Consumer complaint received 2021-09-18
Company: PNC Bank N.A.
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
XX/XX/XXXX Hi, I am following up on a complaint I opened up earlier, but it took some time to gather and scan all the supporting documents so I am opening up a new complaint even though it is actually the same issue ongoing. 

I have detailed below the difficulty trying to establish and maintain Covid Forbearance with PNC Bank by the month. I now have the ability to attach scanned documents proving my communication efforts and their lack of appropriate response. I apologize in advance for how lengthy this complaint is, but I want to show what a pattern of incompetence and misleading, deceitful practices PNC has engaged in with us. 

I have attached a more reader friendly version of this letter in my attachments. 

__________________________________________________________________________________ I am facing potential foreclosure from PNC Bank even though I have requested and qualify for Covid Forbearance. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I received notice that my house may face foreclosure proceedings if I do not remit a lump sum payment by the end of this month, XX/XX/XXXX, even though while under forbearance I requested multiple times to add our missed payments to the end of the life of the loan. My clear and timely requests for Covid forbearance and to re-pay those missed payments during Covid forbearance at the end of our loan period, thereby, as allowed per the CARES Act, extending the life of the loan as opposed to paying one lump sum at the end of forbearance period, were met inappropriately with generic loss mitigation packets, if they were acknowledged at all. 
My partner and I have had to spend hours trying to communicate through multiple channels : directly through the PNC website, by phone, fax, and certified letter, as well as indirectly through a prior complaint filed with CFPB in XX/XX/XXXX. We can not seem to get appropriate action or communication no matter what we do. The CARES Act dictates that requesting Covid Forbearance should be a simple procedure, yet since XX/XX/XXXX my partner and co-borrower, XXXX XXXX, and I have been put through unnecessary distress and have had to redirect countless hours we should have spent educating our XXXX and XXXX children or keeping our XX/XX/XXXX afloat during shelter-in-place instead toward saving our home from PNC Bank incompetence, if not willful deceit. 
We have followed all guidelines in our requests. We have a federally-backed mortgage through XX/XX/XXXX . We attested to our financial hardship caused directly and indirectly by Covid-19. We have communicated that we want to add our missed payments to the end of the life of the loan, not a lump sum payment, since we first entered Covid forbearance. We have missed 16 monthly payments and would like to be granted the last 2 months of missed payments bringing our total to 18 months of Covid forbearance, something we are allowed to request under federal law. Yet, time and again PNC has made it difficult if not impossible to receive our Covid Forbearance. When we ask for 180 days of Covid Forbearance, they send us loss mitigation instead, and then when we ask again, they send us 3 months. When we inform them of their errors, they either refuse to correct these errors, or ignore our demand for the fix altogether. They have spent a great deal of time and effort trying to get us onto a loss mitigation plan that is not Covid Forbearance payment deferral related. 
Now they claim we can not have the last two months of 18 months of Covid Forbearance, and as such are demanding a lump sum payment of all missed payments by the end of XXXX or else risk foreclosing proceedings. 
Every month since XXXX has left us in knots wondering what we have to communicate to get this right, and what the fall out will be if it isnt corrected in a timely manner. PNC has caused us to waste countless hours calling, writing, gathering, and scanning paperwork. I have also called or emailed half a dozen attorneys, the DFPI, the OCC, the FTC, the local DA office, as well the CFPB. 
On the CFPB website, it states that the CARES Act intended for the process of requesting and receiving Covid Forbearance to be simple. Yet here we are, begging and pleading over and over again to have PNC comply with the CARES ACT. In the meanwhile we have to devote resources to figure out how to stop them from foreclosing on our house. 
The only consistent thing PNC Bank has communicated is their desire to somehow get us to sign away our right to be on a Covid Forbearance plan and to agree to loss mitigation instead. We feel that since XXXX, their refusal to mention, offer, or accept Covid Forbearance and their refusal to correct mistakes and cease making them in the first place amounts to a pattern of deceit, and an attempt to willfully mislead us into signing an offer that we did not ask for nor want. 


I have typed up a chronology of our communication with PNC, and enclosed scanned documents that support this : XX/XX/XXXX - We fill out a web form requesting Covid 19 forbearance. We also call to follow up and request to add missed payments to the end of the life of the loan. We are neither offered nor informed of Covid forbearance as an option in this phone call ; in fact, we have to educate the rep about it. We are told we have to wait and that they will send something. 

XX/XX/XXXX - MONTH 1 OF FORBEARANCE XX/XX/XXXX is our first missed payment. We call to follow up because we had not received anything confirming our enrollment on a Covid forbearance plan. Again, we are neither offered nor informed of Covid forbearance as an option. In place of Covid Forbearance, the service rep tries to get us to accept a loss mitigation plan. We decline. We insist on Covid 19 forbearance and again are told we have to wait and that they will send us something.

We finally receive paperwork communicating that we have been accepted on Covid Forbearance plan. However, it does not put us on for all 180 days that we asked. It stops short of 3 months. 

**See Scanned Doc 1 [ PNC response to 180 day request only 3 months long ] ** XX/XX/XXXX - MONTH 2 OF FORBEARANCE We receive a letter on XX/XX/XXXX stating that we owe a lump sum of past due balance. 
We still have not received any documents proving our enrollment in Covid forbearance for the missing 3 months ( missing XXXX, XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX months ). Instead in two separate weeks in XXXX we are mailed thick loss mitigation packets giving the appearance that it pertains to our Covid Forbearance request and that we have to fill out financial information in order to qualify for Covid Forbearance. 
It took filing a complaint with CFPB to get PNC to comply with our request for 180 days of Covid Forbearance. It was an unnecessary amount of time, stress, and work. In their response, they did not address our complaints of misleading us as consumers. They merely sent a form letter stating that they are automatically enrolling all consumer already on forbearance for an additional 3 months. They do not address our request for avoiding a lump sum payment at the end of forbearance in favor of extending the loan. 

**See Scanned Doc 2 page 1, 2. [ Our CFPB compalaint ] Doc 3 [ PNC Response to complaint ] Doc 4 [ one of two loss mitigation packets sent instead of 180 days of Covid Forbearance ] ** XX/XX/XXXX - MONTH 3 OF FORBEARANCE We receive yet another loss mitigation packet as well as bills that appear as though we owe a lump sum payment when our forbearance ends. There is still no acknowledgment of our request to add missed payments to the end of the life of our loan. 


XX/XX/XXXX - MONTH 4 OF FORBEARANCE We still have not received paperwork acknowledging our request to avoid lump sum payment at the end of forbearance period. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, we submit a written request via USPS and fax to 1 ) extend our Covid Forbearance payment deferral plan for another 180 days, and 2 ) remove lump sum charges due at the end of our forbearance period in favor of extending the length of our loan. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, we contact by phone PNC to correct our paperwork and extend our forbearance request another 180 days. In the PNCs RFI notes, it states that our ADVD FB plan extended 90 days even though we requested the 2nd 180 day extension. 
This would now extend our forbearance through XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX. 
We receive a letter on XX/XX/XXXX saying that our request for forbearance has been approved. However, this document only refers to the first 180 days of forbearance, not the 2nd 180 days of forbearance requested. Also, please note that this form acknowledging our enrollment into CARES Act Covid Forbearance simply says that, This agreement was approved with your verbal consent and indicates your intent to accept this offer. Acting in accordance with the terms of this agreement will be considered confirmation of your acceptance. 
We receive a monthly statement detailing on the front page that we are Overdue {$5100.00} on the front page, but on the second page it states that This loan is currently on a Natural Disaster Plan. This statement also has an inaccuracy in it that we have to pay {$0.00} by XX/XX/XXXX even though it is XXXX of XXXX. 

**See Scanned Doc 5 [ Our request in writing for 180 day forbearance sent XX/XX/XXXX ] Doc 6 [ PNC acknowledges the initial 180 day forbearance period requested for the first time since first requested in XX/XX/XXXX ] Doc 7 [ Agreement works with our verbal acceptance and intent to accept offer ] Doc 8 [ PNC notes from our RFI stating that we called and requested forbearance and it was granted for another 90 days, even though we requested and were entitled to 180 days ] XX/XX/XXXX - MONTH 5 OF FORBEARANCE We do not receive corrected or updated paperwork, but our monthly statement still reflects that This loan is currently on a Natural Disaster Plan. We receive yet another loss mitigation packet. 

XX/XX/XXXX - MONTH 6 OF FORBEARANCE We receive our monthly statement which states that This loan is currently on a Natural Disaster Plan. We receive paperwork that states that our Forbearance plan is now from XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX, yet no correction regarding the lump sum payment due at the end of forbearance. 

XX/XX/XXXX - MONTH 7 OF FORBEARANCE We receive a document claiming that they have been unable to contact us during our Forbearance Plan and are offering a loan modification agreement which instructs us to sign and return it 14 days later ( XX/XX/XXXX ). This, however, is not the same as communicating that we have been accepted into Covid Forbearance, even though it has a similar wording. We do not sign it and return it as it departs from previous paperwork we received confirming our enrollment in Covid Forbearance. We are not interested in accepting an offer or making a deal that is anything other than Covid Forbearance as it would subject us to a potential loss in credit score and levied interest. 
We send them a letter XX/XX/XXXX via fax and USPS again correcting their mistake, and giving them copies of documents that show we are already enrolled in Covid Forbearance.

**See Scanned Doc 9 [ A loss mitigation loan modification agreement is sent for us to be signed when we are supposed to be on Covid Forbearance ] Doc 10 [ Our letter to PNC requesting forbearance, no lump sum payments- again ] XX/XX/XXXX - MONTH 8 OF FORBEARANCE XX/XX/XXXX we receive a document that our hardship assistance request has been completed but they are unable to proceed further with our request for assistance because ACCORDING TO OUR RECORDS, THE EXECUTED MODIFICATION DOCUMENTS WERE NOT RECEIVED WITHIN THE REQUIRED TIME FRAME. 
We did not request hardship assistance or loan modification, but rather, Covid Forbearance. Yet again we are frustrated with what seems to be a pattern of willful neglect of our request for forbearance. It appears as a scare tactic to get us to agree to a plan that differs from Covid forbearance. 
XX/XX/XXXX, PNC responds to our XXXX letter which included PNC documents that we already received showing that we had been enrolled in Covid Forbearance through XX/XX/XXXX. However, in this letter PNC gives the appearance that we only requested Forbearance beginning XX/XX/XXXX. 
XXXX XXXX, XXXX Calls PNC to clear their errors. 
XXXX XXXX, XXXX calls PNC again, and gets through. Tries to clarify that we are on Forbearance and do not need loss mitigation. 
On our monthly statement dated XX/XX/XXXX, we see that fines and late fees totaling {$40.00} have been assessed. This is a violation of the CARES ACT. This monthly statement also fails to state that we are in the National Disaster Plan. 
We receive a document dated XX/XX/XXXX that says our forbearance plan has been approved. It only puts our plan for the months of XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, and not through the month of XXXX as we requested and were entitled to as completion of the second 180 day period. It also does not require us to sign and return anything and is not printed on paper that reads letter offer or loan modification We receive a document dated XX/XX/XXXX, stating that our application for hardship assistance has been withdrawn. Again, we never submitted an application for hardship assistance in the first place. 

XXXX*See Scanned Doc 11 [ PNC response to our letter acknowledging our enrollment in Covid forbearance through XX/XX/XXXX ] ** Doc 12 [ PNC stating that they didnt get executed modification documents in time. ] Doc 13 [ P.1 Our monthly statement with fees in violation of CARES ACT / P. 2 Does not but should state we are on Covid Forbearance ] XX/XX/XXXX - MONTH 9 OF FORBEARANCE We receive a document dated XX/XX/XXXX, stating that our forbearance plan has been approved for dates XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX and that {$0.00} is due on those dates. However, it still shows that we owe fees and charges assessed during the month of XXXX.
 Our monthly statement shows the notation that This loan is currently on a Natural Disaster Plan. 

** See Scanned Doc 14 [ PNC acknowledges in writing the full 180 day extension we requested first in XX/XX/XXXX. Also reflects in writing that we were in fact on Covid Forbearance plan in XXXX and this means fees were assessed in violation of CARES ACT ] XX/XX/XXXX - MONTH 10 OF FORBEARANCE We receive our monthly statement which notates that This loan is currently on a Natural Disaster Plan, but still has XXXX fees on it. We call and submit in writing a request for extended forbearance. 

** See Scanned Doc 15 [ PNC Monthly statement still shows XXXX fees ] ** XX/XX/XXXX - MONTH 11 OF FORBEARANCE We receive monthly statement which accurately states that we are on a National Disaster Plan, but inaccurately maintains fees assessed while under Covid Forbearance in XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX - MONTH 12 OF FORBEARANCE We receive a document dated XX/XX/XXXX that states we are on Forbearance from months XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX. It inaccurately reflects that we still have fees from XXXX as well as a lump sum payment due at the end of forbearance. 
XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX calls PNC to make sure we are on Forbearance as requested, drop fees, and to put missed payments at loan maturity instead of lump sum payment. 

**See Scanned Doc XXXX XX/XX/XXXX - MONTH 13 OF FORBEARANCE We submit a letter to PNC on XX/XX/XXXX as a Notice of Error ( NoE ) as well as a Request for Information ( RFI ) along with supporting documents. We inform them of their error in assessing us fees for the month of XXXX, citing the fact that we were under a CARES Act Covid Forbearance payment deferral plan. We also inform PNC that we expect our missed payments to be added to the end of the life of the loan and not due as a lump sum payment. 

** See Scanned Doc 17 [ Our Notice of Error letter to PNC ] Doc 18 [ Our Request for Information to PNC ] XX/XX/XXXX - MONTH 14 OF FORBEARANCE We receive a document dated XX/XX/XXXX, that acknowledges receipt of our letter. 
Our monthly statement still shows fees that violate CARES Act laws. It notes we are on a National Disaster Plan. 

** See Scanned Doc 19 [ PNC Acknowledges receipt of our RFI and NOE ] XX/XX/XXXX - MONTH 15 OF FORBEARANCE We receive a document dated XX/XX/XXXX, that disputes our claim to continuous enrollment in Covid Forbearance. PNC claims we were on a forbearance plan during the following periods : XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX It also states that we are only eligible for forbearance for 18 months and Please note, PNC has not advised that any payments will be added to the end of the loan. 

We are officially at the end of our sanity trying to communicate with PNC. 
**See Scanned Doc 20 [ PNC disputes our well documented NOE and sticks to an erroneous claim of the dates of our Covid Forbearance, refusing to drop the fees assessed in XX/XX/XXXX, as well as refusing to drop lump sum payment due at end of Forbearance ] XX/XX/XXXX - MONTH 16 OF FORBEARANCE We contact PNC via phone, USPS certified letter, and fax to extend our Forbearance plan for the full 18 months of coverage, to ask them to correct their multiple errors regarding 1 ) fees assessed in XXXX in violation of the CARES ACT, 2 ) Dates of forbearance we have been under, and 3 ) Adding missed payments to maturity of loan and not due as a lump sum payment at the end of our forbearance. 
We spoke with service representative XXXX XXXX, who refused to grant us the last two remaining months of the 18 months of Covid Forbearance we are entitled to. She insisted that we must resume our regular mortgage payments on XX/XX/XXXX, which would only give us 17 months of forbearance. We try to explain the math of 18 months from XX/XX/XXXX, our first missed payment. She simply will not listen to basic reason or math. She states that it is due to investor guidelines and then tells us our house is in collections. She also states that even though we were on Forbearance in XXXX, she will not remove the fees because we were somehow simultaneously not on Forbearance in XXXX. 
We receive a document dated XX/XX/XXXX giving us an offer '' of 16 months of Covid Payment Deferral, but not 18 months. It offers to waive {$25.00} in late charges. It gives us 14 days to accept this offer. It does not, however, reflect the last 2 months of Covid Payment Deferral we requested, and again gives the appearance that we must accept an offer or make a deal instead of simply being automatically granted Covid Forbearance upon attesting to our financial hardship due to Covid. On the bottom of the document it has text that reads Doc Type : Loan Modification Agreement. 
By this point, the high variability and inconsistencies in PNC communication and documentation around our Covid Forbearance plan has led to confusion and amounts to a pattern of deceit. It would appear that in one month simply attesting to our financial hardship automatically enrolls us in a Covid Forbearance plan, only to find the next month that we have been given a signature-required offer that appears as loan modification documents with neither explanation nor clarity as to the disappearance of some or all of the terms we requested under the CARES Act, such as dropping lump sum payments, fees, and the full 18 months of requested forbearance. We shouldnt have to fight for our right to a simple Covid forbearance plan for 18 months, and we have no interest in signing away our right to any part of what we have requested in exchange for other parts. 
We are also wary of signing documents that read loan modification as that may negatively and unnecessarily affect our credit rating. Per the Fannie Mae website, text regarding loan modification helps clarify that loan modification seem to exist separately from Covid Forbearance payment deferral. 

If the eligibility requirements for COVID-19 payment deferral dont match your situation, you have other mortgage repayment options : Loan Modification If your ability to pay your monthly mortgage payment has been permanently impacted by a financial hardship related to COVID-19, your mortgage servicer can work with you to modify your mortgage loan. A loan modification permanently changes the original terms of your mortgage. A loan modificationmaylower your monthly principal and interest payments and/or your interest rate, and typically involves extending the maturity date of your loan. Although a loan modification may lower your monthly payment, it may result in paying more interest over the life of the loan due to the extended repayment term. Adjustments to the escrow portion of your monthly payment for taxes and insurance can affect the total monthly payment. 

** See Scanned Doc 21 [ PNC sends LOAN MODIFICATION AGREEMENT with terms similar to Covid Forbearance. Yet, requires that we sign and send it back. Only offers 16 of 18 months of Covid Forbearance we requested. First time PNC acknowledges our fees and lump sum payment. However, we have already been on Covid Forbearance and do not understand why the document reads LOAN MODIFICATION AGREEMENT and will not offer last two months of forbearance. We do not sign and send back ] Doc 22 [ Offer letter agreement sent by PNC instead of Covid Forbearance ] Doc 23 [ PNC demanding lump sum payment, denying our Covid Forbearance enrollment, maintaining fees assessed in XXXX XXXX, threatening to initiate foreclosure ] XX/XX/XXXX - MONTH 17 OF FORBEARANCE We receive 4 identical copies of documents dated XX/XX/XXXX, that state the following : The letter serves as a formal notice that you have defaulted on your loan obligations. It also states that we may cure your default by paying {$16000.00} on or before XX/XX/XXXX, and that only the full amount will be accepted. The fees are still being assessed. It also states we may be referred for foreclosure We also received a document dated XX/XX/XXXX, offering a trial period for a 480 month loan instead of our Covid Forbearance XX/XX/XXXX - MONTH 18 OF FORBEARANCE This should be our last month of 18 months of Covid Forbearance. 

Also for reference, a copy of text from the XXXX website : CARES Act 4022 ( b ) requires servicers of federally backed mortgage loans to grant forbearance requests from borrowers experiencing a financial hardship due, directly or indirectly, to the COVID-19 emergency. The language of the act is mandatory. The servicer may not require anything other than the borrowers attestation to a financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 emergency. See CARES Act 4022 ( c ) ( 1 ).

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation