Consumer complaint received 2017-12-30
Company: LD Holdings Group, LLC
State: NY
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage

Complaint:
I am writing because of my recent experience with Loan Depot & their deceptive, bait and switch business practices. I have been working with Loan Depot since XX/XX/XXXX. Throughout this process there have been several human errors, which I have caught. The latest has caused me request to cancel my loan with them. Throughout this process, I have been in contact with 4 people from Loan Depot on the phone and/or by email. ( XXXX XXXX, Mortgage Banker, NLMS # XXXX ; XXXX XXXX, Sales Manager NMLS # XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX. Account Manager ( underwriting ) & XXXX XXXX , Processing Manager ). 
I am seeking your assistance to ensure that I am in fact able to cancel, without cost to me and awarded any damages that I may be entitled to in accordance with the law, relative to fraudulent/deceptive lending practices. They have my credit card number. My banking information, my mothers maiden name, and an affidavit for a limited power of attorney. I am very concerned at this point for potential fraud & identity theft practices ( Note : my banking institution has been notified ). 
Background : I am able to meet my mortgage payments, but have a high interest rate. I had my mortgage sold several times and ultimately have been with XXXX for a number of years now. XXXX is not licensed to sell mortgages in my state, therefore I have not been able to refinance with them. About 3-4 years ago, I attempted to refinance with XXXX XXXX. I paid for an appraisal and it came in much lower, despite several improvements to my home. Thus, making us upside down in LTV. I was looking for a refinance to drop my existing rate which is 6.875 %. I ultimately decided to try this again. I received several calls, and ended up working with Loan Depot. 
XX/XX/XXXX : I spoke to XXXX on the phone several times. I had been told over the course of several conversations that my payment would be reduced, that my loan years would reduce and that I would be refunded money from both this loan at closing and from XXXX. My portions from XXXX were the escrow funds, and any payment which had not yet been applied ( since I was in a bi-weekly payment plan ). We discussed that I wanted to be in a bi-weekly mortgage, he also informed me that my first payment would be XX/XX/XXXX, so that I would be going 2 months with no Mortgage payment. By the endno two months skipped, no bi-weekly program, no cash out & increased closing costs. Overall more than 5,000 difference in the loan, and money in partial payment from XXXX was going to Loan Depot. 
A notary came to my house on XX/XX/XXXX to sign paperwork, which I was led to believe were the final closing documents. I was told I would be receiving my cash back in three business days, both by the representatives of Loan Depot, and the Notary. I never received a copy of any of my signed documents. My copies are blank & not notarized. 
In my packet was a right to cancel form. It states & the notary made sure to confirm with us, that we had until midnight on XX/XX/XXXX to cancel. On XX/XX/XXXX, we received a notice that our documents were missing a date and we needed to re-sign digitally. When I opened the document, there was a new Closing Disclosure, and once again our loan had changed. Our closing costs increased by over {$2000.00}, and our cash back to borrower decreased by over {$2400.00}, meaning the overall loan that had been promised, had changed by close to {$4500.00}. 
I have 4 different closing disclosures, which are attached that show what has occurred from the initial loan application until the date I was set to close. Throughout the process, the deal included several pieces that did not change, they will also be shown. Loan Depot is now claiming that my original loan estimate and loan application are what they are basing my final loan, and the recent changes ( XX/XX/XXXX ) off of, excluding all of the promises and things they demonstrated in between, essentially bargaining in bad faith, with me as the victim. There are several problems with this loan, as I mentioned above that I caught including PMI, incorrect property tax amount, trying to charge for an appraisal after they said it would be waived. 
XXXX XXXX : Deceptive tactics : 1. Attempts to charge PMI after stating I would not have to pay PMI, in accordance with program. ( paperwork attached ) 2. Not disclosing points used to secure my rate. Describing it as a credit. 
3. Not telling me this was a HARP loan until I asked. ( verbal ) 4. Telling me that there would not need to be an appraisal, and then adding it in & attempting to add this to the charges. ( Verbal, text message & email ) 5. Changing the amount of closing fees after the paperwork was signed, and decreasing the amount of money that was going to be refunded to me by over 2,000. ( paperwork attached ) The closing packet contained the following documents note : the notary did not stamp and sign these documents in front of us, provide a business card, or give us any copies of signed documents. She arrived at XXXX XXXX. She told us she had two other stops that night, and left our house, in the snow at around XXXX XXXX XXXX. The documents were glazed over very quickly. 
The following documents were in my package : I have attached several of these that are problematic and show the deceptiveness that occurred. This will show the sheer volume of the paperwork as well. 
1. Notice to remain current in obligations ( dated XX/XX/XXXX ) 2. LOAN DEPOT fact sheet ( 2 pages ) 3. NYS Tax Escrow form RP-954 ( 1/95 ) 2 pages 4. Service Provider List 5. Borrowers Certificate and Authorization 6. Undisclosed Debt form ( 2 pages ) 7. Quality Control Release ( 1 page ) 8. NY  Property tax Insurance Escrow form ( 1 page ) 9. Property Inspection Waiver form ( 1 page ) 10. Notice of right to cancel ( 4 pages ) dates XX/XX/XXXX at top & XX/XX/XXXX at bottom ( by midnight ) 11. First payment letter ( payment due XX/XX/XXXX & amount ) 12. Hardship letter ( 1 page ) 13. Impound Authorization ( 1 page ) 14. IRS 4506 T request for tax information ( 2 pages ) 15. Affiliated business disclosure ( NOTE : not ever informed during process that Loan Depot has ownership in all other companies listed ). 
16. Legal Description of my property ( 1 page ) 17. NY Lock in Agreement rate & term correct incorrectly still showing PMI required ( 3 pages ) dated XX/XX/XXXX 18. NOTE : 3 pages details payment, due date & maturity date ( does not include a PMI amount ) 19.  Amortization schedule which does not show PMI ( 4 pages ) 20. NY fair credit reporting act ( 1 page ) 21. W9 for XXXX XXXX ( 1 page ) 22. Federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act 23. FACT Act notice 24. Payoff schedule ( to XXXX ) 25. Errors and omissions/compliance agreement 26. Hazard Insurance requirement form 27. Flood Insurance Determination form 28. Flood Insurance form ( subject to change notice ) 29. Occupancy statement 30. USA Patriot Act Disclosure 31. Demographic Addendum ( one for each of us ) 32. Civil Union/Domestic partnership form 33. 5 pages of Closing USA documents ( directed by Notary we did not have to fully complete ) 34.  List of credit counseling services ( 3 pages ) 35. Credit score information ( 7 pages ) 36. Affidavit for special survey coverage ( 1 page ) 37. Lien indemnity form ( 2 pages ) 38. Title form show no hazardous spills or liens ( 1 page ) 39. Limited power of attorney for corrections ( 1 page ) 40. Addendum to closing disclosure ( 1 page ) 41. Initial Escrow disclosure statement ( 1 page ) 42. Residential Loan Application which showed lower loan amount did not disclose that there was a change in the discount. 
43. Right to receive a copy of the appraisal report waiver for waiting period ( we have no appraisal?? ) 44. Errors and omission compliance form from closing USA ( 1 page ) 45.  Client proceeds & post closing refunds ( this is where I provided a voided check ) 46.  Line of credit closeout form 47. New Mortgage doc ( 18 pages ) 48. Itemization of fees ( still shows what was assumed discount ) 49. NY notice of right to select an attorney 50. NY insurance disclosure 51. XXXX statement still shows {$2600.00} to borrower, dated XX/XX/XXXX also shows that XX/XX/XXXX taxes are to be paid by escrow account. 
52. Application disclosure dated XX/XX/XXXX ( 2 pages ) 53. Closing instructions dated XX/XX/XXXX ( 6 pages ) 54. Signature name affidavit ( 2 pages ) 55.  Authorization to be contacted re : market changes ( 1 page ) On XX/XX/XXXX, one day after the right to cancel had purportedly passed, I got an email after XXXX XXXX from XXXX XXXX stating that I needed to re-sign a document that had a wrong date. Expecting to see one page, I was shocked to see 18 pages. When I looked at it, the terms of what I had agreed to had been changed. This led me to delve into the documents above and determine that I was a victim of deceptive lending practices. Several documents that I signed at the fake closing on XX/XX/XXXX are contradictory, misleading, and fraudulent. 
I contacted XXXX, who could not explain it very well, just kept saying that this was due to the aggregate adjustment. She stated that they were paying my tax bill for XX/XX/XXXX. When I explained that they were ALWAYS planning to pay my tax bill for XX/XX/XXXX,  she was basically saying all they did was move the money from the escrow to the closing, and that the aggregate therefore decreased. She went on to tell me that the loan program I was in did not allow for cash out of XXXX, that I had been quoted. I was infuriated at this point, since I had to ask what program I was in & confirm it was a HARP loan with XXXX. She did not seem to understand that the overall cost of my loan was changing significantly. She transferred me to her manager. Of course it went to voicemail. 
This really gave me the opportunity to look closely at the paperwork, and to XXXX  aggregate adjustment. What XXXX said, versus what I read did not add up to the same thing. 
When I spoke to XXXX XXXX, XXXX supervisor, he too kept stating that this was due the fact that they paid my taxes. When I explained to him that one of the documents that I reviewed show that they knowingly were having me sign documents that they prepared, which they are now claiming are illegal, was deceptive & fraudulent there was a long pause. I consistently was able to invalidate what he was stating, by quoting the documents I had in my possession. He said that he wasnt explaining it clearly, and that he would transfer me to XXXX XXXX. XXXX had XXXX on the phone. 
They too began claiming that the changes to the closing fees were unexpected tax bill. So, once again, I start quoting from the documents. Explaining that they knew the bill was coming, and what it was, and that they explained that my escrow was front loaded ( 14 months ). My documents show this. XXXX then said that there are laws that prohibit this from happening, to which I asked then why did you do it? You are the bankers & are now quoting the lawso if you did the paperwork, and you told me what I was going to be getting through this loan, and you are now telling me you violated the law. AND I am looking at contradictory paperwork that shows you knowingly attempted to do this! 
Then the story shiftedsomehow it became human error. The offer to fix it was to increase what they could pay out to me from XXXX to XXXX. I was repeatedly told, that it was a mistake, and they have to do it this way, and I just wasnt understanding what they were saying. They never offered to removed the points, or any other modification to make the loan work. 
I told them, I understand completely, that my closing costs are increasing, and that will mean additional finance charges on top of the increase. I offered to pay my XX/XX/XXXX tax independent of them, and they said NO! Claiming they would have to re-do all the paperwork, and they would have to explain how I had the money to do this, and where it was coming from NOTE : I have NEVER said I was having difficulty paying my bills or my mortgage, my original Uniform Loan Application from XX/XX/XXXX shows that there are liquid assets, but the new one they presented on XX/XX/XXXX, which they professed at the fake closing only showed the decrease in the loan, actually removed the amount I disclosed. 
I have submitted my right to cancel signed documents to the email provided, and I also uploaded the document to my Loan Depot dashboard. I also will be emailing all of the parties who have been involved at this point, to ensure that there is NO attempt to continue services between us, or to do work that they may later attempt to bill for. After I sent the cancellation notice by email, the dashboard updated that they are working on the next step in the loan. On a Saturday, when yesterday, no one answered my call.

Company public response: Company believes complaint is the result of an isolated error
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation