Consumer complaint received 2017-09-14
Company: U.S. BANCORP
State: WI
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
I wish to formally file a complaint about what I discovered are common mortgage fraud practices and bad acts by U.S. Bank Home Mortgage and its affiliates. I have filed two chapter XXXX bankruptcies solely for the purpose of halting foreclosure sale action and have applied repeatedly for costly loss mitigation due to the admitted mishandling of documents submitted jointly by myself and my bankruptcy attorney. My long term tenants have also faced actual threats of forced removal by law enforcement by U.S. Bank affiliated XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX broke their lease and abandoned thousands of dollars of their family 's personal property and even lived in a hotel for a while. 
Background I purchased my home in XXXX through U.S. Bank Home Mortgage. The property is a duplex, I reside in the upper flat and rent out the lower unit. Prior to falling into foreclosure and subsequently filing chapter XXXX I had several sources of income. My main source of income was XXXX. I suffered a permanent physical XXXX fairly young at the age of XXXX and had been receiving XXXX for a decade since XXXX. In addition I was awarded a XXXX XXXX. XXXX stipend for attending college as the dependent of a XXXX XXXX which began in XXXX. I also have consistently been a responsible landlord and maintained tenancy from the time of purchase in XXXX so I had rental income. 
Unfortunately I started to experience hardship after my XXXX passed and my mom had to battle in court for his spousal military pension leaving us to care for her. Then in XX/XX/XXXXI lost my XXXX and the XXXX XXXX stipend expired in the same year. Also U.S. Bank realtors had just started what I didnt know would become a pattern of harassing/intimidating me and my tenants in XX/XX/XXXXand in XXXX I lost my tenants at the time. I sought employment but had no luck with a 10yr work gap on my resume from being XXXX. The only viable solution I had at the time was filing a chapter XXXX bankruptcy which offered to help with loss mitigation in the form of mortgage modification. This is where the problems with U.S. Bank really began to arise, when I started taking steps to save my property. Since they control the status of my mortgage and I am having ongoing problems with them neglecting myself and my lawyer 's efforts to reinstate my mortgage, all while I continue to make mortgage payments, pay taxes and arrears. In other words they have been collecting my money and keeping my mortgage status in limbo. The only thing they seem to have been consistently able to do is displace my tenants over the years. 


Problems While I was pursuing what legal options I have and looking for attorneys I came across a list of " common mortgage fraud violations and illegal practices '' and it looked like a playbook of what I have been experiencing with my mortgage since entering chapter XXXX and starting the modification process to save my home. These were the three I identified with Dual tracking moving forward with foreclosure while simultaneously offering to modify the loan : After two separate chapter XXXX filings and three modification attempts by my lawyer and I between XX/XX/XXXXand XXXX, U.S. Bank representatives told me my house was sold way back in XXXX on XXXX XXXX. Records show I filed chapter XXXX and was granted an automatic stay of sale on XX/XX/XXXX. This well before any confirmation hearing or any notice of which by law requires 5 days, and I continued submitting regular mortgage payments directly to U.S. Bank while working on the modification they offered me. If the house was sold, which they tell me whenever I attempt to get answers not through an attorney, the first issue is confirmation hearing in a judicial state requires 5 days prior notice as mentioned earlier. But that hearing is something which would not, and should not have taken place if I filed chapter XXXX bankruptcy 4 days later. I repeatedly have to file bankruptcies because with no attorney, they refuse to give me any answers other than " the house was sold on XX/XX/XXXX '' even though after XX/XX/XXXX, U.S. Bank Home Mortgage has collected more than 20k in payments directly from myself not including what they received through the chapter XXXX settlement. 
Negligence telling you that your modification documents were lost or never received by the lender or telling you that you qualified for a modification but then later forcing you to apply again : When the chapter XXXX was filed on XX/XX/XXXX the purpose was to work out my arrears I accumulated during hardship. Records will show I was making payments while working to gather documents for a loan modification. Records will also show that they requested a schedule I and J which they claimed they never received from me but were sent over by my attorney, as they are chapter XXXX related forms only he would have. When I told them I was sure my attorney faxed them over they checked again and said they had received them. And they were sorry, and they made a mistake but the info was time sensitive so I would have to re-apply. This time I applied through my attorney because they seem to respond more promptly when a legal entity gets involved. We completed and submitted the complete application on XX/XX/XXXX and after getting no response after 30 days I called them. I also informed them I was willfully allowing my case to be dismissed over the next month because I figured the bank was honoring the protections granted under their modification process. I called them on XX/XX/XXXX and they told me they had forgotten to assign someone to the file, but they can not help me because they own my house at this point so " what do you want? A refund? '' This is in line with their usual response when I try to get any information from them without an attorney, which I did n't have at the time. However I submitted the complete package while I was in chapter XXXX and the legal protections under the modification program should have been extended, which protect me and also allow a 30 day appeals period after the decision is made. None of that was in place once I dismissed my legal counsel. Not knowing who to turn to about what they were doing and not wanting to be homeless and protect my tenants I filed chapter XXXX for a second time just to legally halt whatever foreclosure action I could. Frustratingly I was forced to try to again fight with U.S. Bank Home Mortgage just be able to be allowed to pay them. They would rather take my mortgage payments, interests payment and my payments towards arrears but still maintain the bank still owns my property so they ca n't actually help. I was told by a representative on XX/XX/XXXX that I was never protected by chapter XXXX bankruptcy and explained that payments I was making during the stay and the modification was similar to, " if you have a cancelled credit card with an outstanding balance.. you can still pay on the balance and not have the card '' Basically confirming after XX/XX/XXXX they had no real intentions of working with my attorney. 
Estoppel telling you that your modification was denied after a long wait. 
Between XX/XX/XXXXand XX/XX/XXXXI have filed two chapter XXXX bankruptcies and submitted 4 separate modification packages which never received a formal approval or denial due to U.S. Bank delays and errors. These delays effect time sensitive materials and render them invalid after so long requiring new updates and submissions. I recently completed a modification application with the Homeowner 's Preservation Foundation in XXXX which was accepted and I was assigned a mortgage assistance point. She sent me out a follow up paperwork requesting a few more income verifications which she said had to be submitted by XX/XX/XXXX. Over the course of two weeks I gathered the requested info and I called her on XX/XX/XXXX and she informed me they had once again made a mistake and they could not offer me any loss mitigation because they my house was sold on XX/XX/XXXX, and not loss mitigation was possible after that point. She said my property was like a cancelled credit card I was paying on and they could not give me any more info because they cease contact after the sale. So I asked her what you are telling me is while I was in chapter XXXX as of XX/XX/XXXX, and still making mortgage payments and in loss mitigation and you guys requested my bank statements notarized documents check stubs, bankruptcy related schedules from my lawyer, all of that was just for fun? Her response was that she ca n't help me because the bank owns the property already. She also said she could not give me any information on the sale, the confirmation date or the status of my loan. She also said that my foreclosure is public information and they claim no responsibility for the actions of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX harassing or threatening my tenants. Neither could they help with their 3rd party brokers coming onto my property and showing tenants my U.S. Bank loan info and/or giving them deadlines for relocation. All I am told is to keep making mortgage payments, the only info I have received from them was mortgage statements and when I try to make any progress without an attorney as far as modification they refer me back to nearly 5yrs ago for non-answers. 
More bad acts cited as common ( which I have experienced ) include : Delays in the modification process. 
Causing modification disqualification or reduction in equity. 
Failure to implement a permanent modification. 
Proceeding with foreclosure while in modification review. 
Advising borrower or borrower 's tenants to fall behind/evacuate property.

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