Nationwide Judges are receiving complaints against banks and mortgage providers for dragging their feet and not providing the customer service that is to be reasonably expected. Especially since the government is paying for mortgage providers to deal with loan modifications as fast as possible.
Unfortunately Banks and service providers are not carrying out loan modifications as fast as was expected by the government or hoped by homeowners. I find this hardly surprising. If I had a business and was asked to spend money to reduce the monthly income I receive from a debtor I would make sure I was suitably compensated. The fact is that in some cases banks end up worse off when they modify a loan.
What is not so easy to empathize with is when banks systematically stall procedures, lose paperwork and change their requirements systematically. This has been the story that has been told nationwide and some judges are starting to tire of it all.
One case that has hit the news is that of Bobbi Giguere, initially published on the New York Times. Mrs Giguere submitted her paperwork three times to no avail. Last Thursday an interesting turn of events occurred at Judge Randolph J. Haines courtroom. Judge Haines instructed Mrs Giguere to question a Wells Fargo high ranking executive on the bank’s lack of response towards her loan modification.
Judge Haines explained the irregular procedure as a response to the growing concerns about Wells Fargo’s mortgage modifications practice.
The problem is that this is not an isolated case. Consumers nationwide are complaining (that is certainly not new) about the difficulty of getting a response from their mortgage servicers. This is threatening the success of the Obama Administration’s loan modification plan. While banks and mortgage servicers stall their response many homeowners foreclose on their mortgages and lose their homes which in many cases is good news, or the least of two evils for banks and loan providers.
The questioning of Mr. Ohayon the Wells Fargo executive was carried dramatic enough to be part of any lawyer movie. Mr Ohayon initially stated that Mrs. Giguere had repeatedly failed to provide a financial worksheet, a critical document for the loan modification to be processed.
Then came the fun part, what courtroom dramas are all about. Under cross examination Mrs. Giguere produced the letters Wells Fargo sent requesting the paperwork required for the loan modification. She asked Mr. Ohayon to read the letter and he was forced to concede that the letter did not ask for a financial worksheet.
This irregular procedure in which a Judge requires a large bank corporation like Wells Fargo to place an executive on the witness bench shows the federal frustration on the way loan modifications are being carried out throughout the United States.
Last 3 posts by Andrew
- Loan Modifications Questions: Fees, Inspections, Late Charges And Other Concerns - September 21st, 2009
- Loan Modifications: What to Do When Banks Don’t Play Fair - September 19th, 2009
- Loan Modifications, Judges Frustrated by Banks Nonchalant Attitude - September 19th, 2009
Related posts:
Loading ...