Suits Filed Against Sleazy Servicers – Treasury Knew
AP News reported today that mortgage servicers, the same mortgage servicers that have received and continue to receive hundreds of millions in federal funds to modify mortgages as part of President Obama’s Making Home Affordable program, are engaging in practices that would make the worst loan modification company in history look like the Boy Scouts of America.
According to the AP’s report, which came out today:
- At least 30 servicers are being sued for charging illegally high fees, using illegal collection practices, and foreclosing on homes prematurely.
- At least 14 have been accused lying to homeowners about whether they would qualify for loan modifications or how low their payments would be if they did receive a modification. And in many cases, the servicers are accused of telling borrowers not to make payments because their applications for modification were being reviewed… and then moving to foreclosure anyway.
Apparently, three servicers settled federal predatory collection allegations by promising to change their behavior, and since then they’ve been sued hundreds of times by homeowners who say they were victims of such illegal practices. Some say that the problems result from no one monitoring servicers to make sure they’re not abusing borrowers.
Julia Gordon, senior policy counsel with the Center for Responsible Lending, was quoted by AP as saying: “Servicers have flown under the regulatory radar.”
The AP story also described the plight of Jerry Turner, who was promised a loan modification as part of a court ordered settlement, but instead his loan’s servicer, Select Portfolio, foreclosed on the property and then the bank took the house back at auction.
It gets worse… Select Portfolio never told Turner that his house had been sold. And they kept sending Turner invoices and continued cashing his monthly checks. Incredibly, Mr. Turner didn’t find out that he had lost his home until it was sold a second time at auction – because Select Portfolio failed to pay the property taxes on the home on which they had long since foreclosed. There’s a lawsuit pending in West Virginia courts, it should come as little surprise.
According to AP, “Many servicers in line for government money are accused of ongoing, systematic abuses”. Read that again. “Many” servicers? “Many”? I don’t remember hearing that during Obama’s speech on the Making Home Affordable program… or on the news at anytime since.
Select Portfolio, as part of its 2003 settlement with government regulators, pledged to stop collecting illegal fees and forcing borrowers to buy insurance. But the company is now owned by Credit Suisse, and since then they’ve been sued dozens of times for the same sort of thing.
And check this out: Craig Bullock, a spokesman for Select Portfolio, said the company doesn’t comment on inquiries “about our practices and so forth.”
Is that right, Craigers, you spineless sycophant? What is it that the company does comment on? How about I write up all the crap you’re company has obviously been involved in… and I mail it in an invitation style envelope to your Mom. How would that be, Craigy-poo? Do you think you could comment on that, ass-face?
Another servicer, Ocwen, is apparently in line to receive more than $500 million from the Treasury, but is defending a federal class-action suit for harassing homeowners, charging illegal fees, and adding unnecessary insurance premiums to borrowers’ bills. The complaint states that Ocwen was involved in:
“A nationwide scheme of illegal, unfair, unlawful, and deceptive business practices.”
Get involved in a national scheme of illegal, unfair, unlawful, and deceptive business practices that harm homeowners and cause them to lose their homes, and this government’s response seems to be: No problem, Sir, the line for the $500 million is right over there.”
Get involved in trying to help homeowners get their mortgages modified and they’ll shut you down, call you a scammer, and possibly even file criminal charges… because you failed to give someone 100% of their money back in 72 hours after working on the file for six months.
Paul Koches, Ocwen’s general counsel, in an email said: “We have a deep and continuing commitment to foreclosure prevention.” Jackass.
Now, please pay particular attention to this next part:
According to AP, at least 28 other mortgage servicing companies on Treasury’s list also have been charged with, and in many cases settled, similar accusations.
And Treasury still says that it has no choice but to work with all servicers, no matter how dubious their records. Treasury spokeswoman Jenni Engebretsen said that refusing to work with a particularly bad player would “deprive homeowners who have mortgages with that servicer from getting modifications.”
Oh, I see. Like the way working with those servicers is getting people modifications now, Jenni? Well, I suppose it’s working 9% of the time, according to data published today (August 4th) by the U.S Treasury.
President Obama, Secretary Geithner… this isn’t funny… you guys should be ashamed of what you’ve done here. And the fact that neither of you have had the decency to say anything to the American people, the fact that you paid these corporate hooligans hundreds of millions while people were losing their homes and their jobs… well, it is repulsive.
Obama you lied to millions of others and to me. You’ve squandered untold millions on servicers you knew had no ethics, and a track record that could not be trusted. And in doing so you’ve caused pain beyond anything I’ve ever seen from a president.
i am already in line to sue these lying usurious squid kids
[ goldman sach kids that is ] none other than "litton loan"
and incase anyone was wondering why you havent gotten a loan mod yet
..the 5-9 weeks it takes to even hear back is simply a stall tactic to keep you on the hook while the foreclosure goes on.... unfukinbelievable!
it sounds quite unreal when you learn all the fees that are [color=#]not your regular loan payment [/color] they keep every ¢ as profit.and that list of fees .....
is as long as the telephone white pages for ny-city, damn that makes my teeth hurt just think that to myself.
oh yea ..i almost forgot... a servicer will violate the pooling&servicing agreement by means of a loan mod....& they have abso-fukin-lutely no legal right to issue a new contract re your loan other then a forbearance agreement - that is the missed payments [ arrears ] added to the total loan amount & raise your payments ...ugh..even more & that is the good news...OMG..i think i'm gonna hurl ; [
hence NO MOD FOR YOU ! regardless of the obama-hoepa/harp/hamp/jump/chump...bla bla..
http://livinglies.wordpress.com/2009/07/30/lucrative-fees-may-deter-efforts-to-alter-loans/
now look wtf you did Martin... i'm all riled da fuk up now.. sheesh
someone need to hold their[servicers&pretend-lenders] feet to the fire in order to get some results...
its not their [servicers&pretend-lenders] fault.. financial companies are only creatures of habit after all,they steal rob rape&pillage till their held accountable only by gunpoint ... sheesh
just think of them as a greedy dumb animal
some entity needs to hold their[servicers&pretend-lenders] feet to the fire in order to get some results with "these voluntary loan mods"
ya know...its just not their fault [servicers&pretend-lenders].
financial companies are only creatures of habit after all,they steal,rob rape&pillage untill their held accountable.. only by gunpoint tho ... sheesh.
just think of them as being only greedy dumb animals
hey freak, I agree word for word and a few more choice ones to boot. They have been stringing me along with this mod crap and sending me notice to accelerate (10) in one month, of course no signed and fully executed agreement from lender, and there will not be one. we are at the end, last months trial payment due Sept 1st, they will have us in foreclosure Aug 31st.
you know the drill, all back payments will come due, the trial payments are just some gravy, late fees, escrow charges,pick their nose charges, i will post my e-mail i sent them, we just needed a mod, but no they have plans of foreclosure for us, oh no! they just opened the wrong door!we were not behind until they said and i have this in writing "do not make your regular monthly payment, make your trial period amount, if you make a payment other than the trial period payment you will not be given a modification" we were not getting one anyway, that mod trial payment plan is just their ride to foreclosure, stalling for time so when the foreclosure begins you are caught off guard. Low life scum of the earth parasites, that is the Litton way. :arrow: :rolleyes:
Sent to Litton, cc one news paper and one T.V. station, news tips.
This to inform you of intent to bring in a Third party and Litigation if needed due to Litton and our Lenders attempt to push our family into foreclosure, at the time of our request to receive a Modification on our mortgage due to loss of income recently in our daycare business which is a product of the recent economy and our client's losing their jobs, which has a lot to do with this actual process of the Sub-prime lending and foreclosure spike, We were able to stay current on our mortgage but were in emanate danger of missing a payment so we asked you (Litton) for help so we would not start to miss payments and be able to keep our family and income intact, Unfortunately you (Litton) put us on this trial modification telling us to make the trial period payments and not our regular mortgage payments, we have all the documents proving this, the wording in the modification which you had us sign seems to be more about how they can keep the foreclosure process moving during the trial than the modification itself, we have asked over and over what the status is on the modification only to hear you were still reviewing it, Dates names and times have been noted, I have asked for the copy of the signed and fully executed agreement back from you (Litton) and the Lender, this is what is the problem, you are sending us letters by certified mail accelerating default during our modification without sending us a reason for denial, or an agreement to sign, I do know that Litton has in the past has done this on many occasions to other borrowers and by the end of the trial they (the lender) deny the request and the borrower has little time to stop the foreclosure action or the money Litton demands for back late fees,the full amount of the past months mortgage payments (trial payments are not applied) and other questionable charges, or funds to hire a lawyer. This is the pattern that is going on now with us. and unless we hear back from Litton immediately than we will understand our concerns are warranted and proceed with what ever action deemed needed on our part to stop this process, This has caused undue stress on myself, who is disabled with heart failure, and my family and if it has to get to the point of litigation we will be making this clear to the Court, It may be in your(Litton's,) Goldman Sachs and your Investors best interest to be made aware of our intentions, they are sure to be made aware of this if it is allowed to proceed by your actions, Let it be known that if this abuse continues not only will I bring it to the attention of the media, every consumer Advocate will be given an update on this, along with the States Attorney General, and also Let me make it clear that we were not in default before we asked you for a modification, Our current situation is a direct cause of our asking you for help, Is this what you call doing "everything you can to keep the homeowner in their homes"? This is a quote! all we want is a reasonable monthly payment. we are not trying to get away with not paying our mortgage, This is not the kind of attention the your investors or my family wants, but this and the origination of our loan are full of questionable, purposely misleading wording that will be brought to the courts attention if need be, I cannot and will not allow our house to be taken from us without using everything in the law to stop it! Just put yourself in my position for a moment, you would do the same. Truly Glenn Jarvis and Family.
:lol: