Beware. Household Finance Corporation, aka HFC, aka HSBC, be smart don't get any loan with them! Pick any of these reasons although they all apply.
1. Predatory Lending Practices
2. Misrepresentation of lending programs
3. Bad faith statements to secure mortgage loans
4. Failure to execute promissory lending programs
5. Failure to credit charges for making on time online payments's
6. Failure to return calls, avoiding post loan contact
7. Failure to provide a copy of credit report based for loans
Don't sign anything with HSBC that contains anything you were not aware of. Don't believe what they tell you to get you to sign the loan documents. If it is in anyway different from what was discussed, don't sign, and don't trust.
Their biggest trick is to not produce a copy of the credit report they based the loan on, because they will show in the loan documents it was much lower than they told you it was. This is done to increase the interest rate, and justify the rate increase. But they will TELL you don't worry your credit rating when increase and we will write the loan again at minimum charges and lower your interest rate, it will only take a couple of months. We will also put you into our "Preferred Customer" program.
When you go to sign documents, the TERM of the loan will change from the standard 30 year loan to a 40 year loan. There will be a prepayment penalty of 24 months, they gotcha! Be smart unlike me, go to Equifax, they use exclusively, get your own credit report! They will tell you anything to get you to sign the documents. Don't believe a word unless you get it in writing by someone who can back the commitment up. The office I went to has gone through 3 managers in 6 months. Guess they did not meet the quota!
The icing on this is that to make sure you are on time with your payments you need to have an electronic time stamp, because they want to claim you were late and charge you. It takes them days to process a payment and you have no proof unless you get a receipt. BUT it will cost you $10.00 to make that online payment. They will send a letter saying they will credit you that amount but only do it once. Ridiculous, pay over $1,000.00 then they charge $10.00 more to make that payment on line so it will always be on time!
Here are some of facts. They cannot provide the credit report. HFC claimed my score was 572 my score has never been that low. Having had the two major surgeries in 3 months, I thought wow it could be, I had to use a lot of credit to live while out of work. I wanted to take equity out to pay medical bills above my insurance coverage.
I was told to watch my credit and when it came up to 660 they would rewrite the loan and release the prepayment of over $7,000.00. Guess what, before the payoffs could be processed, I pulled my credit, it was 636, I asked for the copy of the one they pulled... OOPS they shred it so they said! I wanted to pay down credit card, and pay medical, they said it was much better to pay off credit first then in a couple months score would come up faster, rewrite and get the prepayment money to pay off the medical. Yup, the score came up, I called, oh sorry that is not enough, new company policy.
Get a loan commitment and the HFC will have to match it. I did, good faith in one day, 1st and 2nd, 6% and 9%, 30 years, and 15 years. Payments almost $300.00 a month less from a large BANK. Nope it is not the same single loan they won't match it, rate, or average at 7.5 % and release my prepayment for medical bills.
Then 680 was the score nope still can't do it, 686, nope 693 nope. Medical bills start to go to collection, and my score starts to drop. I retained an attorney to work with the medical bills which got rid of the collection accounts, score up, nope HFC could not do it. FHA loans coming first of the year, well it is May, nope they still can't. Score went up to 690, nope. But they care, on my side. Settle a couple of medical and pay them off using credit. One falls out hits credit report as collection, score drops to 627.
So there I am credit card balances going up. Payments on my mortgage is more than 50% of my monthly income still. Values of homes are now falling. Cost of food and gas are going up. Ten months later nope, still can't help... They got me, they lied, they manipulated.By the way I got up and started to leave when I saw the "different" terms on the loan papers. The notary asked me to wait, the agent and branch manager came in and double timed me, "it will be OK, we will rewrite it in a couple months when your score comes up, only cost a couple hundred". I do not know if they LIED, or honestly believed the bull they were shoveling. I signed, don't you get into their trap.
After all the "NO's" I started to investigate, they have a history of predatory lending and have lost lawsuit's for over half of a billion in restitution.
There is more, calls to the home office not returned. I am filing with the DFI, and writing everyone I can that might be interestesed in HSBC fraud, but the purpose of this is DON'T DEAL WITH HFC, HSBC, OR HOUSEHOLD FINANCE.
Michael
Phoenix, Arizona
U.S.A.
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