Consumer complaint received 2018-06-06
Company: Seterus, Inc.
State: FL
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
To Whom It May Concern : In lateXX/XX/XXXXor early XX/XX/XXXX, after hurricane Irma hit South Florida I called my mortgage company Seterus Inc. and inquired about a forbearance. A forbearance was granted for eight months and the full payments would be due at the end of XX/XX/XXXX. A few months later I called Seterus and asked about setting up a repayment plan for the months that I was in forbearance. The customer representative said, while your loan is in a forbearance we can't set up a payment plan, but don't worry your account is flagged because you are in a disaster state, and at the end of the forbearance you can apply for a repayment plan for six months to catch up and if that is not enough time we can extend it for another six months. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I spoke with XXXX from XXXX XXXX from Clear Point. XXXX took my finances and told me I was a candidate for the Disaster Modification and that I should call the mortgage company and find out the Maturity Date of my loan.XX/XX/XXXX, I spoke again with Tiffany from XXXX XXXX  and a representative from Seterus Inc. was on the line. XXXX spoke to the representative of Seterus, and advised that she had reviewed my finances and that I was good candidate for a Disaster Modification. Subsequently, the Seterus representative told me to go online and fill out the Borrower Assistance Form and send it back to them. I completed the Borrower Assistance Form on XX/XX/XXXX, and electronically submitted on the same day. A week later I submitted electronically two months of the requested paystubs. The following week, I received a letter from Seterus Inc. stating that I was denied the modification. ( See Attachment A1-A6-1 and A7-A27 ) I called Seterus to see about a repayment plan, and I was told that I needed to come up with {$18000.00} by the end of the week or make plans to liquidate my property through a Deed in-Lieu or Short-Sale. I feel that Seterus Inc. has not been of any help. I had requested a forbearance due to hardship because of the Hurricane, and when I was not granted a repayment plan or given a modification Seterus Inc. added to my hardship instead of helping me. Prior to Hurricane Irma and before the forbearance, I was current with my mortgage payments. If Seterus Inc. had no plans of helping me by way of a repayment plan or modification as told to me by one of Seterus agents, then Seterus should have not given me eight months of forbearance that was going to make my hardship worse. I feel that Seterus Inc. has set me up to lose my property as they have offered no viable solution.

I feel that Seterus Inc. has deceived me when it failed to honor their promise to put me on a payment plan or modify for the payments that were in forbearance. Seterus has not offered to help me at all. Furthermore, Seterus through one of its agents has deceived me again. Seterus Inc. through one of its agents deceived me by asking me to pay {$900.00} toward a past due escrow of {$1800.00}. On  Thursday XX/XX/XXXX, I received a call at XXXX from Seterus Loan Company , their phone number XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Loan modification officer XXXX XXXX left me a message regarding my property and asked me to call him at XXXX ( See Attachment B-1 ). 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I returned the call to XXXX XXXX on Friday XX/XX/XXXX as indicated in the voice message. I left a message. At around XXXX, I received an incoming call from Seterus Inc XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX ID # XXXX stated that I had four options to help me with my loan. He indicated the four options as follows : 1. Repayment Plan 2. XXXX or no job 3. Modification 4. Foreclosure I told him that I wanted to keep my property and that foreclosure was not an option for me. He said he could get me in a modification. He reported that based on my credit score/rating 1-10 my score fell at a 5 which was not bad or good but that he could help me. I asked if I could call him back in a few minutes because I needed to speak with someone he said yes. I called a very trustworthy friend of mine and we called Seterus Inc. back and spoke with XXXX XXXX she asked him why he could grant a Modification after I had already been turned down and he replied, I am over the Modification Department and I will grant her the modification if she pays the good faith {$1800.00} which is the amount shes behind on her Escrow Balance. He stated that the call was being recorded. We asked that the agreement be provided in writing, but he stated I needed to show good faith by paying the {$1800.00}. In order to assure me that the agreement was valid, he indicated that the call was being recorded, and that once Seterus Inc received the {$1800.00} the modification  process would be finalized. I told XXXX XXXX that I only had half on the money, and the other half I would pay on XX/XX/XXXX. He stated that he needed to ask accounting if that was okay and that he would call me back. I didnt wait for the return call and I called him back. He stated I was just about to call you and that accounting said the {$900.00} payment towards the {$1800.00} would be fine and that the remaining {$910.00} would be due on XX/XX/XXXX. He took my XXXX XXXX Bank debit card information for {$900.00}. He called me back a few minutes later and said that because my account was delinquent the payment had to be electronically sent. When I asked him how to do that he stated that it could be done through XXXX XXXX. He told me to call him when I got to the XXXX and hed give me the information to write on the money transfer form. 
When I got to XXXX, I called him back and he told me what to write on the send money form. He gave me the following information to write : XXXX XXXX XXXX, phone # XXXX, property address XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Fl. XXXX. Receiver information was an attorney named XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, Florida XXXX. He stayed on the line while the Customer Service person at XXXX assisted me. Once the transaction was completed he asked for the reference # XXXX. He told me that he would call me back within 45 minutes to let me know if the fund had been received. He didnt call me back so I called him back at XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX and left a message. He returned my call from the main number at Seterus Inc XXXX at XXXX XXXX to tell me that it was received. And the reference number was # XXXX. While on the line he also stated that he was working on my modification and that he would be in contact with me on Monday XX/XX/XXXX. Well Monday came and left and XXXX XXXX did not call me back. 
On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, I called XXXX XXXX XXXX , but I only got his voice message. I called him repeatedly ( at least 8 times and I left 2 messages ) but he never responded back. So, at XXXX, I called Seterus Incs main phone number XXXX. After following the prompt, a representative came on the line I asked to speak with XXXX XXXX XXXX in the modification department. The lady asked me what questions do you have about your modification? I told her what had transpired on XX/XX/XXXX between XXXX XXXX XXXX and myself. She asked that I hold on, when she returned she said she was unable to locate anyone by that name at Seterus Inc. She asked that I recap the events that transpired again for the email she was sending to the Seterus Fraud Department. I was in tears as I talked to the Seterus representative she told me she was sorry that I went through that. I asked her how could someone call me from their main phone line, and ask me to call them on a different number. She said that she did not know what had happened. The calls from XXXX XXXX came from Seterus Inc. direct line, and Seterus Inc. has failed to account for the {$900.00} paid. Before the call ended, I told her I still wanted to save my home and what I could do, she paused and said, you still have options one of which is a SHORT SALE. She did not discuss with me any other options. I responded thanks for your time. She told me to call back in five days to check on the status of the Fraud investigation. The call came from inside Seterus and I feel in was an inside job. Someone there scammed me. Im filing a police report with the information that I have from the XXXX transaction. 
All, I have done since Hurricane Irma is to try to keep my house. As referenced above my mortgage was current until I entered into the eight months forbearance agreement due to hardship because of the storm. If I thought that Seterus Inc. was not going to help me with the forbearance payment through a repayment plan or a modification, I would have never accepted the forbearance. I thought that Seterus Inc. was helping me, but instead they were creating a bigger hardship for me since there is no way that I can come up with a lump sum of {$23000.00}. In addition, Seterus Inc, through his agent XXXX XXXX took {$900.00} from me. I asked that the {$900.00} be applied towards my mortgage or be refunded to me. I am also, asking for the opportunity to save my home. I am a XXXX XXXX of 32 years, a single parent, and I have a minor child living with me. I have been in my home for over 21 years and I would like to keep it. 


Cordially, XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation