Consumer complaint received 2018-09-28
Company: BMO HARRIS BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: IL
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC)
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
In XX/XX/XXXX our HELOC that we have with Harris Bank matured/came due. I contacted Harris the prior summer to find out what my options were as I did not think I would be able to refinance. I explained that when the economy crashed, my husband was laid off from his job as a XXXX XXXX making $ XXXX. Since it took so long for the economy to recover, he had to make a career change and became a XXXX. He want from making $ XXXX to a first years XXXX  salary of $ XXXX. It took him 9 months to find a job. During the same time frame, I was in a horrible car accident and had a lot of medical bills as a result. 

We were referred to the Loss Mitigation Dept. at Harris and put in touch with XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX as so helpful, kind, and compassionate. We were offered a 6 month Stipulation plan and had to pay {$260.00} each month. We were told that if we make these payments on time that Harris would be able to help us work towards a permanent solution. As promised, XXXX contact us after we made 5 payments. I faxed her the paperwork she requested. A few days later XXXX contacted me apologizing stating that she could no longer assist us because our loan was now being handled in a different department and our HELOC was being charged off. When I inquired why this was happening, XXXX was not sure and confirmed that I had made all of our payments on time. 

That same day I contacted the department that was now handling my HELOC. They told me that my only option is to put this loan into a 5 year loan and make payments of {$1400.00} a month. I explained to her that I can not afford that high of a payment. She told me this was my only option. She told me I could make lower payments if I wanted but that would not guarantee that Harris would not pursue legal action/foreclosure on my house. 

I dont feel what happened here is ethical. We followed our end of the agreement on the good faith that Harris was working with us and that they would follow their end of the agreement. See below a copy of the email I received letting me know about the Stipulation Plan. 

Email from Harris regarding Stipulation plan. I copied it onto this document. I am happy to forward the original email. I do not have the contract/paperwork I signed on email, but Harris should have a copies of that paperwork. 

Email dated : XX/XX/XXXX : Hi-Management has approved you for a 6 month stipulation plan. 1st payment due on XX/XX/XXXX. Amount is {$260.00}. The 6 month plan is temporary to allow you time to improve your debt to income. Once you make your 5th payment, we will send you another package to get updated information in the hopes that things have improved so we can get you into a long term solution. Please call or email with questions/acceptance. If you accept, my closer will send you a letter with the payment due date and amount. Thanks. XXXX ( I included the copy of this email here because every time I tried to attach it below I lost everything I had typed. )

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