Consumer complaint received 2022-03-15
Company: Flagstar Bank, N.A.
State: CO
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Closing on a mortgage

Complaint:
At the end of XX/XX/XXXX, we received a loan modification agreement to notarize and return to Flagstar Bank/ XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Before returning those documents ( dated XX/XX/XXXX ), we received a second set of documents ( dated XX/XX/XXXX ) that included a deferment with the loan modification ; this is the forbearance solution we had requested from Flagstar multiple times before the trial period for our loan modification began. 

We notarized the second set of documents dated XX/XX/XXXX, and mailed them back to the bank with one of the prepaid shipping labels included with the documents. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Flagstar to ask if the documents had been accepted and if the modification was completed and closed. The closed status of the modification was important because Flagstar refused to remove PMI from our loan during the time that the loan was in forbearance even though the previous servicer was supposed to remove PMI before transferring the loan to Flagstar. During the first phone call on XX/XX/XXXX, I was told that there was a note added to our account on XX/XX/XXXX that said : " FNMA reclass successfully completed '' " reclass confirmed The phone call was then disconnected by Flagstar. I called back at XXXX AM and was told by the second representative that the above internal messages shouldnt have been shared with me. They also said that those messages meant the loan modification paperwork was accepted and in the process of completion. They stated that the notarized mortgage modification agreement was received by Flagstar on XX/XX/XXXX and that on XX/XX/XXXX an " Internal Message '' was added by Flagstar, which said : " The notarized documents were processed and accepted '' and that the " FNMA reclass successfully completed and confirmed. '' I then asked about the PMI being removed from my loan. I was told that the escrow department handles PMI. I was transferred to the escrow department and then hung up on. 

I called back on the same day ( XX/XX/XXXX ) after being hung up on. This time, I was told that the PMI department, not the escrow department handles PMI. The representative then transferred me to the PMI department. The person I spoke with in the PMI department said that the loan did not show as completed. I was told that the loan still showed that the loan was past due to the date that the forbearance began. The representative still put in a verbal request to remove PMI from our loan but stated that it would likely be rejected as the loan did not show current or that the modification had been completed. I was then transferred back to the Covid Relief Task Force Department from the PMI department at Flagstar. The representative in the representative I talked to put in a request to expedite the loan modification paperwork so that the loan would show that it was completed. I was told that it should take a week at the longest and that I should check back in 7 days. 

I called back on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX PM. I spoke with XXXX. She put me on hold to check the status of our modification and see if it had been completed. She put me on hold for 28 minutes. I then hung up and called Flagstar back because it was clear that she had either forgotten me or had no desire to take me off of hold. 

On the same date ( XX/XX/XXXX ), I called and talked to XXXX at XXXX XXXX. XXXX said that our loan still showed past due. She put me on hold to check the status of the loan and see if it has been completed. After waiting on hold, XXXX told me, There was a note added on XX/XX/XXXX that said : The documents need to be resent. There was a vendor error and the PI payment does not match. ' She could not explain to me what that meant. Neither could she tell me what the correct " PI payment '' was. She told me that new documents would be mailed out to me and that I should have either already received them ( I had not ) or I would receive them the next day as they would have most likely been overnighted to me on XX/XX/XXXX. She said we would need to notarize these new documents and mail them back. She said to call back if I still hadn't received the paperwork. 

We never received any paperwork, so I called Flagstar back on XX/XX/XXXX. I talked to XXXX at XXXX AM and recorded the call. I said there are only 2 business days left in the month and that I needed to know what the correct " PI payment '' was in order to pay the correct amount for the monthly payment. She said that on XX/XX/XXXX there was a note that said the modification agreement papers needed to be resent. The same thing I had already been told on XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX said, It looks like this was our error. Theres a note on the XXXX that says : the principal and interest did not match the document from the modification. It was caught by quality control. Let me put you on hold to read more notes. After waiting on hold, she told me, You should receive the papers by the end of next week. 
( Meaning the beginning of XXXX! ) She could not tell me what the correct " PI payment '' was or what the vendor error was. She then transferred me to escalation. My call was disconnected by Flagstar while I was on hold. 

I called Flagstar back on the same date ( XX/XX/XXXX ) and recorded the call. I talked to XXXX at XXXX AM. XXXX told me that there was a vendor error and to wait for the new documents and compare XXXX & I before making my XXXX payment. She said that if the new documents had already been sent out, then loss prevention could email them to me so that we could notarize them and return them faster. She said that the new documents had not yet been sent out yet, so they were not in the computer system and could not be emailed to me. She said to call back on XX/XX/XXXX if I still hadn't received the new documents. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Flagstar. I was put on hold so that the representative could check the status of our loan and see what was going on with the new paperwork that we still hadn't received. I was hung up on after waiting for over 30 minutes on hold. I called back on the same date ( XX/XX/XXXX ). I spoke with XXXX at XXXX PM. XXXX said that she could email me the new modification paperwork so that we could print it out, notarize it, and mail it back to Flagstar in order to expedite the process. 

I received an email from Flagstar with an attached PDF on the same date. While still on the phone with XXXX, I opened the PDF and saw that these documents did not include the deferment with the modification. She confirmed this. I asked if our deferment had been approved and then denied. She confirmed that the deferment had been denied. I was confused by this as we had been told that the deferment had been approved before sending back the notarized documents for the agreement with a modification and deferment. I still agreed to notarize the documents even though it did not include the deferral that we had asked for numerous times. 

After we notarized the new, less favorable documents, I realized that we had received no shipping label in order to mail those documents back to Flagstar. 

I called Flagstar on XX/XX/XXXX to ask for a shipping label. I spoke with XXXX at XXXX AM. I asked for a shipping label to be emailed to me so I could print it out and put the notarized documents in the mail. XXXX said, I will ask the hardship relief task force to email you a shipping label. She then put me on hold. She then said that they would MAIL me a shipping label. I asked if they could email it so it would be faster. She said she could not guarantee it, but that she would request that in an email for me. I asked what to do for the XXXX payment -- if I should wait until the agreement is accepted and finalized before making a payment. She said that was acceptable and that Flagstar " gives a grace period until the XXXX of every month. '' I never received a shipping label in the mail or in an email. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called Flagstar to ask about the shipping label that I never received. I spoke with XXXX at XXXX PM. While reading through my file notes, XXXX said there was " an internal note added in XXXX that said the modification paperwork was sent to recording. I asked him to repeat that for me and asked if our modification agreement had, in fact, been accepted and recorded and we hadn't been informed. XXXX refused to repeat what he said or explain the internal note about the paperwork having been sent to recording. He told me not to send in the newly notarized modification agreement documents and said he wouldnt send me a shipping label. He told me that they wouldn't be accepted even though I had just been told on XX/XX/XXXX to print them, notarize them, and send them back to Flagstar. He told me that was incorrect and that they need to be redrafted because there was an internal note on my account added on XX/XX/XXXX and XXXX that said, the paperwork will be redrafted. I said I was aware of those notes, and that I had still not received any documents to sign other than the ones emailed to me. He told me that it could take up to four weeks to get new paperwork. I said that that is a problem for us because every month that Flagstar doesn't finalize my paperwork and complete the modification, we have to pay PMI, which Flagstar promised to remove from my loan after the modification was completed. He said I would need to wait for the new documents to be drafted and that he would not send me a shipping label. 

I called again on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX AM and recorded the call. She told me that there was an internal note added on the XXXX that said Flagstar was " bringing the loan current '' and doing " a critical review of the file. '' I was also told that there was {$1900.00} in a suspense account and that that money would be applied to my loan after the modification agreement is accepted, but that the paperwork had not been accepted. I asked for a note to be added to my file stating that the money in our suspense account should be applied to the new modification monthly payments, not to the past due principle from before the modification. She agreed to put that in the notes on my account. 

I called again on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX PM and recorded the call because I was now suspicious. I had begun to realize that I was being blatantly lied to and that the " internal messages '' seemed to imply that the modification agreement had, in fact, been accepted and recorded and that Flagstar was lying about it. In this phone call, I asked very blatantly why my loan did not show that the modification had been completed and was current. When I pressed the individual that I was speaking with as to if the paperwork had been signed and recorded by Flagstar, I was told that the modification paperwork was only legally binding if it was recorded with the title company. He said that the problems with my modification were due to a vendor error but refused to tell me who the vendor is or was. He said that the documents had been sent to recording on the XXXX of XXXX and that an error was caught by Flagstar on the XXXX. I said that if the documents had been sent to recording then, in fact, they had been signed and accepted by Flagstar. He said they were signed but were not recorded. He told me, " If the modification agreement had been sent to recording, we wouldn't be having this phone call. '' At this point, I understood that Flagstar was committing fraud and lying to me. I called the title company where the agreement had been sent on the XXXX to ask if they had a copy. The title company told me that I could find a copy of the agreement online on the website of the county clerk and recorder. I went to the county clerk and recorder website and did a search for my name. Lo and behold, the modification agreement was there. It had been signed by the Vice President of XXXX XXXX XXXX and recorded on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX AM. 

I called Flagstar again on the morning of XX/XX/XXXX and recorded the call to see why my loan didn't show completed and current. In this phone call, I would also see that Flagstar would continue to commit fraud and lie to me blatantly. 

On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX AM, I talked to XXXX or XXXX and recorded the call. He confirmed that the money in the suspension account will go to modified loan payments and not the amount due before the modification. XXXX also said that the modification agreement was signed and the docs were sent to recording on the XXXX, BUT, according to XXXX, they were NOT recorded. He continued to say that an error was caught on the XXXX BEFORE (! ) the documents were recorded. 

He said that the vendor is the title company, but he wouldn't give me the name or phone number of the title company or the underwriting department. I asked how the title company could have caused a " PI payment '' error and asked if they had drafted/created my mortgage modification documents. He said, " I won't tell you that. '' I asked why I can't know who is creating my loan documents. I also asked why I can't know if the underwriting of my loan documents had been outsourced to a third party. He said he won't tell me because " Flagstar can do business however Flagstar wants and it's not your business. '' He refused to tell me who was writing/drafting/underwriting my loan documents. He told me that neither the title company nor the underwriting department has a phone number or email. He told me that he " will not tell '' me if the title company was the one that drafted my mortgage documents. He said I can not talk to underwriting or the title company or even know the title company 's name. 

I asked how he knew that the signed mortgage modification agreement documents weren't sent to recording. He said he knew they weren't sent to recording because he could see the scanned copy of them on his screen and that it shows they were never recorded. I said that if he could see the signed copy of the modification agreement, then he could see that they were signed by Flagstar. I asked the date they were signed by Flagstar. He had to admit that they were signed on XX/XX/XXXX. I said I would like a copy of that scanned agreement he was looking at in my file. He said the COVID Hardship Relief Task Force Department at Flagstar can not email me a copy or mail me a copy of the signed modification agreement ( even though the same department had sent me an email on the XXXX ). 

He said that only customer service could send me a copy of the signed agreement. I asked to be transferred to the customer service department in order to get an emailed copy of the signed agreement. XXXX REFUSED to transfer me. Instead of transferring me to customer service, he put the phone down and I could hear him typing in the background. He then waited for me to hang up. 

I called back on the same day, XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX AM, and recorded the call. I called back simply to be transferred to customer service to get a copy of the scanned document. I asked to be transferred to customer service. She said she couldnt transfer me because she had to email her supervisor " about the status of the account ''. I asked her what exactly she was asking her supervisor about my account and why she wouldn't transfer me to customer service. Instead of answering my questions, she put me on hold. 

When she took me off hold, I asked to receive a copy of the signed modification document from her as she refused to transfer me to customer service. She said she would not send me a copy of the scanned agreement in my file because those are not the type of documents that should be sent out. I told her that they are my mortgage documents and that it is a legally binding agreement between me and Flagstar, and therefore, they were exactly the type of documents that should be sent out. She put me on hold again. 

When she took me off of hold, I asked her what she was asking her supervisor about my account. She would not tell me what she was asking her supervisor about my account. She said " its private internal communications. '' She then put me back on hold instead of answering what she was asking her supervisor. When she took me off hold, I asked her why she wouldn't send me a copy of the legal document in my file. She said that the documents might be expired. ( They are not. ) She refused to transfer me to customer service. 

I decided to call the customer service department directly. 

On XX/XX/XXXX ( the same day ), I talked to XXXX in the mortgage customer service department at XXXX PM. Before giving her my account number, I asked her to confirm that she could email me a copy of a scanned document in my file. She said she could if it exists in my file. I said the last XXXX people I spoke with confirmed that the document exists. She said she could email me a copy. 

She said that the agreement she could see in my file was finalized on XX/XX/XXXX. She confirmed my email address to send me a copy. She then, oddly, confirmed that I wanted a copy of the unsigned agreement. I said no, I wanted the agreement that has been signed by both parties and recorded on the XXXX like she had originally confirmed. She said, Okay, let me look for it. Okay, I see it. Let me save it. Okay, let me put you on a brief hold while I sent that to you. 

She said she had sent the document to me. I checked my email and I had received an email from Flagstar with a PDF attachment of the signed and RECORDED ( it was stamped by the county clerk and recorder at the top of the document ) mortgage modification agreement. I noticed that two pages were missing from the recorded mortgage modification agreement. She said, maybe you forgot to send those pages back. I said that was not possible because we had even dated the bottom corner of each page. She said the pages she sent me were all that was scanned and that she had to ask the collections department about the 2 missing pages. Without explanation or a heads up, she transferred me to the collections department. 

After I was transferred to the collections department, I was told that those pages werent visible to them and that Id need to be transferred to the COVID Hardship Relief Task Force. I was put on hold and eventually hung up on. 

On the same day, we received a letter from Flagstar saying that our latest request to have the PMI removed from our loan was denied because the loan does not show as current ; it still shows past due. 

I called Flagstar on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX PM to ask which third parties my account information had been shared with. I recorded the call. I was told by Flagstar that : 1 ) There is no place to see the specific third parties my information has been shared with. 
2 ) There is no non-public information shared with third parties ( this is a lie ).

3 ) Third parties '' only include subsidiaries and no one else.

4 ) Flagstar provides no written confirmations of privacy opt-outs. 

In a separate phone call on XX/XX/XXXX, I asked for an itemized list of the items capitalized in the new mortgage modification. I was told that I could not be provided with that information because the COVID Hardship Relief Task Force did not have access to that information. I asked who had that information. I was told the escrow department would have that information. I said I had already talked o the escrow department and they did not have that information for the loan modification and that they could only see the escrow information for my pre-modification loan. She laughed at me and said, If the escrow department doesnt know the itemized escrow items, then who does? I said, Exactly. Who does? I havent been able to get this information from anyone Ive asked even before the loan modification trial period started. You say that youve capitalized a huge sum of money, but you wont tell me what you are capitalizing. She transferred me to the escrow department. The escrow department, again, confirmed that they did not have the escrow information for the modification. They could not tell me the itemized items capitalized into the new modification. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, as I still had not received any new documents to notarize and return to Flagstar, I called again to pay the amount for XXXX that is correct according to the signed, notarized ( by both parties ), and recorded agreement. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, we received a letter from Flagstar stating that we had missed a payment and that this may end up with Flagstar foreclosing on our home and selling our house in an auction.

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