Consumer complaint received 2020-04-20
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — 
Company: TRUIST FINANCIAL CORPORATION (KS)

Due to Covid-19 I wanted to explore my repayment options on the mortgage. My loan is serviced by SunTrust, which is now Truist. 

I first spoke with a representative from Suntrust by the name of XXXX XXXX. He explained that no deferment was available, and by direction from XXXX XXXX ( The owner of the loan ) they have only been advised to offer a Forbearance. I did not see the benefits of the forbearance program, except for as a fail safe. XXXX explained that I could enroll into the forbearance program and keep my bi-weekly recurring auto ebit schedule. SunTrust would continue to debit me automatically on my same schedule, but if I could not make a payment at any time, I would " fall back '' onto the forbearance. The ability to keep my biweekly recurring auto payment was the ONLY reason I agreed to the program. SunTrust makes you jump through hoops to enroll into bi-weekly debits, which ultimately save a customer money in interest the long run. You have fill out a form, wait a month, and pay your mortgage up a month. Before my refinance my loan was serviced through XXXX XXXX, and I could set up bi-weekly debits within minutes on their website. I think SunTrusts practices on setting up bi-weekly debits is borderline unfair and deceptive. It should be simple for a consumer to set up their mortgage in a way that's beneficial for them to save money on interest. 

Seven to 10 days later, I also spoke with a representative from Home Preservation - the department that handles the Forbearance process for SunTrust. She also advised me that I did not have to stop my bi-weekly recurring auto debit. She also went a step further and said that if I did, I would have to go through the process of re-enrolling, which I just explained is not consumer friendly. I confirmed with her multiple times that I did not want to do this. My home preservation specialist name is XXXX XXXX. The representative stated that I could enroll into Forbearance and keep my auto payments, just like XXXX did above. 

My bi-weekly payment was scheduled to debit on XX/XX/XXXX and it did not come out. Later the next week I received a letter from SunTrust stating that I was enrolled into the Forbearance program, and my recurring auto debit had ceased. I spent the entire week of XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX unsuccessfully trying to get hold of XXXX XXXX or anyone at SunTrust and Home Preservation - including waiting on hold 2+ hours several times and sending multiple emails. SunTrust 's IVR phone system states that I could leave a call back number and receive a call back within 24 hours, which I have not received. 

When I finally got through to someone on XX/XX/XXXX, I was advised that I was misinformed. I requested my situation to be escalated for a solution. I want things to go back to normal, even if I have to withdraw from forbearance. Enrolling into forbearance was me being proactive, and looking at the worst case scenario due to the uncertainty surrounding Covid-19. All the while I have the funds to pay, and want to pay on my bi weekly auto recurring schedule. 

Interesting to note that the entire enrollment into the Forbearance program is done verbally. There is no e-sig or signature required to sign that clearly outlines the program and contract. If there was, and it was delineated that auto-payments would stop, I would not have enrolled. 

I spoke to two representatives who advised me supervisors were unavailable. Neither person was able to clearly articulate a path back to normalcy and guarantee no adverse effects on my account or credit. Also, they stated I would have to go through the SunTrust run around to re-enroll into bi-weekly auto recurring debits, which again is a hassle. Matter of fact, it took me several months to enroll into this program the first time after my refinance from XXXX XXXX, simply because you have to jump through so many hoops! That cost me money in interest, and I think those practices are not consumer friendly and I would guess it's intentional process decision made to boost interest revenue for the company.