Two years ago Household Finance purchased my mortgage from another lender. At the time I was a single dad raising my two boys and my step-daughter. The first thing that I thought was strange was how they use long, impossible to remember, account numbors on all thier accounts, yet each account number is very similar. Then I noticed that it took 5 to 7 days for my payments to be credited toward my account, even though I made the payments at thier branch office during business hours. Then while trying to reduce my monthly bills, I opened a credit line with them (18% /-) although what I had asked for was a home equity loan (which would have been considerably less). But I had already committed to paying off my truck and it was too late to back out.
About a year later, I recieved an offer in the mail to open a secured credit line using my house as collateral. The offer arrived with no fineprint attached whatsoever just a check for $5000. I figured it would be a much lower interest rate than 18% and I could use the money to pay a little ahead on the other loan and start to put an addition on my house. However, at the closing, I found that the rate was much higher than the first loan, but since I had just remarried, there were a lot of things we needed, and I signed anyway. This was to be the beginning of the biggest nightmare I had ever faced.
Two months later, we looked forward to seeing my parents in New York. This was to be the first time I had seen them since moving to Florida seven years prior.
Two weeks before leaving, I had finally recieved what I thought was the checkbook for my latest account with Household. A week later I recieved another book of checks. I made a deposit of about $1300 into my personnal checking account before hitting the road. I can't recall which checkbook I used or why I chose that one. I also made some grocery purchases at the local Publix supermarket.
Upon returning from our trip, I visited a nearby ATM. Only to discover that my balance was -$1500. I checked the account number on the checkbooks I had recieved from Household. Neither matched any account that I had.
Approximately three skimpy months later I had to close my checking account at my bank and open one at another because things were way too out-of-hand. I can only guess that I paid about $3000 in fees in the next year. But I missed 1 check to Publix. It ended up getting me arrested, my first time ever seeing the inside of the big house. I also got my drivers licence suspended. All this time there were many communications with Household Finance (they have about seventyfive phone numbers) I was diconnected or hung-up on half of the times. If anyone over there did anything to help me, it was very little or half-hearted.
But there is a God. On january 8, The state of Florida dropped the charges against me. I am now a free man, a citizen again, I no longer have to be afraid to step out of the house. And, most importantly, I have a very good shot at getting restitution from Household for stealing a year of my life. If they don't sign over my house, free and clear, I'm going to get 1.7 million dollars.
Alfred
Odessa, FL
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