Fuck you, America's Servicing Company

[logophile]

I can't fucking believe they've raised my mortgage payment again. They bought my mortgage 30 days after we closed on the house and my payment has gone up a total of $300 in the year that I've had the house. Every time, it's been due to an error on their part, which they provide no means to rectify.

Anyone else have these fuckers for a mortgage company? This is my first mortgage and I am so, so, so lost on this stuff. How do you handle them? They're just so... awful.

 

[rgraham666]

*HUGS*

Better Business Bureau.

 

[jomar]

I can't fucking believe they've raised my mortgage payment again. They bought my mortgage 30 days after we closed on the house and my payment has gone up a total of $300 in the year that I've had the house. Every time, it's been due to an error on their part, which they provide no means to rectify.

Anyone else have these fuckers for a mortgage company? This is my first mortgage and I am so, so, so lost on this stuff. How do you handle them? They're just so... awful.

Please bear with me if I suggest sex before we talk. It's your AVs fault after all.

*sigh* Okay, you're a lesbian, big whup.

Anyway, do you have a fixed rate? If not you will see increases. There is no reason for increases if you have a fixed rate. With one exception as far as I know. That is, if the mortgage company miscalculated your taxes, they may increase your payments to catch up on escrow. Happened to me and I'm pissed, but...

If they can't document errors, I'd look at the fine print and think about getting a lawyer.

 

[logophile]

Please bear with me if I suggest sex before we talk. It's your AVs fault after all.

*sigh* Okay, you're a lesbian, big whup.

Anyway, do you have a fixed rate? If not you will see increases. There is no reason for increases if you have a fixed rate. With one exception as far as I know. That is, if the mortgage company miscalculated your taxes, they may increase your payments to catch up on escrow. Happened to me and I'm pissed, but...

If they can't document errors, I'd look at the fine print and think about getting a lawyer.

Yes, it's a fixed rate. However, ASC is insisting that my homeowners insurance was dropped in July. As a result, ASC forced their own homeowners insurance on me, at almost three times the cost of my previous insurance. My previous insurance company swears they didn't drop my coverage and has tried to have my previous policy reinstated, but ASC is refusing to change it.

As a result of the changed insurance, my escrow account is in arrears, and they are raising my mortgage payment to make up the deficit. It totally sucks, because this is, once again, not my fault. And I don't know how to make ASC accept my insurance company's reinstatement of my old policy.

 

[TE999]

Yes, it's a fixed rate. However, ASC is insisting that my homeowners insurance was dropped in July. As a result, ASC forced their own homeowners insurance on me, at almost three times the cost of my previous insurance. My previous insurance company swears they didn't drop my coverage and has tried to have my previous policy reinstated, but ASC is refusing to change it.

As a result of the changed insurance, my escrow account is in arrears, and they are raising my mortgage payment to make up the deficit. It totally sucks, because this is, once again, not my fault. And I don't know how to make ASC accept my insurance company's reinstatement of my old policy.

Contact your states Department Of Community Affairs and get them to intervene. Also contact the Secretary of State's office. They usually issue licenses to mortgage companies to operate in the state.

Sounds like you're a victim of misrepresentation in your mortgage contract or gross incompetence.

Good luck.

 

[DeeZire]

I remember seeing a piece on 60 Minutes about this type of thing. Apparently, your company will do everything they can to screw you, until they get caught. The state attorney general's office might be interested, or even if your local newspaper has a consumer activist. I see it in the local paper all the time. As soon as one of these mortgage service companies gets caught, they bend over backwards trying to 'rectify' their 'errors'. Bastards!

 

[jomar]

What a scam. Be aggressive. Best of luck, Logo.

 

[Katyusha]

Yes, it's a fixed rate. However, ASC is insisting that my homeowners insurance was dropped in July. As a result, ASC forced their own homeowners insurance on me, at almost three times the cost of my previous insurance. My previous insurance company swears they didn't drop my coverage and has tried to have my previous policy reinstated, but ASC is refusing to change it.

As a result of the changed insurance, my escrow account is in arrears, and they are raising my mortgage payment to make up the deficit. It totally sucks, because this is, once again, not my fault. And I don't know how to make ASC accept my insurance company's reinstatement of my old policy.

Of course ASC is refusing to change it. They're making more money on your insurance if you have to pay theirs. If I were you I'd either go to the local press and your state attorney general's office and see what kind of recourse you might have. If your insurance company says they didn't drop the policy but ASC is refusing to allow it to be reinstated, there's a serious problem.

 

[Belegon]

Logo:

More than willing to help, but my area of expertise is only going to be in verifying and specifying what they have screwed up if you have it correct... and your tale rings true.

I know money is tight for you. Do you have a friendly lawyer wiling to write a letter for you? You would be shocked what a response legal letterhead can generate...

 

[logophile]

Part of the problem is that my insurance agent suffered a major heart attack over Christmas and had a quadruple bypass surgery. He's only in the office a few hours a week now and I think he doesn't have the tenacity to follow through on this stuff. Additionally, ASC says they don't have a contact phone number or person for insurance stuff. They have a fax number, period. So my agent faxes in whatever it is that he's supposed to fax in, and then waits for a response. Eventually, my ASC mails a letter back to my agent. And then, again, eventually, I hear from my agent. We've been dealing with this since January. My agent swears it's going to be fixed the very next time he faxes in the mysterious paperwork, but it never is. I can't get anyone at ASC to speak to me directly about the issue, because it's an insurance problem and they say all contact has to be faxed in. It's such an awful cycle.

Does anyone know what would happen if I changed insurance companies at this point in the cycle? Do I need another year's worth of insurance money like I did when before we closed on the house?

Also, I AM getting ready to refi this house with my credit union. I'm dumping ASC as soon as possible, but everything seems to take soooo long.

Thanks for listening, friends.

 

[MarshAlien]

Yes, it's a fixed rate. However, ASC is insisting that my homeowners insurance was dropped in July. As a result, ASC forced their own homeowners insurance on me, at almost three times the cost of my previous insurance. My previous insurance company swears they didn't drop my coverage and has tried to have my previous policy reinstated, but ASC is refusing to change it.

As a result of the changed insurance, my escrow account is in arrears, and they are raising my mortgage payment to make up the deficit. It totally sucks, because this is, once again, not my fault. And I don't know how to make ASC accept my insurance company's reinstatement of my old policy.

Two questions:

1. So ASC paid premiums from August through last month on a policy that, according to them, was no longer in force?

2. I'm not sure what you mean by "reinstated." Was there in fact some lapse in coverage, or do you simply mean that ASC won't recognized the old policy's validity?

Finally, does your state have a small claims court?

Guess that's three questions. But the last one isn't numbered, so it really doesn't count.

 

[Belegon]

Part of the problem is that my insurance agent suffered a major heart attack over Christmas and had a quadruple bypass surgery. He's only in the office a few hours a week now and I think he doesn't have the tenacity to follow through on this stuff. Additionally, ASC says they don't have a contact phone number or person for insurance stuff. They have a fax number, period. So my agent faxes in whatever it is that he's supposed to fax in, and then waits for a response. Eventually, my ASC mails a letter back to my agent. And then, again, eventually, I hear from my agent. We've been dealing with this since January. My agent swears it's going to be fixed the very next time he faxes in the mysterious paperwork, but it never is. I can't get anyone at ASC to speak to me directly about the issue, because it's an insurance problem and they say all contact has to be faxed in. It's such an awful cycle.

Does anyone know what would happen if I changed insurance companies at this point in the cycle? Do I need another year's worth of insurance money like I did when before we closed on the house?

Also, I AM getting ready to refi this house with my credit union. I'm dumping ASC as soon as possible, but everything seems to take soooo long.

Thanks for listening, friends.

Okay, this is getting complicated and I have a Airport taxi run to make for my pops...

Logo, you know this used to be my field, we've been interrupted on phone calls so I could explain shit to people.

I think you are probably right to refi, and if so that may be the perfect time to switch insurance. Let's touch bases later and talk in more detail?

 

[logophile]

Two questions:

1. So ASC paid premiums from August through last month on a policy that, according to them, was no longer in force?

2. I'm not sure what you mean by "reinstated." Was there in fact some lapse in coverage, or do you simply mean that ASC won't recognized the old policy's validity?

Finally, does your state have a small claims court?

Guess that's three questions. But the last one isn't numbered, so it really doesn't count.

1. I paid for the first year of my homeowner's insurance before we closed on the house, directly to the insurance company. Then, my homeowner's insurance and my property taxes were to be escrowed for this year (2008).

2. We closed on the house in late March, 2007. ASC claims that my insurance company dropped my coverage in the middle of July (not quite 4 months after I paid for a full year), however my insurance company says they absolutely did not drop the coverage. ASC forced their insurance on me at the beginning of August, because they claimed I had no insurance at that time. They paid for their own policy with the money in my escrow account, and then paid my property taxes at the end of January. They renewed my contract for their insurance, paying another year's worth of premiums out of my escrow account, and creating a serious deficit in the account.

Does that answer your questions?

Yes - my state has a small claims court. How do I do that? I don't have the slightest idea.

 

[glynndah]

Wanna trade? Mine generously sent me a check for several hundred dollars for "escrow overpayment". Several weeks later I got a notice from our county clerk stating our real estate taxes had not been paid, something the mortgage company was contracted to do. As it turned out, their systems were set up to pay the taxes on a different time period, so they just returned that money to us and omitted payment to the county.

 

[logophile]

Wanna trade? Mine generously sent me a check for several hundred dollars for "escrow overpayment". Several weeks later I got a notice from our county clerk stating our real estate taxes had not been paid, something the mortgage company was contracted to do. As it turned out, their systems were set up to pay the taxes on a different time period, so they just returned that money to us and omitted payment to the county.

That sucks, Glynndah. I'm so sorry.

Back in February, I found out that ASC hadn't credited my account for one of my payments, though they had cashed my check. According to them, I was behind by one payment, and they were assessing me a late fee of 150 per month. It took almost two months to get that straightened out. They refused to use a copy of my bank statement as proof of payment. They wanted copies of the fronts and backs of my payment checks. BUT - they don't return the checks to my bank after processing. They hold them (well, Wells Fargo holds them) and would only send copies of the fronts of my payment checks. The whole thing was a nightmare.

I'm sorry you're having one, too.

 

[rgraham666]

These people sound highly unethical. It's good you're getting out from under them because it sure sounds to me that you're being fucked.

*HUGS* Stay strong.

 

[logophile]

These people sound highly unethical. It's good you're getting out from under them because it sure sounds to me that you're being fucked.

*HUGS* Stay strong.

Thanks, Rob.

 

[glynndah]

That sucks, Glynndah. I'm so sorry.

Back in February, I found out that ASC hadn't credited my account for one of my payments, though they had cashed my check. According to them, I was behind by one payment, and they were assessing me a late fee of 150 per month. It took almost two months to get that straightened out. They refused to use a copy of my bank statement as proof of payment. They wanted copies of the fronts and backs of my payment checks. BUT - they don't return the checks to my bank after processing. They hold them (well, Wells Fargo holds them) and would only send copies of the fronts of my payment checks. The whole thing was a nightmare.

I'm sorry you're having one, too.

Fortunately, it was through a bank nearby and I paid a personal visit to the mortgage officer who signed off on the deal. I was definitely not the good little witch and my taxes were paid on my county's schedule the next year. And even more fortunately, we had money in the bank (another bank) to cover the taxes.

 

[trysail]

... They refused to use a copy of my bank statement as proof of payment. They wanted copies of the fronts and backs of my payment checks. BUT - they don't return the checks to my bank after processing. They hold them (well, Wells Fargo holds them) and would only send copies of the fronts of my payment checks. The whole thing was a nightmare.

I'm sorry you've had to deal with this.

Most creditors will require copies of the front and back of paid checks as proof of payment (the reason for this is that the front of the check has the payee and the Magnetic Ink Character Recognition {"MICR"} encoded American Bankers Association {"ABA"} bank number, your account number and the amount paid [see the bottom right hand corner of a paid check]). The reverse of the check gives the processing information that enables a bank to backtrack the check through the Federal Reserve Bank payment system.

Very few (if any) banks return paid checks these days. As your bank, Wells Fargo should have provided you with the copies of the front and back of the paid checks that you requested. They are the paying bank and there's no excuse for them not to do so. In fact, Wells is required by law to provide you with copies of paid checks that you request (though most account holders have on-line access these days and find it's usually simpler just to print the images that are available through on-line access).

Your insurance company (through your agent) should have provided a loss payee certificate to the mortgagee (you are the mortgagor) and an endorsement to your policy naming the mortgagee as such. This is standard practice.

I hope this helps you a little. Dealing with bureaucracies is my idea of hell.

 

[Boxlicker101]

It is 100% illegal for your mortgage holder to require that you buy insurance from them or somebody they designate. There might be people, such as your state's Department of Insurance or the AG or a consumer advocate at a local TV station who can stomp on them. Don't let them get away with it.

Out of curiosity, did they used to me know as America's Credit or some such name? We had a pile of trouble with them, until we changed mortgage holders. That would be harder to do now.

 

[logophile]

I'm sorry you've had to deal with this.

Most creditors will require copies of the front and back of paid checks as proof of payment (the reason for this is that the front of the check has the payee and the Magnetic Ink Character Recognition {"MICR"} encoded American Bankers Association {"ABA"} bank number, your account number and the amount paid [see the bottom right hand corner of a paid check]). The reverse of the check gives the processing information that enables a bank to backtrack the check through the Federal Reserve Bank payment system.

Very few (if any) banks return paid checks these days. As your bank, Wells Fargo should have provided you with the copies of the front and back of the paid checks that you requested. They are the paying bank and there's no excuse for them not to do so. In fact, Wells is required by law to provide you with copies of paid checks that you request (though most account holders have on-line access these days and find it's usually simpler just to print the images that are available through on-line access).

Your insurance company (through your agent) should have provided a loss payee certificate to the mortgagee (you are the mortgagor) and an endorsement to your policy naming the mortgagee as such. This is standard practice.

I hope this helps you a little. Dealing with bureaucracies is my idea of hell.

Thanks for all the tips. I'll look them over more carefully in just a bit. I want to clarify - Wells Fargo is NOT my bank. I have a credit union I dearly love. Wells Fargo is the financial institution for ASC - and they refused to send copies of the backs of the checks to my credit union, repeatedly.

Thanks again!

 

[Boxlicker101]

The other company I mentioned, if it was another company, was Nation'scredit. They are a bunch of crooks, and they tried to rip off my wife and me a few years ago. We were able to refinance and avoid them. I would strongly advise anybody to avoid transacting any business with them.

 

[DeeZire]

... Wells is required by law to provide you with copies of paid checks that you request (though most account holders have on-line access these days and find it's usually simpler just to print the images that are available through on-line access)

Apparently, there is no such law in Arizona. My bank of the last twenty years explained to me that when a new regulation was passed recently, they were no longer required to return payed checks to me, since the checks were not being returned by the people they were written to. It's a real PITA, since I use cancelled checks to prove expense for my taxes.

This is just one more indication to me that the financial industry is writing their own regulations through lobbyists and campaign donations. Our government could just as easily write regulations protecting consumers, but apparently, abused consumers who are sending all their money to crooked mortgage servicing companies don't have the financial clout to buy the laws needed to protect them.

 

[Belegon]

Apparently, there is no such law in Arizona. My bank of the last twenty years explained to me that when a new regulation was passed recently, they were no longer required to return payed checks to me, since the checks were not being returned by the people they were written to. It's a real PITA, since I use cancelled checks to prove expense for my taxes.

This is just one more indication to me that the financial industry is writing their own regulations through lobbyists and campaign donations. Our government could just as easily write regulations protecting consumers, but apparently, abused consumers who are sending all their money to crooked mortgage servicing companies don't have the financial clout to buy the laws needed to protect them.

*sigh*
do yourself a favor and google "Check 21"

 

[alyxen]

*sigh*
do yourself a favor and google "Check 21"

Good idea Bel..The basics of Check 21 simply remove the paper check from a PORTION of the check payment process. The entire process requires that the check be scanned (front and back) in order to be completed, so there is no excuse for not being provided with this on request.