Consumer complaint received 2024-06-04
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — Foreclosure
Company: Onity Group Inc. (ID)

Our hardship started in XX/XX/XXXX when I found out the company I was working for was aquired. Then, they laid off more than half the company and my entire department. Unfortunately, I could not find new employment until XX/XX/XXXX, when I secured a contract position and was in a much better position to get things back in order. 

In XXXX of XXXX, we applied for Forbearance with the expectation I should have employment by then, especially since it was four months prior when I was laid off. We were granted Forbearance but found ourselves still in hardship and could not make payments. We then decided to apply for mortgage assistance. Since XXXX, we have applied two or three times, all with the same decline message, because our payments would be more than 25 % of what we are paying now. Each time we did apply, we suggested we were not looking to change interest but were hoping we could put our months delinquent to the back of the loan. Each time, we came back with the same reason how our mortgage would be 25 % more than we are paying now, this includes our latest decline that I learned of today.

I am very grateful I was able to secure a contract role in XX/XX/XXXX, working XXXX hours a week at {$75.00} an hour. This marked a long 11 months of unemployment, during which we burned through all our savings and more. It has finally allowed us to start digging from the hole this hardship has created. 

My experience with PHH has been nothing but frustrating, with only mixed messages and discouragement. I feel the company has no sense of how it can help us as consumers, and they seem to read from scripts rather than reviewing the account first and truly understanding the status. 

I logged my experience with PHH back in XXXX, but I will start with my most recent experience. I am happy to share my older experience from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX. Below is only the last go-around when applying for mortgage assistance. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX ID XXXX - shared with us that a foreclosure date of XX/XX/XXXX has been established did not share what was needed from us for the mortgage assistance application XX/XX/XXXX? XXXX Relationship XXXX or now they call Case Manager told me I need to write a letter explaining bank statements how they are my business, and that the contract work I am doing with my client is paying through my business XXXX XXXX XXXX ID XXXX said they received it but need additional information, such as bank statements again. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX ID XXXX First she said they need tax returns, then I had to explain to her the letter of explanation that was requested previously XXXX XXXX XXXX ID XXXX 's first response was whether we received the mortgage assistance package. After I requested that she review the account before discussing the status, she put me on hold. Then came back to say they had received all the supporting documents and were in final review furthermore, after asking she said the account is still in foreclosure XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX ID XXXX confirmed all documents requested have been received and that foreclosure will be paused and will be updated in the system XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX ID XXXX said the account is on hold for foreclosure. Two different messages in the same day When our representative from Idaho Housing called she was told Foreclosure was not on hold because the sale date was more than two months out XXXX of what the agents had been sharing with me. She had called between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX  Agent ID XXXX Said it will take 30 days or less for the final decision and would reach out if additional documents are needed and said foreclosure is on pause That following Wednesday, our address was in the paper with a sale date of XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX said a reinstatement is an option or come up with a chunk and maybe a repayment plan XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX ID XXXX Account is in foreclosure hold, and how the account is in escalations and if we would like to put it back into normal circulation so we don't have to wait and talk to the same person every time, we declined their request. I also shared with her that our property was listed for public sale in our local paper even though she said it was on hold XXXX XXXX, Agent ID XXXX, said there was a letter indicating we were declined dated XX/XX/XXXX before she went into this and said our account is on foreclosure hold. I shared with her that our property was in the paper for a second time for public sale last Friday. Why is it being listed in the paper if it's on hold? Since we are in a much better position, I asked her if we could do a repayment plan. Her response was no because of the status of the account. 

This behavior is not a company looking to help us out, not sharing with us the actual status of the property, saying it is on hold, but the property has been listed in our paper twice now. In a smaller town, everyone knows everyone 's business, and this is very painful, especially since it was not our fault that my industry has been very bad for the last XXXXhree years. We want to make this right again and for her just to say no when, in the past, we have been able to do repayment plans in a much worse state.