Consumer complaint received 2023-01-09
Company: CARRINGTON MORTGAGE SERVICES, LLC
State: MO
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
Originally my loan was through XXXX XXXX and in XXXX, I did a loan forbearance due to the fact, that I worked as a bartender in the hospitality industry, and the government had a manditory shut down of all bars and restaurants. In XXXX I agreed to start making payments again because I was back to work and that is when XXXX XXXX, sold my loan to Carrington. Almost immediately I received a phone call from Carrington, stating that I was delinquent and it would take {$10.00} XXXX, ( which was the amount that I owed from the forebearance ) in order to become current on my loan. ( Prior to this phone call I was under the assumption that the portion of the loan I was behind on. due to the forebearance, would be put on the end of the loan causing a balloon payment. Or I could just make extra payments through the duration of the loan to catch up. ) Basically I would lose my home if I didn't pay the {$10000.00} within the next billing period. After draining my bank account ( I am a bartender/server- it took me working 2-3 jobs to cover bills and make sure my XXXX teenage kids had everything they needed ) and falling behind on all my other bills, I was able to get them the money. This ruined me, XXXX was practically non-existant, as presents were a luxury and I had no choice but to work to try to keep up with bills. This would effect me and my family until this very day. Eventually I began struggling to make payments and fortunately there was a government mandate against foreclosures. Promptly at the beginning of XX/XX/XXXX, I received a notice that my house was set for auction on XX/XX/XXXX. I called Carrington asking how to stop the foreclosure process and was told short of paying the {$5000.00} there was nothing I could do. I got a card in the mail from a company stating they could stop the foreclosure process so I called them. I began working with that company until they told me that I had to pay them {$3000.00}. ( This sent up a red flag for me, I had heard of predatory companies taking advantage of home owners falling on hard times. ) But prior to telling me the cost of their help they had told me to file XXXX XXXX. So I went and filed XXXX XXXX. About a month later I received a letter stating it was declined because I had not taken a credit counseling course. As we were figuring out what to do on XX/XX/XXXX at about XXXXXXXX XXXX my fiance had lit a candle in the master bedroom and ended up walking out of the room and went to the basement to switch laundry over and I was getting my daughter up for school. I noticed that the house was kind of smokey, but figured that the fireplace chimney flu XXXX have not been all the way open. I went to the living room and checked the fireplace and noticed the light from the master bedroom. Realizing that it was a fire I had to get the kids and the dogs out of the house and my fianc and I were able to successfully put the fire out as the firetrucks were arriving. By XXXX the insurance company and my public XXXX had most things figured out. In XXXX I also again filed XXXX XXXX. In XXXX I sent the contractor bid for repairs and other information they requested via thier losstrak portal ( and updated all my contact info ) and sent the insurance settlement check to Carrington. 

Originally, when I called and spoke with someone from the loss draft department I was told that when they received all of the paperwork and the settlement check for repairs, they needed, that it would take a week or two to process everything. They would then send out the first dispersement check automatically and that the check would take up to another week to get to me and I asked if they could take out the money that I was behind out of the check and was told that they could do so. So I waited and after a few weeks with nothing I called and was told that my case manager would call me back with in a day or 2. So I waited and on day 3 I called only to find out that I didn't have a case manager and that the check had not been processed yet. When we checked the losstrak portal we were not able to sign in any longer. After a series of phone calls, I was finally told that I had to request the dispersment check and that they could not take the payment for what I was behind out of the check. At this point we are in late XXXX early XXXX. Right about that time I recieved another foreclosure sale notice. I called Carrington again and was told that I could apply do a loan forebearance and that I would have to call back to make sure it went through in a few days. had tried contacting me without response. That didn't make sense because I was waiting for the call. So I asked what number they had for me. When she read it off, I did not recognize the number so I again updated my phone number. I also asked if there was a number to the inspector so I could call them and was told no. Eventually the inspector came and about a month after that I recieved the second dispersment check. At this time is was XXXX. 
Around mid to late XXXX I called to request another inspection. Never hearing from the inspectors I would call Carrington again and again. I even gave them my fiancs ' father 's number to make surae that they would get ahold of usl ( partially because the area around our house was getting little to no cell signal which I also explained to them ). The back and forth went on for weeks. Finally just before XXXX I called Carrington XXXX. service and after a very lengthy phone call explaining all the run around and my frustration, we realized that again they had my phone number wrong. The one they had listed was an old line, but was not even any of the numbers I had used to update them in the past year. 
I was told that the Customer service manager was going to get ahold of the Loss draft manager and they were going to figure this out. Finally I got in contact with the inspection agency and an appointment was scheduled for the inspection on XX/XX/XXXX. I was home all day XX/XX/XXXX and no one showed up. When I called the person that I set the appointment with I was told that the inspector called me twice and left voicemails when I didn't answer so she went to her next appointment. After checking my phone I realized that I didn't get any voicemails from their inspector. So the next appointment couldn't be scheduled until XX/XX/XXXX because that was when she would be back in my area. Prior to the appointment I was assured that the inspector would be here even if I didn't answer the courtesy call. The day of the inspection I was home all day again and again no one showed up. When I inquired via text message on why no one showed up I was told that the inspector called me that day and spoke with me and I assured her I would be home but when she came and knocked on the door I didn't answer. And that the inspection company no longer had the order so I would have to reorder the inspection from Carrington. When I told them that I never spoke with the inspector and that no one came by because I have 2 large dogs that bark at someone a mile down the street much less someone knocking on the door. And asked if they had the correct phone number and property address. Then I got no further response. 
So we called Carrington again trying to set up the inspection asking for a different inspector, then waiting up until right after XXXX specifically XX/XX/XXXX when I was told that they were going to get it figured out and get a phone number for the inspector so that I wouldn't have to wait for the inspector to call me, I could call them and avoid any further delays. I also explained how the previous inspector simply lied about speaking with me, and lied about knocking on my door. ( At the time, I just couldn't understand why they would avoid the inspection or lie about showing up altogether. ) I was told that I would hear back from them in 24 hours. However almost a week would go by without a single call, message or anything else. And when I called to see what was going on, I was told that the claim was canceled due to our home being sold - on the XXXX of XXXX the same day I was told to wait for a phone call. And I have to believe that we were strung along until they sold our home, so they would not only leave us homeless, but make sure that the only chance we had at saving ourselves would also be eliminated. 
This whole time, while we are trying to get our home repairs done and over with, we are under the assumption that, because all we had to do was ask for a forebearance the 1st time, ( no contract or paperwork to be signed, nothing ) that when we called and stated that we were calling to extend our forebearance, although we were supposed to receive a phone call back about the extension, that obviously it was something that was done by simple request previously, and with XXXX past inability to return/make phone calls, we atleast felt that we could assume they knew we had called about extending the forebearance, and thus, would extend it. Previously, when we requested a forebearance, we were asked if we wanted it, I said yes, was told about the length and that was it. There was not a single form, document, signature, nothing. So I didn't even feel it necessary to bring it up. And I was told I would receive a call back from a specialist, that in itself was proof enough that I called requesting a forebearance extension. 
Multiple times through this process I was told my case manager would contact me but no one could ever tell me who my case manager was. Everytime I called I was speaking with a different person. I feel like if I would have gotten 1 person to handle all this from thier side then the whole thing could have been expedited. So between that and the ridiculous waiting periods between calling and requesting an inspection and the moment that we actually recieved the dispersement check we were set up for failure. Not to mention the fact that no one could manage to properly update my contact info despite my multiple attempts of doing so. 
Then literally 2 days ago XX/XX/XXXX, I recieved paperwork from Carrington dated XX/XX/XXXX, and listed under the heading, " Contact '', was my address, email address and a phone number. The address and email were correct, but the phone number was a phone number that I had NEVER used, nor was it a phone number that is neither mine, nor my fiances. It's a ( XXXX ) area code! This kind of incompetence has been woven in throughout my entire history with Carrington. I guarantee i am not the only 'customer ' that would speak to this and its so very tragic that good, hard working people are losing everything due to a culture that doesn't seem to understand the importance of each and every correspondence- whether phone call, email or whatever- and how they all could mean the difference between living a life with some oeace in it, or being thrown into a living nightmare with no hope of waking up from it. 
Everytime I would talk to someone at Carrington along with them stating that they are a debt collection agency and they would ask if my intentions were to keep the house and I would say yes. So I can't help but to feel as though this whole thing has been deliberate on their part and that they knowingly walked me off the plank all the while I so nievely believed that would have the decency to let me know that our home was going up for sale, on any of the 10 phone conversations we had during the weeks leading up to now, even talking to them on the day they would sell my home, when they told me i would be recieving a phone call about an inspection, an inspection that they obviously KNEW wouldn't hapoen by the end of that day. That is pure evil. The person that told me that was most likely staring at a computer screen, a acreen that undoubtedly contained information that, if passed along to me, couldve saved my home. One simple act of decency, in what has been an ocean of ignored phone calls, inept customer service and confusion followed by more confusion, could've saved my family from this utter heartbreak. I just pray that this isn't how the story of this home, my grand parents home, and now mine, ends. Thank you and XXXX Bless, XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation