We were contacted by Neil Scott from Americor Lending Group about a loan. Neil stated he could get us a 2% 30 year fixed loan. I told Neil that this sounded too good to be true, but Neil always assured me that he was honest and that it was indeed a 2% fixed loan for 30 years.
I have documentation and a good faith estimate from him that would appear to be a 30 year 2% fixed loan.
We had to get an appriasal for this loan as the appraisal we had 2 months prior for a home equity loan, was supposedly not the right kind for a new loan. We paid $600 to the appraisal company that Neil had picked out.
After waiting almost 2 months we were starting to get suspicious that this was all a scam. Neil started avoiding our phone calls and delayed getting paperwork to us. Finally he faxed over the loan docs to be looked over and signed so we could close on the loan.
When we received the fax, Neil typed in 2% for 360 months, but conveniently left the boxes next to it empty (those boxes tell what kind of loan it is). He also increased our closing costs from $595 on the good faith estimate to nearly $10,000 on the loan docs.
When we questioned Neil about this, he said that "those were the closing costs I have in my computer system that automatically charge a certain percentage on every loan and needs to be manually adjusted." So he said he would rework the number and get back to us.
Nearly 2 weeks later we receive another fax (after many attempts to get Neil to return calls and e-mails). This time the closing costs are now $2780, better, but still a far cry from $595 on the good faith estimate.
Neil new from the first fax that we were getting to the point where we were hesitant on doing a loan with them because of all the things that had happened. I told him personally that I would have to discuss it with my husband before we decide what we were going to do. Then I get a notice from our "Home Equity Loan" saying that Americor has requested a "payoff" of our loan and our account is now frozen due to their request.
Since we were in the middle of a kitchen remodel and I had just written a check to our cabinet company, this now made this check bounce. Neil had no reason to request a payoff as we had never signed anything stating we were continuing with this loan.
Just a couple of days after my last contact with Neil, I get a call from Americor stating that Neil is no longer with the company and find out from another loan officer that the 2% fixed 30 year loan was really a 2% deferred interet loan. So we were blatenly lied to by Neil.
So I speak with Cory the customer service manager. He says he will either see what they can do for me about a loan or see about getting my $600 back for the appraisal, which I would never have gotten if I had known this was not a fixed rate loan.
Cory never gets back to me. Then I call and speak with Jackie (the assistant to the CEO). She states that she thought Cory was handling it. After I tell her that Cory has never bothered to get back to me, she states that she will speak with the CEO and then get back to me by days end. Well, of course, that never happened. I called and left numerous voice mails and messages for both Cory and Jackie and neither one got back to me.
Then, finally after about 2 weeks, Cory calls and says he is having a meeting with the President, CEO, etc to see about getting our $600 back. Cory calls later that day and states that "yes, we can have our money back" "but it will be in the form of a brokers credit". He faxes the paper to me that he states I must sign to get my money back.
I look at the "Brokers Credit" form that he has sent and once I read the "fine print" I see that if I sign this paper I will be locked into a loan with these people and can have my $600 back at close of escrow!
I call Cory back and ask him if he is trying to swindle me the way that Neil did. Cory states that it was an "honest mistake" and he will now fax over the "refund form" for me to sign.
I look over the "refund form" only to see that if I sign it, I cannot EVER hold them liable for ANYTHING and that I will never fild a lawsuit against them or bring claim against them "hereinafter".
I called Cory back and told him that we would not sign this. He said he would speak with the CEO.
Steve McIlwain calls my husband and my husband phones me to make it a conference call. Steve said "if we signed the paper today, he would cut the check and send it out". We told him we were not willing to sign the paper. He said he would speak with the "owners" and the "legal team" to see what they say.
Next my husband gets a call from Raymond Baez. Raymond says that if we don't sign the paper releasing them of liability and keeping us from ever suing them, we cannot have our money.
So here we sit at this point without our money. I feel as if I am being "blackmailed"."sign the paper and you can have your money" This just doesn't seem legal. This from a company who has loan officers that lie about fixed loans and try to scam you into a deferred interest loan!
They need to be investigated thourghly!
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