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  • Report:  #4044

Complaint Review: Homeside Lending - San Antonio Australia, TX, FL

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Submitted:
Updated:

Homeside Lending
Florida and San Antonio--Australia San Antonio, Australia, TX, FL, U.S.A.
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I am but one of the thousands that are having serious problems with Homeside Lending. Mine is a little different than some of theirs but similar in some ways also. Everything that has happened to us with our account with Homeside has been of no fault of ours and I have them admitting to that on cassette tapes and in letters from them sent to me and some to my bank also. It is unbelievable and I hate to even start to go into it because there is no way that you could even begin to understand what all they have put us thru.

They have caused me more sickness and worry than anyone can imagine unless they have had to deal with homeside also. I decided to look homeside up on the internet tonite and found the complaint forum. We have had them as our mortgagers for almost two years now since they bought our mortgage from bankone and have had problems with them since the first month. They say they never received two payments (which were a year apart) which I sent copies of the cancelled checks and bank statements to them for verification that they were indeed paid.

Over the course of a year and a half of them "researching" this, they 'lost' all the copies I sent due to 'restructuring' within the company, I repeatedly resent all the information ---they continued to send my payments back each month---put some of my payments in a suspense account sometimes-the ones that they DID accept were held for almost two weeks sometimes until they were applied as late (I have proof that they were paid on time)-they continued to acrew late charges on my account although I made sure that I was paying my payments on time --ruined my credit----TOOK LATE PAYMENTS OUT OF MY ESCROW ACCOUNT and after more than a year and a half of phone calls, faxes and letters and being shuffled around and never given the right person to handle my account---a supervisor in collections named Marguerite S. appeared to be the one that would correct it all.

After spending days on the phone going over all the papers I had (luckily I had kept everything all the way back to dec. of 1996!) --She said that I was completely right and Homeside and my previous Mortgage company (BankOne) were in error--that said she would correct my credit---take off all late charges and put my account at current status as it should be since I had actually paid my house payments (just as I had said that I had and I had proof of it). She even told me at that time (the end of Nov. '99) that I should be recording our conversation (she laughed) at which point I told her that I WAS and she almost died! She said, "oh no! then I can't continue on with this conversation" so I told her I'd turn the machine off -which I did and then turned it right back on. I have all of our conversations up to this day on cassette tapes---5 cassette tapes!!!===She requested that I make my December '99 payment via speedpay with her instead of paying it at BankOne's teller window. She said they (bankone) were evidentally holding my payments for two weeks (when it was actually homeside doing it) or so before forwarding them on to Homeside so in Dec. '99--after I thought she had fixed everything finally---I authorized Marguerite to do a speedpay check on my bank account for the amount of my home loan which was 870.06---Imagine my horror when I found that she had ran the check thru for $2623.00!!!!!!! I immediately called her and she apologized profusely saying it was a mistake, that her "fingers must have brushed across the keys" and keyed in the wrong amount!!!! GIVE ME A BREAK!!!! how stupid does she think I am!? She deposited $1752.00 (the difference less my house payment for December) back into my account via a wire transfer the next day and sent a letter to me and the bank manager at my bank admitting her error and saying that she (homeside) would pay for any charges that happened because of her error. For the next three months everything was fine or so I thought!. Then in Mid-march 2000 I received a letter stating that I owed 785.00 in late charges (the ones that she had said that she would remove back in Dec. '99)---two days later, I find that a XEROX COPY of the speedpay check from Dec. '99 in the amount of $2623.00 has ran thru my checking account again and paid 4 days earlier!!!!!! A XEROX COPY!!!!! I immediately called Marguerite and she swore up and down that noone had Homeside had submitted the copy-I asked if some other department there could have done it and she said no, that it would show up on the computer because all the departments use the same 'window' --My bank confirmed that it was a copy of the original check from december (the original is in MY possesion since it paid in dec.) and after threatening my bank with a civil suit ,they finally put the money back into my account (since they had paid on a copy of a check that had already been paid once and did so without my authorization!) and I closed my checking account with them. I called marguerite and told her that it was definately a copy of the speedpay check from dec. and she said that a similar incident had happened to another lady a week earlier--(remember, I have all this on tape)---She said that when they have my check, they make a copy of it and send the original on to the Federal Reserve---The Fed makes a copy also, and sends it on to my bank. Somewhere along the way--the copies are "floating around" or misplaced (as SHE put it) and sometimes they get redeposited. But that Homeside didn't do it, that maybe 'the fed' did it. Although when my bank put a stop payment on the 'copy'---it was sent back to where it originated from--which was Homeside lending!!! Lo and behold, a week later I get a default letter from Homeside saying I owe $3827.00!!!!!!!!! The man I spoke with in collections could not believe all that I had told him and couldn't believe nor understand what they had done to my account when he pulled it up on the computer----When Homeside received the refusal of payment for the COPY---they reversed the payments that I had made for Jan., Feb., March, and April plus added charges for MI inspection fees, Insufficient funds charges, and late charges. He didn't know why they had done the reversal. I sent in copies of the checks for dec. (the speedpay check)--jan., feb., march, and april's payments and the bank statements showing where they had been deducted from my checking account. Marguerite's assistant--Damien s. -also requested copies showing where the 'copy' had paid in march and then been redeposited in my account and a copy of my authorization for the stop payment. I asked why then, ----since I was current as of April---when the 2623.00 copy was paid---why wasn't my account put AHEAD for 3 months and then when the stop payment was applied, the 3 month credit would have been taken off and my status put back at current again for April but instead they reverse my payments all the way back to Jan.1!??? Noone knows (supposedly) who resent the copy thru-or why---and Marguerite says that homeside never received any money from my bank for the $2623.00 copy that was taken out of my account for 9 days (the money was sent SOMEWHERE-but she says NOT THERE) . But she says that when the stop payment was put on it---that Homeside had to pay back my bank the 2623.00 that Homeside supposedly never received so they took that money out of my home mortgage account(hence the reversal of payments)! Even tho that money should never have been taken from my checking account in the first place. And I also have proof that she didn't just "accidentally brush her fingers across the keys" to produce the wrong check amount back in dec. either! My quarterly mortgage statement clearly points out why she keyed in that amount.

Two payments, plus the 785.00 in late fees and 97.10 for MI inspection fees adds up to $2623.00!!! And when I asked why I wasn't refunded the 712.00 positive escrow balance that I had at the start of the year as I was told that I would be, they tell me that I was actually 60 someodd dollars short in escrow so it was held over for disbursement this year. She denied ever saying that she told me that I should be recording what she had said in december --I told her that I have her recorded on tape saying those exact words and she said that she'd like to hear it---I'll be glad to play it for her in court! They continue to say that I am right and that none of this should have ever happened and that they will give me a "provisional credit" (Will the credit actually be applied tomorrow as she says???) and I have ALL of this on cassette tape. How long will this provisional credit last until something else goes wrong???????? Long enough for us to refinance? Will we even be able to refinance? We want to file a suit against them but can't afford it.

I want to take our story to 20/20 or dateline or somewhere but don't know where to start---------------- This isn't right. They are cheating us all and getting away with it and making millions of dollars off of us. They have to be stopped but how? I spoke with a lawyer today (who also has an account with bankone and homeside) and he is checking into whether or not there has been a class action lawsuit filed against them. If not, there will be. I am also trying to get in contact with a television news program but so far haven't been successful in speaking with the right people. If you know any information that might be helpful, please get in touch with me---I'm in Texas and would like to speak to anyone with information that might be helpful in stopping this company from cheating us or anyone else.

Since my last post was made, I continued making my payments on time and things were ok for three months. I checked with the credit bureaus to see if they had removed the derogatory credit ratings as they said they would and they had. I filed complaints with the better business bureau in florida and received letters from the BBB and Homeside regarding the problem from March and the letter from Homeside said that they were in the wrong and would correct everything. I haven't pursued the money that they owe me from all the fees they charged me that no one can explain what for and I haven't pursued the money that they owe me from having a positive balance in my escrow account at the start of each new year as I was told . I was just happy to have things better and not be in threat of having my home in foreclosure because of their mistakes. But now, at the first of the previous week, I find that they have reversed two of my payments that I made (for the months of July and August). -I call Marguerite Schnitzer who I had dealt with so much in the past to ask her what was going on and she informs me that they at San Antonoio were no longer handling my account due to the comments I had posted on the on the Internet(which you have read above--I spoke only the truth)---and now my account was being handled by the presidential offices in Florida. She gave me the name of the person to phone and the phone number but when I called the number -it was the customer service number back in san antonio so i had to go on hold for 35 minutes before being disconnected. The next day as soon as I got off of work, I phoned again to try to get the correct number and was put on hold again for almost thirty minutes and again I was disconnected. Once I finally got thru--a lady in san antonio transferred me to a supervisor and that lady told me that my account WAS being handled by the florida offices but they, at san antonio, should be able to tell me why my payments were reversed but couldn't and she didn't know why. She gave me the person's direct line in florida to call. I called, he was gone, I left a message for him to call me at work because I would be there so late that he would be off work by the time i got home due to our time difference. He called at home and left me a message saying that he had sent me a letter OVERNIGHT EXPRESS mail explaining why my payments were reversed and i should receive it the next day. That was on Wednesday-By Sunday, Still nothing had arrived so I called Mr. Geioli and left a message letting him know that his 'overnight' letter had not yet arrived and it was now 4 days later and to please call me at work on Monday (which he did). He explained that the letter had been mailed but returned to them because Airborne Express could not find my house---although I've received from them before. He said then that a lady named Jennifer Sieler was compiling a letter (8 pages) going over all the complaints and issues that I had mentioned and explaining why these recent payments were reversed.---I received it via express mail at my home two days later, and it went over issues that I mentioned above but not as they actually happened. (remember now, I have our conversations on tape)---the letter says that one of the payments that had been researched a year ago and credited to my account had been reversed because my old bank that the check was written on contacted them and told them that it had never been cashed. Although I have the cancelled check and have sent them copies (numerous times) of the front and back of the check----the letter admits that things were not handled correctly a couple of times and could have been handled better and they refer to a their mistakes as "isolated miscues"---them deducting 2,623.00 from my account when I authorized 860.08 was an "isolated miscue" and then when the xerox copy was ran thru my account 3 months later -----they still say that they did not send that copy in and don't know who submitted it for payment again (yet it was returned to homeside lending when the stop payment was applied)---she also noted in the letter that when the 2,623.00 was taken from my account (the first time) that it was taken out for two payments and "other fees" although when it happened Ms. Schnitzer is recorded on my cassette tape as saying-------"I am sooooo sorry, I don't know how it happened. It was a mistake, My fingers must have brushed against the keys" ----Yet this recent letter admits to it being intentional (although a "miscue')---the letter in itself can be used as evidence against them showing how they lie and cheat---because I have all the evidence to dispute every thing they say. She also mentions in the letter that I said on several different occasions that I would send copies of the checks that they never applied to my account and she says that I never sent them although I have letters and recordings from them saying that the copies were received (on several different occasions) and that they were being researched. I was told once that they had been lost during "restructuring"---I have all the faxes that I sent them of the copies. I had to send them copies over 8 different times because they kept saying they didn't receive them when I would call in to check the status of the research (although I had received letters saying that they 'WERE received)---contradictory huh?---I have now until the end of september to 'resubmit' my copies before they start late fees and credit reporting again and collection proceedings.

I have all my cancelled checks, copies, cassette recordings and letters of them admitting they were in the wrong. What more does anyone need? Yet, most lawyers seem scared to take them on.

There is so much more that has happened now since June of this year. Yet, tho I have sent proof after proof that I have made the payment the insist on taking back the credit the gave me after it has been on my account for over a year. And now they have raised my payment to over a thousand dollars because they say there is not enough escrow. Well, wonder why?


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