Consumer complaint received 2026-06-10 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC)
Issue: Trouble during payment process — Fees charged
Company: MOUNTAIN AMERICA FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
State: ID

Complaint narrative:
XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX are hustlers and scam artist. We agreed on the rate described below HELOC that had a .5 % margin. Now IM being told my MARGIN is 1.75 % This is an outright scam and have them gashlight you with incorrect information. Here is a copy of the transcript : Hello, Thank you for submitting a Home Equity Line of Credit ( HELOC ) loan application with Mountain America. I would like to confirm that you have applied for a HELOC with a loan amount of {$200000.00}. Our HELOC is a variable rate loan, the variable rate is determined by the current prime rate ( presently at XXXX ) plus a margin. We are currently offering a promotional introductory rate of 4.49 % for the first six ( 6 ) months on new HELOCs or if refinancing an existing XXXX XXXX with a credit limit increase of at least {$20000.00}. After the six-month promotional period, your rate will adjust to a variable rate based on the prime rate plus the margin provided at the time of approval. This promotional offer is available for a limited time and requires the loan to close on or before XX/XX/XXXX. Please note the following : - All applicants must be vested owners of the subject property. - All applications must be completed and/or decisioned within 25 days. Any application with missing documentation by that time may need to be restarted. It is important to review the entire email below, as it contains important information about your application. I will need all income documents listed below as soon as possible to complete a full initial review of your application. The Automated Valuation Model ( AVM ) report of your home returned a value of {$360000.00}. I have sent you a copy of this report via email/mail for your review. Based on the requested loan amount, your loan-to-value ( LTV ) is 90.807 %. Based on this LTV, your loan will receive a margin of 0.500 %. Your current variable rate sits at 8.000 % ( prime 7.500 % + margin 0.500 % = 8.000 % ). Please be aware that XXXX utilizes a 3rd party vendor to complete an exterior inspection of the collateral, which consists of them verifying the collateral address and taking pictures of the exterior from the road. If you believe the alternative valuation ( AVM ) does not adequately reflect your propertys value, or if XXXX is unable to obtain the necessary valuation and inspection reports to complete your application, you may request that XXXX order an appraisal. The appraisal must be paid for in advance, by you, and the fee is non-refundable. Based on the value and requested loan amount, the collateral loan-to-value ( LTV ) is 90.807 % which is outside of our lending guidelines. In order to proceed, the LTV would need to be at or below 85.00 %. Once the LTV is within guidelines, your loan will receive a margin of 0.500 %. Your current variable rate would sit at 8.000 % ( prime 7.500 % + margin 0.500 % ). If you would like to proceed, please choose one of the following options : Lower the loan amount to {$160000.00} to bring the LTV within the above-mentioned guideline. Purchase an appraisal through Mountain America. This is a non-refundable, out-of-pocket cost to you. Please be advised that your home would need to appraise at {$410000.00} to qualify for the loan amount you are requesting. Should you decide to proceed with an appraisal I will need the following questions answered so I can send you an Appraisal Disclosure that will need to be signed and returned prior to ordering the appraisal. o The XXXX account you would like the appraisal fee drawn from? o Do you want the fee pulled from Savings, Checking? o If you have a XXXX account but wish to pay from another institution you XXXX contact me to do a check by phone. o If you do not have a XXXX account, you can mail or take a check to your local XXXX branch to cover the appraisal fee. Please let the branch employee know that the check is for an appraisal associated with your Home Equity application. To move forward with your application, the following items are needed from you : Priority Documentation Required Prior to Initial Review : Need your local address for your work or if you travel for work, verify who pays the travel expenses Verify if these are previous addresses or do you currently own these properties : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX TX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX Are there three loans on the title of your home, a first mortgage, second mortgage and a heloc, if so, we will need to pay off/consolidate the second mortgage and heloc so that we can be in second position. Clarifying Questions/Information : Does your property have an accessory dwelling unit that is not part of the main home, not attached to it, or not located above a garage? Would you like a box of checks and/or XXXX XXXX card attached to this HELOC? I can see you have an account ending in XXXX, is this the account you would like to use for this mortgage? Which branch would you prefer to go into to close if your loan is approved? o You can locate your closest branch at XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX Required Documentation Needed Prior to Final Review : Payoff requirements : Any debts that are revolving, we will need the most recent statement and full account numbers as well as the mailing address where we mail the payoff to and the statement date. Usually there is one page of the statement that has all of it. For installment loans, need the payoff statement from the company with the fill account numbers and year, make, model and vin for any collateral that is attached. ( if applicable ) Your application is important to me, and my goal is to complete it as soon as possible. You will receive automated emails from me as your application advances through various milestones. In addition to these emails, I will follow up with you regarding the information or documentation requested in this email, or if any additional information or documents are needed. Please upload all requested documents to your online application portal to ensure they are linked to your application. If you are unable to upload them to the portal, you can email or fax XXXX them to me. If you do not feel comfortable sending documentation through these methods, please take the requested documentation to your local branch to be uploaded to the application portal. The rate and margin disclosed is not final and is subject to further underwriting and verification prior to a final loan approval/commitment. Please be aware that the attendance of all borrowers on this loan and any additional parties vested on title will be required at the closing of this loan which will take place at a Mountain America Branch of your choosing. Thank you for choosing Mountain America Credit Union. I look forward to working with you! Sincerely, Your Home Equity Loan Coordinator End of transcript. Then I was given this message today XX/XX/26 From XXXX XXXX : My name is XXXX and I am reaching out from the Mountain America Heloc team. I have been briefed on your application and situation, I understand your concern regarding the interest rate on your HELOC. Im happy to help clarify how your current rate is being applied. At the time your HELOC was opened, you received a promotional introductory rate of 4.49 % for the first six months. After this promotional period ended, the account transitioned to the standard variable rate outlined in the agreement you signed, which reflects a starting rate of 9.00 %, your rate will always be federal prime rate plus your margin. The federal prime rate is 6.75 % your margin that you were approved for is 1.75 % together that is your current rate of 8.50 % Additionally, at the time of underwriting, your loan required a 0.25 % rate adjustment due to your debt-to-income ratio being outside of standard guidelines, which required an exception to move forward with the approval. This adjustment was incorporated into your overall rate structure. Currently, your interest rate is 8.50 %, which is actually below the original variable rate disclosed in your loan documents. As a variable-rate product, this rate may fluctuate over time based on changes to the underlying prime rate. I understand how changes in rates can be frustrating, and I want to assure you that your account is operating in accordance with the terms agreed upon at closing. Please let me know if you have any additional questionsIm here to help. Below, for your convenience I have attached a snippet of the HELOC agreement showing the agreed upon terms.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation