Consumer complaint received 2022-07-22
Company: MIDFIRST BANK
State: GA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
This letter is an official complaint against Midland Mortgage ( MidFirst Bank ). Midland Mortgage acquired my loan from XXXX XXXX Mortgage in XXXX of XXXX. I never missed nor was I ever late on my payments with XXXX XXXX until Covid-19. I lost my job, was in a waiting period for social security benefits to start, was abandoned by my wife, and had very little income. 
XXXX XXXX had already approved me for a XXXX Loan Modification that would lower my interest rate and monthly payment substantially ( from 5.125 % interest rate to 3.125-payment from {$1700.00} to {$1400.00} ) and put the past due amount owed on the loan in a junior lien to be paid at the end of the loan. Through my efforts over the past year to receive that Covid-19 Loan Modification approved by the previous lender ( XXXX XXXX ) XXXX I have had numerous problems dealing with Midland Mortgage XXXX 
I received a letter from Midland Mortgage on XX/XX/XXXX that all payments on the loan would be paid to them because they had acquired the loan from XXXX XXXX. 
I called Midland and explained that I had been approved for the Covid-19 Loan Modification from XXXX XXXX. ( By the way-every time you Midland Mortgage you have to start from scratch and tell the new operator your entire story and they never seem to understand all that has happened with your case, so you have to try to explain it all again to a new operator. This happens every time you call them ). I was told that the Covid-19 Modification approved by XXXX XXXX would be honored with the 3.124 % interest rate and the lower payment of {$1400.00} but they would have to request all the paperwork from XXXX XXXX Mortgage XXXX It took nearly a month for them to receive the documents and after not hearing from them I called again ( explained the entire story to a new operator ) and they informed me that the documents from XXXX XXXX were not complete. 
Problem # 1 -Problems with Documents - They informed me that the documents approved by one lender ( XXXX XXXX XXXX were not sufficient for Midland Mortgage XXXX They told me that the documents lacked a witness on the original notarized papers so they would have to be re-submitted with a witness. They told me that an addendum to the originals would be sufficient, and they would send it to me to get notarized with a witness. No addendum was sent. Instead of an addendum they sent me all new forms, so I had to start the whole process over again and get all the documents witnessed and notarized again. My wife, who was also on the loan, was living in another state so the process took about three weeks to complete. Time was beginning to become an issue because there was already talk of interest rates were going to rise and I had no assurance they would give me the lower interest rate I had already been approved for with XXXX XXXX. Through my many conversations with Midland Mortgage they told me that the current payments were optional until all the paperwork was in order, but that advice was misinformation on their part. I got monthly statements saying I owed over {$11000.00}, then {$14000.00} then {$16000.00} but when I asked Midland Mortgage operators, they told me those were computer generated and that the majority of those charges would be put on the junior lien to be paid at the end of the loan.

My frustration with Midland Mortgage started to grow at this point and I was beginning to think that they would stretch out the whole process so that they original Covid-19 Modification would somehow be rejected, and it which turns out my suspicions were true. What started out as an online application turned into a lengthy process with Midland taking an unreasonable amount of time to process because of forms having to be mailed back and forth and it seemed to take forever to get anything done ( weeks at a time ). 
I submit all new forms with required witnesses, and it would be 2 more weeks for a response. 
In the midst of all this, my wife and I were going through a divorce and as part of the divorce settlement she deeded the property over to me. 
Problem # 2 Quit Claim Deed and Divorce- Since my wife and I officially divorced I wanted to get the loan strictly in my name, so I sent the divorce decree and a quit claim deed signed by her that deeded the property to me as part of the divorce settlement, with a request to drop her from the loan.

Midland screwed up again. THEY DROPPED ME FROM THE LOAN INSTEAD OF HER. I called Midland again ( one of many calls to a new operator and I had to explained again they had made another mistake ). After about two weeks they finally dropped her from the loan, and I am now the only one on the mortgage finally. 
Again, I suspected that Midland Mortgage was slowing the process for the Covid-19 Modification so they would not have to honor the previous modification approved by XXXX XXXX. 
Problem # 3-Deliquent payments on loan modification agreement XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, they told me that since the original loan modification was approved in XXXX I had to be up to date with payments from XXXX to XXXX but they never told me that on the phone previously. They said the paperwork was being processed and payments were not an issue until the approval had been completed. Since Midland has a vast number of operators who answer the phone the problem is that they dont tell you all the important issues about your modification until it is too late. 
They told me in XXXX that I had to get all my payments up to date by a certain date or the original modification from XXXX XXXX would not be honored. 
I tried to get the payments up to date but missed the deadline by one payment and by a few days and the latest thing from them is that the original Covid-19 Modification was no longer active, and I would have to re-apply.

This is very unfair and unprofessional since Midland Mortgage literally dragged out this process for months and months causing me to miss deadlines that were told to me at the last minute and only when I called them about the modification progress. This has made the possibility of getting Covid-19 relief even more of a financial hardship and of course I will not get the lower interest rate and lower payment that I had been approved for while with XXXX XXXX. 
Problem # 4-Not getting the original interest rate or payment approved by previous lender. I have reapplied and am waiting to hear from them about the modification. Since interest rates have already risen and I have been denied the modification I feel certain that Midland Mortgage will not give me the lower interest rate of 3.125 plus a payment adjustment from {$1700.00} to {$1400.00}. This is unacceptable and I am writing this complaint because I feel they have denied me of my rights to the Covid-19 modification. Why are mortgage companies allowed to treat consumers this way? What can I do about this? 
Problem # 5-I have been discriminated against. I feel that Midland Mortgage has purposely discriminated against me, for over a year and has willfully slowed the process down so much that they have denied me the chance to get the original modification approved by XXXX XXXX which was supposed to help me financially. I am divorced ( which lowered my income ), am of retirement age and on a fixed income, am struggling financially, and work a part time job driving for XXXX to make ends meet. 
Summary- I have researched complaints against Midland Mortgage and there are many. I have read many of the complaints and they list some of the exact same problems as I have had. Taking too much time to process documents, making blatant mistakes on loan specifications, different operators who tell you contradicting information about loan guidelines, and not telling consumers the full truth about their polices. It seems to me that this company is very unethical and bordering on the unlawful with some of their tactics in regard to loan management. What can I do? Midland Mortgage is making it impossible for me to get back on track regarding my mortgage. They have misled me, misinformed me, and discriminated against me regarding my Covid-19 Loan Modification program.

If I had money, which I dont, I would pursue a lawsuit against them. Since I am struggling financially the only thing I can do is reach out and file complaints to government agencies to see if anything can be done. 
Are there any other organizations I can contact my complaints against this company? 
How can a company operate this way and continue to treat consumers this way? 
Since Midland Mortgage has made such a mess of my modification, I am going to pursue other mortgage companies as soon as I am able, but with my current situation I am not sure I can get approval considering my financial condition. 
Is there some place I can get counseling or help with my problem?

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 explanation