I must say I'm more than a little flabbergasted with GreenPoint. I purchased my home in November of 1998 and used property that I owned (free & clear) in lieu of a down payment and as collateral.
I have never been late on a payment more than fifteen days and that was only one time in 2001. Oftentimes I have made my monthly payment before the due date. I consider myself to be a customer that GreenPoint should value, especially since I am paying 9.5% interest.
My father, who lives in Illinois, is experiencing some serious health problems, one of which is complete kidney failure. He is on dialysis every other day.
In April of this year my father's condition worsened and it became apparent that I would need to go to Illinois to visit him soon. I made the necessary arrangements and scheduled my flight to leave on May 10th.
Due to the expense involved, I decided to call GreenPoint and ask for my May payment to be deferred. Bear in mind that my May payment was not yet due and would not be due until May 12th. My account was up to date.
I called customer service, advised them of my situation, requested a deferment for May, and the rep advised me that my payment had to be 12 days in arrears before a deferrment could be granted. She said, "Wait till May 25th and call back."
This all sounded reasonable and so I agreed. On the 25th I called again (by this time I was in Illinois) and requested my deferral. This time I was told that I had to be at least 15 days in arrears and was advised to call back later.
On May 30th I called once again and requested a deferral for the May payment and was advised that my payment had to be 30 days past due before a deferral could be granted. I thought, "What's up with these people?" and advised the rep of my continued attempts to resolve this matter. The rep was totally unconcerned.
June 9th, I'm back at home and the phone rings. It's a GreenPoint rep wanting to know when I'll be making my May payment! I advised him of my repeated attempts to get a deferral and the advise I had been given. Do you think he cared? No way! By this time I'm furious! I won't repeat what was said next, but I hope GreenPoint has my conversation with that numbskull recorded. WHAT AN IDIOT! I hung up on him!
I called GreenPoint back minutes later (after I regained my composure) and talked with a lady named "Loraine". She advised me to fax a letter to her immediately, requesting a deferral and showing my reason for delinquency. I did just that.
There was no response to the fax. Next morning, June 10th, I called again to see if my fax had been received. The lady in customer service didn't even know who "Loraine" was! Can you believe it?
I gave her my account # etc. And when she pulled it up she said, "Your account is past due. When will you be sending your May payment?" I replied, "I just sent a fax to "Loraine" yesterday... Did you receive it?" She said, "Hold one moment. I'll go look." Moments later she came back to the phone and said, "I couldn't locate a fax." In desperation, I hung up.
5 minutes later, the phone rings, it's a totally different bone-head from GreenPoint. "When will you be making your May payment?" I was LIVID!"Do you take e-checks?", I asked. "I want to make the payment TODAY! RIGHT NOW!" She seemed to be astonished. "Of course", she said, "but there will be a $2.50 service charge." "Of course", I replied, "by all means, I want you to get your lousy $2.50! Shucks, go ahead and add in a 50 cent tip for good measure!" THE PAYMENT WAS MADE!
30 minutes later... It's "Loraine" on the phone. "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. Your fax was on my desk and the rep didn't see it." "Yeah, right... She can't see YOU either!", I replied. "Say, let's let by-gones be by-gones. Since the May payment is made, can I get a deferral on my June payment?", I asked.
I almost fainted when "Loraine" replied, "I can't help you with that at this time. Your June payment will have to be at least 12 days past due!"
Susan
Columbus, New Mexico
U.S.A.
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