I live in Ocean Springs, Mississippi and am a victim of Hurricane Katrina. I have been fighting with my mortgate company, Countrywide Home Loans, since soon after the storm. I have two loans with Countrywide, a mortgage loan and an Equity loan, we have been doing business with them since 1997. Countrywide has news releases on their website telling how much they are doing to help the victims of Katrina, and I can tell you it is all lies. Below is what my experience has been.
First... They deferred our payments when I called about it, but unlike most creditors they are not tacking them to the end of the loan, but expect us to make up the payments by making payments and a half or two payments at a time. So I have just been making the payments as usual to keep from trying to catch up.
Second... We used one of our Equity Line of Credit checks to purchase a generator, wheelbarrow and other things to start cleaning our property at Lowe's on Sept. 3rd. About a week later Countrywide called about us writing the check and said that they had frozen everyone's equity line of credit in the hurricane affected areas and they probably would not cover the check. They sent out an appraiser to do a drive by appraisal (which consisted of going all through the house and taking pics) and would let me know something in 24 hrs. About a week later I got them to confirm that they were not going to cover the check leaving us with a "bad" check in my husband's name at Lowe's for $862.25.By this time I had received my equity statement, (which is generated on the 1st of the month... AFTER the storm, and mailed on the 5th. 2 days AFTER we wrote the check) which showed we had available credit. I proceeded to tell whoever I was talking to in customer service that they couldn't do this, they had not given us or anybody prior notice and they cannot do this retroactively, they said they could. I fought with them for about a week and half then called the Attorney General's office. The lady in the banking and mortgages dept. Started calling them, playing mediator mostly, and they basically ignored her too. I guess she finally got tough with them and they did a wire transfer to our bank (after all kinds of games) to cover the check on Oct. 19th, which cost me $10 bank fee.
They also tried sending us a letter telling us that our equity line had been frozen, but the strangest business letter I've ever seen since it wasn't dated. But not being the ignorant Mississippian those Californian's obviously think I am, I do know that a postmark is the date it is mailed, this postmark was Sept. 19th. So watch these people they are sneaky and not honest or moral.
In the meantime through this, they have cut off my access to my account online and ability to make online payments or to view my accounts.
Third... Also during this time we also received our insurance check which was made out to us and Countrywide. I called them to find out what to do for their endorsement and they told me to send it to them, they would endorse it and send us back 1/3. We are supposed to have whatever repairs done, they would send out an inspector and if it meets with their approval send us our next 1/3 and repeat the process. They told me that it is in our Deed of Trust that states they can do this. My husband and I went over everything in our paperwork and cannot find where it states they can do this. I called the Disaster Legal Services people and sent them my Deed of Trust. We now have an attorney who has sent Countrywide a couple of letters trying to get them to send us our money. He is starting to get tough with them now and has demanded they return our insurance funds and the interest along with other peoples. He suggested they forward his letter with the others he has sent to their legal counsel and for this person to contact him to avoid possible legal steps on our behalf and possibly others who are having the same problem.
One thing that appears to be is our loan was taken out in 1997 with our Deed of Trust being on a certain form. They have a newer form, I think it started being used in 2001 that does state this stipulation that they can do this with the insurance proceeds, but ours does not. Our Attorney has filed complaints with the Attorney General's office and the Office of Banking and Finance on our behalf. It sounds like numerous people are complaining about this (not necessarily Countrywide mortgages) and the Attorney General's office is trying to get something done.
Carol
Ocean Springs, Mississippi
U.S.A.
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