Consumer complaint received 2020-03-16
Company: CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
State: MA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC)
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
Around XXXX Citizens Bank in the middle of the financial crisis called the equity line due and converted it into a new type of loan. My payment went from {$400.00} to {$900.00} per month. They were also aware that I was recently divorced, had full custody of my XXXX boys XXXX of which has a XXXX  XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX  ) and I lost over 80 % of my income. I was paying my bill out of savings, retirement funds and my kids college funds to maintain payments and I depleted them down to XXXX  when this happened. 
I then called asking for assistance and they told me the only way they could help me was to go delinquent on the loan and after I was delinquent for 30-60 days I could start the modification process, which I did. 
It took six months of them mishandling paperwork and having only one fax number for the whole bank. they then told me, again after six months that i don't qualify for a modification because i needed to modify my first. Why I wasn't told this from the beginning, I don't know. 
They told me I could pay {$10000.00} to bring the note current and avoid foreclosure. I obviously did not have this and I had gone 30 days late on my first mortgage. So I now called them to expedite a modification and get the first mortgage done so I could fix the second. 
Now I am modifying my first which turned into a nightmare. After 6 or 7 months in the process they would sell the servicing and I would have to start the whole process over again. This went on from XXXX to XXXX at which time I was forced to file bankruptcy. I was able to keep the house and negotiate a modification for the first with XXXX XXXX. Now I called Citizens in XX/XX/XXXX to start the process again with them and they told me I needed to wait until the 3 month trial period was up with XXXX XXXX. I made my 3 payment in XXXX and submitted for the modification with Citizens. I could only send limited documents to a fax number only and had to send the same items multiple times without getting verification of receipt. Sometime around XXXX XXXX I received a phone call saying I was approved. The point person at Citizens ( XXXX ) said I would be receiving a form from Citizens legal department so they could clean up liens that were on the title. I was told that this would take a month or two and they would reach out to send me the agreement. They did not have any terms at this time but once the title was clear the would get me that information. After 2 months I get a statement in the mail from Citizens requesting a payment of {$1300.00}, I was confused as I had not signed any contract or entered into any agreements with them. So I called the number on the statement and the person on the phone told me not only could I not make a payment but I was kicked out of the modification for lack of paperwork. I then called XXXX back and she no longer worked for Citizens, at this point I began looking for a lawyer.After several months I found an attorney and filed a 93A. In XXXX of XXXX attorney XXXX XXXX instructed me to file for another modification with Citizens and to use the services of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX to document the process.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation