Consumer complaint received 2019-12-29
Company: SUNTRUST BANKS, INC.
State: NC
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, NC XXXX XXXX Suntrust Mortgage Loan # : XXXX To Whom It May Concern, My name is XXXX XXXX residing at XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, North Carolina, XXXX. I unfortunately have a mortgage via Suntrust with a loan number of XXXX. Please note that Suntrust was NOT the mortgage company who I got my original mortgage thru when I purchased my house at the address above in XXXX of XXXX. My original lender was XXXX XXXX XXXX. I would have NEVER chosen Suntrust Mortgage as my mortgage company and even complained formally when my mortgage was sold to Suntrust as I was afraid of this bank/lender based on its well know terrible reputation of misleading customers, penalties paid to the Department of Justice for misleading customers as seen at this link https : //www.justice.gov/opa/pr/suntrust-mortgage-agrees-320-million-settlement and many more complaints that Ive come across online from innocent victims. 

I need assistance as Suntrust Mortgage is shaking me down and extorting me with regards to a mortgage modification I entered into with them on XX/XX/XXXX. I fell only 2 months behind in payments for mortgage due on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX and immediately contacted Suntrust Mortgage. Note that Im on FULL SOCIAL SECURITY XXXX thus on a fixed income and trying to make every effort to make ends meet. Suntrust immediately assured me that there were several modification options for me as my loan was an FHA and I would fall into the FHA-Home Affordable Modification Program ( HAMP ). I got a formal letter from Suntrust on XX/XX/XXXX that I was approved for the program and that if I made 3 consecutive trial payments of {$1000.00} beginning XX/XX/XXXX I would qualify for a mortgage modification allowed by FHA on a permanent bases due to my XXXX. I repeatedly asked Suntrust representatives by phone what would happen after the three consecutive payments were made on time and repeatedly was told that most often the mortgage would remain at that rate I was paying via the trial period and that the 2 to 3 months that I fell behind on my mortgage was going to be put on the back end of the mortgage agreement. Nothing more that that. NOTE that In late XX/XX/XXXX I filed for Chapter XXXX Bankruptcy and was fully discharged in XX/XX/XXXX and that I informed the court and the trustee that I was in full modification mode with Suntrust and nothing to worry about with regards to foreclosure ( as Suntrust had assured me we were not in that process whatsoever ) or any other payment issues to deal with when it came to my lender as the trial modification was moving along smoothly. I was excited to be fully compliant and successfully completed the Suntrust/FHA Trial Modification Program on XX/XX/XXXX with my last of the three trial payments received by the lender. On XX/XX/XXXX I received a congratulatory letter from Santrust informing  that I fully complied with the loan modification trial agreement and to look for a permanent modification letter shortly via XXXX XXXX. 

On Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, I got a phone call from Suntrust Mortgage informing me that my mortgage payment would remain about the same moving forward as it was during my trial period BUT Suntrust was going to add a lean of {$20000.00} on the back end of my mortgage for the 3 months I fell behind ( actually I was behind for 2 months and Suntrust asked me to not make my 1st trial payment until XX/XX/XXXX thus adding the 3rd month ). I asked the representative how in the world they came up with that math and she said it includes your 3 months of non-payments and late charges and foreclosure paperwork work and attorney fees and so on. To my SHOCK I asked the representative what in the world she was talking about as I was told that I was NEVER in foreclosure status as by immediately doing a modification prevented me from all the unnecessary fees and charges that would otherwise come with a full blown litigation, mediation and so on. I told the SunTrust representative that it was a shakedown and extortion for SunTrust to say to me and FHA to pay a {$20000.00} penalty for less than {$4000.00} I owe or lose your house. SunTrust is shaking me down and trying to extort from me. Even my Bankruptcy Attorney today was baffled by the {$20000.00} claim by SunTrust and so was the FHA representative who I spoke to in XXXX, NC who I filed an official complain with ( XXXX ). Can SunTrust arbitrarily claim an amount to pay, unannounced, or jeopardize losing your home? I was NEVER I told that there was going to be any such fee at the conclusion of my loan modification other than the 3 moths missed combined would have been put on the back end of my mortgage. Otherwise I would have NEVER agreed to the terms and would have informed my bankruptcy trustee. 

Clearly, this stunt, shakedown and extortion by Suntrust of misleading me as their clients is nothing new, based on the XXXX penalty they paid to the Justice Department as seen here https : //www.justice.gov/opa/pr/suntrust-mortgage-agrees-320-million-settlement. Clearly, they are back at the same stunts of misleading the people who reach out to them for mortgage assistance via FHAs HAMP program. Suntrust is told me today to return a notarized agreement that I would pay them {$20000.00} on the back end of my mortgage that I dont owe them, have zero knowledge about or been informed of in advance or jeopardize losing my home completely? Nothing short of disturbing how Im being shaken down and extorted. Suntrust clearly made false statements about their ability to offer a loan and illegal tactics to collect on mortgage balances. 

Regards, XXXX XXXX

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