Consumer complaint received 2019-05-28
Company: Ditech Financial LLC
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
This is not my first complaint. My former complaint was XXXX This is an escalation, due to the mishandling of my monies received by my insurance for a fire claim resulting from the Campfire wildfire in XXXX, CA. 

Here are the facts : I opened a claim with Ditech mortgage, to submit a check I received from XXXX XXXX insurance for reimbursement for fire remediation repairs to our home that survived the Campfire  wildfire. What did not survive was a seperate structure equaling 1200 sq ', and based on our policy, we were paid for a total loss of that structure, {$100000.00}. 

The check was cosigned to Ditech mortgage. I was promised before sending the check, that the check would easily be signed back to us, so I sent it to them. That was the first lie. 

Next I am sent on this crazy goose chase of submitting proof of service, with Lien Waivers, and receipts and W9s. Which I get was neccesary for the repairs but nothing to do with the total loss. It was clear on my policy and the claim letter from the insurance that we were paid for total loss and no repair or rebuild was necessary. 

I spend months calling, asking for clarification for why my total loss for seperate structure was not returned. They finally informed me after I submitted a claim through this agency, that they required that the check used to rebuild the lossed structure or used to pay down the principal, based on XXXX XXXX rules ( since XXXX XXXX  was the ultimate lender ). 

After fighting this with XXXX XXXX, because we felt it was unfair given that we paid for the build of the sep structure with cash and no financing, they persisted, and we gave in. We agreed to have the claim money used to pay down the principal of {$120000.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. 

I have been calling every week sometimes 2-3 times a week since XX/XX/XXXX to track the processing of that claim money, since they also have been mismanaging the monies owed to us for the reimbursement for the fire remediation of the surviving structure. I will not provide highlights of that mismanagement, because these events combined are either a demonstration of how dysfunction this organization is, or whether this is just a elaborate scheme to hold onto the claim money instead of refunding the money to use. 

XXXX included in the check that was cosigned to them, the estimated fees for cleaning of the home, and replacement of the insulation. 
It was only after I filed a complaint with this agency that they finally informed me that all the paperwork I submitted resulted in them sending me checks. But, they conveniently sent the checks to the wrong address. The wrong address I believe was a rouse, since I had them repeat the new address to me, when I gave it to them. We were staying at a temporary address since we were displaced from the wild fire, and the post office was causing great delays in forwarding mail to our new address. Therefore I informed Ditech of our new address, which was XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. They sent it to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Which is a vacant residence, and ultimate the post office returned the envelope to sender. It's now XX/XX/XXXX and I have yet to receive that money either. Those checks total {$22000.00}. 

Week after week, I am promised that they are being processed or in the mail, just to find out there are more excuses for why they are still not sent. My last communication with Ditech on Friday XX/XX/XXXX, they informed me that they could not locate the checks. On more than one occaision they change the story, and tell me they need to cancel the original checks and rerequest them, when I inform them that had been done more than 2 weeks ago. 

Again, I don't know if this organization is that inept and dysfunctional or whether they are lying as a major game to keep this money in their possession. 

The final and agreegious complaint is something I found out, but not by Ditech. In all the conversations I have had with them, never did they bother to inform me that they have sold my mortage to another company. SOLD my loan! How in the world were they planning to pay down my principal when the principal balance was sold to another company. 

The nightmare that I see, and why I am filing this complaint, is that the {$100000.00}, which was ordered to be paid towards the principal on XX/XX/XXXX is lost in their organization. When I spoke to them about where it was specifically, they said vaguely that the money was ordered to a vendor to be sent to Ditech and they don't know where it is right now, because the mailing address on file does not match the physical address on file, so the vendor supposedly did nothing. By the way, I did not know at the time of that discussion, that my loan is scheduled to be in possession of another finance company by XXXX, XXXX, and last they told me it would take another 7 - 10 business days to be processed, so how are they going to pay off the principal when they no longer have the note. What is to happen to that {$100000.00} I spoke to a Ditech claims superviser on Friday, he gave me his personal extension and promised to get back to me. He did not call back, he did not inform me that my loan was sold to another company, he had no idea where any of the checks in question were. It was a holiday weekend. 

What is to happen to that money if they already sold my loan? 
Why did they not inform me about the sale of the loan? 
Why would they sell the loan in the middle of a claim processing? 
What don't they know where any of the money is? 
Why do they keep losing the money? 
Did they intentionally mismail the check as a ploy? 
Is it possible they are doing something illegal and they are hiding it with they elaborate schemes of hide the money and mistakes in processing? 

I feel powerless to get straight answers, every week it's a new excuse. At one point I was promised that 3 managers were going to take ownership and get to bottom of things, and then suddenly one took a few personal days and then that was the end of that due dilligence. 

Please help me. I have no intention to live in that home again. I have the house for sale. How could I possibly sell the home when the claim is left open and the mortgage is sold and the new company has no idea about the claim or worst is expecting me to wait while they become acquainted with the claim. 

This has been a nightmare. I thought escaping a town on fire was my worst nightmare, but it pales to the pain these people have put me through. They've been playing this game of cat and mouse since XX/XX/XXXX. It's been 5 months of XXXX. You'd think they'd be compassionate since I am a wildfire survivor, but instead they have just compounded the injury. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX

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