Consumer complaint received 2022-09-09
Company: Ocwen Financial Corporation
State: OK
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
This complaint is concerning the unethical business practices of PHH Mortgage, also doing business as XXXX Mortgage. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, my mother passed away. I immediately contacted the mortgage servicer to let them know, so that we could work through the process. In XXXX, I began making mortgage payments on her account to keep the account current. 

I also began the XXXX process in XXXX, with my first court hearing scheduled for XX/XX/XXXX, when my family asked me to administer my late mothers estate. 

I could not continue making 2 house payments indefinitely, and the account became delinquent in XXXX. My initial request to administer the estate was denied by the court and a hearing date in XXXX was established to appeal. 

Throughout XXXX and XXXX I was in constant communication with PHH Mortgage letting them know the progress I was making in terms of acquiring a buyer for the property, with the intention of using the proceeds to pay off the loan. 

PHH assigned a Relationship Manager to my case - named XXXX XXXX. I have never actually gotten to speak with XXXX XXXX, even though he is listed as the sole point of contact on the account. At every appointment I schedule, I am passed off onto some other PHH representative. 

When I first explained the situation to PHH, they forestalled the active foreclosure and promised to work with me after this tragic and life-upending event. The Court again extended their final decision during the hearing in XXXX, and PHH said they would hold off on any adverse actions until the final decision in XXXX. 

In XX/XX/XXXX I was finally made the administrator of my dead mothers estate. I had an appointment scheduled for XX/XX/XXXX to speak to a relationship manager. When the XXXX came, I did not receive that call. I received a standard call from a PHH rep asking me to call them back. When I did so, I was told by the rep to wait for the relationship manager to call.

I sent an email to PHH after the time window had passed, stating I didnt receive the call, and asking what to do. They said they had missed me, and offered to schedule a follow-up appointment for XX/XX/XXXX. I responded via email stating that I would like that appointment and confirming to please book me in for it. At previous appointments, I had been assured that foreclosure proceedings would be forestalled, since I was actively working to secure the funds for the payoff. 

Now I have been notified that my dead mothers house is in active foreclosure. We are just about to close escrow on the sale, and this could seriously damage the houses resale value. When I called PHH, they stated : We didnt receive your email, we will not schedule you an appointment until XXXX, and the foreclosure will not be put on hold. 

When I asked for the records from my previous relationship manager appointments, I was told those representatives were wrong in what they told me. When I asked what happened to my appointment for XX/XX/XXXX, I was told that they never received my email, and that it was incumbent on me to confirm whether or not I had actually been booked into an appointment. 

This is blatantly absurd. To summarize all of the above, PHH : - Sent FALSE AND MISLEADING DOCUMENTS concerning the property ( letters which provided a number to call stating that I could speak to a relationship manager directly- but I have NEVER been able to, and have only been able to schedule appointments for MONTHS out ) - Made FALSE AND MISLEADING STATEMENTS concerning what their stance on the property and intended actions and remedies were, then disclaimed all responsibility for their representatives words, which were made on RECORDED CALLS - Created a HOSTILE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, where I, as the customer, am told that if I follow the instructions on how to confirm appointments, contact the mortgage servicer, or take any other actions, it is incumbent upon ME to make sure their system does not glitch out and lose my correspondence - Provided FRAUDULENT CONTACT INFORMATION concerning the law office performing the foreclosure process ( they provide a number to call and state the customer can speak to the law office, but calling in only gets you to a robo-call tree, and if you dont have a foreclosure sale date or court date, which PHH DOES NOT PROVIDE, you can never speak to a human ) - REFUSES to take responsibility for their own system errors ( whether in correspondence or in appointments or even in automatic payments not being drafted- which was the cause of the first missed payment on the account ) - Finally, their customer service experience is a joke, their representatives are openly hostile most of the time, and they REFUSE to confirm anything they say in writing, likely for fear of self-incrimination. 

PHH/XXXX is an OPENLY PREDATORY mortgage servicer, PREYING on tragedy-stricken family members, LYING about their actions and statements, GASLIGHTING their customers into thinking that the customer is making mistakes when its PHHs processes and services that are mistaken, and more. 

I had to get a COURT ORDER in XXXX in order to even COMMUNICATE with PHH about the account, because they provided processes to follow for successor-in-interest documents and next-of-kin documents, ALL of which I submitted in XXXX or XXXX, and I had to submit them 3 TIMES because PHH provided erroneous contact or department info each time.

During this time the house was put into its first foreclosure process, because PHH REFUSED AND RETURNED PAYMENTS ON THE ACCOUNT, and then stated that I could not make partial payments to bring the account current, but could ONLY perform a full reinstatement including the legal fees for the GHOST LAW OFFICE they use. 

Finally, throughout the ENTIRETY of this process, I have been BOMBARDED with calls from PHH representatives, up until they recently stopped during XXXX when I had finally secured a dialogue with the relationship manager. 

I can not categorize PHHs correspondence, actions, or behavior in any way besides BAD FAITH and UNETHICAL, and have lost sleep and suffered mental anguish for months in trying to deal with them in a forthright and upstanding manner.

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