Consumer complaint received 2024-08-19
Product: Debt collection — Mortgage debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt is not yours
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (TX)

Hello, my name is XXXX XXXX, and I am seeking a resolution regarding the property I am currently under contract to sell. The closing was scheduled for XX/XX/XXXX and extended until today, Monday XX/XX/XXXX. I assumed the mortgage on this property as of XX/XX/XXXX. During probate, this lien did not come up, and I do not recall receiving any correspondence about it. In speaking with XXXX, the first lienholder, they too were not aware of this junior lien from Bank of America. I was not informed and this is a violation of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act which is on this site. 

On or around XX/XX/XXXX, I received the attached letter from Bank of America. I contacted XXXX XXXX XXXX of Bank of America 's recovery department, who informed me of a balance of {$25000.00} and insisted that the lien would need to be paid before it could be released. XXXX XXXX also stated that Bank of America was not seeking to collect this debt from me, but today I am told they can collect from me but can not negotiate or settle the amount. In research of this matter, this loan was charged off on XX/XX/XXXX. This loan was a home equity loan with Countrywide. To not collect from me makes no sense as I am the successor of the mortgage. I assumed this mortgage and was the executor during probate. This loan/debt was not presented during probate and no judgement was awarded to Bank of America for this debt claim. Currently, Bank of America states that they are collecting from the estate and because I am selling they are wanting to collect. There is no estate, it as been closed. which I find contradictory. I made it clear that I do not owe any obligation for my deceased uncle 's debt. 

Upon further investigation, I discovered that this lien originated from an equity line with Countrywide and was transferred to Bank of America. The account was charged off on XX/XX/XXXX. Today at XXXX XXXX  XXXX I spoke with XXXX to inquire about the charge-off, I was told that Bank of America does not have documents to provide for a charge-off. I asked where is the information and how can I obtain and XXXX of bank of America stated that the data is notated on a master file. I asked about the settlement offer. I was offering a minimum of 5 % not to exceed 10 of said balance. During this ordeal, I am repeatedly told that Bank of America does not settle accounts. On Friday, XX/XX/XXXX I called customer service to get to the lien release department and this account and see if this account was notated. On XX/XX/XXXX I spoke with a very nice person named XXXX, in lien release who stated the letter of intent would be sent as a placeholder while they process the lien release with the county. Because on several occasions I checked for updates on the process I was told takes XXXX hours, I was anticipating receiving a letter of intent in lieu of the release of lien. This was an attempt to accommodate the situation in which is a resource used when escrow is pending. I called a few more times up until last Friday. Each time I have interacted with customer service regarding this lien release, I was told the request is expedited so sending the lien release document and in process. As of Friday, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, the notation said they were processing the lien of release. XXXX XXXX of Recovery noted this account across Bank of America that the lien would not be released until paid in full. I called recovery again to inquire as to why would they do that and what is the legal reasons to try and collect from me. I received the same response, they are not collecting from me but they are collecting from an estate. There is no estate! It is closed. 

As the current owner through inheritance, I am struggling to understand why I would be held liable for this junior lien amount, especially when the original obligation was not mine. If Bank of America can not provide the necessary information or pursue the estate properly, I believe the lien should remain written off. Even if I were willing to pay the balance, which I am not obligated to do, it would still be considered as collecting from me. The debt was charged off. 

There is no estate, as probate was closed last year, and the due diligence of pursuing the estate, as other creditors did, did not take place. This is not an issue of my making, but I urgently need assistance to resolve this matter. 

For the sake of time and the fact I am under contract I am willing to offer 5 % -10 % of the balance as a settlement, which is the maximum I can offer, but my primary goal is to have this resolved swiftly. 

Lastly, the payoff letter sent to the title company still lists my uncle 's name, which was quite upsetting to as this had been daunting these last few weeks. I am post-operative and can not physically and mentally deal with this daunting matter. 

I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter and look forward to a resolution. IMy contact information is above Respectfully, XXXX XXXX