Consumer complaint received 2017-12-27
Company: REGIONS FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: FL
Product: Mortgage
Sub-product: Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process

Complaint:
Due Hurricane Irma, we were offered help by XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX under a campaign called " Forbearance '', which offered 90 days of grace, in which we, clients from the affected areas did not have to pay the mortgage ( with no negative consequences ), and the payments were deferred to the end of the mortgage term in order to let us use that money to repair our houses. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, we received confirmation from XXXX XXXX that we were included in the Forbearance plan for 90 days : " If you are unable to make your mortgage payment, this will give you more time to focus on your immediate needs for 90 days and at the end of the 90 days Regions will work with you to determine what other options are available ; such as, repayment plan, additional forbearance, or a modification of the loan and spread of the payments over the life of the loan. Please know that we have already coded your loan so that late charges will not be assessed for your XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX payments. Additionally, negative credit will not be reported for the XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX payments should the payments be delayed. '' On XX/XX/XXXX, less than 30 days after the offer, we received a letter requesting us to fill up a Uniform Borrower Assistance Form. Few days later, we started receiving calls ( aggressive calls ) from the bank requesting us as mandatory to return the form and update our financial information in order to proceed with a re-financing process, even when there were more than 60 days of the Forbearance period. I requested many times to Regions the option of Disaster Modification and it was denied to us with no explanations. 

We contacted XXXX XXXX, and they confirmed us that we did not have to fill up the form and we have the right to receive a Disaster Modification in our mortgage without filling any form. We opened a case with XXXX XXXX and they offered to help us with our problem. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, we received a letter from the bank asking us to contact them in order to figure out what to do after the 90 days of Forbearance ( XX/XX/XXXX ), but two days later, on XX/XX/XXXX, over 20 days before ( not after ) the Forbearance period ended, we receive a letter from XXXX XXXX saying : " This letter is formal notice by Regions Bank that you are in default under the terms of the documents creating and securing your Loan described above, including the Note of Deed of Trust/Mortgage/Security Deed ( " Security Instrument '' ), for failure to pay amounts due. ". After that day, I could not sleep or eat and my family and I have been living in the unbearable stress of losing our home. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, we received a letter from XXXX XXXX saying : " XXXX XXXX is the owner of your mortgage, and your servicer REGIONS BANK DBA XXXX XXXX notified us that you payment is late and you might go to foreclosure. '' Please, notice that we have been receiving letters taking about default and foreclosure over 20 days before the Forbearance period ended. 

I do n't not how to describe the way my family and I were treated, the feeling, fears, confusion and disappointment. We accepted the plan as help and we feel that it was just a trap to take our home from us. 

After a long fight, we finally got XXXX XXXX to honor his word and pushed Regions to let us offer the disaster modification, but then again, Regions started to play tricks with us. First, they send us a loan modification with 40 years of maturity where instead of the actual payment of US {$3700.00} we would be paying US {$3300.00} ; that means, that we would be paying only XXXX {$310.00} less but for the loan would be extended another 10 years. We rejected this offer because was unfair, did not make any financial sense and it was n't even close of what they offered us on XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XXXX XXXX, we received another letter saying that at this point, we had two options to avoid foreclosure : accept the 40 years modification or leave our home ( based on a short sale ). 

After a new round of calls with XXXX XXXX and Regions, on XX/XX/XXXX, the last day of the Forbearance period, we received a new offer for the disaster modification in a very confusing, erratic and vague document. We tried to contact Regions almost every day, in order to get answers and details of the offer but always got their voicemail and never a call or answer back. 

Finally, on XX/XX/XXXX, afraid of losing our house because the aggressive attitude of XXXX  XXXX, we paid off Regions the amount of US {$14000.00}, the money we had saved to fix the damages caused by Hurricane Irma to our house. 

The whole Forbearance plan was twisted and used by Regions Bank to force us to pay the whole amount or push us to a foreclosure. Whatever was designed to help people like us, became as a punishment and nightmare.

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