Consumer complaint received 2024-04-25
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: Onity Group Inc. (HI)

PHH worked with my State for the HAF Program. I made my trial payments and State needed to send HAF Funds by XX/XX/XXXX. PHH and State communicate via a portal. In XX/XX/XXXX I receive a letter from PHH stating my loan modification was denied due to payment not received by XX/XX/XXXX. There are HAF guidelines in place regarding payments to servicer. Servicer needs to send an " X '' record to State which notifies the State they are ready to receive the funds. I obtained all portal communications between State and PHH and the " X '' record was sent to the State on XX/XX/XXXX way after the XX/XX/XXXX deadline. I have filed numerous documents with PHH and they do not address all the issues. Since XX/XX/XXXX I have been able to send questions to the Ombudsman office and again they only answer certain questions. When PHH received the HAF State payment in XXXX of XXXX they cashed the check and applied it in a suspense account and until I started to inquire in XXXX, XXXX when I got the modification denial letter - eventually in XXXX, XXXX did they return the funds to the State. They state they can't do another loan modification due to the NPV. Well I was denied a mod in XX/XX/XXXX due to NPV and then PHH did an alternative loan mod and I was approved. The payments were not reduced but the HAF Program contribution would bring down the past due amount and my new payment was higher but we would still have our home and be current. In XX/XX/XXXX when I was denied due to NPV my relationship manager advised me that PHH needed to input the information manually and not use the regular system and it would be ok. Sure enough I received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX stating you have been approved for a trial loan modification. All of a sudden PHH states they don't input anything manually. I have been going back and forth with PHH and the State since XX/XX/XXXX when I received the letter that my trial mod was denied due to non payment of {$30000.00}. Why after the last property eval back in XXXX, XXXX they do another one in XXXX almost XXXX mos later and the market changes all the time but I have to suffer due to their incompetence. I received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX Intent to Foreclose. PHH has stated I can only do a short sale, deed in lieu or foreclosure. A serious error has occurred. In reviewing the HAF Guidelines PHH needed to send an " X '' Record so the State could receive the funds. In biweekly meetings between State and PHH HAF Team they never brought up anything about payment due etc. These are federal funds and they have been misappropriated. If PHH accepted and cashed the check knowing that it was for my account in the HAF Program- they are agreeing to the terms they set forth in the trial loan modification. If they were going to deny my trial loan mod then don't accept the payment. They got the check in XXXX, XXXX- cashed it and notified me in XXXX, XXXX my trial loan mod was denied. The XXXXtate has requested portal communications from PHH for almost 5 months and they have not responded to their request. I submitted another inquiry to the Ombudsman on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX stating he did not answer the specific questions and also attaching the HAF CDF guidelines which clearly states that in the " P '' Program which I am classified as an " X '' record needs to be sent to the servicer. It takes them a while to get back with a reply. I don't have time since they have initiated a foreclosure.