Consumer complaint received 2021-10-19
Company: ATLANTIC BAY MORTGAGE GROUP LLC
State: VA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
My XXXX XXXX mortgage is serviced by XXXX ( Atlantic Bay ). I accepted a Covid-19 forbearance plan and now I am being denied the payment deferral option to bring the account current by Atlantic Bay . My forbearance was scheduled to end at the end of XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I called XXXX and spoke to XXXX to select a workout option to settle the forbearance. I spoke with an agent and went through a set of questions in regard to my payment abilities. I told the agent I was wanting the deferral option to settle the forbearance based upon my research. The agent evidently did not know or understand fully about the process and told me she would send my selection in the notes as she was not seeing it as an automatic selection. ( I would later learn why this happened on XX/XX/XXXX which I will detail below ). 

On XX/XX/XXXX I sent an email to XXXX  Loss-mitigation to confirm that I wanted to take a deferral option to settle the forbearance and that the agent I talked to on XX/XX/XXXX did not seem knowledgeable about the process. 

I called on XX/XX/XXXX and spoke to XXXX and explained that I had not received any confirmation on my request and asked to be transferred to the Loss-mitigation team where I spoke to XXXX. She said the system was not offering the deferral option for some reason and said she would send an expedited request to the Underwriting department for the deferral. 

I called on XX/XX/XXXX and spoke to XXXX who said the deferral was not processing. I requested to be transferred to underwriting to find out why. He suggested resubmittal of the questionnaire script and to re-select an option. Afterwards, XXXX stated that the deferral option was not available and could not offer a reasoning as to why. I would later learn the reason as by this point as a payment beyond 18 months was due as the process had dragged on which meant the system would no longer qualify me automatically for a deferral. I asked to be transferred to the XXXX dept. for further explanation and spoke with XXXX. XXXX stated that as of XX/XX/XXXX that I would not automatically qualify for a deferral because I was now into the XXXX payment due and that only XXXX payments could be in the deferral option. I stated that this was because I intended to make the current payment, but the deferral I requested in XXXX had not been processed and I was not showing a single payment due for XXXX. She advised that I not make a payment as that would apply to the oldest payment due and that she was emailing her supervisor to clarify that I was not requesting a deferral on 19 payments, but only the 18 payments qualified under the covid-19 relief. She said other borrowers had similar problems and that her supervisor had been able to process them through manually as there had been problems on their end with the running of the script. She stated that I should call back after a week to see what the status was. 

I called on XX/XX/XXXX to inquire about the status of my deferral request and spoke with XXXX XXXX. He stated that due to the problems with my request that he would suggest I pay about 3 payments in advance due to the time frame in getting a deferral processed to keep me from going beyond 18 payment in arrears. I had never read in any of the literature sent to me that this would be a necessary requirement. I asked to speak to a supervisor and spoke with XXXX at the escalation desk. XXXX informed me that the original request I made on XX/XX/XXXX did not process through because I had told the agent that I was unable to afford my regular monthly payment which is not true. I emphatically stated that while the economic unrest had effected me that I was able to resume my current payment amounts. This means that the agent ( XXXX XXXX had incorrectly entered that I stated I was unable to resume/afford my payment. I was not given this explanation to date and by this date I had passed beyond the 18 month window to resolve the forbearance through deferral. I told XXXX that the information had been entered incorrectly and that it should be corrected and the deferral option given to me. He said they would not due that as I was beyond the 18 month window. I asserted that this was XXXX 's error and not mine. XXXX said there was nothing they would or could do to change that. 

XXXX stated the only options I had at this point were to pay back all past due amounts or elect a modification request which is not guaranteed. I told him to put me into the modification process and that I was only doing so to delay any foreclosure action while I filed the appropriate complaints for being denied a deferral. XXXX has put my house in jeopardy with their poor customer service and lack of knowledge and explanation. Every agent gives a different explanation or suggestion which seems contradictory to their written correspondence and the XXXX XXXX literature I have read. I had previously in the middle of my forbearance term been automatically put in a deferral when I had requested an extension and had to request that been corrected. Now that I have actually requested a deferral, they are denying it to me and putting me at risk of foreclosure.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation