Consumer complaint received 2017-03-08
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: IL
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Home equity loan or line of credit
Issue: Loan servicing, payments, escrow account

Complaint:
Problem is with 2nd mortgage ( HELOC ) that is with Bank of America ( BOA ). I was divorced XXXX. I was awarded the house in the divorce so of course I owe 1st and 2nd mortgages, but X 's name remains on loan at BOA since it was never required to be refinanced. I have always made every payment in full ( or more ) and on time for both 1st and 2nd. X filed bankruptcy and was discharged in mid XXXX. HELOC with BOA matured with ENTIRE balance $ XXXX due XX/XX/XXXX ( which was a predatory loan to begin with! ). Monthly auto-payments of {$350.00} ( which was min payment due plus extra to help pay down the principal ) have been on auto pay for years and continue to this day ( because I was n't informed loan matured ). BOA has accepted every payment. No one at BOA ever contacted me about the loan maturing until XX/XX/XXXX when a " pay $ XXXX in 30 days or we 'll foreclose '' letter arrived. I called BOA immediately to resolve, and have spent nearly XXXX months trying to work with them. BOA claims they did n't call ME, because X filed bankruptcy ( but that was my X that filed [ I have never filed bankruptcy ], BOA was n't even mentioned on his bankruptcy filing [ since it was no longer his liability ] nor was the BOA loan discharged. Additionally he filed in XXXX ... 2 years prior to loan maturing and 4+ years before I was finally sent a letter about the loan maturing ). They told me they did n't contact me because I did n't " reaffirm the loan ''. But I can not reaffirm the loan because I did n't file bankruptcy!?! 

So BOA is reporting the loan as delinquent on my credit report ( even though monthly payments are still being made ). BOA said they ca n't refinance me because of the way the loan is showing up on my credit report. I 've tried other banks and they wo n't refinance me either for the same reason ( I 've been told they ca n't refinance me because the lovely Fannie/Freddie guidelines wo n't allow them to, though no one has ever told me the exact guideline they are referring to ). 

So I tried to go through BOA 's loan modification program and have been declined, appealed, then declined again. The two reasons I am given for denial are 1. Balloon date was too long ago for me to qualify for the balloon loan mod program under their INTERNAL guidelines ( though they are n't telling me the specific regulation/guideline they are referring to and it is their fault it has been so long ago because they never contacted me about the loan maturing until 2 years after it had matured ) and 2. that my income to expense ratio does n't quality. After questioning them on this because I know I make enough money to cover my bills, they told me they were putting the entire $ XXXX loan balance we are trying to refinance as a monthly expense against my monthly income, which is completely illogical! ). 

So in summary, I make enough money to repay the debt, have very good credit ( besides the way this BOA loan is showing up on my credit report ) and have more than 20 % equity in my home ( and that is according to their appraisal ). There is no reason not to refinance/modify my loan! I now have a HUD counselor trying to work with them, but he is not getting anywhere with them either and is telling me they are n't being transparent with him. Apparently when he asked for the specific reason for the denial, they told him that HE needs to provide them with the regulation that allows them to refinance me. There is no reason they should not modify my loan and/or foreclose on my home when I am paying them and have the ability to pay. It seems they are choosing to foreclose rather than to be paid! The people I have reached out to on this matter ( family, friends, other banks, attorneys, etc ) have all said BOA is the worst of the worst so I sure hope you can help them do what is right here.

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