Consumer complaint received 2016-03-01
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: AZ
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional fixed mortgage
Issue: Application, originator, mortgage broker

Complaint:
I contacted Bank of America regarding eligibility for a Harp 2.0 refinance option for my underwater home. B of A originated my loan XX/XX/XXXX but now only services the loan. A loan officer told me on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX that I was indeed eligible for a HARP loan and that Fannie Mae now owned my loan, which is a requirement for a HARP loan ( your loan must be owned by either XXXX or XXXX XXXX ). He gave me quotes for XXXX different expensive loan options with high fees for closing costs. Since then I contacted XXXX and XXXX XXXX directly by phone on multiple occasions to verify that I was in their data base and did in fact qualify for a HARP refinance. They both stated I was NOT IN THEIR DATA BASE. XXXX recommended I call Bank of America again and request the " Investor loan number '' or the " XXXX loan number '' associated with my loan ( which I did on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX and again on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX ). If I can get the Investor number then I can qualify for a HARP loan with other lenders besides B of A. I then spoke to several customer service reps and mortgage loan servicing reps at Bank of America on the aforementioned dates, and all of them repeatedly refused to give me the necessary loan number or ownership information. They state they " do n't have access to that information '' and that they ca n't transfer my to call to ANYONE who CAN give me this information. Finally one mortgage service rep on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX says he can send an e-mail request to the " appropriate department '' to have them send me my loan ownership information by mail in 3-5 business days. I just received a post card from Bank of America on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX. It did not contain any loan ownership or Investor loan number information. They simply requested that I follow up with yet another loan officer to handle my loan questions. Every time I call B of A they simply try to route me to another loan officer who reiterates " they do n't know who owns my loan '' or they " do n't have access to that information '', which is blatantly false. They could not offer me a HARP refinance with them unless I met the qualification for ownership by XXXX or XXXX XXXX. They are simply withholding my loan information for their own benefit to force me to refinance with them. Since then I researched online for fraud complaints with Bank of America and there is no shortage of news on the subject ( check out XXXX among many others ). There is evidence that they have been consistently involved in fraudulent activity regarding the TARP program, the HAMP program, and now also the new HARP 2.0 program. Since B of A no longer owns these mortgages, they have no investment in helping you save your home from foreclosure or to modify your loan terms. As a " servicer '' of these loans they do, however, receive lucrative fees on the modification or foreclosure process, such as fees for property inspections & other legal work to seize a home. Whoever currently owns the loan in the form of a mortgage backed security is the one who " pays '' for the loss. They have zero motivation to help and there are no real consumer protections. These big banks seem to do whatever they want without negative ramifications and they rig everything in their favor to make them money. It seems to me the withholding of my personal loan ownership information is or should be illegal, especially since it ensures I am unable to refinance my underwater home with anyone except B of A. They are not held to any fiduciary standard to work for the best interest of the consumer. They work only for the benefit of themselves, so if you need help you will find you are on your own.

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 non-monetary relief