Consumer complaint received 2018-12-20
Company: Shellpoint Partners, LLC
State: PA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
To Whom It May Concern : Please find a detailed synopsis in regard to the communication ( thirty-one emails and numerous telephone calls ) and continual attempt to apply for a loan modification from XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX with Shellpoint Mortgage Company.

After three years of a protracted divorce and five years of  unemployment, on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX, I contacted XXXX and I spoke with a representative by the name XXXX about applying for a loan modification ( I was in the early application process of filing for bankruptcy but was advised by an attorneys to apply for a loan modification on behalf of another property ( successfully done with XXXX XXXX/XXXX XXXX   after three years of trying ) and the aforementioned address, at which time I discovered that my loan had been sold/transferred from XXXX XXXX XXXX and then to Shellpoint ( per industry experts, Shellpoint purchased the fluttering XXXX XXXX XXXX ). Based on the information received from XXXX, on the same day, I called XXXX XXXX XXXX/Shellpoint and the nightmare began. 

Initially, when I called, I was told that my point-of-contact, XXXX XXXX was out of the office for a few days, but I could leave her a voicemail message, at which time I left a voicemail message. Because it is extremely difficult to contact your representative via telephone, trying to reach Ms. XXXX transpired for quite some time ( in addition because I was still in the pro se bankruptcy proceeding, I had to give them permission to contact me ). Eventually, on XX/XX/XXXX, I spoke with a Shellpoint customer service representative by the name of XXXX and I was told to obtain a Uniform Borrower Assistance form from Shellpoint Mortgages website and to email the form to XXXX. I completed the form and forward the form to Ms. XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I was able to speak with Ms. XXXX and she told me that in order to apply for a loan modification, I needed to submit : 1. A Letter of Hardship 2. 30 Days Bank Statement 3. 30 Days Proof of Income 4. Profit and Loss Statement for my XXXX with XXXX and XXXX XXXX. Non-borrower income for a senior citizen aunt, who lives with me long-term. 

I submitted all requested documents to Ms. XXXX and only to find out that she did not receive the documents and once they received the documents it would take, 5-7 business days. I resubmitted the forms again, yet I still did not hear from Shellpoint. I contacted Ms. XXXX, shortly thereafter, and the conversion theory shenanigans started to play out : 1. Via telephone : Ms. XXXX, then explained that I needed proof of twenty percent ( 20 % ) of the outstanding balance. I explained that I had never heard of a deposit being required for a loan modification trial period and she explained that this was XXXX XXXX requirement. 
2. I asked who XXXX XXXX was ( per industry contacts, XXXX XXXX is a spend-off company of Shellpoint for their delinquent loans/mortgages ) and Ms. XXXX explained that XXXX  XXXX  was the lender-mortgage holder. 
3. Via telephone : I requested something in writing as it relates to the loan modification and deposit and Ms. XXXX said that she would email me the documents. 
4. Via telephone : Ms. XXXX never sent the document via email, so I followed up again, and she stated that they were now requesting proof of twenty-five percent ( 25 % ) of the outstanding balance and Shellpoint did not have anything in writing. I explained that she had just told me, during the previous communication, that I needed twenty percent ( 20 % ). Ms. XXXX asked me who told me that and I stated that she did. 
5. I informed Ms. XXXX that it was impossible for Shellpoint to lack the proper legal documents when requesting a large sum of monies from a consumer and I needed something in writing concerning the deposit and loan modification. I gave Ms. XXXX my email address of XXXX again and on XX/XX/XXXX is when I received an email from Ms. XXXX which stated that they NEED : a. Proof of funds for 30 % of past due amount b. Who is XXXX XXXX  ( non-contribution borrower written explanation ) c. Lease agreement and proof of 2 months rents received/or boarder renter letter i. Eventually it was determined that this form was not required d. P & L need to specify type of business, dates covered with the following format xx/xx/xxx to xx/xx/xxx, signed and dated. 
i. Nitpicking over the format of the date took precedence with Ms. XXXX and Mr. XXXX e. Last 2 years of tax return f. XXXX for XXXX I called Ms. XXXX to reiterate my extenuated circumstances ( divorce and unemployment ) and per her request, I submitted the necessary forms via email on XX/XX/XXXX. After this submission, my communication with Ms. XXXX went silent. I emailed Ms. XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX to verify the proof of the deposit, without receiving a response. 

Hence, during another follow-up call to Shellpoint, I spoke with another customer service representative and discovered that some of my submitted documents were not in the system and Mr. XXXX XXXX, a different point-of-contact, was managing my account and I was given his direct telephone number and an incorrect email address. I left Mr. XXXX a few voicemail messages, without receiving a follow-up call. I called customer service again and received the correct email address for Mr. XXXX. I sent Mr. XXXX another email on, XX/XX/XXXX : ( 1 ) explaining that per Ms. XXXX email I had a few questions ( see below ) as it related to the deposit, ( 2 ) after further questioning, industry experts explained to me that they had never heard of such request and to receive such payment was illegal. I sent the following questions to Mr. XXXX via email on XX/XX/XXXX : g. May I come up with the deposit during the trial payment phase h. My understanding of the trial phase is to verify if I can make consecutive payments i. May I have 60 days to generate the 30 % outstanding balance j. And if not, how much time do I have. 

Mr. XXXX did not reply, so I sent an additional email on XX/XX/XXXX asking the same questions as mentioned above. Finally, he responded, via email, on XX/XX/XXXX and said that the 30 % deposit was an approximation. At this point, I felt like they were starting to be vague and untruthful. I could not get an exact answer as to the amount of the deposit and the date/time-frame of required proof. Similarly, he was requesting the same documents again, ( sent prior to Ms. XXXX twice ), alter the format of the dates on the XXXX XXXX XXXX statement, and dates and income for XXXX. Because each representative were communicating with ambiguity and giving conflicting answers, I researched further and was told by personal mortgage industry contacts that a novice employee could give an answer to the questions ; as well as, Shellpoints process was against industry standards the experts could not explain the rationale behind Shellpoints request for the deposit. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I emailed Mr. XXXX to request a definitive answer as to the deposit, explained that a family member was going to give me the funds so, I did not have the luxury of living in the world of approximation, and I submitted the documents requested from his XX/XX/XXXX email. Mr. XXXX did not reply to my email or voicemail messages. I sent an email on XX/XX/XXXX to Mr. XXXX and he stated that he was trying to get an answer to my questions. 

By means of an email, Mr. XXXX responded on XX/XX/XXXX and stated : 1. The required down payment had increased to 50 % 2. Need proof of funds ( bank statement, 401K, etc. ) 3. The 50 % deposit and trial payments had to be submitted at one time 4. And to resend the documents again because they were never receiving my documents since the documents were not accepted through their personal email account. All documents had to be sent to the loss mitigation general email address. 
At this point, it was becoming clear that Shellpoint was trying to extort me/the situation and they were being untruthful and giving incompatible answers. I wrote an email explaining their level of unprofessionalism and requested the contact information for the superiors at Shellpoint and XXXX XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent another email to Mr. XXXX requesting a response. Then, on XX/XX/XXXX I received an email form XXXX XXXX explaining that, correct, a trial period is used as a means to verify my ability to make the payment and to submit 25 % of the outstanding payment as a good faith payment. I responded to Ms. XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, stating that I would send the documents and I asked if they could tell me the trial payment amount and duration and Mr. XXXX XXXX ( an interim point-of contact ) said they could not give me that information ( XXXX XXXX. XXXX gave me this information without submitting any documents ). 

Due to the constant, lack of transparency, I replied to Mr. XXXX with a complaint, outlining my experience, industry experts stated the deposit was against industry standards ( illegal ) and copied XXXX  XXXX, XXXX XXXX ( Partners ) and XXXX XXXX ( President of Servicing ). Mr. XXXX responded with an apology and a request for a date and time to speak via telephone. I gave Mr. XXXX a date and time for XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX. 

Finally, I got an email from Mr. XXXX stating : 1. He was on leave for the past three weeks and to call him the next day.

2. I explained via email that I had sent the requested documents again to the loss mitigation email and I would call him on XX/XX/XXXX. 
3. I called on XX/XX/XXXX and without success, I had to leave a voicemail message 4. XX/XX/XXXX Mr. XXXX sent an email requesting a conference call. I agreed. He called me at XXXX XXXX while I was at work. I tried to reach Mr. XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX, XXXX and XXXX and finally I was told on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX, Mr. XXXX starts the conversation by saying that my property was sold through a third party on XX/XX/XXXX. 
5. I left a voicemail message for Mr. XXXX XXXX ( Mr. XXXX superior ) and I did not received a follow-up call as of yet. 
6. Within five minutes after my telephone call with Mr. XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email stating my new point-of-contact was, now, XXXX XXXX, for which I could not understand why I was being assigned a new point-of-contact if my property had been sold. 

Upon further questioning about the sheriff sale, mailing address, and expressing my trauma ; I felt that as a liaison of Shellpoint, all of the representatives failed me as a consumer because, not once, did anyone mention a date for a Sheriff Sale through-out this entire, horrendous process, Mr. XXXX could not give me any additional information as to how my home was sold. I discovered through researching on my own. 

Additionally, I have been told that Shellpoint intentionally used in my case/uses nefarious, conversion theory tactics. Other borrowers have expressed similar experiences with Shellpoint ( mailed their application forms and documents to vacant houses that are for sale in other states ) Shellpoint/XXXX XXXX XXXX are known for implementing shady business practices hence, industry experts view Shellpoint as the beginning of another XXXX XXXX. 

Nonetheless, because of the lack of transparency, communication, the length in which Shellpoints representatives went to conceal information my peace was disturbed, I was overwhelmed with XXXX, experienced many sleepless nights from fear of Shellpoint robbing me of my home, and expending a significant degree of opportunity cost... time in which I can never get back. 

Finally, as a graduate of an XXXX XXXX and XXXX institution, I left my alma-maters with an understanding of it is my responsibility to be the voice for the voiceless. I hope my complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can avoid another XXXX housing crises, because Shellpoints unethical behavior, which is similar to XXXX XXXX foreclosures schemes, is definitely putting homeowners, the economy and the country at risk. 

Thank you for your time and assistance.

Company public response: Company believes complaint represents an opportunity for improvement to better serve consumers
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation