Consumer complaint received 2022-01-12
Product: Mortgage — FHA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — 
Company: PLANET HOME LENDING, LLC (FL)

In XX/XX/XXXX we hired The XXXX XXXX to do a home loan modification for us, we were two months behind on our mortgage and was advised by the attorney to stop making payments and to pay him a monthly fee of XXXX dollars. On XX/XX/XXXX we were approved for a trial payment plan XXXX in which we told the attorney we would take and signed the papers to do so then submitted them back to the attorney. Later that night the attorney called and advised us not to take the offer because it was only a trial period with no guarantee of reinstating our loan or that the monthly payments would not go up. 
We made the attorney aware we did not want to go into foreclosure or have to file bankruptcy. Every few months or so the attorney would request bank statements to file another packet, he never said why. 
In XX/XX/XXXX I received a court summons for foreclosure. I filed a complaint with XXXX  against the the Lender Planet Home Lending LLC because we were suppose to be in loan modification. In their response there was a time line of events given with two other dates XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX for approved Trial payments, however the attorney never informed us of those in which he was fired and withdrew from the foreclosure case pending in the courts. I hired another person with XXXX XXXX XXXX to do another loan modification. That is under review at this time, however I also have a court date on XX/XX/XXXX for the summary of judgment on the foreclosure. I believe Planet Home Lending LLC is dual tracking and not being fair to us. The previous attorney put us in a sticky situation where we were only only two months behind is now two years in which makes it hard to try to come up with the now XXXX to bring the loan up to date. I have filed a complaint with the florida bar on him but that does not undo the damage. I have contacted the lender and made them aware of the situation. I have told them I do not want to loose our home, it is our primary residence and I have a XXXX child. We CAN afford a monthly mortgage payment but it seems they dont have any interest in reviewing another modification package and is pretty determined to foreclose. The previous attorney had filed a FDCPA violation against the lender Planet Home Lending LLC on XX/XX/XXXX we were asked to fill out a W-9 form in which money was received however I do not know how much because the attorney kept it, and never provided any other documentation. However I feel that because of that it could be a contributing factor for the Lenders push for foreclosure rather than modification which again I feel is unfair to us. In XX/XX/XXXX we called the Lender expressing our concerns about our mortgage payments constantly rising, and some health issues they basically told us there was nothing they could do for us and advised us to call a XXXX number for help in which we did and was put in contact with the XXXX XXXX. From there we did as the attorney told us to do. We did not know he was withholding information from us, we thought we were in a loan modification. We put our trust in the attorney that he would look out for our best interest. I have spent close to XXXX dollars trying to negotiate a simple FHA loan modification. This is money that should have went towards our mortgage. The offers that were previously made by Planet Home Lending unfortunately went to the attorney address not ours and we had no way of knowing what was taking place other than what the attorney was telling us or not telling us. Having brought this to the attention of Planet Home Lending with emails between the attorney and myself filed with the court and also sent to the loss mitigation department as proof that we had just found out about all this they still a reluctant on helping us keep our home. I have reached out to them asking if they could apply anything from the CARES Act to our mortgage to bring the balance down to help bring the loan up to date. I received no response. When calling the wont speak to us because they tell us we have to speak to the person representing us. However, we are representing ourselves we hired a modification specialist to do a modification he is not an attorney. Nor do we want to be unaware of what is happening and what is being done.