Consumer complaint received 2022-09-04
Company: AMERIS BANCORP
State: GA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
To whom this may concern : I purchased my primary residence at XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX GA XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, getting a 30 year conventional mortgage from XXXX XXXX  that soon there after became Ameris Bank ~ the loan servicer XXXX. The original loan amount was {$320000.00} at 4.99 % interest ( loan # XXXX ). From the moment I purchased the home, I made every single monthly payment on time. On ( or about ) XX/XX/XXXX I received a forbearance offer from Ameris Bank ( a 3 page contract that needed to be signed and returned to them to opt into the forbearance program ) Since the document did not clarify how the suspended payments were going to be repaid I did NOT sign the forbearance agreement. On ( or around ) XX/XX/XXXX I noticed my monthly mortgage payments ( set up on auto pay ) were not being taken out of my account and thus not being paid. At that time I called XXXX and was told I was automatically put on the forbearance program without my knowledge or approval and that I needed to speak to the loss mitigation department since there were 3 or 4 unpaid monthly mortgage payments ( totaling {$14.00}, XXXX ). I was livid, and immediately asked to speak to a supervisor to see what remedies were available to immediately get my mortgage current. I never got an opportunity to speak to anyone in charge and was told that since there was an unpaid balance the only was to have my monthly automatic payments accepted by the lender was to pay off the unpaid $ XXXX + balance. I did not have this amount available in cash ( this is the reason I did not agree to the forbearance in the first place! ) So the XXXX loan mitigation representative advised me to send in subsequent monthly mortgage payments by mailing a check, which I started doing at that point and did every month since then. On ( or around ) XX/XX/XXXX, the loss mitigation department then offered a loan modification as an option, which I applied for, which would make the unpaid balance current under new terms. On ( or around ) XX/XX/XXXX ( one year later! ) the loan modification I applied for was accepted and was instructed to make 3 monthly trial payments at the new modified amount ( {$1500.00} + - per month ) which I sent in religiously to them on time. The loss mitigation department then said that official documentation would then be mailed to me sometime in XXXX XXXX ( after last trial payment was made ) to sign, get notarized, and return to them to completed the process. Before receiving these final documents ~ Sometime in XX/XX/XXXX I received a new loan modification offer from Ameris with more advantageous terms ( this was labelled Covid relief offer ). I called the loss mitigation department about this and they said I could sign up for this ( better ) offer, Ignore the final docs from the first offer when I receive them, and simply start making the 3 monthly trial payments ( new amount {$1200.00} ) moving forward and that once my trial payments were complete I would receive the final docs to sign, get notarized and send back to them. Sometime in XX/XX/XXXX I received the final docs for the FIRST loan modification offer and did not sign and return to them, since by that point I had completed my 3 monthly trial payments of the SECOND modification offer. throughout this process, I have been advised by the loss mitigation department to keep making the trial payments ( even beyond the 3 month requirement ) which is what I have done. To this day ( XX/XX/XXXX ) I am still waiting for, and have not received the final documents to sign and complete the loan modification. I spoke to the loss mitigation department probably 100 times in these past 2 years and EACH time, they promised this process would NOT affect my credit since the original unpaid balance ( resulting from putting me in the forbearance program without my consent ) would NOT be reported to the credit agencies. Sometime in XX/XX/XXXX, I noticed that XXXX reported me XXXX + days late on my mortgage which of course, tanked m credit. I called them immediately and they confessed this was done erroneously ( their mistake ) just like automatically putting me in the forbearance program without my approval was and said unfortunately this has happened to A LOT of people. They promised they would write the credit agencies letting them know to remove the errom=neous reporting and do a credit correction. None of this has been handled. This has been a nightmare! This lender/servicer should not be allowed to harm people this way. When I speak to them they yes me to death and do nothing! Please help, they should not be allowed to continue with their unscrupulous practices, this is fraud! Because of this craziness my credit is ruined and I am at risk of FORECLOSURE after never being late or delinquent. This is crazy, please help make this right. Thank you for your help. 
Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation