Mortgage Settlement Monitor Lets Servicers Steal From Customers for Two Years Before Stepping In ...

[marmar]

David Dayen: Mortgage Settlement Monitor Lets Servicers Steal From Customers for Two Years Before Stepping In With Toothless Metrics
By David Dayen, a lapsed blogger, now a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, CA. Follow him on Twitter @ddayen


Joseph Smith, the National Mortgage Settlement Oversight Monitor, created four additional servicing metrics on Wednesday, in what has to be seen as an admission of what we’ve known for a good while – that the servicers are violating the spirit, if not the specific terms, of the settlement.

In particular, servicers have been denying a prompt decision on a loan modification for borrowers, as well as the ban on dual tracking, by never completing any loan modification applications. Here’s the statement from Smith:

These four new metrics address a number of persistent issues involving the loan modification process, single points of contact and billing statement accuracy. They will better hold the banks accountable to the commitments they made in the Settlement to improve their operations in these areas. In particular, I have been extremely concerned about ongoing dual tracking issues. One of the metrics will address the issue of when a loan modification application is considered ‘complete,’ which has led to some of these problems.

First of all, in one paragraph, Smith names just about every important consumer protection put into the settlement as among the “persistent issues.” Being on the payroll and all, Smith isn’t going to come out and say it, but he’s acknowledging failure. If servicers aren’t offering a single point of contact (I know Yves questioned whether they ever can), aren’t ending dual tracking, aren’t posting accurate billing statements (!) and aren’t giving loan modifications in a timely and efficient manner, then they basically haven’t skipped a beat since the misconduct that was part of the impetus for the settlement in the first place. .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/10/david-dayen-mortgage-settlement-monitor-lets-servicers-steal-from-customers-for-two-years-before-stepping-in-with-toothless-metrics.html#YGY60ojsvX1c0VQI.99

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. Important to note here:

Bank of America for sure, and I think..Wells Fargo?...got out of the mortgage servicing business right after the new rules were passed.
They sold the servicing rights to Green Tree and to Nation Star (?) who are NOT banks
and
who are NOT bound by any of the new rules
and
who ARE the subject of many many many consumer complaints even before the sale.

I know because BOA sold my servicing to Green Tree and I read up on them immediately.
And immediately Green Tree started inundating me with mail and phone offers to re-fi with them.