Complaint Review: Bank Of America - salem Oregon

I am writing to you today because I feel the public needs to be aware of a situation I am currently involved in with Bank of America.

> Unfortunately I have become a victim of the downfall of the economy. I was in the rv business up until about a month and a half ago. The business suffered greatly and caused me to fall behind in my mortgage, 5 months to be exact. My loan servicer was Countrywide Home Loans before Bank of America merged with them.  During those months, I remained in contact with Countrywide to inform them of my status. On April 9th, 2009, I received a letter via Fed ex from Countrywide stating that my Home Equity payment had been reduced for 12 months. On April 18th, 2009, I received another letter from Countrywide stating that I may be eligible for a Home Affordable Modification Program. On April 21st, 2009, I contacted them and gave them my information, and informed them that I had recently become unemployed. That was the last time I heard from them. I then received a welcome packet from Bank of America stating they were my home loan servicer. I contacted the company

>  and inquired about the modification program for my first and second mortgage. I was instructed to wait for some documents, that never seemed to arrive. On May 13th I received a letter from Recontrust, stating that my account had been referred to them to begin the foreclosure process. The letter says to contact them and discuss alternatives to foreclosure, which I did. The representative informed me that my home was now in pre-foreclosure. I informed this person that I could get the funds together on May 18th, 2009. She informed me the amount to bring my loan current was $5028.00.

> On May 18th at 3:44PM my father came over and asked me to call to verify the exact amount of funds needed, and the representative confirmed the $5028.00 once again. I asked him how they would handle the transaction and was told it could be transferred directly from my checking account. I informed him that I would call back promptly with the payment. My father and I drove to US Bank and deposited the funds. At 4:06PM I called back and attempted to proceed with the transaction. It was then I was informed that my house was in foreclosure and a sale date had been set for September 28th, 2009.  Twenty minutes later they refused my payment. I have the phone records to verify this.

> After a lengthy, unpleasant conversation with this person, I requested to speak to his supervisor and he informed me that it wouldn't make a difference, the sale date was set, and there was no manager on shift(which I find hard to believe). Earlier in the conversation the rep informed me that he was in Phoenix, AZ.  When I demanded his address, he proceeded to give me a Tempe, AZ address and it took him 7 minutes to find the zip code. I asked him why he didn't know his own zip code and he replied that he doesn't mail anything to himself.  His final words to me were "sale date is September 28th, and then he hung up on me.  I wanted to find out who was responsible for this malicious action. I was given a 800 number, I called it, and it was in Costa Rica. I attempted to talk with this person and he just transferred me back to the original place I started this at. I then proceeded to view Recontrustco.com. They had my home listed at the very bottom,

>  for sale. It was the most recent entry.

> On April 19th, 2009, at 9:53AM,  I called again hoping to get another representative that could straighten this out. A lady named Georgia assisted me. She told me that BofA had a modification program and that I would be eligible for it because of my unemployment status. She informed me that I would not qualify for any government programs. So after furnishing her with my financial information, she placed me on hold. When she came back she informed me that my HELOC account needed to be paid current because it was in pre-foreclosure. I later found out that wasn't true. I made a 945.00 payment. Then I was asked how much money I had.  I asked her what the balance was and she proclaimed that she couldn't divulge that information and that I had to give her an amount. Not making any sense at all, I told her 4200.00.  I was placed on hold again for about 10 minutes.  She came back on and gave me these instructions.  She told me on May 26th, 2009 a

>  "negotiator" would be calling me.  Then she said that I would have to western union 4200.00 to this man, and prepay my mortgage 3 months in advance.  She told me not to spend that money no matter what, and this is the only way I can save my house.  She wanted me to send approximately 6500.00 to this "negotiator".  That made me feel very uneasy, and it just didn't make a bit of sense.

> On May 20th, 2009,  I attempted to reach Bank of America directly.  I spoke with a representative and she informed me that re-instatement papers had been ordered and I would be responsible for all the extra fees they attached. 

> It is very clear that Bank of America realized that I have equity in my home and they wanted the opportunity to profit from my hardship.  They also generated 1436.00 in "fees".

> So on May 21st, 2009 I received three identical letters from Recontrust, non-certified mail and very generic. 

>        The letter reads like this:  NOTICE:  You are in danger of losing your property if I do not take action immediately.  Your lender has decided to sell this property because the money due on your mortgage loan has not been paid on time or because I have failed to fulfill some other obligation to my lender. This is sometimes called a 'foreclosure'.

>

>        The next paragraph reads as follows:  The amount you would have had to pay as of May 21, 2009

> to bring your mortgage current was 5133.21. The amount you must now pay to bring your loan current may have increased since that date  I tried to pay it May18th,  May19th, and May 20th.  Additionally I received 3 certified letters, every copy was identical.  I have 6 copies of this letter. On May 29th I finally was able to make contact with a manager at Recontrust. I explained to her how frustrated this whole experience has been.  I asked her why I wasn't allowed to pay on May 18th.  I asked her to explain the discrepancies on the notices.  She didn't have an answer.  She informed me the fees were non-negotiable and I will have to pay them.  I kept pointing out to her that the 6 notices I received state that I could have paid on May 21st, 2009.  She had no answer and asked me to fax a copy to her.  I faxed it to her on May 29th, 2009.

>       On May29th, 2009 I came home to find a letter taped to my door.  It was a faxed copy of Trustee Notice of Sale, dated May 22nd, 2009.  May 30th, 2009, I received three certified letters, more copies of the Trustee Notice of Sale.  On June 1st, 2009  another Recontrust representative taped the 5th copy of the Trustee Notice of Sale. 

>        On the day I attempted to bring my mortgage current, they informed me the sale date had been assigned on May 18th, 2009.  Clearly that wasn't accurate, I have 5 copies that state the sale date wasn't entered until May 22nd, 2009.

>  

>        This has been the worst experience in my life.  It has caused me emotional duress, high anxiety, high stress, high blood pressure, sleep deprivation, seclusion, and living in fear that I am losing everything I have ever worked for in life, my home.  I hope you can help me Brenda. Help me expose these companies. The US government needs to regulate these companies and thier malicious practices.  If you would like to contact me with any questions I would be more than happy to speak with you.  I want to hold these people accountable!  No one deserves to be treated like this,  I feel harassed and helpless.  All I wanted to do was get my life back together, pay the bill, and move on.  Two weeks later I still can't get anyone to help me. 

>  

> Thank you for listening

> Sincerely,

> Geoffrey W

These folks have ruined my summer, caused me major stomach problems, and if any of you have any ideas, feel free to drop a line.