Consumer complaint received 2022-02-15
Company: PNC Bank N.A.
State: NJ
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC)
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
My husband took out of a $ 50k second mortgage despite the fact that his credit did not support it, the bank allowed it since it was against our home. We had recently purchased our home and had a $ 300k mortgage and a {$50000.00} personal loan to the seller of the home. ( our home was appraised at {$380000.00} ) Despite my husband having no credit and being late on payments for the first and second mortgage,13 months later he went back to the bank and was allowed an additional $ 100k HELOC to start a business ( he went in and requested another $ 50k- $ 75k-they encouraged him to ask for $ 100k ) At that point we owed more than our home was worth. The interest rate on the second mortgage was 50 % of the total borrowed, he borrowed {$50000.00} and total interest due was more than an additional {$25000.00}. The interest rate on the HELOC fluctuated continuing to increase monthly and it cost him a minimum of {$100.00} in fees each time he withdrew funds. Each amount was calculated at a different adjustable rate that just kept increasing, it was impossible to track. At that time we did not know about opioid addiction and how taking percocet regularly could affect your decision making. Once he no longer took Percocet and reality sunk in we tried calling the bank immediately and explaining... no one would take our calls or call us back. No surprise we wound up in bankruptcy, before the hearing a PNC representative showed us how we basically paid off the first mortgage ( we paid back more than $ 50k if you exclude interest ) so if we signed a reaffirmation agreement on the HELOC they would dissolve the second mortgage leaving us with an affordable payment. We signed the reaffirmation agreement but our attorney ( who has since died of a XXXX XXXX ) filed it one day late, unbeknownst to me, I set up an EFT through PNC paying them the new amount the PNC representative told me the heloc payment was. As time went on I noticed every few months ( not on any routine day of the month ) PNC would debit my account for an additional {$270.00} to get our payment up to what they " now '' said was due monthly. These debits continued randomly... In XXXX I found out I had XXXX XXXX XXXX- this is after having a XXXX XXXX XXXXn XXXX, I received a gloomy prognosis and was set on resolving this so my kids and husband at least had our home. After going over everything with a PNC representative, On XX/XX/XXXX PNC debited our bank account for {$1700.00}. That was all the money we had in the account 7 days before XXXX. As I continued to fight, calling and calling - during XXXX after finding I had equity in my home, PNC stopped my EFT withdrawals and threw me into foreclosure. I tried sending a check and they returned it. PNC decided they wanted my house and made the entire loan due at once. The foreclosure proceedings were dropped prior to covid because they tried filing saying I hadn't been paying my HELOC the proper payment for years, because they misposted the debits from my account. After sending proof and dates it was quiet but now COVID is over and now PNC is foreclosing on me again ... they don't hold my main mortgage and I am up to date on that. Besides predatory lending, the harrassing phone calls at home and work even though the amounts were taken out of my account... this month while searching for a new position I was turned down because our home was in pre-foreclosure. How humiliating ... this is all just so wrong and so unfair. My husband served during XXXX XXXX as a XXXX, I survived XXXX twice but this is pushing me over the edge. To top it off, we found out that during the bankruptcy when the PNC employee, XXXX, said that we would no longer owe the second mortgage we found out that PNC wrote it off and put a lien against our home for it, not before adding back interest, penalties and fees. I was able to show the local branch manager how PNC gives phoney call back numbers. I met with him and replayed two messages to which he dialed and followed up confirming I was correct. He called his supervisor who didn't pick up the phone or return his call that day. ( this is a culture within PNC ). They abused us and caused more emotional trauma and at the end of the day I will have to try to pay them because now they are going to take our home.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation