Consumer complaint received 2021-10-19
Product: Mortgage — FHA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — 
Company: LoanCare, LLC (IL)

XX/XX/XXXX my husband and I purchased a new home financed by XXXX XXXX and serviced by LoanCare. XXXX, XXXX my husband was furloughed indefinitely due to a work strike. We immediately applied for the Illinois Hardest Hit program. LoanCare recommended we enter a short-term forbearance during the Hardest Hit program revue as it could take as much as 90 days for approval and disbursement of funds. Per the customer care individual, being placed on a short-term forbearance would avoid any collection activity and our account would remain current. I immediately submitted the required application and documents, per the instructions provided. XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, LoanCare continuously requested documents that were not initially required, it was nearly impossible to get anyone on the phone, and absolutely no one would respond to emails... the contact email their website provides if you have questions. During this time we began receiving late notices and threats of foreclosure. We continued to receive documentation on how to apply for a forbearance or loan modification. That's odd since we had already submitted the application. When I finally got a customer service agent on the phone and inquired as to why we were receiving these communications while they were already processing our forbearance, the customer rep literally stated, " we continue sending those just in case. '' What does that even mean? 

Understanding now that whomever I was speaking to was maybe an operator going way off script, I asked to speak with a manager. She continued to stonewall me until I started quoting my rights as a consumer. She then put me on hold for nearly a half-hour... transferring me to a supervisor. The individual that picked up the phone clearly was not a supervisor but was posing as one. The next day, I attempted to log into my LoanCare account to check the status of my Forbearance to find out I had been completely locked out! None of my credentials worked and I continued to receive an error message stating my account was unavailable due to past due status. Please call LoanCare to discuss your account!!!! WHAT???? 

After countless emails with no reply, not having access to my LoanCare account to check the status of my Forbearance application, and receiving a credit bureau notification that my LoanCare account was recently reported late ... I logged into my XXXX  account to find out Loan Care had reported my account late for XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX! I immediately filed an online dispute. 

No longer interested in the runaround, I began using XXXX to find a better person to connect with directly. Yep, random emails and Inmails to senior leadership until someone responded. On XX/XX/XXXX, after finally connecting with someone with authority to review and remedy my issue, I was informed he just needed to start over and would handle himself going forward. While waiting on the results of that and the processing of my Hardest Hit application, they continued to report my account late for XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I was informed by the Illinois Hardest Hit program that we were approved and that this notification was also forwarded to LoanCare. I immediately reached out to my contact at LoanCare who said he didn't see it in the system but it could take a couple of weeks. He further stated they would update my account and credit as current once the system updated. While my status did become current in XX/XX/XXXX, they never corrected the late marks from XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX. As well, my emails and phone calls were never answered again by my contact. 

Now here 's where it gets completely outrageous!!! Yes, it gets worse. Yes, from XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX, the Hardest Hit payments were being received and posted in a timely manner and reporting every month like clockwork. However, In XXXX, I notified them I was unprepared to resume payments as I had lost my job. They asked if I could make a good-faith payment and apply for a loan modification. I informed them that I was not working so how could I agree to a modification and trial pay period. LoanCare suggested I submit a new forbearance. Absolutely! They sent the paperwork and I submitted it immediately... then nothing! Now we are back to ground XXXX again. I was locked out of my account again and emails requesting confirmation that the app and documents were received ... ghost. Finally, on XX/XX/XXXX, I received the following email : " I am no longer in Loss Mit since XX/XX/XXXX. I have forward all your emails to loss mit that were sent to me. Going forward please email XXXX Thanks for your time! XXXX XXXX, Loan Counselor II, COLLECTIONS Department, LoanCare , LLC, Service That Exceeds Expectations, O : XXXX, XXXX : XXXX | XXXX : XXXX, A : XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX  XXXX, VA XXXX | NMLS # XXXX. '' WOW! 

After this, I immediately to took to XXXX again and found XXXX XXXX, Loss Mitigation Supervisor. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received the following email : " XXXX XXXX, I had failed to respond to you yesterday on this request. All the docs that you provided have been uploaded into our system and a new request is opened for an Unemployment FB. I have reached out to my peer in the processing area and requested that it be expedited. '' Meanwhile, at this point, my credit report is showing late XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX! 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I receive another email from XXXX XXXX : " PLEASE DO NOT FORWARD REQUESTED DOCUMENTS TO THIS EMAIL. 
Re : Loan # : XXXX Good afternoon, We are in receipt of your recent Loss Mitigation request. However, it appears we are in need of the following additional items to complete your file : - 60 Days Bank Statements *All Accounts/Pages* *Must Show Name/Address, Bank Info & Income Deposits* Please be sure to include your loan number on your documents & in your correspondence. Please send the requested items by XX/XX/XXXX. 
**PLEASE DO NOT FORWARD REQUESTED DOCUMENTS TO THIS EMAIL. ** PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT ALL DOCUMENTS ARE TIME SENSITIVE AND CAN EXPIRE. PLEASE SEND DOCUMENTS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I will have a member of our team reach out to you to verbally ensure you have the appropriate contact information. We require verbal contact with each customer. '' This is real life, I can not make this up! The next time I heard from LoanCare was XX/XX/XXXX asking for the very same documents I had forwarded directly to XXXX XXXX the day before... to her direct email as " a member of their team '' never reached out to me! Again, this is real life, I can not make this up! Oh yeah, at this point my account was reporting late for XX/XX/XXXX. This back and forth continued through XX/XX/XXXX and my account continued to report negatively to the credit bureaus. On XX/XX/XXXX, I was informed I needed to make a good-faith payment of {$1200.00} and that would make my account current ... which I did the same day and received a confirmation from their electronic processing tool. I was then allowed to access my account online again. When I requested the late marks on my credit report be removed I was told I had late fees that had to be cleared up ... another {$200.00} which I pay on XX/XX/XXXX. 

In XXXX, I received another alert from the credit bureaus stating I had a recent late payment reported from LoanCare. Yep, if you guessed it was for XX/XX/XXXX, you win the grand prize! I was told by LoanCare, that it was due to the {$200.00} that I did not pay until XX/XX/XXXX... sigh. 

XX/XX/XXXX, I found a new job ... yay! After my first check, I immediately contacted LoanCare and requested a Loan Modification. Here we go again! The packet was not sent to me until XX/XX/XXXX! Again, I can not make this stuff up ... this is real life. Oh yeah, at this point, I have a negative report for XX/XX/XXXX as well. I have to laugh to keep from crying. As you've probably guessed ... this goes on until finally, I receive approval in XX/XX/XXXX with the first trial payment due XX/XX/XXXX of which I paid. This, unfortunately, coincided with downtime for my husband due to a lack of work during the holiday season. Being proactive, on XX/XX/XXXX, I went back to LoanCare and let them know my husband is on hiatus until XXXX and we need to reconfigure the loan modification. After all, their website says to notify them immediately if something changes, for this very reason. Guess what, I received an EMAIL on XX/XX/XXXX ( I thought they said they required a conversation ... IJS ) from a XXXX XXXX  : " Good morning, Re loan number XXXX Weve received your file for loss mitigation options and upon review it appears that we still need a few additional pieces of information before the file is complete. The following items are needed : XXXX60 DAYS BANK STATEMENT -30 DAYS PAYSTUBS ( XXXX ) MOST RECENT SAME EMPLOYER If you could please supply the above mentioned documents at your earliest convenience it would be greatly appreciated. They can be sent via mail, fax or email. ( Email and fax would be the most efficient ). Our fax number is XXXX, and our mailing address is listed below. If you send them via email, my email address is listed below ( please make sure that emails containing the documents are not only sent to my email address but the following email address as well : XXXX ) Make sure that your loan number is included in the subject line, and that it is also placed on each of the documents that you send in. 

Once all items have been received, I will be sending you a confirmation email, and will also provide a brief explanation of what will occur next. I appreciate your prompt attention in this matter. If you have any questions please feel free to send me an email or contact our toll free number at XXXX. Have a great day! 
MAILING ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE : ATTN : LOSS MITIGATION XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX VA XXXX Thank you, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX A XXXX  Company Service That Exceeds Expectations O : XXXX ( Toll Free ) | F : E : XXXX | XXXX : XXXX  A : | XXXX  XXXX XXXX VA XXXX XXXX NMLS # XXXX '' So... Email and fax would be the most efficient ... wow ... who knew? Anywho ... back to this ridiculous experience with LoanCare... oh yeah... now my credit report is reporting late XX/XX/XXXX. LOL!!! 

As you've probably guessed, on XX/XX/XXXX, I reached out to XXXX XXXX XXXX  to request confirmation that she received the documents I sent more than two weeks prior. What you have probably further ascertained is at this point my credit report shows late for XX/XX/XXXX. XX/XX/XXXX, I received a XXXX  alert that my Loan Modification documents had been shipped. They arrived on XX/XX/XXXX ... that's a good thing right... NOT! XXXX, my account was reported negative again! Per the loan modification requirements, I made XXXX and XXXX payments... however, my account reported to the bureaus late for XXXX and no report at all for XX/XX/XXXX. Oh yeah, I got some weird email in XXXX telling me it's not too late to take charge of my account... apply for mortgage assistance today... what? XXXX and XXXX... nothing reported to the credit bureaus. WOW! XX/XX/XXXX, I was finally able to access my account again but after not reporting anything to the credit bureau from XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX, they finally reported something... you guessed it, late payment... why??? Then, XX/XX/XXXX, they posted nothing. Then XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX they posted my account current to the credit bureaus. In XXXX, we asked for the CARES Act forbearance as my husband had not returned to work as originally informed by his employer ... the Furlow had been extended as COVID-19 had experienced an upswing. AGAIN, OUR ACCOUNT HAD BEEN CURRENT XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX. The forbearance was approved in XX/XX/XXXX ; however, LoanCare still reported us to the credit bureaus as late for XXXX XXXX. 

Here is where it truly gets interesting. Again we applied for the CARES Act forbearance in XXXX and our account was current. XXXX, it was approved but began reporting the account as late. In XXXX, when my husband finally returned to work, I immediately reached out to LoanCare to cancel the forbearance to resume making regular payments. LoanCare advised me to enter a Loan Modification so I did. Our first payment was due XX/XX/XXXX and it was paid. Then XXXX was paid! Well... I check my credit report to find out LoanCare continued to report us late from XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX. When I opened a new investigation with LoanCare, they immediately reported to the credit bureaus that our forbearance was from XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX. However, the mortgage statement we received stated our first payment was due XX/XX/XXXX, and again, we paid it on time! LoanCare took 13 days to post it to our account. 

So they're two things happening here... first, they backdated the forbearance and they held our payment so that it would post late! My loan modification papers state XX/XX/XXXX as the first payment date out of the forbearance and that's what I did! LoanCare only updated the XX/XX/XXXX payment because I called and complained and made it clear I know my rights! What they are obviously refusing to do is accept accountability for the lack of skill and due diligence since we entered into a relationship with them. I have spoken to " customer service '' agents that are just one verb or two shy of being illiterate that were just making policy up for the sake of being argumentative with me. 

My relationship with LoanCare has been a nightmare. Clearly, XXXX, which utilizes them to service mortgage loans, has no idea what's really going on. I can tell that via the countless emails I've gotten to streamline my loan. When I reply, they tell me, " oh, we can't do that because of the late history on your loan. They have no idea or don't care, how incompetent LoanCare is. Either way, their incompetencies and lack of accountability are wreaking havoc on our lives. They need to be held accountable. 

To resolve the problem, I would appreciate these late payments be removed from both my XXXX and XXXX credit reports. Oh, I forgot to mention, for some reason they are reporting my mortgage as closed on XXXX. Now mind you, this is a joint mortgage with my husband. It is reporting on his XXXX report. I have asked, on several occasions, that LoanCare and XXXX correct this to no avail. 

By advisement from all three credit bureaus, I am seeking assistance from CFPB to resolve this. I look forward to your reply and a resolution to my problem. While an XXXX associate has been extremely helpful in helping me craft this message and launching a new investigation, I feel it imperative that you intervene. My mortgage is an FHA loan meaning it is government-insured. LoanCare is unethical and predatorial seeking financial gain via forced late fees, incompetent staff, and what I feel is extortion. As long as they continue this cycle, no other lender will touch our mortgage and they know it. We are stuck and they will not take accountability. They are practicing retaliatory behavior, including reporting our account as 60/90/120 days late after a series of on-time payments immediately proceeding with the false reports. PLEASE HELP!