Consumer complaint received 2019-06-10
Company: PHH Mortgage Services Corporation
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
Our home was destroyed XX/XX/XXXX in the Camp Fire of XXXX, California. Our loan was through XXXX. We had a deferment in place so that we could use our mortgage payment on hotels/rentals while trying to figure out our next step for our family of four. Mid-way through the deferment, our loan was transferred to PHH from XXXX. The deferment was initially lost by PHH and we received late notices. We tried several times to reach PHH to no avail. We were assigned a manager, who proved very difficult to contact. By the time contact was actually made, PHH had changed the terms of our deferment, and we were told we had to pay three months of mortgage payments in one lump sum to avoid credit reporting ( we have exemplary credit ). We pulled money out of savings and made the payment.

For three months, we tried to work with PHH on a settlement. Our insurance covered {$120000.00} of our {$170000.00} mortgage, leaving us owing {$50000.00} on a pile of ash, in a town almost completely wiped out by wildfire, in a federal disaster zone where no one is allowed to even park a trailer until cleaning is done by FEMA. We explained all of this, over and over, to PHH. We asked that they work with us to reduce our mortgage payments, to accept the insurance check, to accept a settlement since there is no longer a house on our land. Twice our packet was marked complete and we were told we would have an answer within 30 days, only to have the packet marked incomplete at day 28 and the process would start over. Throughout all of this, we have made our mortgage payments on our debris pile out of fear we would be dragged through foreclosure ( PHH sent notices every two weeks that foreclosure was possible ). In XX/XX/XXXX, PHH let us know that they would not grant any kind of assistance with our mortgage payment, as we did not qualify because we did not have a primary residence ( our home is GONE ) and because I lost my job in the aftermath of this disaster so we wouldn't be able to pay a modified payment ( but we are still paying $ 1560/month to PHH on a home no longer there ). We are paying rent and a mortgage and struggling trying to provide a place for our two children.

The last straw came this week. We have been trying to get PHH to take our insurance check for {$120000.00} for weeks. Because the home was a " complete loss '' PHH will not endorse the check. They will keep it and apply it to our mortgage, or they will parse it out as they see fit. Our contract to build a new home for our family necessitates a payment of {$99000.00}. If PHH would endorse this check, these funds would be available and we could begin to rebuild. I filed a request for an exception asking for the endorsed check so we can rebuild. Today we were denied a final time.

We have always been prompt in our payments. Our home was lost through no fault of our own. Our town was wiped out in a wildfire and is a federally declared disaster zone. A PHH representative informed me that PHH would prefer to foreclose on our property ( which we have paid into since XX/XX/XXXX) because we had mortgage insurance. If we foreclose, their company would receive the full amount of our home. The representative indicated that PHH was not interested in working with us on a repayment plan or any form of settlement, because they will get their money regardless. We will just be homeless without any hope of ever rebuilding on our land. I have never been as disgusted with a company in my entire life. Our town is gone, our home is gone, and PHH would rather foreclose on a family trying to restart and rebuild than to work with us in any way. It's utterly despicable.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation