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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So if we start to load up our complaints to the FTC you think we can get some action. I will I’ve been sending to anyone who will listen any others?
Picking one of the Statutory Acts at random, “Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act,” I found a couple of interesting paragraphs. This “act of law” requires the Federal Reserve Board to monitor and enforce certain behavior of banks when lending money to homeowners.
Note “enforce” … meaning jail time and fines.
It’s only ONE regulatory agency and set of laws/regulations the banks must adhere to.
In further response to the so-called warning that “People are reading” … READ THIS …
“While HOEPA is primarily concerned with high cost loans, it also provides the Board with the authority to proscribe certain practices with regard to all mortgage loans. In particular, the statute states:
The Board, by regulation or order, shall prohibit acts or practices in connection with –
(A) mortgage loans that the Board finds to be unfair, deceptive, or designed to evade the provisions of this section; and
(B) refinancing of mortgage loans that the Board finds to be associated with abusive lending practices, or that are otherwise not in the interest of the borrower.
NOTE:
“in the interest of the borrower.”
… also …
“With respect to re-financing transactions, the Board’s authority includes the ability to prohibit any act or practice that it determines is “abusive” or that is “otherwise not in the interest of the borrower.” This authority could justify the Board taking any number of actions, including all of those in the recently promulgated and proposed guidance. The Board could also require that for certain borrowers the lender would have to document that a refinancing transaction is in the “best interest of the borrower.”
NOTE:
“best interest of the borrower.”
CLEARLY government regulations … the very laws TELLING BANKS HOW TO BEHAVE … impose jail time and fines for “abuse.”
Anyone here not abused?
“Criminal Penalties
A person who willfully and knowingly fails to comply with HOEPA or the Board’s regulation may be subject to a criminal fine or imprisonment.”
For anyone out there questioning my point about lawyers telling them to “act stupid” or incompetent, here’s the reason.
If they look stupid, it doesn’t “appear” to be willful and knowing.
Interesting how the very laws designed to protect us literally forces banks to behave like morons … while, in fact, they cash in.
My question is … who forces The Federal Reserve to enforce its own regulations?
And remember … this was 1994 … and this is still on the books.
Here is a link that should be checked out:
http://www.loanscamalert.org
well seems no one will champion this my homes been gone a year and all attorneys tell me the same will not touch it. rights right and wrongs BOA.
Don S and everyone else.
I have the same story….you can see blogs on “are you in loan modification hell”.
moneywatch.bnet.com/saving-money/blog/home-equity/are-you-in-loan-modification-hell-join-the-club/971/
I started this because like many of you I was just trying to refi or have the bank work with me. We were having hard times. I have never been late on any payments and because my house loss values I could not refi . So BofA who got my loan from country wide said try the making home affordable program. ok I went down this long slippery slope 10-01-09 got trail paperwork started payments and on may 19th 09 got the new terms outlined with the payment $300 more than the “trial amount” I signed it anyway because by this time I had had it calling every week getting different answers, sending my paperwork several times ect. Now I have been making the “new loan amount” payment and BIG surprise they are mis placing the payments and saying I’m late? need less to say I have complained to the OCC http://www.helpwithmybank.gov and the my local AG office i have had conversations with the advocate with BofA ceo presidents office ect and they are still giving me the run around I had to send them all of my documentation of every payment so the THEY could figure out what they did with the money …what a joke. i found this site because I was looking for any lawsuits in my area glad i found it. I have also wanted this to be in the media after reading the blog i have in this point and seeing all of us going through this it’s unreal it’s not just BofA it is all the banks offering the modification…thanks for the info you have provided i look forward to seeing this on TV and someone getting to the bottom of this huge scam. Meanwhile I keep making payments however my husband and I really want to sit in our house not make payments and see how long it will take for them to get the money then…just dreaming about it for now still hopeful that we will WIN! Contacting the lawyers in Washington state next
atleast you got a reply. my daughter started her “modification” nightmare in October 2009.Fax this, send us that.. we never received it blah blah blah..
Only mistake they made was I was keeping track of everything, name.dates, times and what they needed. When my daughter purchased her home she had a second job, then when she lost that sh had a motorcycle accident and was out of work for 4 weeks, then her taxes went up blah blah blah…
She even tried to sell her home but since it was older there were no takers.
So this weekend she is moving into an apt. doors will be locked by Nov. 5th, but not before I take out all the stainless steel appliances I put in there.. just wish I could do something with with the wood cabinets we put in …
looking for infor on how to see if she could be involved in the class action lawsuit
It is so sad to see (read) all of the complaints, all of the pain and frustration, all of the horror stories from people who are in dire straights from the cold, callous acts of BoA.
I stumbled across this site searching for other lawsuits filed against BoA. I read most of all the posts and am impressed. I feel that most of you could file your own lawsuits against BoA and win. The effort you put into posting your stories, the thorough research you have conducted, the time you have spent; you can do it.
I am a young attorney based in the DC area. I have filed three lawsuits against BoA. We are waiting for their response, but in the meantime, everything has stopped. BoA has to address the complaint or face a default judgment in the homeowner’s favor. Everything that BoA has done to you, you have a remedy for. From fraud, to negligence, to defamation, to violation of state and federal laws, they have done it all.
You all should look into filing your own suit. You can do it. I have no doubt in my mind that you can do it. Do not look for a class action suit. That is just one big lawsuit that BoA can tackle in one sitting. Each of you file your own. That will give BoA serious headaches and will force them into settling for what you want; for what you deserve.
You can do it!
You can.
Remus,
I filed a motion for dismissal in response to BOA serving me my foreclosure papers on the grounds that all payments were received by BOA and cashed, overnighted said papers to BOA lawyers (sign. required) and walked them into the CLERK’S office myself. Twenty days later, called the courts, no one admitted receiving any such thing, so, now I am listed as not contesting case. I went to the clerks office and confronted them. THEY DO NOT MAKE MISTAKES was the response I got. Went to the sherriff on duty and he located the video tape where he see’s me and my husband walking into the office and handing in the paperwork. Didn’t matter. So, I had to hire a lawyer. BOA some how gets a court date with out informing me or my lawyer???This hearing was in june, a court date was set up by my lawyer for July in june……makes no sense to me. BOA goes to court and gets their summary judgement and sale date. My lawyer gets them to ex parte that judgement and we keep our set court date. They don’t show up. I explain to the judge, now this is over a 10 month period, that I’ve been sending in payments every month and BOA cashes them, keeps them for month and then returns them. I show him proof, he dismisses the case with out prejudice and orders our mortgage to be reinstalled and cancel’s sale date, that was in July. They continue to send back my payments.
Dear Remus; I too was screwed by BoA on my mortgage and have been trying to find a way to take them to court. If I file my own lawsuit do I have to pay an attorney? Obviously, with what they’ve done I have absolutely NO extra money, in fact, falling behind again on everything, so I have no money for an attorney. Any information or suggestions would be greatly appreciated before I lose my house for sure this time.
Thank you
Dear Remus,
Is there any way I can contact you off of this site? I am a law student filing my own case and I would love to discuss a few issues with you.
Thank You!
SIR,
WE HAVE BEEN IN A “TRIAL mODIFICATION ” FOR 15 MONTHS
WE HAVE EVERY PIECE OF PAPER AND LOG FROM WHEN THIS FIASCO FIRST STARTED
ALL THIS HAS DONE , IS ACCUMULATED LATE FEES AND PUT US THROUGH 15 MONTHS OF HORROR
I HAVE SPOKEN TO OVER 100 DIFFERENT PEOPLE. AND BEEN GIVEN OVER 100 DIFFERENT ANSWERS
WE ARE PETRIFIED THEY WILL FORECLOSE ON US SOON AND ALL THE HORROR STORIES YOU HAVE HEARD, HAVE HAPPENED TO US
THEY EVEN TOLD US WE WERE APPROVED IN HOUSE TWO MONTHS AGO, AND I HAVE NEVER HEARD ANYTHING SINCE .,
THEN , WE GOT AN ESCALULATION LETTER FOR OCT.15 TO FORECLOSE .,
WE DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO .,
I HAVE FILED SMALL CLAIMS SUITS IN THE PAST FOR LITTLE THINGS,
BUT ANY INFORMATION ON HOW TO FILE THIS SUIT AGAINST THE BANK FOR THE DAMAGE AND LOSS OF MY GOOD NAME IN THE CREDIT , I WOULD TRULY APPRECIATE.,
I WOULD LOVE TO FILE MY OWN SUIT , ONLY I NEED SOME GUIDANCE .,
THANKYOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
LORI
how much is it going to cost us to file a law suit individually?????
Daisy,
Depending on your state, it shouldn’t cost more than the $150 filing fee. You can file your complaint in the Circuit court of your state or the Federal District court, provided you live in a different state than BoA’s home offices and you are suing them for more than $75,000 (which is highly recommended).
Remus–Thanks for offering your ideas to this board.
I was wondering–would a filed lawsuit against BOA create
a ‘stay’ on foreclosure activity while a settlement is being
hopefully worked out?
Hi Remus
Thank you so much for the Concern and advise.But my question to you is can you take my case or referral me to the right attorney or direction I been calling so many different lawyers and it sense that nobody want to take my case can you advise thank you in advance for your speedy response.. Oh forgot to mention am in California
Cammy
If you could refer an attorney in NC with enough courage to stand against the BOA giants, I would gladly hire them. I have been trying to find one for some time now. I know what they are doing is illegal. I would much rather pay an attorney than to pay BOA every time they feel like charging me a fee…..like $150.00 to drive by and inspect my property.
AB
Daisy,
Call directory assistance for one of the largest metropolitan areas near you. Ask to be connected to their lawyer referral service. I went through the Boston Bar Association Lawyer Referral. The person will listen to your story, and refer you accordingly, to someone with expertise in that area. I have recently retained an attorney who feels I have a very strong case. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed. Good Luck to You.
thanks!
i dont even know where i stand or whats going on.
i dont know if suing them would make it better, or worse for me.
I previously had my mortgage with Taylor Bean & Whitaker. My regular monthly mortgage payment was $3073.29.
In August of 2009 Taylor Bean & Whitaker gave me a 6 month Special Forbearance agreement trial (September 2009 thru February 2010) My new mortgage payment would be $2815.79.
In September of 2009 Bank of America became the loan holder for my mortgage, and the new mortgage payment went up to$3291.86?
since then i have applied about 5 times for a loan modification, and of course they never receive them..
Looking desperately for legal help in Illinois….anyone know what is going on here. Filing a lawsuit on your own…cost approx $150??…then what??….and what exactly is wording for the lawsuit…and amount??
Some many people need help and can’t seem to find legal resources.
Yes, all Gov’t agency info is very helpful and will file complaints. In addition, I have sent to all contacts at BAC…Congressman, Senators, Governor, and President…..no answers from anyone yet.
Need help in Illinois!!!!
Florence,
I too live in Illinois. I actually emailed both Melissa Bean and Lisa Madigan. I got a call from Melissa Beans office (which I need to call back) and I also got a letter in the mail from Lisa Madigan’s office stating they are looking into my complaint and they will be getting back to me. I also posted my lawyers info further down in this discussion…contact them but also try again with contacting Melissa and Lisa on their websites.
Hi Eden and Florence –
I experienced the same problem here in Illinois as well and will be filing. Do you all know if there is a class action suit in Illinois?
Hi Cheraree and others in IL. I have been trying to work with BOA since Oct of 2009. I went through a divorce in 2009 which caused me to get 8 months behind. I have been working with BOA, or trying to anyway, since this point.. I am also looking for a lawyer to help me. I have called several and they laugh when they hear the name BOA and say I cannot help you. they do not respond to anything and you cannot get them to do anything.. I have called Lisa and the IL AG office and left a message. I was wondering if you have found help or a lawyer to help you that I can contact. It seems other states have sued BOA but IL has yet to. Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated, and another respondent to any case you have going that may show SOMEONE that BOA is trying to make more money off people and not helping them!!! Thanks.
Hi Florence and others in IL.
I have been trying to work with BOA since Oct of 2009. I went through a divorce in 2009 which caused me to get 8 months behind. I have been working with BOA, or trying to anyway, since this point.. I am also looking for a lawyer to help me. I have called several and they laugh when they hear the name BOA and say I cannot help you. they do not respond to anything and you cannot get them to do anything.. I have called Lisa and the IL AG office and left a message. I was wondering if you have found help or a lawyer to help you that I can contact. It seems other states have sued BOA but IL has yet to. Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated, and another respondent to any case you have going that may show SOMEONE that BOA is trying to make more money off people and not helping them!!! Thanks.
Remus,
Do you work in MD as well?
Tammy,
Yes, MD as well.
Cammy,
I do not know any California barred attorneys, but I’ve read that a California judge just came down really hard on the big banks. Banks were illegally foreclosing on homes that they did not legally own. I would think you would have an easier time forcing the banks to settle in Cali simply because the courts are on to their games.
Someone mentioned filing a complaint with the FTC….that is not the same. Filing a complaint with the FTC is pretty much useless. They look into the complaint and if it amounts to a gross violation of FTC laws then they simply inquire with the offender. Usually its a dead end. Filing a complaint in your state court forces the bank to respond and address the issues raised in your complaint.
Remus Thank you I had talk to a couple of attornies here in CA but most of them are not that motivated to take my case one told me that I will need about 15,000.00 and the only thing he could do for me is get the modification BOA promise me I thought that was useless if that’s the case I think I could do it on my own ….. Anyways thanks again for your attention..
Have a good one!!
Cammy
I can’t remember if someone posted this or not, if so, then I will be sorry for the duplicate posting.
Bank Of America Stands Out For Poor HAMP Performance
First Posted: 09-27-10 12:30 PM | Updated: 09-27-10 12:30 PM
Read More: Bank Of America, BofA HAMP, Hamp, Home Affordable Modification Program, Business News 10945
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Email Comments 247 Bank of America stands out among the biggest mortgage servicers for an exceptionally poor performance under the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program, according to data recently released by the government.
The eight largest servicers have offered an alternative mortgage modification to 44.5 percent of homeowners whose HAMP modifications have been canceled, but Bank of America has offered alternate mods to only 24 percent of the 148,129 homeowners whose trial modifications the bank canceled. For homeowners denied trial modifications, 31.3 percent have been offered alternate modifications by the Big Eight. Bank of America has offered alternate mods to just 11 percent of these folks.
“Bank of America seems to be stubbornly refusing to go along with the program,” said Valparaiso University Law School professor Alan White, who first flagged Bank of America’s standout performance in a Public Citizen blog post.
“BofA has also mastered the art of false hopes,” wrote White. “It has converted only 26% of trial modifications to permanent ones, while servicers as a whole have achieved a rate of over 50% (still terrible, but it’s all relative.) Over half of BofA’s trial modifications are more than six months old, despite the fact that they are supposed to convert to permanent or be canceled after three months.”
Bank of America did not immediately respond to a request for comment from HuffPost, but every month the bank puts out a press release touting its mortgage modification progress the day before the Treasury Department puts out its HAMP data. Bank of America boasted last week of its “industry-leading 79,859 completed modifications through the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program.” It has more permanent modifications than any other servicer, but that may be because the bank has an eligible pool of delinquent mortgages more than twice the size of every other servicer’s (except Chase, which services 201,771 mortgages to BofA’s 383,482).
The goal of HAMP, under which the government gives servicers $1,000 incentive payments to give eligible homeowners a five-year “permanent” modification after a three-month trial period, was to “enable as many as three to four million homeowners to modify the terms of their mortgages to avoid foreclosure.” Treasury Department officials now shy from that goal as more people have been kicked out of the program than have been given permanent mods.
The Treasury Department has not fined a servicer for noncompliance with HAMP or even formalized a penalty scheme. The Government Accountability Office reported in June that Treasury’s lack of penalties for bad servicers “risks inconsistent treatment of servicer noncompliance and lacks transparency with respect to the severity of the steps it will take for specific types of noncompliance.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/27/bank-of-america-stands-ou_n_740223.html
I read this one. This is where “scary” enters into the discussion, but only if this is the end of it.
Let’s hope it’s the tip of the information/exposure iceberg, and not the end of it. A beginning like this is good.
If we keep our voices going … expanding … it WILL be a beginning.
This is a “hearts-and-minds” thing. What that means is people coming to a proper understanding, and not simply believing what they’re told.
You need to convince your family first, then your neighbors, then your co-workers, and move on to anyone else who will listen or asks … but do it casually, and don’t force your story down their throat. Elicit their compassion. It’s not wrong to do that. It’s waking them up to something they’d feel anyway.
The word has to be passed.
Again, I hope they ARE reading.
Taking people’s homes is probably one of the most evil, heinous acts against another human being I can imagine. Hundreds of shooting wars have been fought over it.
But all we need is for people to “understand.”
“Knowing” isn’t enough … they have to understand.
One of the pop-culture concepts currently being thrown around is “tolerance.” This is a time and a situation for everyone … and I mean everyone … to be INtolerant.
… or they win.
Remus – I am in MD – I would be VERY interested in talking with you. Are you taking on new BOA clients – how do I contact you?
Tammy,
Unfortunately, I do not think I can take on any new clients right now (maybe in the near future), but I will more than happy to assist you in filing suit if that is what you are interested in doing. It will be much more cost effective for you that way and if I charge you anything it would be minimal since it will only be guidance that I will be providing to you.
Maryland is a judicial state so they cannot foreclose on your home without going through the court system first, unlike Georgia where they can foreclose on your home without involving the court system at all.
Don,
There is a great book by Gerry Spence called, “How to Argue and Win Every Time.” It’s a fun book to read but it has some very poignant suggestions when it comes to convincing. One of the most convincing ways to present your case is by simply telling your story. You don’t have to be an attorney to tell your story. I’ve read some great, convincing stories on this board. So I would start by drafting your story. Let each paragraph represent a number. Just tell the facts of what happened. Did BoA misrepresent facts? Did they lose something? Did they make a promise they did not keep? Did they contact you and arrange for a face to face meeting with you after you were three payments behind? By the way, did you know that pursuant to federal law (C.F.R. section 203.604) lenders are to “make reasonable efforts to arrange or hold a face-to-face interview with the homeowner before three monthly installments on the mortgage are unpaid”? Did BoA make such reasonable efforts? If so, did the document that they considered all loss mitigation options, including a loan modification, before initiating a foreclosure? (By law, before a bank can foreclose on a homeowner’s home, they must exhaust all options and document that they did so. In other words, they must give you a modification and give you an opportunity to default on the modified mortgage before foreclosing. The way they side-step this requirement is by stating that based on the homeowner’s financial situation a modification would not have been of any assistance to them…..which is why they ask for all of your expenses and income. You should always be about $300 in the black when giving them these numbers).
These are just some of the questions your story should address. BoA owes its customers a duty of servicing their loans in a sufficient, reasonable manner, which includes effectively communicating information to them in a timely manner. Did BoA breach this duty? Did this breach cause you any harm, i.e., did you miss days of work because you felt as though you were going to lose your home? (I feel as though a rep from BoA is reading this and preparing a hit on me :-))
Anyway, I wish you all the best. Remember, in the end, justice will prevail. You have to believe that.
Updates on my file Sept 28
I received a call from the underwriter that is assign to my file she told me that my appeal was granted and that I do indeed qualify for the HAMP and that she apologized for any false information I had gotten from the previous underwriter, Negotiators and so on and so on..
She said to expect my final proposition Fed Ex to me by next week we will see how honest is she …
Well it sense to me that there working now but am not to sure or confident to believe them anymore am keeping my guard up at all times I will keep you guys posted on the outcome..
Believe in Miracles!!!!!!!!!
Ted – Thanks for “extending your hand to me”. I promice I do not bite.
I guess I asked for it.
Being called a creeper, dumbass, dog, banker & then Gretchen being called a turd. I guess I reacted to that.
They are words I would call me too!!
I guess I was in a mood to debate some of the reasons people are losing homes.
But this is not the site to debate where I see people are genuinely worried. Hurting. A lot.
I should just take people at their word. Who am I to know who is real & who is just sloughing off? I assume to much.
So Ted, thanks for calming me down. Making me see that we are not each others enemies. Cause I am sure my day is coming too. Maybe not with the threat of losing a home (hopefully). But who knows what as we all do experience some major challenge.
Then again….are there fishhooks in my mtg that I have not run across?? I tell you more than once I have wanted to grab my papers to see!
I do wish everyone well & hope it all works out for you. You do have a tough road & I truly, truly do not want to make it harder for you than it already is. I won’t be posting anymore. I might be watching hoping for good news for you though!!
PS….you kind of sound like Don S. He seems to be the glue here. And you write a little like him 🙂
David
Remus …
… mythical co-founder of Rome. I like it. It has style … *smile*
Welcome Remus. I’ve been hoping an attorney would speak up at one point. Not all are “devotees.”
Even though I hope you’ll lend more input, I’ll understand if you limit your participation, but I’d encourage you to pass the word to any of your sort … seemingly sensitive … to contribute also.
We could use it.
The most valuable thing I’ve read so far is your suggestion to make individual suits. Sparkling idea. You can shoot an elephant with a .375 Holland rifle, but it’s hard to swat ten thousand gnats.
I’ve been wondering [precisely] how to proceed.
Any suggestion on the suit’s format? Are there examples online we can follow? Will jurisdictions vary? I can scrape up a $150 filing fee, although barely at this point.
Should we file through an attorney, or simply file as individuals? … then worry about an attorney and court later.
A few details to bump the ball closer to the goal would be appreciated.
Thanks again for contributing.
Don?
Yes?
(Not sure what you’re asking.)
Hello everyone this is Margo. I have been reading the posts on a daily basis and maybe we should consider all filing claims on the same day in each of the district courts like suggested. Maybe by us doing this it would spark the media interest and that might help. My only concern is that of ” Court Room Procedures” I am not really knowledgable of these only paralegals and attorneys are. I know when I filed my response papers, and exparte paper I just about went out of my mind doing this.. Although none of my papers were rejected, like the attorneys of Boa and Fannie Mae were I am not convident enough to do this on my own. Then there is discoveries that need to be filed along with depositions. If one thing is not correct, it is thrown out of court that is why we need someone or some atty’s firm that has the right knowledage of these things. The self help on the court websites are really not that clear on these issues or at least what I have found. Like I said in the past I feel very confident in the actual area of defending myself and my case just not in courtroom procedures. This is just an idea I have been thinking about. Please give it some thought and any ideas you have I will consider.
Sincerely,
Margo La Bayne
Hi Margo
Am all for your plan I call so many Attoneys but there very pricey for one person what state do you live in? Maybe we could get together . If you are in California let me know I live in Riverside county …
After a year of basically being abused by BAC when trying to obtain a permanent loan modification, I felt like I could finally breathe again when finding this website. Knowing that my family and I are not alone in our plight helped us understand that it’s not a personal ‘thing’ between us and BAC, but that the BAC resistance to help struggling families is very widespread. From research conducted, here’s a good bit of helpful ideas to note when looking to ‘help’ BAC take you seriously:
-Join the class action lawsuit with:
Hagens, Berman, Sobol & Shapiro
206-623-7292 (also join via their website which is easily Googled)
-File formal complaints with the following:
Dept of Justice
Office of the Comptroller and Currency
Federal Trade Commission
Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
RESPA
Dept of Treasury
SIGTARP (877-SIG-2009)
Federal Reserve Board
FDIC
Office of Thrift Supervision
-Send a correspondence to Robert.Stickler@bankofamerica.com
-Contact 60 Minutes, USA Today, Oprah, Geraldo and 20/20
-Contact your senators
-Escalate your plight with BAC by levels of two
BAC must be stopped and held accountable for their actions…..or lack thereof.
would love to join a class action against bac
well one lady found an attorney,ok.some of you people are getting to this site late.some places wont take case with BOA because of conflict of intrests.As in BOA is a client as in the home office is in NC.becareful who you talk to on here and trust.One attorney office in chicago would not help me.they also said you only have so long to file a class action suit.BOA new when they aquired country wide they would stand to make alot of money on properties forclosed on.so they have time and money to take your house and sell at a later date.do you wonder why this has not hit main stream media.the only class action is in washington state right now.have you seen any thing on oprah or fox news etc.And there also always seems to be a moderator type person on here for a while.in the past when i found it there was a guy named john he did not like me lol (march of 2010) he would pet and cooo the people that posted here.I stated in the past becareful who you belive here.not saying conspiracy here on this site .but making home affordable was bull sh…from day one….read back here many months if you can.some one should print all postings from jan of 2010 and mail it to the white house.. lmao .would make a good novel.they went in my house way before forclosure date of jan 14th of 2010 and blah blah blah watch what is said from this posting.
Same story almost word for word. How do we get involved in the class action ? By the way they let our taxes go unpaid !
DEAR JEFF
i have filed a complain with everyone on yor list, and emailied, and written letter to all the news people, that you mentioned…several times….and nothing yet…
All,
As there is no ‘silver bullet’ solution to the BAC problems experienced, here’s an internal way to possibly help:
Contact the Office of the CEO and President’s Customer Service Advocacy Group at 1-866-387-2856. Ask for a representative in that department to open a file for your case and request the help you need with your negotiator and or Home Retention Department rep hanlding your file. Also ask for the chain-of-command above the rep handling your file and demand escalation of your file if you are experiencing problems. Document each conversation and remember to write down the rep’s name, extension and/or employee ID. Also in each conversation, document the timeframe expectation level set by the rep (i.e. have them tell you when you should expect a call back). If the expectation level was not met, ESCALATE. Some reps will refuse to escalate and sometimes not even tell you who they report to. At that point, call the 866# above and request that the customer advocate assigned to your file start escalating above the current rep. Escalating is a key step to take to help expedite your situation, within BAC.
The other steps recommended in the previous submission are external and will definitely take some time to get anything to happen. Main thing I can recommend is to document, document and escalate.
Jeff
Careful Jeff …
A few posts back I outlined my experience with, and my perspective of, the Office of the CEO.
Your post is generally good advice, and yes, escalating has helped …
… but the key point here is the fact that they’ll simply be more sophisticated about doing the same thing regular customer service does. I’ve personally experienced their games out of this office also.
Remus has had excellent LEGAL input on how to handle things.
This is NOT about people “helping” people. The Prez’s office isn’t there to help. They are there to look out for Bank of America’s interests.
I can’t emphasize enough that this is a STRICTLY LEGAL situation, regulated by law, and should it go to suit, by the courts.
You MUST hold BofA accountable on LEGAL GROUNDS.
It is simply a fact that that is all they’ll listen or react to.
All the courtesy in the world means nothing. It’s the result that matters.
If I hadn’t made calls and kept up with things right up to YESTERDAY, a Sheriff … the man with the gun … would have SOLD my house a week from Friday, with the office of the Prez/CEO claiming vigorously and unquestionably that there was NO sale on the books.
Are you getting this?
A minor point … but an interesting one.
“BAC” is the abbreviation that’s used on the stock exchange for “Bank of America,” short for Bank of America Corp.
Scanning back over posts, most type “Boa” or “BoA” or “BOA” and I type “BofA.”
I’d imagine that generally only stockholders, traders and employees commonly use “BAC.”
Interesting.
Big Don,
Thank you for your concern and what was being conveyed was helpful information to those that are looking for info on what they can do to build a case to take to a legal level. Sure BAC might get more sophisticated in their handling of files within the CEO/President’s office but for now, and as you admit, the adivce provided was good. Is it that you’re looking for an argument? Do you think you are the guru master and everyone else should just shut up and listen to you? What do you think it takes to build a legal case and hand over to an attorney – good documentation and handling of a file or hot air as I guess you’re proposing?
If you do not ‘own’ this website then please let others speak and help fellow BAC borrowers. If you do own this webiste, I’m done.
i need help with bac home loans in modification since jan. on third one and exhausted. working doubles/tripples and still behind worked with senator specter and us treasury depart and now we got a lawyer. it’s not right what bac is doing and they never know what they are doing. any sugg.
Hi Kelly–
Did I understand you to say that you are on your third loan
modification? If so–what happened to the first two? I mean–
how did it come to pass that BoA allowed you to do this? Don’t
you become ineligible if the lender puts a mod on the table and
you choose not to accept it? I ask because this happened to me
and I am wonering if there was any wrong-doing on BoA’s part.
Florence, Kelly and any other newcomers …
On the previous page I have a list of suggestions to help get you started. I also emphasize scanning the rest of the blog for other people’s advice and experience.
At both the top and bottom of that page in light blue is “Previous Comments.” Click on that.
I know this loads you up with work, reading and time none of us have, but “learning” is the name of the game … and unfortunately it IS a “game.”
Don, How about if we put our state in our name thenyou can also go to each page of comments ,and hit ctrl F on your computer, enter a search term, for instance “Texas” and just scan for that word instead of reading each page 🙂
Hi LO–
Good idea about setting up a Texas file. Say how are you
doing finding an aggressive Texas attorney? Are you having any
good fortune in getting onboard with a class action lawsuit yet?
Bob Mc
No luck on an attorney for class action lawsuit, right now I am concentrating on getting the word out to the media, over and over and over, I know that politicians are corrupt because the system they work in is corrupt (having worked in DC as a volunteer lobbyist for women rights) so I do not expect any help from them. I have my modification because after 14 months it was escalated to the supposed “Pres and CEO” office, ONLY because I was relentless and finally wrote the NYT, but it was not a good deal and I have proof they doctored my transaction record in addition to their systematic thwarting of my efforts. So , the only thing that worked was the media shining a light on them. I am going to concentrate on the laws they have broken and hold the Texas Attorney General’s office feet to the fire to uphold the Banking laws of Texas.
If you get a suit going I will sign onto it, but my time has to go to job searching so I can make my payment which is $200 more a month then before the modification.
You got it Lo.
Hi All; I rcv’d a response from the California Dept. of Justice. They suggested the best place to deal with “All of This Stuff” is to contact the OCC, (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) E-Mail: Customer. Assistance@occ.treas.gov Internet: http://www.occ.treas.gov. There are SO MANY posts on this blog that I’m not sure if I’m irriterating info already posted. But, just trying to help. My place in Az. goes on auction at a Trustee’s Sale Tomorrow, guess I’ll just see if there is anywhere to go from ‘there”. In my case both My Wife and I have our own places to live, so I consider myself Blessed, and pray for all of you. By the way, did you see the insurer suing BofA for like 16 BILLION dollars! YES! God Bless and Good Luck.
Bill’s reference can be found here …
foreclosureblues.wordpress.com/2010/09/30/ambac-sues-bank-of-america-for-massive-fraud-16-7-billion/
“Subrogation” means an insurance company “contractually” gives up its right to seek money it lost (paid out in claims) when that loss was somebody else’s fault.
Sounds pretty stupid to me.
You have to wonder what motivated them to agree to THAT.
Regardless, we’re not the only ones calling BofA on the carpet … like you do with a dog.
Oh Don….
Are you speaking as a knowledgeable adjustor or just ‘shooting from the hip’? As a former insurance adjustor and fraud investigator for one of, if not the, largest insurers in the world, it was noted that you could be incorrect. Not to put the definition of subrogation in my words, here is what Wikipedia reflects as the definition:
“Subrogation”
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Subrogation in its most common usage refers to circumstances in which an insurance company tries to recoup expenses for a claim it paid out when another party should have been responsible for paying at least a portion of that claim.
Look it up before you screw it up sir.
Jeff …
You are correct.
I read the same definition and interpolated incorrectly.
I added the dimension of signing away the right erroneously.
My phrase “seek money it lost (paid out in claims) when that loss was somebody else’s fault” is a simplified interpretation of “circumstances in which an insurance company tries to recoup expenses for a claim it paid out when another party should have been responsible.”
Not to enter into “excuses” but to cite objective reasons for the error, it can be difficult to transition back into a world of sense and ordered logic when dealing with insanity for an intense 48 hour period. It tests both your emotions and your ability to think clearly to their very limits.
Not only do I work with psychotic young adults every evening for eight hours, I had to deal with the staff of a so-called world class organization that was attempting to convince me that an armed, uniformed officer of the court was not, and could not, stand in my driveway on the 8th and sell my home to financial blood-suckers … when, in fact, the sale was scheduled and would have taken place.
That’s in addition to working three jobs, one full time “9to5” and two part time self-employment … to feed the behemoth monster I’ve found myself in bed with.
Note the posting time of my entry. Since the owners of this blog are apparently located on the west coast, add three hours to it, since I’m on the east coast.
The hour didn’t help.
My apologies for the error.
Hello everyone,
If you are all looking for a law office to represent you and getting you the loan modification…go with my lawyer. The office is located in FL. and I live in IL. I know I recommended another person on the forum here to them and he hasn’t heard back but they are busy with a lot of people like us in this very situation. I would advise you to fill out the information on the right hand side of the site and they will get back to you very fast. They do however have a start up fee which is 1,000 to get you going and then the rest of the fee is 1,500. So it’s a total of 2,500 flat fee for them to represent you and get you a permanent loan modify. They do work on payment plans that work with your budget and if for some reason the loan modification doesn’t work…your money is refunded. He did say that they are pretty successful at getting modifications and they will tell you upfront before you pay or even pay more if they can help you or not.
Here’s their site: flasterlawfirm.com/Contact.aspx
If you research and read more stories you will find that many are unsuccessful doing a loan modification on their own as banks smell newbie’s from miles away and that they don’t take you seriously. Also banks will take advantage of you doing this alone as they will most of the time tell you that you don’t qualify for this program as they fudge the numbers in their system. Get a lawyer as they know how to represent you, being your voice, making sure everything is in and all the T’s Crossed, and also not taking crap from any banks. Banks know not to push around lawyers and the lawyers will be always calling them to check up on the loan progress. Lawyers will tell you the same thing about people doing the modifications by themselves not being successful.
Contact me if you have any questions: eacriscione@yahoo.com
Hey Don S.; Excuse me for not being real quick on the “take’, but couldyou clarify the “Sale” and the Sheriff “thing”. Thanks
Sure.
If I hadn’t paid attention, the Sheriff would have come and sold my house a week from Friday. The Office of the Pres/CEO denied there was a sale scheduled at all. If I hadn’t made calls, my house would have been sold while BofA stood by insisting there was no sale.
Don S
I know exactly what your talking about that also happened to me the date of the sale I decided to call the office of the trustee just to fine out 30 minutes before that the office of the Pres/CEO did not stop the sale date . According to the CEO Office of BOA there was not a sale date….. What a joke………
Cammy
A few of “BAC’s” headaches …
Sued for not paying its bills (breach of contract and fraud) —
americanbankingnews.com/2010/06/28/bank-of-america-corp-nyse-bac-sued-by-property-preservation/
Sued for discrimination (Illinois State Attorney General) —
americanbankingnews.com/2010/07/06/bank-of-america-corp-nyse-bac’s-countrywide-being-sued-for-discrimination/
Sued over a HAMP modification —
americanbankingnews.com/2010/07/06/bank-of-america-corp-nyse-bac’s-countrywide-being-sued-for-discrimination/
Sued (15 homeowners) in Texas for abusive servicing practices —
mericanbankingnews.com/2010/07/06/bank-of-america-corp-nyse-bac’s-countrywide-being-sued-for-discrimination/
The Seattle class action suit for intentionally withholding government funds (Hagen Berman) —
realestaterama.com/2010/03/23/bank-of-america-sued-by-homeowners-for-withholding-federal-bailout-funds-ID06826.html
$150 million lawsuit settlement with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) for disclosure violations —
benzinga.com/markets/company-news/135891/150-million-settlement-for-sec-bank-of-america-bac-lawsuit
A better article, including the fact that the Attorney General of New York State files a civil personal suit against Moynihan (CEO) and others —
dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/bofa-agrees-to-150-million-settlement-in-sec-case/
Sued by employees for failure to pay mandatory overtime —
theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/36882/
Sued by and investors for lying —
shareholdersfoundation.com/case/bank-america-nyse-bac-investor-files-class-action-lawsuit-behalf-certain-bac-investors-over-mer
Sued for seizing the wrong home, and its contents (Mass) —
abcnews.go.com/Business/bank-america-sued-foreclosing-wrong-homes/story?id=9637897
Sued in LA over loan mods (the Hagens Berman case) —
nowpublic.com/tech-biz/bank-america-sued-again-over-loan-modifications
Sued for seizing the wrong house and contents, including a parrot (Pennsylvania) —
nowpublic.com/tech-biz/bank-america-sued-again-over-loan-modifications
Sued by 10 homeowners in Ohio for modification delays —
loansafe.org/forum/countrywide-home-loans-tell-us-your-countrywide-story/23466-bank-america-sued-over-mortgage-loan-modification-delays.html
Sued for lying about HAMP mods in Arizona —
huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/12/bofa-sued-again-over-hamp_n_643013.html?igoogle=1
Sued for unauthorized service charges —
allvoices.com/contributed-news/5304387-bank-of-america-sued-for-unwanted-privacy-assist-service
Sued by a California utility for rigging sales and collecting kickbacks —
allvoices.com/contributed-news/5304387-bank-of-america-sued-for-unwanted-privacy-assist-service
Sued by Connecticut Attorney General for their part in Countrywide’s dealings (2008) —
bloggingstocks.com/2008/08/07/countrywide-sued-by-connecticut-too/
Sued on Long Island for assisting in a Ponzi scheme —
http://www.justicenewsflash.com/2009/03/30/york-lawsuit-claims-bank-america-aided-380-million-ponzi-scheme_20090330989.html
Another California lawsuit over modifications —
mortgagescreditscore.com/bank-of-america-and-countrywide-home-loans-sued-by-united-law-group-2
Sued for collecting bounced check fees on protected Social Security funds —
motherjones.com/politics/2009/03/why-obama-backing-bank-america-court
One quote from this article is VERY RELEVANT to us …
“The OCC is notorious for its long legacy of helping big banks squash state efforts to crack down on predatory lending over the past decade …”
A very old expression in business is “You’re not really successful unless someone is trying to sue you.”
I think BofA practices overkill.
All this was the result of just one hour with Google searches. I wonder if there’s more that don’t easily pop up.
Ugh.
Three link corrections.
Sued over a HAMP modification (there’s actually several stories) –
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2010-09-10-mortgagemods10_CV_N.htm
Sued (15 homeowners) in Texas for abusive servicing practices –
foreclosurebuzz.org/2010/07/02/bank-of-americas-servicer-sued-for-abusing-homeowners/
Sued by a California utility for rigging sales and collecting kickbacks –
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aeUJVrfWt7bU
I gotta stop doing this stuff at three in the morning.
Man, I don’t know if I can handle anymore of this; whether I lose the Condo, which i probably already did. But I discovered I have had 3 DIFFERENT Title Companies! Origianlly Capital Title. Then First American; now Recontrust is using fidelity? A contact asked me to look and see if Fidelity had a license in Az. I DON’T think they do? GOSH!!! Do THEY go thru the OCC also? Jiminey whatever…
If you haven’t, I would highly recommend you set aside an hour or two Googling —
“bank of america” sued lawsuits
… just as I’ve typed it, complete with quotes.
It makes interesting reading, and you get a sense of who you’re dealing with.
One I came across was —
motherjones.com/politics/2009/03/why-obama-backing-bank-america-court
This quote is highly relevant to recent posts —
“The OCC is notorious for its long legacy of helping big banks squash State efforts to crack down on predatory lending over the past decade—efforts that could have helped head off the current financial meltdown.”
Food for thought.
(By the way … I purposely capitalize the word “State” when referring to any State in the union out of respect for its sovereignty. State’s rights are diminished enough without deteriorating it more in writings.)
I have found a couple of very informative web sites that I would like to share with you all. If anyone has valuable resources to share please do. Education is key.
I am still in search of a good attorney in NC if anyone has a referral I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
foreclosureprose.com/
mattweidnerlaw.com/blog/
ssgoldstar.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=4751999&highlight=modification
Remus – are you taking on other BOA clients? Is there a way to get in touch with you?
202-253-1897
Do you take on clients from other states? I have 7 properties with BOA. Six were supposed to be modified. Long story short- 9 months later they were not. Payments have been in partial, accrued numerous fees, ect. ect.
I do not even qualify for the HAMP program. Isn’t it illegal for BOA to call me and solicit a loan mod that I do not even qualify for? I did not initiate the mod. they did. And it has caused a disaster for us financially. The same rep went through all properties (3 hour phone call) so they can’t say they did not know it was not our primary residence.
Well, Sheriff’s sale is November first. I tried, but lost to those *@%& BOA. I wish all of you good luck. Please don’t argue with each other on here, you all need each other to get through this. :))
all;
I have noticed a spate of people who do not seem to be interested in sharing resources, but instead engaging homeowners in arguments. I bought into it myself a couple of times, and then realized that I was giving them what they want, my energy and time away from the goal of bringing BAC,BOA,BOFA, to court and justice for their abuse of HAMP and the American taxpayer.
Lets ignore the people who want to argue, and just share info and support each other as we save our homes and bring these banks to justice.
To see if BofA is foreclosing on your home through a sale:
check this website: http://www.recontrust.com
Couldn’t have said it better myself, LO!!
Let’s stay on course, everyone…if they derail the thread….and people start bickering and tossing insults back and forth…they win. Don’t think for a minute they’re not monitoring the site.
Beverly…it’s not over till it’s over. Can you file bankruptcy to halt the sale? Do you have an attorney? Keep fighting!! We’re all battling together…I know people who have pulled their house out of auction the night before! FIGHT!!! =)
Thanks Tammy, but I gave up a while ago after two years of their abuse. I moved out and have a rental. I didn’t want to get too close to the sale date and have my kids witness the serving of the papers and us having to move within 30 days and take them out of their schools too. I have dealt with BOA, my dad dying, divorce, and health issues in the last year. I am trying to get back on my feet and my “fight” has left. Now I am concentating on my kids. Good luck to you sweetie! I am too old to fight anymore. 🙂
Beverly …
Reading that one, tragic paragraph of yours, I just had to shake my head in disgust. I’m so sorry you had to come to that choice.
But who can blame you? It wouldn’t surprise me if banks “profile” their victims and include the element of children in the formula.
No question that statement sounds paranoid, but what other conclusions are we to come to?
I had “the-man-with-the-gun” in his midnight blue SUV marked “SHERIFF” my driveway serving me papers in September of 2009. It was an intimidating moment. I can’t imagine what young children would think.
Be well … and keep in touch. This isn’t over yet.
Thanks Don, you are a very sweet and compassionate man. I am following all the posts but not too much longer as I need to close this chapter of my life once and for all. My way of dealing with things that are bothering me are to write about it. It is a way of healing for me. I have a blog as well that I write on. I have not in a bit, very busy, but believe me, I will be drafting something up to add to it or to send to the higher ups that will read. It will be details. I don’t plan on getting anything out of it, just want closure. Feel free to visit my blog, you may get a laugh or two, we all need that.
http://suddenlysingleinjoliet.blogspot.com/
Love this guy.
He’s singing my song … and he’s a lawyer …
mattweidnerlaw.com/blog/
Anyone who even remotely implies “they can’t win” has my ear.
LISTEN GUYS. YOU GOT TO NOT GIVE UP! BOA HAD GONE TO COURT WITH OUT ME AND GOT A SUMMARY JUDGEMENT WITH A SALE DATE. I FOUGHT BACK WITH A LAWYER THAT COST ME 1500.00 PLUS. I STOOD IN FRONT OF THAT JUDGE WITH MY HUSBAND AND TOLD HIM THAT BOA HAS BEEN RECEIVING ALL MY PAYMENTS AND SENDING THEM BACK AND THAT THEY DIDN’T TELL US OF THE COURT DATE. THE JUDGE DISMISSED THE CASE WITH OUT PREJUDICE AND ORDERED BOA TO REINSTATE MY MORTGAGE. THEY HAVEN’T YET AND THEY ARE STILL SENDING BACK MY PAYMENTS BUT I WILL CONTINUE TO SEND THEM. THEY WILL NOT TAKE MY HOUSE FROM ME. AS GOD IS MY WITNESS……I WILL WIN COME HELL OR HIGH WATER!! WE WILL WIN…..ALL OF US…..MAYBE SOME OF US NOT TODAY…BUT IN THE END, WE ALL WILL WIN. EVENTUALLY. DON S. FINDING THAT WEB PAGE HAS GIVEN ME THAT OPTIMISUM
I’m so proud for you, and i hope you are right, getting my fight ready now,
My son said BOA has halted foreclosures in 23 states pending investigations! Has anyone else heard this??? What states??? I’m looking….
Yep they signed 8,000 foreclosures without reading them in 23 states.. Maybe we have a case you think?
I saw the news release. In fact–I saw about 10-15 news releases.
They are are identical with no mention of the states involved.
Quick foreclosing like Texas are probably not included much
to my dismay. We will probably see the list tomorrow in
subsequent articles. My take–if your state is ‘judicial’ in terms
of foreclosure law then that state is probably on the list and
you are good to go for 60-90 days.
is there any suits against bac home loans in pa yet
Kelly … not that I know of … yet … email me and we’ll keep in touch — donsweet@verizon.net
Bank of America holding on foreclosure in these states:
Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin.
Read more about this at:
wlwt.com/r/25243955/detail.html
OK–that would be expected. Now what does BoA do over the next 60 days, concentrate on the non-listed states or focus on cleaning up the mess in the 23 mentioned states? What’s your
guess?
now tell me again Bob Mc why Texas is not on that list? and I am betting BOA has enough resources to do both, hurry and foreclose on as many as they can AND try to cover their tail
I find it interesting that Texas and North Carolina are not on the list…. Could it be because they have MAJOR offices in both states?hmmm?
Hi LO–
In replying to your Q on Texas not being on the list, I am
talking about the list that Erica posted yesterday. Though I have not seen an official list, the list Erica posted is likely the official list that she found from a source. The 23 states on that list are all ‘judicial’ forclosure states. Texas and the rest are ‘non-judicial’. What this means in Texas is that the lender may foreclose on property without having to sue
for a judgement for foreclosure. Thus, even when several
required procedures are met ( ie notification, posting time-
lines), the process moves very quickly–as short as 37
days. In some states the timeline can be up to a year.
Anyway–Texas is apparently not on the BoA list. I was
raising the question as to what this might mean for Texas
homeowners in peril. Hopefully we will know more in a few days. I need to call BoA Monday on a related matter where
I have received a demand for payment letter from the ‘right’
hand. I recieved a ‘what do you intend to do–short sale or
deed in lieu of’ from the ‘left hand’ a few days before.
Finally–There was an article in the Austin American Statesman this (Sat) morning mentioning that the AG’s
office is now opening its own investigation of BoA.
I need to trot downtown Monday to see the AG people and
find out what implications this has for me and others. I will
keep you posted.
LO-
The sentence I left out in my last reply was the pretty
obvious assumption that in the ‘judicial’ foreclosure
states, part of the required procedure is the reading of
the included affidavits before signing them. But were
there other screwups in ‘non-judicial’ state’s documents?
Bob,
I will tell you that my complaint with the AG was answered by BOA and of course the letter was full of lies. Luckily I documented and can prove they are lying. The AG’s office told me to send my refute to a special division JUST for mortgage fraud in El Paso. I am still putting together my documentation and will cc my little drone in the BOA CEO office, I am going to also use a RESPA letter to request all notes made on my account. I have very little time to put into this as I am job searching so I can continue to make my mortgage payment that is now 200$ more a month after my mod. But as I said before I am going to concentrate on getting our elected officials to uphold the laws already in existence. How is your case coming along? any luck on attorneys?
LO–
Regarding attorneys: Yes I have made contact with one in Houston who is ready to look into a class action–I think. I am sending out a package to him Monday. He
is supposed to look over it and get back to me. Let me
see what developes. I will keep you imformed.
How can I add my name. Bank of America invited me to their modification program, refused to accept my mortgage payments during the process, always lost my paperwork (4 times), but hurried the foreclosure. I never got the mod offer. They were extremely efficient moving forward in the foreclosure process, though!
Bill …
Around 2/3rds of the way down this page is a post I made to Florence, Kelly and newcomers. You might want to glance at it. It should get you started on what you’ve found yourself knee-deep in.
Holler with questions … there’s plenty of good people here willing to help.
Foreclosures Slow as Document Flaws Emerge
click on link below for story
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/01/business/01mortgage.html?_r=1&hp
I think they might be in a little trouble here!!! Keep on pushing everyone…we CANNOT GIVE UP….LOTS OF COMPLAINTS and documentation……WE WILL PREVAIL
The most important quote in that story is —
“The way the plaintiffs’ lawyers have handled this has corrupted our legal system,” said Thomas Cox, a Maine lawyer whose deposition of a GMAC executive in June helped prompt the current disclosures. “They tried to manufacture foreclosures the way you’d manufacture cars, on an assembly line. It can’t be done that way.”
… “corrupted our legal system” …
Absolutely fascinating.
I’m getting more and more intrigued about the “RESPA Letter” discussed couple of times.
Samples of these letters are available either on the RESPA site or the Federal Trade Commission site…
hud.gov/offices/hsg/rmra/res/reslettr.cfm
ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/homes/rea10.shtm
These are the simplest and they give away VERY little information about what you can ask … however … it clearly states that the letter must have a response (acknowledgment of receipt) in 20 days and be resolved within 60.
… or …
This one expands on the idea a bit, revealing you can ask several more detailed questions —
http://www.nololawlibrary.com/foreclosure/7-2d.shtml
This one goes even further, asking them to provide information on 25 things, and has a THOROUGH explanation of the letter —
foreclosureindustry.com/2009/08/qualified-written-requests-respa-and-mortgage-servicing/
But I LOVE this one … SEVENTEEN PAGES —
scribd.com/doc/11903044/Respa-Letter
I’ve copied the text and will be formatting it into Word. This one may just be the one they get from me, but I’ll be passing it under an attorney’s nose before it gets sent. If anyone wants the MSWord file, email me and I’ll forward it when I’ve formatted.
Remus … would you care to chime in on RESPA letters?
Anyone else hear from attorneys about RESPA letters?
Loving this too …
It’s a sample lawsuit. It’s for a sub-prime mortgage “fraud,” essentially, in California, and based on an adjustable rate mortgage, and seeks to void a foreclosure sale and collect damages … quite a lot of damages. There’s SEVENTEEN “causes of action,” which are individual complaints citing violations.
It gives you the idea of what courts expect and how lawyers earn their keep … not that I completely agree with the process .
You need Adobe Reader —
http://www.certifiedforensicloanauditors.com/9.2_complaint_809.pdf
The host site is interesting, too. It’s a service for lawyers and real estate people, and describes the “QWR,” Qualified Written Request letter I mention above.
http://www.certifiedforensicloanauditors.com/4.0_forensic_loan_audit_litigation.html
It’s all wordy “legalese” and complicated, but this is the world we’re wading through.
The house of cards is beginning to crumble. This is just the tip of the iceberg. We need to keep the pressure on. Note how BOA makes NO COMMENT in the story. Can you imagine why? Keep making ripples my friends they’re coming together to make real waves.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/01/business/01mortgage.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&th&emc=th
My husband and I also would love to know how to get involved in the lawsuit, We, not only have been basically screwed by, Bank of America, But, by others promising to help. And it really hurts to know you have worked your butt off for a house that they are doing their best to take from you. It’s almost like a no win situation. WE, right now, have two mortgages with them, it’s an 80/20 arm, one is 12.999 percent and the other is a 10.00 percent. we have been in our house for over 4 yrs. on time with payments until early this year, we went to a home modification company and paid 1595.00 and lost it cause they were running a scam, we called bank of america and tried everything to caught up. we sent in every kind of paper work you can imagine. the only thing we didn’t send in was our blood, several calls to them, just to send in more paperwork. lost paperwork, talked to several people and nobody knew anything, and so finally they sent us a letter saying we don’t qualify for making home affordable because we don’t make enough money, WELL DUH, why do you think we called you. WHERE IS THE OBAMA PLAN..!!????? We want to fulfill our promise on our loan, but hard to do if you work with CROOKS..
I bought a house in August at Sherrif’s sale in Miami County, Ohio and put my deposit with BOA and now I cannot get any information regarding the property from BOA. The former owner claims they are “rescinding” the sale because it “wasn’t supposed to go to forclosure” and is refusing to co-operate with me on occupancy. BOA will not return my calls. I am interested in forming a Class Action Suit against BOA in Ohio – can anyone offer me any advice or assistance?
Roy …
Sorry to be the one to point this out …
… but if you’ve read even a few posts on this blog, this may not be the best place to find “friends.”
You might have wanted to chat with the homeowner before you stood next to the armed Sheriff, bidding on this property, and asked them about their experience with BofA (or even the courts).
Profiting from “losers” is a popular pastime (or even “enterprise”) in this country. After all, they deserve it, right?
Not to go off on a rant, but I was reminded of The Tail of Tears this morning.
In 1838, then President Andrew Jackson sent an army to Georgia in open defiance of The Supreme Court who had asserted the Cherokee’s property rights.
The army systematically evicted homeowners at gunpoint, with white families immediately taking possession of houses, barns, possessions including furnishings and even clothing, and livestock only minutes after Cherokee owners were marched off to concentration camps … literally concentration camps.
Sound at all familiar?
I am 100% white, so there’s no “race card” being played here.
Don’t think that something that happened 172 years ago applies to you?
Think again.
“Trail of Tears” …
Just thinking about it gets me emotional and I can’t even proofread accurately.
Don S–
You are doing a great service with this message board–but did I
miss the point of you message/essay of Oct 2/1:17 pm? You
are trying to say what?
Bob …
All I’m saying is that kicking people out of their homes and off their land is nothing new in this country, neither are miscarriages of justice.
I was citing the fact that an elected, serving President ignored our own Supreme Court and sent an army to remove tens of thousands of people from their homes when the court told him not to.
That’s the President on your 20 Dollar Bill.
I was pointing out to Roy that he’s one of the people that have tried to move into a home that was [apparently] taken unjustly … similar to white families who immediately moved into Cherokee’s homes as soon as they were evicted at gunpoint in 1838.
But to add to our own story (history in the making) …
I’m convinced that the-powers-that-be in this country have decided that we are “bad inventory” and they have decided to purge us, profiting in the process.
It appears some of us can fight and stay, as long as they profit, perversely, tacking on interest or any other fees they can get away with. “Bribes” seem to be the only way to keep our homes.
I’d imagine there was a Cherokee or two who paid off an officer, and his men moved on to the next farm, sparing them concentration camps and a walk on The Trail of Tears, or a grave.
Naturally, all of this was before instant communication like the web and television. It all came out AFTER it happened. At least we have a chance to show the world what’s happening before it’s over.
I get it. I had to read it again.
hey ya’ll, it did my heart good to see the front page of yahoo news with an article on BOA and fraud in the same sentence! there is hope of justice!
1) Never believe your voice can’t be heard. Add it to “numbers” and it’s a shout no one can ignore. Note your Dollar Bill. The bundle of arrows in the eagle’s claw is a lot stronger than a single arrow.
2) Never believe the legal system is stacked against you. There’s always a way. You just need to know the language they speak and the rules they impose … even on themselves.
3) Never ignore your “rights.” The moment … the millisecond … you do, someone will take them away. They’re just waiting, salivating, panting like animals to pounce. You have things they want, desperately, even if they have more than anyone could ever use.
4) Never believe “all politicians are crooks.” Many may have their hands tied by a corrupt power structure. They can be freed by YOU, your family and all your neighbors. Even if they ARE corrupt, holding them accountable is the way the system works. They can’t hide from it. It doesn’t take an election to change things, just “constituent communication.”
5) Never get greedy. Being greedy gives them permission to be corrupt. If you are a stockholder of any kind, write to the boards of directors you own stock in and insist they conduct business ethically and morally. CARE about where your money comes from AND how you spend it. That’s your “vote” in a free enterprise system. If you work for a corrupt company, do what you can to find another job. If the products you buy are from callous, greedy corporations, do without or buy something else. Patronize the “little guy.” He/she cares a lot more about your needs than soul-less fictitious multi-national conglomerates.
Also … stop fighting amongst yourselves. That’s what they want. While you’re busy arguing, they’re picking your pockets. Pay attention. Pitting black against white, Republican against Liberal, Democrat demonizing Conservative, Christian against Muslim makes them quietly laugh, believing we’re so stupid we deserve to be robbed.
They are great pals amongst themselves, playing golf together, sitting side-by-side with their hands out at Senate sub-committee meetings, vacationing together in Tahoe.
This is real.
You have to modify what’s “normal” to you by including INTOLERANCE for that way of thinking.
“Self-interest” doesn’t just include what’s good for you. It also includes what’s good for your neighbors.
I have been fighting Countrywide/BOA for over three years. When they do modify, they tact on the past due principal to your loan, thus making them more money, and thus, making your loan yet more unaffordable. I have dealt with all of thee above. I must say, do write down every call and time the call was made. Pressure works. Keep on them daily. Dont give up. And a little something to help. HERE IS the VP of home loans at Bank of Americas EMAIL . IT GETS TO HER. She has answered it and/or forwarded to someone that calls you. barbara.j.desoer@bankofamerica.com. USE IT!
This is a shortened version of what I went thru with BoA. Any suggestions, info or help would be greatly appreciated. I live in NJ. Contacted BoA after husband lost job and we couldn’t make mtg payments (after three months of using our savings to make them). Called BoA to ask about Obama plan to help unemployed. BoA said to call back when hubby got a job.??? Kept calling, getting the same answer. After 3 months of calling, and hubby gettng another job, they told us we didn’t qualify for Obama’s modification but would look into other plans. Called every month, same story (didn’t qualify, they would keep looking). We were served foreclosure papers, kept trying to get mod. Finally got thru to someone who said pay now and modify (at same 8% rate and tacked on a bunch of fees and all we owed) or we foreclose right away. Of course we paid, but now are in upside down mtg, struggling to make pymts (which went up), now they want more money for fees associated with foreclosure (which were tacked on to total mtg amount in modification). Need any help anyone can suggest. Starting to fall behind again!
I have been dealing with this myself for almost a year. I have dates and names of representatives that I have dealt with. This is a true scam by a huge company that has put me and many others in jeopardy of loosing their homes. My son already lost his and is staying here with me with his family. I am in the middle of trying to save my home, and when i applied for this modification I was not behind on payments, I just wanted to see if I could reduce mine because they were high and hard to meet each month. It has turned into the biggest nightmare ever. When i tried to stop the process I was told no unless I paid the lawyers fees plus whatever I would of owed. They told me it was a government program and that government programs take time. I was getting concerned because it was taking so long. One of my payments that I sent in was not even accepted because I was in foreclosure! If there is a class action suit on behave of me and my son we would like to be in on it. Please let us know how to do this. Thank you.
My son already lost his home because of this BOA scam and now I am in jeopardy of loosing mine? What do I do next do join the lawsuit?
I can see it’s time once again to repost my “getting started” list.
I’ve revised it, and it now has 16 points of “process” to consider doing to help your situation along.
Veteran posters … please let me know if I’ve missed anything and I’ll add it.
________________________________
If you want to keep your home, you have to fight for it … but ALSO, you’ll have to learn how this game is played. Unfortunately, this IS a game to them. It’s how they can manipulate things to get as much money as possible. After all, that’s what their stockholders DEMAND … profit, profit, profit. That means getting money (your home equity) from YOU.
Please try and read ALL of this AND scan back through previous posts. There’s a link near the top of this page “Previous Posts” in light blue. Click on that. It’s also at the bottom of the posts.
1) If you haven’t made a journal/diary of your BOA experience start NOW. Record every instance every time it happens in detail. This is critical for a court case, but can also be helpful for Attorneys General and Agency complaints and for your politicians, should they get involved.
2) Sit down and write out as complete a timeline as you can from the beginning of your experience with as much detail as you can recall. Take time to do a thorough job. Equally valuable as “1)”.
3) Call your State and Federal representatives, Congressman/woman, State Assemblyman/woman and inform them of your situation. Calling is preferred over emailing. It puts a human element into the contact. Ask for help. Don’t hesitate. It’s their job to oversee your community and the goings-on in it. It’s why you elected them. INSIST that they help you if they try to wiggle out of it. Mine were VERY cooperative and helpful.
4) Get any attorney you can find to advise you from church, synagog, friends, family, neighbors. Retain one if you can afford it or call legal aid if you can’t. These are “contractual negotiations” that involve Statutory Law and a lawyer will navigate that best. Tempt them with the possibility of getting a piece of a class action suit.
5) Call the Hope Hotline 877-300-5454 or Money Management International direct 888-881-7558. Use MMI (or a similar NON-profit) literally EVERY TIME you call BOA. A representative will be with you through your calls and the nightmares on hold. They will also keep a record (although it can’t be released without a subpoena from a court). But if it goes to court, you can get it that way. It’s also better to have the BOA people hear you’re not alone on the phone.
6) Call and call and call and call until you get results and cooperation. If you’re using MMI, they’ll ask for supervisors. If you’re not, YOU ask for them. I know from a full year of this garbage how much it cuts into your personal (or even work) time and how traumatic it is, but big corporations BANK on you getting frustrated and giving up. DON’T GIVE UP. Hold their feet to the fire.
7) Keep up your payments as close to on time as you can. This is ALL about the MONEY. It’s a contract and your end is feeding this behemoth monster your hard earned cash. You agreed to it when you signed the mortgage. Courts (and BOA negotiators) will want to see your willingness to pay, as will your politicians and regulatory agencies. It’s your “good will” that you’re willing to work it out.
8) Find as many people as you can in your State that are going through this AND keep in contact with forums like this. The ONLY power any of us have over this monster is NUMBERS. It is literally “United We Stand, Divided We Fall.” One-by-one they can take us down, but as both national and State groups, they’ll have a hard time of it.
9) Once you’ve contacted your politicians and they’ve started to help you, tell all your friends, family, co-workers and anyone else who knows you to write to them and THANK them for helping you get through this difficult time. DO NOT have them criticize, complaint or tell stories. Just a short thank you will make it clear to your politicians that people are watching their performance. No need to get into detail. They’ll KNOW they’re being watched just through a simple thank you.
10) File a complaint with your State Attorney General and the OCC (http://www.occ.treas.gov/customer.htm). Research your State and complain to any applicable agency. Be sure not to “rant” and provide information in the form and with the content they request.
11) Contact your telephone company and request call records to and from BofA, or get all your calls and highlight them. Add that to your package of evidence.
12) Compose a letter asking news agencies to look into this problem. Describe your situation BRIEFLY, then forward it to every news program and news agency you can think of. There are lists of contacts throughout this blog. Key Point: News people are a bit “legalistic” in covering stories and require documentation and facts. Although they respond to emotional pleas, they will likely ignore incoherent rants, finger-pointing and unproven accusations. Be factual in your letters. The emotions will come across even if you try not to.
13) Learn about, compose and send a RESPA qualified letter to the bank and other regulatory agencies, and include anyone (politicians) who might be monitoring your case. The Federal government REQUIRES banks to provide you with DETAILED information on your mortgage.
RESPA is explained on these two government sites —
http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/rmra/res/reslettr.cfm
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/homes/rea10.shtm
Samples of letters can be seen (copied) here —
http://www.nololawlibrary.com/foreclosure/7-2d.shtml
foreclosureindustry.com/2009/08/qualified-written-requests-respa-and-mortgage-servicing/
http://www.scribd.com/doc/11903044/Respa-Letter
Insert your personal information, rewrite the opening paragraph(s) to describe your personal concerns, and customize the “demands” to your own case, preferably with the help of a lawyer.
DO NOT send via email, and use the Postal Service, registered mail, return receipt requested. Copy all related people/parties the same way.
14) Lastly … and this is tricky … this is ALL about contract law, which is called “Statutory Law.” It literally has NOTHING to do with Right and Wrong, but what contract law expressly states. This is NOT “Common Law” that talks about the rights of a human being. This is about your “fictitious corporate self” that’s a party to the contract … NOT YOU as a human being. Statutory Law only sees the “contractee,” not the human being. Statutory Law couldn’t care less whether you live in that house or not … just whether the contract is fulfilled.
READ your mortgage and READ your restructuring agreement. Everything that’s happening to you is based on THOSE, not Right or Wrong … or have someone who understands legal language read them and explain what they mean.
Contract violations are what Class Action Law Suits are based on … contractual violations, and that’s all a court will listen to.
Remember, this is a nation (now, anyway) of laws, courts and parties to contracts … NOT common decency or even Common Sense. Work to save your home. Complaining gets you no where. Working hard and learning “the game” they play is the only thing that works.
15) One other thing has emerged … try to get over any embarrassment. For most people, this is not your fault. You have no control over the financial environment and you are merely exercising your rights. In fact, you should be BOLD about exercising them. Don’t let anyone convince you that “you were just asking for it.”
16) Consider stretching your budget to file an INDIVIDUAL lawsuit, rather than being lumped in with a class action. Jamming up a bank’s legal department with multiple suits is far more effective than allowing them to combat one class action. A class action puts you in a barrel with all the other fish.
But if you can’t file individually, keep in touch with people in your State. You can’t simply “put-your-name-on-a-list”. It’s not that easy. You have to work to FORM a class action suit. For the moment, no Federal class action exists and they MUST be State-by-State. Band together and hunt hard for an attorney who will take it on.
Apparently, the parenthesis and numeral 8 produces a Smiley Face.
Wow!! After reading all of these I have to say that I am glad we are not the only ones living this nightmare!! We have been in the “program” since July 09 and I call every week to check our status. My payments are clearing our account but yet I find out last week when I called that we were denied June 9th 2010!! How funny that even Sept was cleared!! Amazing that I wrote down, time, name and phone number to every flipping person I spoke to since this started and twelve people since June have told me we were investor approved!! NO, NO, NO.. Denied. Don’t know why our computer system never generated a letter?? Oh and now we appealed it for what?? To save the roof on our heads ( and our children’s). The only home they have ever known. My husband did not lose his job he got injured on the job. LNI for 9 months.. and so on. I lost my job the same week. I am so sorry that we have all believed in the “system” that was created to help. Now what?? Im joining the lawsuit. We have friends that did and miraculously were modified. Good luck Everyone!! It’s time to fight for survival and No B of A.. A should not stand for AMERICA!! God Bless!!
WOW reading everybody storing is like telling mine. My husband lost his job do to cut backs. We contacted Bank of America first and asked if they could help us with our loan. We were flat out told NO because we were current on our payment. We did the best we could for a while then it came to the time of food for our family or mortgage payment. Did what everybody would do took a trip to the grocery store. Got our foreclosure papers, called BOA oh did they have the plan for me. Send the “trial payment” and they would start the paperwork. Sorry to see we are not the only ones to fall for this. Eight months later of “trial payment” and sending the same information over and over. Hours of phone calls. Went to make a payment in September was told they would not accept my payment because my house was back in foreclosure because they could not contact us by phone (they had the wrong number in there system small oversight on there part). Even though I was calling them weekly was told by one representative of BOA I had to be available to talk when “they” were ready (Sorry boss can’t come to work have to sit by the phone the bank may call today). Have all my phone calls documented. I’m ready for a fight. Where do I sign up!!!!!
I have been documenting the process of applying for loan modification with boa for 20 months. My original loan was with countrywide and here in Hawaii we have no local branch of bank of America I signed a forbearance agreement followed by a loan modification agreement which was executed and returned to them with a cashiers check. I mademall payments as agreed until July of 2010 when they returned my payment and said they would only accept payment in full (difference between forbearance amount and full payment x 6mo). I believe they have breached the modification contract they have grossly misrepresented themselves and are party to a criminal a scheme to get me out of my house so that they can collect on insurance – my home is federally insured sally Mae loan. Does anyone else live in Hawaii want to sue?
Lisa,
I found your message while reading the article on the WA class action suit. I’m searching for any class action law suit against BOA here in Hawaii. I’d like to hear if you have heard of others willing to sue. Thanks.
John Stone
This is exactly what they have done to me over a duplicate force flood ins. policy. They sent my modified payment check back for $181, proceeded to foreclose over a erroneous Ins. in the amount of $2093 to steal my home which they appraised for over $1 million when they originated the loan in 2002. Fraud, state and federal criminal violations???
I got a call from the office of the president customer advocate. I’ve called them back 5 times now and no one can tell me they are an advocate for me, the customer or an advocate for boa. I don’t know what’s next but I will continue to call them at least once a day.
Has anyone experienced the ‘customer advocacy’ department? I couldn’t even make my monthly modification payment. Is this another way of them forclosing?
Minor adjustment … “in the interest of the borrower.”
For those of you considering a RESPA letter, this is a MUST READ …
ababj.com/briefing/scare-mail-beware-of-qwr-s.html
It’s complicated and lengthy, but worth it.
Also … this is another RESPA letter with 35 questions …
http://www.yourfreeloanmod.net/uploads/QWR.pdf
Well , the battle goes on with BofA , so my question is this, Am I just beating a dead horse here. Here’s the deal ,I have been out of work since Feb 2008 , my wife is self employed and with what little Unemployment I get we have been able to make the trial payment the BofA set for over a year now , after many times of sending the same old documents with there required updates ,I am still in the dark as to rather I am going to get a mod or not. Now on March 30 2010 I got a letter from BofA saying I qualify for a makeing homes affordable loan mod, followd a month later with a letter saying I don’t qaulify , followed by a letter a month latter saying I needed to send the missing documents and they needed to be faxed ,this was done bam two dasys later I get a letter saying unless I send the missing documents ( this time I was to mail then to a completley differant state ) Followed by a letter saying they have everything they need and that my stuff was sent to the negosiator and I would here back with in 30-45 days ,then on Sept 22, 2010 I get a letter saying I do not qualify becasue my house value to whats owed is to fare off , Ok so prior to getting the letter I make a call to a BofA loan officer were my Daughters boyfriend works and so I am talking with here, but prior to that( I log a complaint with the Bank Commission) So she makes a call for me to find out whats up and the person on the other end asked here if she was with the Presidents office ? she kind of say’s what and again he asked if she was with the presidents office and she says No I am not and he then informs here that my package is now at the office of the President of BofA and thats when I got the last letter a week after I found that out. Today
I call and try and find out whats going on and get some more run around from there end, so with me not having a job as they are dam hard to find when your 55 , am I just waisting my time , are they going to take my house after they have sucked every last dime I have with this trial payment ? Should I just stop paying and see were it goe’s I can not afford a attourny so whats left for me to do, any help would be great
or point me in a direction. Thanks Chris woodythx138@mlode.com
Oh ya I live in Sonora, Ca area.
I forgot to add a few things , I have been documenting every thing saved all my fax’s a letters and there stuff they sent me and one other very important thing I do, Record ,Record ,Record every conversation
in real time and they can uploaded and sent to anybody.This may not be legal in court but I figure if they do it , why can’t I do it , there only advantage with them doing it is they have the very high end software that when it recoreds your voice it can detect your stress levels and then they know how fare they can push you, this is a fact not fiction, they also have a flat screen TV showing all the incoming phone lines and they sit and whatch how long they leave you on hold , what a great place to work and have fun at, Next time they talk to you tell them you are recording this conversation and watch how fast they hang up.
Lie’ng Snakes
I’m doing that right now. Jessica just stated we are in foreclosure!!! What a nightmare! Can’t wait to see what Debra Cunningham has to say!
Hey Chris,
Sorry to hear about your problems with BofA. I know what your are going through. I think that if your account has been referred to the office of the president what that really means is that they are taking a closer look at your situation and they are contemplating filing a notice of default. If you previously got a “letter of intent to accelerate” that means that after the expiration of that letter and if you do not pay the total amount “they say” that you owe they can file the NOD and they turnover the account to the Office Of the President. I know because that is exactly what happened to me. Keep an eye on the county records for the NOD. If you know a Realtor they can show you how to check county records. If they file the NOD then your are on the fast track to foreclosure so you might want to contact a lawyer right away to discuss your options.
Sorry for the tough response but you should know what is happening so you can do all you can to prepare.
TO EVERYONE :
IF you go to Channel 7 eyewitness news and put in Bank of America Stopping foreclosures accross the nation you will see what is finally in the headlines as far as an hour ago. I wrote to them before and stated that in my ” contact us” on your side comment page and I suggest all of you do the same. I did put in the website address for us and the class action lawsuits and asked them to read all of the stories about Bank of America and their Illegal Foreclosure methods, along with Fannie Mae. I don’t know if I will be contacted but PLEASE EVERYONE GO TO CHANNEL 7 EYEWITNESS NEWS website page and go to their ” ON YOUR SIDE ‘ and respond to their response. I told them better late then never but I wished they would have covered the story when I wrote to them several months ago, pleading for their help. Who knows what will happen but if you see or hear me on T.V. or the NEWS YOU KNOW I WILL MENTION ALL OF YOU AND THE WEB SITE.
LOVE,
MARGO
P.S. Maybe some good will come of this, mean while I am still packing, my deadline is the llth of this Month, this following MONDAY
Margo–Thanks for the Channel 7 news tipoff. Oh–by the
way–have you had any additional contact with Kirkendall?
Will he be able to help you? Bob Mc
Cammy:
I also live in Riverside County, I live in Corona right off of the 15 freeway, off of Indian Truck Trail. How are your days? I am packing right now because I have to be out of here by the llth. Here is my e-mail address and phone number call me anytime. 714 608 8595 951 471 3387 I would love to speak with you.
Margo La Bayne
P.S. anyone else in Riverside that would like to help me pack and move, yet I don’t know where too yet. I would love the help Thanks,
Margo
Bob Mc:
No I haven’t herd anything else from him. I am sure after this he will be busier than ever. I am going to give him a call. There is just so much to do, I am not even all packed yet, and I don’t really know where the kids and I are going. Keep your fingers crossed.
Margo La Bayne
714 608 8595
TO EVERYONE PLEASE GO TO CHANNEL 7 EYEWITNESS NEW WEBSITE AND CLICK ONTO “ON YOUR SIDE”
BANK OF AMERICA ANNOUNCED EARILER TODAY THAT THEY WERE STOPPING FORECLOSURES IN 23 STATES, GEE I WONDER WHY? IT IS THE UTMOST IMPORTANT THAT YOU GO ONTO THAT WEBSITE NOW AND PUT IN YOUR FEELINGS AND STAND UP TO BE COUNTED…. DON IS ALWAYS TELLING US ITS A NUMBERS GAME, WELL NOW IT COULDN’T BE MORE TRUE. STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND DO THIS FOR ALL OF US, MAYBE BY CHANCE THEY WILL GIVE ME MORE TIME TO FIND A PLACE OR THROW OUT THE ILLEGAL FORECLOSURE TO BEGIN WITH.
MARGO LA BAYNE
714 608 8595 951 471 3387
I went to the website and clicked ‘On Your Side’ but did not find it.
You are talking about NYC–or some other city? I’ll keep looking.
BOA is delaying foreclosures in 23 states. check out the web site http://www.adi-news.com
i have been trying and calling boa for over 6 months trying to get a modification for my home. i have been told over and over that i qualify and shouldn’t send any more payments and that my paperwork will be sent. it never was sent to me!!! after asking at least 4 times. one woman even took down my information and told me i meet the qualifications and shouldnt have any problems.. they “wanted to work with me”!!!! i was told i shouldnt go to the foreclosure court date and that my sale date of sept 1, 2010 would be moved back to compensate for the paperwork. then i find out that my home was sold to sallie mae on sept 15, 2010 and i am forced out of my home!! can someone please give me some info on this class action lawsuit??? this non sense has gone to far!!! help!
WOW! That is also a mirror image to what happend to my family except i had been under review since April of this year was told not to send any more payment as they would be sent back. Got a letter saying i would have a sell date as of Sept 17, 2010. I was told that as long as I was under review for modification they could not forclose. I was assured of this. All the way up until the day my house sold on the court room steps Sept 17, 2010 I called every day tryin to check status on my modification and got a different result every time i called, never recieved anything in writing stating I was denied or was not approved. Today is oct. 5 2010 i still have yet to recieve any letter stating someone bought my home. But i did recieve a package yesterday from BOA dated Oct 4, 2010 telling me i was denied the modification and they still wanted to help me and for me to continue sending a monthly morgage payment to them (after they originally said they could not accept it back in April 2010) to help keep me out of forclosure.(Now mind you my house sold Sept 17) Still have yet to recieve paperwork stating my home was sold on Sept 17. Luckily a family member bought mine !!!! Who do we go to for help ?????? This is a bunch of BS!!!
The announcement for delaying foreclosures was made 2 days ago.
This is a typical article on it and is from the Associated Press …
google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jKkgz2hAAZZAeRlJNBmM31MPUnhgD9IJASOG1?docId=D9IJASOG1
These are the States …
Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin.
Note that California, Texas and North Carolina are not on the list. BofA has major facilities in those States.
Wherever you live, consider a RESPA letter at the very least.
Found an ABC7 (KGO-TV San Francisco) article about BofA foreclosure delays. It’s a rehash of the AP article …
abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/business&id=7701646
“7 On Your Side” is here …
abclocal.go.com/kgo/channel?section=news/7_on_your_side&id=7109212
TO EVERYONE: DOWN BELOW IS THE WEBSITE WE NEED EVERYONE TO GO ON TO AND STATE YOUR VIEWS ALONG WITH YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, AND ALL INFO: THANK YOU
MARGO LA BAYNE
714 608 8595
951 471 3387
abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/business&id=6265353
IF YOU NEED ANYTHING PLEASE DON’T HESITATE TO CONTACT MYSELF.
MARGO LA BAYNE
Personally I believe BOA and HP are tied together somehow because it seems as if tying up their camel is more important than helping a consumer.If you have ever had a computer problem then you know what I mean. BOA is paying Home Modification Employees with rupees not dollars and the incompetency shows
Margo,
I have gone to your link several times and it says the link has been disabled, moved or no longer available. Do you have another link for them?
I would like to be involved in the class action lawsuit against BofA. I applied in December of 2009. They took all my info on the phone and told me I was qualified and that I would just have to go through the application process. They said this process could take up to 45 days after they recieved the documentation they requested. 45 days came and went. When I called they said they needed more information. Once I sent the additional info it again could take up to 45 days. This just went on and on. Finally they told me in June that everything was sent to the underwriter and that I was in the home stretch. 45 days came and went so I called again. This time I asked for a supervisor, he told me not to worry and that I would be getting my modification paperwork any day. All I received was a letter stating that I was denied. I want in on this class action lawsuit. I live in Hawaii, so any information would be much appreciated. Please email me at blondiehart@live.com, Thank you.
I also found out BofA was getting $1,000.00 for every modification application they were turning in, no wonder we all were qualified in the begining. Can you say FRAUD!!!!!!
WOW! That is also a mirror image to what happend to my family except i had been under review since April of this year was told not to send any more payment as they would be sent back. Got a letter saying i would have a sell date as of Sept 17, 2010. I was told that as long as I was under review for modification they could not forclose. I was assured of this. All the way up until the day my house sold on the court room steps Sept 17, 2010 I called every day tryin to check status on my modification and got a different result every time i called, never recieved anything in writing stating I was denied or was not approved. Today is oct. 5 2010 i still have yet to recieve any letter stating someone bought my home. But i did recieve a package yesterday from BOA dated Oct 4, 2010 telling me i was denied the modification and they still wanted to help me and for me to continue sending a monthly morgage payment to them (after they originally said they could not accept it back in April 2010) to help keep me out of forclosure.(Now mind you my house sold Sept 17) Still have yet to recieve paperwork stating my home was sold on Sept 17. Luckily a family member bought mine !!!! Who do we go to for help ?????? This is a bunch of BS!!!
my story is the same as all of yours & i have been fighting the evil empire that is BOA for a year now & after paying over 26k in trial payments on time every month they have denied me the modification & sent me a letter that i owe them over 10k & must resume my normal payments while they foreclose on my home. health problems & pay cuts forced me into this situation but i had hoped i could have dug myself out w/a modification. i’m not a deadbeat & have worked hard all my life for what i have but now after to much stress over this i have made the decision to simply give up & walk away from my home of 10yrs. to the rest of you, i wish you the best of luck dealing w/these greedy heartless scumbags & i’ll keep you in prayers!!!
My mom applied for a MHA application back in June 2009 with B.O.A. What a nightmare this has been. Between countless wasted hours on the phone, multiple faxes for requested and re-requested information, to the MHA application being closed, to being told she would start the trial period in January 2010, which never happened, to reapplying and going through and waiting for the negotiators decision…again. B.O.A. misplaced two payments and put them in as credit, which accumulated over $200.00 in mythical late fees and worse gave the appearance that my mom’s loan was in serious default, when she had been paying her mortgage on time and was current. She received a “Notice Of Intent To Accelerate” on July 6th, in which she was suppose to come up with $1805.58 by or on July 30th. She never did get an explanation to where that figure came from and finally two weeks ago a B.O.A supervisor told her the letter was sent in error and was a mistake….a mistake? And they didn’t feel the need to inform her of this mistake until two weeks ago? In August she began receiving phone calls and a letter from some Default solution company, telling her that her loan was in serious default and that foreclosure proceedings could be avoided by agreeing to a “In deed of Lieu”, she also received a similar letter from B.O.A., mind you again she was up to date on her mortgage. It’s almost as if they were trying to scare her in to giving up her home or hoping that she would some how magically come up with the $1805.58. As of today after being given the incorrect phone number of her negotiator by Heidi McNaughton, my mom’s negotiator finally contacted her only to tell her she just received the case and would look it over. My mom said the negotiator made it kind of clear that they wouldn’t approve a loan modification even though my mom qualified. So we sit and wait. In the mean time I fired off letters to President Obama, Treasury Secretary Geithner, US Attorney General Holder, our two senators and the fraudulent senator Chris Dodd, the head of finance reform. Can hardly wait to see where this leads to…probably nowhere. To everybody else, keep after these crooks, don’t let them get you down, let them know you are sending out letters of complaints to the President, etc, etc, good luck!
Michelle, Fred and Tony …
Please see my list at the top of this page. Keep in mind that there is no Class Action suit simply to add your name to. At the moment, there is no national/Federal suit I’m aware of. You have to form one in your State with others under your individual State’s Statutes.
It’s also been suggested that you file individually if you can. Tying up their legal department with multiple suits can be very effective.
A Class Action is no miracle cure or “free ride.” In fact, your individual case may seem less important to a court in a Class Action. It can even be easier for a bank to defend a Class Action.
Please see the list. As I’ve said, I know this is a lot of work and we’re already stressed, but this is what it takes.
What appears to be a fairly helpful page on a site …
all-foreclosure.com/forchelp.htm
Not sure who runs it, but it doesn’t appear to be a pay-to-play site.
we are so confused, went through a modification and it is higher then what we was paying when we got the house in the first place. we was havng trouble with paying our mortgage husband got n wreck an was unable to work for a long time we called our mortgage company at the time which was taylor bean and whitacare and they was going to work with us i thought but in the middle of working with us they sold our accout to bank of america. then we get forclo… notices and end up in court. it was terrible. bank of america people couldnt get any thing done right. they said i didnt sent the paper work in so they could go over it. but i showed the judge my proof that i sent it out by F.E.D EX and this is the way it went the whole time. and on top of that . there was one time they didnt show for court. i still got to lower my rate but payments was higher, we thought we had to accept in order to keep our home. we went from owing 141,000. to 165,000. ? fees they say. and pass months that we didnt pay was added to the end of the loan. and on top of that after the court was all done. months later i get a notice that they raised my payments agin! i dont know what we are going to do. we can not afford to live here. but have know where to go. our car has already been repo. lost it and stil have to pay on it! we moved here cause of the school dist…. and the kids love it here. not to mention my husband and i love it here too. not the best of houses but its our home. and its not worth what they say we owe.
somebody please help us. how do we get in on this lawsuit?
I live in a state that does not require a lengthly judicial
process for foreclosure. Georgia I learned also that
postponement of foreclosure in Georgia is not legally
possible and BOA will not consider the idea of canceling
outright the foreclosure process and restarting later as
it is much more expensive. I was in review for Ten months
and then finally went into foreclosure as I fell behind. up until
2 days before the auction sale date they always said not to
worry as long as my MHA HAMP application was still
under review and I had not been declined. Then they
informed me that postponements were illegal in the
state of GA and they were sorry. We in GA need to
band together to form a mutual assistance group and
to explore whether a class action lawsuit might help
us any. My email is 2scott@bellsouth.net
put “MHA FORECLOSURE” in the subject line of
the email if you send me something.
Here’s a bit of info for those in Texas – maybe a similar find may be applicable for your state:
http://www.freelawanswer.com/law/2716-1-law-5.html
Pay particular attention to:
“10 . Any and all Contracts in Texas whether of public or private interest shall contain full disclosure to all parties affected by such contract, and these contracts shall be in a legible and understandable language, and all parties signing shall also initial each disclosure as understood; this affects all contracts now in full force and effect which are called into contest.”
and also
“12 . If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or
intimidate any Citizen in the free exercise or enjoyment of any Rights
secured or claimed under the Natural or Common Law or by an operational Constitution at Law : or If two or more persons go in disguise on the highway, or the premises of another, with intent to prevent or hinder his or her free exercise or any Right so secured; or Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, willfully subjects any inhabitants of any State, Land District, Territory, or District to the deprivation of any rights so secured Shall be subject to all civil and criminal prosecution, fines and encumbrances, and forfeitures against their personal property as is allowed under the Common Law or its Operational Constitutions and the Rights of Conversion to Common Law.”
well there just now stopping it !what about those who they already screwed.I have wrote alot of media and white house ,called hud they say they cannot help or never responded.Why ,are states only stopping this for two months?The web site for ABC had no postings.It is impossible that the goverment has no knowledge of this .All agencies have been flooded with complaints.They have taken more time with Bernie Madoffs stupid a…. in the media.What they have done is just as bad or worse.They will skate out of this because of statutory limits on classified law suits.Which is only 2 to 3 years if I am right.See ,they knew as I have said prior on here.They stood to make a big buck on this over time .Get forclosed loans from country wide and others because of stupid middle man loans to people who could not afford homes because of income and when economy went south companies got paranoid and layed off people.So people who had a prior mortage(not ones with ponsie scam loans) got laid off too.It was a fox in the hen house for BOA(fox).They knew this and played it too the hilt.In other words steal low and sell high.Well I have to hand one thing to them whom ever (BOA person)thought this up should get a noble prize for economics.I am sorry to say this may be a loosing battle to sue them,I fear it may be best to re-stack the dominos of our life and go on.To me its like a lost friend feeling .Since the bushes were in white house it has been along road for middle class america.Not to say the one there now is just going to walk and talk a good game.sorry to bable call me 704-524-1098
Deleon,
I noticed you have a 704 area code. Are you in Charlotte? If so have you had any luck finding an attorney?
After 9 months of waiting and waiting, yesterday October 5th, I received communication from BOA stating that I need to go thru HUD counseling since my income to debt ratio is 55% and that this is a requirement to get the permanent modification. I called last night and they said all the counselors were on other lines and they took down all my information to call me back. I was just wondering if anyone else has made it to this step yet and really how much closer am I to getting my permanent modification. Can someone please let me know if you can answer this as this is the first communication we have gotten from BOA since March 1st. Please and thank you very much!!
Don’t hold your breath! 2 days after we did the counseling, we got the letter saying we were denied. I have appealed, but now just can’t get any straight answers. One person says it’s in review another says denied another says no still being reviewed. I’ m getting tired of chasing my tail!
Question: I keep reading here and at other sites that people who do get their loans modified or after they are denied modifications that their mortgage payments increase.
How is this happening? How, when a homeowner, is looking to lower their monthly mortgage payments through HAMP end up paying more? This just doesn’t make any sense?
In my mothers case, B.O.A opened up an escrow account and paid her home owners insurance through the end of the year. They did this without informing her of this and she has been paying her homeowners insurance. She now owes B.O.A. $262.00 which they have spread out over five years and only adds $4.00 to her monthy payment. She is going to be behind on her second half property taxes, so I imagine B.O.A. will pay for that which of course will increase her monthly mortgage payment. Do the increases come from the time one is on the trial period? Is this why they keep their customers on the trial period for over the three month period? My mothers greatest concern is that after jumping through hoops for over a year, B.O.A will deny the modification and she will end up with bigger monthly payments. I hope somebody who has experienced this after going through this fraudulent scam can be of some help so we can prepare for the future bombshell possibly down the road with B.O.A.
Andrew, my mother hasn’t had to do that yet. I’m just speculating but it seems to me that BOA is just delaying the process and having you jump through more hoops. Just continue meeting their requests and see what happens!
Tony,
From what I am reading online…it looks like that once I complete this program… I will be good and will get my permanent modification. I called BOA last week and they told me that my modification was now at the investor level and that now this is just a waiting game but you could be right and this could be another instance of jumping thru hoops. This will not continue much longer for me as I am sick and tired of waiting all this time for something that origianally was supposed to take 4 months at the most. I only made 4 trial payments and I went back to my regular mortgage payment becasue they were not putting enough money into my escrow account to pay my property taxes this month. They still consider me in the trial period…but I stopped paying trial payments in May so that I don’t get screwed over and have to come up with large sums of money if the permanent mod doesn’t come thru. It has been a total mess thats for sure!!
From perusing ALL of the posts, it looks like the scheme is this;
1.BOA says they signed you up for “Modification”,
2.they use delay tactics ( dropped calls, no returned calls, lost paperwork, Indian call center who does not know what their doing, on and on)
3.they get you into a “trial payment ” that is less than your previous payment and deposit that money in a “partial payment” account that you can not see
4. more delay tactics
5. they start adding “fees” ,prepay your taxes without your permission etc. anything to increase what you owe
6. once your underwater they deny your modification and accelerate your note knowing you cannot come up with that money
7. they foreclose quickly
IF you have been vigilant and kept making your regular payment and keep badgering them or raising hell, they give you a modification, but they add all of the fee’s and accumulated interest and “projected escrow” into the principal..therefore you have higher payments and owe even more money. But the modification is worded in such a way that they can take your house, if you are even one day late.
there it is…. the scheme….now who is going to expose them?
Who…?
Not ” our” government. Both parties are bought and owned by the bankster’s and the crooksters on Wall Street.
Not the corporate mainstream media. They get good advertising dollars from B.O.A. and other banksters.
I wish I were wrong about the above, but I’m afraid I’m not.
All we can do is keep at it and do whatever we can do to expose these bloodsucking vampires. I agree, those who can find and afford a lawyer who will take the case, you should file individual lawsuits against B.O.A.
It is my understanding that in class action lawsuits, the lawyers pocket most of the money any how and one case wipes out many cases in one shot.
Joan …
Chasing your tail is precisely what they want. Sadly, unfortunately, regrettably, against everything I believe as a human being, you are forced to go on the ATTACK.
As long as you let them slap you around, they will. You have to show them in no uncertain terms that you’re “mad as hell and you’re not going to take it anymore,” FORCING them to conduct themselves in a professional, statutorily regulated manner.
They love victims.
You have to personally decline to BE one … then ACT.
Don S-
I have been on the ‘attack’ for sometime now. Must’ve sounded mushy earlier, I have a whopper of a cold!
Been doing the things you have suggested and was told today that we qualifiy for the HAMP program,and should be recieving a Fedex package any day now,(I’m NOT holding my breath)….
Had a conversation with my lawyer, he’s not really interested in the class action thing so I think I will look futher for someone who might be willing to take that on. Will be tough since I’m right smack dab in the middle of BoA hell!!(charlotte)
Joan,
I am just outside of CLT also. If you find an attorney with enough fight to go after BOA please let me know. I am looking for one that is not afraid to do a little hard work.
GEORGIA CLASS ACTION FILED AGAINST BOA
From: Nathan Williams
Subject: “MHA Foreclosure” – Class Action
Date: Tuesday, October 5, 2010, 9:00 AM
My name is Nathan Williams, and I am
an attorney practicing in Brunswick, Georgia. Last
week we filed a class action complaint on behalf of all
Georgia residents who have been victimized by BOA’s loan
modification scam. I have attached a copy of the class
complaint that was filed. If you email me your contact
information, I will make sure we keep you updated as the
case proceeds. Please be sure to spread the word to
other Georgia residents who are similarly situated.
Thanks.
Nathan T. Williams, Esq.
Clark & Williams, P.C.
#5 St. Andrews Court
Brunswick, Georgia 31520
(912) 264-0848
(912) 264-6299 fax
nathan@clarkandwilliams.com
http://www.clarkandwilliams.com
mr clark you could try to take everyone in the souths case not just georgia.
Jim, Some of us are at the CEO’s office because our Congressman has sent an inquiry to BOA—this gets you to the CEO’s office. Now they may still foreclose on us but that is not the reason we got elevated to that office.
I have posted on here before, but my lawyer advised me to be cautious, because, as I’m sure you all know, BOA follows these posts, more closely, than us, the “victims”. Just had to let people know, the so called person from “the office of the president” who claimed to be helping me, until the very last second that I filed for bankruptcy, contacted me last week, even though he told me he could no longer speak to me seeing that I filed bankruptcy. Hmmmm..why do you think? My atty contacted BOA’s atty’s and asked them to uphold the contract that they sent me, that was legal and binding. NOTE, as expected, Boa’s atty’s did not respond to his letter, but I’m sure they notified BOA hence the call. Long story short, he asked me how my loan mod was going, to which I replied “what loan mod” I thought it wasn’t valid” . He asked me if I had the bankruptcy discharged like I said I would, because I was only using it to postpone the forclosure. I told him it was discharged. He said “Great” I can now give your file to a negotioater, and we can start a new workout!!!! IMAGINE….After a year, an approval, and a ton of headaches and lies, he wants me to start over!!! I told him I want the modification they gave me upheld, and what is the status of that? HERE COME THE LIES. He actually told me that my file was sent to the negotiator for review on the very same day I was on the phone with him waiting to file bankruptcy. So I called him out on that! He then replied..Oh scratch that, it was a different date. 3 other lies followed. The whole time, this man was so sugary sweet to me on the phone, I had a stomach ache. So after I put up with his stories and lies long enough I asked him to take down a phone number for me, and he said….”SURE” do you have a new number, and I said NO…It’s my atty, please foward any more correspondance to him! “Mr sugary sweet” turned to Satan in 0.3 seconds flat. And screamed at me, why didnt you tell me this in the first place, we could have avoided all of this. I said what? You making up stories, and getting caught in lies? He hung up on me!!! My atty, has yet to hear from Boa. People as I’m sure you know…don’t trust anyone, they still continue to string people along, and make fools out of them. I hope this gets the national attention it deserves soon. If you or I were defrauding people like BOA we would be in jail!!
To : Joy and Others
I tried to go onto the channel 7 eyewitnessnews website and click on ” On your side” I guess we blew them away because they no longer are posting that part of the site. I will write to them asking why they did that ? but I am sure we will get a ” Bofa ” answer. You turn up the heat and what happens? the pot goes belly up. I am so sorry. I wonder how many hits they got before they decided to end that part of the website?
Margo La Bayne
I too am going through the BOA nightmare. After being told so many different stories, given different phone numbers to call and listen to these people from the “HOPE” team tell me that I had not full filled the requirements only to be told days later that all paperwork was satisfied and followed up with a letter that said my loan was in review. I am one short week away from not being able to make a house payment. I asked to speak to a supervisor…humm same story no help, so I said why do you call this the “HOPE” team? There is very little hope here. He said nothing, not even an apology for misreading the updates on my files. So stressful that after I get done talking to them I wanna sleep for a week. I cannot believe that this program was given to HELP us but as far as I can see it has only made things much worse and so stressful. I have my grandson living with me and am going through a divorce. Thought this was going to help me. Been out of work since Sept. 08. No jobs here in my neck of the woods. Am sill hopeful and keeping my fingers crossed every day. Good luck to all.
Please try this link I found it on the abc on your side site.
abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/business&id=7693821
here is the response I got from the Congressional Oversight Committee (COP) useless info…. no action….
Thank you for your e-mail and questions regarding HAMP. The Panel has received quite a few calls, e-mails, letters, and faxes from homeowners running into difficulties related to that program, and the conversations and stories we’ve had with them continue to inform our ongoing oversight efforts.
The Congressional Oversight Panel was tasked with providing regular updates to Congress and the general public evaluating the progress of TARP initiatives (including HAMP) and to helping track the funds spent under those programs – in that sense we are more like an independent study commission rather than a consumer advocacy or investigative body, and we do not function to enforce HAMP guidelines in any way directly.
To get a sense of the work we do here, you will want to check out our reports and hearings. The Panel has written three full-length reports focusing on Treasury’s foreclosure mitigation programs with extensive discussions of HAMP (the March 2009, the October 2009, and the April 2010 oversight reports), all of which can be found online at cop.senate.gov/reports. We are currently working on a fourth report on the topic, which we expect to release in the middle of November. The Panel has also held two public field hearings specifically focusing on issues related to the foreclosure crisis: one in Maryland back in February 2009, and one in Philadelphia in September 2009. Resources related to each of those hearings, including complete transcripts and video recordings, can be found online at cop.senate.gov/hearings. The Panel intends to hold a third hearing on Treasury’s foreclosure mitigation efforts at the end of this month, so check back on our website frequently for details and an official announcement in the coming weeks.
It was unclear from your e-mail where you stand in the process, but if you are looking for assistance with foreclosure prevention there are a couple of places to turn. You can receive immediate assistance related to HAMP by calling the HOPE Hotline at 888-995-HOPE. The HOPE Hotline is run by a non-profit organization in partnership with the federal government, working to connect homeowners with counselors that can answer questions and try to address problems that arise related to the program. It may also be useful to contact your Congressional Representatives, as caseworkers on their staffs may have knowledge about local resources available to you.
Regarding your concerns with Bank of America and their compliance with HAMP guidelines, there are also two other government bodies that oversee the HAMP program that may be useful for you to contact. The first is the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), the only TARP oversight body with the authority to investigate cases of waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement of TARP funds. I do not know if they will be able to assist you individually, but it would certainly be helpful for them to know about your concerns. More information about SIGTARP and their role in providing oversight for TARP can be found at sigtarp.gov. The second is Freddie Mac, the official “compliance agent” for HAMP. They were tasked by Treasury with the responsibility for ensuring that servicers are following all of the rules and guidelines of the program, and to report any violations they find back to Treasury. To my knowledge, there is not an official mechanism for homeowners to file a complaint via the Freddie Mac website, but you can find more information at http://www.freddiemac.com/avoidforeclosure/; the website lists general contact information for Freddie Mac as well.
Again, thank you for your questions, and please do not hesitate to contact me if you need any further information. Good luck!
Regards,
Adam
I Just thought i would mention this. I complained to the OCC about a month ago. I was getting impatient and called them today to see what is going on with my case, and they lady I talked to said if I sue or get a lawsuit against BofA their investigation will stop. My situation is different then a lot of others, mod approval , foreclosed on anyway , got evicted. I just thought I would let people know. Thats what they told me today.
What number do you call when you deal with boA holes?
Has anyone tried a local office? Will they even talk to you?
I have been trying to do the loan modification process for months and have been in forclosure then out then in again. my son lost his home already and now I am in jeopardy of loosing mine. I need all the information I can to get some help. thank you
Barbara, m west, Janice, Timothy …
Please see my list at the top of this page. I know it’s 16 items long, but much of it was gathered from this site and may be helpful in proceeding to save your home and prepare for a potential lawsuit.
I also know it’s suggesting a ton of work and this situation has added enough stress. But the fact remains that we’ve all fallen into a trap and there’s certain things we MUST do to climb out of it.
Once we get over telling our story, spilling our guts and venting, we have to reorient our thinking, learn what we’re up against and how to combat it … then ACT.
We have to be careful not to fall into the emotional trap, as hard as that’s been for all of us. That’s what they want … screaming, arguing, emotionalizing, fist -pounding and finger-pointing. While we do, they boot us into the street … so don’t fall for it and energetically jump in to this “legalistic” pool and beat them at their own game.
Put the pressure on. Hit them from all sides. Don’t give up on politicians, the media or regulatory agencies. Drag this truth out into the light of day where it belongs. Tell your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, church/synagog/temple members exactly what’s going on.
Be relentless.
Don’t be embarrassed or shamed. The economic climate is not your doing. Banks’ behaviors are not your fault. Don’t let anyone make you feel like you deserve this or were “just asking for it.”
Where have we heard that before?
In regards to a post or two back where someone warned “they are watching” … GOOD.
Let them know what’s coming their way. Let THEM be embarrassed when someone asks “Where do you work? What do you do?” and they have to cringe and answer meekly, being ashamed of what banks have done to people and this country, knowing that the public knows EVERYTHING.
Let their conscience pray on them … and it will … when they lay there at night, knowing the check they cashed that day put people into the street … literally … well-meaning, hard-working men, women and their children … and they’ll KNOW they didn’t “deserve” it.
Wait for banks to need cutbacks, and how loyal their “blessed institution” will be to them then. Maybe they’ll have to sell a car or two … or their house.
I’m all for profit and free enterprise. I’m self-employed since 1979. I’ll never take anyone’s right to earn a living …
… but these people are ethically and morally void …
… for now.
One day it’ll catch up. We’re all human.
I am a home oner N.J. If we work with each other we have a good / no great chance of bringing this bank to its knees to help the people . Because if they do not work with the American people to help them with the American dream of home oner ship of realstete . QUOTE and the banks were bailed out with our tax money. 75 BILLON DALLORS AND MUCH MORE. Can not to take the time to work with the average American .Iam a home oner for 16 years ,And aproud father of 3 children 2 boys one 19 and other 15 and proud father of a dauther 17 years of age. and all very in good health thanh god but most of all i can not for get the the most importent person for the reason today why i feel the reason to speek out the way i have and that is my wife Holly Culbert WHO ALWAYS SAYS DONT WORRY ABOUT IT I LOVE YOU AND THINGS WILL GET BETTER. Funny story i grew up next store from her and new each other sence we were 4 yr of age YES I married the girl next store YES still togather after 24 years later. and yes i have some high end goverment help if we move in strong and quick .WE ALL CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. CONTACT ME ON FACE BOOK . dannyholly@aol.com SORRY ABOUT THE SPELLING AND GARMER NO TIME TO CHECK GOD BLESS.
I owned a home for five years in Colorado Springs processed the loan through Country Wide. Back in May 2009 times got hard and not even a payment behind I called Bank of America to ask for help skip payment or something. I talked with a rep and we started talking about loan mods, finally after explaining my finances that they would get back to me on a possible modification and if i was approved i would recieve paperwork. Another month goes by still struggling i call back and ask whats the delay, the rep explained that it takes time to continue to delay on payments and just give a date for a promise to pay. Finally three months past never recieve paper work i got money to catch up and did. Let it be known i didnt pay enough i still owed one months payment which was no problem so i go to bank of america told them i owe them one months payment and some late fee’s. I had a slip for that months payments and it didnt have past due on so they wouldnt take cash money for what i owe, they would say” we can only take whats on the slip” ok!!! Next month try again, why should i have to call and pay for a check by phone thats my argument i budget and im not going to just give money away when i have a BofA in my town. I still never recieved and paper work five months past only one month behind i recieve a letter. Now currently at that moment i was medically retired from the US Army. So i make the phone call this letter said my home is in accelerated forclosur?? I was on the phone with a rep about it asking how my last payment which said the last payment i sent in by mail was recieved and it was NSF which my bank records indicated different.. So i through my hands up and let it be for two months. I had saved my money for the payments and debated what i wanted to do. So in FEB 2010 I called in to the Law Firm and asked what i need to do.. they gave me a number i called gave my retirement info which is like 25% of what i use to make and employment for a 60 % disabled vet that is very high strung(mental) is unlikely, so my money was really tight. I was approve for a Fedral Loan Mod and was told i would get a call in a week or so….so i wait and wait…three to four weeks past i call again no data that i called nothing had to resubmit again they came back the same approve for a mod, not my house first sale date was Feb 22 2010 then it went to March 2010 now im on the phone with these jokers and there telling me its June 2, 2010. ok, i got time wrong, they come back a two days later and ask do you have roughly $8,000 ???WHAT??? So i didnt say nothing i asked for the paper work they never sent it called the next week again it had to be refigured and i never recieved it and every time the redo it, it goes up.. Whats strange is to me is that they sold the house on 5 may 2010 they never sent me anything with 2 June 2010 so it was my word against theres. Then they bought the house for $110,000 and my house was worth well over $200,000 my taxs on it was based off $165,000. I still to this day got any paper work now im stuck with a 2nd mortgage who got nothin and Im 61k in the whole….this is what people do to a vet a combat vet at that some one who has done thing for this country to make sure that people like those who opperate at BofA can live and ruin peoples lives…..
Shawnn from VA, this is Margo La Bayne. Could you please talk to me about what actually happened when you spoke to the OCC, they actually told you if you started or was already in a lawsuit against Boa their investagation would stop? This is really amazing to me. Did you ask why their investagation would stop? And for what basis it would stop? did you speak with a supervisor? or department head? or someone with authority? I am really SHOCKED that this was said to you. PLEASE DON’T TAKE OFFENSE, BY ALL OF MY FIRING QUESTIONS, I AM JUST IN AWE THAT THIS HAS EVEN OCCURED AFTER EVERYTHING THEY HAVE PUT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY THROUGH. Did you ask them who were they really here for ? the Banks or the People? They are suppose to be the ones to enforce the laws. THAT IS WHAT THEIR ENTIRE EXSISTANCE IS FOR ISN’T IT?
WHAT GIVES THEM THE RIGHT TO STOP AN ONGOING INVESTAGATION? AREN’T THEY PAID BY US ? THE TAXPAYERS?
DOESN’T THAT MEAN IN ENGLISH THAT THEY ARE WORKING FOR US? DID IT RECELTLY CHANGE AND SOMEONE FORGOT TO TELL US? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN THIS COUNTRY? AND WHY ARE WE JUST STARTING TO NOT ACCEPT THE WAY WE ARE TREATED? WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY?
WHY WOULD TAKING legal action against a bank that has commited Fraud to most everyone they come in contact with. I am wondering if Boa was getting $1,000.00 from each and every application they put through, maybe that is the reason for so many duplicated sets of papers they were requesting from their homeowners? . Think about it , it was always to different locations at Boa, and to different people you spoke to, it makes perfect sense. How many modifications did they say they have processed, doesn’t state completed, just processed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wonder how many applications were taken per homeowner? and sent to other locations. That would explain why so many times information was sent but ” For some reason never received?” anyone ever send by way of fax? Does your fax machine generate a transmittle after every fax stating if went through and how many pages? Ever sent ATTN: To an actual person and or department? did you receive transmittles on those? For us that they have alreadt taken away our homes, our pride, our sense of worth, delivered stress to us and our families, our children, what they have had to go through? My daughter at the age of 14 went into a 3 day observation/hold because she had thoughts of hurting herself because we were losing our home, and no one in any of the elected positions were there to help at all, but come election time you know they are going to be so fake, and phony asking for our vote. We need to stand up and vote for NO ONE, because NO ONE is there for us. Why should we give them a chance when their actual actions have nothing to do with their very platform they started out with. There is NO ONE that will stand up for us, we the people.
I AM SO VERY SORRY THIS HAS HAPPENED TO YOU, BUT YOU ARE NOT THE FIRST, AND SURELY NOT THE LAST.
MARGO LABAYNE
case in point read my last entry
I STILL FEEL THAT EVERYONE IN OFFICE THAT WAS ELECTED IN ORDER TO GET THERE, NEEDS TO BE REPLACED . EVERYONE, IN EVERY ELECTED OFFICE, IN EVERY DEPARTMENT, IN EVERY AGENCY. THEY ALL NEED TO BE REPLACED. IF THEY ARE NOT, AND SOON WE AS A NATION WILL FALL, AND WE WILL FALL VERY HARD. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US.
Margo La Bayne