Consumer complaint received 2021-03-13
Company: TRUIST FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: TX
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
After taking a 20 % cut in pay and my spouse taking a cut in pay during the 2020 pandemic, we managed to pay all our bills on time, like always. It was catching up to us and it was time for XXXX. So, around XX/XX/2020, I called to ask if they had a 1 month forgiveness program for customers in good standing. They told me they did not but, they had a Covid forbearance program to move 3 months payments to the back end of the loan agreement. No fees, no interest. Those missed payments would be a balloon payment at the end of the loan. I was told this could be handled over the phone with no application. No paperwork to fill out. No hassle. Just a simple verbal request. I hesitated to agree because I did not need to ( or want to ) miss 3 months of payments. And, I was concerned about the simplicity of it ... it sounded to good ( easy ) to be true. Boy, was I right! As soon as I agreed to the forbearance over the phone, here come all the letters in the mail. Bombarded with letters from Suntrust. Including letters that said we were behind on our payments. I called. I called each time I got a letter saying we were behind on payments. There was always a lot of confusion on their part. It was easy to see that one department had no idea what another department was doing. Their left hand didnt know what their right hand was doing. I sat on hold for a hours, accumulatively. I don't recall all the details of each call because there were too many with too many issues. I had problems with being on hold too long, and getting callbacks where I could hear the agent because of a bad connection. Call backs were dropped when I answered, at least 2 calls had horrible connections so I couldn't have a conversation as the CS agent kept cutting in and out. Each time I was able to talk to someone I had to explain I agreed to a covid relief forbearance, and it was always the same answer. No problem, I'll take care of it, I'll update your account. Still, the letters kept coming ... .including unpaid notices. Each time, I would call to resolve the issue. It was always painful to call either due to hold time or bad connections and having to explain myself each and every time that I agreed to a forbearance. After about ( at least ) 15 different letters from them in the mail since XX/XX/XXXX, I finally received an agreement letter in the mail to move those payments to the back of my loan. When the forbearance started and ended varied depending on who I talked to, or from letter to letter in the mail. I found out that I could place 1, 2, or 3 months payments in forbearance. I chose two. The agreement they mailed me was wrong again as it said we were skipping 3 months, not the 2 that we opted for and told them over the phone thats what I wanted to do. My spouse faxed the agreement to them after calling them and stressing that the paperwork we are sending them is for 3 months, not 2. They told us not to wait for another letter in the mail. They would correct account to reflect 2 months. About 10 days after that, I get a call from Suntrust on XX/XX/XXXX. It was an attempt to collect a debt call. This entire process has been a beating and borderline harassment. Theres not an email address to send them a note. If you ask for a supervisor, you are put on a list and the supervisor will call you in about a week. I know Im leaving out a lot of details and would be happy to answer any questions you have about this complaint. I told the caller on XX/XX/XXXX to note my account that if I receive another call or get another letter in the mail, I will move my loan to a different company. Im at wits end. I want the harassment to stop! I pay my bills on time, always! Im embarrassed to get calls and letters like this. I agreed to a forbearance program and have had nothing but constant aggravation from my lender, SunTrust.

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