In March my mother passed away, leaving me the house in which we had lived together since July. I had been caring for her full time with no outside income or employment, so i was left with a house, a mortgage and nothing with which to pay it each month. Bank of America began foreclosure proceedings against me. Fortunately, I found a full time job and was able to refinance the house with Option One and get cash out for myself and my youngest brother for his half interest in the house. At the time of application, I listed my income as being $1300 a month (net). The payments, beginning in February '07, were set at $1,034 which I thought was a bit exorbitant considering my income, but I thought that if needed, I could use the cash to cover my payments. My broker had told me to my face that it was a fixed-rate loan at just over 8% interest with a balloon payment.
Fast forward to now. I was able to stay current on my payments until October of this past year, when I ran out of the money and Option One raised my payments by more than two hundred dollars a month with virtually no warning at all. This I could not handle, and I am now over three months behind on the mortgage. I've sent certified letters to the CEOs of H&R Block (Option One's parent company, based in Kansas City), and Option One with absolutely no response at all. A Martina Gonzales in Option One's customer service department has not been quick to respond to my emails. As it is, with the two-hundred-dollar-plus increase in my payments, it is almost ONE HUNDRED percent of my net monthly income!!!
This is beyond unreasonable; it is criminal in my opinion. I am dead certain that Option One did not verify my income at the time I made the application through my broker, and that my broker may have even falsified my income in order to earn her $4,000 commission. I am currently seeking legal representation to file a lawsuit against both H&R Block and Option One—and possibly the broker as well; I want the entire loan stricken as null and void with clear title given to me plus damages.
I called H&R Block this morning and spoke with a Sharon Obenland, who is Mr. Alan Bennett's (interim CEO) executive assistant, who found records of my letters to Mark Ernst, H&R Block's former CEO, Alan Bennett, and Richard Breeden, H&R Block's chairman. She said that their customer response people had sent me emails in response to those letters— but I NEVER received them. She furthermore verified my correct email address. I am not sure whether or not she was telling me the truth about sending those emails or not, but she did seem sincere. I am currently waiting to hear from the mortgage rep and hope something can be worked out to keep my house from going into foreclosure—but based on what I've read on here from other unhappy Option One customers, I am not going to let my hopes get up there. I feel that perhaps in the end I will end up suing both companies to get justice and keep my house.
In the meantime, if you've had H&R Block prepare your taxes in the past, DON'T use them again this tax season! Boycott them instead and urge your friends, neighbors, coworkers and relatives to do the same. Loss of revenue from the income tax preparation business will hurt H&R Block and they can't afford to lose any more money than they have already due to the problems with Option One. MONEY TALKS!
Also, Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-Pa) wrote a letter to President Bush dated 11/16/07 (http://www.house. Gov/list/press/pa02_fattah/111607.html) urging him to call for a moratorium on all subprime mortgages currently in default. I called Fattah's assistant last week and asked her if Bush had ever responded to the letter—which (surprise! Surprise!) he had not. This is not only inexcusable but also irresponsible when it is a huge national crisis affecting everyone and the health of the economy, and so typical of Bush. When he is confronted with a serious issue as this one or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he buries his head in the sand. I have written to Congressman Fattah with my story and told him I would be more than willing to go before Congress and testify about my experiences. Please write to him (addresses are on his official website http://www.house. Gov/fattah) and send a copy to your own federal representative!
God bless every one of you— united we stand!
Manicmangamaniac
Olathe, Kansas
U.S.A.
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