Everything has been fine with CitiMortgage for years. We have had no issues for 6 years, of course, we have not had to deal with them over the phone in that time. The last month has been unbelievable though.
First off, we applied for the Bi-Weekly advantage plan. Three bi-weekly payments had been taken out, with $25 of the $300 initiation fee taken out of each installment, before we had received the first monthly statement from CitiMortgage. Only two of the installments had been entered into our CitiMortgage account, the third was still being held by FNC Insurance. We noticed the bi-weekly installments were nothing more than a third party company taking $200 extra per installment and paying the payment in full once a month with $400 extra towards the principle. We looked at this and thought, "why do we need to pay a company to do this for us?" I called CitiMortgage and they said they had nothing to do with this and I needed to contact FNC Insurance company (should have read the fine print which states it is a third party company). CitiMortgage provided the number. I called FNC Insurance and asked them to cancel my policy... The gentleman said no problem, and faxed me a "notice of cancellation" to sign and return to them. I also requested FNC Insurance company to return my third installment, which they were still holding. The same guy said, "no problem, just sign and return the "notice of cancellation" and we'll gladly return your money. I looked at the form and it clearly states "FNC Insurance Co. Reserves the right to keep any fees not yet collected." I told the guy I would not sign this form unless I was guaranteed FNC Insurance Co. Would not keep any of my third installment they were holding on to. I also asked for them to return the $75 of startup fees they had already collected because I did not want to keep the Bi-Weekly plan. The guy said to write up a complaint letter, sign it and fax it in and they would look over it. I wrote the complaint letter and faxed it in. I called back and the same guy said they looked over it and would be returning my payment in full, without the $75 of startup fees already accumulated because we were three installments into the plan. I agreed to this. He said all I needed to do is sign the "notice of cancellation" form, send it in and the check would be sent out immediately. I signed the form and wrote a note on the bottom stating "my signature does not authorize FNC Insurance Co. To take out any additional fees as previously agreed upon." I called back the next day and they stated the check had been mailed. I asked the amount and the rep stated it was $300 less than we had agreed upon. I spent the next 2 1/2 hours on the phone pleading my case to no avail before losing my temper and of course any hope of getting my $300 back.
A few days after this, I find out I have a 25% reduction in pay at work. A few days after this I have CitiMortgage calling me to find out where my monthly payment is. The one I am now scrambling to figure out how to pay. I tell the rep that I have all but $300 of the payment and they would have to contact FNC Insurance Co. For the rest of it. Of course this wouldn't happen with CitiMortgage because they have NO IDEA who this 3rd party company is and only refer to them as an "acquaintance." So now I'm out a monthly payment. Great.
I transfer to the Loan Modification Department to see if maybe I can get my payment reduced. The minimum federal requirement is 31% HTI ratio. I provide my newly adjusted income and find out by their calculations I am at 30.34% HTI and I don't qualify. I do my own calculations and find myself closer to the maximum, at 36.5%. I inquire as to why our calculations are different, the guy could not explain it. So I check a little more and find out his calculation works perfectly if you do not include the impound account. I let him know the federal qualifications include the impound account. He puts me on hold to talk to his supervisor, whom I am eventually transferred to. They state CitiMortgage DOES NOT include the impound account in their calculations and ARE NOT required to!!!
Oh, and I also tried to get my past due balance added on to the end of my loan and CitiMortgage DOES NOT IN ANY CASE allow this either.
0 comments