LendingTree did not tell me in advance that a $600 lock-in fee was nonrefundable and would not be credited back to my credit card. During the loan process, I specifically asked if the fee would be refunded to my credit card after closing. The response was "it would be credited back."
Stupid me - I didn't ask for clarification whether it would be credited back to the credit card (it was credited to the mortgage itself, but now I have a $600 credit card bill). Nearly 3 weeks after the loan had closed, I was faxed a 30-day Lock-In Disclosure & Agreement. If I had known this info in advance, I would not have authorized the $600 charge to my credit card and would not have gone forward with the loan application.
During the loan process, I was told that I qualified for a $2,700 "discount" from a lender. The loan processor led me to believe that the "discount" was something I would receive. On the final paperwork, the "discount" was paid to LendingTree by me! Unfortunately, I did not catch this until after it was too late to cancel.
In addition, I was misled when I was told that I had offers from several different lenders. I never received any contact info for those lenders and the loan was written up by LendingTree (or its parent company - HomeLoanCenter.com) even though there is a disclaimer at their website that says they do not write any of the loans.
Isn't this fraudulent? In fact, there is a federal lawsuit filed against them for misleading consumers about referrals to realtors. Does anyone know of a similar lawsuit regarding the supposed referrals to lenders?
Be forewarned consumers! There are plenty of legitimate lenders out there who will refund the lock-in fee to your credit card and will go through the fees with you and make sure you understand them. Don't let anybody rush you into closing until you have sat down and studied that final Settlement Statement.
I will never, ever, ever, ever use LendingTree again and will tell everyone I know not to use them either!
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