Consumer complaint received 2021-10-27
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — 
Company: Onity Group Inc. (CA)

XX/XX/XXXX last year my husband lost his job due to the covid-19 pandemic, he is a XXXX and the breadwinner who helped me make the mortgage payments since we bought our home in XXXX. The loan is only in my name. I contacted PHH mortgage about this and they were able to put my mortgage on a forbearance plan because of the pandemic where they would put whatever what is owed during the time to the back of the loan until the expiration date. Every month I would still continue to call to make sure that PHH, and in those monthly phone call conversations, each customer service employee assured me to not worry and that they would help me every step of the way to not lose my house and that it is not going into foreclosure. Fast forward to XX/XX/XXXX, my forbearance plan expired and I was given the option to either extend another three months of forbearance or try to get approved for a loan mod, but also assured that if I was not approved for a loan mod that I would be able to continue to make my mortgage payment and the other money that was owed to be put back to the loan. So, I went ahead and tried for the loan mod because I wanted to lower the payment even more as the rates are very low right now. It should have only taken them 30 days to approve or decline, however, after submitting everything they asked for right away to them, it took them from XXXX of XXXX to XXXX of XXXX which is three long months. I found out on XX/XX/XXXX that I was NOT approved for a loan mod and that my only options now are to short sale my property or foreclose on it! I do not understand why they did not offer to put the money that is owed to them to the back of the loan and that I could start my regular monthly payment. This is not what I was told from the beginning back in XXXX of XXXX because of the covi-19 pandemic. This is absolutely a flat out lie on their part, and every time I call PHH each customer service from the XXXX is just reading off a script and does not understand my particular situation and it is so frustrating. My husband and I are both working now, but do not have the {$16000.00} ( from XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX payments ) saved anywhere, as we just got our jobs and had to just try to survive off unemployment during the covid-19 pandemic like the rest of the world. We worked so hard to keep our home and feel I was bamboozled during all these conversations with the PHH customer service people. Please, help us save our home... we would be able to make three trial payments and that was what I was hoping for if the loan mod was approved, but also was hoping to go back to making my regular mortgage payment of {$3100.00}, but we do not have {$16000.00} to just hand over to them. If my husband did not lose his job due to the covid-19 pandemic we would not need to be in this situation. It is so unfair that things were shut down due to the covid-19 pandemic and so many people were suffering. Please help us as we are willing and can start making our mortgage payment but we really need PHH to keep their word and to put what is owed to the back of the loan so we can start fresh again. Thank you and XXXX bless.