Homeowners File Class Action Lawsuit Against Bank Of America For Allegedly Failing To Modify Troubled Mortgages
A class action lawsuit was filed against Bank of America in U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington (Seattle), No. 10-00488, on behalf of homeowners alleging that Bank of America reneged on a promise to modify troubled mortgages as a condition to accepting twenty five billion dollars of federal bailout money, according to a class action news report at news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100323/us_nm/us_bankofamerica_mortgage_lawsuit.
The Bank of America class action lawsuit reportedly alleges that Bank of America agreed to take part in the U.S. Treasury Department’s $75 billion Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) since it accepted bailout funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), but allegedly had an incentive not to modify loans because doing so might cause it to repurchase more loans, collect lower servicing fees, or assess lower default charges because fewer payments would be deemed late.
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ALERT> Well…..where do I start…BOA (as in constrictor) has finally completed my loan modification application. First 5 years at 2%.; year six it goes up to 4% and year seven it goes and fixes at 5%. Assuming that all the rates stay the same. My original mortgage was at 6.25% for 30 years. THIS NEW MODIFICATION IS FOR 39 years…let me say that again 39 years…they tacked on 9 more years on the loan. That means that in this market where my house has lost 50% of its value…the loan modification is tailored to BOA needs..did they really help me or themselves?…I am no financial wizard but clearly BOA didn’t reduce or adjust my loan… BOA still just makes it money by spreading the original 6.25% rate over the 9 years. What happen to a loan modifcation on the 30 year mortgage???? Shouldn’t it remain a 30 year loan at 2%; 4% and 5% respectively over the 30 years???
I am 58 years old…I have to stay alive and have ample employment at least to the age of 97 to “pay off” this “new” mortgage.
I’m looking for responses from some “lawyer” types .
Before my mom received her huge increased trial period payment coupons/paperwork she received a letter from Bank Of America Tax Services it reads like this:
Your Security Instrument provides that:
1-If an escrow account does not exist for the payment of taxes, insurance, assessments, fines, and impositions related to the property, the borrower shall pay such items before they become delinquent directly to the party to whom the payment is due.
2-If the borrower fails to timely pay such items, the lender has the option to advance the funds to pay them.
3-In the event of an advance, the borrower shall promptly reimburse the lender for the amount advanced.
4-After an advance is made, the lender may require that an escrow account be established for the payment of future taxes, insurance and similar items related to the property.
Bank Of America without informing my Mom and a month before she even received trial period paperwork, paid $916.52. My Mom was never delinquent on her homeowners insurance.
If she decides not to participate in the trial payment period, they will want the $916.52 or add it onto her mortgage. Can she legally tell them to piss off? She wasn’t late or delinquent or even in the trial period when they decided to pay for her homeowners insurance. Is there any legal standing here?
To all: I was reading the paperwork additional paperwork that came with my Mom’s trial payment period paperwork, documents that at first glance just appeared to look like generic HAMP “frequently asked questions”
Found some interesting stuff, that appears to let my Mom off the hook for the huge trial period payment increase. Here’s what it says on one of the pages:
Your current loan documents remain in effect; however, you may make the trial period payment instead of the payment required under your loan documents:
* You agree that all terms and provisions of your current mortgage security instrument remain in full force and effect and you will comply with those terms; and that nothing in the trial period plan shall be understood or construed to be satisfaction or release in whole or in part of the obligations contained in the loan documents.
To me the above sounds like how the banksters entrap homeowners. Those who get a reduced trial period payment are stuck in the trial payment period for 7 or more months, which has been reported and then the bank denies a permanent modification and the homeowner must now pony up the difference in money over the past 7 months between the reduced payment and the original mortgage payment. Those really struggling probably can’t come up with the lump sum and poof, their house is foreclosed on.
Tony,
You are absolutely right!!! That is EXACTLY how BAC is getting homeowners to pony up money every month, making them late, making them delinquent, cancelling their mod or denying a permanent one, and then foreclosing.
I am in the same fix!!!
BAC collected payments for the better part of a year before “cancelling” our loan modification out from under us. They held payments (6 months worth) into a “fees due” account, showed where we hadn’t made payments in accordance with the loan mod agreement, and eventually foreclosed on us.
We now have legal counsel and are gonna fight them. My attorneys are looking for people who have a similar story to tell, so they can put together a mass JOINDER. If you’re interested, contact me 256-486-8085. Name’s Dory Tallent.
Dory, I have the feeling BOA will still get my mom’s house. They will either keep her in the trial period for 4 months and than deny a permanent modification, increase her payment one hundred plus dollars from the already two and thirty plus dollars from her original payment due to the escrow account, or they will keep her in the trial period for 8-12 months than refuse to give her a permanent modification and then she will owe the difference between the trial payment and the new original payment for all the month she was in the trial period.
It’s coming, we both know it. We are putting her house on the market next week and will pray that she can somehow sell it and make enough to go elsewhere or as she did this past Sunday, pray for a tornado to destroy the house so she can get the insurance money and move on. It is sad that this is happening in America, but it happened in the 30’s and it also happened right after the revolutionary war.
who is handling this class action, and how can we become involed in, tired of bac bs on modifications, incorrect payments, incorrect everything
I am extremely frustrated with BAC, I have been trying to get a home modification loan for almost 2yrs, its a lot of BS with them stating that they dont have this or that document when I have proof of the document being sent via email. I also had a trial payement once before and was not late or delinquent and at the end they tell me I didnt qualify I made to much money..I am a single mom with no help, its no way in hell I make to much to not qualify..The economy is so crazy now hell to incomes in a household is stilll not enough..We damn near have to be rich to live comfortly…I am tired of the run around and they keep calling saying my home gona go in foreclosure. Please help me or give me suggestion to handle this situation. Whomever handling the class action do so ASAP!!! I am interested in helping in whatever info that is pertinent to the lawsuit to be involve and give them what ever they need to pursue the suit against BAC!!! This has to have a stop to this bs!!!
Hi IS
Am in exactly the same boat — looking for a lawyer/lawsuit to sue BAC as well. You are not alone. Hang in there.
I am sure many of you know that our beloved Bank of America did not pay taxes this year or the prior year even though they made substantial profits. It really boils my blood! This unfair priviledge that has been handed over to Bank of America is uncalled for. I saw this quote today and thought I should share it: “Over the past five years, while General Electric made $26 billion in profits in the United States, it received a $4.1 billion refund from the IRS…Bank of America received a $1.9 billion tax refund from the IRS last year, although it made $4.4 billion in profits and received a bailout from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department of nearly $1 trillion.” …Of course, this is all being accomplished while the homeowner is hung to dry and is then kicked out of their homes and is then sent the bill. Bank of America gets a REFUND of 1.9 billion dollars after making 4.4 billion dollar profit. I pay taxes, so should they and I do not make 4.4 billion dollars a year either!!
So even though I received clear information from a Bank of America Loan Modification Rep via EMAIL stating that all fees are waived during the loan modification process, I have been advised since we were declined on the modification that I must pay any late fees and a supposedly “drive-by” fee for them to evaluate if someone is living in the house, total BS in my opinion. So explain to me how something that documents that all fees will be waived during the modification period can be enforced? Does not make a lick of sense to me. I pray they go under and all their executives walk the plank.
Heads up to everyone:
If and when you receive your trial period payment plan payment coupons and documents, check and double check what they put down for your income!!!
When you get the trial period documents, they include 4-5 pages that appear to just be “frequently asked questions” but on one of the documents it shows your income, escrow account payment, etc, etc.
I didn’t read that stuff when my mom received it, I thought it was just HAMP literature. Late last night I looked at it and realized Bank Of Anti America had the wrong income figure, adding $350.00 more to my mom’s income.
When I took her real income number and multiplied it by 31% it gave me a payment that was $110.00 dollars lower than what Bank Of Anti America had, which is still $120.00 more than my mom was originally paying but now she doesn’t need to worry about paying two large property tax bills each year.
I talked to a US treasury guy who has assisted us lately and he said the figure I came up with should be correct, including the escrow. Now I just have to wait until Monday, to see what the Bank Of Anti America comes up with.
By the way, this is the number you can call at the US treasury to try and get them to work with you. The guy I talked to is named Phillip Montez, he seems like a decent guy. He is working with Fannie Mae and the servicers.
US Treasury Department HAMP Solution Center
1-866-939-4469 – press option 2
Tony,
Keep in mind that these sheisters are using GROSS income (income before taxes) to figure if you qualify.
You don’t pay your bills before taxes, so why in the world are they still allowed to figure your monthly income using GROSS wages??? It’s highway robbery, pure and simple. That could be the reason for the fluctuation in your mom’s income….check and see if they used her gross earnings instead of her net earnings (earnings after taxes).
I notice that people complaining on this site, are still using Faxes to send documents to theses pretender lenders. PEOPLE here is a different way to deal with these shisters, and compile evidence for a future lawsuit for yourself.
I called Bank of distroying America and advised them, even thought I had not yet hired an attorney, that I have recently spoke to one. The attorney advised me that the only evidence that I could use in court, was evidence that was trackable. From them to me and me to them. That means either certified,return receipt requested” or “FED Ex ” .
It cost $25.00 for each FED EX which I demanded B of A pay for. I also have my US Senator monitoring them so now they are on the defence not visa versa. Recently B of A sent me a request via FED EX and I sent 2 FED Ex, paid by them back. It contained one document. Then they needed that same Doc. signed so another Fed Ex from them and 3 back. Do the math folks. You might as well get into their pockets and start costing their system bucks. So far to date they have paid over $2,200.00 just in Fed Ex fees on my deal. And I love it when they ask for more documents! Next time I’m going to send 1 page in each FED Ex envelope.
Also take the Fed Ex to a a place where you can get a return tracking receipt. You will need it in court.
Make it a game and get creative. Being angry is good if you release it into fun and folley! A wise person once told me to enundate those idiots with lots of paperwork. Keep em busy and bury them. They really like to go after the EASY prey. 95% are just walking away without so much as a PROPER fight.
99% of all foreclosures in Oregon have been cancelled or postponed. We deeply thank State Senator Suzanne Bonimici for drafting legislation making MERS null and void! We also give a BIG thanks to http://www.goodgriefamerica.org, for spearheading this states grassroots movement. And another thanks to all the distressed homeowners who have found the will and courage to stand up and be heard. THERE IS STREGNTH IN NUMBERS and KNOWLEDGE IS POWERFUL!
The fight is not over in this State yet but we are seeing more and more homeowners getting together to fight GOLIATH!
We finalized our Mod in August of 2010 but had issues with where they allocated $26,000 worth of trial payments(15). Somebody finally gave me the number to “The office of the president”. Of course this not the presidents office but it IS the highest dept to go to for problems and believe me they get things DONE! Hope this helps!
BofA has been misleading us for the past 18 months and right before the foreclosing auction sale, denied our reinstatement. I don’t know what to do and I need help. How do I get on this Class Action lawsuit. Any contact info is greatly appreciated.
Correct me if I am wrong here but it would seem Bank Of Anti-America and other servicers, can and will use the escrow account to entrap the borrower or homeowner.
From what I’ve experienced, they wait until you fall behind on property taxes than spring into action. Starting the escrow account. Paying for the late property taxes, a years worth of homeowners insurance adding these costs to the trial period plan which increase the payment, mail you the trial period payment plan and than bill you separately, a week later with your new and greatly increased regular payment which is more than the trial period payment and then they can claim that the trial payment modification is lower than your “new” regular payment.
In the meantime as you read the other documents that come with the trial period payment plan, you notice that to accept the trial period payment offer, you must make the trial period payment.
Initially, you could refuse to pay the increased trial period payment and go back to paying your original, lower payment but since they added the escrow, they’ve trapped you into higher regular payments so you are screwed either way.
iVE BEEN DECLINED APPROVED FOR TRIAL PERIOD TO START 5-1 1800 TRIAL TODAY NEW LOAN INFO MORTG PYMNT NOW 2644 WAS 2400 WHO DO I TALJK TO BOUT SUING B OF A THEY R A JOKE! SRESS UNREAL OYEA TOLD 2 TIMES MOD REQ CANCELLED BUT I HAVE PROOF SENT DOCS 5 TIMES iiii WANNA SUE! BEEN IN EMERGENCY W CHEST PAINS HAD MORPHINE ALL DUE TO STRESS SHERYL SO DO i OR DON’T I HAVE V A PLAN N WHICH 1 OH N AMT GOING UP AFTER TRIAL PERIOD,,,HUH? SAY WHATTTTT MORE THEN 2644? IM IN A WHEEL CHAIR N WALKER 100% DISABLED CAN U HELP?
I requested a loan modification from BOA. They made me apply 3 times before I heard from them. They said I had to be in foreclosure before they would modify it. They then increased my mortgage payments by $250. preliminary to modification then turned me down again. They will not restore my previous mortgage payment amount by that same $250.00 so now my payments are more than they were before I requested a modification. They have put none of this in writing instead relay the info thru one of their employees at the bank.
This is government and not the banks, but they’re all of the same mindset …
youtube.com/watch?v=dNsdwTbvV90
Somebody finally explained “doomed to fail” in simple terms.
Don, while I agree the government needs to stop the out of control spending, they are trying to cut out everything that helps the neediest Americans. They refuse to raise taxes on the wealthy who have enjoyed tax cuts for 10+ years.
They refuse to close the tax loopholes that corporations and the wealthy use to get out of paying the taxes that they owe and that video while holding some truths is a bit misleading.
After WWII, most of the rest of the worlds industrial bases were bombed and destroyed by the Axis and Allie forces. The US had their manufacturing bases totally intact, meaning for a period of time we built things for the rest of the world, which of course helped our economy and gave us a strong manufacturing base, which today, no longer exists.
We have a deficit problem no doubt and we have a spending problem no doubt BUT we also have a revenue problem. The Bush tax cuts that have been continued under Obama cost the US Treasury $3.1 trillion over 10 years.
The loss of American jobs and high unemployment adds trillions of more losses to revenue. If businesses aren’t going to hire more workers…which they haven’t…how do we make up for all of that lost revenue? We need to raise taxes on the top 5% of this country again! Under Eisenhower the tax rate for the wealthiest Americans was 70-80% higher than they are today.
We must also raise the capital gains and dividend tax. Why should investors pay less in taxes for doing nothing than a person pays for their labor? This is not right. There should also be an individual 5% government fee attached to every single stock transaction made on Wall Street.
We keep hearing that we must all share in the sacrifice. When is Wall Street and the banksters going to share in the sacrifice, they started this whole mess?
Politicians keep telling us we all must share in the sacrifice, how come NOBODY suggests that they start sharing in the sacrifice by taking 10% pay cuts and losing some of their tax payer funded benefits.
Nope, instead one party remains spineless and silent while the other party attacks and wages war on the middle class and low income earners, while leaving the wealthy, the corporations, etc, etc, to continue to prosper while the rest of us are going under. What we need is a second revolution, to take our government back from the banksters, Wall Street, the multinational corporations, the oil industry, the MIC, etc, etc!
And also end the wars and close down 3/4’s of our overseas military bases.
Tony …
Good words, and you know I respect your position.
There’s something to observe here, though … simple facts.
There are factions out there that are actually trying to crash the U.S. economy. I won’t name them, but I’m sure you can figure out who I mean, and they are not foreign terrorists … unless you count international bankers.
For anyone looking at the facts of the matter, this is all about submission and control. All of the things you cite as needing to be either restored, reversed or repaired WON’T happen since those powers you look to rein in are also controlling.
Well, it CAN happen if the American public wakes up to this. Perhaps through the foreclosure scandal a few will, leading to others … but as long as the American public either bickers amongst themselves about who the bad guys actually are, or merely plops down in front of the playoffs or HBO, it won’t happen.
Most Americans play the game. Most mind their business and collect a paycheck, even if it’s smaller these days. In fact most mind their business because it DID get smaller and are afraid to see the truth. Others side with an “arguing faction” while the real problems are behind closed door.
Conspiracy?
Yup.
Just read this board or most of the news. Follow the money … and you’ll find “The Controllers.”
Most people are capable of “Eyes Wide Open,” but most aren’t given that choice … and gleefully bitch about irrelevant things or go back to watching night soaps.
Here, we start to bring things out, but never forget the fact that the people we need to bring under control are the people IN control.
It’s all about the money.
You hit the nail on the head Don!
Those in control worship Mammon, their religion is unfettered, greed driven capitalism.
When watching cable news , the political talk shows or the newspaper and internet, I’m often reminded of this verse from the bible:
“You will know them by their fruits….” — Matthew 7:16
It’s pretty clear who and what these people are all about. Just look at their deeds. Stealing the wealth of millions of people, stealing the homes from millions of homeowners. Attacking and scapegoating the poor, the middle class and the working class while the wealthy, the multinational corporations, the banksters and the crooksters on Wall Street continue to make money hand over fist.
Indeed we will know them by their fruit. Anyone familiar with Cain and the Canaanites, don’t have to think too hard to figure out who these people are.
Just got blindsided with Foreclosure notice in the paper. I was not informed by BoA or their attorney’s. I have been in Modification process nightmare for 2 years. It’s all a bunch of BS! Everybody beware of all the lies and BS they are telling you. Now it’s time for this Southern boy to put on my boots and do some A** KICKING! Anyone want to to have join me?
What cha got in mind? I so wish everyone would come together and rise up against this evil, corrupt government and these crooked institutions.
Just got blindsided with Foreclosure notice in the paper. I was not informed by BoA or their attorney’s. I have been in Modification process nightmare for 2 years. It’s all a bunch of BS! Everybody beware of all the lies and BS they are telling you. Now it’s time for this Southern boy to put on my boots and do some A** KICKING! Anyone want to join me?
How do I get signed up ? I was declined a loan modification after being in review for over a year after having lost my job due to the company I worked for relocating out of state, and my husbands wages and hours cut by 30% to avoid lay offs. I immediately notified bank of America once I had secured a job and was told I now made too much money and
did not qualify for a modificationa and to avoid foreclosure, I would be required to pay all the arrears immediately.
Thank God for shows like 60 minutes exposing this Fraud of an industry that we have all been taught to respect and trust.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/04/01/60minutes/main20049646_page4.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody
Correct me if I am wrong here but it would seem Bank Of Anti-America and other servicers, can and will use the escrow account to entrap the borrower or homeowner and also delay any trial period until the homeowner falls behind, in which then the banksters spring into action because they know they now have the homeowner by the balls.
From what I’ve experienced, they wait until you fall behind on property taxes than spring into action. Starting the escrow account. Paying for the late property taxes, a years worth of homeowners insurance adding these costs to the trial period plan which increase the payment, mail you the trial period payment plan and than bill you separately, a week later with your new and greatly increased regular payment which is more than the trial period payment and then they can claim that the trial payment modification is lower than your “new” regular payment.
In the meantime as you read the other documents that come with the trial period payment plan, you notice that to accept the trial period payment offer, you must make the trial period payment.
Initially, you could refuse to pay the increased trial period payment and go back to paying your original, lower payment but since they added the escrow, they’ve trapped you into higher regular payments so you are screwed either way.
Tony,
Here’s another little tidbit to add to the “lie pool” that runs BAC.
I was told, by 10 different representatives, that when you apply for a loan modification, BAC assumes that you need help paying your property taxes and homeowners insurance, too, and they go ahead and escrow BOTH those, on your behalf.
I have been told by these same 10 reps, that once they start, whether you are approved or denied modification, they cannot stop escrowing your taxes or insurance.
It’s all BULL-S@#T!
Update:
After reading the extra documents that came with my mothers trial period payment plan it clearly states that to accept their “offer” you must pay the trial period payment. This tells me if you refuse the “offer” and pay your regular payment you in effect opt out of HAMP.
I was given two conflicting responses to this from BOA. And of course it doesn’t matter because my mom’s new regular payment, with escrow and past property taxes and homeowners insurance payments made by BOA, the new payment would be $300.00 more than the original payment.
Interestingly, I contacted BOA last Thursday and again this morning to inform them that they had my mothers gross monthly income incorrect. They had her income listed as $359.00 more a month than it should be.
I asked the BOA rep what we should do, he first said to pay the trial period payment, which I refused because my mom can’t afford it and sec0ndly, the figure is based on the incorrect gross monthly income figures. He then told me to have her pay her original payment and add a letter stating that she declines the trial period payment plan offered by BOA and wait a letter of decline from BOA so that she can make an appeal.
Before I was going to mail it I decided to contact the US Treasury guy who I’ve talked to twice in the past three weeks. He told me not to send the letter because it would give BOA the right to refuse to offer my mother a different trial period payment plan offer…Nice huh?
Those bastards have received the same gross income figures repeatedly at their request since June 2009 and than they get them wrong when they figure out the trial period payment?????
Unbelievable! Don’t know where to turn anymore. Awaiting to hear back from the US Treasury guy this afternoon and will call him soon if I don’t hear back from him.
Releases today: A Massachusetts official whose office deposits about $25 million a year with Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) has asked the state treasurer to yank that money from the financial institution.
Read more: “Mass. official: Yank deposits from Bank of America | Boston Business Journal”…… http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2011/04/04/mass-official-yank-deposits-from.html#disqus_thread
Wouldn’t it be great if all 50 states did the right thing and close their accounts with BofA. Massachusetts broke the ice and I hear the iceberg crumbling down!! Yes!!!!!
Do NOT miss this article! … OR the 60 Minutes segment …
news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110404/bs_yblog_thelookout/the-foreclosure-mess-isnt-going-away
I purchased my house in July of 2005 at the age of 22. 6 years later I have paid over 100,00.00 for an 86,000.00 home. I have an adjustable rate mortgage my mortgage has been sold 6 times in the past 6 years and i have never been late on a payment. i have applied for a home loan modification on 3 different occassions and i have been denied i was recently denied because “this loan is current and does not meet the imminent Default Criteria due to the current mortgage payment ratio is less than 31%.” if there is someone who can help please i have paid 2,800.00 a month for over 2.5 years my interest rate went all the way up to 18%. right now my mortgage is 8.5 which is good but my rate is due to increase in May. I have job losses in the past few years and have never been late. if you know of anyone who can help me please e-mail me.
Educate yourself …
http://tickerforum.org/akcs-www
Pay particular attention to the Foreclosure/Mortgage Fraud section.
Hi all,
Quick update here: went to my hearing and the banks fc mill attorneys did not show. They now tell me boa has halted the fc. BOA says they are selling April 7th. Who knows? Never the same answer twice.
Anyway, here is an elementary video on the US economy and its history. It is worth watching and sharing.
youtube.com/watch?v=tGk5ioEXlIM
Enjoy!
Great video!
It’s unfortunate that it takes a cartoon to get the message across, but right now I’ll take ANYTHING that gets the job done.
how do i join the law suit
This goes out to John Stone in Hawaii – I am going thru the same thing and looking for an attorney to start a class action lawsuit in the State of Hawaii..please contact me
Les, IS , Luey, Sam, Tamera, Ria, Robert and Norma …
I know this is a complicated situation, but there’s some things you need to come to realize about what’s happening.
As I (and many others) have pointed out, there is no lawsuit to simply sign up for. Sorry to break it to you, but that’s neither how this forum works or really how the legal system works.
This forum got started by simply reporting lawsuits in California and Washington State, and there are very specific requirements for a homeowner to join them. Living in one of those States is part of it, but it’s FAR more complicated than that.
Unfortunately, you CANNOT take a simplistic view of the situation you find yourself in. A lawsuit does NOT necessarily mean you’re going to force the bank to do ANYTHING … OR punish them. In fact, a class action lawsuit, as pointed out by a [very brave] attorney in this forum, is NOT necessarily bad for the banks.
They LOVE class actions, since it virtually SILENCES many voices into one in a court of law. Plus, it’s cheap and easy for them to send one legal team to beat those homeowners down. Not only that, but cases are won on the details and those details virtually disappear in a class action. There are NO easy fixes here … AND … there are no heroes.
NO ONE is going to swoop in and save you from “the big bad bank.” We have to save ourselves … by learning how to fight … and there’s no avoiding the fact that it IS a fight.
The first thing most people need to learn … which I and many others on this forum have … is the fact that what we are told about the system is NOT how the system REALLY works.
1. No one is going to stand up FOR you without taking a PILE of money to do it.
2. Even IF you find someone to stand up for you, you lose control of the outcome since you probably have no idea how things work or even what your TRUE rights are.
3. Relying on a group effort in court … a class action … should likely be a last resort since A) your individual case “merits” are largely lost and B) when you depend exclusively on lawyers, those very same lawyers CANNOT and will not do certain things you can do as an individual whose careers are NOT tied to the courts. Lawyers will NOT challenge the courts themselves, which you CAN.
As I said, I know this is complicated … but you CANNOT simply shout “I JUST WANT MY MODIFICATION” and expect miracles. It simply doesn’t work that way … and the banks LOVE IT when we think does.
To get started, please see two articles of mine on PiggyBankBlog.com …
piggybankblog.com/2009/11/08/piggybankblog-writer-don-sweet/
piggybankblog.com/2008/11/08/don-sweets-latest-article/
… but also read back through this forum for information others have posted. Simply click on “Previous Comments” in light blue at the top or bottom of this page.
Well it now appears my mom is going to lose her home now. Just got off the phone with the US Treasury guy Phillip Montez.
I had sent him my mom’s documents showing her net & gross income figures. So he could look them over as BOA had her income listed $359.00 more than what she receives from social security and her State, PERA retirement pension.
It appears….and this is news to most everyone I imagine, that under HAMP guidelines, if a borrower/homeowner receives income that is NOT taxed, like a pension and social security, the servicer, under HAMP guidelines are “legally” allowed to add another 25% to the net income. No questions asked.
So my mom, who has paid her mortgage on time for 40+ years and but fell behind on her property taxes from the last half of last year is now going to lose her home. What a country we live in.
May God DAMN this country….and all of the greedy, evil bastards who run and control it.
Correct, under 10/2009 HAMP guide lines, the servicer is allowed to add 1.25% to all net incomes not subject to taxes:
Monthly Gross Income:
The borrower’s “monthly gross income” is the borrower’s income amount before any payroll deductions and includes wages and salaries, overtime pay, commissions, fees, tips, bonuses, housing allowances, other compensation for personal services, Social Security payments, including Social Security and adoption subsidies received by adults on behalf of minors or by minors intended for their own support, and monthly income from annuities, insurance policies, retirement funds, pensions, disability or death benefits, unemployment benefits, rental income and other income. If only net income is available, the servicer must multiply the net income amount by 1.25 to estimate the monthly gross income. All non-taxed income, including non- taxed social security income, is considered net income.
Tony …
Try to negotiate a private modification with BofA … or have you already gone that route?
Also, don’t forget the filings I’ve mentioned either, such as the motion to compel or temporary injunction. These are tools to force the bank to provide information and get additional time to gather and prepare documentation.
Email me at donsweet@verizon.net for samples and templates.
Don, my mom is going to bite the bullet. She doesn’t want to lose her home and will put it on the market in the mean time, but she is going to accept their trial period offer, even though it is $2o5.00 more than she was originally paying. At least with the escrow she no longer has to worry about coming up with $1900.00 two months out of the year to pay her property taxes.
In order to do this she must stop payment on her monthly Sam’s Club bill and a Chase-Manhattan credit card. She is old school and doesn’t like this idea but it will save her $200.00 a month. I told her to not worry about it as corporations seem to get away with this stuff all the time these days.
She is also discontinuing her satellite TV service which will give her an extra $73.00 more dollars a month. Add the $84.00 she no longer has to pay monthly for homeowners insurance due to the escrow account and it adds up to her having roughly $357.00 a month for groceries, medication, cigarettes and gas…if my calculations are right.
Otherwise the only other option would be to not pay the increased original mortgage, save that money, lose the home to foreclosure and find a senior living building to live.
I will also be taking her to a food shelf each month to help her save on groceries.
I just HOPE her not paying those two unsecured loans
will affect whether she gets a permanent modification in the future?????
Tony …
Call both Sam’s Club and Chase and work out a deal … something to forego payments for a time, but most especially try and do a reduced principle settlement. Explain the situation. Get a supervisor. Tell them they need to settle or send it to collections. Usually they don’t like passing it on to collections and will settle. If you negotiate vigorously enough, you might get 50% and a six month payment deferral. To them, half might be better than collections … or nothing … which is what you’re thinking about giving them.
HELP! im so very angry about losing$ 55,000 to$ 60,000.00 i just found out fri. april 1st, thats right, aprils fool day! i asked them if it was real,they[BANK OF AMERICA] said yes. i would like to join your lawsuit. its not just BOA, but COUNTRYWIDE financial & ALL their subsidairies> by the way is FREEDOM financial one of them? please help me! im just one of the little people! tim
Timothy …
Please see my note to Les, IS , Luey, Sam, Tamera, Ria, Robert and Norma above.
Is there a class action suit in FL that I can join? I want to sue BOA! Please contact me!
Is there a class action suit against MBNA. If so how do I apply or join the class action suit?
Joe fasano
I cant believe BOA operates their business in this manner. I have called several times in attempt to get my account issues resolved. my problems began when my modification was finalized. thereafter my payments were not applied to the account correctly which resulted in late fees. i contact BOA several times to get this matter resolved but I was transfered around an no one helped me. BOA has gotten so big, their customer service skills went out the door. Now im stuck with these issues until they have time to fix the problems. I do not recommend BOA for you home loan needs, please go somewhere else.
Again to anyone out there on social security and/or receiving a pension. Since these are non taxable the bank has the right via HAMP guidelines to add an extra 1.25 percent on your income.
This wasn’t found out until yesterday. Nice for these bastards to inform us of these little twists and turns. I bet had my mom not gone delinquent on her property taxes, her trial period payment would have still been higher than her original monthly mortgage payment because of that added 1.25 percent.
I HAVE READ EVERYONE’S HORROR STORIES ON THIS BLOG, AND I HATE THAT BANK OF AMERICA (AKA BAC HOME LOANS SERVICING LP) IS BEING ALLOWED TO OPERATE THIS WAY!!!
I have my own horror story…which I will make short.
My nightmare started in late May 2009, when Countrywide got bought out by Bank of America. It’s been Hell ever since. BAC immediately began foreclosure proceedings on our home, saying we were 5 months behind. I did the math, and we were one payment behind, not 5. Countrywide wasn’t that much better at posting payments!
Well, my husband and I began working with a non-profit credit counselling place, and worked with BAC to obtain a loan mod. It took them until the end of July to “approve” us for the final loan mod. Well, when we got the thing, it kept us at our current interest rate, hiked up our monthly payments from $855.19 to $983.00, and tacked 2 years onto the back of our mortgage. They also wanted “up front funds” to process the modification to the tune of $877. Well, they got all that, never posted they received the $877. We made all our payments (no trial payment period, this was an “in house” mod) on time, with no late fees, as per their modification (we were never told not to do so otherwise) for 8 months before someone from BAC calls us, telling us too much time has gone by and we needed to start the process over again! They showed us in April 2010 as being 16 payments behind! They were taking our payments and stashing them into a “fees due” account, and showing us delinquent every month. Oh, and during all those months our mortgage statements never changed over to reflect the modification price. We kept getting told, month after month by their oh-so-qualified-to-work-there reps “oh well the modification was approved, it’s in underwriting”, “just pay what’s on the mod, ignore the mortgage statements”, “oh well now it’s in the closing dept. so any day now your mortgage statements will change”…blah, blah, blah. they never did. We kept getting further and further behind. On top of that, they were escrowing our property taxes and additional homeowners insurance because BAC deemed we didn’t have enough coverage under our current homeowners policy. Plus, they still showed us 16 payments behind, as if we hadn’t paid on our damn loan in a year and a half. We were, in april 2010, over $18,000 in the hole with BAC in late fees, uncollected costs, past due payments, escrow fees, homeowners fees.
Well, we kept on paying them, and we got to August 2010, and BAC inadvertently “cancels” the loan modification right out from underneath us. doesn’t give us a reason, and doesn’t bother telling us. We just got a Notice of Intent along with our mortgage statement that month. I called in to find out what was wrong, and just got told it was “cancelled” with no reason listed. So, their Advocacy dept. took over. Advocacy has had my account from August 2010 up until the day BAC decided they were gonna start foreclosure proceedings (that as 2/28/11). I have contacted them numerous times, documented each and every call in a call log, have employee names and ID’s (when they will actually give them to you). My account has been “escalated” to more supervisors than I can count on my fingers and toes combined…to no avail. Nobody has done a damn thing to help me.
One call in particular really ticked me off…December 14, 2010 I call BAC and get an actual rep, probably the only one in the building with a conscience, and she tells me there’s a note, plain as day on the account dated for ONE YEAR PRIOR…that says “12/14/2009 –note from closing dept. to workout negotiator: error on loan modification document. negotiator needs to resend loan mod docs to customer asap.” Well folks, she couldn’t find where those documents EVER LEFT THEIR BUILDING! The workout negotiator dropped the doggone ball, and BAC kept on collecting my money, for an entire year!!!
In Jan. 2011 I called in at the end of that month to make payment arrangements, because I had been getting Notices of Intent to Accelerate since August (along with collections calls from 800-669-0102, sometimes 3- 8 a day, 7 days a week). I knew we couldn’t keep going on this, relying on the Advocacy Dept. to grow a pair and actually help us…so I called in to make payment arrangements for what they “said” we were behind. A lady named Cathy helped me in Advocacy dept. She took our financial info, ran the numbers up the flagpole, and came back adn asked just how much we could put down to secure the repay plan. I told her we could feasibly do $2000.00 and she said they could work with that. So, she determined that we would have to make 5 more payments of $2653.00 to get current, adn she would set those up to be an automatic draft out of my checking account. Well, she took my checking info, had “computer issues” and said she’d call back. to this day that woman has never called me back. I have called in numerous times, before I finally got frustrated and just mailed in the dang payment of $2800.00 in February, to get that pay plan set up. Each rep was afraid to do anything, saying this lady had put a note in the computer that she’d follow up at a later date/time with homeowner. Nobody wanted to “step on her toes” and do the repay while I was on the phone. I got tired of their crap and just mailed the payment in…so you’d think this would have satisfied my end of the deal towards whatever repay plan Miss Cathy had tried to set me up on? NOPE!!! On 2/28/11 BAC began foreclosure proceedings on my home.
I have hired legal counsel who would love to put together a mass joinder (a joinder is where each person has their case heard, not like a class action where everybody’s gripes are heard as a single case) and to love nothing more than to have actual testimonials to prove a pattern of behavior in court against BAC. If you’re interested, please email me at dory@ohiostreet.com or by phone 256-486-8085. My attorneys are out of Birmingham, AL and aren’t the type of attorneys to price gouge people to death. They do, however, require a retainer of $1,000.00 but are willing to break that up into payments if you have to (which, at this point, we do).
But, the point is….you gotta stand up and fight these turds. And it does take an attorney, because griping to elected officials only does 1/10th of the battle….hire legal representation. I did. And I’m ready to clean house!
Dory …
Good post. We can all relate to your experience.
Your point about mass joinders is good too, and there’s a real education out there when you Google it. Putting in just “mass joinder” brings a ton of hits, mostly on mortgage issues.
It’s important to note that many hits are firms advertising for you to join their suit … and … there are warnings (like from CBS news) about them.
denver.cbslocal.com/2011/03/30/consumer-protection-officials-warn-about-mass-joinder-lawsuit/
… not to say they’re bad, but just to say be careful.
Don….you are right! There are tons of “scam suits” that are supposedly being filed against these big banks. I almost got suckered into one, wanting me to fork over $6,000.00 to just be added to the class action suit.
I found my attorneys by doing loads of research (in Alabama, however, there are only a handful of attorneys hungry enough for this kinda action). Nick Wooten of Wooten Law Firm in Auburn, Al has won several cases against BAC, MERS, Freddie MAC, Fannie MAE, and CitiGroup. However, he wants a hefty retainer, and 45% of whatever you reap in court! So, when I found my attorney group, I was thankful all they wanted up front was a $1,000.00 retainer, and were willing to work out payments on that!! They will get 30% of whatever we are awarded by the courts, so I am sure if they wanna get paid they’ll hustle and argue a strong case!!
Still tho…anybody who can and will provide us with written testimonies, contact me. These attorneys are starting to see where proving a pattern of behavior is beneficial in winning these types of cases. I need every single one of you to help me fight them!!! I have had a few ppl come forward already, however, I need more. So please, if you have the time to spare to type up a testimonial we can use in court (signed/notarized would be best), contact me.
I hope that all who read this are as tenacious as I am about raking BAC over the coals for their wrong doings to millions of American homeowners. Thank you.
Dory, you are one of the lucky ones who found an attorney like that. I wasn’t so lucky. The attorneys that were willing to take our case wanted us to fork up $30,000.00 up front. If I had that kind of money I wouldn’t be in this mess right now. I am also looking for notarized written testimonies for my case. I will provide my affidavit in exchange for every valid testimony. Bank of America victims, please help Dory and I prove in court that Bank of America is a fraudulent organization by providing your testimony. The truth shall set you free!! 🙂 Please email me at Isabel-1229@hotmail.com if you are able to help. Thanks in advance.
HEY DON…..I am wondering what your thoughts are on this one:
My name appears alongside my husbands on the Mortgage, and the actual Deed to the house. My husband is the only one listed on the Note and the loan origination papers. The attorney group that did our closing made me sign off on all of their in house papers (which, by the way, they never notarized stating they saw us sign them).
The foreclosure attorneys that BAC have hired (Sirote and Permutt) have now, for the 2nd time in 2 years, gotten our home for foreclosure, and listed ME both times as being a responsible party in payment of the debt on the house!!
How can they come after me when my name isnt on the damn NOTE to the house? Oh, and these foreclosure mills think they’re just the bees knees. I have on my cellphone a recording left by one of the attorneys at Sirote and Permutt…she thought she’d hung up after leaving her little message about them being a debt collector, well she hadn’t!!! I got to hear “Just how many ways can you spell the last name ‘Tallent’? This dumb ass called me twice yesterday to see if we had their file from Bank of America in our office, and I told him no we didn’t. Oh and I’ll bet he’s screening his calls because the big bad debt collector called him.” And then, only then, does the stinking woman realizes she never hung up the line, and hangs up right before she says “oh shit”.
Dory …
Ha! … on the recording … great job.
I don’t know what value it might have in court, but try and get it off your phone and on to some more permanent medium. If you ever use it, you can testify that you recorded it.
As for your mortgage, you’ve confused me. Your note should be your mortgage and vice versa. They’re interchangeable terms, so I’m not sure what you’re referring to. It’s a “Mortgage Note.”
In financial and legal terms, a “Note” is a promise to pay, a mortgage merely attaches “real property” to the concept.
Now … if you’re talking about your original “application” for a loan (for a mortgage that would be consummated into a Note) then you’re talking about the preliminary paper, not the Note itself.
If you went to the closing and signed “the papers,” you signed the Note … the Mortgage Note. If you didn’t go or you didn’t sign, you’re not “on” the mortgage.
A Note is a contract agreed between two parties. It could be for anything, not just a house. THAT is what a court looks at … the agreement, and all the details written into it.
Here’s the trick after deciding whether you’re on it or not …
… whether they even HAVE the “Note” or not anymore.
One EXTREMELY vital aspect to contract law in this country is that you keep the PAPER.
Banks have been destroying them.
In a court, they MUST have the actual piece of paper YOU SIGNED, and not a “facsimile” (or copy) of it. Just having some image of the original contract is NOT the contract if it’s not the original piece of paper. That’s why it’s called “The Blue Ink Note” or even “The Wet Ink Note.”
When the banks created the MERS system in the 90’s, MERS decided that a whole bunch (about 40% 0f 60 million mortgage notes) were too burdensome to keep, so they shredded them.
That VOIDS them and makes any contract with the parties NULL.
Now, getting courts to agree or even tacking down whether your mortgage has been destroyed is another matter … or just plain hard work to prove … however … ANY lawyer worth his body salt would DEMAND the bank produces the ACTUAL paper contract in ANY dispute … since it’s a basic pillar of contract law … but many of the banks can’t … since they were shredded.
The REAL issue here is whether the banks callously and calculatedly shredded the contracts intentionally. Some judges might “buy in” to the idea that showing that there WAS a contract proves that there IS a contract … even without the paper … but that would literally undermine contract law that’s been in force for centuries. New York State has already ruled the MERS system in violation of these principles. Counties are beginning to file against MERS for depriving them of billions in filing fees, since that “Registration System” avoided them.
That alone shows that they did it INTENTIONALLY when they formed the MERS system … as well as intentionally (and callously?) shredded millions of Blue Ink Notes. They simply didn’t want to bother keeping them stored.
It’s basic stuff they never thought anyone would notice or care about.
I’m not an attorney (thank God) but even –I– have been able to figure this stuff out from basic legal principles commonly available to anyone who cares to research and learn … which we ALL can do.
CONTACT YOUR ATTORNEY GENERAL! FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE OCC (Office of the Comptroller of Currency) Customer Assistance Group at 1301 McKinley, Suite 3710 in Houston, TX 77010 Toll free: 1-800-613-6743 – Texas is the main headquarters of Bank of America! Also FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE OF YOUR STATE! If these people start getting enough phone calls maybe they will do something about the outrageous way people are being treated by BOA!!! The following is our story…..
My husband and I have our first and second mortgage with Bank of America. We began proceedings for a home loan modification with BOA in August of 2009, when my husband’s income decreased significantly and then lost his job in December 2009. We provided all of the forms BOA requested, sometimes 3 or 4 times because they kept asking for it. We completed a 4-month mortgage payment trial period as requested. Finally August 12, 2010 we received a letter from BOA stating our HLM was approved and the Loan Modification Agreement would be sent. We received the forms, signed them, and sent them in along with a certified cashier’s check for a mortgage payment by the required August 26th deadline. We were also told that once the 1st mortgage modification was complete they would automatically modify our 2nd mortgage.
We never heard back from them. We began calling a few times a week to find out if the loan had been finalized (all the time making our payments). Each time we tried to contact someone we would either get a new person on the phone, get transferred, or get no one at all, and no one could give us a straight answer.
In total frustration we finally contacted the Attorney General’s office of Minnesota on October 27, 2010 and have been working with Lindsey LaVoi of the Consumer Services Division since that time. With her help we were finally able to get an answer from BOA. BOA told us that we had actually NOT qualified for the HLM, and that because we hadn’t qualified they did an “in-house” modification loan. This certainly was news to us because they had never contacted us to tell us we had not qualified for the HLM. Since we did not qualify for the HLM on the 1st mortgage they could do nothing on our second mortgage because they had “no programs” for second mortgages
Two different Customer Service advocates from the office of the CEO of BOA contacted us and apologized but there was nothing more BOA could do for us. Steve Henry at 1-877-498-7226 ext. 3839 and Janira Gomez at 1-877-430-1431 ext. $14185. They did, however provide us with this # 1-800-990-6248 to call to try and re-finance our 2nd mortgage. This is what happened after calling the 1-800 # that was given to me by Steve Henry and Ganira Gomez, Customer Service advocates for CEO of BOA.
On April 4, 2011 I called 1-800-990-6248 and spoke with Kevin, a loan officer. Kevin transferred me to….
1-800-936-6362, a Home Equity Department. I spoke to Chad McDonald. Chad told me they would not refinance our second mortgage because of the loan to value percentage. The house needed to be within 85% of the combined loans and value of the house, which I already knew would not be the case. Chad transferred me to……
1-800-936-6362 a Home Equity Loan Modification Department that works with 2nd mortgages. I spoke with David. David could not help me so he transferred me to……
1-877-744-7691 a Default Prevention Pre-qualification department. I spoke to Joe. After asking me some questions Joe wanted to start the whole Home Loan Modification program all over again. I declined.
We are paying 9.5% interest on our second mortgage right now. We have made many sacrifices trying to keep our house and have never once missed a payment. We feel we were lied too (because we still have the letter which states we qualified for the HLM) and have been treated very unprofessionally.
I just talked to BOA on my modification. I have been unemployed from Dec 2010 and they said they could set it @ 31% of my monthly income. My monthly check is $1,252.00. It should be $388.12 a month but they said they approved $779.12 a month. There excuse was they did not get unemployment stubs yet I sent them all that and filled out all there paperwork that way showing I was unemployed. They say now that if I reapply I may not get approved at all and loose my house if I try for a lower amount which I was told that that was hole idea behiond applying for the hamp program. Do I have any leagle recource here. Can anybody tell me
WHERE IS MY LOAN MODIFICATION BANK OF DESTROYING AMERICA!
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BofA and it’s CEO Brian Moynihan reminds me of that song by John Lennon and George Harrison titled “Piggies” I invite you to listen to this song on youtube and see if it appropriately fits.
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youtube.com/watch?v=ovD9rTzs2q4&feature=player_embedded
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Have you seen the little piggies
Crawling in the dirt
And for all the little piggies
Life is getting worse
Always having dirt to play around in.
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Have you seen the bigger piggies
In their starched white shirts
You will find the bigger piggies
Stirring up the dirt
Always have clean shirts to play around in.
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In their ties with all their backing
They don’t care what goes on around
In their eyes there’s something lacking
What they need’s a damn good whacking.
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Everywhere there’s lots of piggies
Living piggy lives
You can see them out for dinner
With their piggy wives
Clutching forks and knives to eat their bacon.
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When I filed my lawsuit against Bank of America, I thought of the many others out there in the same situation. It was then that we decided to educate the public on what these piggy banks are doing, as well as unite us all together as one voice. Please help me turn this David vs. Goliath modification process, into a Goliath vs. Goliath.
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Please stand with me and Brookstone Law Firm, and send an email to Bank of Abusing America that states that we will no longer tolerate their potentially illegal, fraudulent, irregular and abusive business methods.
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So please send your email directly to Bank of America and include the following:
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1. Your name
2. Your complaint concerning your experience with Bank of America.
3. Please end your email “I support John Wright vs. BofA Lawsuit!”
4. Please send a copy of your email to piggybankblog@earthlink.net
5. Please send your email to BofA CEO Brian Moynihan:
brian.t.moynihan@bankofamerica.com
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I HAVE HAD ENOUGH AND I AM FIGHTING BACK!
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I have created piggybankblog.com for all of those who have been abused by Bank of Destroying Americas potentially irregular, fraudulent and simply abusive home loan modification process.
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Divided we might have fell America. UNITED WE MUST STAND!
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youtube.com/watch?v=PoOJMr7OJ0s
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My name is John Wright AND I AM FIGHTING BACK!
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John Wright
piggybankblog.com
YES THE ADDED MY LAST 3 MONTHS TO THE BACK OF LOAN, THEN PAID MY TAXES, WITHOUT MY CONSULTATION. I HAVE ALWAYS PAID MY TAXES , ADDED FEES, AND MY MORTGAGE PAYMENT WENT FROM 691 TO 868. I AM WORKING 2 JOBS AND TAKING ON BOARDERS. BOA IS OUT OF CONTROL. THEY DONT WORK WITH ANYONE.
JOHN….they “paid” your taxes because….sit down for this one….BAC “assumes” because you need a loan modification, that you need assistance with your property taxes too, so they, ON YOUR BEHALF (whether you ok it or not!), ESCROW YOUR PROPERTY TAXES! Good luck getting them to stop.
BAC up and cancelled our loan mod that they happily accepted payments on for an entire year, just cancelled it out from underneath us! Guess what they’re STILL doing to this day??? Escrowing our property taxes, even after repeated attempts to make them stop it!
These are “junk escrows”….the money you send in each month for that escrow sits in a nice little account, draws interest that BAC gets to keep.
Another issue that my husband and I have noticed they’re in the habit of doing, is NOT Posting timely payments when you send them in. They will hold your funds in a “suspense account” or a “fees due” account, and not post them the way they’re supposed to be!!! They’ll hold these funds in that suspense account for many months before posting a payment….that’s highly unethical. It makes you, the homeowner, delinquent and late every month. Also, it screws you over in another way, on your IRS tax filings. We all get a Mortgage Interest Statement to use on your end of the year taxes. Well, what do you think happens when BAC doesn’t post payments of Principal and Interest to YOUR account within that year? You don’t get to use it on your taxes, because they’re not reporting where you paid interest during your so-called “delinquent” times. Highly unethical? YOU BET!!!
They’ve screwed up our tax filings for 2 years doing just this. If you don’t believe me, take a hard look at what BAC or Countrywide “reported” on that Mortgage Interest Statement and then compare it with your Amortorization Schedule you received at your closing. You pay $X every year in interest that you should be able to write off on your taxes, and when BAC reports that you didn’t pay interest for X amount of months for a fiscal year, that messes with your tax exemption, because mortgage interest is a deduction on your annual taxes.
Their schemes and scandals go way deeper than most realize. It’s more than just foreclosure fraud. They’re in the business of messing people over.
John,
I am being offered the load modification (scam) that everyone is talking about. Did you ever get things resolved or have any of the lawsuits fixed anything? I don’t know if I want to walk away or try to keep my home by working with these crooks.
Thanks,
Tony Montes
two of my property in daly city, was foreclosed by countrywide in 2009 inspite of my plea to modify the mortgages for both properties.
The appplication for modification was flatly denied by Countrywide.
There was no specific reasons for denial. One is a rental and the other property was occupied by my son who happens to be on title too. I don’t get it…
Watch out, one and all!
Bank of America has their “Social Media Group” watching anything and everything you post. Obviously they took a hard look at my many blogs on various websites, including this one, and decided to do some serious damage control. I just got a call a few minutes ago from a Sheri Sharp in their Social Media Group!!! She saw my many complaints on blog sites (like this one) and contacted ME to see what was going on. Unbelievable!
My attorneys also got a call from someone within BAC today, right about the same time this Media Group lady was calling me, regarding our account with them. Apparently now the account’s been assigned to one individual, who is now offering another MHA loan mod that we need to try to qualify for (hahahahaaaaaa!). Our foreclosure has been stopped, effective today. Which is odd because we got a letter saturday saying that they never put our house in foreclosure, but that on 3/31/11 they were gonna put it in front of a foreclosure review committee. Funny, but why send a homeowner a letter of foreclosure on 3/8/11 if you HAVENT put their house in foreclosure??? I’ll tell you why…..incompetence!
Don….in our closing documents we have two separate documents, one says NOTE and the other is labeled MORTGAGE. My husband is the only one listed on the NOTE document, he and I both are on the MORTGAGE. We are both on the Warranty Deed. I know the “mortgage” is the little security blanket that wraps around the Note. However, hubby is only one on note.
To DORY TALLENT Looks like its time for me to get on board. I have had the exact same experience with B.O.A. Lets talk I need help fighting this totally dysfunctional company.What a joke they are. Lost my documents,changed case managers,didnt notify me of important dates,totally messed up record keeping,constantly bombarding me with conflicting informaton,all this while not doing anything to Modify my loan. I did everything they asked me to do ,but they dont seem to want to help. I have my documents
I had a Countrywide home loan. Bank of America purchased my loan when they took over Countrywide. I started my loan modification process in September 2009. Two weeks ago B of America negotiator told me I didn’t qualify for the loan modification. Why? It’s because after 19 moths of delays on their part they have tacked on $125,000 in back arrears at the old rate of 6.5%. Also, in February 2010, Bank of America sold my loan to Bank of New York I’m sure for a discount. Anyone else with a similar case like mine? I have a friend here in Washington state with the same exact case. Any class action lawsuits pertaining to this Banking practice?
Robert,
Your story is like thousands of others I have read. Read my long drug out post, and you’ll see why I am getting a mass joinder going through my attorneys group out of Birmingham, AL. It doesn’t matter what state you are in, if you are interested, please call me and we can talk about your situation.
I’m not an attorney, just a pissed of homeowner, with a street degree in “fraudclosuregate” who is here to listen, and provide some intelligent information and the name/number of my attorneys who are willing to help, and not price gouge you in the interim.
Our ordeal with Bank of America has been going on since May 28, 2009, and we still continue to fight! If homeowners don ‘t stand up and start fighting, they’re gonna gobble up all the housing! They, along with all the other big banks, are greedy, unethical scoundrels who won’t stop harassing, misleading, deluding, taking money, and lying some more all on the way to foreclosing on your home. Fight them! In America, 95% of foreclosures go uncontested, 95%!!!! We gotta start changing this statistic!!!
Banks were bailed out by our tax dollars only to screw the American consumer in return. If you are a business owner and have been denied credit, loans, refinancing or they are trying to take your home and business, join me as we create our own class action suit. Just contact me at Businessagainstbanks@gmail.com
I just spoke with a veteran employee of Wells Fargo who has decided to quit as she cannot take the treatment of her customers any longer! Banks are trying to undermine the success of business owners, especially women and minority owners who are underserved! We need to unite as together we are even more powerful.
We are having the same problem. We have been on our trial loan modification with Bank of America since 09/2010. Every time I speak with them, there is a “backlog” of paperwork that is being processed, so our permanent modification has been delayed since then….really????
JESSICA….No, not really. This is just a stall tactic on their part so that you will continue to make your payments. Just watch out! They’ve gotten so many of us who have paid into a trial mod for over the normal 90 day period, only to have our homes foreclosed on in the blink of an eye. They do not necessarily have to give you a permanent mod after your trail period…they can and probably will come back and tell you that you’ve been denied, or that too much time has gone by and your paperwork you sent in to get the Trial Mod is over 90 days old and they need paperwork from you all over again. Just don’t be surprised by any of these tactics, because they may happen! I hope for your sake that it’s just that they are backed up, but coming from experience, I highly doubt it. They’re stalling you on purpose. Too many people have been through exactly what you are describing, only to be told by BAC that they’re denied permanent loan mod, now owe a butt-ton of late fees, and past due amounts, and are facing foreclosure. Just be very wary!!!
You are absolutely right Dory. At first, I was hopeful that I could get a loan modification and that everything would be okay. Was I wrong! Everyone expects that a company that does business in this country should follow rules, regulations and laws and therefore we do not expect to get blind-sided with this fraudulent behavior. If we believe in Bank of America, than we are dancing with the Devil. There is no loan modification and no success stories for Bank of America customers. IF they give you a trial modification, you can be sure that once that trial is over they will give you any one of the 50 excuses that they give all their customers to deny you a permanent loan mod. Then they will take your house after you made all those trial payments on time and in good faith. If you are one of the “lucky” ones who survives that so-called trial mod and are given a “permanent” modification, you WILL eventually lose your house. I am hearing many horror stories of BofA customers who were given HIGHER payments than their original loan payments and that is of course setting up the homeowner for failure. The other ones that are given a lower payment for their permanent modifications will be kicked out of the program for some excuse like: “you did not fulfill your terms” or some other tactic for them to make you default again. My dear friends, do not be fooled. If you are targeted by Bank of America, you will lose your house unless you fight back. Do not wait until a sheriff knocks on your door with an eviction notice, do something NOW.
As many of you know, I have created a website that will hopefully bring awareness to many other Bank of America victims (www.bankofamericastinks.vpweb.com). If we can fight back, so can you.
For the newcomers, my husband and I filed a lawsuit against these monsters in December 2010. You can read our press release here: http://www.free-press-release.com/news-florida-couple-file-lawsuit-against-bank-of-america-for-mortgage-servicing-fraud-loan-modification-and-rico-without-an-attorney-1299633088.html
Bank of America filed a Motion to Dismiss our case and you can read about it here: http://www.free-press-release.com/news-bank-of-america-files-motion-to-dismiss-of-florida-civil-lawsuit-that-alleges-fraud-respa-and-rico-violations-1302060306.html
We all need to bring awareness about this massive fraud that is being allowed in this country.
Great work!
Jessica….be prepared for this reality:
BOA will deny a permanent modification, you will then owe BOA the difference between the trial period payment and your regular mortgage payment for the seven months that you were paying the reduced trial period payment. If you cannot come up with the full amount they can begin foreclosure proceedings…unless they work with you and spread that money now owed over an extended period of time, which will increase your monthly mortgage payments until the amount owed is paid off.
I signed up with countrywide and now with Bank of america and am in a 7. 5 % intrest only loan and my loan is upside down they take my money but will not refinice in my name only i am in a second marriage because of my wifes credit they putr her on the loan as primary can i be apart of a class action law suit
I cannot stand the sound of this bank’s name! They are crooks dressed in expensive suits; they have no decency and they never cared about their clients. I suffered from terrible stress until I started having GI bleeding (due to severe stress) when I made several requests for a subordination from Bank of America; they gave me the go around, they made me wait, they made me call them dozens of times; I spoke with all the managers all over the country from the East coast down to the west ;my girlfriend and I went to the bank personally to request information on how to speed the process; we filled out forms, everything to make my FHA approval go but NOTHING. The whole thing took almost a year. Meanwhile, my FHA approval (twice I was approved) was only able to cover 95% of my total mortgage- meaning I would need a modification that would allow me to get out of the high interest rates but still would owe BoA $20,000.00. I wrote them a letter stating I was willing to continue paying the same interest rate and of the balance as long as they accept the $40,000.00 from my FHA approval. Finally I asked for them to at least modify the payment to something I can afford (my equity loan was for $65,000.00 and my payments are at least almost $900/month if I remember it correctly).
The request was turned down many times, painfully and most of the time rudely. I was told I was not making enough money- so why do you think someone is asking for a modification again? I was making money but they were too busy taking it away from penalties, overdraft fees, late fees, you name it.
That FHA approval would have had saved me a lot of headaches, sleepless nights and most of all- saving my credit. I had to give up my vehicle in order to save money; I lost a lot of hours from work because of my health deteriorating . Until now, I never heard from BoA; I am still paying my mortgage witht he 1st lender at 6% (they only give me 6months modification each time) but it helped somewhat. As for BoA, they have not contacted me yet- so you know my credit is gone! I talked to the financial company that handles my retirement acccount because BoA wanted me to take out a chunk out of there to pay them but when they were asked to provide a letter stating that they are going to foreclose my property if I don’t make this payment…..they never sent me the letter. Later on Lincoln Financial’s representative explained the whole scenario to me. It was ridiculous of BoA!
Hot off the press today:
“Bank of America, Wells, Chase, others agree to fix foreclosure errors”
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2011/04/13/bank-of-america-wells-chase-bank.html
I thought that Bank of America said a few months that they reviewed thousands of foreclosure documents and that it DID NOT have a foreclosure problem? They are such liars! They have churned illegal foreclosures with forged documents at the speed of light in the past few years. They are GUILTY and no one is holding them accountable for this fraud. Luckily, many people have taken the initiative to fight this fraudulent behavior and filed lawsuits against this Mafia called Bank of America.
ISABEL….Thanks for posting this. I have been driving all day today and haven’t had a chance to do my usual “research” (aka my seek and destroy work ;))
I guess in the beginning they were deluded to their own foreclosure scam issues. Maybe they forgot that they hired DOC-X to forge millions of fake documents on their behalf, who knows?
Am wondering also if maybe that little phone call I had the other day may have had any impact on this?
We are located in Antioch Illinois, 60002, and have an identical experience to those who have posted here. We applied for a loan modification, started reduced monthly payments, were later denied re-modification, and BOA called in the loan.
BOA has submitted incorrect paperwork of a significant nature regarding their purchase of our loan from Countrywide, but their errors go much deeper than that. I have spoken directly to Dory in this post, and have agreed to share an affadavit with her for her efforts in Alabama.
I am asking if anyone from Illinois who reads this post will also share their experience with us in affadavit form for the purpose of civil and (criminal in our case) lawsuits in Illinois. I have a modest track record to date in investigating, and successfully prosecuting , public officials THAT HAVE ATTRACTED MY ATTENTION.
Bank of America now has my full, undivided attention. As Dory has done, I also wish to put together a mass joinder to garner support against BOA in Illinois. I look forward to a long, very public, and very protracted, battle over their malfeasance.
You may all be mildly amused at the notification we have placed on our garage wall as vultures have now appeared to view the property. We took a standard real estate plastic box that is used to distribute sales literature and are using it to distribute our own literature.
It describes the situation we are in, that we have NO intention of letting the house go, and delineates all legal “questions’ concerning the foreclosure, as well as our pursuit of civil and criminal charges against BOA.
The message is clear, THIS HOUSE IS NOT EASY PICKENS!’.
I will also do a widespread media blitz of describing the existing conditions of the property , listing every possible, conceivable item that needs attention, repair, or replacement. I am a building inspector that has a federal contract, so that list should be impressive.
We all need to fight back against this type of financial tyranny. I hate bullies!. I will not stand for these kinds of tactics in my country.
I very much look forward to engaging the enemy. And I thank all the posters in this forum for the knowledge I have gained in this fight. Please feel free to email at any time.
Captain John deckape0620@aol.com
This is making me sick to my stomach to read all this. These stories are all identical to me and I am now waiting for my hearing court date and trying to find lawyers who can help me. Last thing we want is to lose our home and I have been dealing with this for 3 years now after my husband lost his job. He is now back at work and they still keep denying me. How do I get in on any of these class action lawsuits? If anyone knows please tell me I’m desperate at this point. I just don’t know how corporations can get away with this, it is so scary. This world is not headed to a good place.
My husband and I share the same strories as others who have posted. However, we did receive notice that we had been approved for a mortgage modification and though it was even more expensive than our original mortgage, we were prepared to come current with payments in order to keep our home. When I called rep at BofA I was told the approval was a mistake and to not send monies in…then later in trying to make sense of the situation I was told that we indeed were approved and should have sent the money in and that currently it was to late to come current.
I am now ready to join others to take on BofA for their wrong doing. In the very beginning when I called to see if we could delay a payment because of budget concers regarding madatory reduced work hours for myself and my husband I was told we were the perfect example of people that would qualify for modification. We were told to not make payments for two months and apply. We complied with the suggestion, hopeful we could keep our home. We have sent in paper work multiple times, I have kept a running list of names and dates and have copy of letter telling us we were approved and names of reps who later denied and once again approved modification.
I too will not allow our home to be easy pickings for the woeful behavior by BofA.
I COMPLETELY AND THOROUGHLY AGREE WITH THIS CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT TO BANK OF AMERICA FOR NOT APPROVING THE CUSTOMERS MORTGAGAGES THE MODIFICATOPNS EVEN THOUGH THEY QUALIFY!!!!!
I’m goiing through a divorce and I have a Hardship because my ex-husband didn’t provide me any financial support since he left on 9/2009 to pay the loans in Bank of America, insurances, bills, Child Support,etc etc. I EVEN HAD TO FILE CHAPTER 13 to save the properties.
I SUBMITTED THE DOCUMENTATION WITH LETTERS OF HARDSHIP ABOUT @) TIMES IN A 2 YEAR PERIOD, AND THE APPLICATIONS WITH THE DOCUMENTS ALWAYS “DISSAPEARED IN THE BANK” AND THE ASKED ME FOR MORE DOCUMENTS.
I want to ADD MY NAME TO THE CLASS ACTION TO LAWSUIT BANK OF AMERICA:
MY NAME IS SUSANA NOVELLO-COSEANO. Cell: 786-319-6709
THANK YOU FOR THIS LAWSUIT TO BANK OF AMERIC!!!! BELIEVE< THEY DESERVE IT!!!!
Susana Novello
It is completely LEGAL AND THEY DESERVE IT!!!! THEY MADE ME SUBMIT APPLICATIONS ABOUT 20 TIMES AND THEY NEVER HELP ME EVEN THOUGH I HAVE A HARDSHIP DUE TO MY DIVORCE AND I HAD TO FILE CHAPTER 13.
Susana Novello
Over two years ago I applied for the gov MHA plan. I have sent in all requested documentation numerous times (8-10). They usually request I fax or email them; once they asked I also Fed Ex – which I did.
During this time I was also interviewed by phone and the rep told me everything looked good for qualification of a MHA modification. My income and ratios were all in line and that it should go right through.
Each time I submitted docs I would not hear anything for a couple of months, at which time they would ask me to do it all over again stating “we must have updated docs every 60 days.” I complied.
The last time I submitted was Dec 25 of 2010. I did not hear anything from BOA but continued to check in to see if everything was OK and if they needed any additional docs. My underwriter, Stan, told me they didn’t need anything more and I should be hearing something soon. Another 3 1/2 months went by and finally I received a Fed Ex letter stating my loan was denied for the following reason: FAILED TO SUBMIT DOCUMENTATION!
I called BOA and the rep said she couldn’t find anything that was missing and then emailed my underwriter, Stan. She said he emailed back “check the BPO.” I asked her what that meant and she responded “I have no idea.” (I looked up BPO and found that it meant Broker Price Opinion). She then told me she was going to contact Stan’s manager and try to find out what was going on as she thought it was very strange.
The following day I called in again and was told “don’t worry, since you don’t qualify for the MHA loan they will try to get you an “in-house” loan which isn’t as stringent (like this was a “good” thing for me) and they can go up as high as 54% LTV. I was furious! I told her I had no interest in an “in house” loan, that I had applied for the gov loan of which they had received the money to pay for from the Obama administration. I told her I could not afford to go 54% of my income and under no circumstances try to put me in their “in house” loan. They are threatening to foreclose even though I am in a position to resume payments on my mortgage at 31% of my income.
I have kept my State Senator’s office (Johanns) updated throughout this ordeal. They have been sending my updates to the OCC.
Sandra;
Your ordeal is a facsimile of mine. Question? Are you making any headway with your state senator’s office? My sale is scheduled for 4-25-2011 after being told 15 times that I was being modified but a postponement might be necessary. All lies. Drop me an email.
Lee
Lee,
What state are you in? I saw you listed a sale date of 4/25/11. If they postpone, will that be the first time? I am with BoA (Fannie Mae loan) and started the mod process 9/09. Jan 2010, I received a letter from BoA saying they had received my papers in October! In the meantime, pay my regular payments…which I did. In June 2010, they raised my mortgage payment from $1300 (interest only) to $3300 a month! They impounded my property taxes (we were delinquent) & because I continued sending my regular payemnt instead of the $3300, they sent me to forclosure. Every time I called (I wrote down name, date & time of everyone I spoke with), they would tell me it was being reviewed, but don’t send payment because it was in foreclosure & it wouldn’t be accepted. Jan 2011, I met in person with a loan officer who said BoA couldn’t do anything to postpone the sale date…it was up to the investor, Fannie Mae. Got an appointment to see a Fannie Mae specialist who took all our documentation again and said not to worry, that it would go through, BUT it was upto BoA to postpone the sale date! We’ve been back an forth since then, postponing the sale date until 4/4/2011 when even AFTER getting approval from Fannie Mae to postpone the sale one more time, BANK OF AMERICA SOLD MY HOME IN AUCTION TO AN INVESTOR FOR $100,000 LESS THAN WHAT I OWED THEM. The same day, I receive a notice from the investor’s attorney saying I have 3 days to leave my house. I contacted our congressman & they put me in contact with a liaison at BoA who never called me back. Two days later, I get a notice from Fannie Mae saying they now own the home & I have 10 days to notify them if I want to rent from them or give them the house! 2 days after that, I get an unlawful detainer from the investor’s attorney saying I have 5 days to file papers with the court if I don’t leave the house! BoA sent me another package to do the modification again, because the investor (Fannie Mae) needs it before they can unwind the sale. A BoA rep from Customer Relations is, supposedly, investigating why it got to this point & will let me know what she finds. It’s been 2 weeks, and to this day nobody can tell me whose fault it was: Fannie Mae says it was BofA and BofA says it was Fannie Mae. I went to see an attorney & after charging me $250, said it wasn’t worth fighting it. The house was sold & to move on, in 3 yrs I can buy again! I am appalled that the US government is ALLOWING banks to get away with this!! A word of advise Lee, when they tell you they’ll postpone the sale date, TELL THEM YOU WANT IT IN WRITING! After all, I was told that only what you have in writing is what counts in court. Maria
Susan and Lee, I have been in the process for two years with B of A. In March I resent updated information (for the ? tenth time) and verified it was received. I was then told by my underwriter that I had passed through underwriter requirements and now am on to quality control – the final leg of this 24 month nightmare.
This was as of March 1st. I call them every week to be told I am still in review in QC. Today they called me, telling me my file is missing some documentation – and the documentation is exactly what I sent two months ago and have an email verifying receipt by my underwriter.
I need help, please.
Thank you,
CiCi
cici_stewart@yahoo.com
I want to get a piece of the action being taken against BOFA. I have experienced the same issues in trying to get a modification with the bank alone and through NACA. My husband lost his job and during my process with NACA he became employed and proved we could afford the mortgage. Instead they foreclosed and took back the home in an auction! I am furious. Why would the take my home instead of allowing my to reinstate the loan? How can I become a part of this lawsuit?
Susanna and Sandra I feel your pain and your situation is identical to my own. They have been giving me the run around so much and I have been going through this process for 2 years and every month we get assigned a new case officer and we have to resubmit everything. It’s apparent to me that as soon as we send in the requested documents they just dump it in the trash and laugh. The documents aren’t stored in a database because we can call in the next day and the rep at bank of america says that they don’t show anything for us yet if I call our handler for the week he/she claims that they have everything. EXCEPT!! when that person leaves the next person doesn’t know anything and we have to resubmit again because the paperwork wasn’t transferred because it was dumped in the trash.
We agree with everything!! Why can’t they go over to the fax machine and pick up the papers we just faxed? As we were talking to them on the phone?
We are dealing with Nationstar. They are a joke!! We have sumitted tax returns, wage stubs, unenjoyment stubs, copies of bills, and every 2/3 months they want it all over again!
We have also change Insurance companys and our agent faxed the paper work to them the next day, ( I know as I was there when she did send them). And about 2 months later they sent us a letter saying that if we don’t get Insurance by this date that we would have to have their Insurance company. At about $1,000 a month????
After our Insurance person sent paper work to them again I called the next day. They had to go find the paper work? Yes guy’s its at the FAX machine from yesterday.
This company is just bleeding us dry. when they obtained our loan. They said we did not have enough in Escrow account? Why did we not have enough in Escrow? Flagstar said there was enough before you Nationstar took over our Loan?
So I ask where did that money go??
Now we pay $2/3 hundred more on our month payments!!! Until May of 2011 and then we get to wait until July or maybe August to find out if our payments go down to nomal!?!?
After about 6 months of sending them paper work to go modification on loan they are still asking for paper work.
We would love to be part of this Class Action Lawsuit.
I can be contacted at beeckieshome@msn.com
Paul and Rebecca
The other thing that we all seem to disregard because we are so furious about our qualifying loans being denied is that they are totally trashing our credit rating. By doing this they are making sure we can never get out from under this Bank of America nightmare. The more longer they keep us paying these BS trial modifiaction payments with no intention of making permanent, the more late fees and lump sums they can add to the overall amounts of our loans.
Don’t miss this one …
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/04/14-2
… or the video on the page.
Don, that’s a great article, but I must point out that the video is a year or more old and yet as we all know, nothing has been done to Goldman Sachs or other financial executives on Wall Street.
I like senator Carl Levin’s bluntness in the video and I know he is stirring up the pot again with the financial giants but I recall what these same people said to than New York AG, Eliot Spitzer when he was going after the Wall Street executives….They reminded him that they had “very powerful” friends.
Look what happened to Spitzer a couple years later. Was it just a coincidence that the FEDS were investigating the same high priced call girl service that Spitzer just happened to be using?
Now I’m not condoning what Spitzer, a married man did, but isn’t it interesting that he, the man who actually took on Wall Street, was the only high profile name who was busted?
Remember the DC Madam, who had the black book with many high profile names, from politicians to business executives who ended up allegedly hanging herself in her mothers shed?
These investigations are just more show, just like the foreclosure/mortgage investigations I linked here in the past were…all show and no go. Just to give the public the appearance that our government is actually fighting for them, but once the kleg lights are turned off and the cameras are put away, these stories get buried beneath more important stories like Charlie Sheen, Donald Trump, the next blonde girl to disappear….etc, etc, etc.
Tony …
I’m in virtually 100% agreement with every syllable you’ve written.
The only thing I’d do is pull things into context for the purpose of this forum and, really, for the sake of the general public. We’re facing an awareness crisis … generally … not you and I, but overall. There’s still a cascade of people out there stomping their feet saying this is all about the whining deadbeats that want a free house … and all the banks are doing is “conducting business.”
Your perspective is far deeper than most. In fact, I’d bet that many conventionally oriented people … you could call them mind-numbed … may look at you a little sideways for what you know and believe. Those are the people we need to reach.
Orienting people who come on to this forum … usually outraged and frightened … are fairly easy to reach. They’re open to the idea that something’s wrong here. After all, they’ve been wronged.
But the bulk of people who aren’t living through this won’t have much of a stimulus to buy into it. That’s why they sluff it off and go back to NBA/NFL or troubled starlet worship. It’s just a blip on their screens, not the sky falling, so it’s difficult to fathom.
But then there’s the education of someone … such as the new participants here … who have never paid attention to any of this, but are now asking questions, so it needs to be kept fairly basic.
I know a fair amount more than I present here in the forum … but I prefer to keep things a bit easier to absorb for the newcomers.
The idea for a while now has been to raise awareness, and primarily on the lower end of the scale, and primarily with as broad a base as possible. The more numbers that become at least curious, the better off we … those with an immediate problem … will be in fighting this thing.
Once you wake them up … the general public … and it means something to them personally … they’ll learn on their own.
Frankly, they’ll have to prevent me from breathing to keep me from continuing to wake people up, regardless of my personal circumstances. After all, that’s the core of the war. And if anyone wonders how I can make such a “dangerous” statement, as far as I’m concerned, there’s already too many people waking up to stop it. I’m a very small cog in that gear … or gearbox, really.
Whether the banks care to admit it or not, their days are numbered. Fractionalized banking is at the edge of the cliff, the super-secret Fed is about to be dragged out into the light of day, fiat money has run its course, the Wall Street casino is about to evaporate bankrupt, and the Cash Cow … the American People … are fed up with the whole filthy, stinking, slave-driving system … regardless of their wide-screen TVs and annual Disney vacations.
Between taxes, punitive mortgages, $4+ per gallon gas and a host of other blood-sucking drains, very soon we’ll have had enough … and all of us.
Their true downfall is their level of greed … which is truly endless.
What they ignore is that our tolerance isn’t.
Can you please give me a contact for a class action suit against BofA?
Thank you,
CiCi
cici_stewart@yahoo.com
http://consumerist.com/2011/04/voting-still-open-in-worst-company-in-america-final-death-match.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter……This is the only time I will “vote” for Bank of America…… for “worst” company in the US!!
Let’s all place our votes!! BP and Bank of America are the finalists. That should speak for itself.
How do I become part of this lawsuit? Long story short, for 2 years I was tring to get my mortgage modified. No two reps ever gave me consistent information. I have reported them to the OCC. Only then did I get some help. Then the negotiator contrdicted herself within a 15 minute time period. So, now it’s supposed to be modified with new payments starting June 1st yet I received something in the mail the other day saying a partial payment was made. I’ll give it another week or so and then call them to find out the deal.
Tamura;
Can you give me the number that you called at the OCC that gave you help. That would be appreciated. I have a broad knowledge in the mortgage regulations, real estate law and the HAMP and HAFA program. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.
Did you get the phone number to the OCC yet Let me know Susie
Susie …
Google is your friend.
Googling “OCC contact” I got … (800) 613-6743 … they even have a phone number for the deaf … (713) 658-0340
Like countless others, our modification process with Bank of America began two years ago, due to job loss.
It is now April of 2011 and BOA has just sent us two new modification request packages – despite telling us back in December of 2010 (after recieving the fourth modification paperwork) that “everything looked good for a modification”.
Today I called them (it took 5 attempts and over an hour of my time) and was told someone would call me back – I’m still waiting. The usual excuse is “something was missing fom your package”.
At what point does this constitute criminal behaviour?
Add my name to the list!
Tom … and Tamura, Paul and Rebecca, Joseph, Robert, Teddy, Tom …
Be VERY careful how you view this web site.
There is NO class action law suit simply to sign up for. There is NO list to have your name put on.
There are NO heroes … and we have to be our own heroes.
There’s also a CRITICAL adjustment we need to make in how this works. As a very brave attorney pointed out on this forum a few months ago, class action lawsuits are NOT necessarily good for consumers/homeowners. The banks LOVE class action suits since it brings all the “complainers” into one courtroom where they can be shot down by one “expert” legal team.
The banks understand money VERY well, and it’s really cheap for them to send one legal team to fight so many homeowners. Not only that, but when you join a “class” most of the details of your case are lost … and lawsuits are won on the DETAILS.
Recently, there’s been talk of what’s called “mass joinders.” Even many attorneys have never heard of them … but it’s where your case details are NOT lost, and your individual case can be heard along with many others … a MUCH better way to band together.
But also, some are filing INDIVIDUALLY … even WITHOUT attorneys (it’s called “pro se’) … and the banks are horrified at the possibility. Imagine forcing the bank to send hundreds if not thousands of lawyers to defend themselves, spending tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars to do it. That would seriously impact their profit. Making these foreclosures EXPENSIVE, not cheap and easy, is THE way to fight this thing.
LEARN about your situation and how to fight. Just getting upset and thinking there’s someone out there that’s going to save you is NOT how this works. You have to stand up for yourself, learn the legal system and fight them head-on.
Please see my post below.
Folks …
I haven’t posted much recently, and I see a lot of new names.
For you new folks, I can’t emphasize reading back on this forum enough. Don’t hesitate to study back as far as twenty pages. There’s a TON of discussion that are highly relevant about how you can fight this thing.
One place you can start … and you’ll see me post these links many times … is actually off the forum. See PiggyBankBlog.com …
piggybankblog.com/2009/11/08/piggybankblog-writer-don-sweet/
piggybankblog.com/2008/11/08/don-sweets-latest-article/
The first is an explanation of what you’re up against and an 18 point list to help get you started on defending your home. It’s a list that evolved over several months of discussion here on the forum with several people contributing. There are two points below that are intended to be added, but haven’t been edited in yet.
Below that is a list of contacts you can make, both to send your RESPA/TILA letter … see my list for an explanation … OR to help you hold the banks’ feet to the fire. Phone numbers aren’t on this list, but I HIGHLY recommend you call instead of email when you’re contacting politicians or agencies. They respond far better to a human voice.
The most CRITICAL thing to remind folks, particularly you newbees, is the fact … yes fact … that the banks do NOT work for you … they work for their executives, boards and stockholders … and their primary objective is to take YOUR money to gratify their profit machine. If that means taking your home, so be it.
You have to FIGHT this thing, and learning about the law, courts and court procedures is part of the fight. This is ALL about contract law … statutory law … and you have to learn how to be a “player” to keep your home.
Here’s those two items and that list …
19 ) Although it’s controversial and you should check your State and local laws before hand, you can record your conversations with the bank WITHOUT telling them. When they say “This call may be monitored or recorded …” they have broken a basic principle of law called the “privacy covenant,” where phone calls have a basic expectation of privacy. Once they say that, you can record to your heart’s content. But again, some attorneys express caution, so check your State’s laws.
20 ) Research is showing that filing for Quiet Title can be tricky and possibly expensive, although not impossible. It’s my opinion that it’s going to be based on a LOT of research before you dive in. Apparently, the courts will be VERY careful to dot every “I” and cross every “T” and several people are suggesting a Quiet Title specialist attorney.
Of course, introduce “attorney” into it and you immediately add $$$. Make that a specialist and I’d imagine you’d easily double it.
That’s probably where the research plays a critical role … including ramming a RESPA/TILA letter down the banks’ throats, as well as hunting down actual paper records of your loan in your county/parish. It’s not going to be as easy as “the bank did me wrong, so I want my house” and the judge saying “ok.” There’s going to have to be provable fraud or broken “chain of transfer” eliminating their right to your property.
Even before you approach an attorney, you’ll need to know these things AND have accessed the documentation to prove it, or you’re wasting your time. It’s far from impossible, and could even be highly likely given the MERS debacle … well, shall we call a fraud a fraud … but going the Quiet Title route is going to be work, work, work.
Suggested recipients to RESPA/TILA (Truth in Lending Act) Written Qualified Request letters –
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC. 20580
Office of RESPA and Interstate Land Sales
Room 9146, Department of Housing and Urban Development 451 7th Street SW,
Washington, DC 20410
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)
Steve A. Linick – Inspector General
1700 G Street, NW, 4th Floor
Washington, DC 20552
Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Administrator of National Banks 250 E St SW Washington, DC 20219
Larry L. Hattix, Ombudsman, Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Office of the Ombudsman 250 E. Street, SW, MS 9-3 Washington, DC 20219
Fannie Mae (or Freddie Mac if they “own” your loan)
Mortgage Fraud Program 3900 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20016
U.S. Department of Justice Glenn A. Fine, Inspector General
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
Both Federal Senators (Google)
Federal Congressperson of your District (Google)
Both State Senators, or the State Senator responsible for your district (Google)
Your State Assemblyperson (Google)
Your Attorney, even if they aren’t retained yet
Your State Attorney General (Google)
Your District Attorney’s office
Check for specialized lawyers under the DA (Google)
The Sheriff’s Office of your County or Parish (Google and name the Sheriff)
Your County Commissioners
Any media people aware of your case
For Don from Pa.
You are exactly correct. We should all file individual suits against B of A. What we need however, is a good template so that the folks can file pro se. The Johnson case in Massachusetts is interesting but cannot be downloaded unless you are on Facebook, which I have no desire to do. Any suggestions.
Lee
Lee …
One thing that’s been pointed out is the fact that there’s a huge difference between “suing” and “filing.”
One seeks damages/restitution and the other asks the court to force a contractual party … the banks … to perform something they’ve refused to do or stop them from doing something they shouldn’t.
THOSE are the things that will chew away at the banks’ ability to keep on this course.
The reason they’ve been doing this so successfully for so long is the fact that they’ve gone unchallenged … people have simply been moving out … many BEFORE the courts take action … largely over simple shame and embarrassment, thinking it’s somehow their fault.
It’s been so unchallenged, even the law firms they hire have gotten so lazy that the lawyers head for the golf course or the ski slopes, and their STAFFS sign the foreclosure documents … illegally … and they are forged, false documents the courts are accepting, I might add.
The first step a person needs to take in understanding this thing is the fact that “suing” isn’t how you get things done. Making it EXPENSIVE for the banks is how you get things done, and class action lawsuits are one of the LEAST expensive legal processes for the banks.
Making them answer filing after filing after filing after filing makes it expensive. The more you spend their staffs’ and lawyers’ time, the more “bargaining power” you have. The more they have to answer to your politicians, regulatory agencies and law enforcement agencies, the more bargaining power you have. And after all, you just want your modification, right? Isn’t that what you’re bargaining for?
You have to be louder than their stockholders that are screaming for profit. You have to force their executives to pay attention to the reams of legislation … laws ON the books … that tell them how to do their jobs … which they are completely ignoring in favor of that fast, easy foreclosure profit.
Truly … if you are to be mad at anyone … although I have the utmost compassion for their experience … be mad at the homeowners that simply FLED from their homes and from that dreaded, stigmatizing word “foreclosure” as if it was the Black Plague. That’s what made this so easy for the banks.
Had they stayed and fought, the banks (and lawyers) wouldn’t be so cocky today.
Learn to fight … but learn CORRECTLY … and hurt them where they live … in their wallets.
This is all about the money.
By the way … I have a few files that might be helpful … simply email me at donsweet@verizon.net and I’ll send them along.
I can’t believe what bofa is doing. We qualified and made trial payments for two years. Now they are saying, sorry, the approval was not guarenteed. They are telling me to do a short sale and walk away.
How do I join the law suite?
Jeff …
Please see my post above to Tom, Tamura, Paul and Rebecca, Joseph, Robert, and Teddy as well as reading back on this forum.
This is the reason I will not make any payments to BOA. They may end up taking my home anyway. They have lied to me over and over and my paperwork constantly disappears or doesn’t show up. This is all just a big game to them. Like someone said, they probably just throw it in the trash and sit and laugh. Does anyone know what a BPO has to do with a decision to modify? Also, does anyone know if it is possible to get another mortgage (if you must move) while you are in this limbo state or will banks just laugh at you?
Sandra …
I hate to be the one to break it to you, but if you stop paying on your mortgage … even the reduced trial amount … you’re playing right into their hands.
A mortgage is a contract … and you signed it giving your word that you’d pay. Yes, they’re playing games and breaking their side of the contract, but if/when it comes up in front of a judge, you’ll have broken your part of the bargain … the legal agreement.
A court will want to see your “good faith” in holding up your end of the contract … under contract law … and this is ALL about the law and the money. It will be EASY for the bank to get you out and profit from your home if you stop paying.
I’d seriously reconsider your course of action and fight another way. Please see my posts above … and if you’d like to get out from under the banks’ oppression and criminality, prove to a court that they don’t have the right to charge you anymore and file for “Quiet Title” … which you might be able to do if your mortgage was registered with MERS and was one of the mortgage contracts shredded.
Sandra, you are right. At this point, making payment to BofA will just feed the beast and give it more power. They take very last dime from us and then they take our house anyway. Then, you will not even have money to give a deposit somewhere because Bank of America squeezed the life out of you. Mark my words though, their day is coming.
Bank of America’s “criminal empire” will cease to exist. http://www.benzinga.com/news/11/04/1006699/are-big-banks-in-more-hot-water-bac-c-ubs. I just love the way this article says:
“Gone are the days when the word ‘cartel’ made people think of drugs and oil. Now some of the biggest banks in the world are being accused of creating a global cartel to control Libor, which would affect how banks report their borrowing costs, according to the article.” Love it!! Couldn’t have said it better myself even though they are not only controlling Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate), they are also controlling this nation’s economy and the lives of millions of Americans. We are dealing here with a “cartel” in this country even though it has nothing to do with drugs or oil. I have been saying it for more than a year now (and so have many others on this forum) and that is why my lawsuit also includes RICO charges. http://www.free-press-release.com/news-florida-couple-file-lawsuit-against-bank-of-america-for-mortgage-servicing-fraud-loan-modification-and-rico-without-an-attorney-1299633088.html.
Bank of America has clearly terrorized a nation by illegally taking people’s homes, stealing their escrow money, forging documents, mail fraud, wire fraud, forcing their insurance and the list goes on and on. Is this not a MAFIA? Yes, it is! That is why Bank of America IS a “racketeering enterprise” and if we do not destroy this criminal enterprise and file lawsuits that include RICO, they will continue to just pay fines and operate illegally. RICO claims will eliminate their ability to continue their illegal operations. I really want a judge to look me in the face and tell me WHY Bank of America cannot be considered a “racketeering enterprise”.
To prove a case under RICO, we would have to prove a “pattern” of activity. Heck, that is easy to prove. Just turn on the news, read the paper, ask your neighbor who is also a possible Bank of America victim, go to facebook and see the dozens of anti-Bank of America pages that have been opened slamming them, go to Twitter and look at the thousands of negative tweets about Bank of America and most importantly: look at this forum.
We need to wake up and slaughter this monster in a way that their money and assets cannot get them out of trouble, again. Bank of America needs to be exterminated!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racketeer_Influenced_and_Corrupt_Organizations_Act
P.S. Sorry for the long post but I just needed to vent.
OMG. I thought we were the only ones going through this.. My mother has submitted paper work after paperwork because they either lose it or it needs to be renewed every three months. All they keep saying to her is to make the payments, she makes the payments and then they tell her that they have no payments on file but yet they have cashed the checks. Now they are telling her that the house is on foreclosure..I’m really thinking of filing a legal lawsuit so that BOA could learn their lesson. My mother lives in California in case anyone would like to join us and maybe more people together could actually do something about.. I also plan on contacting radio stations and news stations to spread it out so that BOA could go down the hole. It is not fair that during these hard economic times, people be losing their homes.
Florida now has a class action lawsuit against Bank of America: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/3/prweb8221149.htm
Isabel …
It’s terrific news … but I have a minor correction It’s a “mass joinder” not a class action … and there’s a hell of a difference. Each case will have the opportunity to be heard … in detail … and cases are won and lost on the details.
I have much to learn about mass joinders since the subject was only recently raise and it seems many attorneys don’t even know what they are. The word “joinder” wasn’t even in my spellcheck and I had to add it to my dictionary.
These are the things the banks’ lawyers do NOT want you to know … and really, all the banks want us to understand is “get out” so they can profit.
From the article, THIS quotation is the reason we have to fight this on legal grounds. For those of you who read this and it goes through your head like a bunch of legal “blah-blah-blah-blah-blah” and you don’t understand it, THAT is the reason the banks have been winning. We can’t leave understanding exclusively up to attorneys. It was likely pressure from the homeowners knowing at least a little about the law that got these attorneys to move on this.
“In October 2010, Mitchell J. Stein & Associates obtained an order in favor of all clients and against the Bank from Federal Judge Manuel Real who to one of the Bank’s arguments as ‘absurd’ and threw the Bank out of Federal District Court with respect to the case. On January 11, 2011, a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ruled that the Ronald case states valid causes of action against Bank of America allowing for discovery and depositions that are now being conducted as the case moves forward in California State and Appellate Court. The case is rapidly moving forward in California State and Appellate Court.”
Hold them accountable and hold their feet to the fire … the legal fire.
You’re right Don, It’s a mass-joinder not a class action. Regardless, it is not an individual lawsuit that would put pressure on this horrific beast. I personally would not join and I live in Florida. I am just so glad that at least some action is being taken in my state as well. 🙂
Folks …
I feel the need to point something out that we should all be very, very cautious about.
I’m sure that Sandra’s post above is perfectly legitimate, that Sandra is Sandra and is merely an angry, frustrated homeowner like the rest of us expressing her anger and frustration.
But the banks have proven themselves literally capable of anything … even here and there in a court of law … and one of the things they’re capable of is “misinformation.”
The banks employ tens of thousands of people, and all those people not only want to keep their jobs, but are vying for a raise. They sit around in their cubicles trying to figure out ways to get their employers more money. Out of their tens of thousands of “minions” it’s entirely possible that one of them … or more … could be posting bad information … like the idea to stop paying on your mortgage contract, virtually guaranteeing those homes will be foreclosed on and the property taken.
It’s entirely likely that the banks monitor and possibly post on this forum. John Wright of PiggyBankBlog has the capacity to monitor exactly who reads his blog … and the banks have visited many times, as have various politicians and government agencies.
It’s also been proven that the banks are out to get as many homes as they can get their hands on … which prevents any aspect of my suggestion from being “paranoia.” It’s not paranoia when they’re actually out to get you.
The banks have been winning this thing using the law to profit … because this whole thing is ABOUT the law … contract law … and they know every nook and cranny of how to get away with things … since the whole thing is driven by lawyers.
The only real answer is to learn the law YOURSELF and hold them accountable to it.
You have to ask yourself … why did a law firm in western Pennsylvania get so lazy and so callous that they headed for the golf course while their staffs sign hundreds of foreclosure documents illegally? How did “robo-signing” evolve?
It’s simple … WE had no clue what the law was or how it worked and DID NOTHING to stop them. Homeowners ran for the hills at the first sign of that dreaded “foreclosure” and courts and Sheriffs with guns rather than standing and fighting.
No, I don’t blame people for their fear or even their embarrassment. We’ve all been there. But it’s time to take a stand. They’re throwing us into the streets. They’re turning us all into renters and “occupants” …
… and they’ll use any method at their disposal … including corrupting courts, politicians, governmental agencies, watchdog groups and feeding us misinformation … to keep doing it.
Be enraged, be intolerant, fight back … but do it CORRECTLY or they win. Learn the law, how courts work and pressure your politicians, agencies and law enforcement to make the system work the way it’s SUPPOSED to work.
do anyone know where i can sign up. I live in mississippi
Hello all…I’m a regular here who is hiding my identity based on the question I am asking…just in case “someone” is monitoring this site.
Question: Has anyone dealt with a short sale with Bank of America?
A Realtor told me that I could stop making my mortgage payments and then in the 4 or 5 month they could file a short sale for me.
My Realtor said I would have 6 months of mortgage free living before a sheriffs sale but than there is also a 6 month redemption period where I could actually remain in my home for up to 8-12 months without paying my mortgage before I’d lose my home.
This was told to me as an option to save the mortgage money I would have been paying and use the 8-12 months worth of savings towards an apartment, etc, etc…
Does anyone know if this sounds correct.
PS: One of the regulars here received an email from me detailing what is going on, so this is just to let them and others know this question is on the up and up. I hope someone can provide some helpful information.
I may do this just to end dealing with Bank of America forever. If I have to get a trailer or an apartment, so be it. I’m done with these crooked SOB’s and if a short sale buys me 8 months and extra money, money that I’m not handing over to the evil Bank of America, that’s just icing on the cake.
I am so enraged about how we have been treated by BOA, and would like to be added to the class action law suit also!!!! But I live in NY, who do I talk to???
Please help if you can!
Thank you so much,
Jennifer Hubbard
Maybe I’m being paranoid but a few of the names popping up here are the same first names of BOA representatives I’ve spoken with over the past two years. Probably just a coincidence………….? I mean they would probably change their names if they came here…right?
Jennifer and Robert …
Please see my posts above, and I’d encourage you to read through this forum for information. Reading back pages is as easy as clicking on “Previous Comments” in light blue at the top or bottom of this page.
I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO BE INCLUDE IN THIS CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT. I GOT A REFINANCE LOAN FROM BANK OF AMERICA IN 2003. I STARTED SACRIFICING ADDITIONAL PAYMENTS TOWARD MY LOAN AND JUST FOUND OUT THAT BY ACCIDENT THAT THE EXTRA PAYMENTS MADE TO MY ACCOUNT DOES NOT GO TOWARD MY PRINCIPAL BUT TO INTEREST AND I STARTED THIS 3 YEARS AGO. I AM FURIOUS BECAUSE I DO NOT UNDER STAND HOW THEY CAN JUST STEAL PEOPLE MONEY AND DO NOT TELL THEM THAT AND EXPLAIN THE TYPE OF LOAN THEY ARE SIGNING FOR. I WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS A FIXED LOAN BUT THAT’S ALL. THE REPRESENTATIVE DID NOT EXPLAIN THAT THIS LOAN IS CALLED A SIMPLE INTEREST LOAN AND THAT IT ACCRUES INTEREST DAILY. HOW CAN STEAL MONEY AND CONTINUE TO STAY IN BUSINESS LIKE THEY DO. THEY ARE STEALING MONEY AND DON’T CARE ABOUT THE PEOPLE THEY STEAL FROM. THEY ARE JUST LIKE BERNIE MADOFF,MAKING OFF WITH OTHER PEOPLE MONEY. THIS IS A DAMN SHAME.
I WILL GO TO WHAT EVER LENGTH THAT I CAN TO GET MY MONEY APPLIED TO MY PRINCIPAL AMOUNT. I WAS HOPING THAT I COULD PAY OFF MY LOAN BEFORE RETIRING.
Lana …
Your case and your expressions of exasperation are excellent examples of how we have been mislead and mis-educated in this country on how the legal system works and what a class action lawsuit actually is.
A class action lawsuit is NOT “a-bunch-of-people-getting-together-to-get-a-court-to-make-the-big-bad-corporation-treat-them-fairly.”
That’s not how this works.
The law assumes you read the contract you signed … unfortunately. A contract … like a mortgage … is what the words in it say that it is … not what we think it is … or what some snake of a salesman says it is … or doesn’t say. But honestly, could it work any other way? When we make “agreements” could it really exist any other place than on paper? … primarily for people like courts and judges to know what we agreed to?
So many of us go into mortgages thinking “I just want my house” and we don’t read a thing or bother to understand what we’ve signed … not that our general educational system ever teaches a single thing about Contract Law.
This is what the banks prey on … our ignorance … “Just sign here and you’ll get what you want” … when we have no idea what we’re signing.
Lana … the first thing you need to understand is that a class action lawsuit will not give you what you want … a fair deal … what you BELIEVE you signed. The class action suit described at the top of this page is nothing like your circumstances, so your “class” is completely different. You’d have to find [people in your State] with exactly the same circumstances as you in order to form a “class.”
The second thing to understand is that … as a very brave attorney pointed out on this forum a few months ago … a class action suit is not necessarily bad for a bank (or corporation) since bringing many people into one courtroom is cheap and easy for them. And the question arises, wouldn’t you want to make it hard and expensive, not cheap and easy? It’s also easier for the bank to defeat all those people in one courtroom since the details of your case are “homogenized” and essentially lost … and cases are won and lost on the details.
So, what DO you do?
As a result of discussions on this forum and peoples’ research and self-education, there’s a list of things that might be helpful to get you started. Please see my posts above for that list … AND start educating yourself on exactly what’s going on here. That should include reading through this forum as well as researching elsewhere.
Anger is great to start. It wakes us up. But take that energy and apply it creatively. Learn to fight this thing. Apply your years of experience to learning what you’ve gotten yourself into and hold the people who are hurting you … or the people who are accountable to protect you … accountable for their actions or inactions.
Doing nothing ourselves and expecting others to, or just complaining, digs our holes deeper, and no one is helping us fill in those holes … or very, very few are without taking even more of our hard-earned money. We have to do it ourselves. There are no heroes.
Learn to fight.
Moveon isn’t my favorite organization, but check out this list of corporate tax dodgers … and who’s Number Two on the list …
http://front.moveon.org/d-which-corporations-are-the-biggest-freeloaders/?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4dac75f2ef72304d%2C0
Well none of the bs works,they have taken my home a year ago.no packs no nothing. All I hear is small claims court.All you can do is complain to OCC.just heard today housing market going up ……they so planned this BOA. DON S . you still here lol. You go boy.As I say if any one knows of 50 state class action not just…WA. CA. or AR, call me 704-674-7279.oh occ has sent complaint to boa for a response
I have been submitting and resubmitting modification forms since 10/2008 and b of a has increased my payment 400.00 4 x’s a year since and now home is in short sale. We have received 36 modification packages from b of a and submitted all tax forms, check stubs etc every 2weeks since 10/2008, no one there knows or can do anything. we’ve been told they don’t know who owns our loan, they are applying payments to wrong account number, changed account number, etc. I get 10 calls a day home and work and re explain everything daily. It’s enough to make a person completely insane. I try everything to be polite and respectful and responsible. I’m having to sell to get away from them and dream home worth 100,000 less now than when built 2006!!! Great buy for anyone wanting dream home on 3 wooded acres I feed deer and turkey and watch movies in home theatre. At 315,000 and decending….
WHERE CAN I SIGN UP TO BE PART OF A CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT AGAINST BOA FOR MY MODIFICATION PROBLEMS IN VIRGINIA??
where can i sign up to be part of the B Of A law suit i live in the state of Idaho
Hi.. I also live in idaho and would love to join a class action.
have you found anyone to help?… I’ve looked and haven’t been
successful… I have a DD child and this mess is really causing a
lot of issues for us. dee
Gia, Yvonne and Shane …
For you own sake, I would strongly suggest you take the time and carefully review the posts on this page, as well as previous pages by clicking on “Previous Comments” in light blue.
People …
I’d also strongly suggest that readers of this forum do not miss this article …
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/19/opinion/19nocera.html
This is a critical part of the war. It’s about an agency of government that supposed to be working in your interest. After all, you employ them, not the banks.
If you find this article dissatisfying in regard to their performance, I strongly suggest you get in touch with them … but not by email since it’s so easily ignored … and remind them exactly who their employers are …
… you.
Don,
You seem to be very knowledgeable. I have tried on multiple occasions to find out who holds my mortgage notes. My loan used to be with countrywide, once BoA got a hold of it a lot of things changed. When I first tried to get modified when my wife lost her second job I was told I did not qualify for anything because I was not a fannie or freddie loan. When I finally got my modification in Mar of last year I continaully asked them who holds the notes. I have been given a total of three different answers along with a “I was not entitled to know” answer. Is there any form of department I can contact to get a stright answer? (hopefully a truthful one too)
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Joseph D
Joseph …
Here’s the thing.
According to RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act) and TILA (Truth in Lending Act) you are not only entitled to know who owns the mortgage, you’re entitled to know who OWNED the mortgage AND where the actual physical original paper is stored.
Not only that, should some question … any question … arise as to what your contract actually says, the banks “can be compelled” to produce the actual physical original paper contract in court.
Here’s the trick …
There’s a fundamental principle in contract law that you don’t have a contract … any contract … if you don’t have the actual physical original paper contract. You can read about this in a book called Black’s Law, and this rudimentary principle … called a “tenet” … is hundreds of years old.
It becomes a “trick” in that banks are doing everything they can to undermine and literally ignore this tenet of law.
They got tired of storing the paper.
They’d prefer to make their own rules and are trying to convince people … even courts and judges … that having a picture of the contract is the same thing as having the contract.
It’s not.
Pictures of contracts can be altered, and the law knows this. Without the actual piece of paper you signed, in hand, for all to examine, a party to a contract can claim anything is in the contract. The paper shows everyone what actually IS in the contract, not what you claim or say.
Banks don’t care. Their attitude is “Shut up and do as you’re told.”
The bank’s position is “We have the money, so we make the rules.”
When they tell you that “You are not entitled to that information” they are A) literally breaking statutory law and LYING and B) saying “If you want this information, you have to sue us to get it” as well as being completely contradictory to a basic tenet of law that’s been around for hundreds of years.
So … yes, you have every right to submit a RESPA/TILA “Written Qualified Request” letter demanding to know where your actual paper contract is and who owns it … BUT … they have chosen to LIE and essentially say “So sue us.”
This is complicated by their creation of MERS (Mortgage Electronic Recording Service) … http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/business/06mers.html?_r=1 … where they completely bypassed another basic principle of property law in this country where they are required to register EACH change of ownership of your mortgage in the county where the property is … and pay that county the recording fee.
Their answer to this trouble and expense was “Screw the counties. We’ll record it ourselves.”
That’s further complicated … for around 60,000,000 mortgages … in that they SHREDDED about 40% of the actual paper contracts … essentially erasing them as valid, enforceable contracts under contract law.
But back to “the trick” …
Prove it in court.
That’s time-consuming and costly.
They’re banking on … literally taking money … that you won’t bother.
My suggestion:
BOTHER … and force the banks to produce the “blue ink” actual physical piece of paper you signed, by filing a “motion to compel” in court (after they’ve declined it in a RESPA/TILA Written Qualified Request letter). Once they’ve declined you, you have a RECORD of them breaking statutory law, and a basic tenet of that law.
File yourself (called “pro se”) or file with an attorney, but the banks have proven that the ONLY way they’ll follow this particular law is if a court MAKES them do it.
Folks …
Thinking on what I wrote to Joseph above, it’s probably one of the most important things I’ve ever written in this forum.
It illustrates several CRITICAL aspects of what the banks are doing … or not doing.
The first and probably most important is our fear of court. The first thing that comes into our heads as soon as we’re presented with the idea that we might have to go to court is “I don’t want to have to go to court and face a judge.” That’s like being sent to the principal’s office, or being called into the boss.
Banks have made a literally uncountable fortune on this fear. They LOVE court. To them, courts are a CASH REGISTER where they can pocket billions … with a “b” … simply from your fear.
But it’s also from your ignorance. Even if you went to court, you wouldn’t have the slightest idea of what’s going on. They LOVE that. They can afford all the lawyers they need, and know every nook and cranny of every law on the books … while you know nothing.
That’s PRECISELY like playing the banks in a game of football, with your team standing on the sidelines and the banks run touchdown after touchdown to their heart’s content while you stand and watch … or … it’s the same thing as staying at home while the bank goes to the department store that’s going out of business selling everything at 90% off.
We’ve been sticking our heads in the sand, ignorant and afraid, while they get filthy, stinking … perversely … rich off of property we’ve busted our asses to get in the first place.
But it’s worse than that.
While we’ve sat on the sidelines, we’ve let them rewrite the rules and said nothing.
Strike that.
The rules are still on the books.
We’ve let them IGNORE the rules … and said nothing … because we don’t even know what the rules ARE.
When we enter a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd with our hands in the air not paying ANY attention to our pockets, inevitably pickpockets will pick our pockets.
There will ALWAYS be pickpockets. That will never go away.
What CAN go away is our ignorance of and tolerance of pickpockets.
The banks have proven that they are not your “friend” helping you get and keep a home. They do not “service” you. They exist to take your money and property … period … despite what the law mandates.
“It’s not paranoia if they’re actually out to get you.”
As long as we remain ignorant of the law … and fear courts … they win … and will take EVERYTHING they can get their hands on … legally or illegally.
I wrote these lyrics back in 1992. I think it’s time I put music to them, what do you think?
Hail, Hail America
Hail, hail America,
Land of much greed,
Owned by corporations,
The bankers and Wall Street….
Unemployment in the millions,
Our jobs shipped overseas,
Wage war on the middle class,
The homeless fill the streets….
(Guitar solo)
Hail, hail America,
Land of the fleeced,
Send our troops to foreign lands,
To die for corporate greed….
Politicians are just puppets,
Corporations pull their strings,
Capitalism is their religion,
They bow at Mammon’s feet.
Hail, hail America…
Hail, hail America…
Hail, hail America…
Hail, hail America…
(Fades out)
And of course I must re-post the new pledge of allegiance:
I pledge allegiance,
To the logo,
Of the United Corporations of Amerika,
And to the greed,
For which it stands,
One nation,
Under Mammon,
So divisible,
With usury,
And debt for all.
our mortgage is with B.O.A. (bank of assholes) went with a modification firm in flor. modifications made simple, back in may of 09 they lost there license so out my money , went with mac group , lost my money there , now boa says they are closing my modification, well fine, we moved out of house, turned off utilities, will let bank take home I hope it burns down from lightning or something and they choke on it, never could get any human on the phone to talk too, always voice mail
Two years ago, I filed for a mortgage modification through Wilshire Credit Corporation, and was accepted. I made all trial payments and then the loan was purchased by Bank of America last year. Wilshire assured me that the modification would transfer smoothly, but then BOA started sending me default notices almost immediately. When I contacted them, they kept giving BS answers such as “the trial payments were late” or “not owner-occupied” and although I sent multiple faxes to disprove these accusations, they were conveniently “lost” at least 4 times. It sickens me that these companies can take advantage of people like this and get away with it, simply because people don’t know how to fight back, or don’t have the resources to do so (like myself). It’s bad business practice and I will never use this company again.
I hope they have to compensate every single person that has been inconvenienced by their incompetence.
Luis …
I might want to suggest a slight change to your perception that BofA is incompetent … or that any of these banks are.
The fifth largest corporation in the U.S. (according to the Fortune 500 list), which is the largest bank in the U.S., is far from incompetent.
They know EXACTLY what they’re doing …
… spending hundreds of millions of dollars each year to plan and implement INTRICATE revenue-generating programs (6.276 BILLION in the last report), training thousands of employees to perform their jobs PRECISELY as dictated by management to obtain their goals.
Don’t fool yourself … or misinterpret what’s going on here.
Interesting that they don’t even appear on Fortune’s “Best Companies to Work For” list.
Oh … and that 6.276 BILLION isn’t revenue … it’s PROFIT.
Not that “profit” in-and-of-itself is “evil” … but how you get it CAN be.
I have been going round with BofA since 2009. Countrywide approved my mod in Feb 2009 but the balance never got updated, I was told “it just takes time”. Then BofA takes over and 10mths later I get a “Notice of Intent” because they decided my mod was “no longer valid” although I had been making all my pymts. In Feb 2010 after being kicked out of a repayment plan for no reason I get told our loan qualifies for the MHA mod, so I wait 13 mths and make pymts every month until I get slapped in Foreclosure again! I was told my acct was not coded as “workout” so the foreclosure dept didn’t know and now it’s too bad. 14 mths after getting put in workout, we get denied so I appeal the decision to wait 2 more months to get told we are denied for a mod, can only do a deed in lieu or short sale. Since they would not take my pymts for the time I was in foreclosure twice (almost 12 months total) it looks like I just didn’t make pymts, when I wasn’t aloud! Something has to be done, but I don’t know what to do!
take my pay and be own my way,suckers left behind…….most of you would be better to file bankruptcy.althought don s would not agree
Deleon …
Minor adjustment to your comment … bankruptcy was added to the Getting Started list. It’s Number 17 …
piggybankblog.com/2009/11/08/piggybankblog-writer-don-sweet/
Numbers 19 and 20 aren’t edited in yet, but are listed above.
Hope you’re doing alright.
We have just been told that our modification was not approved, after two years of being lead into the gas chamber without a gas mask. They all need to go to jail. These greedy grabby hands call themselves Americans. This is not what this country is made of. They are so pissed that now we have a smart President and are taking it out on (US) the consumers. I say they give everyone their homes back, and the ones who are still in their homes just lower the rate so they can afford to stay.
Adele, I am not at all surprised that Bank of America did not approve your loan mod. This forum is filled with hundreds of comments by victims that were also misled by Bank of America. This is FRAUD. What is fraud in “legal” terms? “A false representation of a matter of fact—whether by words or by conduct, by false or misleading allegations, or by concealment of what should have been disclosed—that deceives and is intended to deceive another so that the individual will act upon it to her or his legal injury.” Bank of America is clearly guilty of fraud and has committed fraud against ALL of us. This is massive widespread fraud and there is no sugar-coating it. They have misled millions of homeowners telling them to default on their loans in order to qualify and were told to submit the same docs over and over. This is just a few of the misrepresentations that BofA has made against homeowners. I was also denied a loan mod after over 9 months of waiting. Bank of America said that I did not submit my documents. This biggest lie in history! I submitted my docs about twice a month and have the evidence to prove it. I was forced to default in order to qualify and then I continued to pay my mortgage. I truly felt that I was a crime victim and I relied on them to do the right thing. There is NO right thing with Bank of America. They need to be exterminated. Bank of America was runner-up for worst company in the nation. What does that tell everyone? That they are pure evil and I know they will not change their ways. Also, Bank of America is the third most sued company in the U.S. I wonder why? http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/01/18/sued-companies-america/?cmpid=cmty_email_Gigya_The_Most_Sued_Companies_in_America.
My struggle is no different then the others that have shared. This is like a nightmare in America to dream to own a piece of land in this country and a piece of property. Then boom one ends up on a marry-go-round. Bank of America has asked for many of times many documents from many departments. The when you call to follow up on the documenst to see if they have recieved them. Most often they respond and say sometrhing is missing or the document was not signed correctly or whatever. I wondered has anyone formed a class action lawsuit? After getting angry with the many calls to BOA and the many lies thathat were told. I did share with BOA that I would do a class action lawsuit.
I know everyone on this forum wants to seek legal actions, and believe me so do I! But I’m starting to believe that it’s not 100% BoA’s fault. At least in my case, I blame Fannie Mae more than I blame the bank. They are the investors & they are the ones refusing to accept the modification. They were the ones that denied the extension on the sale date for my house 2 weeks ago & they are the ones that will not call me or the BoA advocate that’s investigating my case. They won’t even call the congressman’s office or answer any of their e-mails! So, why not go after Fannie Mae, too! Isn’t there anyway to make them accountable? There has to be some government agency that they answer to, afterall, they’re sponsered by the government. My house was sold, I had to go to court and answer an unlawful deteiner from the investor that purchased my house. Now, I’m waiting for a court date & hope that before that happens, BoA approves the modification (according to them, Fannie Mae wants a mod before they can revert the sale & there’s no guarantee that they will give it to me) If anybody knows who I can contact, because I am willing to go all the way, please let me know. I’ve contacted BoA, Fannie Mae, my congressman, HOPE hotline…I’m running out of options & time!
Hello everyone. Many of you know about an idea that Don had months ago that will help us all with our lawsuits against these criminals, Bank of America. These “idea” will prove a pattern of fraud by Bank of America. The time has come that I will need many of you to provide me with this document and I will also provide you with mine. I will not provide a lot of details on this forum because we know for a fact that BofA reads our comments that are posted here. If any of you would like to participate against this monster, please email me at: Isabel-1229@hotmail.com and I will provide you more details. Thanks in advance.
Folks …
PLEASE participate in Isabel’s plan to accumulate your stories.
There’s no more effective way to show a court that this is a nationwide, carefully contrived plan than to have story after story exposing the same pattern of behavior over and over available for juries, judges and courts.
I can’t emphasize contacting this brave woman enough. We could use more like her these days.
Check out this article!!! http://swampland.time.com/2011/04/21/bank-of-america-lawyer-consultant-gave-foreclosure-probe-chief-15000/
This is what you call BRIBERY!! Bribery is another RICO crime. BofA is known for buying off politicians when they start probing or exposing them. I hear the RICO floodgates! Let a judge prove me wrong!
One fact seems to be abundantly clear in the article regardless of how “innocent” he claims the campaign donation from agents of the banks to have been …
Mr. Miller didn’t send the money back.
Despite paying a previous BofA loan “as agreed”, I have endured egregious
treatment by the BofA “collection octopus” during the time (almost
a year) that I was requesting a loan modification. I sent duplicate informationto Simi Valley, Broomfield, Dallas/Plano etc. One hand didn’t know whatthe other was doing (“I cannot see that screen. You’ll have to call this number”.) There was one common denominator: they continually asked for more information and I sent it. When they got it, they demanded evenmore information (they asked me to “jump higher”). Their collection”robocallers” called me continually. On the other hand the” loan modifiers” were stalling.I was able to make partial payments. They gave me a foreclosure notice–I cured. Finally, I got an answer–“we are unable to offer you a workout plan”. Reason given ***Current loan***. Fifty years
of good credit are ruined because of a hardship and insensitivity by a
bank. I simply asked for a realistic loan modification. My credit cards have been shut down. What should I do? Let the house go into foreclosure a
second time? How do I join the lawsuit? JW
loan
Jonas …
I would strongly suggest you take the time and carefully review the posts on this page, as well as previous pages by clicking on “Previous Comments” in light blue.
None dare mention “Jail.”
http://www.realecontv.com/videos/banking-malfeasance/ten-thousand-felonies-a-month—unpunished.html
Oops … seems I just did.
I too have been the victim of BAC Home Loans Servicing LP and Bank of America N.A. I had to file a BK in order to stop my foreclosure after being told that my modification was in review and to expect a negotiator’s call to work out terms. Way more to this but I am sparing the details. I am filing a lawsut pro se against these tyrants. My case will be more focused on why BAC wanted to foreclose rather than my specific case. I think this is the direction to go. Email if you want more info.
Okay, you need to have filed complaints with Federal and State Agencies. Trust me it works!!! It is easy, I did it all in one day.
The hard part is knowing who/where to complain to for action to be taken and more importantly for Bank Of America to pay attention and help (or if it is too late and your home is already gone, file a civil lawsuit in your county court). Regardless go to these websites (you can file online, very easy to do and you get confirmation email and also follow up mail)
1. Federal Trade Commission (read up on the “deceptive trade practices” Bank Of America have so many it will be easy!)
http://www.ftc.gov They will take the complaint by phone or secure file (then you have written wording of your complaint).
2. Office of the Comptroller – they set up a website for bank customers who have a complaint against their National Bank – they govern the national banks!!
http://www.helpwithmybank.gov
they have secure complaint form to file (make sure you have composed your complaint prior, it times out after 40 minutes).
Let them know you are also complaining to ftc and your State Attorney-General’s office. Be very specific about the violations to your rights as a consumer for your particular circumstances. The misrepresentations made etc.
3. Go to your state Attorney-General’s office website (this is actually where I got assistance to lodge with the other agencies). The Texas office were very helpful I called them. There have been so many complaints in Texas they have lots of information. Our Attorney-General gave a directive to the banks last year to halt the foreclosures until the banks could meet certain criteria. Let them know the sneaky tactics. Inflating what you owe, misallocating your payments in your mortgage account. BAC Home Loan Servicing is based in California, not Texas and our loan is a Texas loan through Dallas, so they can’t bully us!!!
GOOD LUCK our complaints resulted in our case at Bank Of America being escalated to the highest level now in their Office Of the President (of BOA). We will update what happens!!! There is strength in numbers so PLEASE EVERYONE GO FILE THOSE COMPLAINTS. You still can use the civil court, but try this first!
Ynez,
I’m in So Cal & my file was escalated to an advocate from the Customer Relations Office of the CEO & President of Bank of America, after I asked my local congressman for help. Unfortunatly, the advocate who is supposed to investigate my case (after BoA sold my house in auction) has not been able to do much for us. But I did send a letter to the Department of Treasury for their help, but have not gotten a response. I’ll let you know what happens!
Great job Lee!
Okay, we are also in the same boat as many of you who have posted. Only difference we have taken some pre-emptive action against Bank of America which doesn’t require an attorney…and finally, we have the attention of Bank Of America as high up as it can go..the Office of the President.
I implore you to do exactly the same as us, as then Bank of America will no longer ignore you and it should prevent the foreclosure of your home. They can’t afford this kind of attention from the Federal and State agencies. We have uncovered alot in our quest to not let them steal our home from us.
We are now in the process of “negotiating with Bank of America” who seem to be now available with direct numbers where you get to talk to the person you need to talk to (and not spend an hour on the merrygoround being passed from one BOA rep to another. You all know the drill)
1. Go to Federal Trade Commission website http://www.ftc.gov there you can read up on filing a complaint and file it securely. In particular read up on “deceptive trade practices” we all know how BOA operate!!
Call our toll-free helpline: 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357);
They take your complaint over the phone and they do take action!! They email you back immediately confirming the case number and they send a letter to you in the mail. Why this is important? They can only act if there are MANY COMPLAINTS and corporations fear an FTC investigation.
2. Call the Office of the Comptroller governing National Banks
occ.gov. They only can follow up if it’s a national bank and Bank Of America most certainly is!!!
file a complaint through their website set up specifically to help bank customers (make sure you have already composed your complaint and then copy and paste it in, there is a 10,000 character limit) be sure to refer to the difficulty in communicating, the misrepresentations made, violations of your rights to appeal – did you know that if you applied for HAMP (the Fed loan modification) and they declined you – you have the right of an appeal and they MUST PROVIDE YOU WITH THE BREAKDOWN OF THE 40 calcuations they used to reject you!! We are definitely pursuing that because we requested this in December (we taperecorded them admitting they violated our right by not providing the requested information and diverting us to their “in-house” modification)
This is the link for the secure complaint to the National Office Of the Comptroller
https://appsec.helpwithmybank.gov/olcc_form/
3. Contact your local Attorney-General’s office – here in Texas our Attorney-General has been tough with Bank Of America, they were ordered to cease foreclosures until they could satisfy it. They want to hear from you if the bank is trying to sneak around this directive.
This is what they tried to do to us using BAC Home Loan Servicing based out of California – when our loan is held in Texas!! They try to make it look like you are more than 90 days behind by misreporting your monthly payments, reallocating it to penalties, extra fees and PMI.
If you have PMI – they WILL NOT MODIFY YOUR LOAN, especially if you have equity in it. They want to take your home or make you pay all their ridiculous charges to make up for their losses with other homes.
They will try to deny you from having access to your online banking mortgage account – by saying you’re more than 90 days behind when you aren’t. So the only thing you can do is file these complaints against them.
NEXT COMES CIVIL ACTION TO STOP A FORECLOSURE SALE, but we aren’t that far down the road – if you are then make these complaints immediately to those agencies. Then go and file in your County Court. The court needs prove of your attempts for Bank of America to remedy your complaints. We are going to use our phone records, we have spent thousands of minutes communicating with Bank Of America since March 2010.
ALSO KEEP THE ENVELOPES THEY ARE IMPORTANT – they have illegally been backdating correspondence!! Sometimes it is up to a month backdated. They do that to try to protect themselves when you have made a request and they didn’t do it the first time!!
KEEP MAKING YOUR NORMAL PAYMENTS don’t do the trial modification it locks you in to all the bogus charges they added to your account. We found out the trial modification payments are just a deceptive practice to get you to pay your arrears first. If you do that, then you will be FORECLOSED because they won’t count them as normal monthly payments and they can foreclose when your house is 90 days behind!!!
A really GREAT article not to be missed! …
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/best-way-to-raise-campaign-money-investigate-banks-20110421
Folks …
In thinking about this article, something came to mind … a little outrageous to some, perhaps, but “plausible.”
This article points out the campaign contributions that banks are making to Iowa’s Attorney General, Tom Miller. That’s a great report, and we need to know what’s going on, but something sprouts from this report that’s worth considering.
Who has more money than the banks? Who has more power?
Simple … really.
We do.
What if … perhaps a big “what if” … but what if WE flooded Mr. Miller’s campaign fund?
Now, I don’t know what Iowa’s laws are about out-of-State campaign contributions, but there aren’t thousands of homeowners effected by this, there aren’t hundreds of thousand effected, there’s MILLIONS effected by it.
Even if only a few hundred thousand homeowners sent his campaign fund ONE DOLLAR (along with a message of what he should do with it), wouldn’t that be far more than the banks could compete with? And if there’s out-of-State limitations, what about our own Attorneys General?
Look at it this way, if the fact of the matter is that most politicians (or elected law enforcement officials) respond to money, why not “vote” with our money?
Now, no one likes the idea that politicians only listen to money, but that appears to be the fact of the matter in many cases … a simply fact of life. But wouldn’t Mr. Miller get a CLEAR undeniable message if several hundred thousand letters and emails appeared in his mailboxes saying, “Ok. I’m pledging one dollar to help re-elect you, but please don’t side with the banks.”
What would happen?
I’ve said several times that this is “all about the money.”
When it comes right down to it, as a group, we have more than they do, no matter how broke we might feel.
Why not use it? … and have our voices HEARD.
If they’re not ignoring the banks’ money, how can they ignore ours?
… and what if it was two dollars?
His web site is here …
http://www.iowaattorneygeneral.org/
And his contact page is here …
http://www.iowaattorneygeneral.org/contact_us/index.html
I have one even better! Anyone and EVERYONE who has an account with Bank of America, Wells Fargo or any of the other corrupt banks had ALL of their friends PULL ALL THEIR MONEY OUT, that would send a message without US, the public they would see a MAJOR loss not to mention what it would do to their stocks and shareholders! Lets agree on a date SOON and do this!
I have been working on a modification since March 2010. Was denied the government mod and told I would qualify for the in house. I faxed docs weekly, sometimes daily. On several occasions when I had faxed earlier in the day, they would call me for the same docs to be faxed again. I know I faxed the same docs at least 50 times! On one occasion I recieved a call from BOA and the indicated that although was under the in home mod review, I also had to apply for the newest Fannie Mae program. I was told it had just became available today. I was told this means I was being considered for 2 different mods at the same time. Yesterday I found out that I was denied for the in home. When I questioned the progress on the Fannie Mae mod I was told I wasn’t being considered for any other modification. Then I get a letter of intent to accerlate! This bank needs to be STOPPED!!! They are either ripping people off or they have no idea what they are doing. I have been lied to over and over and I want to know where are all the docs actually going when they are faxed. Who has all these that are not making it where they are suppose to go? They recieved bail out funds to help homeowners but it seems to me they aren’t helping anyone.
I too am in that mess. The banks clearly have NO intention of helping home owners. I hear the same excuses as all those on here when trying to deal with them myself. I went from a real estate lawyer who was suppose to work with the bank on my behalf. He was one of many crooks out there to rip people off. Fired him then went to HUD, the HUD people were nice and sympathetic but they did not have time to work on my case so i had to work on it more than they did. B of A would transfer my calls all over the place and then their is that BS menu that does NOT get you to a live person for hours. HUD said that they were so overwhelmed with people in the same situation that they barely had the man power or the time to deal with the banks and sit on hold for several hours when they have several banks to deal with for thousands of other people. Then I tried a short sale and 5 months into the home being on the market and a strong buyer, Bank of Amercia
( by the way has no right to have AMERICA in it’s name) sold the 2nd loan to my home or they cashed in the insurance money as default on payments to a company name Old Republic. Did not know this until the realtor was able to see that the 2nd loan was held by someone different from B of A, Old Republic demanded that i sign a letter stating thati would be liable to them for $138,000.00 and NONE of the sell of the home would go to offset this. All funds form the sell of the home would go to B of A. The offer price of the home was WELL OVER the value of the 1st mortgage that B of A held. Yet they refused to give any money to Old Republic. Therefore the short sell fell apart and the buyers backed out, I released the real estate agent. I got Congressman Gary Miller of OC, Calif involved. He was little more than a mere puppy. He sent letters to the bank with little to no “meaty” response as to why B of A would not modify my loan. One of the last excuses that I heard is that the “Investor” does not modify my “kind of loan” because it was purchased in a “bundle” of loans and I was told the Investor (in this case it is my own bank) Wells Fargo ( but not for long) would nto modify. I visited my friendly local Wells Fargo Bank and asked on of the Bankers why Wells Fargo, MY BANK, would nto modify my loan. I was told since my loan number is not with Wells Fargo they can not do anything. Ya, RIGHT! The home auctioned and guess who bought it for LESS than the asking price, YOU GUESSED IT! Bank of America, now surely they are making money buy selling it and buying it back for even less. Maybe some government perks
like writing it off as business LOSS.
What most financially benefits the banks?
Get your house and the value of what it is worth
All the money you already paid on it
Collect Mortgage Default Insurance
And lastly knock on the governments door and tell them “pay me please Bank ___had a foreclosure”.
Most people DON’T KNOW the banks get money from the government on foreclosed homes.
Of course the banks don’t want to modify, they don’t care about the general population they care only about the “green paper”
You are exactly right Tammi! I had a US Treasury agent who works with Fannie Mae tell me that the banks want to work with the homeowners because they lose money when they foreclose.
I told the Treasury agent he was full of $hit, because not only have I watched the foreclosure/HAMP/housing hearings on CSPAN where every housing advocate clearly spelled out why it is more profitable for the banks to foreclose rather than give permanent modifications, they do purchase mortgage default insurance. They, along with Fannie & Freddie are making out like bandits.