Open letter
This statement is purposefully and intentionally long. I believe it is a total necessity that the reader fully understands just how it is that Ocwen has enabled them to steal properties from their customers. Without a full explanation and complete understanding of the tactics used, it will remain a mystery to even the most learned and educated individuals, how these scams are accomplished. The real perpetrators of these scams are allowed to go free, as their involvement in this activity is invisible. They remain protected by the discovery of the all to out in the open and obvious incompetent employee. These incompetents are the ones who are to blame and are used to carry the full burden of punishment while the real criminals, who hide behind big titles and names or who are paid outside consultants, are never held suspect or implicated in the crimes. How convenient and profitable these scams have been!
My Experiences, Statement & Opinions
I have not been at rest about the security of my home ownership ever since Ocwen bought my home mortgage loan in June. It has been a constant worry and concern and stress for me that Ocwen will simply not apply the payments I send to them to my mortgage, (as they did with the very first payment). I also never know if Ocwen will suddenly assess a false late charge or some other fee alike to the false fee collected for no proof of insurance (which has both, already been assessed to my illegally, by Ocwen). I live in fear and concern that Ocwen will enable themselves through these illegal activities, to foreclose on my property.
The collection threats that I received from Ocwen over the phone in July and August were totally unacceptable to me. They were highly verbally abusive, intimidating and threatening. The affects of these calls have stayed with me and I am concerned about what they might try to pull next, particularly beings I travel a lot and am not always home to receive my calls and or mail immediately. Needless to say this has made my traveling stressful as well.
It is amazing to me to think about just how effective their fear tactics are and how it has affected my emotional state and my stress level. I do not have the money to pay attorneys to fight a huge company should Ocwen suddenly decide to simply foreclose on my mortgage.
I have been at least two months in advance of the current payment due and Ocwen refuses to credit my account with these payments. I have no idea, to date, what Ocwen is doing with my payments and why they have refuse to pull out of principal, the amount they stated they would and did, back in August.
I live in fear of losing ownership of my home because Ocwen purchased my mortgage and has proved to me, through their business practices, that they have no intention of providing me with accurate financial records and or statements that reflect my actual payment history. I have been living my life with constant and continual stress due to Ocwens refusal to timely and properly apply my payments, the refusal of top executives to respond to my letters of complaint and the horrid treatment that I have received when placing a call to the Ocwen 800-customer service number for assistance.
This continual state of stress has taken its toll in both my personal life and business livelihood. Ocwen has refused to respond to my legitimate complaints regarding the use of intimidation, harassment and outright rudeness of their employees at their 800-customer service number. I have suffered the temporary psychologically damaging affects of being subjected to fear inducing tactics used by Ocwen employees calling me at my home and business, day and night, alleging I am behind on my mortgage payment (s). Ocwen has never responded to my letters concerning the employees who use these tactics and the evidence of this abusive behavior that I provided to both the Vice President and a top manager of Ocwen.
My very ownership of my home is at the mercy of a company that has proved to me to purposefully intentionally and willingly ignore my complaints and continues to refuse to apply payments properly and in a timely manner, if at all! I have exhausted every and all attempts of seeking remedy with this company. My numerous attempts of communication with Ocwen have proved futile and have proven to be a complete waste of many hours and days of my life.
I firmly believe, from my personal experiences with Ocwen that Ocwen intentionally, purposefully and with due consideration has orchestrated and maintains this state of total ignorance and refusal to communicate with their victims/customers to ensure future financial profit from these ill conceived business practices. This ignorance and refusal to communicate allows and enables Ocwen to easily and quickly gain full power over their victims/customers mortgage and eventually foreclose and own the properties of their victims/customers.
I can not afford to refinance my property. I did, in fact, spent a great deal of time last year on the WWW and calling local institutions, driving to town and researching the possibilities and costs to refinance. I did this because I can not stand the constant and continual stress I live with due to Ocwens? Ownership of my home mortgage.
I have never, in almost twenty years of home ownership, been placed into such a horrid situation as I am presently in with Ocwen. Never, have I experienced such abusive customer service and never have I lived in fear of losing my home, to anything or for any reason, until Ocwen purchased my mortgage.
The stress and anxiety that I have been placed under by the fear and intimidation tactics used by Ocwen employees and the refusal of Ocwen to respond to written complaints of these abusive employees is the cause of my writing this affidavit. I am in high hopes that something can be done to end this misery.
I have never received one response from either of the two letters of complaints that I sent to Scott Conradson and Mr. Melchionni. Ocwen employees provided me these two names and the address when I demanded to know then names of the CEO, President, head managers or owners of Ocwen, so that I could file a written complaint. I, to date, do not know who these people are or if they even exist. I was told that the first was a top manager and the second was a Vice President.
I have evidence of mailing these complaints to these individuals as I sent each as certified return receipt. I provided them with evidence of the abusive tactics used by their employees on the phone at Ocwens 800-customer service number.
I have found it an absolute necessity to maintain, with evidence, a payment schedule that is one, two or three months in advance of my payment due dates and I have been sure to send in these advanced payments before the due dates of the previous month. Even so, I was informed by an individual at the 800 number that I had a late charge on my account that required immediate payment and that I was behind a payment. This information was stated to me after I had already paid in advance one month and was calling to verify that Ocwen had received the next payment that was for 2 or three months in advance of that!
I spent a long time on the phone re-calling the 800 number in hopes of actually talking to a competent person. I was again informed I was behind in payments. I think that series of phone calls lasted three or four days. I was calling Ocwen in a vain attempt to find out why Ocwen had not applied my previous payment and was stating that they had also not received the payment that I had mailed over a week prior to my original inquiry a few days before. I finally, after many days and hours on the phone, found out that Ocwen employees are simply incompetent.
These employees either do not know how to read, do not know how to operate the computers to retrieve information for the customer, or they, just like the top manager and Vice President, simply ignore what is written and refuse to respond with accurate information. As is above, is as is below!
How convenient for Ocwen to ignore receipt of a mortgage payment and not post or apply payments they have received and admit to having received to the mortgage loan! How convenient for Ocwen to ignore a written statement instructing Ocwen how to apply the attached check that is the total of two home loan payments. How convenient for Ocwen to ignore instructions that are attached to the payments they receive and simply apply the excess amount over the normal payment to principal. How convenient for Ocwen that this causes late payment fees to be assessed to the account and caused the eventual foreclosure on the loan. How convenient for Ocwen to own all these properties they have obtained through this continued and purposeful incompetent handling of home mortgage loans!
I really have no idea what Ocwen has done with my payments as their payment history, that they did send to me, does not reflect the actual payments I have made. Ocwen has never applied my very first payment made in June of $ 90.00 to the amount they stated that was pulled out of principal and applied to the August payment.
After many hours and over a period of two weeks calling the 800-number, I was finally instructed by one woman that I would simply have to call every month to check that my payments are being applied if I send in a double or triple payment. She stated that it was my responsibility to call in every month to ensure that my payments are applied because Ocwen does not accept payments for more than the month that is current. I explained to her that I have never encountered these methods of mortgage handling and that I traveled which makes it impossible for me to pay on time, if prepayments are refused and if my instructions attached to these payments are ignored.
Apparently, no obviously, Ocwen cannot be trusted to receive such payments, even with a written statement instructing their employees how to apply the payment that is enclosed in the envelope. I actually came back home from travel abroad and did not continue my travels to the second country, because I did not want Ocwen to foreclose on my property while I was away. This is how I have been living since Ocwen purchased my mortgage.
I am outraged that my life has been adjusted around my monthly mortgage payment because Ocwen refuses to run their business in a competent, accurate and legal manner. Ocwen refuses to apply my payments timely and refuses to apply the double or triple payment to the months that I clearly and concisely state in writing with the payments.
Sure enough Ocwen decided to send me a check only four days after I left the United States for travel. When I returned home and found this check in the mail, I immediately mailed another mortgage payment. Ocwen sent me a check for $52,22 with no explanation of why or where this money was from.
Even though my records and evidence show that I am a couple months ahead, I do not know if Ocwen properly applied those payments to my mortgage payment or if Ocwen applied those payments to principle.
My experience has been that every person that I have, to date, spoken to at Ocwen was either incompetent or simply unwilling to help. I also find it interesting that just 6 days after I flew to Asia (November 31) Ocwen decided to send me this check, without explanation or any information whatsoever as to why it was issued to me. This Asian trip was planned during November and I was out of the country for almost a month.
I returned the check marked? Refused? Along with a letter asking for an accounting of this money and explanation of issuance of this check. I refuse to call their 800 number to find out their explanation as to why this check was sent. I have been there and done that! This is all very interesting indeed considering that there has been quite a bit of attention drawn to Ocwen and their highly questionable business practices.
Ocwens? Research department has never resolved the fact that they failed to pull out of principal, the amount of $272.00, that had been applied to principal by METWEST (previous mortgage service). I was promised and assured that this would be done by a manager at Ocwens 800 number and I was instructed to not contact METWEST about the payment being applied to principle and not held in escrow when the loan transferred. I asked if I should just pay only the remaining balance of $ 90.00 and the manager instructed me to do just that. I sent in my $ 90.00 payment. The manager promised me that I would receive a call from him or the research department within the week to confirm the application of the $ 272.00 to the July payment. I figured it a minor ordeal and trusted that Ocwen would apply this amount to my first payment and add it to the $90.00 I paid to make a full payment of $ 362.00.
Not!
July was the very first payment I was required to make to Ocwen as they purchased my loan in June. I called Ocwen when I did not receive a return call as was promised be the manager. I was placed on hold and was transferred three or four times. I was refused to be connected to that manager again and I spent the entire day, after disconnects and total incompetence of Ocwen employees, trying to receive help to find out about this amount that was promised to be taken out of principle and applied to my very first payment. An employee told me that the Ocwen research department would take care of the problem and to go ahead and pay the $90.00 payment only. I had already sent that payment, the remaining amount of $ 90.00 to make a full payment of $ 362.00 just as I was instructed to do by Ocwen a manager at Ocwen.
I was very uneasy with this arrangement and I immediately went to town and mailed priority mail, a full payment of $362.00. I contacted METWEST with a letter of demand. I demanded that they write to Ocwen and have the amount that they applied to principle adjusted and that they pay the late charges now assessed to me by Ocwen.
I had years ago, been informed by METWEST, that if you make a payment for more than the current month, you must state that you want the remaining amount to be applied to the next month. They informed me of this as I had been increasing my payments, years ago, to pay down the mortgage. I found out that after a few months that METWEST did not apply the overpayment to the principle and I was told it was? Because I did not state that that was what I wanted done with that extra amount.
I was told, at that time, that it was illegal for a mortgage company to apply an overpayment made by a customer towards principal, without written instructions to do so. But when I sent METWEST a payment in May and wrote that it was for May June and July: METWEST applied, without my instructing them to do so, the remaining amount of $ 272.00 towards principal, instead of holding it in escrow to later be applied to my July payment. I guess the laws change to fit the mistakes!
This action by METWEST is questionable and I do not know what the heck the actual laws are! I only know that I send in a payment with accurate instructions as to what I want done with the payment and I have never had any problems that were not immediately remedied with METWEST (at least that I am aware of, anyway!).
When METWEST did not apply the extra amount that I sent to pay down my mortgage, they applied the amount that they had held in escrow to principal, upon receipt of my instructing them to do so. I lost interest expenses during the period of time the amount was held in escrow, but you live and learn.
The lessons that Ocwen has to teach are brutal, abusive and totally unethical. It is far more than simple incompetence on their part.
I realized that Ocwen was a totally incompetent company when I never received a return call from the manager or Ocwen research department to confirm the application of the $ 272.00 to principle, as has been promised by the manager.
After sending Ocwen the second full $ 362.00 payment, I called to confirm that they received it and applied that payment to my July payment. I explained, or should I say, tried to explain the situation and stated that I had mailed the payment 3-day mail on July 9th to avoid any late charges or problems. I also tried to inform the individual that I had never received a return call from the manager or the research department. I was on the phone for hours and hours and days and days. I was given inaccurate information, hung up on, refused be allowed to talk to managers, supervisors and refused any alternative numbers to call.
Then Ocwen began a campaign of collection calls. I received harassing, threatening and intimidating collection calls all through the month of July and August night and day! I managed to record one such call and did not even allow the person to being their usual fear tactics.
I demanded to know what she was calling about and immediately threatened a lawsuit if these harassing calls continued. I also told her that I suggest that Ocwen find my $ 272.00! I was out ragged and past the point of my usual patient composure. I had just gotten off the phone with another incompetent employee who was giving me the usual, familiar run-around so I was not going to put up with any more abuse whether purposeful and intentional or just bane ignorance. I have, to date, never been able to remedy that situation with Ocwen.
I have evidence of notes taken that shows the name of an individual at the 800 number who informed me that the $272.00 had, in fact been taken out of principle and applied to the August payment on August 15. I was told that the $ 272.00 was combined with my first payment of $90.00 was applied as one total payment. This was an outright lie.
I hope you, my reader, understands that this is the VERY FIRST PAYMENT I was obligated to pay to Ocwen. Due to the immediate onslaught of collection calls after I had not allowed Ocwen employees to intimidate me out of calling them until I received resolution to the problems Ocwen employees created, I began to suspect that an Ocwen employee was setting me up for a future foreclosure. I acted accordingly by keeping notes on conversations. I have a lot of equity in my property from my years work, labor and investment. So I am not going to allow some incompetents the ability to lose my property in their bad business and customer service practices.
But then, at the same time, I thought that I was reacting to the situation with a bit of? Paranoia? So I then thought that it was probably just a coincidence and that I just happened to get the worst of the employees that Ocwen had hired and that things would get better and the problems would probably be fixed with in a month.
NOT!
Then, as time went on, I became very suspicious of their tactics and carefully listened to what they stated. One woman stated that my loan can immediately go into foreclosure and I better read my original contract.
As I have a substantial amount of equity in my home, I certainly do not appreciate that my investment has been placed in jeopardy! And that is exactly the threat I have been living under since July.
Ocwen has placed my equity in my property and my property ownership in jeopardy. I am at the mercy of their? Believed and perfectly orchestrated? Incompetent employees who refuse to listen to a concern when you call the 800-customer service number and who refuse to apply payments properly to my home loan mortgage.
Just how many homes has Ocwen foreclosed on and just how many thousands of dollars have innocent people paid to protect their homes and investments? And how many people have lost their homes? Is this criminal activity new to Ocwen or have they been purchasing home loans mortgages, refusing to properly service these loans and profiting from these incompetent (or not so incompetent but very well planned) business practices for years?
My personal opinions, experiences, observations & considerations:
My experiences of the harassing calls to my home finally ended only after I had informed these individuals that I was keeping a written log of their harassment and I threatened to sue Ocwen. I also informed these individuals that I was recording their calls and other conversations I was having with Ocwen employees.
The tactics used by Ocwen employees? Evidence that this company may be involved in other practices that are far greater a concern than their obvious scam to swindle people out of their home ownership.
I have perfect credit. I was a victim of Identity Theft back in 1998. II was supposed to travel out of the country in December. The trip was canceled so I remained at home. I had spent a great deal of time on the web and with travel agencies planning the flights and arranging transportation. I, again, in December of had someone access my bank accounts, change my address and receive copies of my ATM cards, a credit card and the pen numbers.
This was all taking place while I was supposed to be out of the country! I find it very interesting that Ocwen would send me a check, with no explanation, only 4 days after I was out of the country on November 31!
I do not believe so much in coincidences anymore, as my observation has evidenced definite patterns of certain activities.
I believe Ocwen has employees that are nothing lees that a ring of thieves who know exactly how the system works and how to remain protected from any severe sentencing by the court. I know these individuals are well aware of their abusive employees and are also well aware of the illegal activities taking place in their business.
I believe these same individuals are aware of the fact that a fine for unethical behavior and the illegal theft of people? S homes will be only a fraction of the money that has been gained in these unethical and illegal activities. I believe that these individuals involved in criminal activities have weighted the cost of their crime and compared that cost to the earnings received from these criminal activities and know that they will end up with more money than they had before the crimes took place. I believe that these individuals are also aware of the fact that they will probably not serve one day in jail or in prison for their criminal activities.
People are generally trusting and not aware when they are being targeted for this type of criminal activity. Due to the nature of these tactics, an individual is left wondering if it is them or is there something going on. They being thinking that perhaps they being over reactive to the situation. Self-doubt is the first reaction of normal, honest people! And these criminal con-artist depend on that self-doubt. That is why these tactics are so insidious and harmful to the victims.
The victims are generally educated, kind and normal everyday citizens. The last thing these type of people think is that they may be the subject of a scam designed and orchestrated to steal their property or home.
That is the perfect MO of the perfect victim for these types of scams and operations.
If businesses in the United States are allowed to use these tactics and continue operating with in the United States, the very financial structure of this Nation will remain at risk. Who would think that such a large and reputable company would be operated by con-artists?
I would and I do.
My personal experiences with Ocwen, my observation of the tactics, methods and techniques used by Ocwen and the respective gains resulting from the use of these various tactics are all evidence that Ocwen surely is operating an illegal business. It is unethical but there are no real punishments for unethical behavior.
I believe it is high time that the US judicial system be upgraded and advanced to enable the ability to prosecute the perpetrators of these types of crimes. Until that is done, these people, the truly guilty parties, will remain free to continue their scams and receive large profits for their ingenuity, orchestration and implementation of these scams. I am outraged and appalled that Ocwen has been able to continue their operation as long as they have.
I wonder why the BBB has not responded to my complaint.
I wonder why this business has been able to operate with impunity. I wonder whose pockets are being filled at the expense of innocents. I wonder if Ocwen purchased many mortgage loans from METWEST or if they just bought targeted properties that had large equities.
I wonder who determines which mortgages Ocwen buys.
I wonder who performs the research into which properties Ocwen purchases.
I wonder whom it is at Ocwen that actually make the decision to purchase or not to purchase a mortgage.
I wonder just how selective Ocwen is concerning the properties they chose to illegally steal through their illegal business tactics.
I wonder what a comparative analysis between Ocwens and another companies purchasing record would show. I wonder if Ocwen has certain criteria for mortgage purchasing that other companies do not have. I wonder if the escrow accounts at Ocwen are maintained properly and interest is paid regularly. I wonder if Ocwen keeps within all regulations concerning escrow activities. I wonder which banks and other institutions and or companies assist Ocwen in their property theft. I wonder if these other businesses are aware of Ocwens activities.
I am in high hopes that the courts pay heed to my? Wonders? Stated above and call in for the obvious necessary and crucial help they need to discover all the facts surrounding the? Uncanny? Ability Ocwen has to gain ownership of their victims property and or homes.
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