This is not the usual DC tech post here, rather a message that I need your help in spreading. I have a story to tell and I would like all of your help to let Countrywide Mortgage understand the power of social media these days.
So here is my story in a nutshell … Last fall I received a letter from Countrywide informing me that FEMA had redrawn he flood elevation maps and that my property is inside the new flood zone, which is a story into itself, but that is for another time. In the letter Countrywide informed me that as of Dec 15th they would provide insurance at a cots of $2,700. I thought wow, that is a lot of money for ! At once I contacted my insurance company and asked to pursue a flood insurance policy. They told me in order for FEMA to give a flood rate back to them, I needed to have a survey of my property done. I thought, "this is odd, how come I have to provide FEMA with a elevation report ? Did Countrywide have to do the same ?". I decided to find out.
I called Countrywide and asked and asked until I got to the right person. He worked for a company that Countrywide contracted to determine if the property was in a flood zone or not. I asked about how they determined the flood insurance rate and was informed that Countrywide did not look at that, they said either you are or not and then charged you the MAX amount. Great. So it was upon me to find my elevation and submit to FEMA to actually determine my insurance rate. This cost me $500 for this alone. After my insurance company filed the paperwork, it was determined that my yearly policy was going to cost $594, according to FEMA rates. Quite a bit more than the $2700 Countrywide was charging. This leads to my first legal/ethical question.
How can Countrywide charge you the max rate and not be held to the same standards as us consumers are ? I still do not know the answer to this question. How can they legally levy an arbitrary maximum amount to your policy, when as a consumer I could not obtain anything until I had the proper elevation reports done ?
After I received my policy I forwarded it to Countrywide as proof so they could cancel their provided insurance. Today I got home to a letter from Countrywide saying they had cancelled their policy, but I still owed them a pro-rated amount for 3 months of $672 ! More than FEMA states an entire year policy should cost. I called their insurance department today to ask if they thought it odd that a full year policy cost $594 and i owed them $672 for just three months ? As usual it was like talking to a robot.
This has to stop, these companies need to be help accountable for their actions as well as being held to the same standards as the consumers. Sounds like a class action lawsuit waiting to happen.
Please forward this and Digg it, Stumble It, whatever we can do to spread the word of this type of business practice.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Perhaps you can report this to your state’s attorney general’s office or the agency that regulates insurance providers?
Perhaps there is a class action attorney out there who would be interested in this case?
Interesting…Guess they need to make up for their lending screw ups some how.
Jimmy,
I’m an investigator with the James Hoyer Law Firm. We’re an investigative, class action Law Firm in Florida and have a case pending against Countrywide that deals with force placed insurance, as you describe. Our senior partners are former federal prosecutors. Our investigators are former FBI agents and investigative journalists, so we know how to get to the bottom of an injustice. You can give us a call, and we’ll take a look at what happened in your case. Just ask for me. Here’s the number:
1-800-651-2502.
Best Regards,
Angie Moreschi
James Hoyer Law Firm
In England I would either just not pay and wait for them to sue me or I would take a case (without legal help) in our small claims court. Do you not have the same in USA. Once a home loan company tried to impose insurance on me that was more expensive than market. I immediately (faxed) sent them a “death warrant” claiming dammage for nuicance and breach of contract. A senior manager called me that morning and applologised. They have not the time or intelligence to even turn up in my County Court, it was cost them ten times to hundred times the disputed ammount and risk adverse publicity and an adverse rulling. They would never do this unless they thought I was terribly in the wrong.
My problem started in March 06 thru present Countrywide is screwing customers on the west coast as well .they have done some things just to my wife and I that they should made accountable for .business malpractice or something .they lie and give misinformation the final thing with us they send a letter that one of their employees our imformation and was fired .and we should contact the credit companies to check fraudulance ,and that`s the latest but it goes on I have a list
I too, am having huge issues….. I was told I HAD to have flood insurance (NJ)…. that I was in a flood zone.. mind you, if you saw my home you would keel over with laughter. My mom used to say if the water came up here, even Noah was in trouble. Anyway, We had it, then I let it lapse the next year (too bad that didnt go unnoticed) and Countrywide forced their own insurance of $2400ish for the year… Late that year I found out, that I could get a LOMA and have my property removed from the flood plain.. I did not know that before. So I had the survey done, and of course FEMA id not have it done by the time to renew my policy. SO I got my own private ins. of $1378. I told the insurance company I was having it removed, from the flood zone, but needed this for just a few weeks, were they SUREEEEE i could easily get it cancelled. SURE NO PROBLEM.. famous last words… anyway get the report, don’t need the insurance *duh*….. That was september, it is now nearly January and I am still fighting theinsurance company to cancel it… TODAY I call the ins. company and find out, that according to the 2005 map revisions that FEMA have, I was NOT in a flood zone, and should NOT have needed flood insurance…. so why was countrywide imposing theirs on me, and requring me to get it??????????????? Now I can’t even get my money back for this policy, because they said theyc annot cancel it since i was not “required”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What do I do? Who do I fight? Do I go to court???? I am sofed up!
After many months, days and hours trying to learn why my mortgage was behind I learned that Countrywide (or BofA) sent an inspector to my home (at my expense) because I contacted them last year when my payment was going to be late. They “graciously” broke up the payment over several months and the nightmare began.
After paying over $10,000 in mortgage payments, I called to make a payment to learn that 3 months of payments were due. I said this wasn’t possible, told them my payment amounts and dates and was told that those payments were applied to an escrow deficiency. After questioning, I learned that they notified my insurance company, ASI, that my home was vacant and to cancel my policy. They then forced 2 policies totaling over $16,000 with Balboa Insurance. I told them the home has never been vacant, that I live there full time and can provide evidence of such. They refused any documentation and said the only way to rectify it was to send out the inspector again to verify occupancy and that it would be 3-4 months before they could get him out here. Note: They previously told me that the inspector had inspected my home each month for 4 months and reported it vacant.So why does it take 3-4 months now if he was there every month? Anyway after many people and phone calls, I learned that the inspector was going to the wrong address and finally in October 2008 (6 months after it was forced) they changed my status to occupied, told me that the forced policy was cancelled and my insurance was reinstated.
Keep in mind that I couldn’t make further payments during this time because they would just take them and apply them to the negative escrow for the forced insurance. I spent 10 hours on more days than I can count to hit a dead end each time. The frustration of dealing with them was unbearable and would result after several hours in shaking, crying, chest pains and utter fear. This is the reason that many people don’t contact the lenders when they are in trouble. Because hours on hold, disconnects and rude people that couldn’t care less only results in no resolution and phenomenol stress on the borrower.
Anyway, this went on and on. I asked for records which were never sent even though I gave a fax number and was promised that i’d receive them. I contacted insurance commissioners to learn that I could file a complaint and it would take months that i didn’t have for them to investigate.
Finally in 10/08, they supposedly credited me for the period from Oct 08 forward. I refused to pay 8 thousand dollars for the 6 months of exhorbitant insurance that should have never been placed. Each time I would attempt to set up a workout to catch up the payments, I hit a roadblock because of this escrow deficiency.
I spent yet another exhausting day of horror on the phone today to learn more info about it all. Basically, they only reinstated the flood policy with ASI not the homeowner’s policy. And in October (2 days before telling me that they finally changed the status to occupied) they placed yet another $6,000 policy for homeowner’s insurance. So in October, they reinstated the policy that was set to expire October 15 and when it expired, they forced more insurance on it! I have talked to them numerous times and they make it impossible to follow what they are doing. They give you bits and pieces and it depends on who you get when you call. Some agents are competent, read the record and “leak” out what’s been going on. Others are like parrots regurgitating rehearsed rubrik. It’s horrible dealing with them.
Today, they told me they would credit me if ASI would back date the policy so I called ASI who told me they could only deal with the agent that wrote the policy (Coastal Insurance) because they couldn’t compete with them. My agent at
Coastal insurance hasn’t responded to my calls (that’s why I was calling direct.) I finally AGAIN contacted Coastal and became more agressive. I was told that for a second time my agent is on a 3 month leave and they apologized that she never called me back when I called last year. Coastal then contacted the ASI who said that not only could they not backdate the policy but they couldn’t reinstate it because they won’t insure anyone who has had force placed insurance for one year. ASI did reinstate the flood policy in October. Why didn’t ASI tell me this when I called. No, they blew smoke up my skirt, having me contact Coastal and led me to believe that if Coastal obtained proof of occupancy they’d reinstate. Coastal says no way will they reinstate and further insists that they never received notice of cancellation. Neither did I.
I’m a basket case from trying to resolve all this. Today, I got hold of the office of the CEO of BofA and at 6PM MAY have gotten someone to help. He said it’s clear in the record that the inspector went to the wrong address and never inspected the correct home until 10/08 when it was reported as occupied. He also said that it’s so screwed up that it will take him a couple of days to get through all the conversations that I’ve had with them and all of the late fees etc resulting from this erroneously placed insurance. I learned that BofA has no control over Balboa and even if they tell Balboa it was a mistake, Balboa may refuse to credit me. It’s a total mess and my home is now nearly a year behind. I’m in a catch 22 and my only choice has been to let them screw me out of $21,000 which i don’t have to do a loan modification. It’s insane. How did the banks get so much power to destroy people’s lives like this? Why doesn’t anyone stop this? I’m not the only one who has had unnecessary insurance forced on them through escrowed funds. Why aren’t banks held accountable. Why is the government giving them our tax money to continue to destroy hard working people’s lives? What has happened to the United States that this can occur?
I trusted the bank with my money to pay my insurance. they breached that trust, incurred tens of thousands of dollars of damages to me, and made it impossible for me to keep my mortgage payments current and I may now lose my home.
All the while, Coastal profited, ASI profited, Balboa profited, the bank got kickbacks, late fees and possibly my home which has significant equity. WTF is going on? What is the average person supposed to do? The government has allowed the banks to totally disempower us and leave us hopeless. I hate to say it but I just want out of this place and don’t know if there’s a place that is any better.
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