; I see these rich politicians get breaks and all I need is to be treated fairly! It was all over the interest rate. Like many others, the closing was put off from them, not me! I paid the seller a down payment and then the 20% cash down and right up to closing, they still faxed a new note with an even higher rate.
The situation I was in at the time (I believe they took advantage of me), I had to sign for the 8.5% even though I was highly P.O.'d! Even the seller blackmailed us for another month's lease before he would sign the deed at closing. Are there any honest people in this country? I am just a little person and just want fairness and honesty to correct the interest rate. Now, it would have to be all over again, from appraisal, app fees, and add escrow. I put 20% down not to have escrow. If there are any honest people left that would be an honest lender, I would like to know who they are. If I could have gone to Atlanta World Trade Center today (too far, $4 gas) where I saw this lady talk about how she got her payment from $1700 to $700 with only 2.?% but still 2.?%. If mine was that way, I could go to a 15-year mortgage. I pray that God will find us an honest and fair lender.
Reviewed Aug. 7, 2009
I contacted Bank of America in November '08 regarding financial hardship due to spouse being out of job for 7 months. November '08 mortgage payment would be more than 30 days late. Amount was paid in full in December '08. December '08 and January '09 mortgage payments were also reported out more than 30 days late. This was due to holiday posting dates by Bank of America. I contacted Wachovia who did a great job with providing me documentation of when my payments were received at Bank of America. I contacted BOA by email as directed on the website with the information, faxed the information, talked with many customer services reps. My request to have this information changed was denied (within 2 days) because of the tremendous negative impact on my credit score. This issue has wrecked my personal credit in numerous ways. I have filed disputes with all 3 major reporting agencies. I have also sent two other dispute emails to Bank of America which were not answered.
Reviewed Aug. 7, 2009
We went through Countrywide in April of 2009 to refinance our home. We live in a very upscale neighborhood in Murfreesboro, TN called Northwoods. We are by no means in any financial trouble, but we just wanted to take advantage of the low interest rate. We completed the paperwork, paid for an appraisal. Two years ago, our house was appraised at $285,000. Mr. ** at Countrywide informed us in April that the homes in our area had increased in value. We told him that it was probably because of a new school that had just been built. It has been 5 months now. I finally started calling around to see what was going on with our refinancing. I got bounced around to 5 different people who had no answers for me. I finally got a call today, August 6, 2009. We were told that our house only appraised at $265,000.
Then, the lady on the phone let us know that we could protest this if we wanted to. She said that we would have to get the price of 3 homes that have sold within the last 3 months in our neighborhood. I told her that our refinancing was based on the value of the homes in April. We asked for a copy of the appraisal, but she told us that we would not get our money back if she sent us that copy. I think that BOA did not want to go through with our refinancing because it was saving us $252 a month. We gave her an earful about BOA. I will be refinancing with another bank, just to get from under BOA. I have the names and numbers of everyone that I talked to and left messages with.
Reviewed Aug. 6, 2009
I had a home mortgage of around $220,000 with Countrywide that got shifted over to BOA. No problem here. Then on 6/24, I tried to pay down the mortgage by $120,000. BOA at first accepted the payment, then sent it back and then accepted it causing a delay of a few days. No problem yet. Now, almost five weeks have gone by since I sent them the payment, and they still did not refigure my mortgage payment even though they requested $250 to do so, and another $6 for using Visa to pay this fee rapidly.
Multiple calls to their recast office renders multiple excuses/comments, etc. One woman, Michelle, said that it would be fixed by 8/1st. 8/1st came and went and still no change in the mortgage payment. Not sure why they charge $250 to do this when it takes them so long. I can't make the $1,400 payments as I expected it to be reduced to around $650 a month. Now, because I can’t pay the $1,400, I will be fined to the tune of around $80.
This whole thing is nuts. I am a professional and ran three offices a few years ago. Why does it take them so long to do something that would occur with a simple computer keystroke? Once they told me that a fax that I sent took three days to get to them. Hey, it's 2009, take some of the tarp money and buy fax machines for everyone. BOA really has people over a barrel. They were supposed to be helping people!
The economic consequence is that I can't pay the $1,400 mortgage payment for August because it was supposed to be only $655 or less. I'm a senior citizen on a fixed income. But, because they cannot refigure my payment, I will be fined around $80 for a late payment. Crazy stuff. And, at the rate that they moving, I will probably get a late fee charge for September also. Most important, my credit will be compromised. My FICO score is around 814 now. These late charges will make it go down. Not sure why I have to be punished for being a good lender. What happens to people who are on the brink? Same on BOA for being so greedy and completely inefficient.
Reviewed Aug. 6, 2009
I was one of the Countrywide/BofA customers who was contacted by BofA that I would be in contact with a representative from BofA to see if I could lower my mortgage through the government stimulus/home affordability program. I eventually made contact with Greg ** in around May of this year. He led me on for months stating that there was a program on the horizon that would lower may rates. Since my previous loan had PMI built into the loan, I didn't qualify for the present loans that the stimulus package provided. This went on until the end of July when Greg informed me that he couldn't help me and I would have to call another number.
When I called this department in refinancing, I was told I could possibly qualify for an FHA loan that would lower my monthly payment by $200.00, but would cost me $12,000.00, along with an appraisal of $465.00. While all this was going on, interest rates crept back up and though I had the opportunity to refinance with my old lender Quicken, I decided to hold out on the words of my trusted representative Greg **, who when I called back after getting the previous quote reiterated that I never qualified for any program. However, those weren't the words that he told me all along.
I wish I could have taped him, but he was very convincing that there was some help coming but it was help up in Washington, DC. He even gave me specific dates when these programs were supposed to be available, though every time I called back, it was the same old response "call me back next week".
Reviewed Aug. 5, 2009
Bank of America is the wrong way to go if you are looking to finance a mortgage. I have been a BofA customer for years, and for the last 3 years, they have messed up our escrow by not paying our insurance. We have had to contact them to do their job. Then, when they evaluated the escrow again this year, the paper they sent stated that we had until 9/1/2009 to pay the difference. On 8/3/2009, BofA drafted our account without our consent. No wonder, the mortgage industry is in such shambles if this is the quality of people who run it.
Reviewed Aug. 4, 2009
Bank of America is advertising the "Making Home Affordable" program on their website and has a recorded message that dead-ends. I have contacted the home retention department almost weekly since May to request a modification as my income is reduced this year. I have a Fannie Mae loan and qualify for the government program. They have stated Bank of America does have a program. How can the largest bank in the country advertise a government program and not offer it to consumers? They didn’t mind working with me when I had an 800 FICO and made payments year after year. It is fraudulent to advertise to work with homeowners to keep them in their homes, but really they just want to foreclose.
Reviewed Aug. 4, 2009
I applied to refinance my mortgage of $291,000.00 at 4.5% for 30 years, fixed. My current mortgage rate is 5.87%. Bank of America advised me shortly after via my loan officer at my branch that this refinance was approved, the 4.5% rate was locked in, and that it would take approximately two to three months to process due to their total volume of refinance applications.
I sat tight for three months and then regularly stopped by at the branch to check on my refinance. Each time, I was assured that I had nothing to worry about and that all was approved. Around that time, I also received a call from the mortgage department to give them a list of all my debts which totaled approximately $25K. A while later, I received another call from the mortgage department and they were suggesting to increase the refinance by the amount of my debt (mostly credit cards which I used to pay medical expenses since I had to be hospitalized several times due to a heart attack and a defibrillator implant). I agreed to do that.
Several weeks later, I walked into my branch to check the status of the refinance and was told that all was okay, but that it was talking currently up to five months to get it processed. In the meantime, I also received a letter from Fannie Mae, advising of "Notification of Assignment, Sale or Transfer of my Mortgage Loan." I took this letter to my bank officer and she knew nothing about it. I kind of assumed that that was a fraudulent issue.
During the third week of July, I received a call from Bank of America to advise me that my mortgage application had been turned down due to my debt ratio. I was really shocked. All information was available to BofA from the very beginning. I received no other explanation. The next morning, I went to my branch to speak with my loan officer who expressed genuine disappointment and disbelief with the bank's decision and treatment.
Reviewed Aug. 3, 2009
Several months ago, I applied to Bank of America for a mortgage. I was turned down in May and received their official letter in June. This letter had no reason for the turn-down on it. I was told by my lawyer there must be a reason on it to get my deposit back. I contacted Cathy immediately, who denied what I told her and said she'd "look into it" and call me back. She never did. I called again to complain, at which time, she said she re-sent the letter with the needed information. This was over a month ago, and I have yet to receive the amended letter.
Reviewed Aug. 1, 2009
Today, July 30, 2009, our application to assume a home loan was denied. This property was to be our retirement home. Our credit rating is 740. Our debt to income ratio is 35%. We were originally told by the assumptions department spokesperson that we looked good for the assumption. We have an existing home loan with Bank of America because they bought Countrywide with whom our loan originated. We have not been late on a loan payment. B of A kept requiring more and more documents as if we were trying to hide something. They required six months worth of our checking and savings accounts and questioned every deposit and expense.
They required all pages of our tax records for the past two years and asked for a document that we won't get until the 2009 tax year is due. We were required to pay a non-refundable fee of $300.00 in early late May that was supposed to be the VA's fee to allow the loan to be assumed. We have no bad debts. This is a slap in our face as it was our tax money Bank of America was given to bail them out. Our credit rating will now be lowered due to the denied credit. This lowering of our credit rating will be a ground for raising our credit card interest rates and thus costing us money. We are concerned of other unforeseen consequences of this action.
Reviewed July 31, 2009
On June 29, I called customer service, 866-653-6183, and asked if I could get a one month extension on my mortgage payment due to a lack of work. I was transferred to the home retention dept. The woman I spoke to was very nice. I again explained my situation, said I just need a one month extension for July and felt confident I would be able to make the August payment one time. She looked at my account and came back and said that they would extend the maturity of my loan by one month, waive my late charge and that would be it. She asked me if I needed anything further. I told her the July payment was scheduled for an automatic deduction from my checking account in 2 days and I couldn't take it off myself as the system was already locked and she said she could take care of that for me.
On July 18, I got a call from an offshore home retention department asking me when I planned on making my July payment. What! I told him my story and he said, "We don't make deals like that." But he proceeded to tell me that he saw that my late charge had been waived, but he didn't understand why? I needed to send him my bank statements and all monthly bills to him immediately so he could analyze my situation. I told him I would be making my August payment as promised.
On Thursday, July 30, I got a call from the offshore retention department again. This time I asked for the manager and I got Adam **. He said there was no record of my June 29 phone call. There was no record of my late charge ever being waived. I feel like I am in a bad dream. Adam ** proceeded to tell me that if I don't make the payment by the end of day tomorrow (July 31, 2009), Bank of America will begin foreclosure proceedings against me. To say the least, I do not like or appreciate the attitude of the offshore personnel.
I called the CA servicing center and, of course, was put through to the home retention center because now I am labeled a "bad debt" and, thankfully, my call was answered by Laion, who took the time to listen and try to find out what happened. He was apologetic for the person who steered me wrong, acknowledged the fact that I had never been late on my mortgage before and was willing to try to help me get me mortgage back on the right track without threatening foreclosure.
I don't know who the ** is that I spoke to on June 29, but I hope she ends up with what she deserves.
Reviewed July 31, 2009
I started refinance discussions with Bank of America in January 2009 to consolidate two loans that I had with Countrywide Bank and Webster Bank. The whole purpose of the refinance decision is to take advantage of the low interest rate at the time, reduce my monthly payments and have Bank of America as the sole lender. I spoke with Deborah at a BOA location and she said, "Yes, we can do this." My wife and I received a Good Faith Estimate and assurances that BOA can handle this transaction. We paid the necessary costs, application fees, etc. Several months passed by and we follow up with BOA and we received sparse communication (maybe three times a month) informing us that yes, the loan details are being processed. We had assurances that the window regarding rate expiration will be extended so we're still locked in our rates. They did appraisals and said our LTV is good and everything is okay.
Several months passed by again. Two weeks ago, we received a call from the underwriter (Linda **) that informed us we had to pay down the secondary loan by approximately $3K. We explained that we can do that, so long as our agreement remains the same. We consolidated the two loans with the rate we agreed upon and pay one amount to BOA. No word for two weeks even after several follow-up phone calls. Yesterday (7/30), we finally received a phone call from the underwriter. This time, she tells us that due to policy changes, they can't do the loan anymore because of policy changes. Of course, this was unacceptable and I requested her to forward me immediately to her manager. After about an hour, I got a phone call from the manager. The manager tells me that policy has changed with LTV, PMI back in March and now they can't consolidate both loans. They can only do one loan. This does not help me. There's no point in doing this. So, I asked him during these 6-7 months why there was no communication at all telling me this? I spoke to BOA agents, underwriters, etc. and none of them until yesterday informed me of this change, that they couldn't process my loan. Of course, he didn't have a response.
As a result, I'm going to try to take legal action against Bank of America. I'll contact as many resources as I can to correct this. Economically, my finances were put on hold since I could not make any major moves as I was locked into their processing window. I had to stay status quo. Financial decisions had to be made with the anticipation that the refinance will go through; now, that's not going to happen. Monies have been lost. The opportunity cost of finding another lender and the window for me to find another rate has passed; all because of their negligence and misleading information or otherwise. Physically, the stress has been mounting since we have not gotten feedback during this whole time about our status. We were led to believe the transaction would happen; only to find out yesterday that "Oops, too bad." I would like to get reparations for the costs I have incurred and punitive damages against Bank of America for negligence and breach of a verbal and written contract. Can anyone help?
Reviewed July 31, 2009
I am unfortunately a current client of Bank Of America. I was having a hard time making my monthly payments because at my job, they cut overtime and it affected me greatly. I called BOA and they said they could assist me by doing a loan modification. They sent papers out stating that I would pay $783.45 beginning February 1, 2009 that included principal and interest. After January 1, 2011, I would pay $924.11 beginning February 1, 2011, which included with the quoted principal interest. I would pay this until the loan is paid in full. I received a call from a representative from BOA and asking if I understood and agreed with terms of the modification. We went through everything and we both were on the same page with what I was stated previously.
I then called BOA financial department to ask where was my new coupon payment book and I was told it would be mailed and that the payment would be $1,009.98 and not what was in the modification agreement of $783.45. The man became extremely rude and loud with me and told me it was a mistake and to send the amount of money of $1,009.98. I told him that it was not what I signed and agreed on. I then decided I would only send the payment that I signed, agreed and notarized. On July 1, 2009, I called to ask where my coupon book was or to make a payment by phone. The automated machine said the account didn't exist. I then spoke to a lady and she checked and said the account hadn't yet been reinstated and that's why I didn't receive a coupon.
I had been paying every month for a year and don't know where any of my money/payments have gone because the address I was given was different from the address I was given last. I was told a letter would be sent out with a coupon for me to make a payment and the address until the new coupon book. When the letter and temp coupons came out, it was for $1,009.98 and not the amount that I signed and agreed to pay. Because of this situation, I have been suffering from stress, which in my case, isn't good because I have a heart disease. In the last few months, my doctor had told me of his concerns because my blood pressure has been elevated. I had to rent my home out just to pay $783.45 because of health issues suffered from dealing with this situation with BOA.
When I'm done paying my mortgage, I barely have enough money to live off and now with these underhanded antics, lies and manipulations, BOA has and is currently doing I don't know what I'll do because I would have to raise the renter's rent and I can't legally do it as the renter just signed the lease for a year. I'm thinking about looking into getting a lawyer and sue Bank of America because this entire situation is unacceptable and ludicrous. I'll tell every person to not deal with BOA. They're thieves and liars. The only thing you'll get from them is a heart attack, which from the looks of it is where I'm probably heading if I don't get this situation resolved.
Reviewed July 30, 2009
On March 27, 2009, I applied for a "fast track" Countrywide refinance. This individual handled my original claim and said that I was in a good financial status: credit score, equity, employment, and owner of other properties (never having refinanced before). This individual continues to insist that I will be getting a refinance loan with a 4.5 % interest rate. It has never happened.
Reviewed July 30, 2009
I submitted a mortgage loan refinance application in January 2009. I received a verbal approval in early February because at that time, my loan to value ratio was approximately 50% LTV making it a simple equity loan. The intent of the loan was to pay off about $64,000 in credit card debt, most of which was BOA credit cards charging an average of 27% interest. It is now nearly August and I cannot get a definitive response from BOA as to why the loan has not closed. Relying on the bank's original approval commitment, I made a substantial number of repairs and improvements to the home in question and now due to the delay, my credit has been destroyed.
It appears that BOA really is not interested in making reasonable loans with the billions they received in the "Stimulus Package". Instead, they are using the money to accelerate their foreclosure and collection efforts. I have been receiving 2-3 collection calls per day from BOA in spite of the fact that I have told them time and again that they have failed to close my new loan in a timely manner and that as soon as it closes, the entire credit card balance will be paid off. My reliance on BOA's commitment and the subsequent unnecessary delay has now made my credit look really bad and I am left with no alternatives.
Reviewed July 29, 2009
I recently tried to refinance my mortgage through Bank of America. My credit score is 733 and my debt to income ratio is about 48. I was told I would have no problems refinancing at a lower rate. I completed all the paperwork and paid Bank of America $495 for the appraisal and some other fee, which was $30 (credit report maybe). The appraisal was completed via LandSafe by a person named Nancy **. LandSafe is a company owned by Bank of America. They appraised my house at over $10,000 less than all the other houses in my neighborhood. It appears to me that the appraiser went out of her way to find the absolute lowest sales to bring my appraisal down as low as possible. She even compared my house to a two-bedroom townhouse with no garage.
I live in a two-story home that is only attached to the next house by a small storage building - referred to as a "manor house" or "cluster home". I have three bedrooms and a garage. The appraisal came in at $169,000 and the new loan was for $173,000. I told my loan officer that two of the exact same houses on my street were closing on July 31st for over $182,000 (with no concessions) and she really didn't care. Her specific response was, "Sorry, it didn't work out.” She told me my option was to bring $5,000 to closing. What kind of system is it when the appraiser is working for the company making the loan? I notice that LandSafe has been accused of low-balling appraisals, first for Countrywide and now for Bank of America who bought out Countrywide.
It is very sad when our government bails out a company like this and they treat good homeowners in this fashion. I bet they make a killing just taking $465 from people for an appraisal they know is going to come in too low. I live in a very nice suburb area and most other houses are in the $300,000-$400,000 range. It is my sneaking suspicion that Bank of America is using LandSafe to go low on appraisals to protect their interests in the event of foreclosure. Steer clear of LandSafe and Bank of America for a refinance.
Reviewed July 28, 2009
I sent my May payment which at the time was current and they sent it back. Then, I sent May and June together and they sent both back with a $365 late fee. So, I called them and with no notice, they told me on the phone that I was in foreclosure. Why? No one could tell me. Then, they said that I could apply for a hardship loan and this would take 60-90 days! Don't you find it funny that if I hadn't hired an attorney, they would have just taken my home when I was current? Crooks!
Reviewed July 28, 2009
I lost my job in July of 2008. Countrywide was my mortgage company. My attorney was working with them in March of 2009 on a short sale of $225,000 to cover a $225,000 mortgage. Bank of America took over the company and after three month informed my attorney that they were rejecting the sale. The attorney was told that the property was appraised for me. The exact amount has changed several times. No 2-bedroom has sold for more than $230,000 in the last year. We proceeded to try a deed in lieu but have been told I need to put the property on the market for $275,000. Why, we don't know. A 3-bedroom sold last week for $260,000.
I am currently paying utilities there plus carrying insurance on the townhouse. I am behind on the association fee, but will figure how to get caught up and pay on a monthly basis because they are threatening legal action.
Everyone I talk with including my attorney can't understand why they rejected the sale. I am currently living in Maryland working, living in an apartment. I need help!
Reviewed July 24, 2009
I have applied for a loan modification since Dec. '08, I was told for 5 months that it was pending. On 5-6-09, I was told it was denied because I was not home to answer the phone call and I had to start all over again. I did what I was told. It would take 30 days and by 6-17, I would be notified of the decision. On 7-14, I received a FedEx from BofA and it was a denial. Today, 7-24-09, I received a letter from the office of the chairman that says my modification was approved in May and I was notified of such so I called to ask what the modification was. No one could answer the question as they had no idea I received the letter nor its contents. With BofA, the right hand does not know what the left is doing. In the meantime, homes are being foreclosed on and people's lives are being turned upside down. They are a joke.
Reviewed July 24, 2009
Starting in January 2009, I have been dealing with Bank of America to help refinance my mortgage. They will not call back and then will accuse you of phone stalking when you try to contact them. At first, my house came in at a good appraisal and then so much time passed due to their forgetfulness that now I am being penalized for their mistakes.
We had setup a closing date and I was told that I would not have to bring anything or little at all by loan officer. But when they came back and told me that my new appraisal was $10,000.00 less than the first and that now I would have to bring about $9,000.00 to closing, you try to call and no answer. They also told me the appraisal fee would be waived and it was not. Now, I have to wait for interest rates to go down again to 4.625 percent and my loan still is not consolidated.
Reviewed July 24, 2009
My wife and I spoke to BOA in late April or early May about obtaining a mortgage on a house we planned to purchase. The first conversations were easy and very encouraging and were followed by a letter from BOA congratulating us and giving us a preliminary approval. They were told we wanted to close in early July. We had approached BOA because they hold the mortgage on our then current home. That mortgage was larger than the one we were applying for and we had an excellent record and credit rating. After a few weeks, we started getting requests for information and documents, and we supplied them promptly. More requests and details followed, and again, we supplied the info promptly.
At this point, sometime in late June, we were told it was going to an underwriter for review. That underwriter asked for further info, which we also provided promptly. We had been dealing with a Texas or Nevada office. In the first or second week of July, we then received a call from Paul ** in a Long Island office. He said he was processing the loan and would send it to underwriting from there. We asked what about all the processing, etc. that had been done before and he said he was now handling it. He asked for many more documents, insisting on things that didn't even make sense to us, but again, we provided everything. He said that with the further info, it would go to underwriting that Thursday, July 9th.
Instead, we received further calls. This time from someone else who said she was asked to help out. More requests for documents, more supplied. We were up against a deadline, the closing on our house had to be on July 17 and we had to move out. On the afternoon of the 17th, we received a call from BOA that finally, all info had been supplied and reviewed and that the file would be submitted to underwriting that day or possibly on Monday the 20th by Paul **. Starting on Tuesday the 21st, I called Paul ** each day and got his voicemail. I pleaded with him for an update so we could know what was happening.
In the meantime, we had to postpone the closing on the house we were buying because we didn't know when or even if the mortgage would come through. We were able to postpone it until Wednesday, July 29, but not beyond that. Today Friday, July 24, Paul ** finally returned my call. He told me that the file had in fact not even been submitted to underwriting yet, because he had been very busy. When I reminded him that we had a closing date of July 27, he said basically that that was my problem, not his and that BOA hadn't scheduled the closing. This has been a terrible experience, getting handed off from one person to another, misrepresentations about the process and then at the most critical time, a lack of communication.
Reviewed July 23, 2009
I paid for a mortgage application with Bank of America for a $500.00 fee. I first paid a $500.00 fee with Quicken Loans. I had to refinance with this company before and was going to refinance with them again. I called Countrywide because they wanted to charge me extra for flood insurance. My mortgage changed from Countrywide to Bank of America.
When I called them, they tried to convince me to go from Quicken Loans to Bank of America also to entice me to get a credit card with their company. They had told me since everything was so good with my credit at that time they did not need any information from me. After signing with Bank of America, I had waited over there sixty days for my new mortgage. I had asked Bank of America where my mortgage was. Since these days, they have said I am over extended and they need to appraise my house again. I had my house appraised twice with Quicken Loans and had two greatly different appraisal.
My loan was approved but when I called Bank of America, they talked me into going with them. I went with them and now, they want to turn me down after the 60 days I was suppose to have my mortgage. Now, after the 60 days, they want my finances, and to appraise my house to be able to turn the mortgage down which was 4.8 percent, which would have lowered my payments by $200.00. On this consumer complaint page, this seems to be a normal for Bank of America when is the government going to stop this way of doing business with the public. Since this, I have been put on a leave of absence from work because of lack of work. I am supposed to be called back at the end of August. I would have had my mortgage with Quicken Loan and now I'm sure Bank of America is going to find a way to back out of this mortgage.
Reviewed July 23, 2009
I filed my applications for mortgage on a purchase of a new home on 5/15/09 and were scheduled to close on 6/19/09. BoA was very slow and confused about the process and didn't understand their own guidelines. The builder has given me $30k as concession, which I was hoping to save in any from possible. BoA requested several changes in purchase agreement, from depositing the concession money in escrow account to tax impound to HOA account. I accepted all possible arrangements, except losing that money. Finally, they promised 6/29/09 as the final closing date, which was postponed again to 7/1/09. I signed my all documents on 7/1/09, but still there were more last minute changes from BoA side. Another underwriter of BoA mistakenly raised a big issue for an item in my credit report, which was already clarified and cleared, causing the actual closing to be 7/7/09 and missing the 7/2/09 deadline for receiving California new home tax credit ($10,000), which I was counting on so much and was one of my reasons to purchase a new home in the first place. I asked BoA to reimburse me for $10,000, but they are ignoring me. I feel I have been treated unfairly and unprofessionally by BoA. I Intend to pursue this issue to the highest level of BoA organization, media and finally to the court.
Reviewed July 23, 2009
With the recent acquisition of Countrywide Mortgage by Bank of America (BOA), I have had noting but problems with BOA. I have been paying double (full) payments on my loan to pay it down in a shorter period of time. After BOA took over the loan, I began getting monthly statements a few months ahead of their actual due dates. This is unusual, so looking more closely at them, I found that BOA was forwarding the extra principal payments that I was sending to next months’ payments. That in effect, collects mostly interest for BOA and little principal being applied to the loan. It would be easy to assume that this could be some sort of clerical error, except I have called BOA on multiple occasions to fix it. They temporarily fix the problem only to apply the next principal payment in the same manner. Of course, BOA offers that the solution is signing up for bi-monthly auto drafts for a small fee. Why would I do that when I can electronically transfer the money for free from my online banking?
I would be willing to guess that this is not incompetence, but rather another disreputable practice by a bank well-known for these practices. For fellow consumers, this practice can mean millions of dollars from our pockets into the pockets of BOA. I would suggest that people with loans from BOA check their statements closely to assure that they are not being duped in this manner. I plan on moving my loan from BOA as quickly as I can. I cannot continue to do business with a company that is too incompetent or unethical to conduct fair business practices.
Reviewed July 22, 2009
I need help. Since Bank of America acquired Countrywide, my mortgage of 11 years has gone extremely bad. On 4/30/09, I submitted a check at the Bank of America branch on Central Dr. in Bedford, TX for my February 2009 payment. This check was cleared through my bank account but not posted to my home loan. I faxed copies twice to their service center at 1-800-595-8797.
On 5/15/09, the second check was submitted at Bank of America branch on Central Dr. in Bedford, TX for my March 2009 payment. This check was never processed and assumed lost until it was returned to me on 5/29/09 by the Bedford branch office, because no coupon voucher was with it (even though there was a loan number written on the check).
On 5/30/09, a third check was submitted in place of the second check for the March payment. Bank of America applied funds from the third check in place of the second check on 6/4/09. This was incorrect, because the first check is still lost and funds from the first check are still not applied to my account. On 6/16/09, a fourth check in the amount of $1400 was submitted at Bank of America branch on Glade Rd. in Colleyville, TX for April and May payments.
Due to Bank of America's inaccuracy of posting to my account, I had to close my bank account and open a new one. I have taken time away from work and spent many hours on the phone with multiple customer service reps, who told me my home loan was 4 payments behind and in foreclosure status. I have also visited the branch on Glade Rd., but I still got phone calls and certified letters. I was told my faxed proof has been received but that until the money is found, Bank of America would not clear my account.
Today, a supervisor named Britney told me my only recourse was to hire an attorney and send a summons to get this resolved, because she saw a payment on 6/4/09 that was applied for February. I tried to tell her this was to replace the second check that was returned to me but that the first check was also cleared through my account, so they have money from that check in February as well.
I can't even try to refinance with another mortgage company, because BofA would not clear this situation up and has ruined my credit for several months now. Please tell me what my recourse is. I have cancelled checks, and some of the customer service people at BofA have acknowledged that they couldn't find the funds from the first check. But others were extremely confused and would not help me. It's now going on over 3 months.
Reviewed July 21, 2009
On April 2, 2009, exactly 110 days ago, BofA sent me an email approving the refinance of my BofA home mortgage loan. Shortly, I was contacted with the message that all information was received and that I would be closing the loan shortly. In the last 6-8 weeks, I have left numerous messages for my "loan servicer." They do not call back for 2 weeks at a time. When they do call back, they say they will be calling me "next week." This has happened twice. Of course, they have not called back the following week, and I have to call again.
My last phone call a week ago has not been returned. I have called BofA two days in a row, and they assigned me a new loan servicer, who was going to call me right back in 5 minutes. No one ever called. I called them again. I was given the same promise. No one ever called. How long can they drag this out without even telling me what is holding up the process? How can I work with an institution that will not talk to me on the telephone?
Reviewed July 16, 2009
I called Bank of America customer service to talk with the short sale dept. The customer service rep was very nice. She didn't have the direct number for me so she transferred me to the short sale dept. I got a curt, rude customer service rep who was no help at all! My husband tried talking with BofA before we fell behind on payments. We were told, "Sorry, nothing we can do for you until you are behind on payments." So now we are behind on payments and we still can not talk to anyone. Last year when we contacted the bank, we asked if we did a short sale and we would pay the balance due over time. They said no problem, but we never heard back from them. Now, we are deeper in debt and most likely will never be able to repay the balance if we did get a short sale.
BofA is very uncooperative. I thought the Obama bail out was going to help us through this process. We have continued to try and resolve this with the least experience to BofA. I sent them a letter explaining why we need a short sale, months ago. I never got a reply. Today when I called, I asked for a short sale package, and to talk with someone in regard to short sales. I was told we don't have a short sale package. You just sent us a letter telling us why you need a short sale. What? I asked to talk with someone and was told there was no one to talk to regarding this matter. I guess they would rather I go into foreclosure... unfortunate.
We were not upside down until the banks began dumping foreclosed home. We are only about $50,000 underwater if we do a short sale. Nothing compared to others out there. Due to recent medical issues and a turn in the economy, we could no longer make the payments. Our credit has been ruined. We are facing and filing bankruptcy in the next year. I have cancer and this has put me under more stress than needed. We prided ourselves on our good credit and ability to repay debt. The BofA's ding to our credit is putting us deeper into debt. Our interest rates on credit cards have sky rocketed or the cards have been canceled ruining our good credit.
Reviewed July 16, 2009
Bank of America Home Mortgage Division wants to charge me $100 to change my maiden name on my documents to my married name. It is truly a discriminatory action on their behalf knowing that most women change their names to their husband's. Why should I be penalized? After all, I am being clear in avoiding confusion in billing, alerting them that every other entity and business I have dealt with has changed my name to reflect my current legal status. Is there anyone else that has this complaint? It is the only company out of 15 that wants to charge such a fee. I am having enough trouble paying necessary bills to have to pay Bank of America $100 to do their job. Most importantly, this seems to be a direct hit on women! Thank you.
Reviewed July 16, 2009
I am trying to find the right government entity to report fraudulent activity by Bank of America/Countrywide. As so many others have done, I initially tried to get a loan modification from Countrywide and was rejected and told to ask for refinance, which I did, only to be refused on the basis that my home, appraised by them last year, and again this year, was now upside down. We owe $100,000 on a home that appraises for $78,000 and in Texas you can only get 80% of the value which means another $15,000 less. So, if we could borrow, it would be for $37,000 less than what we owe!
I was told again to try loan modification (I was told the first time we were turned down because they like us to try to refinance first!) I then started sending in all of the info since April and today on the internet. It shows that I am denied, with no reason given. Our income has been drastically reduced. My husband sells cars, 100% commission (Honda) and I work for the government part-time. I was injured from the job I had at the time we financed. We are eligible based on all criteria and assessments.
Now, we are behind three months (we were told partial payments are not accepted and that we had to be behind at least two months). I will not lose my home. I will go to every media, every official it takes. Bank of America has received trillions and I believe the government has been misled and I am out to prove it. I want the government to look into this. Anybody with any suggestions, e-mail me please! Consequences: major depression, health issues, possible loss of home.
Reviewed July 15, 2009
This is just a warning to anyone dealing with Bank of America for home mortgage. One week before our closing date of June 5, 2009, we were told the house was going into short sale. They wouldn't be able to close on June 5th but they would make it a high priority and it would not take the full 30 days. All inspections, etc. were done. They told the seller and he would hear no later than July 3. Well, it's July 15, 2009 and still no word. Apparently, the person handling the case has been gone twice for a number of days. The kicker is our loan is approved to purchase through none other than Bank of America. You would think that would mean something but not. Customer service is poor on the seller side.
Reviewed July 15, 2009
I'm almost into my 4th month of waiting to have my home loan refinance from Countrywide (bought by Bank of America). They asked me to refinance for a lower rate and I agreed, to go ahead and pay off the rest of my debt which was at a higher interest rate. Although they said I was still locked in at my rate, they will not return my phone calls or emails. The customer service department said they do not track complaints because they are "too big of a company" although they have time to telemarket me at least three times a week at night trying to sell Bank of America programs. If they can't manage Countrywide, why were they allowed to buy it? Why does the SEC still fails to regulate these big investment companies and who looks out for us? I'm lost and I don't know who to turn to. What a country.
Reviewed July 15, 2009
I was with Countrywide with my mortgage and had fallen almost 1 month behind. I had made arrangements to pay a certain amount each week along with the following months' mortgage as to stay up to date. I made the first payment then received a phone call from BofA telling me I owed $1750.00. I told them they must have someone else they are trying to contact and that I don't have an account with them. That's when I was told they had taken over Countrywide. I did not know this nor had I before then or yet received anything stating this.
I have now fallen several months behind, and still to date, I have not received a statement. Phone calls, yes; but no statement. I asked them why I can't get anything on paper all I've heard. First, it was because I was behind. Then it was because I paid online. Regardless, I should receive something through the mail. I got government help with my home taxes and can't file the assistance forms, because I cannot get BofA to send me any information. I had set up an agreement over the phone, providing they send me a statement. I kept my end and did call in a payment. Guess what. No statement. Oh, but I did get another phone call to almost double for the next 6 months my house payment.
I hope the government helps them out again, because all they have helped me out with is a ticket out of my door. It's all because I can't receive a statement. Sure, I would like to know why and if this is legal for them to do.
Reviewed July 15, 2009
Based on my recent experience with BofA Home Loans, I will never, ever bank with them again. After having our 1st child, my wife and I decided to buy a home in a better neighborhood than we live in now. So, my wife applied for a mortgage and got a pre-approval a day or so later. Meanwhile, we worked hard to submit tons of documents to them within about a week. We saved money above and beyond our required down payment and closing costs. We made an offer on a property in early May and for reasons unknown to us, they didn't do due diligence on the loan until the end of June. Mind you, we were scheduled to close on June 24th. The original loan officer assured us and our agent several times by phone and by e-mail that everything would be ready by then.
Well, BofA finally got back to us a week after our scheduled close date and wanted even more documentation. It was as if we never applied for the loan in the first place. Some of the documents the UW requested we had already sent months ago to the original loan officer. Apparently, the UW didn't like the fact that my wife's income was lower than usual because she took off several months of work to have our child.
It was now July and we submitted the docs to the local loan processor (who never answered his phone by the way). The sellers graciously gave us an extension on the PA, though we knew their patience was running thin. Again, we started this process in early May and it was now July. Ultimately, the UW listed my wife's income as unstable, even though she was working full time before and after her maternity leave.
We lost the deal on the property, which was literally a once in a lifetime deal for the neighborhood we were looking at. Meanwhile, we were pretty much out of the nearly $700 that we spent on the inspection, appraisal and credit report fee. We also lost time and money getting babysitters while we looked at properties under the false pretense that we were "pre-approved" for a home loan. We had even boxed up half of the belongings in our home under the mistaken impression that we would be moving soon. Even the seller's agent was pissed at BofA because even though the seller accepted our offer, they had several other good ones.
All in all, it was a complete waste of time and money. We got jerked around for over two months, even though we had the income, credit, and downpayment. My wife and I are drained from this process and will try again in a year or so. But we will sure steer clear of Bank of America! Be sure you do the same!
Reviewed July 15, 2009
They have taken millions in stimulus money and are not helping consumers with the Obama housing crisis plan. We have lost 30% of our income since January, and we are struggling. We got the runaround for 3.5 months; paperwork was lost three times to finally be told we don't qualify under this plan because we are not 90 days delinquent. Bank of America is horrible to work with. I was told by an actual employee of theirs that they are proving to be difficult to work with throughout this process.
Reviewed July 13, 2009
Bank of America recently bought my fixed rate mortgage from Countrywide. They recently raised my mortgage by $2288 per year. My taxes went up by $280 per year and my homeowner's went up by $43 per year. They claim that I have a new reserve requirement of $123 per month! What is this reserve requirement! How can they do this?
Reviewed July 11, 2009
I applied for a home refinance back in January 2009. It seems unreasonable that we have not closed and it is now July. They continue to request updates on documentation, pay stubs or bank statements, etc., with which we comply. They say it's because they are running behind. Is there any way this can be expedited? Otherwise, I would like my application fee refunded - $400.00. I am concerned that this process could go on for a year or more and Bank of America states they will not refund the application fee if I cancel.
Reviewed July 11, 2009
Bank of America calls me every month to remind me that my house payment is due, not past due! Even at work. They call it a courtesy call. It's usually some rude Indian woman. A couple of months ago, they called me at work and said my property taxes had gone up and they had not adjusted enough on my payment, which are not an ARM. I owed $375.00 immediately! Okay, I paid but called on my taxes (live in a small town), no tax increase! What can I do against this corporate giant? Nothing. Every month, I want to refinance but with the economy in the tank, I think my property appraisal will be much less than it was even a few years ago. Bank of America should be ashamed of the business practices they have in place. My payments are up to date and on time. The calls from overseas are annoying to say the least because they know they are not held responsible for their actions. What can you do? I am appalled!
Reviewed July 10, 2009
I have lost hours and 15% of my pay just like thousands of others. The closing agent on the refinance I had botched my loan up. One property tax was paid but my house was on two properties and the closing papers were not handled correctly and I feel delinquent on this also. Now my payments went up another $40.00 a month. I momentarily fell behind on my mortgage but have now caught everything up but the late penalties.
I told them my situation and they said I have hold onto my payments and file for help under new Obama rules and programs that they have. I waited two months, called everyday to see if I qualified and finally after two months, I just made the payments. I finally talked with the loss-mitigations department and they said since I was behind, that my credit report was affected and that I no longer qualify for anything, even a refinance. I told them that I was told to stop paying until the process was gone through and they said I must have been told wrong. They intentionally did this to say they tried to help!
Reviewed July 10, 2009
BofA has been refinancing our mortgage for over 110 days and recently admitted to not being able to close it due to a processing oversight. Do not refinance with BofA. It is the most time consuming unrewarding experience.
Reviewed July 7, 2009
I applied for a loan modification and was denied. I'm a 62-year-old widower and a 2-time cancer survivor. My husband was killed in a car accident in November 2000. I was the driver and I blamed myself for 2 years until God revealed to me I was not at fault. In the year 2004, I had someone do my income taxes and they falsified information. September 2008, the IRS garnished my wages and I filed for bankruptcy on November 2008. I am now 5 months behind in my mortgage and your bank has sent me a "letter of acceleration" stating if the balance of $6,416.77 is not paid by July 26, 2009, they will begin foreclosure. I am asking for your help. When I applied for a loan modification, I was hoping to get a reduction in my monthly note. I now pay $987.00 a month. I am an honest person, a hard worker and a taxpayer. I am hoping for your assistance. The government bailed you all out using the taxpayer's money and I am hoping for the same.
Reviewed July 6, 2009
My original home loan was with Greenpoint Mortgage Service. My taxes were paid to the wrong parcel ID# for 2006 and 2007. When brought to Greenpoint's attention, 2006 taxes were paid again. All of this came from my escrow account. None of the taxes were ever applied to anything, just a lost to my escrow. My loan was transferred to Countrywide in December. By this time, I had a foreclosure notice from Wayne County. Countrywide paid all delinquent taxes, adding this escrow account, which reached over $11,000. I have received only 1 credit for one of the charges.
My mortgage has increased $1,300. Most of this is escrow shortage which I do not owe. I am in contact with my mortgagor and now am being told that I have received all I can get. Ms. ** even told me that she contacted the city of Detroit and could not validate any information. This is a lie. Many of the comments made are unprofessional and have no validity. I am taking off work to try to retrieve information Countrywide (now Bank of America) will not do. I am unable to pay this excess money and do not feel I have to. Within month, I will be in foreclosure for a mistake made that they refuse to correct. Since my loan was transferred, there is no way to get information from Greenpoint or I get lies from Bank of America. No effort is being made.
Reviewed July 5, 2009
My wife and I have banked with Bank of America (BOA) for several years. We had our checking and savings accounts through them. We had credit cards with them. We had our mortgage and our home equity loan through them. When we opened our home equity line of credit, we specifically arranged for monthly statements that were to paid by check. We requested that no automatic debit be approved and were assured that nothing like that was possible without our written authorization. We qualified for their "advantage customer" status.
Our relationship with BOA has gone from one of mutual respect to one of predatory banking practices. It started when my wife and I were both laid off at the same time (June 2008). With me as a geologist and her as an engineer and a registered nurse, we were confident that we would be back to work very quickly. We were wrong. We were out of work for 9 months. With help from family, we stayed current on all of our obligations, but we knew that we were going to have to make some changes. We called BOA and asked them if there was any help available for people in our position. They replied that since we were current on our obligations, there was nothing they could do for us. According to BOA, we had to be at least 90 days past due before they would work with us. It doesn't make sense, but that was all they told us. So, we decided to destroy our credit and fall behind so we could get some assistance and keep our home.
It seemed like a simple plan and, as were both employed by March 2009, we figured that it would only take us a little time to get caught up. Now, it is important that I point out that, while we are employed, we are seriously underemployed. We are earning a little more than half of what we did a year ago. My wife contacted BOA and discussed our options. Based on the BOA rep, we qualified for a loan modification. My wife immediately applied. After not hearing from BOA for a long time, we decided to apply via a litigation firm. Based on their advice, we stopped paying our mortgage and our home equity loan.
On March 30, 2009, BOA accessed our account and, without authorization or notification, seized the amount we owed on our home equity loan. We avoided any overdrafts, but it put us in a bad financial position for several weeks. Following the seizure of these funds, my wife overpaid the next installment so that we could catch up. BOA again accessed our account and seized the funds without authorization or notification. In all, BOA illegally seized $795 in home equity payments. In addition, we had previously linked our savings with our checking account to avoid overdraft charges. BOA chose to ignore this and this time, we were hit with 11 overdrafts at $35 a piece due to their illegal seizure of our funds.
Following the first overdrafts, it took approximately 10 days for them to notify us of our negative account status. The cycle of funds seizure had begun. In all, BOA took approximately $1,180. We have spoken with BOA three times since these problems began. We have been met with condescension, apathy, and open hostility. We need help. We have been placed in an impossible financial position due to the illegal activities of Bank of America. What are our options? Can you help us?
Reviewed July 4, 2009
My mortgage payment is due on the first of each month. It is now the third of July and I have not received my monthly statement yet. My last statement date was 5-28-2009. How can I pay my mortgage on time when I never receive my statement soon enough to make my payment? We never had this problem with Countrywide mortgage. We will have to pay a late fee and this late will have a negative effect on my credit history. Can you help?
Reviewed July 3, 2009
Bank of America held the reverse mortgage on my grandmother's home here in Ventura. We had looked into refinancing the loan to get it FHA-insured. BofA had scammed my 91-year-old grandmother into accepting a jumbo loan that was not backed by FHA insurance and had an extremely high interest rate. As soon as we started negotiating with another company, BofA gave the case and all the documentation to some unauthorized, unknown broker, who didn't even have a legitimate phone number. There were no signed documents and no authorization for them to give the case to anyone at that point.
Needless to say, there was a domino effect that has cost us thousands of dollars, delays, stress, and aggravation. I believe BofA has violated a very serious breach of contract and privacy laws. We still have no idea who this unknown mortgage broker is and why BofA turned over the loan without my grandmother's knowledge, permission, or signature.
Reviewed July 2, 2009
I have a wife of 19 years and 5 children. In March 2007, I was involved in a head-on automobile accident which resulted in a complicated traumatic brain injury. At the end of September, my recovery was going very slow and I was still unable to return to work or even drive. I proactively contacted Countrywide Home Mortgage. I had never been even late with a payment, but I was running out of reserves and Countrywide graciously gave me two three (3) month Special Forbearance periods with no credit reporting and no late fees (by written agreement). At the end of the Special Forbearance, I was approved by Countrywide for a Homesaver Advance loan to pay the deficit, with payments to begin in March 2009. I signed the loan modification contract for a Homesaver Advance loan and returned the paperwork, which they acknowledged receiving. Meanwhile, I resumed my normal payments and they began accepting them.
In March 2009, I was notified that due to a failure by the Loan Modification Department to complete the modification closure properly, the loan modification contract was never funded and my March payment and subsequent payments were rejected by Countrywide, which is now sold to Bank of America. The loan is a mess, I am trying to pay as agreed contractually but they are not taking my payments and are moving me toward foreclosure. I have documented over 36 separate conversations with Countrywide/BofA since November 2008 trying to resolve their error. I have signed contracts and documentations stating that the previous modification was approved and in place, they have received and cashed my payments on the Homesaver Loan, but they are telling me they "made a mistake".
Though they agreed in writing that they would not report me delinquent, they have done so anyway and have dropped my beacon score from 768 to? This has caused my creditors to close many of my credit lines, call others due and has seriously eroded my ability to gain meaningful employment because I have been in executive management for the last 15 years and every credible employer does a background investigation and credit check. Because BofA could not figure out how to correct this, in order to delay the impending foreclosure process that was automatically triggered, they asked me to accept another 3 month Special Forbearance with no credit reporting (in writing), though they continue to report me as late and treat me like a credit risk and have even called me a credit risk and recently treated me fairly rudely, even though they are the problem.
Reviewed July 2, 2009
My husband and I relocated for a new job and needed to sell our home in northern SC. We moved to a very cheap, temporary address in AL to keep current with our mortgage until the house sells. We were excited to have an offer on the house, but the house ended up appraised for about $20K less than it had 1.5 years earlier, leaving us about $13k short of being able to pay off the loan. I called Bank of America, our loan holder, to discuss our options. I was told we could do a short sale, even though we were current with our mortgage. So we initiated a short sale. It took us several phone calls to even find out what we needed. We sent what was asked, but the process was just too long for the buyer. I called and was told by one of BoA's CSRs that our loan application would remain in the system and be assigned an analyst. Keep in mind any answer we received required multiple phone inquiries.
A month later, we had a new offer on the house and started calling BoA again to get the ball rolling. It took me multiple phone calls to find out they were missing information. The same information we sent more than a month prior. My husband and I wrote up a new letter to address the same thing asked before and faxed it. I called the next week to make sure they received it and was told it could take a week to get the fax into the system. The next week, BoA still did not show record of the received fax or information. Once again, my husband and I had the same information faxed to BoA with the information needed from our realtor. At this point, we had received letters asking for a hardship letter as to why we were behind in our mortgage. We were current with our mortgage.
During this time, our assigned analyst left a voicemail message to return her phone call to discuss important information. This had to be done by my husband because he was the loan holder. We tried multiple times the same day to contact the analyst, but when the BoA CSR finally connected to her, she didn't want to speak with us. She wanted to update the information in the system with the same info we had now sent three times. Later on in the weeks, the analyst did call us and needed to speak with my husband and gave me an actual direct line instead of the customer service number, my husband could call her back at. Of course, I had called BoA to make sure they got the 19-page fax from our realtor before receiving her call.
My husband spoke with the analyst and was told an appraisal of the house would be scheduled. The analyst still claimed the info faxed to them 3 times was not received. The analyst then said she would go over every page in the fax if my husband wanted her to. Of course he did and when she started to go over the 19 pages in the fax, stammered over a couple of them, stating one of the pages of info she said wasn't there. To be on the safe side, my husband and I faxed the same information a 4th time. At this point, we definitely felt as if we were wasting our time and money. We were suffering from BoA's incompetence and having to deal with many CSRs who were not friendly at all. It was always the BoA saying the process was being held up by us, if the info isn't in the system, then we didn't send it.
I called BoA again 2 days ago to see if our most recent fax had been received and to confirm the appraisal of the house being scheduled. Of course, the fax wasn't received but to my shock, the appraisal the analyst said she would order wasn't ordered. The CSR said she would email the analyst to let her know we had called to inquire about our account. I knew this would be all that the CSR could do. Later the same day, the analyst called needing to speak with my husband again. I asked her why she needed to speak with him and about the appraisal. The analyst proceeded to tell me she could only try to contact us a number of times before she would have to kick our request out of the system and that it was her third attempt. She also said she would need to go over the terms of the condition before she could order the appraisal on our house.
I told her she spoke with my husband last week over the same thing. She said she hadn't spoken with him and we had never tried to contact her. I could not believe what I was hearing. Here this woman was threatening to kick our request out of the system, while denying she had ever spoken with my husband. We went back and forth over when we tried to contact her, when he actually spoke to her and what he spoke to her about. Since this whole short sale process began, I have gotten really good at speaking over top of BoA employees when they refuse to listen to what the customer is saying and refusing to let the customer speak. As the analyst continued to deny any phone correspondence, I told her I had a recorded voicemail message and good phone records and will have my husband call her, said thank you and hung up.
When my husband was able to get one of his many phone calls through to her, she was very apologetic and said she found the log where she had spoken with him and this time, gave him an order number for the appraisal. Unfortunately, it is me having to deal with all this, while he is at work. All I get is the bad end. I also want to add a note about the customer service reps. It has been my observation most of the female, not all, CSR are very rude and need to be retaught how to deal with customers whom have become irate through their dealings with the BoA incompetence, the verbal ** to come out of their or other CSR mouths and the complete disregard of what the customer is asking or saying.
I will tell you, I happen to get one really stupid CSR on the phone. She would not help me in any way. You can tell when someone doesn't know how to help you or just won't help you. This one just wouldn't help me. I quickly got off the phone with her and called back for someone else. Not knowing the first CSR's name and really not caring at this point, because I was so mad, I referred to her as a **. This action ticked off the CSR I was currently speaking with and she became hostile towards me after the 2nd or 3rd time. I told her I was venting and she would just need to let me vent, but at least I got something accomplished with her.
I have had a number of not so nice CSRs speak to me, most of them female. The male CSRs either ignore the angered tone of customer or speak to the customer as if they are really trying to help, instead of responding in defense to an angry customer with a raised voice and rapid speech, as I usually have when really ticked off. Trying to tell the customer they have no right to be angry or "you need to fix your tone" only makes thing worse. So yeah guys! Maybe the guys need to teach the gals how to provide good customer service. There are other things said by the analyst and the CSRs that have convinced me Bank of America sends all their employees to ** school.
Reviewed July 2, 2009
I am behind on my mortgage payments and was told that as long as I am no more than two months behind that my home would not be put into foreclosure. Unfortunately, my home went into foreclosure before the 3rd month came due. When I spoke to the supervisor and told her that a gentleman had said I was fine as long as I don't go three months behind, she told me he gave wrong information and that Michigan residents are more at risk.
My income dropped because my ex-husband's income dropped and this is where I get a majority of my money to pay bills. Now, I am being told not to give the mortgage company any more money and start saving it so I can find a house or apartment to rent for my family. The supervisor told me if I send in a letter of hardship and proof of income, they may approve a loan modification program. Once again, I was told by another person currently in the foreclosure process that this will not help in any way and all they want is to know exactly how much money I make so that they can sue me and collect the debt. Please help me understand what to do. I really don't want to lose my home since I have invested so much money into it.
Reviewed July 1, 2009
I purchased an oceanfront condo approximately 4 years ago. Always had it rented, until the economic turmoil and the tenant no longer was able to continue paying rent due to his economic and job situation, which was getting worse. We tried to rent the unit for a couple of months, and unfortunately, many other units in the same building became vacant and rents were lowered drastically, leaving us to the point that the amount of money we had to take out of our pockets was way too much. Not helping much, that the condo association required in such difficult times from future tenants is $500 US deposit fee, only reimbursable when the tenant would finish their contract.
Due to this situation, my husband and I decided to place the property on short sale. Before that, we tried selling the property for a couple of months for which we can provide proof through the real estate company who listed the property on the MLS. But after trying to sell the property for months, we found out that a property has way much bigger PH, on an 11 floor, with extra bedrooms (ours is a 1/1 4th floor) had been sold by a bank for $274,000 USD. We purchase ours for $365,000 plus a $50,000 line of credit given to us by the same bank. This pushed us to put the property on a short sale process to at least make the effort and avoid a foreclosure.
All this unfortunately has been dealt with Bank of America. Approximately 2 months after having the property listed as a short sale (this was Sept. of 08), we finally receive a contract from a prospect buyer going in with 20% down payment with possibilities of placing more money down. Offered received for $250,000 (so many months have passed by, I barely remember the exact amount on the contract) but anyway, Bank of America received this purchase contract on September of 08. Then after many follow-ups and indicating that they never received the contract, then months would pass by and would say that the contract had never been received on behalf of the broker and myself, they would say that it hadn't been assigned.
Finally, in Dec. of 08, they indicated the case had been assigned to an analyst by the name of Lillian **, and there after, all they respond is that it is still in review. To our surprise, after almost 9 months that Bank of America has this short sale contract, and so many calls asking us the same stupid question, why we can't pay and then we threw the ball to their side of the court telling them we are waiting for their response 9 months ago, they said they're going to look into it. But not only that, we received approximately 1 week ago, a notification from the bank, that the work out option had been rejected. We didn't understand, and when we called the bank at the Loss Mitigation Department they have the nerve to tell my husband that they had received a notice on behalf of the buyer that they no longer were interested in the contract and that they had walked out.
Obviously, the buyer's agents were contacted and to our surprise, they indicated they still had the money in Escrow and had never notified the bank of such action. And as proof, they sent the broker an email confirming this. Now, what is going on? I wish I knew it myself. It seems to me that Bank of America has a conflict of interest with these properties, as they keep making us and the rest of people with this similar case go in circles, but never give a response, and now they have the nerve to lie about the buyer's interest in the purchase.
To conclude, almost 9 months have passed by, between the broker and us as owners have been on their neck calling at least twice a week, there are buyers still at this point, waiting for a response. Now, 2 years are due on the taxes of this property which could have been avoided if the case had been closed in the past months, and the condo association is also behind the property. And still, the bank is stating they need, I don't now how many billions due to the stress test which not only come out of taxpayer’s pocket, but on the other hand they are not doing absolutely anything to help customers, they really don't care.
Sooner or later, the buyers will walk away. A property that could be sold as short sale and avoid me economic damages to a soon to come foreclosure which will cause me a future judgment, due to their negligence. All the time invested by the both real estate companies, and economic damages caused to the buyers who most likely have lost the opportunity to invest in another property with similar characteristics but with a different bank.
Reviewed July 1, 2009
Bank of America was helping me to do a refinance on my house. We had worked out one at 5.35%, saving me $145.00 a month which would have helped a lot. This refinance was supposed to be done without an appraisal of the house. One day, a man shows up at my door saying that he was there to do an appraisal for BOA. Me not knowing much about the mortgage process, I said OK. A month later, after not hearing anything from BOA, I called to see what was going on with the refinance. I was told that they had cancelled it due to the appraisal not being enough. When I asked why was the appraisal was done, I was told that someone had messed up and that there was nothing that could be done for 60 days.
I waited for the 60 days to be up and called BOA back. This time, they said that they still could do the refinance but instead of 5.35%, it was now 6.75%. I told them that this was unacceptable and once again, asked about the appraisal and why it was done. I was told again that someone had just messed up and that they were sorry. I would not recommend anyone ever work with BOA because I feel that they are all crooks.
Reviewed June 30, 2009
I am a realtor representing a client who has their mortgage with BOA. We have been trying for weeks (about 4 now) to get back a form that the closing attorney sent to them to fill out so that we can close a sale on his property. We have been told over and over that it will be taken care of and they will call the attorney's office with nothing ever happening. This delay may well blow the sale for this client and put him in a financial bind. If I were him, I would sue! It could result in hundreds of thousands in loss for my client!
Reviewed June 28, 2009
I initially attempted to get a loan for a house but did not continue with it, it did not pass inspection. I had faxed them all required documents. I had another house in mind and began the loan process with that one. I was told I would have to do another application over the phone, which I did. It was a no fee mortgage plus loan (no closing costs, 10% down and I had a locked in interest rate). Sharon, the first loan officer, was rude, unfriendly and sour. She took almost the whole closing time to call me. I kept calling to see who was assigned to my loan, they kept telling me she would call me. When she finally called me, she was rude. She told me she just got the loan and that she has a lot of loans and went on about her having a lot of work.
Since the other persons had worked directly with my realtor, I asked her if she could do the same since it was hard for me to answer her (she did not answer return calls) when I was at work. She said no, she does not talk to agent because they are pushy and she does not have time. I told her it would be faster since the person before her did (no customer service). I explained he can send her all required docs. She proceeded in telling me that she would note this because his fax could be unreliable. I said okay and that he keeps all confirmation reports, she stated that those were unreliable. I simply told her that was untrue. It's a confirmation report of something factually sent.
Anyways, she would lie about not receiving calls from me. She failed to tell me the loan expired, I believe 5/29/09, and my contract was to close about 5/22/09. She had all the documents, but decided not to close. The day I first talked to her, I knew we were going nowhere. I thanked her for attempting to help (whatever that was) and asked her to transfer me to another agent. She then said, "no, that would take time". I then asked for a supervisor, she said no, that she was not in. I asked her for the supervisor's name and contact info. She said no, so I asked to get a statement "are you refusing to give the information?". She said no, but that she would forward an email. I said thanks and we disconnected.
I did call and email a supervisor and a manager, they never called me or emailed me back. This Sharon woman had one more contact after that with me. That time, she acted as if she was customer service queue (weird). She stated she was handling everything and thanked me (weird), so I was also nice to get this rolling. Time came to close, my agent called her, the title company called her and I called her. She returned no one's calls. Then came in Lashay **. She called me to tell me that she is assigned to my loan and to call her because she is requiring some documents. This one made contact with me one time to tell me she is my new agent, sweet as can be and that she will get this expedited but my loan has expired. She will forward my case to underwriters and that she will stay in contact. Needless to say, I have emailed her several times and called leaving messages. She has not contacted me back. I've looked everywhere for their corporate number or complaints department without success.
Reviewed June 25, 2009
We have seven years left on a fifteen year mortgage with BOA. We tried to refinance for the lower interest rate of 4.3 or 5%. We were given a closing date and as the date was approaching, we were advised that since we had a home equality loan, the credit union did not want be the second lienholder so therefore, we would need an appraisal. We were okay with this and BOA said we had to pay a $500 dollar appraisal fee in addition to the $400 processing fee we paid. The appraisal came back around $274,000, we paid $150,000 when we bought our home. We got a callback and was told our home was showing that it had been for sale. We told them in the beginning we needed to either sale or refinance, whichever one will keep up in our home. I am not working and my husband is the one paying bills alone. We were told we would still close, however, the underwriters were going over our paper since it showed we were for sale.
We kept calling James ** to no avail, for two weeks. We finally were put through to an underwriter who told us we would be denied because we had our home for sale. We have yet to read anything that says you cannot have your home on the market. I don't know if this was a scam, but I do know it is not fair. My husband informed them we may have four months at the most before we would have to foreclose on our home. To be able to refinance with a lowered rate would have been a huge relief. We have always paid our mortgage and we did not have an ARM nor were we from Countrywide. We are loyal BOA customers. Will someone please tell me how to file a complaint against BOA? We were qualified for the assistance from the government. I think BOA is a fraud and should be sued. I intend to do just that as soon as I find the avenue.
Reviewed June 24, 2009
In early May, we had a windstorm that damaged our entire roof. State Farm wrote us a check with Bank of America as a co-signee. The check was for $12,950. One week ago (6/16), we had our local Bank of America Branch Manager overnight the check to Phoenix. Bank of America Mortgage didn't bother to contact us that they even received the check.
After another trip to Bank of America, the Branch Manager made a call to Phoenix and was told the check would be sent to us regular mail and the contractor's name would appear on the check also. We should receive the check in 5-7 working days and must jump through thin new hoop to get our roof replaced. We are told the check will be for $10,000 and we are to call them when our contractor is 75% finished so Bank of America can inspect it to release the rest of the funds.
They can't explain at all why we at all why we are not using electronic transfer when we pay our mortgage this way and why are we being treated like a couple of crooks. I feel harmed because we are talking about a roof leaking and if any interest is accrued on this money that we also will receive the interest with our final monies from Bank of America Mortgage. They have a copy of the signed contract for $14,950 and need to release all of the funds at once.
Reviewed June 24, 2009
We have been BOA customers for many years. We were looking into refinancing and was told the first time that closing cost would be $5500.00, so we said, no thank you. Then E ** called us back at a later date and told us it would only cost us $400.00. Then he talked to my husband and told him that it would be $2700.00, but he needed $400.00 on a credit card upfront, and that this $400.00 was non-refundable. This was to be included in the $2700.00. We agreed to this.
When the paperwork arrived, the closing cost was $3971.00. When we saw the amount of the closing cost, we decided we did not want to go through with it because the amount was not what we were told. We do not think we should have to pay the $400.00 because we were totally misled by the amount of the closing cost. My husband has left 2 messages for Mr. E and he has not returned the calls. We also called BOA, but they wouldn't do anything about the $400.00 either.
Reviewed June 22, 2009
On Saturday, June 20, I received a phone call from Bank of America which stated that they had not received my June mortgage payment. I was distraught over this, because I knew I had mailed my payment. The person I spoke with said that I could pay the mortgage over the phone and that she would waive the late fee and the over-the-phone fee. So we did that.
Then she said that I should cancel the check that I wrote since they had never received the check. So I called my bank and put a stop payment on the check, for which I was charged $20.00. That afternoon, in the mail was a letter from Bank of America dated June 16, which stated that they had received my check for June payment, but the check was damaged by the US Post Office machinery and so they were unable to deposit the check.
So in fact, the phone call from that morning stating they had never received my check was false. They had received my check, albeit it was damaged, but I was made to feel like I wasn't paying my bills. And I was also ill-advised to put a stop payment on a check, because I was told that Bank of America had never received the check. I called Bank of America on June 22 and spoke with 2 representatives, and I was told that they would not refund my $20.00 for the stop payment, even though I was told by Bank of America on June 20 to put a stop payment on the check because they had never received it. I was charged $20.00 to put a stop payment on a check, because I was lied to by Bank of America.
Reviewed June 21, 2009
After I closed the mortgage loans with BOA, they buy a flood insurance without my knowledge or agreements. There are no indications that I need to provide the flood insurance during closing. I do not live in the flood zone. FEME classified my zone as X. None of my prior lenders ever asked because I lived outside the flood zones. The company the buy from is unknown to me and the cost almost doubled my home fire insurance. They did not provide me any policies from the flood insurance. I only find out when I pay the mortgage for the first time. This has caused me financial hardship. This is illegal because they cannot force an insurance requirement without prior notice. I would not agree to close the loans if they asked for the flood insurance. I had refinanced numerous times and no one ever do this except Bank of America.
Reviewed June 19, 2009
My husband and I are quickly finding out that the Home Retention Department set up by Countrywide/Bank of America is nothing but a scam. Bank of America has taken the $5.3 billion from the government and used it to hire lawyers and collection agencies in order to either get their money or take houses away from hard-working Americans.
Trying to talk to them is like trying to keep water in a sieve. It just doesn't work. We bought our house when housing was horrible, prices were ridiculous and lenders were definitely predatory. We were transferred, so didn't have much choice but to move. Our original lender qualified us for a home we never should have been to get. Lenders tell you what you want to hear and we bought into it.
Reviewed June 19, 2009
I had been told that a short sale was much better for me than a foreclosure. I had been trying to sell my home due to a divorce. I had offers into Bank of America before foreclosure ever began. I was told that the foreclosure would begin and continue until they had time to look at my offers. I was told 6 to 8 weeks maximum. I called many, many times trying to move them along because I was terrified that my buyers would not wait. Over 22 weeks went by. They had me set up for a foreclosure auction and I lost two offers. This is all true.
Needless to say, I was devastated. I received one more offer, $17,000 less than one of the previous offers. Again, many calls which led to them accepting this much lower offer only to find out that I am now being sued by my home equity loan bank (Associated Bank) for over $16,000. If I would have let the foreclosure happen, I would not be getting sued. Bank of America lost over $17,000 because they could not get their act together.
I have searched but can find absolutely no help. How can this happen? How many other people do not even know why they are losing buyers? This bank has ruined me and should have to pay. Something has gone terribly wrong and need help to get my story told. Please help me. This is a very short version. Please call for the entire story.
Reviewed June 17, 2009
My experience with BofA refinance has been mind-blowing. I responded to my refinance specialist's questions regarding my employment with the same level of detail that she presented it at. The original rep during the application process said, "We don't need to know about your employment, since your payment is lowering. It's only for payments that increase, i.e., 30 years to 15 years or a cash-out situation." OK then.
Naomi (BofA): Who is your employer?
Joe: I was told that that information wasn't necessary in my case.
Naomi: Only to verify you are employed. That's all. Who is your employer?
Joe: xxx & Associates mainly for the past 6 months. (I did use the word "mainly.")
Naomi: How about before that?
Joe: xxxx for over 2 years prior to that.
(I listed them because I was earning my higher rate of pay through that company at the time. Note: these jobs/employers often overlapped each other.) Naomi: OK, that's fine.
Weeks later, Naomi left a message, stating "you are declined due to your income situation with your job. The underwriter said that since you have only been employed for 6 months and since we don't have a 2-year work history, then we must decline you." (I still have the saved message on my phone.) I have spoken to 4 BofA refinance specialists, all representing their Freddie Mac loans and policies (I assumed). Jeremy **, Matt ** (verified specifically this point twice with him) as well as (in writing from him directly) from Sam ** stated that "For employment verification, we will need 2 years same line of work to satisfy employment." Note: "same line of work..."
I have provided my "2 years same line of work," however, I have been declined "because of my employment." The BofA rep said that on the voice mail as well as in the email. I have a passing LTV, I have excellent credit score, and flawless payment history for the 6 years of my loan. Specifically the processor, Naomi **, stated in my final denial email that "We are unable to make any changes to the employer section."
I have no idea what that means. Not very specific is it ? She went on to state in the email that "when I called your 2 employers you provide and they were your previous employers.... Please translate! I am not just asking to borrow $10 from a buddy of mine! After all the work we have done to get this far, I expect only a little more effort.
I positively feel Bank of America does not want to grant me the refinance. It has been a struggle since the beginning. I don't think I represent as great a profit to them if I refinance. But I expect to be treated fairly according to their rules. I rightfully should be able to lower my monthly payment like all others under the Obama plan. In dropping from 6.875% to 4.3%, this represents over $608 dollars per month for 30 years. Do I have recourse for this?
Reviewed June 15, 2009
I just want to clarify that my complaint is with Bank of America and not Duane. He went out of his way to assist me but was unable to. He processed my application in May and locked in a 5% interest rate with a 5.45 APR, but when I checked the status of my loan the APR exceeded 7%. I called Duane and he advised that they were showing an APR higher than that so it was clearly a mistake. I received a message a little over a week later (a Monday night) stating that everything was fixed and the right amounts should appear if I pull up my loan status. I received a call the very next night from the loan processor telling me that my application was declined and he could not tell my why. I was advised to call Fannie Mae and they advised that my mortgage was backed by Fannie Mae and that I should qualify for the HASP loan. I called the loan processing department and explained everything to another representative. He took the information to the underwriter who took it to her manager and they compared my application with the requirements.
They could not find any reason why it should have been denied and I was advised to have my loan officer (Duane) resubmit the application. I also could not pull up the status of my loan to see if it has been corrected. The 5% included buying 3 discount points. However, the interest rates have gone up since my original application so my new interest rate would be 5.8% with 3.25 discount points and my APR would be over 6%. Duane tried to get my 5% rate back and he said they had to do an investigation, which they had supposedly already done. He said it appeared it was a computer error on their part and they will only offer to pay for one discount point.
In addition, I have excellent credit. I asked if I could speak to someone to appeal and Duane advised that the complaint has been sent all the way up to the Vice President and there is nobody that I can send an appeal to. Both Duane and his manager believe that I should have the rate I was locked in at but their hands are tied by the higher ups. I'm being penalized for something that was completely Bank of America's fault. I believe it is unethical. I have spent a tremendous amount of time trying to resolve this issue and now it is going to cost me even more money to refinance.
Reviewed June 15, 2009
On February 27, we locked in a 20-year fixed rate on the fast track program with Countrywide, just before it changed to BofA. Our credit is 775, we owe $146,000 on a house which is now worth $330,000. Our current rate is 5.35% but took the opportunity to lock in a 4.375% at 1.375 points so we could take out $40,000 for our son's college education.
I was told we would get a loan packet within a certain number of days. It never came so I called several times to get them to send it to us. We finally received it and faxed back the signed paperwork, called the loan specialist, Patrick ** (since fired), listed in the folder and he said they had so many loans and not enough people to process them that it may not close in the 60-day lock period. I knew the rate was too good to be true and they were trying to avoid honoring our rate. I said as much to, D **, (the girl who originally set up our loan and locked in our rate on the fast track). She said they would honor the rate and won't go back on the promise even if the rates go back up nationwide.
However she said the key to keeping that rate is to stay on the fast track and it's a good thing we locked it in when we did, because they stopped offering them a few days later. But when I asked her the name of my new my loan specialist and why Patrick was gone, she said something very disturbing. She said, “Since Bank of America took over, things are being done here that you would not believe--I cannot believe them myself.” I asked, “Illegal things?” and she paused and said, “Well, at the very least, unethical.” She said Countrywide would never treat customers the way these people are treating them.
On May 22, D's boss, L ** informed us our loan had to sign by 5/26 in order to stay on the fast track. Monday was a holiday and she said she would personally pull it out of the line and put it through on Tuesday. However, on Tuesday, L would not return my calls. I dealt with D on Wednesday trying to get this put through. Then D told me something very revealing. She said all BofA employees were told not to process any loans on Tuesday, May 25 and when D and two of her bosses tried to put mine through the following day, Wednesday May 26, they were told by higher-up authorities at Bank of America that the deadline had been changed to Tuesday night from Wednesday night, even though it was Wednesday morning.
So in addition to the fact that on Tuesday no one was allowed to process loans, now Wednesday no one can process because the deadline was no longer that night but the night before.
Reviewed June 11, 2009
We applied for a refinance back in February. Our credit is excellent. The gentleman David ** said that it should only take approx. 45-60 days to complete the loan. We paid Bank of America the cost for appraisal which was around $500. The gentleman came out to do appraisal within two days. We were thinking that this process was going to go fast because they were efficient about sending someone so fast. We waited for a month, did not hear anything from David ** so we called him. He said that he had such as pay check stubs and personal documents or he misplaced them. So we were a little concerned with that especially with all the identity thefts going on. We trusted Bank of America so we sent our personal documents to one of his co-workers. As requested, the co-workers name is Jonathan **. So he received those documents then he was the one taking care of our loan.
More time passed, there was a problem with the title. They didn't call us and tell us about the problem. They let it sit for a couple weeks until we called them and asked about process. So promptly, we talked to our lawyer and fixed the problem. We did everything they asked us to do. They said there was still a problem with the title and they were sending it to their lawyer to figure it out. Some more time goes by, we called Jonathan ** several times to give us an update on what was happening. He does not return our calls. He returns our calls a couple days later saying he doesn't know what to do! We asked him, "Are you saying you can fund our loan?" He says, "No, I just don't know how to process it because of the situation." There was no situation. It was all fixed.
So we decided to go with a loan officer in California because we were dealing with Jonathan over the phone. We went to the Bank of America office in Modesto, CA where we live so we could physically walk in and see someone instead of trying to track them down on the phone. We went into the office and started the new loan with a new loan officer Orvale **. He said that we may need to pay for new appraisal because of the time that has passed since the last appraisal. A certain time frame like 160 days, it has not been 160 yet. He called us today and said to come drop a check by for the second appraisal. Bank of America has told us that they had our paperwork and to wait for someone's call from a title company in town to call.
They never called so we called them. They said they never received any paperwork from B of A. So we called Orvale from the Modesto office and he said that the title company had to be mistaken because he sent them the paperwork. Another week went by and nothing because someone was on vacation or had their thumb a up their butt! So now, because people at B of A weren't doing their job, we have to pay for another appraisal. That's wrong!
Reviewed June 11, 2009
They have been sitting on my loan modification for months. I called them and they said they received it, but no one is assigned to it. It has been escalated but it's been almost 5 months.I finally called HUD, but it may be too late. These people have defrauded thousands of people and they need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. What has happened to zero tolerance? Is it only for us poor, working people? Loss of my home for myself and family of five. Great mental stress and physical stress. Someone, help?
Reviewed June 10, 2009
My husband and I were already living modestly, when our hours at our jobs were cut back (my husband’s almost by half, and mine, not so much yet). We have no credit card debt, as we learned that lesson 15 years ago. We live in South California, and have chosen a desert landscape (cactus) for our property, so we don't use much water and we are sticklers about turning lights off. We are not very "green-minded", we are just saving money. Our mortgage is $149,000 at 6.37%, and our home is currently valued at about $168,000.
We had our home loan and HELOC with Countrywide, which is now Bank of America. When our hours were cut, we stopped all fast food, and cut way down on renting videos (our only money wasters). We even stopped my husband’s $100 monthly deduction from his paycheck. We applied for a loan modification (April), showing what our expenses were a few months prior, and how much per month we were now saving (we had also turned off cable TV). We rented out one of our rooms to a stranger. We have no kids, no pets, and any family near us is in worse shape than us, and can't loan us any money.
Bank of America saw that we were making an effort at saving money, and was giving us kudos. Alas, that just wasn't enough. A couple of people on the phone suggested that we find a church to get assistance from them. We are far from the point of having to mooch off a church. There are people far worse off than us, who need help more. Our income and expense worksheet showed us as having $50 left over every month, after paying for the house, utilities, and other bills. Bank of America told us to put that $50 into a savings account. Never mind that I had to buy a used tire for my truck last month (our car and truck have been paid off for years), and take my husband to urgent care last week for a shoulder injury. Yesterday, I just got hit with a $995 IRS tax bill for 2007. Having the tenant in the house has increased our electric bill. I think it’s time to redo the income and expense worksheet.
We have had enough miscellaneous expenditure in the last few weeks that we began to short pay our house payments. Countrywide accepted them, but this month, Bank of America said they would not accept partial payments. If I were to send a partial payment, they would apply it towards any and all late charges and fees, then put the balance of the partial payment into a kind of escrow account, and not apply any of it towards my mortgage payment. I was told it would be best to hold any partial payments, until I could make a full payment, even if I paid it late.
Well, the loan modification took a couple of months. I just received it yesterday. They modified it up! All they did was to add $4,000 in interest to my principal, and increase my monthly payment from $965 up to $987. They kept the interest rate the same (6.37%). How does this help me? I don't owe enough to go bankrupt, and I can expect a foreclosure notice in a month or two. I'll let you know what happens in a couple of months. I will try to compose a civil letter to Bank of America, and ask them if they seriously thought the loan modification they proposed to me was thought to be competent, and typical of the quality of work that we can expect in the future. In the meantime, I will be short-paying for the third month, so technically I am two months late.
Reviewed June 9, 2009
Social Security benefits are not considered income? What!? My name is Patricia **. Recently, I have been trying to help my disabled husband get a loan modification that our government speaks so highly of. The lender on his mortgage was Countrywide, who as we all know was just taken over by Bank of America.
I have talked to Bank of America six times to get his loan modification done. The first five times, I was lied to, asked how much loose cash I had and just pretty much given a runaround. I figure that they just wanted to let my husband’s home be sold to add to their coffers. Not once during the first five phone calls to them did they even attempt to help me. Four of the five times, I was told they would send me paperwork to fill out. I tried to explain to them that the home was being placed for sale by HUD, so I was on a timeline to get this worked out. Today, 10 - 15 days later, I have still received no paperwork.
I decided to give a phone call to Bank of America one more try. This time I got hold of a woman named Mary, who actually seemed to care. I explained that my husband is very ill with end stage renal disease and total kidney failure as well as several other things. I also explained that the sale of his home and forced move would likely kill him. Once more I gave Bank of America the information they need to modify the loan on my husband’s home. After taking the information, Mary told me that there is a problem because Bank of America does not consider Social Security as income. Say What!?
My husband has worked his entire life and paid into the system. He has drawn Social Security about 7 years. This is the first that we have been told that it is not considered an income. So why does he pay federal income tax on it? Needless to say, I am appalled at this holier than thou attitude that Bank of America has regarding our retired and disabled citizens.
How many more class action suits are going to be brought against Bank of America for their shady practices? It seems that a discrimination lawsuit should be next. This is the same bank that received how much in bailout money? Oh yeah, it was 15 billion dollars according to USA today and then, according the CNN Money, another 20 billion in cash and 118 billion in assets to take over Merrill Lynch.
What is wrong with this picture? How much longer will the government allow Bank of America to do this to its citizens? Where are you, Mr. Obama? Where are you Mr. Schwarzenegger? Where are you Mr. Geithner? Where are you Mr. Donovan? Don’t you think it is time to look into Bank of America and put a stop to their disrespect of American taxpayers? Bank of America doesn’t give a damn about anything but the money. I will fight to the end to keep my husband in his home. I demand your help and I demand it now!
Reviewed June 9, 2009
Social Security benefits are not considered income? What? Recently, I have been trying to help my disabled husband get a loan modification that our government speaks so highly of. The lender on his mortgage was Countrywide, who as we all know, was just taken over by Bank of America.
I have talked to Bank of America six times to get his loan modification done. The first five times, I was lied to and asked how much loose cash I had; and I was just pretty much given a runaround. I figure that they just wanted to let my husband's home be sold to add to their coffers. Not once during the first five phone calls to them did they even attempt to help me. Four of the five times, I was told they would send me paperwork to fill out. I tried to explain to them that the home was being placed for sale by HUD, so I was on a timeline to get this worked out. Today, 10-15 days later, I have still received no paperwork.
I decided to give a phone call to Bank of America one more try. This time I got hold of a woman named Mary, who actually seemed to care. I explained that my husband is very ill with end stage renal disease and total kidney failure as well as several other things. I also explained that the sale of his home and forced move would likely kill him. Once more, I gave Bank of America the information they need to modify the loan on my husband's home. After taking the information, Mary told me that there is a problem because Bank of America does not consider Social Security as income.
My husband has worked his entire life and paid into the system. He has drawn Social Security about 7 years. This is the first that we have been told that it is not considered income. So why does he pay federal income tax on it? Needless to say, I am appalled at this holier-than-thou attitude that Bank of America has regarding our retired and disabled citizens. How many more class action suits are going to be brought against Bank of America for their shady practices? It seems that a discrimination lawsuit should be next. This is the same bank that received how much in bailout money? Oh yeah, it was 15 billion dollars according to USA Today. And then, according to the CNN Money, another 20 billion in cash and 118 billion in assets to take over Merrill Lynch.
What is wrong with this picture? How much longer will the government allow Bank of America to do this to its citizens? Where are you, Mr. Obama? Where are you, Mr. Schwarzenegger? Where are you, Mr. Geithner? Where are you, Mr. Donovan? Don't you think it is time to look into Bank of America and put a stop to their disrespect of American taxpayers? Bank of America doesn't give a damn about anything but the money. I will fight to the end to keep my husband in his home. I demand your help, and I demand it now!
Reviewed June 9, 2009
I bought my home back in September 2005 on an ARM. My initial mortgage was through Countrywide and transitioned to Bank of America in April 2009. My ARM went up $400 a month. I asked Countrywide about refinancing, and they stated that I would "qualify" in a year. My debt-to-income was too high (better then when I purchased my home), and my home was worth about $40,00 less than what I paid for it. I rented part of my home out to a family for the year, who left on August 2008; and I contacted CountrywIde again to refinance. I was denied.
I was given the runaround by Countrywide regarding paperwork and general limbo confusion to then have to do the same "dance" with Bank of America. I am now 10 months behind on my mortgage. I was told in January that I would receive a decision on my loan modification in 60 days. I called multiple times and did not get any response, except "It is in review."
In April 2009, I contacted my new lender (Bank of America) and asked where my account stood and if they had all my paperwork. The rep stated that they did and it would be about a week for a decision, because my account was "in review." Week after week, I called to see what was going on. Finally, on June 8, 2009, I received a FedEx from Bank of America with their loan modification terms. Here we go. I would receive a reduced interest rate (6.54%) and a set payment plan for the period of possible increase under my original ARM terms (possible increase every 6 months) and an extra $17,000 added to my principal mortgage payment and interest that would accrue on top of that added $17,000.
Oh, the adjusted payment would start in August 2009, and the original terms of my loan has a possible ARM increase in October 2009. A whole three months of relief, wow! So much for working with homeowners! I cannot afford my home and will be in foreclosure if I cannot get a reasonable mortgage payment set.
Reviewed June 9, 2009
My fiance and I applied for a home loan from Bank of America. About a month later, Bank of America began actually working on the papers and forms needed to process this loan. They informed us that we needed gift letters which we promptly got only to find out weeks later that they needed to be on certain forms. Our phone calls were never returned. The loan officers will only answer e-mail and that is unreliable. I would like to be grateful for the one night they stayed late, but this was on the night before we were supposed to close for the 2nd time which did not happen. They didn't contact us until 3 pm the day before closing to tell us we needed to get $3,000 by the next day.
I gave the cash to my fiance and Bank of America then questioned deposits from the donor's (me) account which seemed very invasive as my name is not on the loan. When calculating our loan they estimated $500 for home insurance which completely threw off the rest of the home ratios and consequently has prevented us from closing for two extra days. As I type, they are still trying to work it out after we have scrambled once again to cough up $1,500 which increased our down payment by over 7% of the original agreement. Due to Bank of America's incompetence, my fiance and I have now had to use wedding money to pay the last minute increases. We are in serious danger of losing the house. We have had to reschedule U-Haul reservations and utility initiation. We have wasted time at work trying to contact our loan officers, gas money to drive to the branch, cell phone minutes, and money on fast food because we didn't want to buy groceries just to move them.
Reviewed June 8, 2009
They say they are not part of the FDIC and don't have to follow the Truth and Lending Practices when it comes to applying partial payments they received. They want full payment before they will apply the payment. They go by the actuarial method of computation for calculations, but not for applying payments immediately when received. I will not be able to repay the loan sooner than later. Thus, they are extending the financial hardship against me.
Reviewed June 8, 2009
On Saturday, June 6, 2009, Mr. Darrell ** called me at approximately 2:00pm CST, to inform me that he had been appointed to a new group of individuals that are tasked with the goal of contacting in-process applicants to expedite the closing process. He further requested that I fax to him our entire loan package so he could start the refinance process all over. I was enraged and completely frustrated with BOA. Simply put, we started our loan application on March 17, 2009 with Ms. June **. After receiving loan package, my wife and I fulfilled each and every document request, excluding insurance declarations page, an oversight on my part, and returned package to a Ms. Heather ** located in Tennessee(?). Our submitted package was complete. Remember that fact.
I began calling Ms. ** to inform her that I inadvertently left out insurance declarations page. She said no problem. I then requested a possible closing date, because I knew our package was complete and all the processor needed to do was to verify receipt of appraisal, etc. and then submit to underwriter. After not hearing from her, I called and left several messages. No return call(s).
Toward the middle of April, I kept calling and got Ms. ** on the telephone. She had record of the appraisal having been received and that it was in underwriting. She said BOA was swamped with loan refinances and she could not give me an anticipated loan closing date. I informed her that our loan package was complete and should sail through the process, if only someone would take the time to underwrite it.
After numerous failed attempts to get Ms. ** on the telephone, I eventually contacted Ms. June ** and strongly voiced my dissatisfaction with BOA and the handling of our refinance. She made the usual excuse that BOA was extremely busy and that everyone was doing the best they could. She asked for my patience.
I next spoke with Aaron, last name unknown, Ms. **'s supervisor, to complain. I'm certain all this is in the record.
That brings me to the Saturday conversation with Mr. **. He informed me that because BOA is so busy, a special group was created to help expedite loans already in-process. Next, he requested that I fax to him our entire loan application to include updated documentation of all statements, etc. Now you get the picture. I angrily asked him to retrieve our original submitted completed application with documentation and he would have everything he needed to move forward. He said he did not have access to the original file; therefore, to move forward with our refinance we would need to re-submit everything, updated, of course.
Now therefore; David ** and Cheryl ** do hereby demand that Bank of America cease any and all work on our loan application, if any, and send us our appraisal, which was paid in full at time of application. If this is not clear to the incompetents at Bank of America, we are withdrawing, canceling and stopping our application to refinance. Got it? Please do have some corporate moron contact me so they can fully document my dissatisfaction. No refinance thus, compounding our efforts to lower our monthly financial obligations.
Reviewed June 7, 2009
We obtained our first mortgage through Bank of America, 2 years ago. Unlike many people at the time, we didn't buy out of our price range. We found a nice little ranch house, on nearly and acre, with a fence around the huge back yard. Perfect for when we start a family, we thought. For 2 years, we never were so much as late with a payment. After 6 years of disappointments, our daughter was born on December 24th, 2008! Knowing what expenses lay ahead, my wife contacted Bank of America in November and asked about a 2 month deferment on our mortgage payments, so that we could bank that money in case of an emergency.
After nearly 30 minutes of phone conversation, our December and January payments had been deferred. The paperwork was to be in the mail and our next payment was to be due in February. Around the second week of January, we receive a call from Bank of America, wondering when they could expect our December mortgage payment. We explained that we had deferred the payments and that's why they hadn't received it.
After a week of going back and forth with them and countless hours on the phone, they said that they had no record of the conversation, the deferral or anything, but they did let us know that they had reported us 30 days late on our mortgage. After many years of building our credit up to scores over 700, we now find ourselves slowly creeping up on scores in the lower 600s/upper 500s. After getting nowhere with them, we sent the 2 payments that we had put into savings, just to get back to even with them.
In May (2009), we found ourselves faced with the choice of either paying multiple bills that had pile up since the birth of our daughter or paying our mortgage. With all of the new plans and government bailouts, we would surely qualify for some assistance, so we opted to pay the bills and not our mortgage.
We started the modification process, which included 82 pages of financial information. We faxed the 82 page packet and waited one week for a call. Nothing! We called them and they informed us that they hadn't gotten anything from us. We then put together the packet a second time and this time, we mailed it certified so that we knew it would get put into someone's hands. 2 weeks passed and they finally realized that they had the paperwork.
To make a very, very long story short, we have done everything that we can. We applied for every aid or modification program that we can and to no avail. We don't qualify because we were late on a mortgage payment, but then the next person tells us that we don't qualify because we are current on our payments. One person says that we don't get help because we make too much money and then another says that we don't make enough. No refinance because of our credit scores that Bank of America destroyed with their deception. As of today, June 7, 2009, we are nearly 2 months behind, and as far as we're concerned, they can have the house back. Good luck selling it for what we owe!
Reviewed June 6, 2009
I received an email after I paid my payment that it was rejected. I called to find out why and the lady I talked to said I was 4 months behind. I told her I wasn’t and I could prove it with my bank statements. She got very rude, telling me that I was. She just kept saying that I was four months behind and I had no proof. I finally told her that she could think what she wanted, but I was not 4 months behind. I hung up. I printed my bank statements and called again. This time I spoke with Ken. He was very nice and was trying to help me. We went through the bank payments together and we figured out I was one month behind because somehow November’s payment was stopped. He also said he could fix the fact that they also put part of my house payment in escrow instead of applying it all to my payment. I also did not know my payments went from $613.00 to $697.00 because I moved out of the house. I was living in the other house for 6 months now. I did a change of address and I also called Countrywide to let them know I had moved, but still they sent all my statements to the old address.
I found out that my payments went up in March and started paying the correct amount then. Ken said he could fix the February problem and this would help me. He also said he would take the late fees so this would help since I was trying to fix all and he understood. He also said to change the payer to Bach Home Loans and resubmit my payment, so I did. It should be there on Tuesday at the latest. Ken called me back and said this lady would help me understand more so I was speaking to her and she also tried to tell me I was 4 months behind. The lady said they were going to raise my house payment again. I told her they just raised it up in January. I told her that I was stretched now and I could not have it go up again. She said this was my fault. She said I could call customer service and they could lower my payment. I told her that I had already done this and they said they could not help me. This also did not make sense. Since she just said they were going to raise it again, and Ken spoke up and said I was not and the he was going to take the late fees off, and this would help adjust for the escrow. The lady then told him to get off the line in which he did. She then began to get really rude to me saying that it was my fault that the escrow was short and "whose fault it is that there is $18 in the escrow instead of $22.02.” So I have to be 4 months behind and I do not know what I am saying for what they have to pay. I told her all I do is pay my payment and they are to do what is supposed to be done, but they are not supposed to raise it again because of something they did and not me. She just kept getting ruder and ruder so I told her I was not going to argue with her any longer and I will make my $697 payment and that is it.
I feel very unhappy that people can treat customers this way and berate them and not help. They should not threaten to take people's houses and should listen. I work hard and try hard to make my payments and if I was to tell someone told that it was their fault that my company did something else with their payment and want to make it their fault, I would lose my job.
Reviewed June 5, 2009
We have a 15-year fixed rate loan with BofA with 11 years remaining. No late payments, good credit score (over 700). We applied for a refinance with BofA (Sarah) on Feb 6, 2009 to obtain a 30 year and lower our payments. I paid a $450 application fee after being told my Fannie Mae backed loan qualified for their Home Already loan program at 4.75% locked rate with 2.125 % discount points and overall closing costs about $11k which seemed high but I felt I was between a rock and a hard place because I cannot afford my 15 year payments any longer. I was told no PMI, no appraisal necessary. Loan would close May 4. My 2nd would be subordinated.
All paperwork seemed to be moving along when I was requested in March to pay holder of my 2nd $100 processing fee to subordinate the loan. I did so. I then received a call in April saying I needed an appraisal and that appraisers had told the loan officer I informed them I was cancelling my loan app. I have no idea what they were talking about, as I did not tell any appraiser such a thing. The BofA rep Sarah told me that the system market value was too low and they needed a walk through appraisal.
On May 5, I was told my appraisal was too low to meet guidelines, my loan was denied after all and my loan would be sent to underwriter. I contacted Sarah and was told by email she was looking at whether we qualified for Obama's Home Affordability Act. We received that conditional approval and documentation started transferring over, still at 4.75% but now 2.75% points. Now, appraisal is showing up on their system as $35k higher than they told me it was when they denied the first loan.
However, they have sent me a second conditional approval which bumps the points to 4.5%! I have yet to get a satisfactory answer as to why this would be. I'm being told they are tracking it back to figure it out. In addition my loan, closing is now pushed out to August. Meanwhile, I'm struggling to make payments as both of our salaries are being reduced by our government employer. For the first time, I feel at risk of losing my home if I don't get into the lower payments I really need now. I am out $550 in loan fees and no new loan to date. The loan closing costs are much higher then originally promised. They are now estimated at about $18,000. And I'm not confident this loan will go through at all.
Reviewed June 4, 2009
My hope is that this information may help a few others. After many, many months of trying to get BofA/Countrywide's attention, I finally filed formal complaints with the CA Attorney-General's Office (Department of Corporations) and the Comptroller of the Currency Administrator of National Banks. I included a long chronological list of applicable dates and events, etc.
In both cases, BofA called me regarding the complaints submitted by these two entities on my behalf. And at least, for now, BofA has provided me with a negotiator who is responsive to my polite calls and working on a solution with me. Unfortunately, it has taken a lot of written correspondence and detailed documentation just to get this far, but hopefully it will be worth it.
Reviewed June 3, 2009
On April 15, 2009, I contacted Bank of America for a refinance of my home mortgage loan for a lower interest rate. I spoke with Michael ** and he recommended a Freddie Mac refinance and requested a nonrefundable processing fee of $400. Several weeks passed, and I contacted Mr. ** concerning the status of my refinance. He informed me that there was a problem with the title. He stated that my ex-husband name was listed as co-owner. I stated I had a notarized statement stating he had no interest in the property.
Our divorce had not been finalized at the time I was purchasing my home. The documents were faxed to him. A week passed and I did not hear from Bank of America. I called again. I was referred to Roni **, Home Service Specialist and I faxed her the sale document indicating that my husband was not listed as having ownership.
Another week passed. I was contacted by a title company requesting the information concerning the purchase of my property, which indicated that my ex had no ownership. Another week passed, and one contacted me concerning the status. I called Roni ** and inquired about the status. She stated that everything was fine and I should be going into closing soon. I hear nothing from Bank of America. I called Roni ** again. She assured me that the closing would be taking place soon because all the documents were received.
Several weeks passed, and I contacted Roni again on May 21, 2009. I inquired about the status. I asked why has it taken two months to close this request. Roni stated that she needed a bank statement showing that I had sufficient funding in my bank account. I faxed her my savings account which had $2,200 and my money market account in the amount of $15,000.
A week passed and I called Roni again. She reassured me that everything was okay and would let me know when the closing would take place. I heard nothing from her and called on June 2, 2009. She stated that I should be closing soon and she would check to see if the documents of my saving and market accounts were acceptable.
I called on June 3, 2009, Roni then informed me that my refinance loan was turned down because of derogatory statements on my credit report. I had filed bankruptcy in June 2003. She stated that I had a late payment on a JC Penney account. This account has been in dispute which I had informed her about and the account is in my son's name. He had put my name on the account as a user.
Roni asked if I had any proof of this. She stated that Cingular had me listed as late payment. That account was paid out and I told her I had proof of that. I asked why did it take over two months to inform me of this when the credit report should have been the first item to have been reviewed when I applied for the refinance.
Since my bankruptcy, I have not been late with any payments and Bank of America is my mortgage company which shows that I have never been late. Roni stated, "Why did you go with the Freddie Mac refinance?" I informed her that Mr. ** advised me that this was the best option. He never informed me of any problems concerning my credit rating or that there were rules stating I could not have any derogatory statements on my credit report.
Reviewed June 2, 2009
In January 2009, I contacted my mortgage company, at the time Countrywide Home Loans, to see what we could do about our payments since both my husband and I were laid off from our jobs. We were already behind on our payments and I didn't want to be foreclosed on or hurt our credit any more than we already had. At that time we were told that we may qualify for a workout program and after collecting some information on our income and debt, the representative I spoke to said we qualified. I explained very clearly that we had unemployment only as income. At that, only my husband's unemployment because I didn't qualify for the benefit. I was to fax proof of income to them, which I did the next day (unemployment statement), and about 2 weeks later, they sent us a package with a loan modification agreement in it. This modification was called a Homeowner's Retention Program and would lower our interest rate from 9.25% to 4.84 % for a year, then for 10 years slowly go up while we paid interest only payments. We agreed that this would help us and signed the paperwork. Again they requested income information with the return paperwork and I sent the recent unemployment statements. This was late February, early March.
The documents were received and logged into their system on 4-7-09 and listed as Approved and Completed right on our online account. During this time, we received a letter telling us that Countrywide had been acquired by B of A. I didn't think this would affect our already signed and completed agreement. I had paid the new payments for 3 months and heard nothing until 5/28/09 when I received a call from B of A. I was told that we were 5 months late, had xx amount of dollars in late fees and an intent to foreclose had expired in December. I explained that we were on the Homeowner's Retention Plan, which I had to do before when I made a payment and was informed that they just hadn't updated the information in their system. Ok, then they also informed me that we do not qualify for the Homeowner's Retention Program because we are on unemployment and that isn't verifiable income. Well, if that were the case, then why did they offer the program to us in the first place? I faxed income information to them, unemployment information and they sent the packet offering us the program, why would they do that if unemployment isn't accepted as a form of income?
Not only that, but when I sent back the signed paperwork, I also sent unemployment documents again. There are 2 chances they had to call and tell me that unemployment isn't accepted as income. Did they? No. They approved and completed our paperwork and accepted not one, not two, but three new payments from me. Tell me if that is ethical business practice. When I asked to speak to a supervisor, I got to talk to him (Steve), however, he was no help and assured me that no one at the company would help me. I asked him if they would rather foreclose on our house or put us on this program, and he said, "You don't qualify for this program." That leads me to believe that they would rather foreclose. We are delinquent on last year’s taxes and I can't pay anything toward that until they consider our account "up to date". My escrow payment is over $100 more because of this. I believe when B of A took over, they saw an opportunity to get money from us. They knew that we didn't have the credit to refinance. I saw on my credit report that they checked our credit just a short time ago after this started. They know we don't want to lose our home, so they figure that we have to find a way to pay the higher payments. Another little consumer crushed by the largest bank in America.
Reviewed June 2, 2009
I applied for a refinance with Country Wide at 4.5% on March 20, 2009, and paid $400 for the application fee. I currently have my mortgage through them. I was told by the interviewer, David **, I may not need to make payment for April, if the closing occurred quickly enough. On March 27, 2009, the appraiser came to my home, and I mailed back all the information from the packet received on March 25th, via Federal Express from Country Wide.
I had been calling my rep, K. **, to find out when my closing would take place, and could never get a callback, so I kept leaving voice mail messages. On 4/30/09, I received a message from someone named Jonathan from Bank of America (no last name) on my home phone, even though I kept leaving my cell phone number, that my packet should be back from processing, either Friday or Monday, which would have been May 1 or May 4. The expiration on my contract was May 4, so I was extremely nervous about things not being completed, since 4.5% was a substantial monthly savings for me.
I called again on 5/4, 5/6, and finally on 5/12. I called the main number, and asked if Kevin still worked for them. I was told yes, and explained I could not get a return call. I was immediately told that if I wasn't happy, I should talk to his supervisor. I was sent to Karen **'s voice mail, and left her a message with the details. I received no call. On 5/19, I sent an email to Kevin **, asking when, or if the closing would take place, and expressed my displeasure at the lack of communication and service. I also indicated I would file a complaint with the State Banking Commission. It has been over 60 days, and no one has let me know what is happening with the refinance, or whether it will even occur.
Bank of America (Formerly Country Wide) has $400 from me, and I have no evidence that anything is happening with my refinance. If I have lost out on the chance to refinance at 4.5%, I can't get that anywhere else now, because they have dragged their feet. At the barest minimum, I want my $400 returned.
Reviewed May 30, 2009
I am 69 years of age, and I became behind in my mortgage payments. I applied for a loan modification in Oct. 2008. They sent me papers. I had them notarized and returned. I submitted payments in the amount they stated, and payments were returned. I then contacted them again, and they stated they had no record of my loan modification, and for me to call back in a week. They should have researched and found out what happened with the modification.
When I contacted them approx. two weeks later, they stated they located the paperwork and they didn't receive any payments so they closed out the modification and there's nothing they can do for me at this time. I informed them my payments were returned, and they stated I would have to try and apply again but I don't think I would qualify because I had defaulted on my modification. They stated I have no further options, except to catch up all the last payments. I was never contacted by the bank in any way to see what occurred with the modification. And when I contacted them, they didn't know what I was talking about. Mind you, I received a payment coupon in the mail for an amount and I sent that amount. It was returned stating, "not enough to cover amount due".
I'm confused, scared, and worried that I'm going to lose my home and can't do anything about it all because of a mishap or something. It's not fair.
Reviewed May 29, 2009
My mortgage was with Countrywide Home Loans - my latest statement came and I saw that B of A now has my loan so I wanted to check into refinancing my 6.25% 30-year fixed as the market was at 4.75%. My wife and I went to our local branch of B of A and I was told after some fumbling around that they couldn't help me. Their excuse was that they would only loan 80% of value and with the current housing collapse, my home which I bought 5 years ago for $565,000 - put $160,000 down and financed $375,000 - was undervalued and not available for refinancing. It took the representative Roohi ** 5 minutes to blow us off - never even got down to talking credit or other issues, just told me they couldn't help. What?! Why did all my tax money go to bailing out banks and easing credit markets only to be told this?! Where did all the taxpayers money go?!
Reviewed May 28, 2009
My fiancé and I were approved twice from Bank of America/Countrywide. We found a home in Sherburne, NY that we were interested in. So we paid for the appraisal of $395 and then we backed out of the deal. The appraiser never went to appraise the home. Needless to say, Bank of America/Countrywide took the $395 off my credit card. I have never seen that money reimbursed on my credit card. So a few months later, my fiancé and I were interested in another one located in Edmeston, NY. We were pre-approved again by Bank of America/Countrywide and again, they took $395 off my credit card. I made several calls to the bank to see how the process was going. No one would return my calls. One week before the closing date, my fiancé and I got a message on the answering machine saying that we were denied a mortgage loan. I would really like to be reimbursed the $790 that we had to fork out for nothing. They should have waited for the appraisal until they knew that we were approved or not. I think they should credit my credit card back for their mistakes.
Bank of America Mortgage Company Information
- Company Name:
- Bank of America
- Company Type:
- Public
- Ticker Symbol:
- BAC
- Year Founded:
- 1992
- Address:
- 100 North Tryon St
- City:
- Charlotte
- State/Province:
- NC
- Postal Code:
- 28255
- Country:
- United States
- Website:
- www.bankofamerica.com
