Consumer complaint received 2017-05-23
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage — 
Company: SUNTRUST BANKS, INC. (CA)

On  XXXX   XXXX   2017, I contact ed SunTrust to inquire if we were eligible to have our PMI removed. I was advised we have had our loan for over 2 years and have excellent payment history, but currently did not meet the 80  % /20 % LTV required to re move the PMI  ( w hich I already knew ).   I asked the representative if we could have an appraisal done to show the value had significantly increased beyond the 80 % required. They advised this was an option and told me to send in a written request, in which I would receive a letter response with the requirements to remove the PMI in addition to instructions for sending a check to obtain an appraisal ( {$450.00 } ). I rece ived the response letter on  XXXX   XXXX     2017, advisi ng to send the letter back with a check in the amount of {$450.00} for the cost of the appraisal. I did so promptly and an appraiser contacted my husband at the end of  XXXX   2017 to   schedule the appraisal on  XXXX   XXXX   2017. The appraiser co mpleted the appraisal on  XXXX   XXXX   2017    and provided the report to SunTrust on  XXXX   XXXX   2017. I rec eived a letter from SunTrust yesterday,  XXXX   XXXX     2017 adv ising that the PMI removal was declined due to the property value not resulting in  a LTV r ation of 75 %. M y LTV r ation came in at 77 %. Instead, they want {$12000.00} to bring the LTV to 75 %. This is outrageous! All that is needed is 80 % LTV when you purchase a home to avoid PMI ... and now with a certified appraisal they want 75 %?????!!!! THEY ALREADY TOLD ME THAT I NEEDED 80 % TO HAVE IT REMOVED. In addition to all this ... they are legally required to automatically remove the PMI once it reaches 78 %. Again, we are at 77 %! SunTrust is deliberately denying this so we have to keep paying our PMI when we do n't have to, I can not see how this can be legal in any way!   When I received the letter on  XXXX   XXXX , I was already on the phone with SunTrust customer service, holding for a supervisor because the previous rep refused to tell me the contents of the le tter ( a t the time I called, my mail had not yet come so I was calling for a status ). When a supervisor came on the line I told them that they can not bait and switch people and what they are doing is illegal, unethical and a scam. I told her I wanted to file a complaint with the OOP department as well as the CFPB to have the PMI removed as I did meet the requirement of the original lette r ( a nd what I was told over the phone as well ), not to mention meeting the mortgage industry standard of 8 0 % /20 % LTV . T he supervisor actually said " I understand why you are so upset, we have a lot of people with your same complaint '' ... this just says so much about this company. They are making a habit and company culture of screwing people out of their money. In addition to all this ... I believe SunTrust never had any intention of allowing this PMI to be removed ... .the appraisal is low-balled at best. How do I know they did n't tell the appraiser to make sure it did n't come in at a certain amount??? Now I am questioning everything they have ever told me about this process, since they have outright lied to us and provided conflicting information.   I was told I would receive a response from t he Office of the President Escalation dep artment by Wednesday,  XXXX   XXXX . If I even get an actual call from them, I seriously doubt they will apologize, admit their mistake and do the right thing by removing the PMI, therefore I am getting ahead of all this and writing to you immediately in hopes we can get this resolved quickly and do n't need to take other legal measures.