Consumer complaint received 2022-01-07
Company: GATEWAY FIRST BANK
State: KS
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: VA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
We entered a COVID relief forbearance with Gateway Mortgage Company utilizing the Cares Act. We have been paying our mortgage regularly since XX/XX/XXXX after the forbearance ended and have been working with Gateway to modify the mortgage. 

XXXX and I noticed on our XXXX credit reports ( attached credit report pages 41 and 43 ) that Gateway reported that we were 180+ days behind in XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX and that the balance of our mortgage had increased from {$71000.00} to {$76000.00}. When we had spoken to an agent with Gateway about resuming payments, we were told that our balance would not increase. Furthermore, according to the Cares Act, Gateway is unable to report us to the credit bureau for the time we were on the forbearance and they are not allowed to add additional interest to the account. " There wont be any additional fees, penalties or interest added to your account. But, your regular interest will still accrue. '' ( Source : https : //files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/mortgage-forbearance-cares-act_video-transcript.pdf ) Our interest is amortized, so we pay a set amount of interest no matter what. No additional interest should be accrued. 

I contacted Gateway via web form and phone to report these discrepancies. We received a Credit Resolution letter dated XX/XX/XXXX ( see attached ) stating the information submitted to XXXX was correct. 

I also spoke to the agent about the Loan Modification Agreement. On the front page ( see attached ) it lists a New Money ( Cap ) amount of {$6200.00} and New Principal Amount of {$77000.00}. These were not terms we'd agreed to and I was told it was interest added onto the end of the loan. I asked for the underwriter to give us a call and made it clear I was not rejecting the modification but simply asking that it be fixed. 

A few weeks later I called again because no one had called us back. I spoke to the same gentleman and he said he'd expedite the request. Later, his supervisor called and I advised him I was still waiting for the underwriter. 

On top of this, the amount due each month has changed. The payment made on XX/XX/XXXX was {$610.00} and the payment made on XX/XX/XXXX was {$670.00}. These payments were made directly with an agent and the payments were the monthly payment due quoted by the agent. 

Today, XX/XX/XXXX, we received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX stating Gateway was withdrawing our request for Solution to assistance as of XX/XX/XXXX and that foreclosure was possible ( see attached ). The reason give was that we had not contacted them in a timely manner to resolve the matter. We've been trying to resolve the matter for months. I called a representative today and demanded to speak to a supervisor who is due to call me back. 

They reported inaccurate information to the credit bureau, attempted to increase the balance of our loan, and are now attempting to foreclose on our house due to their unethical business practices. The Cares Act is meant to protect us and we've taken every measure to follow the requirements and have continued to make our monthly payments as required. We've been waiting months for an underwriter to contact us. 

Dates of phone conversations ( see attached ) : XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX calls this day ) XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation