Consumer complaint received 2024-11-16 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — Conventional home mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — Trying to communicate with the company to fix an issue related to modification, forbearance, short sale, deed-in-lieu, bankruptcy, or foreclosure
Company: Ocwen Financial Corporation
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
Subject : Complaint Against PHH Mortgage for Unfair, Deceptive, and Abusive Act or Practices I am filing this complaint to request that your office investigate PHH Mortgages abusive, unfair, and deceptive practices in servicing my mortgage loan. Their actions have caused my family significant financial harm, and we continue to suffer from their impact. 
PHH Mortgage delayed reviewing my modification application for 8 months. I submitted all the necessary documents on XX/XX/XXXX but frequently PHH changed the date they labeled the application as complete so they could continue to extend the date the decision was due. Their failure to respond in a reasonable time severely damaged my credit score, this has affected my professional life ; XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX which means that my career depends on maintaining strong financial credibility. PHHs actions unfairly tarnished my reputation and continues to restrict my ability to return to work at the same income level because prospective employers lose interest the moment they see a credit score in the XXXX. 
PHHs mishandling caused me to lose the CARES Act protection I initially received back in XXXX. Additionally due to their mishandling, the Texas Homeowner Assistance Fund denied our application, which could have brought our mortgage current under the terms of the original mortgage note. By eliminating other potential assistance, PHH held us XXXX and continued subjecting us to their unfair and abusive treatment. 

When 8 months after submission we finally received temporary approval, we followed instruction and met the three-trial payments needed to move to a permanent modification. After that we received the permanent agreement and proceeded to follow instructions just like we had before, executing and notarizing the agreement. PHH then began rejecting our finalized and notarized modification agreement three times, claiming improper execution. PHH could have chosen to have us sign a corrective addendum for the purpose of correcting minor errors, such as those they were citing ; instead, they chose to put us through the mental and emotional torture three time only to reject our modification altogether. 18 months after meeting all requirements, we had to reapply and repeat the entire process. For a second time received temporary approval, completed the trial payments, and received the permanent modification agreement. Not wanting to repeat the last experience, I verified with the relationship manager how the documents needed to be executed, took notes, repeated the instructions, and listened for confirmation. Once again, my husband and I took time off work to sit with a notary and execute the agreement, confident we had followed the very explicit instructions I had received. One week later we received the first rejection letter, citing the same problems as before. Under duress my husband and I have had to repeat this process twice more. They refused to include a corrective addendum and provided us with faulty instructions that resulted in the rejection of the agreement five times, we are waiting on the result for the sixth executed and notarized submission. By forcing us to take time off and spend money on overnight fees so we could ensure timely arrival, and by refusing to provide us with a solution that is common practice, they crossed from due diligence into abuse and harassment. 
It is my belief this was not a case of negligence but one of malice. PHH is aware they violated RESPA and ECOA in handling my modification. Knowing that turning down a modification without justification, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX would result in an investigation, they tried to reject my modification citing items easily corrected, such as incorrect signature They have blatantly lied saying I rejected the second payment deferral presented but when I asked to produce the transcript of the conversation where this allegedly happened, they refused, citing an undue burden PHH Mortgages actions are the definition of unfair, deceptive, abusive acts and practices. Despite our constant efforts and good faith, we have been put through 1.5 years of unnecessary mental anguish and now continue to remain in uncertainty. I share this account to highlight the challenges of dealing with PHH Mortgage, which has proven to be the most unprofessional mortgage servicer I have encountered. 

My husband & I were both XXXX XXXX in XXXX. In XXXX of that year, we both found ourselves laid off despite working for different employers., because of the interest rates going from 2.5 % to 8 % in a matter of months. We along with hundreds of XXXX XXXX  found ourselves with no jobs, and no prospects for the next 2 years and change... 

1. PHH Mortgage 's departments provided conflicting information. While one representative assured me, I was under in a forbearance plan under CARES Act protection and only needed to apply for a resolution if i reached the 12-month limit or could resume payments, another department sent me notices that my resolution application was incomplete and was urgent I provided the required documents. 
I have a stack 12 inches tall of early intervention letters issued after acknowledging I had entered into a CARES act forbearance, acknowledgment the mortgage assistance application is complete, and soon after requests for missing documents to complete the mortgage assistance application. They are all available for review upon your request 2. PHH Mortgage forced me to enter a payment deferment in XX/XX/XXXX after only 8 months of forbearance. The notice stated they could not extend the forbearance any further because I had reached the maximum term of 12 months. In the same notice, they indicated they would be deferring a total of 8 payments. They refused to investigate despite my numerous requests, and only began looking into my argument 2 days before the deadline for the agreement. I was forced to sign the deferment otherwise I would have to bring the mortgage current out of pocket ( which being underemployed did not allow me to do ) They only corrected the error after the 8 months had been added as a 2nd mortgage to my indebtedness.. 
Please refer to the supporting documents attached. 

3. The PHH representative gave me misleading information. 
On XX/XX/XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX indicted that if I had to accept the deferral because PHH had not completed the escalation investigation and later PHH discovered they had made an error : a ) the forbearance would be extended to cover the additional 4 months that XXXX protection afforded me b ) I would be notified of the findings in the month of XXXX c ) The 4 months of payments for the last forbearance extension would be added to 8 months. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I was forced to accept under duress because PHH had not finished their review.. 

4. PHH Mortgage forced me to accept the payment deferment for the 8 months of payments adding a second mortgage of {$28.00} to my indebtedness, then when they discovered their error, they added the same balance from second mortgage to the outstanding balance in the forbearance, artificially increasing my indebtedness Mortgage statement for XX/XX/XXXX included. It says the outstanding balance is {$58000.00} while the statement also shows a second mortgage of {$28000.00}. The forbearance stared XX/XX/XXXX. XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX = 26 months. XXXX XXXX payment ( 8 months deferred and 6 payments for two different temporary modifications ) = 12 payments outstanding. 12 months x {$3200.00} {$38000.00} but the mortgage statement says the outstanding balance is {$58000.00} 5. PHH Mortgage offered me a second payment deferral agreement and promptly rescinded it, deceitfully statingI had refused it. 
See documentation The first week of XXXX I received a notice of payment deferral agreement to be accepted by XX/XX/XXXX. 
Upon receipt I called PHH thinking they had finished the modification review. I was informed that the modification review was still in progress ; since I still had time I chose to wait, anticipating the mod review to be completed before the XX/XX/XXXX deadline On XX/XX/XXXX I called PHH and was informed the modification review was still in progress. Not wanting to miss the deferral offer I told the rep I wanted to accept it. The rep then informed me the deferral was no longer an option since, according to the notes in the system, I had refused it earlier in the month. This was a complete fabrication I requested the transcript for the phone call when I allegedly turned down the payment deferment. They refused to provide it citing undue burden It is my firm belief PHH rescinded the deferral agreement because they had placed a 2nd mortgage against my property when they forced me to sign the first payment deferral agreement as a result of PHHs error. They then realized they would have a hard time attaching an enforceable 3rd lien to my primary residence in Texas. They then fabricated a lie and rescinded the payment agreement, steering me into a modification that was favorable to them. The modification they offered increased my payment by almost $ XXXX and extended the term to 40 years, while I remained underemployed. Had they not forced me into a prior partial payment deferral I would have been able to defer all 12 months at once and resume my payment based on the original terms of the loan. 

PHH Mortgage took 8 months to review our modification application and after completing the three trial payments and executing and getting the final modification agreement notarized three times, PHH rescinded our modification. 
We submitted the complete application and all required documents on XX/XX/XXXX. Between date of submission and XX/XX/XXXX, PHH extended the due date of review numerous times, many of them without providing notification. 
XX/XX/XXXX I called to check on status. I was advised documents had been received and rep could not give me anymore information except that the review would take a while. 
XX/XX/XXXX I called in the morning, at lunch and in the afternoon. I finally got through to someone and found out. they had deemed the documents to have something wrong. If I had not called, I would not have found out. The alleged issues were ridiculous, they stated that my paystub had two names on it. My husband re-uploaded the same exact documents to PHHS portal that evening and on XX/XX/XXXX late afternoon I received a phone call that they deemed the documents acceptable this time.. I was told the application was complete. 
The week of XXXX I received correspondence stating the application had been marked complete as of XXXX and the review would take 30 days. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I called since it was 45 days later and I had no answer. I talked to XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX and was told the application was under review. She said the application had been marked complete as of XX/XX/XXXX. We had not submitted nor been asked to submit anything more since XX/XX/XXXX. XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX could not tell me. She also could not get a manager on the phone. 
Between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, PHH extended the deadline for review numerous times, every time changing the date the application had been marked complete. They failed to keep phone appointments and failed to provide notification or explanation for the extensions. We only received an answer in XX/XX/XXXX coincidentally within a few weeks of us having retained legal counsel. PHH increased our monthly payment by almost {$1000.00} and increased the term of the loan to 40 years, despite knowing that my household was earning less than of our regular income. We accepted the trial modification since we were advised by the attorney if we did not PHH would likely use it to state we had refused the resolution presented to us and use it as grounds to start foreclosure. We met the terms of the temporary modification including the 3 trial payments, and subsequently received the permanent modification agreement. I include the documents for every rejection notice along with the signature pages that prompted the rejections. The second time I called and talked to XXXX XXXX, the relationship manager assigned to our case. I asked for specific instructions I repeated the instructions, and the rep verified they were correct. An additional {$32.00} dollars and 7 days later we received notification the modification had been rejected. 

6. PHH Mortgage deceitful actions cost us the ability to receive assistance from the Texas Homeowners fund. 
Having dealt with PHH with the payment deferral incident, I applied to the Texas Mortgage Assistance Fund, not knowing what other mental torture PHH was going to put us through when the forbearance agreement came to an end. After 6 or 7 months of waiting, I received notice from this fund that we were preliminarily approved as long as PHH mortgage verified the information I had provided. Shortly after I received a denial indicating PHH had stated my loan was over conforming limits. I appealed and provided a copy of the note I signed showing it was a conforming loan. 1 week later I received notice from the fund PHH had said my loan amount was {$610000.00}. The loan not been modified yet at this point. I include a copy of the original note for {$600000.00} I signed when I entered into this mortgage. 

7. 1.5 years later, PHH Mortgage continues to put us under unnecessary stress and continues to attempt to deny our modification a second time. 
See documentation attached. 
After we received the denial of the modification last time, I called XXXX XXXX, our relationship manager, and was told we could submit a second application. I pulled the application from the website and resubmitted it with the necessary documents.. Despite acknowledging receipt of the mortgage assistance application, they continued to send us Notices of Default stating if we did not pay the balance, our home would go up foreclosure sale. his time I received notice of approval for temporary modification Flex Modification in just over 30 days. Knowing that my husband and I are only earning a fraction of what we used to before the pandemic, the monthly payment is {$3600.00}. {$400.00} dollars higher than my original note. They have also extended the term to 40 years, added a 2nd mortgage, and artificially increased my indebtedness. Yes, I would call this abusive considering that the reason 2 years later we are still trying to resolve this is because of PHHs unprofessional, abusive, unfair, deceptive and malicious practices. 

8. PHHs actions deprived us of the CARES act protection we should have received had they reviewed our documents in a timely and fair manner.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation