Sovereign Bank fraudulent practice, intrest rate gouging, dishonest reporting ripoff Reading Pennsylvania
My second mortgage was sold to Sovereign Bank. I recently refinanced the loan as the interest rate was rather high. I called Sovereign and obtained a payoff quote ($47,139.36) that was good until December 1st (I have since been told numerous times by Sovereign Bank that this was the date quoted to me). The bank I refinanced through sent the check and it arrived at Sovereign on November 29th. Sovereign sent me a letter stating that this was $281.16 short. I received the letter after business hours on December 5th. I called Sovereign first thing in the morning December 6th. I was told by each of the people I talked to that there was a mistake.
Finally, I talked to a manager, Steve Neves (401-432-1824) who said that there was a mistake but they were not sure what it was and that they had to review it and would get back to me. He also said that hopefully it would be resolved and I would have to pay nothing.
On December 8th, Mr. Neves called me to tell me that the payoff quote was good only for the day I was quoted it, which flies in the face of common business practice. No bank does this. Ther person I was speaking with gave me a quote that was good for more than merely the day we were speaking. He told me I not only had to pay the disputed amount but because the grace period was over I now had to pay interest for the days that the inquiry was occurring as well. In addition the money I have to pay is interest on the money that has already been paid off. Rather than counting interest on the money left in the account they are counting interest on the entire loan as if they never received the payoff check in the first place. I believe this practice counts as fraud.
I performed all of the required actions to close the loan in good faith, Sovereign bank has been unethical and possibly negligent if not criminal in their own dealings.
Emilio
Madison, Wisconsin
U.S.A.
12 Updates & Rebuttals
Bostonian
Boston,Massachusetts,
U.S.A.
FILE COMPLAINTS AGAINST THIS BANK!!
#13Consumer Suggestion
Wed, January 09, 2008
THIS BANK IS CROOKED. TIME TO STAND UP TO THEM. THEY ARE THIEVES AND THEIR EMPLOYEES ARE BRAINWASHED IDIOTS. I AM POSTING THE INFORMATION WHERE YOU CAN FILE A COMPLAINT AGAINST THEM. PASS THIS INFORMATION ON TO ANYONE WHO NEEDS IT. TIME TO SHUT THEM DOWN!
Office of Thrift Supervision
Department of the Treasury
10 Exchange Place, 18th Floor
Jersey City, NJ 07302
1-800-253-2181
Office Of Thrift Supervision
Harborside Financial Center
Plaza Five, Suite 1600
Jersey City, NJ 07311
Fax# 201-413-7541
The fax number is for written signed complaints.
Good Luck
Marilyn
Pawtucket,Rhode Island,
U.S.A.
Get it in writing
#13UPDATE Employee
Thu, May 11, 2006
I am surprised that the company you were dealing with didnt request the payoff in writing. Most reputable mortgage companies will want the payoff in writing. Had you requested a written payoff we would have been bound by whatever dollar amount was documented.
Emilio
Madison,Wisconsin,
U.S.A.
Again Clarification
#13Author of original report
Sat, December 10, 2005
If you call and ask for a payoff quote for a loan that is say $1000 on the day you called and is accrusing interest in the amount of $1/day, common practice is to give a quote good for 10 days that would include the interest for each of the 10 days. In this example the quote would be for $1010. As I said twice before, this is Sovereign Bank's common practice. When your check for the payoff amount arrives at the bank and the loan is settled, the bank sends back any overage paid. This way the bank gets its interest to the day. Again, it would be helpful to call someone you trust who deals with this particular aspect of the industry specifically to get an idea of how the process works.
Emilio
Madison,Wisconsin,
U.S.A.
Again Clarification
#13Author of original report
Sat, December 10, 2005
If you call and ask for a payoff quote for a loan that is say $1000 on the day you called and is accrusing interest in the amount of $1/day, common practice is to give a quote good for 10 days that would include the interest for each of the 10 days. In this example the quote would be for $1010. As I said twice before, this is Sovereign Bank's common practice. When your check for the payoff amount arrives at the bank and the loan is settled, the bank sends back any overage paid. This way the bank gets its interest to the day. Again, it would be helpful to call someone you trust who deals with this particular aspect of the industry specifically to get an idea of how the process works.
Emilio
Madison,Wisconsin,
U.S.A.
Again Clarification
#13Author of original report
Sat, December 10, 2005
If you call and ask for a payoff quote for a loan that is say $1000 on the day you called and is accrusing interest in the amount of $1/day, common practice is to give a quote good for 10 days that would include the interest for each of the 10 days. In this example the quote would be for $1010. As I said twice before, this is Sovereign Bank's common practice. When your check for the payoff amount arrives at the bank and the loan is settled, the bank sends back any overage paid. This way the bank gets its interest to the day. Again, it would be helpful to call someone you trust who deals with this particular aspect of the industry specifically to get an idea of how the process works.
Ken
Randolph,Massachusetts,
U.S.A.
Payoff Amounts
#13Consumer Comment
Sat, December 10, 2005
Gee I would have thought that after all trhese years of installing banking systems, I'd have had a general idea. When you do an inquiry into the system, a payoff figure is generated. At the same time, a per diem amount is calculated. It represents the amount that accrues each day after the date quoted... but... is only valid for ten days before it must be recalculated in order to be accurate.
Do you really think that they routinely give away a third of a month's interest? Not in any bank on this planet.
Emilio
Madison,Wisconsin,
U.S.A.
Seek Clarification
#13Author of original report
Fri, December 09, 2005
Dear Ken,
I think you might need to call your local bank or mortage company and find out how pay off quotes work. To initiate say a refinance of a loan, you need to have an idea of what the exact amount is that needs to be refinanced. However, like you said, that amount changes daily due to interest accruing. While the initial talks with a company refinancing a loan may deal with a somewhat general idea of what the amount will be, to close, the amount must be exact. But the day you close will not be the day the funds arrive at the old institution to pay off the old loan (they will either be overnited, transfered, or mailed; none of which arrive the same day). Hence the need for payoff quotes good for 10 days, which is the norm.
Emilio
Madison,Wisconsin,
U.S.A.
Seek Clarification
#13Author of original report
Fri, December 09, 2005
Dear Ken,
I think you might need to call your local bank or mortage company and find out how pay off quotes work. To initiate say a refinance of a loan, you need to have an idea of what the exact amount is that needs to be refinanced. However, like you said, that amount changes daily due to interest accruing. While the initial talks with a company refinancing a loan may deal with a somewhat general idea of what the amount will be, to close, the amount must be exact. But the day you close will not be the day the funds arrive at the old institution to pay off the old loan (they will either be overnited, transfered, or mailed; none of which arrive the same day). Hence the need for payoff quotes good for 10 days, which is the norm.
Emilio
Madison,Wisconsin,
U.S.A.
Seek Clarification
#13Author of original report
Fri, December 09, 2005
Dear Ken,
I think you might need to call your local bank or mortage company and find out how pay off quotes work. To initiate say a refinance of a loan, you need to have an idea of what the exact amount is that needs to be refinanced. However, like you said, that amount changes daily due to interest accruing. While the initial talks with a company refinancing a loan may deal with a somewhat general idea of what the amount will be, to close, the amount must be exact. But the day you close will not be the day the funds arrive at the old institution to pay off the old loan (they will either be overnited, transfered, or mailed; none of which arrive the same day). Hence the need for payoff quotes good for 10 days, which is the norm.
Emilio
Madison,Wisconsin,
U.S.A.
Seek Clarification
#13Author of original report
Fri, December 09, 2005
Dear Ken,
I think you might need to call your local bank or mortage company and find out how pay off quotes work. To initiate say a refinance of a loan, you need to have an idea of what the exact amount is that needs to be refinanced. However, like you said, that amount changes daily due to interest accruing. While the initial talks with a company refinancing a loan may deal with a somewhat general idea of what the amount will be, to close, the amount must be exact. But the day you close will not be the day the funds arrive at the old institution to pay off the old loan (they will either be overnited, transfered, or mailed; none of which arrive the same day). Hence the need for payoff quotes good for 10 days, which is the norm.
Emilio
Madison,Wisconsin,
U.S.A.
Clarification - Sovereign bank confirmed that it is their practice to give payoff quotes good for 10 days.
#13Author of original report
Fri, December 09, 2005
They claim that the person who gave me the quote made a mistake in generating one that was good for only one day as well as in telling me it was good for the next 10. This is beacause I made it clear that I needed the quote to process the refinance and needed more than merely one day to do so.
Sovereign bank is on record admitting that this was their mistake and are not sure how it was made as it is not their practice to give out quotes good for only one day. They are also on record admitting that they accepted my payoff, although it was $281 short, applied it to the principal and the next payment due.
However, they also have been charging me daily interest while they investigate based not on the $281 allegedly remaining in the account but on the full principal as if they never cashed and applied my payoff check in the first place. Essentially they are both using and holding on to the new funds for the sake of making more money from the transaction. A particular practice that is patently illegal.
One person I spoke with regarding this admitted it was wrong to do this, but that they did not know why it was done. Apparently it is a policy built into their system that needs special permission not to apply. Essentially, they need a manager's approval not to commit fraud. It is likely other Soveriegn bank customers are expereincing similar circumstances and treatment.
Ken
Randolph,Massachusetts,
U.S.A.
Quoting a payoff?
#13Consumer Comment
Fri, December 09, 2005
How could they do anything but quote you the payoff for that day? Did you tell them that they would have the payoff in their hands on a specific date? Your payoff changes daily, so it seems odd that they would tell you that it was "good until December 1st"
I think it was an honest mistake, but I think it was your honest mistake.