Consumer complaint received 2019-06-28
Product: Mortgage — VA mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — 
Company: PENNYMAC LOAN SERVICES, LLC. (MI)

Dear CFPB, please find this Complaint against PennyMac violations of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ; Consent Order, case 12-CV-00361 US v. XXXX XXXX, et al, applicable to all Servicers ; and other misconduct. 

On XX/XX/XXXX The Comptroller and Banks signed a Consent Order which in part said '' C. Single Point of Contact. 1. Servicer shall establish an easily accessible and reliable single point of contact ( SPOC ) for each potentially-eligible first lien mortgage borrower so that the borrower has access to an employee of Servicer to obtain information. 

On XX/XX/XXXX PennyMac ( " PM '' ) sent me a " welcome letter '' ( after XXXX 's letter on XX/XX/XXXX informing me about this transaction ) where PM advised me that on XX/XX/XXXX my loan will be transferred to PM. So, its a brand-new transaction which must be based on VALID documents, with the value paid by be new " owner ''. No documents or any other proof that my loan was actually transferred to PennyMac, for the value paid, were never attached or provided. 

I started to contact XXXX and PennyMac right away regarding this transfer and demanded to provide me documents related to my loan, including a copy of my Note with full chain of Assignment ; and proof of value paid, as required by UCC Art. 9, which apply to transfer of all debt, including mortgages.

PM sent me a letter advising that they are " owners/investors '' while Caliber said that ( 1 ) they are owners/investors ; ( 2 ) XXXX is owner/investor. 

So, here are at least three " owners/investors '' of my mortgage and the Note at the same time - without a single document in support of this " ownership ''. 

As of today XXXX did not respond with any legit information I requested, claiming it as " proprietory ''. According to XXXX XXXX 's XXXX XXXX, these documents must be available ; and contain all necessary signatures. 

PM sent me a bundle ( about 8 ) runarounds, without any signatures or names of employees who are responsible for this review and who will be my " single point of contact '', so I can contact them to check for the status of my loan. All letters told the same thing : " we have received your written request to research '' and " we currently conducting a full review '' But this " current research '' is already more than 2 months long for a very simple transaction. It suggests that PM has NO records of my loan. It was a recent transfer and both parties - XXXX and PennyMac should readily have all necessary documents and information available - if they are legit " owners '' who have rights to collect payments from me. 

In XXXX XXXX XXXX filed a Complaint against XXXX XXXX claiming that XXXX told employees to lie customers that " we need more time to research '' when essential loan documents are missing. 

I observe exactly the same tactic in my situation - no clear respond, just runarouds " we conduct research '', no contact information for an employee who can provide me updates on their research and why it takes to long to review my loan. 

Moreover, while PennyMac continues to review my loan, they also violated FDCPA 15 USC 1692g ] 809 ( b ). 

I sent PennyMac a Debt Validation request onXX/XX/XXXX.. PennyMac confirmed that they received my Debt Validation letter As of today, PennyMac failed to provide me any validation or respond and continue to swamp me with runarounds " we conduct full review '' - which means they failed to provide validation in accordance with FDCPA. 

Under FDCPA, once a validation letter is received, the debt collector must stop all collection activity, including reporting and verifying, until they supply proper validation of the debt. They can not continue collecting until they provide such information. 

On XX/XX/XXXX PM mailed me a bill demanding the same amount of debt which I disputed ; with payment due by XX/XX/XXXX, while I received their bill on XX/XX/XXXX. Which is another tactic to obtain " late fees ''. I observed it many times in people 's complaints against PM. To compare : XXXX always sent me billing statements no later than XXXX of each month, so I can have time to submit my payment by 1st, without hassles. 

FDCPA says : A collector can't continue to collect on a debt after you've made a written request to verify the debt as long as the request was made within 30 days of the collector 's written notice. [ 15 USC 1692g ] 809 ( b ) After receiving your written dispute, the collector must stop collecting on the debt until you have received verification. [ 15 USC 1692g ] 809 ( b ). The same provision is in MI FDCPA.

PennyMac violated Federal and State laws while still fail to provide the proof of their ownership of my debt ; and validate amount, which are fraudulently overstated.

Under Michigan law, collectors and creditors can not use misleading or deceptive practices, hide their identity, reveal the debt to a third party, or make threats of violence. They also can not use obscene or profane language, harass the debtor, or engage in many other enumerated unfair practices. 

The remedies available under Michigan law are less than those available under federal law. Although the FDCPA allows for statutory damages up to {$1000.00}, state law provides statutory damages of only {$50.00}, or {$150.00} if the violation is willful. Like federal law, however, Michigan law allows victims to recover attorneys fees and costs and victims may recover under both the federal and state laws.