Complaint Review: The Money Store/HomEq Servicing Corporation - California

After reading the usual response received from a non-educated HomEq employee I felt I had to educate you Michael. Making things a little clearer for your customers which you seem unable to do yourself. "Your contract clearly states that over the period of the first part of the agreement your payments are given almost directly towards the interest. After this period has finished, a large portion of your monthly payments will go directly towards your payoffs." Wrong! If their contract is a simple interest loan, which you you never bothered to ask, this is not the correct answer. You are describing an amortization loan. Do YOU know how to read a contract? Most of HomEq's loans are high risk and this is how they make a lot of money off people who have none. Making the monthly payment only pays the interest accrued since your last payment. "...it is a practice that is used by nearly all mortgage companies." Wrong again, Michael! Most ethical companies write amortization loans. Predator lendors write simple interest loans. Now better educated, Michael, I hope you give the correct information to your HomEq customers. Please take your own advice and "read the contract" BEFORE giving bad answers to good people.

After reading the usual response received from a non-educated HomEq employee I felt I had to educate you Michael. Making things a little clearer for your customers which you seem unable to do yourself. "Your contract clearly states that over the period of the first part of the agreement your payments are given almost directly towards the interest. After this period has finished, a large portion of your monthly payments will go directly towards your payoffs." Wrong! If their contract is a simple interest loan, which you you never bothered to ask, this is not the correct answer. You are describing an amortization loan. Do YOU know how to read a contract? Most of HomEq's loans are high risk and this is how they make a lot of money off people who have none. Making the monthly payment only pays the interest accrued since your last payment. "...it is a practice that is used by nearly all mortgage companies." Wrong again, Michael! Most ethical companies write amortization loans. Predator lendors write simple interest loans. Now better educated, Michael, I hope you give the correct information to your HomEq customers. Please take your own advice and "read the contract" BEFORE giving bad answers to good people.

After reading the usual response received from a non-educated HomEq employee I felt I had to educate you Michael. Making things a little clearer for your customers which you seem unable to do yourself. "Your contract clearly states that over the period of the first part of the agreement your payments are given almost directly towards the interest. After this period has finished, a large portion of your monthly payments will go directly towards your payoffs." Wrong! If their contract is a simple interest loan, which you you never bothered to ask, this is not the correct answer. You are describing an amortization loan. Do YOU know how to read a contract? Most of HomEq's loans are high risk and this is how they make a lot of money off people who have none. Making the monthly payment only pays the interest accrued since your last payment. "...it is a practice that is used by nearly all mortgage companies." Wrong again, Michael! Most ethical companies write amortization loans. Predator lendors write simple interest loans. Now better educated, Michael, I hope you give the correct information to your HomEq customers. Please take your own advice and "read the contract" BEFORE giving bad answers to good people.

Based on your comment of only $1,000 going towards principal I am assuming you too were duped by the simple interest loan. Simply "reading your contract" as all HomEq (Money Store) reps have been programed to say will not tell you anything new. It will tell you the type of loan you do have. Chances are when you push them to EXPLAIN the loan they can't give you the low down anyway. They aren't any better educated than the consumer. So, use the business math approach to calculate it yourself to keep them honest. Interest = Prin x Rate x # days since last payment / divided by 365 days in a year. Ex: Your monthly payment is $287.67 on a $25,000.00 loan at 14% interest If you pay more and/or sooner more goes toward principal than interest. Ignore the rep and the statement that says you your "payment due date is". On a simple interest loan if you pay after the 30 days since your last posted payment you are late. Any extra payments you made will then be gobbled up by late fees and interest charges. I hope this helps answer the question the employees of HomEq would not or could not. Take Care!

In response to the original poster: most mortgage contracts are set up to pay interest first. Without knowing your situation (original loan amount, payment per month, etc.) it would be hard to determine whether you were treated unfairly. It seems that anyone making a reasonable payment would have decreased their principal by more than $1000.00 in a three to four year period. Some fellow named "Samuel from Savannah, GA" got so busy telling me what an ignorant fool I was that he kind of gave away the ballgame and quit answering any questions. Read this post:www.ripoffreport.com/view.asp?id=17984. I assume that hateful Michael from NC is an employee of First Union/Wachovia/HomeEq; his attitude stinks and he likes to call folks fools, too. What is really interesting is what happens to these notes later. The Money Store was BOUGHT out by First Union in 1998. First Union later bought out or merged with Wachovia and now uses that name. HomeEq is a "shill" company formed by First Union/Wachovia and is used to create distance between itself and this loan portfolio. I could not figure this out; how would this be of any benefit to the bank? There was no cash sale involved to generate profit for further loans. It was simply a shift. HomeEq is and always has been a susidiary of First Union/ Wachovia. I do not like loose ends (or being considered a fool) so I kept looking for the benefit, since this shifting of loans seems to have resulted in mass confusion for the loan payer and a whole lot of inaccuracies. Folks are finding themselves suddenly "past due" when, in truth, they are not. The late fees are piling on. A lot of posters on this site were under the real impression that their note had been sold to an entirely new company because of a letter received from either the originating lender or HomeEq. Lots of folks never even received a letter at all. People do not even know where to send their payments in some cases as they do not even get a statement. But HomeEq IS Wachovia/First Union so why did there seem to be such a large number of "errors" when it is all the same company? A "shift" from one department from another should not create so many seeming uncorrectable mistakes. I found an answer in THE AMERICAN BANKER, dated August 24, 2001. Banks with a national charter are under the direct scrutiny of the OCC. To avoid the national examiners "most banking companies that have subprime lending operations house them in nonbank subsidiaries, which shields them from examination by bank regulators". (That is a direct quote). If these lending companies were doing business in an ethical and legal manner in the first place, they would have nothing to fear from the bank regulators. The pattern seems to be that the banks hold these loans while they are profitable (while most of your payment is interest and real "gravy"). After a certain period, the loans are shifted to these "shill" companies who are wide open to charge as much as they want as far as fees, because they are a "non-bank subsidiary" and evidently have little or no Federal Regulation. This sounds like classic "bait and switch" to me, but since the Feds are not involved (yet; it's coming because it has to or we will all be in the street) your only recourse is to hire a lawyer and go to civil court. Not everyone is able or willing to go through this process; it is expensive and time consuming. These servicing companies rely on that. This also explains why there seems to have been such a huge increase in the creation of these "servicing companies" in the last few years. I have done a lot of research into this matter (I will not be a fool for much longer!). A search of Wachovia's website made absolutely no mention of HomeEq that I could find. I clicked on link after link and if it is there, it is well hidden. HomeEq, on the other hand, trumpets its relationship to First Union/Wachovia right on its home page. Any loan gotten through First Union/Wachovia will undoubtedly wind up being serviced by HomeEq, but it seems as though Wachovia/First Union does not really want its customers to know that until AFTER THE FACT! After all, if you are applying for a loan through Wachovia, why would you be looking at the home page for HomeEq? That won't happen until your note is transferred and the trouble starts, right? So, who is the fool now? It is clear what is going on here! I wonder how many of these other "servicing companies" are in fact affiliated with the originating lender. It's a beautiful scam they've got going to keep milking the cash cow. Once the interest payments start becoming smaller, shift everything to the nonbank susidiary and start collecting bogus fees from an unregulated company. They are going to make money all through the life of the loan that way! The consumer, of course, loses: cash, sleep, and sometimes the home. It is a shame and a scandal and, believe me, the Feds ARE aware of what is happening. Perhaps the time is right to start writing to your Congressperson and let them know that the public is becoming aware of these RIPOFF SCHEMES as well! The squeaky wheel gets the grease so start making lots of noise. Nothing will get done until the light of day is shed on these scams.

This should speak for itself and anything else any Homeeq employees might want to add. This is the type of people we are dealing with. COWARDS! As far as reading contracts most laymen don't understand them if they do read them, and until something like this happens thought it was okay to trust a mortgage company that was loaning them x amount of money to not cheat them. Add us to the long list of people who were duped by them And victimized by their abusive lending practices. They transfered our loan to American General who is foreclosing on us May 30th 2003. We bought our home in June 1984 and are being thrown out of it in June 2003. Do we deserve it because we didn't understand a contract? Hell no! This is mortgage fraud and I agree with the editor they should all be sent to prison! This is off of a website called consumer action and referring to mortgage fraud. the Better business bureau report follows. This lender probably knows and may be counting on the fact that you will have trouble making your payments every month. People need enough to live on and pay their other bills. Because of this, most reputable lenders won't approve applicants for housing-related loans that require payments of more than 28% of their gross income for all such loans in total. If you default on your loan agreement, the lender can take your house away from you, sell it and keep any profits from the sale. Scam artists are usually more concerned about the value of the collateral than about the borrower's ability to repay. Under federal law, lenders who show a pattern of making loans without regard to whether the borrowers can repay the loan may be subject to legal action. The Better Business Bureau of Oregon and Western Washington 1000 Station Drive Ste 222 DuPont, WA 98327 [email protected] Company Reliability Report Money Store Washington Inc, The General Information Street Address: 6840 Fort Dent Way Ste 130 Seattle, WA 98188 Telephone Number: (000) 000-0000 Fax Number: (206) 241-1532 BBB Business Classification: Financial-Mortgage And Escrow Companies Original Business Started in: January-1967 Local Business Started in: November-1991 Principal: Mr Scott Hilbun Branch Manager Customer Service Contact: Mr Scott Hilbun Branch Manager The information in this report has either been provided by the company, or has been compiled by the Bureau from other sources. The Better Business Bureau reports on members and non-members. Membership in the BBB is voluntary. Members must meet and maintain BBB standards. If a company is a member of the BBB, it will be stated in this report. Nature of Business This company offers first and second residential mortgages. License Information This company is in an industry that may require licensing, bonding or registration in order to lawfully do business. The Bureau encourages you to check with the appropriate agency to be certain any requirements are currently being met. Additional File Information According to information in Bureau files, it appears that this company is no longer in business. The phone numbers the Bureau had for this company are disconnected, and directory assistance does not have a listing for this company. The Bureau's mail to this company has been returned as undeliverable. If you have an unresolved dispute with this company you may wish to seek legal advice. Additional InformationAdditional Phone Numbers: (206) 241-1532 Fax Report as of: March 5, 2003 Copyright 2001 Better Business Bureau of Oregon and Western Washington As a matter of policy, the Better Business Bureau does not endorse any product, service or company. BBB reports generally cover a three-year reporting period, and are provided solely to assist you in exercising your own best judgment. Information contained in this report is believed reliable but not guaranteed as to accuracy. Reports are subject to change at any time. Educational Tips Mortgage Choices Refinancing Your Mortgage Loan Search again

The answer to nagging bill collectors is as follows: Don't Answer Your Phone, EVER!! Do I care that it's their job to harass me when times get tough? NOPE. Do what I did: Get an answering machine and screen your calls. To all of the thrice-paid companies who have increased their interest rates, leaving me no alternative but to pay off in full or accept the hikes even though you have gotten waaaaaaaay more of my money than you deserved, TAKE A HIKE! No, wait....Keep calling my machine.....leave all the messages you want.....because you will NEVER get a live person unless, of course, I feel like putting a curse on some blooming idiot like you. Do I care that you make your money bothering people in times of trouble? NOPE. If you're lucky, I won't answer your call; if you're not, I'll curse your home and family, and maybe even your pet, for ten years of ill health and two major bouts of job insecurity. My curses might not really carry any weight, mind you; it doesn't matter, because I'll feel better thrashing at YOU for a change and, just maybe, if you're superstitious, you'll get scared and decide to find a REAL line of work--one in which you don't get paid to bother people whose financial situations have declined to the point that they are left unable to meet their obligations. Is what I'm doing nice???? NOPE, but neither are the sixteen harassing phone calls per day from companies who have already received more than twice the value of the good or service they provided to me. Creditors: You know the risks when you give credit; some people are going to be unable to pay. I encourage everyone who can't pay to change their phone numbers or screen calls via machine. Phone harassers may rot in HADES. Oh, yeah, and for you "wannabe" law firms who do COLLECTION WORK: Why don't you hire Johnny Cochran and do some REAL legal work? What a waste of a law degree.......telephone harasser! HA!

Michael: You have a lot of comments regarding HomEq and I have seen your city location in Charlotte and Boone; assuming it is the same Michael! The responses seem to match from both! So if you are in Boone, what are you majoring in at Appalachian State? Do you work the late shift, as the Charlotte Observer reported on HomEq Servicing, February 16, 2003 newspaper article? Everyone should order a copy of this newspaper, it is a very interesting article about HomEq and the Mother Ship, Wachovia Bank and First Union Bank; DBA HomEq Servicing Corp.; AKA The Money Store.

You claim that we kept you on the phone on the way to a family members funeral. That is a horrible situation and I am sorry for the loss, but the question is, WHY were you recieving a call from us....BECAUSE YOU DID NOT PAY YOUR BILL....if you choose not to recieve calls from our company, pay your bills on the due date and we will be more than happy to not call you. So many people complain that we call them at times which are not convienant, but do you think it is convienant for us to have to track you down to pay a bill which you agreed to pay by a specific date of each month? As for your loan being sold to us from another company, whether you like it or not, we are now in charge of it, and we expect certain things from our customers, the most important being prompt payment. Simply put, we will not call you when you pay us on time.

HEY! WE DID NOT WANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH HOME EQ!!!

WE WOULD HAVE NEVER SIGNED THE MORTGAGE IF WE
HAD KNOWN OUR MORTGAGE LOAN WOULD HAVE BEEN SOLD
TO YOU.

WE HAD A CAR LOAN WITH YOUR COMPANY WHICH WE PAID OFF AND WE NEVER WANTED TO HEAR YOUR NAME AGAIN!

YOU KEPT US ON THE PHONE ON THE WAY TO MY HUSBAND'S GRANDMOTHERS FUNERAL! THEY WERE WAITING
ON US TO CLOSE THE CASKET.

I'LL NEVER FORGET THAT AS LONG AS I LIVE. NO!!! WE NEVER WANTED TO SEE OR HEAR FROM YOU AGAIN!!!!

NOW OUR WORST NIGHTMARE HAS COME TRUE. SOMEONE SOLD YOU OUR MORTGAGE WITHOUT OUR CONSENT.

WHY DON'T YOU START BY TELLING THE TRUTH
ABOUT YOURSELVES. THAT GOES ALONG WAY!!!

So Homeq is to blame for the ignorance of you, and others who do not take the time to understand a contract? If you do not understand something, or do not feel comfortable with it, DO NOT SIGN IT....its as easy as that. People like I should be put in prison for what, making a contract that details what will be happening over a course of time?

I am an employee of Homeq, and every day someone like you is asking me about a situation like this. The problem is, you didnt take the time to read your contract, and are not taking the time to look at it now. Your contract clearly states that over the period of the first part of the agreement your payments are given almost directly towards the interest. After this period has finished, a large portion of your monthly payments will go directly towards your payoffs. Whether you agree with the way this is handled or not, it is clearly detailed within your contract, and is practice that is used by nearly all mortgage companies.

EDitor's Comments to the above:

You are a real slickee boy, eh. It is sleazy salesmen like you that make our website absolutely necessary. You also probably reassured the customer that you don't need to read the contract because you are "explaining it to them." And then tell them not to worry about all the details, we wouldn't be in business if we screwed our customers. What a load of crap! You should be in prison for what you do to people.

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