Consumer complaint received 2024-07-02
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — Trying to communicate with the company to fix an issue related to modification, forbearance, short sale, deed-in-lieu, bankruptcy, or foreclosure
Company: FIFTH THIRD FINANCIAL CORPORATION (CA)

Due to the loss of a job of fifteen years, we in good faith entered into a forbearance agreement for our mortgage account with Fifth Third Bank. We had previously entered into a forbearance agreement during the Covid-19 pandemic and were familiar with the terms and repayment options of the forbearance amount due. After the Covid-19 forbearance we resumed our regularly scheduled monthly payments and the forbearance amount ( principal and interest ) was deferred to the end of our mortgage as a ballon payment. Based on the forbearance program information/options we received, the repayment of the forbearance amount once again would be a deferral balloon payment. We were not told or given any rules or guidelines about the possible ineligibility of deferring the amount due at the end of the forbearance. 

XXXX XXXX Gross Negligence and Deferral Fraud Our account was in forbearance from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX. We received several extensions of the forbearance during this period. Fifth Third Bank assigned XXXX XXXX as our single point of contact ( SPOC ) regarding our mortgage account during the forbearance. We understood that XXXX as our SPOC would answer and help us with our account, forbearance issues and final deferral of the outstanding balance when our forbearance ended. After the first six months we had a plan to end the forbearance and begin the workout phase of resuming our regular monthly payments and deferring the forbearance amount due. I attempted to contact XXXX several times and after much delay he responded, I asked him where our deferral workout package was in the system. XXXX informed me that our deferral workout package must have gotten lost somewhere in underwriting. At this point Fifth Third also reported our account as past due to the credit bureaus and our credit scores plummeted. I emailed XXXX several times regarding the status of our deferral workout and the correction of the credit reporting errors, with no answer from him. XXXX finally informed me that underwriting had approved our extension of the forbearance. I did not request XXXX to extend the forbearance, I requested a deferral workout package. 

At the time, XXXX made it appear that underwriting needed more time to complete our deferral workout package so when we received the paperwork to extend the forbearance, we signed it with the intention that after a couple of months we would workout and receive the deferral of the forbearance amount. Before signing the extension, I sent a clarifying email to XXXX about the terms of the forbearance extension and the deferral of the amount due when the forbearance ended. He responded to the deferral clarification by telling us a deferral would be based on the lenders waterfall. In good faith we signed the forbearance extension knowing deferral would be available as an option for the repayment of the amount due. Our financial situation changed again for the worse when the post six-month forbearance period ended. We were given the option to have one final extension to the forbearance, so we agreed to the final extension which would put our account in forbearance for twelve months. 

At the end of the twelve-month forbearance period I contacted Fifth Third Bank to begin the deferral workout. I was informed that deferral was not an option because our account had been in forbearance for over six months. I was never informed by Fifth Third Bank either in writing or verbally that any account in forbearance more than six months is ineligible for a deferral payment option. I informed them that if I was properly made aware of the six-month rule, I would have never signed the extension of the forbearance beyond six months to make our account ineligible for a deferral. At this point in the workout, I realized XXXX XXXX misrepresented and omitted information about our forbearance deferral workout file being unfortunately lost in Fifth Thirds system. It appears XXXX submitted our account for an extension without our consent to cover up his gross negligence in handling our account. He also was evasive and deceptive when answering my questions about a deferral. He was well aware of the fact that our account would not be eligible for deferral once he submitted his extension that would bring our account past the six-month forbearance rule. He lied, by giving us the waterfall deferral answer and defrauded us of the deferral option by not informing us of the six-month forbearance rule he had full knowledge of as a SPOC employee . I confronted Fifth Third about Hummers gross negligence, and I was given the following responses ( all via their recorded phone lines ) : They receive a lot of complaints about Hummers negligent performance as a SPOC Wont listen to complaints about co-workers performance Unwilling to discuss a coworkers performance because the line is recorded XXXX would not have known if deferral was a workout option until I submitted my financial information for a workout.

Supervisor of the SPOC department said all SPOCs know the six-month deferral illegibility rule Fifth third is unwilling to resolve Hummers gross negligence and continues to deny deferral as a workout option for our account.

Violations of The Fair Credit Reporting Act During the twelve months our account was in forbearance Fifth Third on three separate occasions incorrectly reported our account as Past Due which dramatically dropped of credit scores. 
First Round of Reporting Errors XX/XX/XXXX Fifth Third mistakenly flagged our accounts as 120 days past due, our score dropped from XXXX ( XXXX ) points to under XXXX. 
XX/XX/XXXX Our credit scores increased to XXXX ( XXXX ) points. 
Second Round of Reporting Errors XX/XX/XXXX Fifth Third mistakenly flagged our accounts as 150 days past due, our score dropped from XXXX ( XXXX ) points to under XXXX. 
XX/XX/XXXX Our credit scores increased to XXXX ( XXXX ) points Third Round of Reporting Errors XX/XX/XXXX Fifth Third mistakenly flagged our account as 180 days past due, our score dropped from XXXX ( XXXX ) points to XXXX. 

We have requested Fifth Third numerous times to correct their credit reporting mistakes. Fifth Third currently claims that all reporting is correct. Their reporting is not correct. They continue to report an outstanding balance that has approximately {$1200.00} in hidden late fees that are not owed. These are late fees that were assessed to the account while the account was in forbearance. I have confirmed with the office of the president, XXXX XXXX that late fees are not assessed to accounts in forbearance. In XXXX and XXXX of XXXX they report the account as past due while the account is in a workout trial period. All payments requested by the workout trail period have been made on time, thus the account should not be reported as past due it should be reported as paid as agreed. Fifth Third is offering no reparations for the damage they caused by ruining our credit scores for over 8 months. 

Unknown, Predatory and Unwarranted Escrow Account For the life of our mortgage account we have paid our property taxes or homeowners insurance on time. In XX/XX/XXXX, one installment of our property taxes was due ( the other installment is due in XXXX ). XXXX XXXX was also the last month of our forbearance. Before we could pay the installment for XXXX taxes, Fifth Third had made the payment without our knowledge and created an escrow deficiency on our loan statement. Our account was in forbearance in XX/XX/XXXX and Fifth Third did not make the payment property tax then, an escrow account is unwarranted. 
We did not receive an initial escrow account statement or any information regarding an escrow account. Fifth Third employees are unable to provide when the escrow was established and the reason for an escrow on the account. The predatory establishment of the escrow account appears to be noncompliant with Federal Escrow Account Regulations. Fifth Third is requesting us to pay an additional {$920.00} per month for property taxes and homeowners insurance that we have always paid in full on time. The additional monthly escrow fees are clearly predatory and unwarranted. 
Predatory Forbearance and Loan Modification Program As a result of Fifth Thirds gross negligence in handing our forbearance and repayment workout of the forbearance we are being given the following options by Fifth Third to resolve our account : 1. Pay the forbearance amount and predatory late fees in full, reinstates the original loan 2. Refinance the loan, to payoff the loan and forbearance amount 3. Accept an unfair, punitive and predatory loan modification 4. Deed in lieu the property to Fifth Third 5. Fifth Third to foreclose on the property Option 1 requires a large lump sum of money and demands payment of late fees that are not owed. This option also demands an unwarranted escrow account where an additional {$920.00} per month is to be paid into escrow for property taxes and homeowners insurance.

Option 2 is not an option because other lenders are unwilling to write loans for mortgages that are in forbearance and Fifth Third has tanked our credit scores.

Option 3 is a loan modification written under the guise that Fifth Third is helping us by lowering our monthly payments. Which is not the reality of the modification. They are using XXXX XXXX 40 year amortization clause to acquire approximately {$300000.00} in additional mortgage interest if we accept a modification. Plus, they wrap our existing balloon payment into the principal amount where we would then pay interest on the interest that is in the balloon payment. We will be paying 50 % - 60 % more per month if we accept a loan modification. This is predatory lending, pure and simple.

Option 4 and 5 is not an option its our home and we wont give it up to a fraudulent, unethical predatory lender such as Fifth Third Bank. 

We are only asking for a fair way to repay the outstanding forbearance amount due. We dont think its fair that Fifth Thirds gross negligence in handling our account and their predatory lending practices should benefit them.

We are requesting again that Fifth Third resolve our outstanding forbearance amount by one of the following options : 1. Defer the forbearance amount due to the end of our loan as a balloon payment. Correct all false credit reporting errors as previously requested. Waive/remove all penalties/late fees on the account. Remove any and all escrow/impound accounts from the account.

2. Add 12 additional monthly payments to end of the loan. Correct all false credit reporting errors as previously requested. Waive/remove all penalties/late fees on the account. Remove any and all escrow/impound accounts from the account.