Fixing a giant credit hit because my creditor was changed (and I didn't know it!)

[Anonymous]

Additionally, FWIW, everything the new mortgage company is charging me is wrong. They list my "old payment amounts" (that I owe for the past three months), but it's substantially higher than the fixed mortgage payment I had with the previous lender. They then list "new payment amounts" (which is much higher still) without explanation of why. They say that I also owe escrow (which I don't, because I pay property taxes and insurance myself) and that I owe back for "escrow shortage" (which, also, I don't). I called about all this and they said there is also a back charge for mandatory insurance. When I said I already have insurance, they said that they are requiring I have an additional one. And I asked to know how much that cost and what it provided me, and they said "you can ask your insurance provider about that". I reiterated, then, that I didn't understand what they were charging me for, and they said I could call my representative and gave me a number that was a wrong number to some person's cell.

This all makes them sound like a scam, but I don't think they are. I think they're just some crappy company that I never, ever, ever chose to have anything to do with. I'm just hoping there might any protections at all that I have as a consumer to tell them, that actually, it's their obligation to fix all this.

[Jannelo]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Additionally, FWIW, everything the new mortgage company is charging me is wrong. They list my "old payment amounts" (that I owe for the past three months), but it's substantially higher than the fixed mortgage payment I had with the previous lender. They then list "new payment amounts" (which is much higher still) without explanation of why. They say that I also owe escrow (which I don't, because I pay property taxes and insurance myself) and that I owe back for "escrow shortage" (which, also, I don't). I called about all this and they said there is also a back charge for mandatory insurance. When I said I already have insurance, they said that they are requiring I have an additional one. And I asked to know how much that cost and what it provided me, and they said "you can ask your insurance provider about that". I reiterated, then, that I didn't understand what they were charging me for, and they said I could call my representative and gave me a number that was a wrong number to some person's cell.

This all makes them sound like a scam, but I don't think they are. I think they're just some crappy company that I never, ever, ever chose to have anything to do with. I'm just hoping there might any protections at all that I have as a consumer to tell them, that actually, it's their obligation to fix all this.

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Yep.  In my post I stated the changeover was a clusterf....    Chase had been a dream to work with.  The new lender sent me  an itemized statement telling me I owed on escrow, on and on.  I called Chase and wanted them to show the lender I owed no outstanding fees.  They told me my mortgage was sold and out of their hands.  I was furious.  I had to prove everything to the new mortgage holder myself and then they accepted it and everything stayed the same as my old mortgage, but I never trusted them after that.  Although, after that, to be fair, I never had any problems with them, but I made sure to keep meticulous records of anything to do with my loan with them, any correspondence, anything, just in case.  I also never knew loans could be sold, so it came as a shock.  But from what I've read, it's not uncommon over the life of a loan.

As I said in my earlier post, if I were you, I would ask to speak to someone in authority with the new lender and keep going up the chain until you get to someone who will listen to you and see your positive payment history except during this transition and possibly get rid of all the lates or at least the 60-day and 90-day lates.  It doesn't hurt to try.

[Anonymous]

Hi Jannelo,

Yes, thank you. My plan is to try what you suggest. I think, one way or another, I have enough reasons to be frustrated with all this that I will keep doing the "can I speak to your manager" routine at the new mortgager until I either find someone willing to help or I run out of options to do that. It seems like, if they have any influence over that credit rating hit, that maybe they'll be willing to do something about it. They inherited someone (me) with what had been decades of impeccable credit, someone that always paid their mortgage on time and that made them whole again the moment I knew the situation. It seems obvious that this lapse is obviously a direct result of their acquisition process, so it would seem strange to me if they were absolutely insistent about being punitive about it.

If this doesn't work, then I suppose I'll consider the AG thing, putting a complaint on BBB... that sort of thing. For all of this, my greater concern would be that the new lender actually can't do anything about the hit on my credit rating. If that's the case, I'm left trying to make a case to the credit bureaus themselves, and I have a hard time picturing that going anywhere.

But I don't know. I have a plan now so I'll see what happens. Thank you very much for the advice!

[SoCalGardener]

@AnonymousI just want you to know that I understand your anger and frustration regarding the 'missing' payments. I also understand not being able to check/monitor things as they're happening--I've told my story many times of coming home after six months in the hospital to a MOUNTAIN of medical bills, some of which had already gone to collections! In my case, I was able to get all the dings off my reports by explaining WHY I hadn't paid the bills, i.e., I was in the hospital and didn't see them, and then paying them in full. I don't know if something like that, that kind of approach, could help you in your situation, only you know the facts there so you need to decide whether that might help.

As for all the additional charges, from higher payments to escrow and additional insurance....wow.....that doesn't even sound LEGAL. The contract you signed with the original mortgage company spelled out your terms; I do NOT see how the new company could change ANYTHING without your written consent. Unfortunately...they may have sent you that paperwork and it ended up in the trash. Even so, I think there's something there, legally, to use against them, because if you didn't sign anything, they should've kept making attempts to contact you, whether by phone or certified mail or FedEx requiring a signature, etc. I believe they dropped the ball.

I can't even remember who my original mortgage company was, but it got sold to Wells Fargo, and absolutely NOTHING changed. This was 20+ years ago, so the details are fuzzy now, but I know I was notified about the change, got a new account number, new address to send payments to, etc. It was smooth as can be. I'm sorry that's not what you're experiencing.

[Taurus22]

I've read through this entire thread at this point, and having no experience in anything mentioned, I have absolutely nothing to offer.  But man, this made me sick to my stomach just reading it and I couldn't possibly imagine the frustration, anger, confusion, helplessness you must be going through right now.  There must be some recourse that can be taken at the AttGen level, Trade Commission, New Lender senior management, or something.  I know I would personally be vehemently fired up about it. I'm so sorry for this nightmare you're experiencing.    I would very much like to see how this plays out for you though.....please keep us updated on this.  Wow.