Consumer complaint received 2025-12-01 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Other type of mortgage
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Trying to communicate with the company to fix an issue while managing or servicing your loan
Company: TOWNEBANK
State: NC

Complaint narrative:
TowneBanks actions toward me represent a clear and ongoing pattern of discouragement, retaliation, misrepresentation, and escalating coercive practices over several years. The pattern begins in XXXX with conduct by Commercial Banking Officer XXXX XXXX, who routinely responded dismissively to basic underwriting questions and refused to provide straightforward information regarding interest-rate calculations during a refinance request. When I sought clarity on the rate, XXXX XXXX repeatedly gave incomplete or unclear answers, and when I requested clarification a final time, he told us directly to feel free to look at other financial institutions, which is a form of prohibited credit discouragement under Regulation B. My business partner and I communicated that we felt undervalued, ignored, and treated as a nuisance, and my follow-up email documented how stressful and unprofessional the interactions had become. Rather than adjusting his conduct, XXXX XXXX reinforced the message that the bank preferred we take our business elsewhere. This early misconduct established the first instance of TowneBank pushing borrowers away in response to ordinary questions and concerns. 
( Source : RE : Purchase options email chain ) This pattern re-emerged and significantly escalated in XXXX, this time under Senior Vice President XXXX XXXX, who demanded that I sign a Personal Financial Statement ( PFS ) he claimed was required by my loan documents. I reviewed my Promissory Note and Guaranty and found no such requirement. When I asked him to identify the specific clause requiring a signed PFS, he refused to do so and instead escalated immediately to threats. XXXX XXXX sent written statements indicating that TowneBank would not renew any of my commercial loans unless I signed a PFS, even though I have never been late or in default, and there is no contractual basis for requiring this document. He repeated the same discouraging language used by XXXX XXXX in XXXX by encouraging me to start looking for other financing options. When I again requested that he cite the contractual authority for the requirement, he sent a formal letter falsely stating that I ignored repeated requests, that the PFS was required under the Note, and that failure to provide it constituted a default. These statements were not true, and he later corrected parts of his letter, confirming the inaccuracies. 

The matter escalated further when TowneBanks outside attorney, XXXX XXXX, issued a Notice of Default to both me and my wife, despite the fact that my wife XXXX had never received a single prior communication about a PFS. The attorney repeated the false claim that multiple requests had been made to both guarantors and that the PFS was required under the loan documents. These representations were demonstrably false. I never refused to provide information ; I simply asked for the contractual basis, and none was ever provided. The attorney later admitted in writing that TowneBank was not formally calling the loan in default at this time, directly contradicting the statements in the default notice he sent. These actions represent misrepresentation, coercion, retaliation, and an improper use of legal threats. 

Across both periods XXXX and XXXX TowneBank demonstrated a consistent pattern of discouraging questions, punishing me for seeking information, misrepresenting contractual obligations, selectively targeting me while ignoring other guarantors, and escalating to false default threats when challenged. The progression from XXXX XXXX discouraging and hostile conduct in XXXX to XXXX XXXX and Attorney Southerlands misrepresentation and retaliation in XXXX shows that this behavior is systemic within TowneBank, not isolated to a single individual. It also reflects a pattern of retaliation immediately following my requests for clarity, and in XXXX, pressure increased after I disclosed that I am a service-connected XXXX veteran. 

This multi-year pattern of misconduct includes unfair and deceptive practices, retaliation for exercising contractual rights, discrimination in how guarantors were treated, misrepresentation of loan obligations, and improper issuance of a false default notice. These are violations of UDAAP standards under the Dodd-Frank Act, ECOA anti-retaliation rules, Regulation Bs prohibitions on discouragement and adverse action, North Carolina UDTPA protections, and basic banking standards of fairness and honesty.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation