Complaint Review: Household - Beneficial

I guess it all began as most stories I have read on this site have: I was sent the "live" check in the mail and my pain and suffering started right there.

I guess they got me at a vulnerable time and now I am trapped in a mortgage which I was tricked into due to the fact that the amount I now owe Beneficial is much more than I can sell my home for and no bank will touch me because Beneficial overstated the value of the property in order to give me more money than I needed. My current mortgage payment is twice as much as it was before they "consoliated" my debts for me.In other words, I am stuck with a loan I will probably never pay off, stuck in a property I would like to sell but can't, can't refinance the mortgage with a reputable bank due to the fact they ripped me off for the equity in the property. I have been paying this loan for 3 years and have yet to see the balance reduced by anything. Their explanation was I am still paying off the interest.

Not to mention the line of credit I have also been paying for three years and that has always been above the original $5,500 In three years on a line of credit, I have NEVER had any available credit. When I questioned Beneficial about this, I always got a song and a dance.

Then, to top things off, they tried to make me pay back a loan I never took out! After contacting the Better Business Bureau, Beneficial discovered an "error" and "apologized" stating I did not have to pay the nonexistent loan back. It just makes me wonder if I hadn't contacted the BBB, I would be paying back a loan I never took out.

Then this past September, I switched jobs. I was on EZ Pay (also a ripoff) with Beneficial having my checking account debited twice monthly. I called the branch I deal with and requested they permanently stop the EZ pay, that I would pay by check until I find out my pay dates on my new job and at that time I would contact them resume the EZ Pay. Well, they go ahead anyway not once but twice debiting my account for nearly $1,300 overdrawing my account,incurring overdraft fees and forcing other checks I had written to bounce. Needless to say this screwed up my credit with the companies I had written those checks for. Then the person I spoke to at Beneficial lied and said I told her to stop the EZ Pay for one pay period, no, I made it clear to her to stop it permanently (I would be paying by check)until I contacted them again with my new pay dates. Beneficial is still saying I owe them for the month of September and half of October. I do owe them for those periods, but ever since the second half of October, I have been paying them on time by check. Keep in mind before September, I NEVER had a late payment. Collectors from Beneficial have been harassing me at home and at work. I have asked them repeatedly not to contact me at work, but they persist.

I have a call into my local ACORN office and will be speaking with someone there today. I have good credit and just need to get away from Beneficial and this predatory, overinflated loan and line of credit account. I would love information on getting another mortgage with a reputable Bank. HELP!

Kimberly
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.