Consumer complaint received 2020-06-15
Company: PENTAGON FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
State: NC
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
To whom this may concern : We are first time home-buyers. On XX/XX/XXXX, at approximately XXXX, we were introduced to XXXX XXXX by our realtor, XXXX XXXX after our previous loan pre-approval had expired with another lender due to COVID-19 and the fluctuation of interest rates ( stated by our realtor ). Mr. XXXX sold us on the possibility of a lower interest rate and being able to grant our desired loan amount. He explained he would send us an application to fill out so he could issue us a pre-approval letter ; he sent us an email on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, we were issued a pre-approval letter. *Evidence attached to justify this claim* XX/XX/XXXX, we negotiated with the builders, alongside our realtor and signed the new home purchase agreement to purchase our home on XX/XX/XXXX based on the pre-approval letter Mr. XXXX provided for us. We were a little concerned because we roughly {$1000.00} over our preferred spending limit, however our realtor reassured us that she had just spoken to Mr. XXXX and he stated the extra amount would not effect our monthly mortgage payments. 



XX/XX/XXXX we spoke to Mr. XXXX to update him on the down payment applied to the negotiated seller price and how much we put down to secure the home in its building process. Mr. XXXX added he would be in contact with us on Friday ( XX/XX/XXXX ) to go over interest rates because he stated interest rates would be lower on the weekends and that we needed to lock in the rate before they went up. Being first time home buyers, we were a little reluctant and asked for additional time to go over the rates he provided for us and how that may impact our monthly bills. Mr. XXXX gave us until Sunday, XX/XX/XXXX urgently adding we needed to quickly lock in the rate because they would increase the next week. He said he would be available on Sunday to assist with locking in our interest rate. 



Sunday, XX/XX/XXXX, we called Mr. XXXX a few time to get in contact with him and asked if we could call him around XXXX when everyone was available to talk. There was no response from him after two attempts to reach out to him. 

Monday, XX/XX/XXXX, we were panicked at missing the rate he stated would go up that week. We texted Mr. XXXX to inquire his whereabouts on Sunday and how we were concerned we may have missed out on an opportunity to get a better rate. He responded by texting back he was with his out of his office and with his daughter and would get back to us with the new rates. Frustrated, we explained that we reached out to him a few time and even on Monday had to reach out to him because he failed to keep us abreast of what was happening and how to proceed. There was no response from Mr. XXXX. We called to reach out again around XXXX ; still no response. 

We called Mr. XXXX again on XX/XX/XXXX, after getting no information, no return call, not reached out to. Again, no response. We decided to reach out to another representative of Pen Fed  to hopefully get information about our pre-approval letter after we were told that we were supposed to have been issued a Loan Estimate from Mr. XXXX and had not. We reached XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX. Mr. XXXX asked for our names to locate the Pre-Approval letter and after a few minutes stated there was no record of a Pre-Approval in their system. After providing more information, Mr. XXXX found that the loan had been denied on XX/XX/XXXX. This was the same day Mr. XXXX tried to lock us into a rate. He added he was unsure what happened and had to speak with his manager. After further research the automated underwriting system stated there were no assets listed which made it come back referred with caution. Mr. XXXX understood from our conversations and the application, for the pre-approval, we provided to him that we have a XXXX, down payments as well as additional assets to go in conjunction with everything else he requested from us, although the formal application was never provided to us. After speaking with Mr. XXXX, we asked for Mr. XXXX 's supervisions information to file a complaint. 

XX/XX/XXXX around XXXX, after calling at XXXX with no response, we received a call back from Mr. XXXX 's supervisor, Ms. XXXX XXXX ( LN # XXXX NMLS  # XXXX ). After explaining the situation to Ms. XXXX she explained she looked over our information and our application was denied, in explanation for Mr. XXXX 's lack of communication and answer to our concern. We explained the denial was not our concern. Our concern : We have less than a month to closing on the house we signed a contract on. In addition, we placed funds as part of our down payment with the reassurance we were pre-approved for our loan and about to lock into a rate. There was no communication from Mr. XXXX about our status of change and no consideration when it came to updating us on the next steps. We are now in the process of shopping around in hopes to acquire a loan before our closing date. Apologies were not given just more excuses as to what could have been done if she handled the application. 

We are highly disappointed with the lack of customer service Pen Fed Credit Union has displayed and the fraudulent process Mr. XXXX proceeded with when pressuring us to quickly lock in a rate that was supposed to increase the following day. As well as the lack of concern from his supervisor, Ms. XXXX. This entire situation has put us in a tight bind and possibly at risk of losing the downpayment we submitted to our builder. We are need of compensation for our time and the risk of our finances under the promises from Mr. XXXX that we were secured in our application process. He needs to attend additional training or released from his position for putting customers at such a high risk. Please respond to this complaint as soon as possible as we are curious of the next steps. We have additional expressed this concern to the NCUA Consumer Assistance Center.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation