After reading some of the other consumer complaintss on Washington Mutual I feel that I was almost lucky. I was a mortgage customer of Washington Mutual and went to them to refinance after the interest rates had been so drastically reduced. I was also planning on staying at my residence for less than five years so I wanted to do a 5 year arm.
I talked to the branch manager and he said it would cost me no more than $3000 to refinance and gave me a good faith estimate stating the same. I felt this was resonable since I would make that up and then some over the five years. A week before closing I talked to the manager I had been dealing with and he told me that I would not have to come up with anymore than $400 in cash the day of closing.
On closing day the manager I had been working with was gone on materity leave. The closer asked me for a check for $3500! I about fell out of my chair. That would have brought closing costs to $6500 for a $193000 loan that was being refinanced through the same company! I told them there was no way and walked out of the closing.
I called the branch manager when he returned from leave. He told me the problem was that they had not figured in some of the escrow amounts and interest payments. I asked him how that was possible when I was refinancing through the same company my mortgage was with. He made a half dozen excuses.
I went to another company, Suntrust Mortgage that refinaced me for a lower interest rate and less than $3000 in closing costs.
I called the manager at Washington Mutual again and asked for a refund of my $295 application fee. I was told there was no way I could get that back because it cost them at least that amount in costs to do what they had done. I protested telling him that the loan would have gone through had I not been lied to about the costs. He refused to refund the money. I went above him to the regional manger and got the same answer.
Although I am sure it was legal that they kept my application money it certainly is a unethical. I would agree with all the other people writing about Washington Mutual.
Avoid using Washinton Mutual for anything! They are the worst company and bank that I have ever dealt with.
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