Sunday, November 25, 2012

My Claim with the Citizens Financial Protection Bureau

Well, for those of you homeowners in foreclosure or who have been foreclosed upon who don't know about this, I'm informing you about the Citizens Financial Protection Bureau which is set up to help sort out questions and complaints on mortgages, credit cards, student loans and more. So, I filed a complaint against the bank who is foreclosing on me, U.S. Bank, NA. It is taking awhile to get this going, but there is finally SOME response from them. First, US Bank is stating that it is not them, but BoA who is suing me. (Then how come the plaintiff, the lawyers and every piece of paperwork filed by the suing party list US Bank only...not even a mention of BoA!). So, they passed it on to BoA. Here is the correspondence from BoA, and my disputed response!
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Dear Debra Reagan:

Bank of America’s Office of the CEO and President acknowledges receipt of your correspondence on 
November 9, 2012, forwarded on your behalf by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  We welcome the opportunity to address your concerns.

Some of the concerns raised in your inquiry are currently the subject of an adversarial proceeding (active litigation, mediation, arbitration, etc.) between you and Bank of America.

After discussion with our counsel, we have determined that in view of the connection between some of the concerns raised in your inquiry and the current proceedings, it is appropriate for our counsel to respond directly to you. Accordingly, the inquiry has been forwarded to our counsel, who will respond to you or your counsel as appropriate.  The concerns that are not a part of the legal proceedings are addressed below. 

In your correspondence, you stated that you have been discriminated against due to your gender.  You further expressed that your appraisal was inflated above market value.  I trust I have accurately summarized your concerns.  

As to your claims of discrimination, Bank of America is committed to helping customers achieve the dream of sustainable home ownership.  Our responsibility as a fair, ethical and equitable lender is to ensure that any loan we fund helps our customers meet their goals.  To that end, Bank of America conveys to you that we are an equal opportunity lender and servicer of loans.  Bank of America does not tolerate discrimination on a prohibited basis in any aspect of the lending process.  All of our associates are responsible for complying with the Bank’s Fair Lending Policy and for bringing to the attention of management any questions or issues regarding this Policy or its implementation.  Although your complaint did not include sufficient detail for Bank of America to identify and properly research, if you believe that the allegation of discrimination is still relevant, please provide a more specific explanation of the events that transpired and/or supporting documentation so we may further research your claim.

In regards to your appraisal, Bank of America used an independent professional third party licensed appraiser in order to substantiate the property value in support of your loan application.  An appraiser must meet certain qualification requirements before their report will be accepted by the lender; however, a lender’s acceptance of an appraiser’s report is not an endorsement of either the appraiser or the appraisal report.  

They stated:
Some of the concerns raised in your inquiry are currently the subject of an adversarial proceeding (active litigation, mediation, arbitration, etc.) between you and Bank of America.
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Untrue. It is U.S. Bank, NA who is suing me. BoA might have filed it, as their service agreement states that its their job, but it is actually US Bank, NA who is the plaintiff. Only the "holder in due course" can actually bring the suit. And US Bank states that they are the holder in due course. BoA is only the SERVICER, so is only able to file the suit on behalf of the alleged holder. So, the adversarial party is US Bank. Nowhere on any court documents is BoA listed or mentioned.

They stated:
As to your claims of discrimination, Bank of America is committed to helping customers achieve the dream of sustainable home ownership.  Our responsibility as a fair, ethical and equitable lender is to ensure that any loan we fund helps our customers meet their goals. 
AND
In regards to your appraisal, Bank of America used an independent professional third party licensed appraiser in order to substantiate the property value in support of your loan application.  
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They might actually have these proper business practices, but they did NOT use them in this case, because it was not BoA with whom I originally dealt with. It was Countrywide Home loans, Inc! And they DID take advantage of me being a newly divorced woman (they saw me as an easy mark to not know financial dealings) and, their appraiser NEVER stopped in and inspected the house to appraise it. You cannot properly appraise a house by just viewing the outside! And of course if a lender uses the appraiser's report as a basis for a loan that the home is actually worth what the appraiser's estimate is and allegedly lends money based upon that estimate, then that lender is accepting that the appraiser's report as accurate and has done the "proper" job of appraising the home. But Countrywide has been found to not have done proper and fair dealings when it comes to their loans and appraisals, as BoA is well aware of! And I happen to be one of the many that is a victim of this.
I even have 3 reports from a hand writing expert that states definitely that the signatures on my promissory note and 2 assignment of mortgages of the company officers endorsing and assigning them are forged. 
So, while it may be true that BoA might have proper trade practices, they are not the bank/lender that I did business with! Countrywide is, and they have committed fraud. Even the FTC said that CW committed fraud upon me by overcharging me on fees, and sent me a check (a small pittance of what the actual damage was) to "reimburse" me for it.  
So, as far as this answer goes, it does NOT address what Countrywide did and has no bearing upon my claims nor case because it's not BoA's actions that is at issue here. It's what happened at the origination of the loan with Countrywide that is. Also, it's US Bank, NA's foreclosure suit and their fraudulent paperwork that is at the heart of this suit. Unless of course BoA would like to lay claim that the paperwork is theirs. Then by all means, I'll be glad to include them in my counterclaim as a party of the fraud!
I will be filing these reports in court this week. If needed here, I can supply them, just let me know.
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Let's see how good the CFPB really is in figuring out this mess, eh?

2 comments:

  1. Hello Debby, Nice to meet you. I, like you, have been cheated by a system designed to use as chattel to boost up their bank accounts.

    The CFPB who was supposed to be so tough on fraud, merely contacts the corporation in question and asks them if they are guilty of any wrong doing.

    The corporation, of course, tells them "No, we didn't do it." The the CFPB sends you a letter informing you that according to their research your lender acted within state and federal guidelines.

    End of research.

    Frustrating, huh?

    ReplyDelete
  2. The CFPB contacts the corporation in question and asks them if they did anything wrong. The lender (corporation)then denies all wrong-doing. Then the CFPB contacts you and tells you that they have researched the matter and the lender has denied all wrong-doing and are acting in accordance with state and federal guidelines.

    No one has left their desk and no one has sent out investigators to research.

    Are you as frustrated as I am?

    ReplyDelete