Consumer complaint received 2016-06-08
Product: Mortgage — Conventional fixed mortgage
Issue: Credit decision / Underwriting — 
Company: WASHINGTON FEDERAL BANK (AZ)

XXXX, my husband and I began the process of finding a new home. Being responsible souls, we first obtained pre-qualification for a mortgage. As it turns out, the bank that offered us the best rate was Washington Federal, so we went with them. This turned out to be an epic mistake on our part. With our pre-qualification in hand, we began our search. Fortunately, we found a house we absolutely loved quickly, and submitted an offer for somewhat less than the total amount we were pre-qualified for, which was accepted. On or around XXXX XXXX, 2016, we notified Washington Federal that our offer had been accepted and filled them in on the terms - including the purchase price ( again, less than the pre-qualified amount ) and the anticipated close of escrow date ( XXXX XXXX ). Then we put our old home on the market - we did n't need XXXX, after all. It sold within a couple of weeks, with a close of escrow date set for XXXX XXXX. We heard nothing from Washington Federal. On XXXX XXXX, XXXX business days before our close of escrow date of XXXX XXXX, we called up Washington Federal to make sure there was nothing further we needed to provide. Then the " fun '' began. Washington Federal informed us that they " had not even begun '' processing our loan and we " would just have to push back the close date ''. We informed them that we had sold our old home and there was no way to change that closing date ( the buyers had a lease expiring, and XXXX after the XX/XX/XXXX closing date ). Washington Federal did not care. We agreed to change our closing date to XXXX XXXX ( giving us a week to move out of our old home and perform the repairs agreed to in the purchase agreement ). At that point, Washington Federal began doing a full run of my credit history every 40 to 72 hours - which did a considerable amount of damage to my credit rating ( which was right around XXXX when this process started ). They also began making demands on my husband and I - all of which were preceded by the phrase " oh, just one more thing ''. They demanded letters from my husband 's job detailing their plans for his continued employment. They demanded my husband and I write letters to the bank specifying both that we intended to pay back the loan and precisely how. They demanded a year 's worth of our credit card statements. They demanded we maintain at least {$40000.00} in our bank account. They demanded I cash out my XXXX retirement savings plans. When ( as a part of our moving clean-out ) we sold some personal possessions we did n't want to keep, they demanded a receipt of the cash sale - and then when we provided it, they refused to accept it ( even though the business to which we sold the items was listed clearly on the receipt and agreed to confirm the sale ). They demanded a personal letter from the business owner. They demanded I accelerate the final year of a zero-interest car loan. It was ridiculous. Then, once the transaction finally closed, we got the first mortgage statement only to find that the interest rate was different - higher - than what we had agreed to. We called Washington Federal, they fixed it and claimed it would n't happen again. It did. We called again, fixed again, " wo n't happen again. '' Yesterday, for the third time, it happened again. As a special bonus, not only had they - for the third time - charged us a higher-than-agreed -upon interest rate, they also, without authorization or notice, transferred exactly double the mortgage payment out of our checking account. So not only did they engage in an abusive mortgage qualification process, not only are they persistently charging us a higher interest rate than we agreed to, Washington Federal literally STOLE OUR MONEY. Unsurprisingly, they have given no indication that they are willing to resolve any of these issues. Just repeat.