Consumer complaint received 2022-01-28
Company: Mr. Cooper Group Inc.
State: MA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
The options given for Step 1 and Step 2 don't exactly describe my issues but here 's a long explanation of everything that has been going on. 

This is a dual complaint against Mr. Cooper - their Mortgage Division ( loan # XXXX ) and against XXXX ( Claim Tracking Number : XXXX ) which is one of their subsidiaries. XXXX handles all homeowners claims. Mr. Cooper has too many addresses per se and I didnt know which one to use. I havent dealt directly with them in years. The lawyer representing Mr. Cooper in my modification case is XXXX XXXX and here is his contact information : XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX MA XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX ( direct ) ( XXXX ) XXXX ( facsimile ) I will provide XXXX  XXXX info when I get to that part of the complaint. 

I want to clarify that I am not currently represented by an attorney but I would like to be. I was represented for the past five years by XXXX XXXX for the purposes of filing a bankruptcy and negotiating a settlement. Litigation at that point was off the table for financial reasons and because I didnt think XXXX XXXX was invested enough in the case to pull it off. I know it probably wouldve been less stressful ( or not? ) to extend XXXX XXXX representation but without getting into too many details, he made too many mistakes and other than filing the bankruptcy, he didnt do much else. Im still very grateful for his service and support though. 

This is my pathetic story. My name is XXXX XXXX. In XXXX, I bought my first home located at XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX, MA ( XXXX ) and Ive lived there ever since ; this is my mailing address as well. WIthout any notice, the mortgage companies changed a few times through the years with the last one being NationStar dba Mr. Cooper and thats when my nightmare began. 

Back in XXXX, a modification was offered and approved. I successfully completed the trial period and for no reason and without an explanation, they then denied it. I refused to pay the new slightly higher mortgage payments until they honored the modification agreement. Trying to get anybody to speak to me to straighten out the modification issue was impossible. I gave up and when I tried to pay the mortgage payments I had missed, they refused to accept them. Shortly after, I got a foreclosure sale notice in the mail from Mr. Cooper. Mr. Coopers unjustified and unnecessary actions forced me to get legal representation and to file bankruptcy when I shouldnt have had to. Im a teacher and I live paycheck to paycheck and what I had to do to save my house ruined my credit and ruined me financially, which to this day I still havent recovered. The emotional pain and suffering that I have endured since is immeasurable. 

Due to the constant stress I was under, I couldnt focus, I was sick often and I was unjustly let go of my job of 17 years as a teacher in the XXXX. Even though the Unemployment Dept reversed my employers decision, the damage was done and it was about to get worse. The unemployment benefits were only a percentage of my salary and I couldnt keep up with Mr. Coopers payment demands. Against everyone 's advice, I withdrew my retirement benefits early to pay for what I owed. Not only did I lose every cent I had saved for my retirement but I lost about {$35000.00} during that transaction due to penalties related to the early withdrawal. I was honest with the Unemployment Division and when I told them that I had withdrawn my retirement benefits, the benefits ceased. I guess they considered my retirement benefits as income. I probably couldve contested their decision but I was too emotionally drained to fight it and in all honesty, they came through for me when I needed it the most so I just let it go. This was the lowest point of my life and Mr. Cooper continued to push but I managed to pay for every cent I owed up to that point and more afterwards ( I have copies of the checks ). 

My payments altogether total about $ XXXX. To make matters worse, the $ XXXX went missing ; that money was never credited to my account which Ive come to find out seems to happen a lot with Mr. Cooper XXXX My lawyer even missed that and when I pushed him to question them, Mr. Coopers lawyer admitted to it. While Im very surprised that he admitted to their oversight, I dont buy it. To me, missing one payment may be considered an honest mistake. Missing crediting my account on six different occasions ( or more ) is no different than illegally withdrawing money from borrowers without their consent, one of the many charges Mr. Cooper has been found guilty of. I have no idea where that money is but thats one of the stipulations that need to be clarified in the settlement.

I believe during or shortly after Mr. Coopers big indictment in XXXX, XXXX XXXX approached my lawyer to negotiate a settlement. A whole year went by and nothing happened. XXXX XXXX didnt contact my lawyer and my lawyer didnt follow up to him either until I insisted. My lawyer finally sent XXXX XXXX a short letter on XX/XX/XXXX and XXXX XXXX responded shortly after, on XX/XX/XXXX, saying that he would get back to him soon. And that was almost a month ago? He has already taken another month to reply and before that he took over a year! What can I possibly do at this point? I dont know if taking months, a year to respond is standard procedure in this type of case and/or amongst lawyers but as my level of anxiety keeps rising, I dont know how much longer I can wait. I dont trust Mr. Cooper - Im scared that they will take back what they said they would include in their settlement, and attempt to force me out of my house again. Their MO is so predictable! and they continue acting this way because they know they can get away with it when their accuser '' is somebody like me, a divorced teacher with no legal representation, and no direction.

And thats where Im at with this part of the case. I may be wrong but I dont think their lawyer is going to get back to me any time soon, especially knowing now that Im no longer represented. XXXX XXXX from the DOB suggested I file a complaint through you and I truly hope you can assist me.

Like I said, for years, we have tried to reach an agreement with Mr. Cooper so things can go back to normal but nothing has gotten done, for one reason or another. In order for me to agree to a settlement, Mr. Coopers lawyer would have to 1 ) agree to honor the modification they had agreed on almost five years ago and later withdrew 2 ) pay my former lawyer XXXX XXXX legal fees ( they kind of agreed to that but they don't know the amount ) and XXXX ) offer monetary compensation for my emotional distress. 4 ) He would also have to put in writing that they have waived the mortgage payments in arrears ( he also agreed to that as well but I obviously want him to agree to an amount and put it in writing along with the other conditions ) and 5 ) deposit my $ 33k ( approxly ) into an escrow account or apply it towards my mortgage balance ( as they were supposed to but never did ). 

Unfortunately, there is more to complain about. Back on XX/XX/XXXX, my kitchen caught on fire. The kitchen was destroyed and the smoke and soot went all over the house. Ive been living in a hotel since then and its been the opposite of Heaven. Here we are, 9 months later and my house is still not fixed because XXXX, a subsidiary of Mr. Cooper has simply decided to keep the money. Not only they havent released any of the funds but they havent given me an explanation as to why they are doing that either- is that even legal? 

The check from the insurance company I received in XXXX to repair my home was made payable to me and Mr. Cooper. Based on their track history of losing money, I didnt want them to have the check. I tried asking them to endorse it so I could keep it but they refused. I tried to figure out other options with XXXX and that didnt work either. When I asked XXXX XXXX for information about where to send the check, he told me to just send it to him and that he would figure out where to send it. I refused and demanded to have in writing the name and contact info of whoever would be handling my case and a description of their claim procedures. I never got any detailed information from XXXX XXXX about their procedures ; all he gave me was the name XXXX and the address and that took months! Assurants addresses are : Regular Mail Overnight Mail Mr. Cooper Mr. Cooper Attn : Loss Drafts Attn : Loss Drafts XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, OH XXXX XXXX, OH XXXX Ph # XXXX While waiting for some kind of response from XXXX XXXX, the original check from XXXX expired and I had to contact the insurance company to get another check issued. XXXX was not aware that the home repairs had not yet begun and needless to say, they were appalled. Thats when I was notified by XXXX that my ALE benefits that are currently paying for my hotel stay while my house was supposed to be getting repaired will be terminated at the end of XXXX. Since five months had already passed at this point and with the fear of becoming homeless soon, I felt I had no choice but to send the check to XXXX and hope for the best. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I reluctantly forwarded a check in the amount of {$26000.00} to XXXX. As I mentioned earlier, this check was issued by XXXX with the sole purpose of repairing the damages done to my property by the kitchen fire. Along with the aforementioned check, I included the insurance repair estimates, the contractor 's report and a Declaration of Intent to Repair form. As its their usual tactic to delay things, they asked me yet for another Intent to Repair form through their website. I immediately filled it out and submitted it and I still havent heard from them once ; not a letter, not a phone call - nothing. Ive also been checking their useless website for updates and there is nothing there either. Not only it doesnt have an updated status but the information is contradicting and deceitful. In one section, it says Were going to take you to Step 3 : Receive Partial Claim Funds. Then the next screen says : Claim Funds Sent to you but when I scroll down, in smaller print, it says funds not yet sent. Again, no explanations. ( I have pictures of the screens ). 

I decided to call their Customer Service Dept and that was another nightmare in itself. One of the many reps I spoke to informed me that none of the Customer Service reps could discuss the case with me because my case is coded LITIGATION. Nobody can discuss the case with you, she said. My own case! She then proceeded to give me a list of generic emails to file complaints about Mr. Cooper to Mr. Cooper ( the links on the website to file a complaint, www.mrcooper.com/legal/complaints, don't even work! I also have the pictures of the error messages. ) When I demanded the name of someone with authority that I could speak to about my case, she simply replied that she had no names to give me. This is all so unfair, so wrong. I have never encountered a situation like this where a company wont inform me of whats going on with my own claim and then tells me that theres nobody I could speak to about the situation! 

I tried to explain to the CS rep that there is no litigation '' going on, that Ive been involved in a serious situation with Mr. Coopers Mortgage Division for the past 4+ years about a shady modification offer and an unjustified attempt to foreclose on my home but that we are not battling it in court nor am I being represented by a lawyer. I explained further that negotiations for a settlement with Mr. Coopers legal counsel XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX on the mortgage case have begun and that I hoped to reach a final resolution soon, one way or another. My explanations didnt matter ; she just kept saying file a complaint with Mr. Cooper . I cant waste my time with Mr. Cooper aymore so here I am, I decided to file my complaints where they matter and where I may have a chance to get some kind of resolution. 

As I mentioned above, my insurance company will no longer pay for my hotel stay after XXXX which means Mr. Cooper is pushing me into homelessness once again. To avoid this from happening, my house would have to be deemed safe and livable for me to move back in and the only way to accomplish that is if the contractor starts working on my house now and finish all major repairs within a very unrealistic short amount of time and with non-existent building materials or appliances as I havent been able to order any of them. And thats if he is available to work. He has been waiting to start this project since I got the first check back in XXXX. Being aware of the situation and Mr. Cooper 's reputation, my contractor will not do any work until I can confirm that the entire {$26000.00} is available to him and that there will be no more issues if and when additional funds are needed. And the same goes for any contractor in the area. 

Without that money, my house wont get repaired - plain and simple. And their unjustified and intentional delays have not only affected everybody involved but the condition of my home continues to deteriorate as its still covered with smoke residue and soot. At this point, when so much time has passed and nothing has gotten done, a partial disbursement or half of the funds now and the second half later is not acceptable. The entire amount is needed now to complete all the major repairs at once and as fast as possible. ( 6 ) They also need to have the LITIGATION code removed from my claim case immediately. ( 7 ) This is something Im sure Mr. Coopers lawyer could request but Im even more sure that it wont happen unless somebody with more knowledge and power intervenes on my behalf. 

Because of the pending settlement negotiations, I have taken a closer look at my case and I was really embarrassed because Mr. Coopers deceptions were very obvious from the beginning and a more aggressive approach shouldve been taken. I started doing my research and thats when I realized that what Ive experienced with Mr. Cooper, thousands of consumers have gone through it as well : the shady modification offers, unjustified foreclosures, repetitive requests for the same information, lost documents/payments, among other unfair and deceptive practices. To their long list, I can add failure to communicate ( a year+ on one case and 60 days on the other ) and misappropriation of funds, for wrongfully keeping the insurance funds that I need to repair my home. I hope you can help me put an end to this nightmare once and for all! I would be eternally grateful!

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation