Consumer complaint received 2025-07-03 00:00:00
Product: Mortgage — VA mortgage
Issue: Struggling to pay mortgage — An existing modification, forbearance plan, short sale, or other loss mitigation relief
Company: Freedom Mortgage Company
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
We are VA loan holders with Freedom Mortgage, Loan # XXXX. After a major loss of income in XX/XX/XXXX, we requested a 3-month forbearance. We were told repeatedly by multiple representatives that at the end of the forbearance, we could do a simple loan modification that would add the missed payments to the back of the loan with no changes to our loan terms or interest rate. At no point was it disclosed that this would alter our interest rate. 

When the original forbearance ended in XX/XX/XXXX, we called and were told we would receive VA trial payment documents within 3 weeks but we never did. In XXXX, a representative confirmed that the trial modification was never submitted properly and instead offered a second 3-month forbearance beginning in XXXX. We were also told not to make a payment for XXXX, as it would not apply correctly and instead would go toward XXXX. They explicitly instructed us to let XXXX go unpaid and begin a new forbearance in XXXX. 

Once again, we were told that we could do a loan modification at the end of the forbearance to add the missed payments to the back of the loan and again, no mention was made of any change to our interest rate. Based on this, we accepted the new forbearance as a way to recover financially, and planned to resume full payments starting XX/XX/XXXX. 

As of XX/XX/XXXX, we are ready to resume payments in full. However, when we called to proceed with the trial modification, we were told that our only option is a modification that would increase our interest rate from 2.25 % to over 7 %. This is a complete reversal of what we were told, and a major omission of material terms. 

We have spoken with multiple Freedom Mortgage representatives over the last several months, and not one of them disclosed that our interest rate would change as part of the modification process. This has had a direct impact on our financial planning, and we would never have agreed to a forbearance under these terms had we been fully informed. 

We are currently escalating the issue and have requested that Freedom Mortgage pull the call recordings. A supervisor acknowledged that this was mishandled but claimed that theres nothing we can do aside from retraining the employee. That response is unacceptable. We should have been clearly informed : You will be able to modify at the end of the forbearance ; however, your interest rate may change. That was never communicated. 

We are requesting that the CFPB assist in ensuring the following : That the modification proceeds as originally stated, with no change to our 2.25 % VA loan interest rate. 

That Freedom Mortgage is held accountable for its failure to disclose material terms related to a federally-backed loan modification. 

That all call recordings be reviewed for compliance with the Truth in Lending Act and CFPBs Mortgage Servicing Rules. 

This has caused undue stress and confusion for our family and could have been entirely avoided had the information been properly disclosed from the beginning.

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