In July of I refinanced my home with New Century; who sold it to Ocwen in August.in September October Ocwen sold the loan to Option One/Wells Fargo. December, I began receiving harassing calls several times a week from OO/WF telling me that I had missed a payment with Ocwen and that I owed an additional payment.
I in turn, sent them documentation that all payments had been made and that there was nothing outstanding. I did this 2-3 times a week for two months as different people would call me and I would have to resend the information. Their form of investigation seemed to only include calling me. Not once did they ever contact Ocwen, which I continually suggested.instead, they tried to bully me with rudeness until they nearly drove me mad.
At first they tried to tell me that I had bounced a check. I invited them to send me a copy of this check knowing that I had in fact sent the payments to Ocwen via Western Union and had the documents to prove it. I also called Ocwen who informed me that all payments that I had made to them had been forwarded to Option One. They even gave me a check number and the date the check was cashed by Option One.
In addition, they mailed me a statement documenting that they had done this. I faxed that paperwork to Option One to show that Ocwen was not missing a payment. I continued to make my payments to OO/WF in December and January via Western Union. And, I continued to get their harassing phone calls.
In January, I got a call from a Mr. Martinez who said he was in their loss mitigation department. Again, I went through the conversation faxed the necessary documents and waited for relief. A day or two later, Mr. Martinez called again. During this conversation, Mr. Martinez called me a deadbeat who was out to defraud his company. I assured him that was not the case and questioned the intelligence of a company who could not decipher six pieces of paper showing payment for the six months since the refinance. Mr. Martinez hung up the telephone in my face.
My next communication from Option One was in February of when they returned my January payment (via an Option One check as I had sent cash) with legal documents announcing that they were foreclosing on my home unless I paid the phantom payment, the payment they returned, and the payment that was not yet due as well as late charges and fees. They informed me that they would no longer accept any payments short of the amount they stipulated. Understand that this was over ONE payment that I had actually made.in order to foreclose, they returned money to me and REFUSED further payment.
With the law firm, I erroneously began thought that I was finally dealing with a thinking person. I sent all relevant documentation to their local attorney who promptly ignored me and continued with foreclosure proceedings. They filed a motion for summary judgment and in a panic I hired a real estate attorney who filed motions to stop them from stealing my house from under me.
For the next 7 months we requested meetings, sent letters and emails; all which were ignored.in the 8th month they resumed foreclosure proceedings. Deciding that I need a more aggressive lawyer, I rehired and we filed new motions as well as requested a hearing in front of a judge.
In October we met with the judge and now armed with a letter from Ocwen stating that they had been paid in full and had forwarded the funds to Option One we continued our fight for justice. During the hearing, we got an Ocwen representative on the phone to verbally confirm what was in the letter.
Then their attorney tried to argue that even if I wasn't in a foreclosure position back then, I was now. What nerve! I felt like tearing her head off. I was in a foreclosure position because they forced me into one, not because I did not pay my mortgage. Fortunately, the judge saw through their ploy and ordered us into mediation to negotiate terms to end the foreclosure.
In November, OO/WF was court-ordered to set up a mediation place and time and to complete the mediation by February. We never heard from them again. My attorneys called, faxed, emailed and were ignored. The order ran out and still we couldn't even get anyone on the telephone. They were in violation of a court order. Finally, in August we filed a motion to dismiss and they immediately scheduled a mediation hearing.
In attendance at the meeting were me, their local lawyer, my lawyer, their foreclosure specialist (by phone) and the mediator. It was determined by their foreclosure specialist that they did indeed make a mistake (using the original documentation that I had sent them in 02.) They agreed to put the account into abeyance ceasing the accrual of interest, write a letter exonerating me and clear up the negative credit reporting. We also settled on a payoff that dismissed all late fees and charges including their attorney's fees and a host of other fees they had piled into the deal.
We also agreed to that once they had satisfied the terms of the mediation, I would have 90 days to either refinance or reinstate. I had the option to reinstate with them and in a moment of extreme insanity almost considered doing so. But, they proved once again to be the shoddy company I had come to know by refusing to negotiate the interest rate although rates had dropped dramatically, so I opted for refinance and even had several approvals from other companies. All of this would have been completed by the end of 2004 if they had actually done what we agreed. But, again, their attorneys went silent on us.
Although, my attorneys called, wrote and faxed, we didn't hear from them again until about March when their new attorney called to ask what language we wanted in the letter. As soon as I got word, I immediately responded with specific language, and then we waited.
Finally, in September I asked my attorney for the contact information of the new attorney in Orlando. I copied him on an email to my attorney expressing my concern that I would have to enter yet another new year with this anvil over my head. Their attorney informed me that OO/WF had not yet responded about the letter. My attorney told them we were prepared to go to trial ASAP.
Finally, in mid-October I received 7 signed copies of a letter from OO/WF acknowledging that there was an error in accounting and the house had been placed in foreclosure in error.in September, they had reversed all negative credit reporting and eliminated all fees. This seemed like a victory until today.
I received an email from their attorney asking me to sign a general release letter that I would not ever sue them for any reason.in other words, the expenses I was forced to dole out because of their error.
I have requested payoffs for a month and have never seen one. They want me to blind-sign a document agreeing to pay them, but they have not provided the amount they want. At first, the company wouldn't talk with me because of the litigation and my lawyer couldn't get them to talk with him. Several days ago, I called again and requested a payoff directly. They told me it's in the mail.
Here is my dilemma: For three plus years they plunged me into a living hell; destroying both my credit and my piece of mind.in I needed to purchase a vehicle and because of the foreclosure, I was unable to receive anything close to a good rate.in fact, I am paying over 20%. I have been turned down by credit card companies, and even my insurances are higher because they checked my credit first.
I have been unable to make critical and necessary upgrades to business equipment because, until two days ago, the term in foreclosure remained on the credit report. I have been denied almost every request for credit (except for the car) for the entire three years.
I also feel that the number we mediated should stand even though it took them more than a year to fulfill their end of agreement. The judge has ordered all parties to a case management conference this Friday, because by Florida statute, we have exceeded the time that these things should have taken. But, understand, every single delay has been caused by their side.
I already have two approvals for refinancing and have sent their letter to the credit bureaus for quick rescoring. But, we can't move forward If Option One has a corporate conscience, I can't see it. They should have gone out of their way to correct EVERYTHING! Not one human being at their company has said, We're sorry. We made a mistake. Please forgive us. Does it sound like I have a case here?
Also during this time, a mistake was made with my property taxes and my homestead was erroneously eliminated due to a clerical error. Option One continued to pay property taxes but never once questioned why the tax bill had more than tripled as I would have. Nor did they ever tell me that the taxes had changed.instead, they are charging me the full amount. I have been working with the Property Appraiser's office and with luck, my taxes will roll back to the original rate and I may even get a refund.
Those who choose to defend Option One/Wells Fargo have every right to do so. But, NOTHING can convince me that this is a decent and fair company. My only point of reference is my experience and it has so far been one of the worst companies I have ever dealt with in more than 30 years.
Although, I am really ticked off, the only thing to their credit is that instead of plunging us into a civil trial, they accepted their mistake. But, the plain fact is that had I not spent thousands on attorneys, they would have taken my house because they made a mistake.
Does anyone have any insight, comments or suggestions about this release? Do I have to sign it? And what might happen if I refuse? I am more than willing to join a class action lawsuit against this horrific company as well as Wells Fargo Bank.
Jacqueline
Tampa, Florida
U.S.A.
0 comments