Consumer complaint received 2021-07-31
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CA
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: FHA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage

Complaint:
I entered a one-year forbearance plan in XX/XX/XXXX. From my understanding, the forbearance was from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX. In hopes of addressing the back owed amount prior to the forbearance ending, I reached out to Bank of America in XX/XX/XXXX to confirm my options. BofAs representative advised that I had to pay the entire forbearance upfront. Concerned with the threat of foreclosure, I agreed to look into it and follow back up. 

I reviewed the CARES Act and called BofA back to assert my rights. I was told to submit a request for mortgage assistance through their portal with the guidance of their Home Loan Assistance Document Checklist. The portal stated the process would conclude within 10 days. I maintained close communication with my assigned representative, XXXX XXXX, who confirmed on XX/XX/XXXX that my loan was being updated with modified terms. 

I did not hear anything else for over a month. Concerned with the forbearance ending soon, I connected with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX ( XXXX ). I submitted a third-party authorization form via BofAs online portal on XX/XX/XXXX. I followed up on XX/XX/XXXX and their representatives claimed it was not on their system, so I resubmitted it and XXXX faxed it that same day too. BofAs representative XXXX advised me to resume my mortgage payments after XX/XX/XXXX while everything was finalized. 

XXXX explained that because I was able to resume my mortgage payments, I would qualify for a standalone partial claim under the FHA post-forbearance guidelines through the CARES Act, since my loan is an FHA mortgage. I decided to proceed with a standalone partial claim request, especially since my XXXX request for mortgage assistance was getting nowhere, hoping this would finally resolve the forbearance. 

XXXX requested a standalone partial claim on XX/XX/XXXX. BofAs representative stated that the paperwork would arrive via XXXX within 5 8 business days. On XX/XX/XXXX XXXX followed up, since I had yet to receive paperwork, and BofAs representative claimed the paperwork could not be mailed out until I was out of the forbearance plan. The second representative recorded the request and stated it could take up to two weeks to confirm if I can be evaluated for it. 

XXXX followed up on XX/XX/XXXX. BofAs representatives refused to continue communicating with XXXX, claiming XXXX was not authorized on the account. I followed up on XX/XX/XXXX. BofAs representative XXXX claimed their records reflected that I did not qualify for a standalone partial claim because I was not current prior to the forbearance. 

I requested an escalation, since I was current prior to entering the forbearance, which he said would take 7 10 business days. I followed up after the 10 days and was advised that there was no record of the escalation request, therefore it would take 7 10 additional business days. I followed up after the additional 10 days and was told there was no update to my escalation.

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