Consumer complaint received 2019-01-21
Company: BB&T CORPORATION
State: NJ
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC)
Issue: Closing on a mortgage

Complaint:
BB & T [ Branch Banking and Trust Company ] Product : HELOC Loan Loan start date : XX/XX/XXXX Loan payoff date : XX/XX/XXXX When we first met with the loan officer [ LO ] to  discuss the details of getting a HELOC from BB & T back  on XX/XX/XXXX we made it very clear we were only interested in a Fixed Rate loan. While BB & T only offered a Variable rate, LO stated that we could get a fixed rate HELOC but would have to pay an annual fee of {$50.00} which we agreed to do after some calculations done on our part. At the time BB & T was running an introductory 2.24 % variable rate APR for 12 months then rates as low as 3.49 % Variable APR for the life of the line. We closed on our HELOC loan on XX/XX/XXXX. We setup the monthly payment to be automatically withdrawn from our other bank account. 
The next two years we were very busy with the planned home improvements. Unfortunately, in the spring of XX/XX/XXXX I required major back XXXX which took me many months to fully recover. In late fall of XX/XX/XXXX my wife and I noticed on our statements that the interest rate on our HELOC was Now 5.24 % [? ] and had been increasing since XX/XX/XXXX. This made no sense to us since we had locked in the rate and were still in the introductory rate of 2.24 for the first 12 months when the rate increases began. I called our LO and discussed the issue and we agreed to meet. 
My wife and I met on XX/XX/XXXX with our LO at the bank and we brought our contract and all other documents we were provided by the bank in our original packet provided by the bank. During our meeting with the LO she seemed very unfamiliar with our loan agreement and struggled to answer my questions or explain how the loan was setup and supposed to work. She stated she did not recall the details of our conversation during the closing since it had been some time ago. My wife and I reminded her that we were very clear and detailed about wanting a Fixed Rate loan and could not understand why this was not in place. I told our LO there is a lot of ambiguity in the contract, introductory offering letter, and other documents. I told LO that these were bad banking practices and several mistakes had been made with our HELOC and if necessary, I would contact the FDIC. 
After some discussion about our request for a fixed rate and our LO stating we were not set up for a fixed rate loan, I asked the LO if we were at least signed up for the [ introductory ] 2.24 rate, for the first 12 months, and she confirmed that we were setup for the 2.24 % rate for the first 12 months. I told her we had not even received the 2.24 % rate the first 12 months. She could not explain this issue. Later in our discussion after she then read more of the contract, she said it was a 2.24 % variable rate APR so it could fluctuate during the first 12 months. This was the first time we were told this and obviously she was surprised as well. I told her she just changed her description about how the loan was setup again and she was not being consistent or clear nor had she explained any of this at our loan closing. After reviewing our contract which we brought in our LO presented another document [ copy ] with our signatures from the closing, it was the Discounted Annual Percentage Rate Agreement. We were not given a copy of this document at the loan closing which I told our LO and she then made a copy for us. When my wife asked about the fixed rate of 2.24 and the lock-in, LO stated that if you lock in then you are not eligible for the 2.24 % introductory rate. We told her this was the first time we were hearing this information and she had never mentioned this restriction. I then asked her where this was documented and she told us it was not documented. LO asked me what I was looking for to make a satisfactory settlement and I told her minimally I would like the bank to make up the difference in money lost for not having a fixed rate and the 2.24 % introductory rate. LO Stated she would have to discuss this with her manager, and would get back to us on Monday, XX/XX/XXXX. 
When I did not hear back from our LO, I called her at the branch office on XX/XX/XXXX and was told that she was in all day meetings along with her manager. I left a message for her to call. I left messages with her manger as well [ Voice mail ] on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX and updated him and asked that he call me. No return call from him. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I went into the BBT branch office and met with our LO. She told me that unfortunately she did not believe there was anything they could do for me but called her manger and he and I spoke and I again told him what transpired but he offered no resolution other than to waive the initial {$50.00} fee to setup a fixed rate at the now current loan rate of 5.24 % [ instead of the introductory 2.24 % or the 3.49 % as was initially offered and discussed in detail at closing ]. I closed out my checking account at BBT on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX I payed off my HELOC loan in full at BBT.

My wife and I have held several mortgages and Home equity loans over the past 30 years with different banks and always had excellent credit and never had an issue. We have never encountered a Bank like BBT that is so misleading, incompetent and dishonest. I can Verify and Validate the conversation described above that we had with our LO on XX/XX/XXXX where she confirmed we were entitled to a 2.24 % rate for the first 12 months and then changed her statement later in the meeting. My overall impression of our LO in our last meeting was that she was not very familiar with the loan process, or so it seemed. When we asked her questions both at the closing of the loan and again when we noted discrepancies in the rate and met with her in XX/XX/XXXX, she was very unclear, inconsistent and continued to change the parameters of the loan. I do not think we should have to suffer and pay for a loan officers incompetency and continuous misleading information.

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