Consumer complaint received 2020-06-22
Company: Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation
State: AZ
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
XXXX XXXX XXXX reached out to notify me that my credit scores should now be high enough to qualify for a down payment assistance program. 

XX/XX/XXXX I responded and let him know that my score was 690+, but that my student loans were in forbearance and no longer showed a monthly payment amount on my credit report.Advised that the student loan servicer was providing me a letter stating what my monthly payment amount is, and also informed him that the forbearance had been removed. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX asked for a copy of the mortgage letter once received to verify my monthly student loan payment amount XX/XX/XXXX I forwarded the letter to XXXX XXXX. I asked him to verify that the letter was sufficient before moving forward. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX responded and said the letter was fine and that he needed to pull credit again to move forward. 

XX/XX/XXXX I responded and said " Please confirm that the letter is sufficient for the DPA. I don't want to pull credit again until that is confirmed. Some DPA 's still require lenders to calculate 1 % of the total loan balance DESPITE the monthly payment plan. '' XX/XX/XXXX He replied and stated " We will be fine with using this letter to document monthly payment. '' XX/XX/XXXX I gave XXXX permission to move forward and pull credit since he stated the mortgage letter was sufficient. 

XX/XX/XXXX & XX/XX/XXXX I reached out to XXXX for followup. 

XX/XX/XXXX he responds and says that credit scores look fine, the concern is the letter that I provided as it states that if my loans are not re-certified my payments would increase monthly. 

XX/XX/XXXX I sent the following email to XXXX. 

Hello, " I am highly disappointed with the lack of transparency and communication displayed during this process. I specifically requested that my credit NOT be pulled if the student loan document was in question, or insufficient. XXXX, you stated the document was sufficient. From there, I have had to reach out to you several times just to get follow up questions answered. 

As of yesterday, I was told that the document was not sufficient as it states what the student loan payment would balloon to if I don't re-certify, or if my income increases. Outside of the covid forbearance, I have been on a payment plan for over a year which previously showed on my credit report. 

We all have enough stressors to deal with in this current climate and customer service is of the utmost importance. I am asking that processing of this application be discontinued because I no longer feeling like we are on the same page, communication has been more challenging than it needs to be, and I do not agree with how this was handled. '' XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX " Good Afternoon XXXX, Sorry you feel that way, we will withdraw your application right away. 
Thank you '' I then reached out to MrXXXX XXXX the Branch Mgr and he escalated the matter to the legal dpt. Days later I was contacted by XXXX XXXX in Consumer Affairs. She confirmed that XXXX violated the law by pulling my credit without permission. She attempted to see if the loan could then be completed. Days later I was notified that they could not move forward with the loan. 

Had XXXX verified my letter and subsequent information PRIOR to pulling my credit as I requested, this entire situation would have been avoided. A hard inquiry on my credit that is not substantiated by an actual loan being provided is damaging and will remain on my report for up to two years. I want to proceed with this complaint in hopes of having my credit report amended so that the inquiry is removed. Direct violation of my consumer rights and I have every email exchange between XXXX and I. He did not care about my request, failed to read the details of my written communications, and attempted to write me off after I highlighted the error that he made. I have previously been a victim of predatory lending practices and this is a similar situation in that my rights were clearly violated and I was brushed off after the Loan Officer failed to perform due diligence.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation