Consumer complaint received 2021-04-20
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — 
Company: U.S. BANCORP (ME)

After nine months of repeated emails, phone calls and letters of extreme concern to our mortgage lender, US Bank, but to no avail, we are left with no choice but to file a formal complaint against them. At this point in our case, we find their practices to be nothing short of corrupt, and a resolution to what we believe to be a gross misappropriation of our loan balance seems hopeless. Like many Americans, our home is our most valuable investment ( and now more than ever since COVID has nearly destroyed our business ). We simply can not afford to lose {$12000.00}, of which nobody at US Bank can explain to us why we owe it, and how it was calculated onto our loan balance as a second mortgage. In addition, we have found countless errors on payment applications, and nobody can ( or will ) help with those concerns either. 

After losing 100 % of our livelihood overnight, we were frightened beyond comprehension, and began seeking options that would give us time to pay our bills. We reached out to US Bank and accepted the COVID mortgage assistance deferment plan that was being offered to borrowers in good standing. 

The appeal letter below { sent on XX/XX/XXXX } summarizes what we would come to experience over the next 12 months. As the letter reads, we finally felt a ray of hope that someone would listen and help us understand this mess. Since that letter was sent ( we requested a read receipt, which noted they received it on XXXX XXXX ), we have received nothing even close to hope. In fact, almost two months after their initial receipt, we have received two responses, neither of which address our questions and concerns, or give us anything more than the same general contact info, ( that XXXX has continued to call, spending several more hours talking to people who know nothing. Our relationship manager XXXX, has remained unreachable a year later. I question if she even exists ). And now the latest loan statement we received on XX/XX/XXXX shows a mess of adjustments they made to our balance in error. So clearly, we are not getting closer to a resolve. 

Meanwhile, we have been trying to refinance our mortgage with XXXX XXXX. One, to take advantage of the low rates which would be a tremendous help to us financially, and two, to get out of this horrific relationship with US Bank. The re-fi process has been going on for 3 1/2 months because of this mess we are in with US Bank, and the second mortgage they have now attached to our mortgage. How can borrowers with a flawless 14- year payment history, end up with a second mortgage when we didnt even borrow or receive any additional funds? And how is obtaining a second mortgage considered help to get us through a pandemic? At this point it is very likely that we will not qualify for the re-fi because of our second mortgage that nobody can or will explain to us. 

We thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter that has been devastating to us under already impossible circumstances. 

US Bank XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, MN XXXX Attn : Consumer Advocacy To Whom it May Concern, As advised on XX/XX/XXXX, by a supervisor named XXXX at US Bank, we are sending this letter of request for explanation and clarification of our mortgage balance, and more specifically, a detailed accounting of exactly what has occurred over the past 10 months. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, when the country shut down, our livelihood shut down with it. Due to the nature of our business, ( producers of large community festivals ), it became quickly apparent that this particular industry was not going to recover anytime soon. We were frightened for our future, and immediately began ( like everyone else ) seeking advice and guidance for any type of assistance available. Programs via banks and mortgage holders were rapidly being announced, so we called our mortgage holder ( US Bank ) for guidance. 

This is when the nightmare of the pandemic we were already living became much worse. 

The US Bank rep told us that, due to the pandemic, there was help available to customers with mortgages in good standing, to defer 6 months of payments.. Under this program, there would be NO penalty and NO interest accrued as a result of this deferment. In 6 months, we would start paying our mortgage again, and the 6 months of unpaid principal would be carried until the end of the loan. As an extremely hard -working couple preparing for retirement and doing everything possible ( including added principal payments each month ) to eliminate debt for our aging future, this deferment was NOT something we wanted to do. In fact, the very thought of it made me feel physically ill. However, as we watched our livelihood crumble around us, we decided it was the least horrible option. Had we known then what we are being told now, we NEVER would have accepted this help, because we are now in a far worse position than we were before we received the help! I can not fathom how ending up with a mortgage balance almost {$12000.00} higher than it was when we began our 6 -month deferral could possibly be considered HELP! 

We were instructed to login into our account and complete the program online, which my husband did. 

We received a letter from US Bank dated XX/XX/XXXX which stated that we were valued customers and went on to say, Each day brings new laws and guidance, often impacting communications we are regularly sending. By listening to your feedback, we realized that the initial letter we sent advising of the requested assistance may not have been clear The attached letter did not clarify any more details than we already had that our payments were suspended for 6 months. It also stated our relationship manager would be in contact with us throughout the forbearance period, we have never heard from XXXX XXXX during this entire process. 

We spent the months to follow focused on getting back on our feet and doing what we could to make an alternative living. By the end of XXXX, we had regained enough confidence to begin making our mortgage payments again, so we called US Bank in the beginning of XXXX. We were told by the rep we spoke to that we were NOT ALLOWED to make payments until the 6 -month deferral program ended. There was paperwork that needed to be signed that could only be sent by mail, etc, etc. We asked them to please send the paperwork asap. We called 3 different times after that looking for the paperwork, and when we finally received the paperwork in XXXX we saw that our loan balance had increased by almost {$12000.00}!!!. This was a horrific shock to us, since the program we had signed up for promised no interest and no penalty. So based on those terms there should have been a net zero difference in our principal balance. So, we called immediately. And we were told that once we began making regular payments again ( which we COULD NOT DO until the paperwork was signed and returned ), the system would correct itself ( which they warned us would take at least two months of statements ). We were assured our principal balance would be adjusted, so we trusted our bank, signed the paperwork, and waited. We also tried to pay our escrow funds back which we were told couldn't happen until the system updated! We did ask if we could receive an email of confirmation, but they said no, they are not allowed to send outgoing emails. They assured us that all of these notes were in our file, etc, etc. The same day we mailed the required paperwork, we called and made our first payment and as soon as the system allowed, we reset our auto payments and have since made a total of 4 post deferral payments. In XXXX we paid {$2200.00} back to our escrow account. ( As a side note : We also made additional {$500.00} principal payments and denoted the same on the remitters along with our checks for XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, and as of yet one of the payments has not been applied to the principal balance. ( As you can ascertain, this whole process has been a complete MESS! ) Since XXXX we have called US Bank repeatedly, spending hours of stress and frustration, going through the same conversation over and over again with countless reps. We were told repeatedly that the system needed time to catch up, and our balance would be corrected. Our online account continues to show 3 different balances ; one $ XXXX, one $ XXXX, and one $ XXXX. When we call, they tell us the current principal balance is $ XXXX, but they are unable to give us an accounting detail to explain why. They just say -it is. How could our principal balance have increased to XXXX, when the deferment started our principal balance was {$230000.00}? Nobody has been able to answer this question. We asked each time to speak to a supervisor, to no avail. We asked to be assigned to one rep, so that we had one person who understood our case, to no avail. The relationship manager assigned, XXXX XXXX has never been able to be reached, the extension number given only rings, never goes to voicemail and most times the line gets disconnected. 

Finally, on Wednesday XX/XX/XXXX, we made it to a rep named XXXX who asked if we had a case manager!!! He gave us a direct phone number, a first and last name AND an extension, again XXXX XXXX! We were beyond ecstatic perhaps we would finally be able to reach her. He then transferred us, and surprise XXXX XXXX was not available, but we got a woman named XXXX. Again, we went through the entire scenario and XXXX said, I dont understand these numbers and I need to send this to our research department for further review. The first time in 5 painful months that we had heard any mention of the possibility of a department who could research our pleading case. She said they typically respond in 1-2 business days and she would call us THE MOMENT she heard something. Of course, we had heard this promise many times before. Again, we asked for confirmation of any kind, and she said there was no way to do this, but assured us that she noted everything in our file. We asked for her extension so that we could call her if we did not hear back from her. She did not want to give it to us, but finally she did. Of course, we did not hear from her, so we called on Friday ( XX/XX/XXXX ) afternoon and entered her extension. The phone rang and rang for over two minutes, with no voicemail, no redirect, no response. Who knows if she even gave us a real extension? This is our countrys banking system that we are supposed to trust?! So, we hung up and called again and again, until we got another rep who could not help us, but what a miracle, she actually had a Supervisor, and we were able to speak to her! XXXX! XXXX was our first, tiny ray of hope in this nightmare. She said she can not see any detail on how these balances have been calculated, but that we should write an appeal letter and gave us this address. 

So here we are. Distraught beyond words that this sort of mess can occur. The pandemic has been devastating enough, without being completely taken advantage of by our own bank! There are SO many ways this is wrong, and we will not let this rest until it is resolved and made right. 

On behalf of all fellow Americans, who work their tails off their whole lives, pay their bills and taxes on time, keep excellent credit, and NEVER EVER ask for a handout, we will fight this. 

Thank you in advance for your immediate attention on this very urgent matter, CC : Maine State Legislators NH State Legislators