Consumer complaint received 2022-09-07
Company: HUNTINGTON NATIONAL BANK, THE
State: CO
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
I closed on my house in early XXXX. The house is in Colorado, USA. The original loan was under a company named " XXXX XXXX ''. However, after I made my first payment ( which I didn't need to pay until XX/XX/XXXX ) my loan was transferred to a new bank, XXXX XXXX. I was very sketched out. Having my loan sold after just a single payment didn't seem right. I reached out to my mortgage broker ( not sure if that's the right name for her, but she's the one who gathering all of our financial info and got us pre-approved for a loan, and picked out the lender, etc, she took care of essentially everything, her name is XXXX XXXX XXXX and she confirmed that since I got a farewell letter from XXXX XXXX, that yes, this was a legit mortgage sale and was, in fact, normal to happen. Cool, I got all set up to make online payments with XXXX XXXX. Fast forward to XX/XX/XXXX. At this point, I have made two payments to XXXX XXXX. The most recent payment I made was on XX/XX/XXXX. The payments are " due '' on the first of the month, but I always pay them around the XXXX or so, because that's when I pay all my bills. It's just easier that way for me. Now, I'm getting ready to leave for the weekend for a short trip I have planned and I find a letter on my desk that my wife ( other owner of the property ) put there. I don't know how long it's been there, but it can't have been for more than a few days. Inside is two pieces of paper, one that is a " Mortgage Transfer Notice '' which shows that my mortgage was transferred on XX/XX/XXXX and another that is a welcome letter of sorts to a new bank, XXXX, dated XX/XX/XXXX, ironically one day before I made my previous payment. I'm annoyed that my loan was transferred again, but my broker did say this was normal. On the paperwork they sent me, it had my original loan amount as well as my loan number. I called the number included in the letter and was told my next payment with them was due on XXXX ... which was today. I told them I had just paid with the previous loan owner on the XXXX, and they said no problem, I have a 15 day grace period but still need to make my next payment by XX/XX/15. I also asked him how to make a payment and he just said go to the website to make an account, and didn't give me any specific website, but to just look up XXXX. I argued ( regarding the due payment ) and he put me on hold. I started to panic and hung up so I could call my broker. The only information I gave XXXX that wasn't included on the document they sent me was my monthly payment amount. That was my name, the original loan amount, and the loan number. My broker didn't answer but I texted her, and while waiting for her to respond, I tried to call XXXX XXXX, but they were closed for the weekend. Instead, I logged on to the XXXX XXXX site and the agent chat feature was still operational, so I chatted with them about what was going on. They told me ( after some 5+ minute waits in between responses ) that my loan has not been sold, and that XXXX XXXX almost never sells loans, and that the info XXXX XXXX me was incorrect. Finally, my broker called and asked me to send her the documents and a recent statement from XXXX XXXX. So I sent her all the documents, and she called me back in the morning, telling me that while it seems legitimate, something about it was fishy, and wanted to follow up with me on Tuesday ( because Monday was XXXX XXXX. ) Fast forward to Tuesday, which is today. I called XXXX XXXX and sat on hold for an hour and finally, they confirmed that they absolutely have NOT sold my loan. They confirmed that if they did sell my loan, there would be a record of it, and a goodbye letter, and also advised that I might want to contact police about the potential scam. Wonderful news, right? I told my broker and she thanked me for letting her know, and also told me that there is no reason for a new loan owner to ever ask me for my monthly payment amount, and also told me that the original loan amount and loan number were public info. Anyway, just to confirm something that had been bothering me, I figured it was worth calling XXXX again. Instead of calling the number on the document they sent me, I looked up the official number online. They were different numbers. The other thing that bothered me is that if it was a scam, then when I called originally, XXXX wouldn't have told me to pay on the website, but instead would have wanted me to pay over the phone. So, I called and sat on hold for a while and eventually was told, surprise surprise, yes the loan was transferred to them and I was past my due date to pay. I basically told them to contact XXXX XXXX and figure it out, and to not contact me. 

So to summarize Loan was transferred from the original lender to a new one. Then, I got a letter saying it was transferred again, but the second bank says it was not. 

I really don't want my credit to be damaged by this, and I really don't want to lose my house. What can I do to resolve this? Do I need to hire a lawyer or something? 

In addition to this, I looked up my loan on XXXX and it says XXXX XXXX  as well.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation