Complaint Review: First Union Mortgage AKA Wacovia - Raleigh North Carolina

I have been trying to find for several years, off and on, to find any lawsuits against First Union Mortgage Corporation (now known as Wachovia). And I have also been looking for any lawsuits concerning Home Eq Serviciing (once known as The Money Store). I have come to find out all these companies and names are tied to the original mothership of First Union Corporation based in North Carolina. I finally stumbled onto this website and could not believe my eyes. There seem to be over 100 complaints on these companies.

Let me tell you about my NIGHTMARE with First Union Mortgage Corp. (We also had problems with Home Eq and a loan we had with them that just never seemed to decrease in principal over a six year period. But that's another nightmare. However, feel free to contact me about Home Eq also, even though I'm mainly focusing on the First Union "problem" in this report.)

Our nightmare with First Union began in 1997. We refinanced our home and land with First Union because they offered the lowest interest rates, (great way to sucker you in!). The first two years with First Union seemed to go well.(We had been previously with Citibank Mortgage Corporation, where we had had NO PROBLEMS and excellent credit.) Then "all of a sudden" First Union had put our escrow account into -$6,000.00!

The first clue that we had to this "problem" was when First Union mailed us a new mortgage payment booklet in December, 1999. With no letter of explanation or forewarning of any kind First Union had increased our monthly mortgage payments close to $1,000.00 a month!

Needless to say we could not absorb this increase in our mortgage payments. (My husbannd also was in his third year of running his own mechanical contracting company, and with this slam by First Union, and all the financial fallout from First Union's "MISTAKE", we lost the business!) Please read on!

When I received this new mortgage payment book from First Union, I immediately called them and asked, "What was going on?" From 12/99 to 9/00 I was continually on the phone with First Union "customer reps" asking them to explain how our escrow account got to -$6,000.00. They could not explain ANYTHING and simply told me you owe us back tax money and pay up the $6,000.00 to put the escrow account correct, which THEY had made a MESS of. At one point during my many phone calls to First Union to have them explain(which they never could) how our escrow account became minus, I threatened to call my lawyer. At that point one of their many "reps" I spoke with, hung up on me!!

Finally in September of 2000, while on the phone with one of F.U.'s (if you catch my drift, because this is what this company does to consumers), "reps" all of a sudden, with all my tax papers in front of me (marked PAID), I figured out part of F.U.'s "MISTAKE" with our escrow account. F.U. or their title insurance company(TransAmerica, NOW called TransNation - my how these people hide behind name changes - harder to trace their "mistakes" done to consumers, so they think.),had paid our school taxes late. This caused our school tax amount (which should be paid by November of that year) to be added onto our property tax which is normally paid around March of the new year.

SO, not only did F.U. pocket late fees off of us but then turned around and paid our school taxes TWICE, because they had "misread" the now doubled property tax as just our property tax not reading correctly the itemized lines that said the statement included school tax from November AND property tax for March. So F.U. paid the school tax and then paid the school tax again, because it was now attached onto our property tax. What a nice little "white collar paper crime".

BUT that wasn't all they did in "MISTAKES?" to mess up our escrow account. They also lowered our monthly escrow payments over several years, and simply put the difference between our old escrow amount and the new lowered escrow amount into our principal. We were never told they had lowered our escrow payments and the only indication we had of anything different in our monthly mortgage payments was a $10 to $12 difference. This did not raise a red flag to us because we had an adjustable rate mortgage.

So First Union simply misappropriated our escrow funds, by paying our school taxes twice, and lowering our escrow payments, and putting the money difference into our principal so we would be "No the Wiser!" So all of F.U.'s "paper mistakes" added up to our -$6,000.00 escrow statement, which we were obligated to pay for their mess.

First Union also demanded that the $6,0000.00 mess THEY HAD FINAGLED be paid within one year. They would not work with us. Needless to say we got behind in mortgage payments and at the same time were struggling to keep my husband's business alive - which we did loose because of F.U.- we could not fund both things at once!

So in 9/00 as I said, I'm starting to figure out F.U.'s "mistakes". They still could not explain the mess to me - WONDER WHY! In the month on 10/00 we were served with court papers because we, for the first time in our lives, were in foreclosure. The same day I was served, I had been on the phone in the a.m. once again with a "rep" who just that morning told me if I would pay X amount to F.U. by next week our mortgage would be out of F.U.'s "lawyers(dirtbags) and all would be well.

But by that afternoon I had been served with court papers and the "rep" had never mentioned this on the phone to me earlier in the morning. When I was served I nearly fainted!!

I immediately called the F.U. "rep" and told them I had been served with court papers. (I have the name of this "rep", who is probably "lost" by now.) The "rep" then told me to THROW THE COURT PAPERS AWAY! I kept asking him, "Are you sure? They look very important." AND he told me, "Just pay X amount like we agreed by next week and the papers won't matter- JUST THROW THEM AWAY!

Well, needless to say, Thank God, I didn't throw them away. (I am a teacher, but am home with my children now, and during all this "NIGHTMARE" - so throwing away court papers did not seem legal.} The papers sat on our kitchen table as we tried to deal with First Union. I was served in the beginning of 10/00. At the end of 10/00 my husband and I had had it trying to deal with F.U. and went to our lawyer with everything.

Our lawyer almost had a heartattack because we were just at the limit to file the court papers that F.U. had served us. We found out through our lawyer, that legally F.U. could have taken all our land (20 acres, 2 barns) and house if we had not filed the court papers within the 30 day period to do so! Another "MISTAKE" by First Union who had told us to THROW THE COURT PAPERS AWAY- and they could have come and legally taken everything if the court papers weren't filed! Funny how ALL of FIRST UNION'S "MISTAKES" add up to money in their pocket, or foreclosures of property!

Well, finally, after our lawyer now working with F.U. "lawyers" based out of NYC (DIRTBAGS) we were willing to pay all the back payments (which we had been trying to make) on top of all other BOGUS FEES F.U. could come up with. The F.U. "lawyers" out of NYC would never get back to our lawyer and what should have been done by the end of 12/00 kept going until 2/01.

As the "dirtbags " were SO SLOW in getting back to my lawyer on anything, the "dirtbags" were able to keep the fee clock ticking - AT OUR EXPENSE! SO Finally in 2/00 we received a final payoff statement that would put our mortgage current and pay all their other BOGUS fees- they had us by the you know what-one middle class family trying to fight Goliath.

So in 2/00 we were able to get the money needed and paid what the F.U. lawywers had "Bilked" us, I mean billed us. AND GUESS WHAT? We mailed them immediately the payoff amount and then we sat waiting and waiting. It took the F.U. dirtbags close to two- three weeks before they responded to our payment that WE SENT TO THE SAME NYC ADDRESS MY LAWYER HAD BEEN SENDING ALL OTHER LETTERS TO! But GUESS WHAT - the F.U. Dirtbags said they never got the payoff and it must have gotten "lost in the mail"

So the clock fees were continuing to tick because of "lost mail" - which was returned to my lawyer and we now were given a NEW PAYOFF amount that was due by the end of the week. And because of the "lost mail" the clock fee kept ticking and F.U. "lawyers" added another $4,0000.00 onto our bill! My lawyer had told us he had never dealt with such SCUMBAGS in his whole time of practice. My lawyer said, pay it, and "get the Hell out of FIRST UNION!" It was F.U.'s final attempt to get our land and house. We PAID an amount that was not even close to the original -$6,0000.00 escrow "MISTAKE". (Also the final payment we sent certified mail!)

FIRST UNION put our family through Two Solid years of financial and emotional HELL!! We had never gone through anything like this in our lives. They depleted us emotionally and Financially. We are just starting to recover from "company straight out of the PIT!! Do not have any dealings with them, or Wachovia, or Home Eq (once called THe Money Store).

I am looking for a lawyer who would take this case on or a class action suit against them!!! PLEASE, PLEASE contact me by pressing the rebuttal key if Ripoffreport gives it to you. I am looking to go after this company from THE PIT!

Kathleen

Ontario, New York
U.S.A.

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