Consumer complaint received 2021-07-01
Company: Specialized Loan Servicing Holdings LLC
State: NY
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC)
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
I have been in forbearance on my HELOC loan for over a year. My loan servicer is

Specialized Loan Servicing. I was notified by Specialized Loan Servicing v
ia voicemail on XXXX XXXX XXXX  that my forbearance will be ending soon. This message is also in writing on my XXXX which I still have. The message indicates that I should call Specialized Loan Servicing to review my options as far as resuming payments. It also indicates in the message that if I am still experiencing hardship I should request an extension of forbearance. 
Actually I requested an extension of my forbearance in early XXXX, XXXX and I received a response from Specialized Loan Servicing about a week later indicating that my forbearance would be extended for another three months. Unfortunately I am away from my home and do not have the letter at the moment in my possession. 
I mention this because as soon as I received the voicemail from Specialized Loan Servicing on XX/XX/XXXX, I immediately called them. I have a record on my XXXX that I called them. The person I spoke to informed me that I will not be given any forbearance extension even though I told her I was under the impression due to the letter I received from Specialist Loan Servicing that I did get an approval for a forbearance extension. And again since I am not at home I could not send the letter. 
That said I asked the loan specialist what my options were as far as repaying my loan. She told me that I can either apply for a loan modification or have the loan payments that I didnt make while I was on forbearance deferred to the end of the loan, its either one or the other, that I can not have both. She said that if I opted for the deferral plan, it was automatic. I said I would get back shortly with my decision. 
On Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX I called Specialized Loan Servicing with the intent to tell them that I would take the deferral plan. The person I spoke to was XXXX, employer ID number XXXX. XXXX told me that in contraction to what the loan specialist told me on XX/XX/XXXX that a deferral plan is not in fact automatic and that a borrower has to apply for it. This was shocking as XXXX also told me that the chances are that Specialized Loan Servicing would not have an answer as to whether I am approved for the deferral by XX/XX/XXXX which is the date that my mortgage payment is due. I reiterated that the loan specialist I spoke to on XX/XX/XXXX had told me that the deferral option was automatic and said nothing about having to apply for it. XXXX then told me that loan representatives dont always give correct information. XXXX also told me that if I dont pay all my back payments that was under forbearance by XX/XX/XXXX my credit report would be immediately marked late for a period of 450 days. But I told him that I was told that a deferral was automatic. Then XXXX said to me, and I quote Dont worry about your credit report, worry about being foreclosed upon. Upon hearing this I was besides myself, I could not believe what I was hearing. I told him I will wait to hear back from Specialized Loan Servicing about them approving me for a deferral, XXXX also told me that my existing interest rate on my loan was at 2 %, but then said in XXXX of XXXX the rate would increase to 4.125 %. This too was quite a surprise. However while I was speaking to XXXX I logged onto my online account with Specialized Loan Servicing and my most recent loan statement indicated that my existing rate on my loan was 4 %. I told this to XXXX who at first told me I was wrong then finally had to acknowledge I was correct. But I was very upset and about XXXX minutes later I called Specialized Loan Servicing and I spoke to a loan specialist who said her name was XXXX. XXXX told me that my credit report would not be marked late if I didnt pay back all my back payments while on forbearance on XX/XX/XXXX but insisted that the loan specialist that I spoke to on XX/XX/XXXX could never have told me that a deferral is automatic. She immediately checked the transcript of my conversation that I had with the loan specialist and acknowledged that the loan specialist did in fact indicate that the deferral was automatic. That said XXXX told me that this was incorrect and that my approval for a deferral depends on whether the investors who own my loan will approve the deferral. This seems in contradiction to the information listed on the Specialized Loan Servicing website which indicates that a deferral is one of the options for a borrower that has been in forbearance which is about to end. I am attaching a screenshot of this information that is on the website. 
To sum up, the loan representatives that I spoke to were not very knowledgeable and one went as far as to mention I should worry about being foreclosed upon. This is indeed outrageous. 
Up until I applied for forbearance I always made my loan payments to Specialized Loan Servicing on time. But the pandemic has been very difficult for me, I am soon to be XXXX years of age. 
I am requesting that Specialized Loan Servicing grant me my deferral as mentioned on their website as one of the options as part of the repayment plan. They also should have more knowledgeable loan specialists that should be made aware that many people have experienced a very difficult time this past year and providing incorrect information is very unacceptable.

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