Consumer complaint received 2022-05-26
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: MD
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC)
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
XX/XX/XXXX To : Bank of America Attention : Notice of Errors and Request for information XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX CA XXXX From : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX MD XXXX CC : State of Maryland Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulations Email : XXXX PH : XXXX CC : CFPB Consumer Financial Protection Bureau P.O . 4503 Iowa City, Iowa 52244 FAX XXXX REF : Bank of America XXXX # XXXX Im writing this letter to resolve ongoing servicing problems with Bank of America on loan # XXXX. The collateral located at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX MD XXXX for this 2nd lien address was dissolved/Foreclosed upon in XXXX and I have not lived at that premise since XXXX of XXXX. ( SEE ATTACHED MD XXXX ) According to Bank of Americas letter dated XX/XX/XXXX it states that you received Partial Payment negotiated by The XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX LOCATED AT XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX MD XXXX in order to solicit XXXX XXXX XXXX courts to get a Substitutes Trustee DEED to sell this property at auction. I have been asking Bank of America to provide me with written confirmation of what Partial Payment was received and negotiated with The XXXX XXXX XXXX so they could gain the lien release needed to sell the property. I should have been notified that Bank of America was willing to release the homes collateral since it was the only thing that had tangible value to payoff this lien. The miscommunication between XXXX XXXX and Bank of America contributed to this foreclosure. As a result, I feel that I was not given ample time to explore my options before the property was foreclosed and sold at auction. 

Please understand this situation was beyond my control and our family was a victim of a mental health issue which contributed to the series of events that led to my divorce and this financial hardship. My ex-wife was determined to be XXXX XXXX my children so I had to become the fulltime caregiver for three young boys. As a result, of this situation my ex-wife was only allowed to see our boys one day per week on Wednesday for supervised visitation at child services in XXXX XXXX XXXX Maryland. She was court ordered to attend therapy until she could prove she was no longer a threat to our children. This process took over a year to complete and since I was the only wage earner ( commissioned only ) in our family and my ex-wife was a stay-at-home Mom who took care of the children full time. As a result, my annual income was cut in half. ( SEE Copy of Judgment for XXXX XXXX ). 

My first lien holder, XXXX XXXX XXXX tried to help me initially with a loan modification but ended up instructed me to do a DEED IN LIEU of foreclosure. This process took almost XXXX months to process and I provided them with all my financials to process this request. I received Conditional Approval for the DEED in LIEU on XX/XX/XXXX. I was in direct communication with a representative by the name of XXXX XXXX at XXXX : XXXX ext. XXXX in XXXXXXXX XXXX loss mitigation department. XXXX XXXX was communicating directly with Bank of America and providing them with updates on the DEED IN LIEU status. It wasnt until the very end when satisfying the conditions to the approval the mutually parties realized that XXXX XXXX made a mistake and you can not due a Deed IN LIUE when you have a second lien on a property. After all of this it was determined that XXXX XXXX had been coaching me with mis-information from the start and they should have instructed me to do a short-sale instead. 

In XXXX of XXXX the XXXX XXXX XXXX I was working with closed its doors and all communication with XXXX XXXX terminated and servicing on my loan was transferred to XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX of XXXX. Its my understanding when a mortgage company changes servicer there is a mandatory 60-day hold period where consumer can not be reported late let alone not be provided an opportunity to communicate with the new servicer to explore my options. As a direct result of this miscommunication, Im now learning the lien with Bank of America was never officially resolved. By now the DEED IN LIEU/ SHORT SALE process was taking way too long and XXXX XXXX XXXX proceeded to requested the Substitute Trustees Deed before I could communicate with the new servicer XXXXXXXX XXXX 

On XXXX XXXX I received a letter from BOA that they too transferred servicing to Specialized Loan Servicing but I never received any correspondence from them and Bank of America continues to service the loan and send me monthly statements to this day. I have continued to make timely payments to BOA and on this loan because I want maintain my good credit. Prior to Covid-19 I made payments at my local bank branch. During Covid 19 I made my payments through the automated system up until XXXX of XXXX when I noticed my payments were not being applied to my account in a timely manner and were listed as Unapplied Funds on my monthly statements. From XXXX of XXXX until present I have reached out to BOA customer service every month and spend XXXX hours on the phone ( well documented ) to make my payment over the phone so I can try to ensure what to pay to keep the account in good standing since your online system and my monthly statements are not correct and no one is able to help me or provide an explanation to get this resolved. I have made several attempts to communicate with the BOA Mortgage Retention Department at XXXX and the person assigned to my file, XXXX XXXX has never taken or returned my request for a return phone call. 
Historically I have paid an additional XXXX cents more than whats on my monthly statements but no one has been able provide me with an explanation. ( See the month statements and written confirmation # s on each statement ). 

Example : In XX/XX/XXXX I made the monthly payment over the phone with a BOA Customer Service Representative she determined that I needed to pay the statement payment plus XXXX cents. Then on XX/XX/XXXX I received a call from XXXX XXXX in the BOA collections department stating I needed a pay an additional XXXX cents. THIS IS CRAZY! 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I asked the representative to add an additional {$5.00} to the required payment to avoid these issues but I was instructed if I pay more now, BOA will not now where to apply the extra funds. To add additional stress to an already bad situation I was recently was notified that the modification on my account was set to expire in XXXX of XXXX and I dont even remember asking for one. Im currently paying approximately XXXX {$110.00} /mo. and my new payment is going to almost triple starting XX/XX/XXXX to $ XXXX mo XXXX 

I have never been late with any creditor in my life except for the 1st lien with XXXX XXXX. I have paid my dues for this foreclosure and Im almost two years out of foreclosure and should now be in a financial position to apply for XXXX XXXX XXXX once a XXXX time period has lapsed and I can maintain my good credit. This series of blunders is going to prevent me from being able to eventually purchase a home for my family and I deserve protection from these mortgage servicing issues. 

Since I can not seem to get this resolved with Bank of America, I have no other choice but to file a formal complaint with the Maryland XXXX XXXX and the CFPB Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In conclusion, this loan with Bank of America should recognize the property was Foreclosed upon and since you released the property as collateral you also eliminated any means to negotiate a lien satisfaction. As a result, of this error in judgement BOA should consider the account Satisfied and I should not be held personally responsible for any outstanding debt. 


Regards, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX # XXXX

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 monetary relief