Consumer complaint received 2021-10-17
Company: HUNTINGTON NATIONAL BANK, THE
State: IN
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
Date : Late XXXX, XXXX, Exact date unknown - Applied for COVID Relief Mortgage Forbearance. 

Date : XX/XX/XXXX - Approval letter from Huntington Bank for a 3 month COVID-19 forbearance indicating we were not required to make a payment until XX/XX/XXXX, and that we XXXX be eligible for a loan modification at the end of the forbearance to avoid having to pay the deferred amount in one lump sum. 

Date : XX/XX/XXXX - Mortgage statement indicating we have agreed to a loss mitigation program known as forbearance due to our COVID-related hardship, and that we are not required to make a payment on our account at this time. 

Date : XX/XX/XXXX- Letter from Huntington Bank indicating that we missed one or more monthly mortgage payment. 

Date : XX/XX/XXXX - Paid XXXX escrow payment to Huntington. We were not asked to make the escrow payments, but were informed we could make them during our forbearance, so we did. 

Date : XX/XX/XXXX- Letter from Huntington Bank regarding loss mitigation options following our COVID-19 forbearance. Letter stated that may be eligible for options that do not require additional information from us, and that Huntington would be contacting us to let us know if we are eligible for these options. The letter also stated that if we were not eligible for these options then we may be eligible for other options that do require additional information from us that would be due by XX/XX/XXXX. The wording of the letter indicated that Huntington would contact us to let us know for which options we should be eligible. 

Date : XX/XX/XXXX- Letter from Huntington Bank indicating that we missed a mortgage payment. We contacted Huntington over the phone, and were advised to disregard the letter, that we have been approved for the COVID-19 forbearance and the letter was sent to us in error. 

Date : XXXX XXXX - Paid XXXX escrow payment to Huntington. We were not asked to make the escrow payments, but were informed we could make them during our forbearance, so we did. 

Date : XX/XX/XXXX - Mortgage statement indicating we have agreed to a loss mitigation program known as forbearance due to our COVID-related hardship, and that we are not required to make a payment on our account at this time. 

Date : XXXX, XXXX - Paid XXXX escrow payment to Huntington. We were not asked to make the escrow payments, but were informed we could make them during our forbearance, so we did. 

Date : XX/XX/XXXX - Began paying regular monthly payments of mortgage and escrow to Huntington Bank, on time, and have continued to do so as of today, XX/XX/XXXX Date : XXXX, XXXX - Contacted Huntington Bank over the phone. Advised that we were on a probationary period from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX, to ensure we made our payments on time to make us eligible for loan modification. 

Date : Late XXXX, XXXX, online mortgage account was still showing mortgage had not been modified and loan is not current, i.e., showing has being behind. Contacted Huntington over the phone, and were advised that they received all of our payments, and that there was nothing else we needed to do at this time, and that they will be sending us loan modification paperwork via the USPS mail.

Date : Early XX/XX/XXXX, Visited a Huntington Branch to inquire where the loan modification documents were, as we still had not received them. Branch associate put us in touch with the mortgage department over the phone while in the branch, and were advised that our paperwork is being processed, and that we would eventually get the paperwork, but could not provide us a date as to when we should expect it. However, we were advised by the mortgage department that once we received it, we would need to complete it, and XXXX  it to be received in their office within 2 days. 

Dates : XX/XX/XXXX- XX/XX/XXXX, Contacted Huntington Bank over the phone, approximately once a month indicating we had not received the loan modification documentation yet. Was advised documentation was still being processed and will be sent out as soon as possible. 

Dates : XX/XX/XXXX - Received Loan Modification Paperwork from Huntington Bank indicating our missed payments would be added to the end of the mortgage as 3 separate payments, extending the maturity date of the mortgage. Signed, notarized and XXXX  same day to Huntington Bank XXXX XX/XX/XXXX Dates : XX/XX/XXXX - Contacted Huntington Bank mortgage department asking for status of loan modification as loan was still showing late, and not current in customer online portal. Were advised that Huntington had processed and sent the incorrect loan modification, because the agreed upon loan modification offer expired XX/XX/XXXX. Advised that we would now have to apply for a payment deferral that would require us to make one lump sum payment at the end of the mortgage for the payments not made during forbearance. 

Date : XX/XX/XXXX - Received payment deferral paperwork from Huntington Bank. Signed, notarized and XXXX  to Huntington bank on the same day. 

Dates : XX/XX/XXXX- XX/XX/XXXX- We have repeatedly called Huntington Bank nearly every week to get the status of our loan deferral agreement as our account is still NOT current in their systems. We have offered to pay the lump sum amount now if that would bring our account current, as we are looking to sell our home. However, we have been completely blocked from selling our home, because the title companies that our realtor works with can not verify our payoff amount as Huntington 's systems still do not show as as current. We are also blocked from refinancing or home equity loans until Huntington corrects this issue. Every week we are told please allow 12 weeks to process. We have now been waiting for 5 months, longer if you count the time from XXXX when we sent our original loan modification paperwork. 

This is the WORST experience I have ever had with any financial institution. We are trying to downsize to help payoff debt, and have been completely blocked by Huntington even though we have done EVERYTHING they has asked us to do. If this CFPB complaint does not help us get resolution, our only option at this point will be litigation, which we do not want to pursue if we don't have to, but will not hesitate if we believe Huntington will not take timely action to resolve this matter for us.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation