After being laid off, I received a number of offers from companies wanting to help me modify my mortgage. I contacted EMC (my lender) to ask them if this was an option available to me. They advised that most of these offers were scams which did not surprise me and was prepared to let it go when their agent said that they would be glad to enter me in their own in-house modification program. This was great news for me and my family. After filling out their 40 page application (5 subsequent submissions), I was told that I could immediately reduce my payment from $2100 to $1500 for a probationary period of 5 months at which time a decision would be made. I inquired as to if I would be assessed late charges during this period and was told no. After my 5 payments, I called EMC. They had no record of me being in their program at all. After my initial panic, they assured me that I had nothing to worry about and that I could just start over. At the same time, they reduced my payment again from $1500 to $1100 for another 4 months. I expressed great concern to them about the length of this process and they again assured me that I had nothing to worry about and that there would be no late charges or reporting to credit agencies. I took them at their word. It was at this time that the phone calls began sometimes 4-5 times a day in addition to the monthly foreclosure letters that I was told by EMC to disregard but that they could not be stopped because of computers (LIE). Every time I got into a conversation with them, it took at least an hour and I always took their call hoping it would be a decision. It was just another collection agent. I couldn't understand why this was happening when I was supposedly in their modification program. The response was that there was nothing they could do about the computers calling which we all know is a lie. After this next probation period I began calling them begging for the decision that still would not come while all this time getting more and more calls and getting farther and farther behind. Their advice was to continue making the same $1100.00 payment which I never failed to do. Finally, in February of I got the decision I had been waiting for which of course was a denial and would I please pay them $23000.00 today an amount that made no sense to me. I'm sure you can imagine my shock at this news. I immediately asked for a supervisor who could explain to me the reason for my denial. I received a call back shortly from one of their agents who informed me that the reason for my denial was that I had equity in my home and therefore was ineligible. What!!? First, what has that got to do with the fact that I am having difficulty making my payment? And second, they ARE my mortgage company. They have my file. They knew from day one that I had ample equity in my home. This fact was never addressed during the 600 odd phone calls I have fielded from EMC. I should have been informed on day one after an initial review that I would not be eligible for this very reason. Had I been, I could have attempted to make other arrangements. I also found out that they paid my taxes and insurance which they were explicitly told not to do when we first got the loan from them and added those amounts to their demand. We had already paid these amounts and had to wait months to be refunded the overpayment that was immediately passed on to EMC to reduce this debt. I also found out that since October they began to add late charges to our account and have reported us to all of the credit agencies as seriously delinquent. Please understand that during this entire escapade we NEVER missed a single payment. I can only believe that this company is either completely incompetent or they deliberately did this to me to seize my property. I have asked repeatedly for another call from a supervisor to try to work out other arrangements. After being told one would call at a specific time, they never called. I asked if they would give me a direct line to one that I could talk to and was told no. To compound all of this, they have now started calling my house at 7:15 AM which I know is a violation of the law. I have 4 small children that these calls wake up. Laughingly, EMC has suggested that we go get a loan for the balance but because of the position THEY have put us in, no bank will even talk to us. When we entered this situation we were not behind on our payments at all. We did EVERYTHING they instructed us to do and in the end got completely screwed by EMC. Understand also that we are not trying to get out of paying this money. Their only offer was to spread the amount over the next 12 months effectively doubling the payment I was having trouble making in the first place. I asked to have this money put at the end of the loan and to go back as if none of this ever took place. I was laughed at.
Stay away from these morons at all cost if you can but if not, start recording all of your calls with them and save everything they send you. It might be the only chance you have of surviving them.
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