Consumer complaint received 2022-02-15
Company: U.S. BANCORP
State: CO
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC)
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
I submitted an application online for a Home Equity Loan with US Bank. Immediately following the application process, I received a request to supply loads of documentation to include pay stubs, W2s XXXX and XXXX, home insurance policy, current 1st lien mortgage statement, current 1st lien mortgage Note, etc. This was prior to receiving any idea of rate ranges, terms, etc. Also, some of this documentation, especially my 1st Mortgage Note which the application screen said was being requested to support a Benefit to Borrower, seemed to be not necessary unless the plan was to bait-and-switch my application for a HE loan to a full 1st refinance with cash out. I tried to contact the processor contact that was referenced online as tied to the application. I did not receive a response back ( admittedly I only waited a little over a day but rates are increasing daily at various lenders ). So, I thought that since US Bank is a known lender, I would go ahead to submit the documentation even though I was annoyed as I believe recent regulatory requirements support that " money is time '' and lenders should not require all sorts of documentation from applicants prior to providing at least some information about the loan for which the applicant is applying. I had received ( and still have not received ) absolutely no info on rate ranges or product terms. It took me hours of my life to find everything, log into various accounts, try to scan papers into the computer, submit to US Bank online, etc. ) Once I submitted the final document due, the next screen that popped up was one with the following comment : " What to expect during your application experience : Thank you for choosing U.S. Bank as your lender. Once we receive the required documents your income will be verified, an appraisal will be completed-at no cost to you. The appraisal may be a full, requiring a licensed appraiser to come to your home. Once all steps are completed your closing will be set up at a local branch with a banker to complete the closing paperwork. Your patience is appreciated while we experience higher volume due to lower interest rates. Our current response time is 24-48 hours. Due to volume our loan process is taking an average of 50 days. '' If I would have known they were taking 50 days to close, I would not have applied. I also do not want to automatically move into a valuation product being pulled ( I would be okay with an electronic or desktop product ) nor to waste the time of my company to validate income if the rates are going to be ridiculously high. How dare this company waste my time when they are running 50 days to close and request documentation that is not really required. ( Why is my 1st lien Mortgage Note required? Specific reason given for Note request was that it was supposedly needed to support B2B, but that seems off unless I am applying to refi my current 1st lien to another 1st lien ( which is not the case ) and comparison of rates, payments, etc. becomes important. They did not provide some high level or range info about the product for which I am applying and for which I may be approved at best case. There was no link to clarify the product details. I will be furious if the offer that returns is 7 %, for example when I already have 6 % offer. I thought " well, I will give US Bank a try just in case is cheaper ''. Now, I have wasted so much time and been treated contrary to my understanding of recent rules designed to avoid just this type of situation. Also, and this may be unfair but I suspect it is potential that US Bank was requesting the Mortgage Note which they stated was needed to support B2B in order to do a switch-a-roo ( trying to send me towards a 1st lien refinance which is not the product I requested ). In fairness I may be wrong but can not think of any B2B reason why the Note is required. 

Note : I am more savvy than a regular applicant because I have worked in compliance and risk management functions for another financial institution but many who apply are not so savvy and may feel they have too much skin in the game to not continue towards closing with US Bank even if the rates and terms come back less than desirable. I was a fool to waste my time to even apply without any kind of rate ranges but read an article that the lender had competitive rates and thought most of the larger financial institutions had moved to a path that would give preliminary terms prior to seeking additional documents or at least disclose if they are running 50 days out ( as is an important factor for us since we are interested in potentially spending a portion of the money for an investment purpose but this extra time has totally ruined that option, I fear ). 

PS - I have gotten literally nothing with an application number or any way to reference my specific application ( which was entered on XX/XX/XXXX ). I received an email with a link button to Review Disclosures on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX MST with email header of Liabilities Review Document Reminder but when clicking on that link, it just took me to the site where the company was requesting additional documentation. No disclosures have been received thus far.

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