Consumer complaint received 2019-08-20
Company: BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO
State: PR
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Other type of mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage

Complaint:
To:	Consumer Financial Protection BureauSubj:	Complaint on Banco Popular, of Puerto RicoTO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: In XX/XX/XXXX, I requested from Banco Popular, a Modification loan through Lost Mitigation, at that time I began having some financial issues, due to the economy in Puerto Rico which caused a reduction in my working hours.  The modification loan was approved, and in XX/XX/XXXX I began a probationary period, which would have ended in XX/XX/XXXX, paying $XXXX a month vs $XXXX   that I was paying, this made a big difference for me. I paid the amount of $XXXX  a month until XX/XX/XXXX, that’s about 14, months. I was suppose to make a closing for this loan after the three month probationary period, which like I said before, would have been XX/XX/XXXX, but that did not happen, because as everyone knows Puerto Rico was devastated by hurricane Maria on XX/XX/XXXX; However, I never stopped paying my loan! When I contacted Banco Popular to ask when we would be able to do the closing on the loan, they said that they were canceling my loan, and that I had to re-apply for the loan all over again. They gave me NO reason whatsoever for doing this. So I had to go through the entire process again. And to top it off THEY DENIED the New loan!!! This was a horrible experience; I almost had a XXXX XXXX   because they threaten to do foreclosure on my home! I am a Senior Citizen, I live alone, and my home is all I have.I then called HUD directly, in the he US, and they stepped in and had a conference called with Banco Popular, and me, and they finally helped me get this second modification loan approved, only this time I would be paying $XXXX a month vs the $XXXX that I was paying for the first loan. So I began a new three months probationary period in XX/XX/XXXX, which was suppose to end on January 2019, and should have done a closing on the new loan shortly after, but that didn’t happen until a couple weeks ago on XX/XX/XXXX They called me only a few days before XX/XX/XXXX and told me that I had to sign right away, because if we did not close before this date, they would cancel the loan! I was a mess emotionally again, I then asked the person I was speaking with, what was the Principle Balance due, they were using for the new modification loan, and she said it was close to $XXXX I told her I did not agree with that amount, because I have receipts from Banco Popular that indicate my Principle balance due is $XXXX, and on top of this, when I was checking the monthly receipts, there were months where they did not apply anything to my Principle balance! In those two years that I had been paying, my balance was suppose to go Down not Up! Within these two years period, there were a few payments, maybe three or four that were not made, but that was only because Banco Popular would not accept my payments, NOT because I didn’t want to pay them.   And I have the dates I called, and the names of the people I spoke to!Then the person told me that they had used that money for something else, I asked her to please explain that, and she said, they used it to bring the mortgage up to date, but that still did not justify an $XXXX amount. Because like I said, I never stopped paying my loan!I was told that during all this time, that I was in the process of the modification loan, Banco Popular was charging Late Fees on the regular amount of the loan, even though they had giving me a NEW monthly amount to pay, which was $XXXX  of the first loan, then $XXXX on the second loan, and that’s exactly what I was paying. How can they be charging me late fees on an old loan amount if they already gave me a new modified amount to pay, I mean that’s the whole purpose of requesting a modification loan. That can’t be right! (I really don’t understand)  On XX/XX/XXXX I had no choice but to sign the closing documents, even though I prepared a statement indicating that I did not agree with the amount used for the new modification, and I signed it and asked the girl to attach it to my file. I did this because I spoke to a person at the HUD office, and she agreed with me that something was not right with my case; however, she said it was a legal issue, and directed me to your offices.I feel very helpless and hopeless, because like I said before, I’m a senior citizen, live alone, and I feel that I’ve been abused and taken advantage of, by this financial institution. (Banco Popular). If anyone can help me by looking into this request I would greatly appreciate it.Sincerely,XXXX XXXX XXXX) XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation