Consumer complaint received 2022-11-30
Company: NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
State: NV
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: VA mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage

Complaint:
To Whom it May Concern, I am contacting you on behalf of my wife and myself. This past year, we decided it was time to sell our home. Trusting Navy Federal Credit Union, we reached out to them about a potential buyer who was interested in buying our home. With the current state of the market, the potential buyers were interested in assuming our mortgage. In XX/XX/2022, we connected with the collateral assumption loan department and spoke with representative XXXX XXXX XXXX to initiate our request. 

Unfortunately, our troubles began the moment we connected with XXXX XXXX. It became quite apparent that she was unfamiliar with the process. From XXXX XXXX telling us that we could not let a non-veteran assume our mortgage to not responding to our calls for quite some time when we informed her this information was incorrect, we had concerns. When we finally heard back from XXXX XXXX and learned our request was in fact a possibility, she provided incorrect instructions and sent us the wrong contract. When we respectfully requested a new representative, we were told that no one was familiar with the loan assumption process and that we would likely have the same issues with anyone assigned to our case. While we were not expressed with the service and did not like this response, we tried to be patient with the process as we were on a timeline due to our pending move. 

However, issues persisted. From XXXX XXXX being unresponsive and failing to return our calls, sending repeat requests for documents we previously sent in, and offering little to no updates to the buyers with whom she had an obligation to communicate with, she failed expectations. There were times where my wife elected to call the main Navy Federal Credit Union line directly after leaving a message with XXXX XXXX, to request information on what we as the sellers needed to do to move the process as she received responses from other representatives. Furthermore, on one account, when we finally made contact with XXXX XXXX after all parties could not reach her, when asked why no calls were returned, to include the buyer 's title company calls, she responded, " I did not feel as though you alls calls warranted a response, '' or words to that effect. 

I want to be very clear on the fact that we understand the need to protect the buyers privacy and abide by confidentiality rules. We relayed this to the entire team especially after XXXX XXXX informed us of her obligations to the buyer. However, XXXX XXXX failed to return our calls when it involved our requirements at the initiation of the sale and failed to return the buyers calls throughout the sale. Moreover, she failed to exercise professionalism and due diligence at the end of the day. After hearing that the buyers, their agent, and their escrow company constantly had trouble reaching XXXX XXXX, we stepped in to assist with reaching anyone from Navy Federal Credit Union. We contacted XXXX XXXX XXXX, who said she was XXXX XXXX supervisor. We expressed that we were having a challenging time with XXXX XXXX and Navy Federal overall. We relayed that she was not returning calls from all parties. 

Though XXXX XXXX responded to me via email and expressed her desire to help our situation, her phone call with me suggested otherwise. After voicing our concerns about our home transaction, she laughed at me, refused to offer her position title, and refused to provide her supervisor information upon request. Furthermore, she even went as far as to change her tone, tell me to play back the recording which I took as her talking down to me, and attempted to end our conversation because " you did not have anything else to say to him. '' We are now attempting to contact XXXX XXXX 's and XXXX XXXX 's assistant manager, XXXX XXXX XXXX. However, at this point, we are beyond frustrated with the service we have received. We were told closing was to occur in XXXX, on XX/XX/XXXX, and on XX/XX/XXXX. However, the buyers have not received important final details to include official approval to proceed with the loan assumption and the closing costs. Since XXXX this whole transaction has caused turmoil for our family. In the midst of a PCS, we had to educate ourselves on a process Navy Federal Credit Union knew little about. During this period, we were affected mentally as we attempted to sort through such a huge financial transaction. We also were affected financially as we also had to come out of pocket for expenses to include paying for two homes as the process continued to drag out and paying for an assortment of home related expenses after being told we had a definite closing date. To add insult to injury, as of XXXX XX/XX/2022, XXXX XXXX recommended to the buyers restart the process since it has taken so long. Additionally, we were told that XXXX XXXX instructed the buyers to ask us, the sellers, to decrease our agreed upon selling price of the home by {$35000.00}. As members of Navy Federal Credit Union, we found it disingenuous and improper for our financial institution making negotiation behind our back. 

After 90 days, we felt we had no other option but to reach out to move this transaction forward. Navy Federal Credit Union prides themselves with being veteran centered. However, the treatment and service we have received is well below expected standards. We question Navy Federal Credit Unions service to us as the sellers. At what point does it matter about the sellers in the loan assumption process? Not once did anyone reach out to us to follow-up on how our process was going, share updates with us, address our concerns about how XXXX XXXX was doing. While this may not fall in line with XXXX XXXX job requirements, we continuously voiced our concern with her and other representatives about how Navy Federal Credit Union was handling our case and the response we received was I can not help you without reference to who could address our concerns. 

Due to the poor response, we reached out to our Senator 's office to express our concerns and to get involved. In response to getting higher leadership involved, Navy Federal resolution team 's informed us that they would reach out to us to offer information on our case. However, their response fell well below-par. Believing our case would warrant an apology, explanation, or even action to fix the hardship we faced. XXXX XXXX, Navy Federal Credit Union 's representative, offered something different. In our conversation with her, it is apparent that Navy Federal was insensitive to what had transpired and had not read our letter of concern we submitted. From the beginning of our conversation with XXXX XXXX, she blamed the buyers for failing to communicate a Navy Federal Credit Union policy to us the sellers, recommended the buyers go elsewhere for services, and indicated that there was nothing else to be done since the account is now closed. 

Even after we explained the finances and trust we put into this sale and the deviation in Nevada law, XXXX XXXX responded our case is not expectionable. If Navy Federal Credit Union were to waive any requirements for our case, they would have to do so in every other case. Our response to this insensitive statement is that if Navy Federal Credit Union is handling cases similarly to how ours was handled, there should be waivers for exigent circumstances in place to rectify such service. We were not interested in a call where Navy Federal Credit Union offered weak justifications. Instead, we hoped for an apology for the below-par customer service we received and a resolution. We negotiated and made transactions for over 90 days to be told of a requirement the week of closing. Understanding closing on a house is fluid, how Navy Federal Credit Union went about this transaction from start to finish with the various representatives we communicated with was a horrible and stressful experience. 

Perfect customer service takes a lot of work to achieve. However, professionalism, competency, and compassion is masterable. I can count on one finger how many times I was disappointed in customer service to the point I felt as though I had to reach out. While this is the second time, this experience rises to the top of that short list. This entire transaction has us questing our continued service with Navy Federal Credit Union. As a veteran myself and my Active-Duty military wife, I would expect better from Navy Federal Credit Union XXXX

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation