Consumer complaint received 2017-12-15
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: MA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC)
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
We initially complained to HUD and the Massachusetts Attorney General. It was recommended that we contact your organization, as they could not handle the complaint. 

I am XXXX and my wife will soon be XXXX ; we both have XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX 

In XXXX XXXX we were declared bankrupt under Chapter 7. With reduced income, we tried to reduce unnecessary expenses. As part of this, we contacted the holders of our first and second mortgages. In early XXXX after a few weeks, XXXX, the holder of the first mortgage, reduced the monthly payment from {$620.00} to {$450.00}. We then contacted Citibank, holder of the home equity line of credit, seeking a loan modification of this mortgage. We had this line of credit with then since XXXX ; we always made the monthly payments on time, which ranged between {$370.00} to {$380.00}. 

We first contacted Citibank about the loan modification in XXXX, XXXX. That 's when they began giving us the run-around. Though we provided all the financial and other information they requested, we could not get a clearcut response from them. Their communications were often confusing and conflicting, and XXXX of their favorite ploys was to ask for updated information since the information they were given was more then 3 months old and they would say that anything more 90 days old had to be updated. 

Finally, in XXXX XXXX, a representative of Citibank contacted us, stating that we would first have to undergo a trial period of 3 months before a final decision about the loan modification amount would be made. The trial period began in XXXX XXXX. The monthly payment was {$360.00}. We awaited word, but heard nothing from them until we contacted them in late XXXX XXXX. Citibank informed us then we were not put into a trial period, as according to them we did not qualify. The person who responded to our inquiry was not the same representative we had been dealing with over the previous year. ( In fact, since we began this long loan modification adventure, we have dealt with more then 20 different representatives, most commonly they were called either homeowner support specialists or a member of the executive response unit. Most recently, in the last 2 months they have assigned two new people to work with us. ) We were told, in XXXX XXXX, that the loan payment would be {$360.00}. Some modification! They reduced our monthly payment by about $ XXXX! ( We have kept complete records of all communications with Citibank since we first sought a loan modification in XXXX XXXX ). 

We have spent the last XXXX XXXX years trying to get Citibank to understand that, with our post-bankruptcy income and our fixed, essential expenses XXXX housing, medical, food, et al. ), that a reduction of monthly payment of about XXXX dollars was not fiscally realistic. 

Citibank persisted in stating, despite our regular attempts to point out that a XXXX dollar reduction in monthly payments made no sense given our income and expenses and we would challenge their decision. Each time this came up, they would offer to review our situation, but, despite providing them with the detailed information they said they needed, they always came back with the same decision -- - {$360.00}. 

Since we could not get them to appreciate the reality of our economic state, we used the guidelines of the FHA to determine what our monthly housing expenses should be. According to the Federal criteria, the Citibank monthly payment should be {$210.00}. So, since we could not pay the amount they requested, which exceeded our income, we have been paying them {$210.00} every month and on time. Citibank has responded by : 1. adding the $ 156 monthly difference to the amount we owe them and, 2. adding until recently, a monthly penalty of about {$22.00} for XXXX late payment ) The only change in this impasse has been their recent threats of initiating foreclosure. 

WE DONT KNOW HOW TO UPLOAD..NEARLY XXXX00 PAGES OF DOCUMENTS. HUD ALREADY HAS ALL THE DOCUMENTS.

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