Complaint Review: OCWEN FSB - West Palm Beach Florida

The following is my sworn statement regarding my dealings with Ocwen FSB, who services my mortgage.

My mortgage was originally with Option One Mortgage, which I believe began in November 15, 1997. My payment history with Option One was perfect until approximately Sept 1999.

I got behind on my payments due to the following circumstances. In December 1998, I lost my job with a company I had been working for 3 years. I was collecting unemployment and it ran out I believe in June 1999. My daughter's father owed me 2 years of child support at that time. I spoke with him and told him I wanted to go to school. He made an arrangement with me to pay my mortgage during my school and I was to get a part time job and pay my miscellaneous household bills, while I was attending school. My daughters father told me he was going to have the correspondence from Option One redirected to his address. At that time, I thought everything was fine.

In January 2000, I received a letter advising me that my loan had been sold to Ocwen. I didn't think anything unusual about it, since Option One had a high resale percentage of home loans, but I did call them to see if there was a problem. When I got a hold of Option One, they told me that they no longer serviced my loan and I needed to contact Ocwen. I immediately called Ocwen and asked if everything was ok. I was advised that they didn't have the full transfer of paperwork yet and couldn't tell me anything. I called for several weeks trying to find out the status of my loan and see where should my payments be sent. I was advised repeatedly that they were unaware of any problems and they didn't have my paperwork yet, and that if there were a problem, they would work it out with me.

The very first piece of correspondence I received from Ocwen was a notice of default on the loan and a notice of intent to foreclose. I was shocked and immediately called Ocwen. I asked what the problem was and they told me that there hadn't been a payment on the account since September 1999. I was completely unaware of this, as I had had no notice of default or late payment from Option One. Ocwen advised me that I owed approximately $8700.00 and they wanted it in full, or they would foreclose. I explained what had happened and told them that I couldn't afford $8700.00 and asked if they would work with me. They told me NO. Ocwen wanted the full $8700.00 up front, or they would foreclose. I was so upset I became physically ill.

I immediately tried to get my mortgage refinanced and was not able to due to the default. I called an attorney and was advised the only option I had was to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy to save the house. In the mean time, Ocwen would not accept my house payments. I had started a new job in January 2000 at Qwest and my income had dropped considerably from what I was accustomed to making, but they had regular pay increases to get me back close to what I was making. Since I had this attorney to pay for, I saved up to file my Chapter 13. With my arrears to Ocwen alone, my monthly payment was to be $2400 per month. That was quite a bit more than I was making. I got a second job and between both of my jobs, I would only cover my monthly bankruptcy payment. In the mean time, I was getting sicker and sicker from stress of losing my house and working two jobs and having 3 children to raise. I had strept throat 4 times in about 5 months.

The house was to be auctioned July 2000. I tried repeatedly to work an arrangement with Ocwen and they told me they would accept nothing short of payment in full. I cried and begged and they were unbelievably rude and insensitive to my situation.

I stopped the auction with the Chapter 13, 5 days before the auction. This was after having all kinds of notices put on my front door for my neighbors to see, to my great embarrassment and public notices in the paper, which are still public record for the world to view. For the next two months, the trustee garnished 100% both of my incomes to make the payments. My health was failing so badly, and I missed so much work (since I was new, I had no sick time at Qwest) that I was terminated from my job at Qwest. Prior to that, I have always had excellent attendance and a great work history. To add to the situation, I developed a severe case of psoriasis, which the doctor told me along with the strept, was a direct result of stress. I was told that I needed my tonsils removed immediately or I would continue to get sick, and possibly have heart problems since I was unable to get the proper amount of rest.

Now, I had lost my primary source of income and needed surgery. I interviewed for a new job immediately after being terminated from Qwest and made arrangements to start a new job 1 week after my surgery at ITT Technical Institute. I had my surgery in September 2000 and started my new job, still sick, one week later. I had also lost my part time job due to the surgery. I was unable to make my payment to the trustee in September and October. I knew that I would not be able to make up those payments and that my house would be foreclosed on. Instead of making my next payment, I saved up to move my children and myself into an apartment to keep a roof over our heads. I also got married in September 2000, and my husband didn't have the type of money to keep the house.

In December 2000, we moved in to an apartment. I was absolutely devastated at having lost my beautiful house that I had sacrificed for years to get. I sank into an immediate depression, which I was put on medication for. I was suicidal and lost all desire for anything. It was terrible for my family and myself. In January 2001, I was advised that my bankruptcy had been dismissed due to lack of payment.

A couple of months after moving into the apartment, we started receiving these strange messages on our machine from someone named Pam Hathaway, but she mumbled and we could never understand what company she was with, or the phone number that she was leaving. We tried a couple of different numbers that we thought she said, but they were not correct. Finally, in I believe April, I received another message that I listened to several times and heard that Pam was with Ocwen and I got the correct number to call her.

Pam said she was calling because the house was getting ready to go to auction and she wanted to work out a deal with us. I was amazed! I advised her that I couldn't afford to pay all that was behind and that the other people at Ocwen had told me they wouldn't accept anything less than payment in full. She apologized, said that was not the case, they were just collectors and she was with Moss Codillis legal department.

Pam faxed me a financial declaration form, advised me to fill it out, send in my tax information for the previous 2 years and she would see what she could do. I immediately provided her with the information she requested.

Pam called me back and told me that I needed to pay a $4060 down payment by I believe June 1st 2001, and then my payments would be $1325 per month, which was an increase from $1043.00, which was a forbearance agreement. I was so grateful and in disbelief that we were going to get our home back. I was so happy that I wrote a letter to Pam's boss praising her and asking why this had not been presented to me before I spent so much money on the bankruptcy, moving, etc.

I raised the money for the down payment, spent the next month getting things at the house ready to move back in and we moved back in the house. I had to break my lease to do so, but I just wanted my home back. Between coming up with the down payment and the deposits on the utilities, I was flat broke in August 2001. I called Ocwen and asked if I could have an extension to August 15th to make my payment. Their customer service department said it would be no problem.

Everything was fine for the next 3 months, or so I thought. One day I believe in October 2001, I was served at my home with a notice of default and intent to foreclose. Again, I was devastated. I immediately called Ocwen and spoke with a gentleman named Guy Hinkley and he said I had defaulted on the forbearance agreement. I explained what happened that I had called and been advised by Ocwen that my payment wasn't actually late until the next month. He said that I had spoke with the collection department and they didn't know what they were talking about. He said that the payment arrangement that Pam had made was unacceptable and she should have never made it, that she had been terminated because of it, and it was voided. I was again in shock. He said I had to come up with another $5000 down payment and my house payment would now be $1625 per month. I explained that I didn't have that kind of money and couldn't afford a $1625 payment. He said tough, they would foreclose in January 2002. I tried to make a different arrangement with him several times and he was rude and cold blooded and said nothing short of what he was asking for was acceptable. I asked for his supervisor and he told me that I could not speak with his supervisor.

I spent the next week trying to get a hold of his boss. I researched online and tried Ocwens customer service department before I got the phone number for his boss, whose name was Tony (I'm not sure of the last name). During this time, I was becoming more and more depressed believing that I was about to become homeless. I finally got a hold of Guy's boss, Tony and explained what happened. I was in hysterics when I spoke with him. He calmed me down and made an agreement with me to come up with another $4000 (approximately) and then I had to make the $1625 payment per month. I tried several times to get the payment lowered and they would not budge. I skipped Christmas for my kids last year and came up with the down payment and have been barely making my house payment every month. Then in March, I had forced placed insurance on my house without warning, and my payment is now $1662.00 per month, on top of the $13 per month for the Western Union. I called and asked if I could get my own insurance and they advised me that it had been placed and I would have to continue to pay for it through the end of the year

During all this time with Ocwen, I have asked repeatedly for a statement, or payment book, I have never received one. The only correspondence I receive from Ocwen, is threats of foreclosure and late payment notices even after my payments have been made.

A few months ago, I paid for the payoff quote. I wanted to see where all thousands of dollars I had paid had gone. The statement they sent me, did not reflect either of the down payments and had inflated legal fees, basically showing that I still owed this $39,000 in back payments and interest.

This entire situation has left me an emotional wreck and impacted my health, my relationship with my entire family, including my children due to the severe depression and stress of coming up with this huge monthly payment. I cannot begin to express what this has been like. To this day, I don't know what my house payment should be, or where all my money has went.

My current forbearance agreement ended November 1, 2002. I do not know what they are going to do now, and we are possibly facing homelessness again.

Something must be done to punish Ocwen. They are playing with people's lives and making my life a living hell.

An update after the above was written. I called Ocwen today to find out what was going on with my "new" forbearance agreement and asked how much I owed. I was advised I owe $39,000 in 1)a negative $13,000 escrow, for which they had no explanation other than "that is just what my screen says", 2)$20,000 in back interest stemming from a 3)missed $1500 payment in April 2002 (which I have paid) and 4)about $5000 in misc fees that again, no explanation for.

Not one red cent of the tens of thousands of dollars I have paid has been credited to anything. They ALSO NOW ARE RAISING MY MONTHLY PAYMENT DESPITE MY PRIMARY RATE DECLINING DUE THE ARM!!!

Every day, I cry and am so depressed I can hardly get out of bed. I have had every single utility in my house turned off at minimum of twice in the last year to pay my inflated housepayment, and now my two older children are living with their fathers so they don't have to come home to a house with possibly no water, electricity or gas! I ask myself everyday what the hell am I living for?

Thank God for www.ripoffreport.com and finding Kweku Hanson, who I came across as an accident looking for a phone number this past Sunday to get ahold of Ocwen. You have given me a sliver of hope! Let's nail these bastards.

Doreen

Seattle, Washington

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