Consumer complaint received 2022-10-19
Company: CrossCountry Mortgage LLC
State: MA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage

Complaint:
When pursuing a home mortgage application with Cross Country Lending, I spoke several times with XXXX XXXX, XXXX # XXXX. 

I was initially pleased with the level of service that XXXX was providing to us, but when we saw a better deal at a competitor his sales tactics became more aggressive. 

XXXX repeatedly implied that the locked loan estimate we had from [ COMPETITOR ] was somehow not accurate and that [ COMPETITOR ] would surprise us with a higher interest rate at closing. A surprise change of terms after a signed agreement would likely be illegal. If XXXX has proof of competitors doing this, he should report it to the appropriate regulator. If he does not have proof, it is inappropriate to make such statements about a competitor to potential clients. 

XXXX repeatedly told us that [ COMPETITOR ] was known in the industry for terrible service. This appears to be false as [ COMPETITOR ] is listed by XXXX as one of the top 10 originators for customer satisfaction in the industry. XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX % XXXX % XXXX % XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX repeatedly told us that [ COMPETITOR ] would fail to close our loan on time and that [ COMPETITOR ] is known in the industry for not closing loans. This appears to be false as [ COMPETITOR ] is one of the top 10 originators in the country by volume and closes thousands of loans each day. 
XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX relayed concerns about our financing with [ COMPETITOR ] to our real estate agent which I believe was an effort to co-opt our real estate agent into pressuring us to work with him. Our real estate agent, of course, has a duty to help us pursue the best financing terms possible, not to market one particular lender with less favorable terms. 

XXXX stated that he had talked to the selling agent and she was very concerned about our ability to secure financing and had only accepted the offer based on us using XXXX financing. This appears to be false. When I spoke with the selling agent a short while later, I mentioned that we were still shopping for financing and might go with a different lender. She said it was none of her concern who we financed with. 

XXXX stated that if we had an issue with [ COMPETITOR ] and we failed to meet our mortgage contingency we could lose the house AND loose our entire down payment. This is false, as our offer letter clearly stated that all deposits would be refundable if mortgage financing fell through. XXXX had read our offer letter prior to making this statement. 

Ultimately, we had significantly better financing terms through [ COMPETITOR ], but XXXX continued to aggressively market his own products which would have cost tens of thousands of dollars more over the lifetime of the loan. 12 USC Chapter 51, SECURE AND FAIR ENFORCEMENT FOR MORTGAGE LENDING, 5101 ( 8 ) states that Mortgage Originators should " to the greatest extent possible, be required to act in the best interests of the consumer ''. I did not feel as though XXXX was acting in my best interests. 

My background gives me the knowledge and experience to navigate the financial system with confidence and grants me relative immunity to these type of deceptive practices. However I believe that having such knowledge also burdens me with the responsibility to call out such practices and report them to the appropriate regulators. It is my hope that this prevents others from being deceived in the future.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation