I was forced to take an early retirement 4 months after my wife was laid off on 8/21. I called Citi Mortgage, which holds my second mortgage (fixed 11.9%), to see what they could do for me. Their website stated that they had programs to assist homeowners who were hurting financially, and that under the federal government stimulus package, if my loan was a Fannie Mae loan, I could apply for a loan modification. I went to the Fannie Mae site and put in my account number, and sure enough, they backed the loan. I then applied online through the Citi Mortgage website.
Around 9/2/09 a representative from Citi Mortgage called and said I was pre-approved for a mortgage modification that would reduce my monthly payment from $689 to $282, and that starting on 10/01/09 I should start making the new payment for a test period of 3 months. I was also told to fax them some financial information, which I did that very day. I was leery about sending them the new amount since I had never signed anything and my monthly statement still had my original payment amount.
I called Citi back at the beginning of October and was told that my modification packet was in processing and that someone would call me back. In the meantime, I retired and made my regular monthly payment of $689. After another week I called Citi Mortgage back, and they looked up my file and said I needed to send in some financial information, which, by the way, was the same information I had faxed previously and with the original submission. I informed the person that I had made my regular payment and not the modified amount. At that time I asked her if I should pay the $282 on 11/01/09, and she replied, "Don't, it will hurt my credit." She informed me they had changed the way they do the modifications and they were told not to tell people to pay a new amount until their package was approved. The Citi Mortgage person then told me that someone would contact me shortly.
After another week I called her back, and she told me that my packet would be e-mailed shortly. I never received an e-mail, so I called her back, and she said that was strange, that my packet was being held. She said she would take care of it. A few days later I received the packet by e-mail, filled it out and returned it within the hour.
Another week passed, and I called the representative and left several messages for her to call me. I sent her e-mails also and never heard back. I called customer service, and the person listened and transferred me to the loss mitigation department, the same place that I had been dealing with all along and not getting anywhere. After a half hour on hold, someone answered, looked up my file and said that they needed more information. I asked if I was supposed to have ESP and know this, or if someone was supposed to contact me. She laughed and apologized. The person then asked who I was dealing with, and I told her. She informed me that the other representative was no longer working my modification package, and that she would get to the bottom of it and I should call her back the next day for an update.
It is now November. I called her back, and she said she had nothing to tell me and transferred me to the person I had been told was not working my modification packet. When that person answered, she asked if I was the same person leaving phone messages and e-mails, and I said yes. I was informed that I needed to again send information that I had already sent. I was also told that my modification package was awaiting assignment and that someone would call within 7 days.
14 days later I called the same person and talked for 30 minutes about the runaround and how upset I was. She seemed to be understanding, and I could tell she did not like telling me I had to keep waiting. I called this same person week after week, and she soon knew me by name. Last week when I called her, she said everything looked good and someone would call me.
The next day a new person called me and asked me to submit some further financial information because my spouse's unemployment was running out and we might not make enough money to be approved for a loan modification. I said that was absurd, since that was the reason I applied for this in the first place. He then told me to send everything that stated how much money my spouse and I would get for the next 6 months. I sent him a copy of a website that said people were getting extensions to their unemployment, and a copy of my retirement estimate sheet, since they are still working on how much my retirement is going to be. I also told him that my retirement included some bi-weekly severance payments and asked whether I should add them, although they are only temporary. He said yes, as long as I can show the underwriter that I have the income to pay the modification amount. I sent him all the information, and he said he would get right back to me.
I never heard from them again and called today. I had to leave a message for him because he did not answer, and I told him to call my cell phone specifically since I was not home. I also called the other Citi Mortgage person I had contacted before, and she looked up my file and told me it was disapproved the day after I sent all that financial information in. Apparently, I was told, I make too much to apply for a loan modification. I also learned that I would not get approved since I am not delinquent in my payments.
Bottom line, Citi Mortgage is purposely mistreating its own customers by telling them to stop paying or to make payments at a lower rate so that they can foreclose on you. I did not fall for this trick, but I want to seek legal action against them since I meet the criteria for a loan modification and they will not honor the very program and guidelines established by the federal government under the stimulus package and Obama's policy to make home loans affordable for those who are having financial troubles. I will run out of my severance shortly, my monthly retirement is not going to be nearly enough to survive on, and my wife will run out of unemployment.
Shame on Citi Mortgage for its unethical and most likely illegal business practices. It took Citi Mortgage almost 4 months to tell me I was not qualified! By the way, my first mortgage, which is held by Bank of America, worked with me to save me a substantial amount under the same government program to make mortgages affordable. Bank of America assigned only one person to me, who kept me informed throughout the entire process. Can anyone tell me if I can take legal action against Citi Mortgage for this?
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