Consumer complaint received 2021-11-04
Company: Flagstar Bank, N.A.
State: WA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
In XX/XX/XXXX I learned my job was being outsourced to save overhead due to Covid losses. I found another job but took an $ XXXX/mo pay cut to avoid going on unemployment. I put the {$970.00} mortgage in forbearance with Flagstar Bank. In XXXX my forbearance was about to end so I asked to start the loss mitigation process. They sent a modification offer that would increase the payment to {$1000.00} and extend the loan 10 years. That was not possible since I'd noted repeatedly I had reduced income. At the end of XXXX I was offered a new job making $ XXXX more per year than the one I left in XXXX. I contacted Flagstar to decline the {$1000.00} modification and be considered for a deferred delinquency and resume my {$970.00} payment. I was then told I had to make 3 payments at that amount before I could refinance. I had a refi approved with another lender at a better rate than Flagstar 's 4 %. Every representative on every call since XXXX, plus the deferral letter, states that once I made the first {$970.00} payment it would show I accepted the deferral, the loan would be shown current, and the forbearance lifted. I made those payments XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX. I waited 4 weeks as Flagstar indicates the process would take from XX/XX/XXXX and my loan was still not showing current. When I made the XX/XX/XXXX payment by phone I asked about this and was told that the account showed there was an open modification request. I stated that I declined that in a phone call at the end of XXXX. The representative said she'd email someone and the loan would be brought current. My refinance rate lock had expired weeks ago and the new lender asked me to find out when this would be resolved. Upon calling on XX/XX/XXXX, I was told by the first representative of the day that it still wasn't done. She would escalate the call and get it resolved. The rep I was passed to then told me the process had started all over on XX/XX/XXXX because I logged in and clicked 'something ' that caused a delay. I logged in to see if my loan was showing current but did not click to extend a forbearance. Clearly I have been trying for months to get out of this so I can refinance. I was told in a prior call to Flagstar that the forbearances extend automatically. At yet another call, a rep did the extension automatically. I have only selected to extend once, in XXXX. The XX/XX/XXXX representative ( # 2 ) is now telling me it will take until the end of XXXX to show my account as current and lift the forbearance. I said this is unacceptable and I am being bound to this loan illegally when I have fulfilled all of my requirements and done my due diligence to understand the process. I have verbally confirmed my understanding on each call as have they restated the same. I presently can not refinance my home and now will likely have to pay a higher rate as a result by the time this has resolved. I will potentially will suffer a credit score hit when I have to reapply and have another inquiry. The representative then told me they could 'shoot for " getting this resolved by XX/XX/XXXX but I will still have to wait 10 plus days from then to get a letter in the mail showing proof of current status because they can not automatically email the letter when it is created. Yet I receive constant 'delinquent ' statements by email which also are not reflecting my payments credited as current, as the contract indicates. 'Punishing ' a consumer who now has the means and the desire to have a clean account is simply unethical.

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