Complaint Review: Regions Bank - New Smyrna Beach Florida

We were wrong! Our mistake, in February 2012, we actually believed Regions Bank had gotten everything straightened out. Our bad, should have known better. This is either the most incompetent bank in the world or they are just straight out theives.

In the past two weeks we have noticed calls from Regions Bank on our caller ID, well, they called today while we were home. Found out that even though they had acknowledged their mistake, refunded all moneys and telling us that all accounts had been closed, Regions, had in fact, not closed out the home equity loan as had obviously been requested and then they charged a yearly fee in September. Regions, conveniently, were sending statements to an address one number off, which does not exist, though they had always sent the statements prior to this problem to the correct address and the home equity loan obviously had the correct address. NOW they have reported this to the credit bureau as a delinquent account since it is over 72 days. At this point the only resolution to put this problem to bed appears to be to hire an attorney.

Yesterday, the Bankruptcy Dept. of Regions Bank reversed the $500 foreclosure fee and the two $150 collection fees that were illegally assessed against the account.  But....

I think that they thought that this would make the whole problem go away.  The statement "now that the account is zeroed out, it can be closed."  Not so quickly, guys. what about the $400 additional interest fees that were deducted from his payments and the additional interest he paid due to that money not being deducted from the principal and the $298 in late fees that were illegally assessed, that he has also already paid.  So at this point what is owed back to him is $698 plus the interest paid as the result of the $400 not being deducted from the principal.

I'm also looking at the fact that once he came under Chapter 13, Regions began charging him for flood insurance to the tune of $248 each year, adding this amount into the Home Equity Line Balance.  Starting to see how institutes like this make their money, not too much different from the thief that breaks into your home and steals from you.

Todays mountain to climb is the return of all monies that should never been assessed or paid.  Not so easy getting blood out of a stone or a bank to return money.  We'll see.

I do not believe that this is an isolated case of OOPS!.  I would lay money down that there are quite a few people out there that have had this done to them and are not even aware of it.  Again, if you have had a Bankruptcy and Regions Banks was one of your creditors, check out every transaction that occurred during the bankruptcy.


Still waiting for a return call from Assistant Manager Jamie...Not holding my breath.

 To address your statement "they will need a bit more than "I think what they did to my friend is illegal" in any paperwork that you try and file", I am not exactly a neophyte and am well aware of needing the supporting paperwork and information before presenting any argument.

The second concern you expressed as to why I was the one intervening, is that Mike is and has been for several months in failing health.  He is not only a friend but a business partner, and yes I am very aware of all actions surrounding the bankruptcy.

Now, to what has occured since Friday; Assistant Manager Jamie provided a detailed printout of all transactions during the life of the loan for the Home Equity Line.  During the bankruptcy there were 25 late charges assessed ($298) 8 additional financial charges assessed ($400), $500 foreclosure proceeding, and (2) $150 collection fees.  AM Jamie provided the phone number for the Regions Bank Bankruptcy Dept. and so I contacted them.  Irony here is that the Regions Bank Bankruptcy Dept can't access the account information and requested that I fax a copy of everything to them, too ludicrous for words.  Attempted to contact AM Jamie four times to have her fax the printouts to their Bankruptcy Dept., finally leaving a call back number, yeah, you guessed it, never did hear from her. 

So today's mission is to fax forty some pages of their records to the Regions Bank Bankruptcy, so they can review what has transpired.  Also yesterday called the Bankruptcy Administrator that handled this, computer downs, have to call back today.  Called lawyer that handled this, still on holiday.

Thanks for your responses and wish me luck, it is said no good deed goes unpunished.

Yes, your point about the attorney is valid, that being his only option at this point.  Actually, that will be the second call tomorrow, the first being to the bankruptcy court to apprise them of Regions actions.
- You probably should make the Attorney the first call.  Because it is unlikely that the Bankruptcy Courts will do anything based on your phone call, and they will need a bit more than "I think what they did to my friend is illegal" in any paperwork that you try and file.

Also, I am not saying that it is a bad thing, but why are you doing all of this for your friend?  Because unless there are things you are really not saying you may not know the entire story.  Did you read through ALL of your friends BK Paperwork?  Were you at every proceeding of your friend?  Are you 100% certain that your friend is telling you everything?

Because of course this also causes the question if this is illegal why didn't your friend talk to their attorney that handled the BK?

In a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Secured and Unsecured Loans are handled differently.  You are correct about balances being zeroed out during a Chapter 13 but ONLY for unsecured loans.  A Home Equity Loan or Line of Credit is a secured loan tied to your property or home.  A Secured Loan would pertain to a vehicle, mortgage, or second mortgage, etc.  An Unsecured Loan would be a credit card, gym contracts, etc.  Secured loans have to be paid in their entirety, sometimes this cannot be accomplished in the time period that is standard for a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy (3 to 5 years). 

That was the case with this Home Equity Loan, there was a balance of $12K and some change when the Chapter 13 was discharged and the amount that Mike was told was owed at the time of discharge corresponded with what the Chapter 13 reflected.  The glitch here is that when he went to pay the remaining balance ($280) three weeks ago, having paid not only the minimum monthly amount but most months additional amounts, Assistant Manager Jamie informs him that there is actually some additional charges, specifically alluding to an $800 fee.

Having gone through all the papers that he had filed away from the Bankruptcy I found the paper that was printed out at Regions the month after he was properly discharged from Chapter 13 and there is a $298 late charge and a $800 fee on this document.  Turns out that not only did Regions charge late fees during the Bankruptcy but they also attempted to foreclose on the property (that is what the $800 fee is), both of these actions are illegal.

I agree with your assessment of the knowledge of the banking managers, as I attempted to explain to Assistant Manager Jamie about the bankruptcy and that these charges are illegal, her answer was that the charges could not be removed.  I also attempted to go through the corporate Customer Service, as I explained in the original posting.

Yes, your point about the attorney is valid, that being his only option at this point.  Actually, that will be the second call tomorrow, the first being to the bankruptcy court to apprise them of Regions actions.  I am just amazed at the fact that this bank continues to exist with the ignorance and attitude I have seen demonstrated by both Assistant Manager Jamie and all departments of their Customer Service, etc.

Thank you for responding, I hope this clarifies the situation to you.

There are some details that have been left out of your report.

For example, did your friend complete his Ch 13 BK? If so, why would he go to Regions and pay off the "remaining balance" from a discharged debt? The whole point of a BK is to discharge debt and start over fresh. The account would be handled by the BK department and not any of the departments you mentioned as BK accounts have special handling. You state that: 
When he completed the bankruptcy, Feb. 2007, he went to Regions to get a statement of exactly what  was remaining to be paid since the entire amount was not completely covered during the bankruptcy. 

That actually is the whole purpose of a Ch 13 bankruptcy. The creditor puts in a claim and the debtor pays an agreed upon percentage according to the petition filed and accepted in the BK.

If your friend's CH 13 was dismissed, rather than properly discharged, then that is a whole different set of circumstances. A dismissal means the Ch 13 is essentially null and void and all amounts due and owning become immediately due. That may explain why he had to go pay Regions.

I agree that some of these "bank managers" today appear to not know their jobs very well. Anything beyond the basics is just beyond their capacity. But one of the things you or your friend need to do is contact the right department. Your friend should have handled "outstanding" items in his BK through his attorney. Now, if this was a debt that was incurred subsequent to the BK, then that is a different issue.

It's hard to tell when we don't have all the facts.