Consumer complaint received 2020-05-11
Product: Mortgage — Other type of mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — 
Company: FCI Lender Services Inc. (NC)

I would like to provide a brief history on the facts surrounding this toxic loan that I was fraudulently strong-armed into prior to the the XXXX recession. I had been under the impression that it had been long forgiven by the original lender and wiped clean off my credit. Please note that I am and have been current on my main loan ( 1st mortgage ) on my home, and there are no issues there. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX On XX/XX/XXXX I purchased my property in XXXX, NC. Subsequently, on XX/XX/XXXX I was contacted by agents of the now defunct XXXX XXXX XXXX ( the original mortgage broker ), offering me a predatory scheme to restructure my mortgage, indicating I would be saving a substantial amount over the long haul. This was a discriminatory, fraudulent, criminal scheme to push toxic financing products on folks like myself by criminal unlicensed brokers, most of whom did prison time because of this. 

I was then bombarded by associates of XXXX XXXX XXXX with phone calls for the next 2 weeks offering me their expert advice on why I had only a small window of time to refinance, and that they had all the paperwork ready since I has just gotten a loan from them. I was told all that was needed was my signature. 

Refinanced into a Toxic Loan On XX/XX/XXXX, less than a month later from the purchase date of my home, I fell victim to their relentless pressure tactics, and XXXX XXXX XXXX refinanced my house with XXXX XXXX XXXX, bearing an interest rate of 9.125 % and a final balloon payment of over {$90000.00}. Please bear in mind that the original refinance loan balance was {$110000.00} and after paying {$1000.00} every month for 15 years ( {$180000.00} ), I would have still owed one last payment of over {$90000.00}. XXXX XXXX XXXX assured assured me that there was nothing to worry about since this was only the first step in the process and they would yet again refinance the loan in a few weeks to get rid of the balloon payment and secure a much lower rate overall. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX advised me that the new appraisal of my home was now {$70000.00} more than the original purchase price, less than a month after I had purchased my home. How could a sane, experienced lender such as XXXX XXXX accept such an increase in value in such a short period of time? Were they only driven by greed and fraud that they completely threw due diligence out the window for the sake of profits? 

XXXX Declares Bankruptcy XXXX then assured me that they were working on another program where they would lower the rate substantially in a matter of two to three weeks. About a month later, on XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX declared bankruptcy and I never heard from them again, thus finding myself stuck in this predatory toxic loan by XXXX XXXX. 

Along the way, XXXX accumulated a dismal regulatory record. Five states - Florida, Georgia, North Carolina ( my state ), Ohio ( XXXX XXXX home state ), and Wisconsin - revoked their licenses for various abuses ; four other states disciplined the company for using unlicensed brokers for similar violations. The crash of the subprime market and a barrage of lawsuits prompted XXXX to file for U.S. bankruptcy court protection in XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX Guilty of Felony Fraud Then in XXXX, a XXXX unit in XXXX ( XXXX XXXX headquarters ) and its manager plead guilty to felony charges related to fraudulent mortgage schemes. I would also like to point out that I am not the only victim of such schemes perpetrated on folks by XXXX XXXX and its fraudulent affiliates. There are numerous law suits, class action and otherwise, initiated by people in the very same situation as me, including judgments against this bank that I can furnish to you if need be. To further clarify this predatory, unlawful toxic scheme, below please find the link to just one of the federal lawsuits that the US Department of Justice along with U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau brought against XXXX XXXX ( which XXXX bought on XXXX XXXX, XXXX ), for violating the federal Fair Housing Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act in imposing higher fees and interest rates on more than XXXX minority borrowers such as myself. 

https : XXXX Due to exactly these types of actions by predatory lenders such as XXXX XXXX and their partners and affiliates in crime, such as XXXX XXXX XXXX, in late XXXX the housing market crashed and our country entered into the longest recession since the XXXX. Millions of hard working, trusting individuals such as myself found ourselves upside down in toxic mortgages. 

XXXX XXXX After realizing that I have been a victim of a ruthless predatory lender and its shameless broker in a racially targeted criminal scheme, I started contacting XXXX XXXX and pleaded with them to find a way to rectify this crime. XXXX XXXX representatives admitted to me repeatedly that these loans were not properly originated and that XXXX XXXX was working on ways to correct them through modifications and mortgage forgiveness programs which never materialized. They kept dragging me along with false promises and lies about non-existent forgiveness and modification programs just to squeeze as many payments from me every month while I was taking care of my XXXX mother across the country with stage XXXX XXXX XXXX ( all correspondences, phone calls, interaction with numerous XXXX XXXX agents are meticulously documented and recorded ). Soon after, XXXX XXXX went under and XXXX took it over. 

XXXX After XXXX take over of XXXX XXXX, I started receiving settlement/forgiveness offers on this toxic loan. XXXX settlement offers initially started from 40 % and kept going all the way down to 10 % of the loan balance, which clearly shows XXXX belief that this loan was predatory, toxic, not properly made, uncollectible, and did not have the value for which it was originated. I realized at this point XXXX was attempting to get whatever they could on this worthless fraudulent, predatory toxic loan and simply wash their hands of it. Attached please find one of such settlement offer letters from XXXX to me in XXXX of XXXX from XXXX account specialist, Mr. XXXX XXXX. The last phone conversation I had with Mr. XXXX was in XXXX of XXXX, when he shared with me that he had good news and that XXXX had approved a final settlement offer of 10 % of the loan balance and that I should be expecting to receive a letter in the mail to that effect soon. 

Needless to say I did not hear back from Mr. XXXX XXXX, nor XXXX after that point. Shortly after, I realized that they had removed the entire loan and its history from my credit. I simply went about my life, working hard while taking care of my ill mother, assuming they had come to their senses, forgiven the loan and wiped it off my credit. I did not hear from them again. 

Junk Loan Debt Buyers / Collection Agencies Over the years, I periodically receive letters from junk debt buyers claiming they now own this toxic mortgage, and attempt to collect on it. The original lender, XXXX XXXX went down in flames because of exactly this types of bait and switch toxic products, and before they went under kept promising me and other folks in my position to fix this situation. XXXX XXXX XXXX was swallowed up by XXXX with tax payer, government TARP funds. XXXX XXXX then itself knew that these products were highly toxic and not worth the paper they were written on, and tried to get rid of them by offering 10 cents on the dollar and eventually even gave up that pursuit, took it completely off my credit and tried to make a couple of dollars and sold it in the junk debt market to companies such as the current company which is coming after my house ( FCI ). I've had probably about 10 other junk debt companies masquerading as legit holders on this toxic product contacting me over the years, and upon sending them the info they all backed off and were not heard back from. 

FCI and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  That is until now, where a company by the name of FCI ( servicer ) and XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX, XXXX ( the new alleged owner ), has decided to try to foreclose on my home. when I attempted to communicate with them, it became obvious to me that they are dishonest debt collectors who are just rushing through to try to foreclose on my home with no regard to the actual facts surrounding origination of this predatory loan.